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abbyilr1967 · 3 years

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Making Up for Lost Time - Tetsuro Kuroo x Reader

Summary: The reader and Kuroo are getting ready to graduate, he meets her back at the volleyball clubhouse to confess some things he’s been holding in for years.

A/n: Wow, my account really is feeding all my weebs out there. Also, there’s really no plot to this, just kinda wanted to write this cute, fluffy little thing cuz I love my baby Kuroo. As per usual, here is a link to my Masterlist.

Warnings: swearing (like a little).

Word Count: 1.3k

The spring breeze flows through your hair as you climb the steps to the volleyball club’s clubroom. Walking in you’re faced with the memories you made over the past three years as their manager. It all started because your friend from middle school, Tetsurō Kuroo, thought that you would be a good replacement manager after the third-year manager graduated. You had your doubts in the beginning but never thought volleyball would become a huge part of your life.

Kuroo was always energetic, and it was contagious.

The best years of high school were spent with the Nekoma Volleyball Club, and you made some incredible friends along the way. Especially with Kuroo. You’d known him since middle school and had always had a bit of a crush on him. So when the third-year manager said he’d suggested you as a replacement you were a little surprised. But you are grateful he did because now you stand in the clubroom reminiscing.

You go around the room, looking at all the things the boys had left around. Obviously, they haven’t come round to pick up their stuff before the summer. You, however, were there to collect your things for the last time. You and the other third years on the team are graduating in a few days, and with your final exams all done, there was nothing left for you to do except wipe your existence clean from the school.

As you were piling your belongings into the small box you brought, you are interrupted by the spiky-haired captain himself. Although I guess former captain is more fitting now.

“Hey Y/l/n, whatcha doing?” he asks, leaning against the door frame.

“Hey, I’m just gathering my things,” you say, turning from the box to face him. “I’m gonna miss this place after graduation.” You and Kuroo stand in silence for a moment, admiring the posters, medals, and plaques that adorn the walls. He pushes himself off the doorframe and moves to help you pack up your things. “Thanks.”

“Anytime,” he responds.

“Are you going to continue with volleyball?” you ask.

“I’m gonna play in university, not sure if I want to go pro though.”

You hum in acknowledgement, continuing to pack away your things.

“What are you going to do?” He asks in return.

“I’m going to college locally, didn’t want to go too far from home yet.” You finish packing your things away and turn back to Kuroo. He looks surprisingly awkward, which is unusual for the suave and confident man.

“Well,” you grab the box full of your things. “I guess this is it.”

You extend your hand out to Kruoo, offering him a handshake, afraid to do any more than that. For a split second, you swear he looks almost sad. He takes your hand in his and gives its tight squeeze.

“I’m gonna miss you Kuroo,” you say, letting go of his hand reluctantly.

“I’m gonna miss you too.” You turn and make your way towards the door, a little disappointed with yourself that you were too nervous to say more.

As you walk down the hallway you get lost in all the memories of the times you spent with Kuroo. All then stolen glances, all the lingering touches, and all the close shoulders during team huddles. You were never going to forget him.

“Y/n!” Kuroo shouts, running to catch up with you. “Stop!”

“Kuroo?”

He approaches you, huffing and puffing trying to catch his breath, you set the box on the ground behind you.

“I don’t really know how to start this,” he wheezes, hunched over on himself. “But I’ve got to get something off my chest.” He straightens himself back to his full height, looking down on you with a glint in his eye.

“Kuroo I—” You glance away from him, heart beating out of your chest when he takes your face in his hands, forcing you to look at him.

“I like you Y/n,” he starts. “And I’m pretty damn certain I love you. But I’ve liked you ever since the end of middle school, and being back in that clubroom made me think of all the time we spent together, and all the time I want to spend with you in the future.”

Your lip trembled slightly, trying not to let your emotions overwhelm you. Slowly, you bring your hands up to hold his wrists, needing something real to ground you in this moment.

“Do you know why I recommended you as the replacement manager all those years ago?”

“No,” you say, trying not to stutter, but failing miserably.

“Other than the fact that I knew you would be perfect for the job, which I was right,” he jokes. “But I wanted to spend more time with you.”

You unexpectedly start giggling, smile so wide it almost hurts.

“What’s so funny?” He removes his hands from your face and rests them atop your shoulders.

“Kuroo,” you’re slowly starting to get yourself under control. “I’ve had a crush on you since middle school, and when the old manager told me you recommended me my heart was beating out of my chest because I thought you never noticed me.” Your emotions get the better of you and one stray tear falls down your cheek.

“Hey, hey, don’t cry,” his thumb brushes the tear away. “I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

“It’s a happy tear I promise,” you say, running your thumbs over his knuckles.

“Can I,” he hesitates. “Can I kiss you?”

Your heart leaps into your throat, and your palms become heated. Unable to speak through the lump in your throat, you lightly nod at him in response. You let go of his hands as they move to cup your face, and he leans in. His lips are soft against yours, sweet and supple. Your hands find their way around his neck, pulling him in closer. The kiss becomes more demanding, and against better judgement, you pull back.

He rests his forehead against yours, breath fanning over your face as you both catch your breaths.

“I’m sorry it took me so long to say anything,” he breaths, pulling you into a tight hug. He’s buried his face in the crook of your neck, and you do the same.

“I’m sorry I never said anything too,” you whisper, snuggling further into him.

“C’mon, my car is just down there. Let’s go,” you suggest.

“Where too?” he asks, wiggling his eye brows at you.

“Anywhere, we’ll drive until we find a spot. Some place we could call ours.”

“I like that idea very much,” he says, placing a quick kiss to your lips. He steps past you, grabbing the box from the ground.

“Lead the way.”

You park the car, practically pushing Kuroo out so you could show him the spot your remember from childhood.

“This is the end of a walking trail my family and I used to walk on when I was a kid. I haven’t been here in years,” you’re practically pulling him behind you as your excitement gets the better of you.

“See, beautiful isn’t it.” You look out across the city. The sun had begun to set by this time, so the city lights were becoming brighter by the minute.

“It is, but I still think you’re more beautiful,” his arm snakes around your shoulder, pulling you in so he can kiss your temple. You bury your face in his chest, trying to hide your blush from him again. “Tetsurō,” you whine.

“Sorry,” he chuckles. “I’m just trying to make up for lost time.”

“I know,” you whisper. “I know.” You and Tetsurō watch as the sun begins to set over Tokyo, watching as the people continue about their lives while your’s and Tetsurō’s stay still.

“I love you, Tetsurō.”

“I love you too, Y/n.”

#haikyuu!!#tetsuro kuroo #kuroo tetsurou #tetsuro kuroo x reader #tetsuro kuroo x you #tetsuro kuroo x y/n #kuroo tetsuro x reader #kuroo tetsuro x you #kuroo tetsuro x y/n #kuroo x reader #kuroo x you #kuroo x y/n #tetsuro kuroo fluff #haikyuu fluff #fluff #love confessions

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sirthisisa-wendys · 3 years

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hey wendy could you do a high school hakkai asking black y/n on a date and he ends it with a kiss☹️ thank you

I was lying awake last night thinking "I have never written for Hakkai" and then I woke UP AND SAW THIS REQUEST!

I placed it at an American (Southern, like Texas) high school, so here are some things you might not be familiar with the terms below.

Majorettes/Drill team - a dance team that performs in precision with kicking formations and choreographed dances with the band. This is the fancier version of cheerleaders.

Drum Major- a student leader of the band (helps with keeping the band timing and positions in check when performing.)

Drum Majors and Majorettes share the field at the beginning of football games, then stand together in the stands during American Football games. (This was a big part of my high school traditions and is very close to my heart.)

Hakkai would make a great football captain, so I'm giving it to his tall self. Also, I had to cut a lot of detailed scenes because *who wants a novel* so I'm sorry if it seems disjointed!

Friday Night Lights: Hakkai Shiba x Black!Fem!Reader

wc: 1.6k

tw: fluff

masterlist

song recommendation:

"Here's the deal," you begin, slinging the baton over your shoulder. "Our drill team isn't here to play around. We take ourselves seriously, and you know that we don't allow others to tarnish our good name."

The girls standing in front of you are watching you as you pace back and forth, trying to remain absolutely still. One wrong move and you'd dump them out on their asses, and they'd be banned from trying out forever.

"As the captain of this drill team, I expect you all to behave as if you are already a part of it in the way you act and present yourselves. Even though these are just auditions, you will still have to show us that you're capable of handling everything that comes with the title and privileges we get."

You pause, hearing the door above the dance room open. You watch as three senior members of the band walk out onto the balcony overlooking the rehearsal floor, eyes falling to the blue-haired football captain and quarterback that comes in last.

Hakkai Shiba.

Your heart begins to race at the sight of the shy, soft-spoken senior, but you clear your throat, looking back at the waiting girls. "You've learned the first two measures of your kick routine. The vice-captain, first lieutenant, and second lieutenant will show you the last two measures."

As the other officers begin to call out and demonstrate the steps, you walk up the staircase to the balcony, trying to be as casual as you can in your athletic shorts and Majorette t-shirt.

"Hey," you address the others, smiling widely. "Here to watch tryouts?"

"Luna is down there," Mitsuya, a drum major, comments. "I don't know if she can dance but I'm hoping she'll figure it out." You raise a brow, then look at Hakkai.

"Shiba, what are you doing up here?" His indigo eyes find yours, then dart away quickly.

"Just came to see you... all... before the game next week. I wasn't sure what routine you would be performing, and my sister really misses the team." You smile, remembering the former vice-captain with a fondness.

"She's always welcome to come and choreograph as an alumnus!"

"I'm sure she'd love that..." Hakkai rubs the back of his neck shyly, then looks up at you again. "Do you think... I mean, I know you... um... What I'm trying to say is--"

"Hey, Hakkai!" You both look over your shoulder at the linebacker who burst through the back door, and Hakkai runs a hand over his shaved head. "Coach wants to see you before you leave."

"I'll see you at the game," Hakkai murmurs, patting your shoulder before leaving quickly.

_____________________________________________________________

"Five, six, seven, eight."

You twirl around the grass of the field in full view of the attendees of the football game, making a line with the other majorettes in front of the large inflatable football tunnel and waiting for the football team to come out. You perform the hand motions along with your sparkler pom-poms, listening to the rustling with a sense of calm running down your spine.

Hakkai would run through first as the captain, closely followed by his teammates and then the inflatable would be carted off. The crowd erupts into cheers as the players come through, and you smile at Hakkai, who returns your gesture with a wink before heading downfield. Your stomach fills with butterflies as you head to the stands, biting your lip as the coin is tossed and the game begins.

During the game, you watch the football team score three touchdowns and three field goals, leading the game with 21 points to the opposing teams' 7.

Halftime brings you back onto the field to perform the routine with the band, and you kick in time with your other teammates for a perfect show before returning to the other side to watch the opposing team perform. The whole process goes by so quickly that you wonder how time flew by as you take your place in the stands again.

"Y/n!" Your head snaps up and you see a player running up to the bottom of the stands. You recognize Draken, a center forward, and sit your poms down before going down to see him.

"What's up?" You ask, holding onto your hat as you lean over the railing.

"I was wondering if you would say 'yes' to going ou--"

"Hey!" You see Hakkai push through the small crowd of his teammates, face red and sweaty. "Draken, what do you think you're do--"

"I'm doing what you won't, Shiba." Draken turns back to you, smiling widely. "So, like I was saying, princess--" Draken is roughly pushed aside by Hakkai, and you flinch back, watching the center forward stalk off with s smirk on his face.

"You know, I've been meaning to ask this for a while," Hakkai laughs softly. "But I..." You see nervousness cloud his eyes, and you tilt your head, staring at the quarterback in confusion. "I..."

"Yo, go out with him," Mitsuya chimes in beside you, leaning his elbows on the railing. "Just say you'll go on a date with him." You look down at Hakkai again, and he presses his lisp together, holding his helmet nervously.

"Is that what you want, Hakkai?" He nods, his indigo eyes lighting up. "Of course I will," you agree, leaning down to press a kiss to his sweaty forehead and leaving a red lipstick mark. You reach up to wipe it off, giggling, but Hakkai stops you, placing his helmet on over it.

"For good luck!" he calls out over his shoulder as he jogs back onto the field.

_____________________________________________________________

News of your agreement to go on a date with the Hakkai Shiba travels fast throughout the school. But you and Hakkai continue to keep your relationship lowkey, opting to only talk between classes and outside of school - and of course, on the phone late at night.

"We should go rollerskating," you mention, picking at the blanket on your bed as Hakkai hums on the end of the other line.

"Let's go tomorrow. First date. We can even go to that new diner that opened nearby afterward."

"Really?" you ask, sitting up.

"There aren't any games this week, and I don't have practice. It's the perfect day. Pick you up at seven?"

"Seven is great."

But the whole day drags by as if it didn't know you had plans and were eager to go out with your crush. By the time six o'clock rolls around, you're already getting dressed, trying on multiple outfits before sighing in defeat.

"Okay," you tell your little sister, who sits on the floor beside you. "Which one? The skirt and top, the jeans and top, or the dress?" Your sister eyes each of the options carefully then sticks two fingers in her mouth, gurgling around them as she drools on the carpet.

"Yeah, the jeans sound great. I thought so, too."

When the doorbell rings, you hurry down the stairs and past your parents in the kitchen, tossing a quick "bye" over your shoulder as you leave. You open the door and find Hakkai standing there, eyes wide as you step out.

"Y/n, wow..."

"It's just jeans and a t-shirt," you tease, patting his chest. "Come on! I want to get there before the rink is full." Hakkai drives you to the rink, making small talk on the way there and taking quick glances at you repeatedly. You want to tell him that it's okay to be nervous, but you first have to convince yourself of that fact as you fiddle with your fingers.

And as it turns out... the rollerskating was fun, despite Hakkai not knowing how and clinging to you as you skated around the rink. But it had all been in good fun.

"So, midnight breakfast run," he begins, pulling into the vintage diner. "It's like the only thing that makes being out super late worth it." Hakkai opens the car door for you and you slide out, taking his hand as you walk into the diner.

"Hey!" A woman waves at you two from the counter. "Go ahead and have a seat and I'll be right with you." Hakkai motions to the booth closest and sits across from you, smiling sheepishly.

"How's the bruise?" you wonder, reaching across the table.

"I'll survive," he laughs, lacing his fingers through yours. "I'm glad I had you there to help me, though." You giggle, then look at the lady who is approaching you with menus.

"Y'all take a look at the menus and let me know when you're ready."

"Thanks," Hakkai murmurs, then you both proceed to skim the menu. "Thinking about some waffles. You?"

"Same. But I wonder if they have a kid's menu..."

"Huh?" Hakkai looks over his menu at you and chuckles.

"I can't eat a lot!" You answer, smacking his arm. "I'm not cheap, I swear."

"Doesn't matter, I'm paying anyway." You grin at him and then feel his foot nudge yours under the table, just as the woman reappears.

"So, what can I get y'all?"

_____________________________________________________________

"Hakkai, tonight's been great." You're standing on the porch of your home, holding your house key and one hand and his slim fingers in the other. "Thanks for taking me out."

"Anytime. Hopefully, I'll get to do it more often." You raise up on your tiptoes to press your lips to his, cupping his chin as he leans into you. When you pull away, he smiles, eyes still closed for a moment.

"I'll see you on Monday. Goodnight," you whisper, opening the door to your house.

"Night." Hakkai stands there for a few moments, touching his fingers to his lips, and realizing you didn't mention a single thing about his scar.

#hakkai shiba #tokyo revengers hakkai #hakkai shiba x reader #tokyo revengers #tokyo revengers x reader

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mlqcconfessions · 4 years

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Aaaaa I’d die for your headcanons they’re so cuteeeee (⁎⁍̴̛ᴗ⁍̴̛⁎) How do you think the boys would react to MC’s high school crush (probably a very popular student) reconnecting with her and asking her out on a date? (Not even trying to be subtle, he said it was a date date!)

So adorbs! I love this!! Let’s just call the crush “Tony” (it doesn’t have any relation to me I swear)

MLQC Headcanon - Please don’t notice me senpai!

Victor

You were at a joint dinner party with your company + LFG to celebrate the recent show doing so well

Naturally, Victor was there (and so was Goldman who just wanted to go home I don’t get paid enough for this)

Towards the end of the party, you were drunk like nobody’s business

You could almost hear the “dummy” coming from him (he didn’t say it, but definitely thought it)

He was annoyed by your drunken habits of clinging to anyone in your proximity

THIS IS WHY HE MADE ANNA AND WILLOW SIT ON EITHER SIDE

He only liked it when you were drunk in front of him

“MC? Is that you?”

You look up to see a familiar face peering down at you, taking you back to your high school unrequited love years)

“Tony….!”

Still in your drunken stupor, you get up to hug him (Mr. CEO is shocked well this is an unexpected change of plans)

You turn around to introduce this new enemy friend to everyone else

“Erryone, dis is Tony! He’s…an…upperklassman from skool…and my first love!” (you’re slurring your words, but you just had to perfectly say the last line)

At this point, Victor is speed messaging his driver to get the car ready

The room goes in silence as everyone else darts back and forth between you and Victor (they can’t save you now)

As if you unintentionally realized the pressure from Pudding Chef, you fall asleep in Tony’s arms

“Oh..um…actually I liked you during high school, too. Maybe we could—“

You’re ripped apart taken from Tony’s arms as Victor picks you up, bridal style

“Sorry about that. My WIFE can be….a little too affectionate, sometimes”

“Oh, no problem…um…(he hesitates)…..w-wife?”

Victor hands Tony his LFG card

He has a separate design to use when chasing out potential rivals (it looks even more expensive than the normal ones)

Victor quickly nods back at him before leaving the restaurant, with you clinging close to his neck

He kisses the top of your head, walking to the car parked outside

“…….dummy….”

Goldman has to clean up the mess his boss just left behind I don’t get paid enough for this

Kiro

You were doing a segment on Kiro’s concert (which he begged Savin to invite you)

To not get in the way of the busy staff, you wait by the corner

Was it the tension in the air? You feel your throat drying up, in desperate need of a drink

As you feel your head spinning, someone comes up to you with an ice cold water bottle

“Hey, are you alright?”

“Thank you so much….I really needed—”

You look up, surprised to see your former crush in front of you

“To-Tony?”

“MC?” He grabs your shoulders, as if he’s making sure it’s really you

The two of you stare at each other for a while before you hear a familiar voice coming from behind you

“Eh? What’s going on? Having fun without me?”

You turn your eyes to him to happily greet the bubbly voice, but you don’t say anything. You can’t say anything

Kiro’s eyes aren’t smiling

“Ki-Kiro! Um…this is Tony…an upperclassman from my high school”

Kiro stares at him, glancing up and down before turning back to you

“Wow! He looks like someone who was popular with the girls…” (Tony can feel hostility, but doesn’t know from where)

“Um..yeah! He was really popular…and all the girls liked him…” (your voice trails off)

“Then did YOU like him too, MC?” (Kiro’s no longer fixing his gaze on you, but to the poor boy behind you)

“I…I guess I did….yeah…” (you’re looking down at your feet, unable to contain yourself within this awkwardness)

“I see….” (Kiro smiles at Tony before pulling you into an embrace, chin resting on your head)

“Well, TONY, it’s been….a pleasure meeting you…”

“Likewise….um…are you two—“

“Dating?” (you quickly look up to Kiro at this sudden change in tone what is he going to do now)

Without giving you time to think how to deny Tony’s question, Kiro cups his hands around your face and kisses your forehead

“YES. We ARE dating” (Tony just nods awkwardly, and walks off to the other side of the room)

“Kiro, since when were we dating each other?”

This time, he kisses you on the lips (literally takes your breath away)

“Starting. Today.”

Lucien

You were attending a fair hosted by Loveland University, with Lucien speaking as a guest of honor

He even picked out your outfit for today (saying it was his good luck charm or something)

You decide to look around by yourself before he goes on the stage

Behind, you hear a familiar voice calling your name (you turn around, almost dropping the bag of goods you collected from the stands

“Tony? Is that you?”

You excitedly rush to greet him, unaware that Lucien was watching you from the stage as his microphone was being set up

You spend so much time talking to Tony that you don’t realize it was nearly time for the guest of honor to speak

“Tony, were you always a student here? I don’t think I’ve seen you around campus”

“Actually, I heard there was a festival today….and remembered that you put down Loveland Uni as your first choice….so I thought I would be able to find you here….and ask you on a possible date?”

You can feel your face turn red as your former love confessed to you

“Oh…! Um…well…you found me!” (really? That’s all you could think of?)

Meanwhile, Lucien has already begun his speech while you were fumbling over this unknown man who approached you

He ends up finishing without you realizing (your thoughts were someplace else, anyways)

He’s waiting for an opportunity (which was given to him rather quickly)

“Thank you for listening. Are there any questions?” (he scans the crowd before selecting someone)

“Professor! Do you have a girlfriend?!”

Lucien is unfazed by this question and was about to fluff around the answer

But his eyes fall back on you, noticing your face turning red (he’s a little annoyed at this)

“Actually, she’s here with me today, in the beautiful butterfly sundress I picked out for her” (the outfit was meant so he could easily spot you, but this works out)

He directs the entire crowd over, and you finally realize the situation

Your entire body turns red this time, and Tony (realizing just who his rival was) says he has to go somewhere else and leaves

You don’t even answer him back, because your head was now occupied with Lucien (of course, he knows you’re thinking about him now)

You could never win against him

Gavin

The two of you were at your high school reunion, with your close classmates (he sat across from you so he can make sure you don’t drink too much)

You were sitting next to your old high school crush (the one you’ve liked for years)

Of course, you feel the intense death glare coming from Birdcop every time Tony passes you food

Minor almost peed his pants

You quickly became uncomfortable with Tony’s forwardness

Yeah you liked him in the past, but obviously it was different now (you want Gavin to realize, too)

You keep sending him signals that you’re not interested (awkwardly scoot your chair away)

He just views it as you being shy and promptly puts his arm around you

GINKGO BOY IS FURIOUS (the wind violently picks up outside, and all the windows start clattering)

The insides of your brain start losing focus as one of your friends brings up the forbidden statement

“MC, didn’t you have a crush on Tony before?”

The wind suddenly stopped (oh no.)

“Um, yeah….but not anymore!” (you look at Gavin, just hoping he understood the message)

He’s not even looking at you anymore (he’s piercing through Tony with his amber eyes why are they so still beautiful in this situation)

“Really? I never knew! Maybe we should start going out now!” (Tony, please, you’re making things worse)

Then Gavin stands up, gathering your stuff and ushering you to leave

He looks at you, as if he’s waiting for something

Oh. Right.

“Um, Tony? It’s true that I did like you before, but I’m sorry. I can’t go out with you. Actually, Gavin and I are—“

He spins you around and swiftly kisses you on the lips (Minor is squealing), raising his left hand interlocked with yours to proudly showcase the ring before saying with a definitive smirk

“ENGAGED”

He never let you go to the subsequent reunions after that

THE FLUFF IS REAL WITH THIS ONE

Hope you guys enjoyed! I personally had a BLAST with Birdcop’s

Message me to join “Birdcop Patrol”, a group discussion dedicated to our Ginkgo Boy by yours truly

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forevers-winter · 4 years

Text

full folklore analysis!!

as promised, here u go. warning very long.

first of all, the album’s name is super important to its meaning. “folklore” is stories passed by mouth, whether spoken or sung, so taylor’s not singing about herself in most of these songs and some of them are linked into a bigger story. i’ll start with individual analysis of each song and then get into the main storyline.

the 1: from the perspective of a girl (our protagonist) that’s been cheated on, hence the line “if it would’ve been me.” she’s looking back on a relationship that was very summer-love-esque and fun while also acknowledging that it wasn’t meant to be and detailing the bittersweetness of that understanding. one of my faves; linked to august, illicit affairs, and betty.

cardigan: from taylor’s perspective about joe and how she met him at a time where most everyone saw her as a snake or a backstabber and was neck-deep in the worst drama she’s ever been in. as she says in miss americana, “falling in love with someone who had a wonderfully normal, balanced life” was the best thing that could’ve happened to her at that time, hence her relationship with joe made her “feel new again” after so many that were always in the public eye. a lot of people think the cobblestones line is related to betty and/or the 1, but this song as a whole doesn’t fit with the heartbroken themes of those two. more likely it’s hinting at the fact the taylor and joe spend a lot of time together in europe, where cobblestone sidewalks and roads are commonplace.

the last great american dynasty: as many have realized, this is the story of rebekah harkness, the former owner of taylor’s rhode island house who hosted a ballet studio there. that’s literally it, just the story of a badass who doesn’t give af about the opinions of people around her. also one of my faves.

exile: dual perspective from both sides of a relationship that ended with the woman moving on and the man staying stuck in the past. “staring like he’s just your understudy,” “i gave so many signs,” etc. may be about one of taylor’s past relationships in relation to her and joe now but i doubt it. if i had to guess, probably calvin harris bc there were also engagement rumors and marriage plans swirling around with the two of them.

my tears ricochet: taylor’s perspective about the john mayer situation, ie “didn’t have it in myself to go with grace,” “if i’m dead to you,” “battleships,” etc. taylor notoriously wrote an almost-seven-minute song absolutely tearing him apart back on speak now (not going with grace), and their relationship was crazy violent and accusatory for the year or two following (battleships) and neither of them have talked about it since (dead to me+battleships sinking). i think this is her way of apologizing whether or not she had to (spoiler alert: she didn’t).

mirrorball: taylor’s perspective about the public’s opinion on her and joe “i know they said the end is near” but also telling them that their relationship is still going strong “i’m still on my tallest tiptoes...shining just for you.”

seven: holy fuck this song. it’s obviously from taylor’s perspective about her childhood as it mentions pennsylvania, but i have no clue who it could be about and i think that’s the point. it’s about loving someone in your childhood (no pronouns but implied that it’s a girl due to braids and hiding the closet) and wanting to run away with them but realizing as you get older that it won’t happen and eventually forgetting each other’s faces but still remembering how they made you feel. def one of my faves on the album bc it’s g a y a f.

august: also very young-summer-lovey, perspective of a high school girl who lost her virginity to someone older (same person who cheated on her in the 1) hence “never have i ever before,” “you back at school,” etc. but ended up being abandoned and manipulated into thinking they still cared “cancel plans just in case you’d call.” linked to illicit affairs and betty, more on that later.

this is me trying: taylor’s perspective detailing the struggle of growing up in the public eye as a superstar. “had the shiniest wheels now they’re rusting”=going from the golden girl of country music to a politicized controversy-ridden indie/alternative artist. again linked to miss americana: she wanted to stand up for what she believes in and is defending her missteps by stating that she’s trying her best. another of my faves.

illicit affairs: protagonist again. goes into detail about an apparent affair with her partner, now confirmed to be a “him” in the line about perfume.

invisible string: about taylor and joe, super cute, soulmate au type beat. next.

mad woman: taylor roasting sc**ter br*un within an inch of his life as she should. next.

epiphany: hooo boy this one is DEEP. not taylor’s perspective, but about the general trauma anyone experiences from watching someone die or being with them as they die; “some things you just can’t speak about.” extremely relevant during the pandemic, “hold your hand through plastic now” and the recurring line about watching someone breathe. the epiphany in question is the hope for a miracle cure to save the person as they’re dying. favorite crying song on the album.

betty: here we goooooo. perspective of the protagonist’s partner james and his* apologizing to betty for cheating “it was just a summer thing.” the scene of walking on cobblestones and being picked up in a car is the opposite perspective of the same scene in august, and “her” is the narrator of the 1, august, and illicit affairs. the way my interpretation differs from others is that betty isn’t the protagonist in the storyline. *also the fact that this song could very well be wlw if one assumes that illicit affairs is a standalone story not related to the love triangle.

peace: this one...giving us very much kaylor if you ask me. sunshine babey. i can’t even fully analyze it because my dumb bisexual brain just becomes tv static. however, it implies that kaylor will never be an official thing but they’ll keep coming back to each other as friends, hence “never give you peace.” also completely unrelated but the line “clowns to the West” LMAOAKSDNWN ROAST THEM SIS.

hoax: our girl is back. not taylor, the same narrator from all those other songs. this is her final take on james leaving her for betty until the 1, years later.

okay, if you’re still here, buckle up bc here’s the full story in order. august: our girl and james are in love in the summer. everything is cute and good but looking back she sees the trouble on the horizon. illicit affairs: james gets with betty but is still fuckin around with our girl on the side. the line about lies and lies implies that he said betty was the side girl and she believed and cared about him enough to stay while he’s really falling in love with betty and she ignores all the signs that she’s actually the other woman. between this song and betty, betty finds out about our girl and breaks up with james. betty: james realizes he loves betty instead of our girl and is apologizing (and making excuses) on her porch. betty’s a dumb bitch so she forgives him and they get back together. hoax: our girl is in absolute despair over james, who she trusted and loved with all her heart only for him to run off with betty. the 1: despite being the first song on the album, it’s the conclusion to the love triangle’s story. our girl is years older and more mature, looking back on her summer with james and understanding that he couldn’t control his falling out of love with her but appreciating the time they had together. flashes of the sadness from hoax come back, but she always switches it back to the positive. in conclusion, chronological order of the story is: august, illicit affairs, betty, hoax, the 1. and scene.

here’s my potentially hot take and explanation why i don’t think this album is about karlie: doubting taylor and joe’s relationship in favor of shipping kaylor is biphobic, especially after seven on this album basically confirms taylor has had crushes on girls/is bi. it’s one thing to speculate about the past or hope for them to get together, but ignoring the times taylor has gone on record saying that she loves joe and the songs she’s written about him and the more recent evidence that the two are quarantining together is disrespectful to her current relationship. the notion that she’s secretly dating karlie while letting her fans and the press think she’s with joe is furthering the stereotype that bi people are more likely to cheat or lie in a relationship and therefore biphobic. thank you.

anyway lmk if you want me to analyze the non-storyline aspects of the album! (or if you hate me for making it less gay lmao)

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subaruthegamer · 3 years

Text

About my OCs (Randy and Deacon)

Again, bear with me here.

Randal (Randy) David

“What’s rule #2?” - me

“Never *bleep* with anyone who’s bigger than you.” - half-drunk Randy - regarding why Jack effortlessly... 18+ed him.

Randal (as I occasionally call him) is from a slightly better off family from Hidden Springs, and he was born to parents who while idealistic on the outside, were actually a little bit difficult to live with on the inside. Even though is family life left a lot to be desired, in terms of education, he was attending some of the best schools that Hidden Springs had to offer. With that, his education did leave a rather bitter taste in his mouth since he had almost quite literally, burned his mind through everything that was asked of him. As a result, he now suffers from a mild case of depression which he hides even better than myself.

After turning 17, Randy had a tutor as a result of his rather intense struggle to keep up with everyone else. But he also started to notice an attraction to him (he was pretty much devastatingly handsome) and it started to get personal in a way. That was when Randy started to suffer a headache about his situation. Because his parents were quite uptight about him staying straight as an arrow, this was probably going to be the end (to him). So on the day he turned 18 after his high school graduation, he decided to enlist in the military. But he had to tell his parents about that and his sexuality. Rather than wait until everyone was at dinner, he waited until the night he was about to be shipped out to tell him.

You can guess how it ended for his parents - the bickering was endless.

I honestly don’t know how Randy pulled through with dealing with his training, but one thing I can say for certain is that while Randy was starting to get his body toned, but the one thing that I can say for sure is that he was definitely the smart one. This got him transfered once, and then again. Until he landed into Colby’s team.

It was a crush at first sight after all - Colby was big, bulky - but obviously, he couldn’t just say he’s in love with him. Until one night, at a barracks somewhere we will probably never know, Randy managed to sneak out of his cabin, and for some rather insane reason, decided to peep on Colby. Colby had just came in from some weight-lifting, so he was going to take a shower. So when Randy peeped, he was getting turned on by Colby’s big size and when he turned around, how large his... uh... right, keeping this safe for work...

Anyway, Randy snuck back to his cabin and needed a moment alone to himself because his heart was pounding so fast. The next morning, he was summoned to Colby’s cabin and sure enough, Colby knew he had been spied on. So inevitably, rather than give him a lesson, Colby would go with his “lesson” by clearing up his schedule come liberty day, and giving him something that was sorely needed.

When the day was free, Randy went over nervous... he had never had somebody this close to him... and when the door closed in Colby’s cabin... it didn’t take long for Colby to slowly strip him down and start his “lesson.” Sure enough, they were sweaty and layered.

This kept up for weeks on end. Working together and creating a formidable team of tactics and actual fighting with (potential enemies) they were literally climbing the ranks during the day, and being given lessons during the night. In fact it got to a point where they had been turned into the stories of legend because of Randy’s moaning.

Sadly (for Randy) it didn’t last, because Colby rather strangely quit his position after he himself spent 6 years in the military. With an address if Randy ever got himself loose, he stayed on - but while he was good over the next year with other people, they got transferred out because Randy wasn’t quite as compatible with others simply due to the dynamic that he and Colby had. So, he quit.

After that, he sort of bounced all over the country, seeing if Colby was there, hoping to hopefully continue with what he and Colby had - enter me.

Yeah, it’s a pretty good guess as to what happened when he finally found Colby. This was an awkward reunion for sure, since Colby was in love with me, and Randy was now... the ex.

Obviously with him sharing a room at his Riverview house (which I was still studying in college) this did have a few awkward moments - then it started going into a slightly strange stalker-ish vibe that was coming off. I was probably overreacting, since Randy’s questions were really sort of borderline creep~ish to the point where I had to have a conversation with Colby with regards to it.

“I mean, in hindsight, it’s not so bad - I have a feeling we’re getting somewhere.” - me

“It’s more of... will he do everything to replace you?” - Colby

And it didn’t happen. Strange as it may seem, it just didn’t happen. Despite all of it, he was still trying (a bit too hard) to try and remain upbeat about the whole ordeal, but it left me with the impression that he was a little cold with it.

After I graduated and got a job starting my way up with being an intern, Randy got a job as a filing clerk in the office. We started hitting it off as friends, and he was starting to have this sense that he wanted Colby, but he didn’t want to fight over what Colby’s mind up was which depressed him. As I was a former sober companion then, I always notice the signs that one may possibly start to need vices. The job he got was something to live for, but it just felt like he wanted more at the end of the day.

We had our fun, of course, as friends. Walks, drinks, the occasional shameless flirt. I worked my way up but then sort of stalled, which got Randy to catch up to being an intern. By the time I was given the opportunity to be a full-blown journalist, Randy was on the heels of being one. His comparison tests were unique in a way nobody has ever seen before (why, I will never tell you!) but we both got into our moment in the spotlight - I was working on reviewing cars, he was reviewing consumer products.

Furthermore, we also both got job opportunities in Lucky Palms - hence the move.

Which did leave one question - was Randy really going to try and shoot himself past me and into Colby’s arms? The three of us decided that Randy can be friends-with-benefits with Colby. Which meant that there was no relationship with Colby - it being over as Randy came to the reality that Colby was in love with me. But the occasional hookup would be okay.

Did it mean he can also sink his claws into me as well? (hehe...)

Deacon Peaks

“Lemme get this right - you got that tattoo to hide several of scars on your arm?” - me

“It’s not something I’m proud of.” - Deacon

Deacon has been through a lot. Actually, more than even I could describe. Coming from the slightly rough side of Twinbrook, his story wasn’t as fairytale as his blond hair and tattoos suggest. Deacon and his sister (who we’ve never seen but is mentioned on occasions) were born to a rather alcoholic father, who beat everyone on several occasions. Deacon sustained a lot of the injuries through school, and until his mother finally went to his grandfather, he was still suffering a lot which the school staff at the time turned a blind eye to.

When his mother finally had enough, his grandfather (who he called Pops) had the whole family (minus his father) move into his place and chased his father away with a shotgun. After that, at 14, he was starting to put the pieces of himself back together, but it started to take a domino effect on his education, since he was also bullied through school. Until a new principal came into effect 2 years later, the pieces he had allowed him to get by, but not get better. In fact, from what I remember about the conversations Deacon and I had when we were alone was that he also started an attraction to boys - who then also got kicked around for liking them as well. So, clearly, high school wasn’t exactly something he’s enjoyed.

That gradually changed slightly as he entered college - although it was still a painful time for him - even as he turned 21. Because Deacon was at a small college party, the temptation to drink too much was just there. I mean, everyone was simply getting too drunk to get comfortable. Even in this setting, the pressure was still on. But he walked away. And good thing he did, because hazing was a thing that occurred then.

Now, Deacon entered college with loans, so unsurprisingly, he did have to work quite hard through college. It wasn’t the most enlightening difference, but it was enough to live by modestly. He still had to bike to school, but it was enough to work and live by in a way. Although with Deacon’s athletic career - he graduated alright, but there is a problem: the amount of debt wasn’t exactly something that enlightens a prospective team. So after graduating, he held a few dead-end jobs before moving to Lucky Palms.

While looking through the ads list at the supermarket in Lucky Palms, I had advertised a room for sale (this was post-Adam, pre-Jack - draw your own conclusions) and, Deacon, ever the blondie, came in and was about to text the number on the ad. Sure enough, it was me. Randy had been living in a room on his own, and with Lucky Palms property values, renting a spare room that could be used could supplement what we paid.

Sure enough, Deacon was sort of back where we started until a team mascot position at the stadium opened. So he took it - but he was facing a little bit of ridicule from not being “from the bag - and probably rusty.” Obviously, he hid this from us until I checked in on him... and where I may have introduced him to Randy.

The two went on a night on the town at a bar, and Deacon (according to Randy) did have some degree of fun, but there was something missing. Now, when they got home with Randy (on the gray line of tipsy and drunk), Deacon decided that rather than carry Randy to his room (which factually was closer to the stairs than Deacon’s was) he would take him to his.

What happened during the night would be anyone’s guess (relax, nothing of a rather criminal nature happened), but when Randy woke up (unsurprisingly slightly hungover) Randy had been giving Deacon a cute smile while waiting for him to wake up. When Deacon turned around, his heart was beating quickly. Randy was still staring into his eyes with this cooling effect that apparently gradually got them to cuddle even closer in bed.

They spent the whole day cuddling until... Deacon made the first move with a kiss in bed. With Randy slightly shocked (and hungry) that Deacon wasn’t sure if he blew it. But Randy responded by kissing him back :)

This was a gradual secret until I accidentally got him and Deacon making out because Randy accidentally took my phone and I was going to give it back.

What was interesting about this was that they moment they started dating was also the same moment Colby proposed to me.

Randy was the catalyst in Deacon’s life, and soon enough, Deacon started flying up the ladder from being a mascot, to being one of the most sought after players. And before you ask - they’ve decided to be boyfriend and boyfriend.

#randy #deacon #character origins

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iamjustanotheroneshotwriter · 4 years

Text

I love you 3000 (Tony Stark x daughter!reader)

[Yes, I am back writing stuff. For, we´ll see how long I´m motivated xD Feel free to send me some requests though!]

[My Discord]

[3.7K words]

[Don´t repost on other websites without asking!]

[Commissions OPEN [via DM]]

[Warning: FEELS. Major Endgame Spoilers]

[Storyline: 13 years past Endgame, you are Tony Starks 17 year old daughter and attending High school. Since your dad died, you had to attend all of the annual father-daughter dances with Happy and people keep on bullying because of that. All you want is meeting your real dad. (Morgan does not exist, you were born around the time she was born)]

You sat on your window sledge, looking outside. Everyone in your backyard was dressed in black. Avengers, former Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents and a few people you didn´t even knew. Same thing as every year on your fathers death day. Your mum looks up towards your window. You had never really spent your dad´s death day outside and you weren´t going to start it now. You didn´t get why your mum wanted to celebrate this day every year anyway. You would´ve been happy with just a small dinner with only your family, instead your mum was hosting a party. You were so sick of people celebrating. Sometimes you felt like people were actually happy your dad died. You weren´t though. You wanted him to still be in your life.

You wanted to be like everyone else in high school. Even though you know it wasn´t true, everyone always seemed to have the perfect life with the perfect family in their perfect little world. And you just existed next to all of that. Hardly talking to anyone, just concentrated on school all the time. You were smart, but due to the experience of loosing your dad and the bullying that started all the way back in primary school, you had a lot of trouble staying focussed on your work. Which caused people to make even more fun of you. Famous daughter of genius Tony Stark isn´t even good in school. She would never live up to what Tony did. She would never be as smart, as talented, that´s just how it is. Her dad would just be embarrassed if he could see her, that was what everyone was saying.

And even though they didn´t knew what they were talking about, you felt like they were right. You created some stuff, but they could never live up to what your dad did. You wanted to be a hero like him, but you just couldn´t. The suit you build wasn´t as good as Iron Man. To be honest, Iron Man is a tough thing to live up to anyway. And you could never.

So, you were sure, this wasn´t a day, you should be celebrating. People should just stay to themselves instead of celebrating that Tony Stark isn´t here anymore.

You heard a small knock on your door.

“Come in,” you said, not even looking at your door.

“You should be downstairs. Not in here on your own,” you heard a familiar voice.

“I´m not celebrating the fact, that I don´t have a dad, Peter.”

Peter Parker, your longest friend, former babysitter and possibly the only person who gets you, walked into the room, closes the door behind him and sat down on the window sledge on the other side. You took a good look at him. He looked stressed, but if you were honest, there was hardly a day any more he didn´t. He was 29, had two kids and had just gone through a divorce. The whole situation left it´s marks, obviously. And during all of the, he still tried to keep being Spider-Man. But he´s been distracted. You can´t quite recall how often you heard on the new, that Spider-Man has been injured. It was really often though. You were actually scared you´d be loosing him as well sooner or later.

“You know, this is our way of showing him, how much we miss him.”

“Well, Peter, and this is mine.”

Peter stayed quite. And so did you. You didn´t knew how to feel, you felt sort of lost. It wasn´t because of Peter, it was probably just the day.

“You ever feel like you can´t live up to dad?,” you suddenly ask.

“I do. Sometimes I just feel like I´m supposed to be another Iron Man. But I can´t. I´ll never be him.”

“Feels horrible, doesn´t it? I feel like I´m always supposed to be like dad, but I can´t. I´m nothing like him.”

“What are you talking about? You´ve created an amazing suit, you are smart, you´ve been working in your dad´s lab so often by now, creating stuff. You are so much like him!”

“I´m stupid, I don´t even know if I can pass my SATs.”

“Being smart isn´t defined by your grades! I´ve seen you tinkering, creating that suit and talking to FRIDAY in a really smart way I wouldn´t even be able to talk to someone in. And I bet, you could do so much more, if you just believed in yourself a little more”

“I just miss him so much. I want him here, telling me all that kind of stuff, I´m sorry, Peter.”

You started crying. Peter tried to get closer to hug you, but you move away.

After a while of silently sitting in your room, you stopped crying again. You actually came up with an idea, though you weren´t sure, whether Peter would be alright with it.

“I want to see him. Not just the pictures all around the world, I want to meet him in person.”

“I know, Y/N, but you can´t.”

“Oh, but I can!”

Peter looked at you in confusion. He didn´t knew what to say or what you were actually talking about.

“You can´t. You´d have to travel back in time and that´s not possible.”

“I can though! You don´t have to pretend to not know anything, uncle Scott told me about the Time Heist and I´ve done some research. And FRIDAY has still got the data about the project saved. I can figure out a way to make the time machine work again. And I even know where the time machine is! I just never knew when the right time was. But now I know, it has to happen today, this is the right time.”

Peter stayed silent, thinking about what you just said.

“Are you in?,” you asked.

“I don´t know, Y/N, that sounds quite dangerous. You must´ve seen Back To The Future or similar time travel movies. Changing the slightest bit about the past can change the whole future.”

“That´s movies, Peter, time travel does not work that way! It´s safe, I promise!”

“If I die, that´s on you!”

“Awesome, let´s go!,” you exclaimed, jumping up from your seat.

“Right now?,” Peter asked, but instead of answering, you just nodded your head.

After you looked at your dad´s calculations about the recreation of Pym Particles, which were essential for a time travel through the quantum realm, you got into one of the cars down stairs. Your dad left you and your mum a few cars actually. You told Peter to get into he seat next to you. You were able to drive. Peter would probably say you weren´t really good at it, he was terrified he might die before even reaching the compound, but somehow, you got there alive.

When you arrived at the compound, you checked your phone. You were sure your mum must´ve texted you, there was no way, she didn´t see you leaving. And your were right.

Honey, where are you going?

- MUM

You thought about a good answer for a second.

Just need to get out, you

know I can´t stand dad´s

death day celebrations.

I took Peter with me by

the way. We´re at the

Compound, that´s all

- Y/N

You put your phone away again. Smiling at Peter. Then you entered the building. You were actually glad everyone was at your place right now, so no one would ever know, what you did. Peter followed you to the basement. You walked into the laboratory, looking if dad probably hid Pym Particles somewhere. You were really lucky, you had found just enough for the two of you to travel back in time and come back. But you had to create new ones after, it was for sure that at least Bruce knew about the Pym Particles and would know what happened, when he realized they were gone. But for now, that didn´t matter. You took all four of them and walked down to a locked room.

“Well, I guess this is over then, we can´t get in there, Doctor Banner must´ve locked it,” Peter said, already turning around.

“Scared, aren´t we?,” you joked, before pulling out a key.

“Locked doors have never been an issue, you out of all the people should´ve known that, Peter!”

He turned back to you rolling his eyes. You could tell he didn´t want to do this, but he had no choice but to join in or stay in the room and wait for you. Because you were going and he knew there was no way around it.

Peter followed you into the small room. Only GPS to activate the suit and the machine itself was in that room.

“I told you, I know where it is,” you said, smiling at your companion.

“Suit up, we´ve got a big journey ahead!,” you add before typing something into the GPS.

You hand it to Peter and he looks at it in slight confusion.

“You should know how dad´s nano tech works. Put it around your hand and tighten it! Then just press the button. I´ve set the timer already.”

Peter did as told and so did you. The suit materializes around both your bodies within seconds. Then you hand two of the vile with the Pym Particles to Peter.

“There is a compartment in your suit. Just put the viles in.”

Again Peter just followed your instructions.

Suddenly, Peter stopped, looking at you: “Y/N, I really don´t know if this is actually a good idea to be honest.”

“You can either join me or let me go on my own, I´m meeting my dad today!”

With that, you step to the remote pad, putting in some stuff, before stepping onto the machine. The machine powers up.

You look at Peter: “Are you coming or not?”

Peter struggles for a second, but then he steps onto the machine: “Let´s do this!”

Travelling through time was probably the worst thing you´ve ever felt. Your surroundings were crushing you, everything was spinning and you really felt like throwing up. And landing gracefully was the other thing that wasn´t really the way you expected it to be. You fell over as soon as your feet touched the ground. But at least Peter wasn´t really doing better.

“Where are we? I can´t see anything,” Peter asked.

You looked around. Itwas night time, but you knew the place. You were exactly were you wanted to be. Everything worked out the way you wanted it to work out.

“In the forest by the cabin. I remember this day vividly. It´s just shortly before dad goes on the time heist to save everyone. During the day, dad was playing hero with me outside, but then some of the Avengers came over talking to him about something. The time heist actually, but I didn´t knew that back then. At night time, he started figuring stuff out. I couldn´t really sleep, so we were downstairs in his workshop eating ice cream before I went to bed. I should be in bed by this time, but dad is still awake. This is like the only day with him I can remember this well. So come on, let´s meet my dad!”

Peter nodded. There was no going back any more anyway. The two of you walked over to the cabin. Only one light was still on, near the garage. You went over to the flowerpot where a spare key was hidden in and unlock the door.

“Looked doors are actually never a issue around you,” Peter laughed quietly, trying not to wake someone up.

“Told you so!”

The two of you entered the house and walked into your dad´s workshop. You had a weird feeling in your stomach before entering the workshop and you felt tears in your eyes. You hesitate. You were about to meet your dad, but at the same time you were scared. What if he hated the way you turned out to be? You couldn´t even blame him for doing so, he would be right.

“Are you alright?,” Peter whispered.

You nodded and took a deep breath. Then you opened a door. A man with grey hair jumped at the squeaking noise the door made and looked at the two of you. Shook was written all over his face in capital letters. He did have tears in his eyes. And so did you. Your dad was standing there, right in front of you and alive.

“Peter? This can´t be! You´re dead, you disintegrated in my arms, this can´t be!,” he exclaimed.

His voice. You haven´t heard it in ages only on record, but it sounded so familiar, like he´s always been there.

“I´m here. But not really. It´s complicated, Mister Stark,” Peter tried to explain.

Before he could continue, your dad had come over and pulled him into a hug. It hurt you a little, that he behaved like Peter was his son, but didn´t recognized you, but obviously, he couldn´t. The version of you that was upstairs asleep was 4 years old. And you did change a lot over the years.

“And who is this beautiful young lady? You look familiar,” your dad then said towards you.

“I- Dad,” you just managed to say.

He looked at you for a second before he recognized you. He starts crying and starts hugging you.

“Y/N? Look at you! You´ve grown so much and you´re so pretty! You look so much like your mum!”

Now you join in on his crying. You clinged to him and never wanted to let him go again. So for a couple of minutes you just stood there and cried.

“So, time travel does actually work? Lang has not gone insane?,” your dad asked.

You nodded: “Yes, dad, yes, it works! And you will save the planet, everyone is back, Thanos is gone.”

“So why are you here then? It sound´s pretty good!”

“Well-,” you stop.

How to tell your own dad that you wanted to see him, because he died saving the planet. That you missed him. You started crying a little bit again.

“I-,” your dad stopped and looked at you for a second.

“I didn´t make it, right? I died,” he then finished.

You nodded and your dad started hugging you again.

“I´m so sorry,” he said quietly.

You took a step back: “It´s not your fault.”

Your dad looked towards Peter: “There is some ice cream in the kitchen, if you wanted some. I´m just gonna go outside with Y/N, I really want to talk to her in private.”

Peter nodded and left the room while you and your dad left the workshop through a door straight to the outside. Your dad walked with you towards the lake and then slightly into the forest til he reached a tree that fell over into the water. You knew this place better than anything, it´s always been your favourite place. You always used to come here when you didn´t feel well or just needed a time-out.

“This is one of my favourite places. I always imagined that one day, we´d sit here, talking about your first invention, planning things, looking online for the most beautiful prom dress or talking about your first boyfriend. We could´ve build Iron Man suits together and maybe even a suit for you and I could´ve taught you everything I knew. And for sure that two of us would´ve skipped a lot of dinners to get Cheeseburgers,” your dad imagined.

You tried your best not start crying again: “This is actually my favourite spot as well. I always come here if I need to calm down and to think about things.”

“Which probably rarely even happens. You´re for sure top of your class and people like you and you´ve got a lot of friends, don´t you?”

“Actually not. It´s just all so complicated. I got bullied since I started school. Everyone had basically their perfect little family. Girls went to father daughter dances with their dads, had their dads at school to introduce their job and got picked up by them. I went to father daughter dances with happy, mum always told about the company at school and I always had one of the Avengers picking me up and people just hated me for all of that and wouldn´t talk to me.”

You really wanted to cry again, but you couldn´t.

“I´m so sorry, I never wanted this to happen to you! But most families are dysfunctional, but who can say that the Avengers are their family. Even if it´s hard, I´d say you´re pretty lucky. Your mother is amazing and so are the Avengers. Even Steve though we fought a lot.”

“Steve isn´t with us any more. After your death, he travelled back in time to bring back the stones. He decided to stay with Peggy, he didn´t came back. In the end, he was dying because of his age. I think he had a really good life though.”

“So he did, what I told him to. Actually, I´m glad to hear that.”

“The thing is just I always felt out of place. My grades slipped and by now everyone is just telling me how embarrassed you would be, if you could see me now and how lucky I am that you can´t. They keep calling me a disgrace for the Stark family.”

“You´re everything but that! Just look at you! I couldn´t be any prouder! Life doesn´t depend on grades or likes and I love you just the way you are!”

You started crying a little bit again.

“Dad, I´m proud of you too. You saved everyone. You are the hero who ended up saving the world. And you died saving it.”

“I´d do everything to make the world safe for my daughter!”

“You didn´t just do it for me, did you? It was for him too,” you said, looking towards the house.

Your dad nodded: “Peter is like a son to me.”

“He has always been like a brother to me. He always tried to be there for me.”

“I want to make the world safer too, dad, to be honest. I´ve been trying to build a suit, but I feel like everyone is expecting me to live up to you.”

“You can´t, honey. No one can. And I don´t want you. The world doesn´t need another Tony Stark. Now what the world needs is a Y/N Stark. And I know you´ll be doing just amazing! And honestly, I would´ve loved to build a suit together with you! Tony and Y/N Stark! The perfect team I´d imagine.”

You smiled a little: “Actually, I´ve got my suit here right now.”

Your dad look at you and you double tapped your watch. The suit started building up around you.

“Nano Tech, I love it!,” your dad exclaimed.

“I guess I learned from the best!”

You and your dad discussed your suit for a little time and he gave you a lot of good advise you wanted to use to make your suit even better.

“I can see it right in front of me: Y/N Stark, the best hero the world has ever seen!”

“You know, mum is gonna kill me, if I started being a hero.”

Your dad nodded.

“Dad, I think Peter and I should head back. It was so good meeting you though. Dad, I love you so much,” you said a little bit sad and got up.

“I love you 3000!,” your dad answered.

“Yeah dad, I love you 3000!”

Silently the two of you walked back to the house. Peter was already sitting outside waiting for you.

“Ready to go?,” he asked.

You shook your head: “To be honest, not really, but I know we can´t stay, so yes, I am ready I think.”

Your dad hugged Peter first: “Promise me, you keep on taking good care of my daughter!”

Peter nodded in response: “Always, Mister Stark!”

Then your dad hugged you. You started crying again, you didn´t want to say goodbye. But you had no choice, even though, this was going to be really hard.

“You´ll be alright! I´m so proud of you and I´ll be watching you from beyond, always keeping you safe,” he said.

“I love you 3000, Dad!,” you said again before letting go of him.

Peter took you hand. Together you pushed the button on your GPS, having the time travel suits building up around you again. You wave one last time, before travelling back to the future.

Again, you had problems landing on your feet and landed on the floor instead. You were still crying and Peter started hugging you until you stopped. Since no time passed, you suggested you´d go back to the cabin. You were suddenly in the mood joining the celebrations of your dad´s death day. He so deserved to be praised and celebrated, he was an amazing person.

“I´m glad we did that, Peter. I feel so much better now!”

At night time, after everyone left, you and your mum were sitting in the living room next to the fire. You have been talking all evening about your dad and you were really happy about it.

“What caused this sudden change of mind?,” your mum asked after a while.

You didn´t have to think about what you wanted to answer: “I had a vision. I´ve seen dad. And I´ve seen what an amazing man he is. I realized that he´s worth celebrating!”

“I´m proud of you, honey!”

“Thank you mum. I love you!

“I love you two!”

In the past, Tony stood outside the cabin, still waving at his daughter that was gone now. Just when he wanted to go back inside, Pepper stepped out of the cabin.

“Are you alright? I felt like I heard you talking!,” she said.

Tony smiled: “You must´ve dreamed. Or maybe, I could´ve been talking to myself, I´ve been trying to figure this out!”

“Did you figured it out then?”

Tony nodded: “I did. And I´m going to help the Avengers. I just had a vision. About our daughter being grown up already. I made the decision, I´m gonna be a hero for one last time. I want to make the world safe for her.”

“What do you mean by one last time?,” Pepper asked in a bit of shock.

“I dont want to continue this! For the family. We´ll be a proper family when all of this is over,” he said before kissing his wife.

He wouldn´t tell her, that that wasn´t the truth. But after seeing his daughter, he knew, that he left the world with someone really special. He would never regret saving it.

#Avengers #avengers endgame #tony stark #tony stark daughter #tony stark imagine #spiderman #endgame spoilers #marvel endgame #marvel #Iron Man #marvel imagine #iron dad #imagine #iron man imagine

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wildriverinthesky · 4 years

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LOVE POETRY

Darien knew what the others did not. Love wasn't necessary. He was one of the top ranked high school students in the nation, and he was already accepted into the best pre-med program in all of Japan. He did that all without help. Without parents. Without love.

His best friend Andrew was extremely aware of his feelings on love which was why, when they arrived at the Ancient Japanese Love Poetry section in their literature class, he began laughing. He knew what Darien's reaction would be before he even heard it.

Darien did startle him a little. His opinion on having to read the poems was that, "It will be interesting to see why people feel that love is important." Andrew chuckled, of course he should have realized that Darien would look at it as a social experiment.

After school, he sat at the counter of the Arcade and studied as Andrew worked. Never once did it dawn on him that he liked studying there, because it was one of the few places where he never felt alone.

Darien studied in peace, until Serena walked in. She marched up to the counter, and told Darien, "You owe me a milkshake!"

He rolled his eyes, and said, "What gave you that idea, Dumpling Head?"

She stomped her foot, and scrunched up her face, "You are a jerk, baka!" She huffed and added, "A month ago, you said you would buy me a milkshake, if I could make it to school, on time, three days in a row.

"It took you this long?!" he laughed at her.

"Baka! Yes, now buy me the milkshake, and I can go back to being popular over there, away from you." she gave him a fake smile.

"There is more to life than just being popular." he pointed out.

She rolled her eyes dramatically at him and said, "Not everyone can be like you!"

"Like me?"

She shot him an annoyed look, "Yea. Smart, good looking, and popular."

He didn't understand why his insides grew warm. "Aww, does Dumpling Head have a crush on me?"

With as much sarcasm as she could muster, she leaned forward and said, "Oh yea, baby. I want you so badly. My body gets tingly everytime you walk by. Now, send my milkshake over to the table. Andrew, knows what I like."

She stomped off, and he went back to his homework. He rolled his eyes as he opened up the Ancient Japanese Poetry book. He read:

How desolate my former life,

Those dismal years, era yet

I chanced to see thee face to face;

'Twere better to forget

Those days before we met

By Atsutada

He couldn't figure out why that poem made him so uncomfortable. He fidgeted in his seat a bit. He then slammed his book shut, ordered Serena a milkshake, paid for it, and went home.

It was two horrible weeks later that he finally couldn't fight it any more. He, Darien Shields, had actually fallen in love. And, he was completely distraught. He didn't have time for love, not with his goals. And there were times when he believed that was the real reason for not confronting the fact that he was in love with Serena. In the moments when the truth seeped in, and he was honest with how he felt, he knew that it was that he was scared.

He was scared that, in his life, love didn't last. It wasn't like it faded. It literally died. Leaving him alone. He was also scared that he had fallen in love with the one girl at school that wasn't interested in him. He had received enough love letters to know what a girl acted like when they were thinking of confessing to him. That was when he usually made it a point to let them know that he couldn't remember their name. The love letters had really tapered off after employing that tactic.

He sat at the Arcade and worked through his math problems as he listened to Serena entertaining her friends. As always, she had them howling with laughter. He even quietly chuckled along from time to time.

Andrew refilled his coffee cup and asked, "Okay, what's up with you lately? You seem off. I am starting to get concerned."

Darien sighed and calculated the risk of telling Andrew. He knew Andrew would never tell his secret. He just didn't like the feeling of being vulnerable, even with his best friend. He thought about facing his feelings alone, without any support, and he sighed. He didn't like that feeling either.

He looked around to make sure that no one was near and motioned to Andrew to listen carefully. "I have come to realize that I have feelings for someone."

Shock briefly flashed past Andrew's face before he schooled his features. "Who? If you don't mind telling me. You know I would never say anything."

Darien nodded, "I know." He then paused. He didn't want Andrew to confirm his worst fears. He looked around to make sure they were still alone and pushed on. "Serena."

Andrew had better control of his emotions this time. Truthfully, the biggest shock of it all was that Darien was admitting to any feelings. After that, it was hard to surprise him. He decided to give Darien his honest opinion, "Well, leave it to you to pick the kindest girl. Of course, when you have a crush on someone, it would be her. You have a knack for going after the best of everything with your apartment, pre-med program, car. Now, if you ask her out, people are really going to be even more jealous of you."

Darien snorted, "As if I stand a chance with her."

"Wait, you want to ask her out?" Andrew failed to mask his surprise.

Darien looked up at him in confusion, "Want to? Yes. Will? No way. There is no way she would consider dating me."

Andrew stood there and thought about all of the things that Darien had said to her in this very spot.

"You really think that much of her?" Darien asked.

Andrew nodded in response and said, "Maybe you should be nicer to her."

The next day, while Darien was studying, Serena walked in and skipped up to the counter. She took one look at Darien and said, "I need your help."

"And, what makes you think I would help you, Dumpling Head?" Darien immediately cringed and thought, Shit! That wasn't being nicer. He could almost feel Andrew rolling his eyes behind him.

He did see Serena roll her eyes. She said, "Because, baka, you just pretend to be a jerk to me. I actually need help and you haven't ever said 'no' when I really needed it."

Darien heard Andrew drop a glass, and it shattered. Then he heard him muttering to himself about being clumsy. He understood what led to him dropping the glass. She shocked him too.

"Oh, yea?" was his admittedly lame reply.

"Yes, and it's a big favor. I need you to be my plus one to a formal dinner Friday. My father is receiving an award for one of the photos he took last year for the paper. It is a big deal for him and his career. His boss's, boss's, boss will be sitting at our table for the banquet. I get a plus one and I need to bring someone who's impressive. You wouldn't even have to pretend like it was a date. You would just have to be nice to me for one evening." she looked up at him expectantly.

"So, you want me to dress up for a not-date on Friday?"

She nodded, "And, really, you wouldn't have to act like we are together. My father will introduce you as my friend, and everyone will expect him to do that. No one would expect you to even come close to touching me in front of my father."

"Wait, so everyone will assume I am your boyfriend, but I won't have to act like it?" he asked.

She sighed and rolled her eyes, "We will tell them you aren't my boyfriend, and they might assume otherwise."

Well, that sucked. He wondered when he was friend-zoned so badly. "So, I am there to make you seem smart?"

She rolled her eyes dramatically and said, "No, you are there to keep the son of my father's boss's, boss's, boss from hitting on me all night. Again."

Now he was a heck of a lot more on board with going. "Wait, he hits on you?"

"Believe it or not, some men find me attractive." she harrumphed. "I just am not the type who falls all over themselves for a rich, attractive man."

Andrew scoffed, "Yea, because those are awful."

She smiled at him and laughed, "Okay, so he has other qualities I don't like. I am just saying that I won't overlook them because of the money or his face."

Darien pried, "It isn't really his money though, is it? It would be his father's."

"Actually, it is. Right after graduating college, he got a job at a company that deals in logistics and transportation. Apparently he made such a good name for himself, he made VP in six months. I am sure having a wealthy daddy helped." she informed them.

Andrew's brows furrowed, "How much older than you is he?"

"Six years. That, being one of the reasons I don't want to date him. What successful guy goes for a girl that is a senior in high school? I didn't like his answer, either."

Darien wasn't sure he wanted to know, but he asked anyway, "What was his answer?"

"It was insulting, actually. He said, if I am this beautiful now, I will grow up to be even prettier. He then said he got to VP so young because he could see raw potential. He said we could go far together." she said in a melancholy tone. "I am not, and will never be, a trophy wife."

She huffed and stared at him when he didn't say anything to that. She said, "This is where you say, 'You wouldn't make much of a trophy, Dumpling Head.' I will call you 'baka' and then you agree to help me after I plead some more. Do I need to actually do the pleading part? Or, can we skip that, and pretend it happened?"

One of the reasons Andrew was Darien's best friend was because he had an ability to know when Darien wanted to be left alone. He proved that again when he said, "I have some re-stocking to do." Then he walked away, leaving them to talk.

Darien had to admit that the guy was right. She would grow up to be even more beautiful and make the perfect wife. Not only would she be lovely, but she would also be kind, gentle, caring, loving. The list went on. Andrew assumed he had a crush. His feelings were no mere crush.

"So, you are asking me because I am rich and good looking? You admitted as much before."

"No."

"Just, no? You are asking me for my help."

"You are also fun to be around. I would like having you there." she admitted.

His shock showed on his face when he said, "Fun? No one has ever accused me of that."

"You don't have fun when we banter? I assumed you did. I am the only girl you talk to after all. You would have to be getting something out of it."

"I talk to other girls."

She huffed and rolled her eyes, "I will amend my statement. I am the only girl you talk to when it isn't school work related or going to end up with someone crying in the girls' bathroom." He went to speak, and she held up her hand. "I know you aren't interested in girls." There was an awkward pause and she said, "I will amend that statement too. You aren't interested in dating right now. You are focused on your grades and your goals."

"Who said I am not interested in dating?" His brows knit together, and his fingers twitched.

"Your actions. I get that these girls that ask you out don't really know you, and you have no reason to say 'yes.' I mean, just because you help them with a question they have on their homework doesn't mean you are falling for them. But, you are more than capable of asking someone out, and you haven't. What else should I assume other than the fact that, if you haven't bothered to, you don't want to."

He snorted, "I do like someone. There's just no way that, if I asked her out, she would say 'yes.'"

Serena dissolved into hysterics. She started laughing so hard that she was struggling to breathe. When she calmed down enough, she said, "You are way too funny."

"I'm serious." He didn't really like his heartbreak being taken so lightly. Especially from the very one his heart was set on. Some of that showed on his face.

She looked him in the eye, and paled. "You're serious. You really are interested in someone." She took a step back and pulled at the hem of her shirt. "Forget I asked you anything. I will leave you alone."

She walked away, found a booth to sit at, and set her bag down next to her. He followed her over and sat across from her. "What just happened there?"

"We can't give whoever it is the wrong idea with you taking me to the awards dinner." she mumbled.

"So, this is because I am interested in someone? What if I told you I was kidding?" He wanted to make this right.

"You weren't. I saw it in your eyes. You wanted me to take you seriously. I do."

"What if going with you to this dinner didn't bother her? It won't." he was absolutely sure of that in fact.

Her eyes teared up, and she said, "Oh. Um…" A few tears had started falling down her cheeks.

"Why are you starting to cry?"

Raye was behind him and hit him in the head. "You get the hell away from her, right now. You can't ask her why she is crying after you said THAT to her! Baka, is right!"

His eyes grew huge, "What did I say?"

Raye yanked him out of the chair and made him follow her. She hissed at him saying, "You just said that she is so unthreatening to this other girl that she wouldn't mind if you went to this dinner with Serena. Is she really that insignificant to you?"

He hissed back, "Well, she is only asking me to keep someone else from flirting with her."

"So, she is asking you because you are impressive. You would say yes because she is insignificant?" Ray countered, glaring at him.

He sighed, and looked over at Serena noticing the booth was empty. He panicked, and then yelled to Andrew, "Please watch my things!" He then raced out after her.

He saw her on the sidewalk and yelled for her to stop. She did, and when she turned around, there were still tears in her eyes.

He let out all of the air in his lungs in a big woosh. He then said, "I can't do this to you of all people. Please stop crying. You've misunderstood everything, and I promise you that you assumed wrong. You are amazing."

She stopped crying and looked up at him with curiosity.

He rubbed his hands through his hair, and said, "I am going to tell you something that you have to promise to forget. I am also going to say 'yes' to this Friday, right now." He sighed, and didn't ask her for the actual promise. He knew she wouldn't be able to keep it. "I really don't want to tell you who I am interested in but, it is more important to me that I don't hurt you than it is for me to keep the secret. We have been friends for a while, and you are right. You are the only girl I enjoy talking to. Serena, the girl I am interested in wouldn't mind, because she's you."

His stomach instantly tied in knots. His feelings were out there, and he couldn't take them back. He pivoted on his right foot and walked back to the Arcade to collect his things including what was left of his dignity.

He felt a strong grip on his arm and turned. He was surprised that it was Serena with all of that strength. She rolled her eyes, stomped her foot, and said, "Baka, you can't say that and just walk away. You didn't wait to hear how I feel. Of course, the way we start dating will be with you thinking that you already know everything! Typical!" she huffed.

"Start dating?"

"You said you would go to the awards dinner with me Friday, right?" He nodded. "You implied that you wanted to date me, right?" He nodded again. "So, since I would say 'yes.' That would mean that we have started dating. Or, does that logic not work out? You are supposed to be smarter than me."

"Wait… wha…? You want to date me?"

She sighed, "Do you only speak in the form of a question now?"

He shook his head as if to clear it. "Sorry… I just convinced myself that there was no way you would be interested in me."

"Kind guy, always willing to help me, enjoys banter. Yea, there is nothing to like there." she said, dripping with sarcasm. "Oh, and wear a tuxedo. It would look good on you."

"Um… okay. Really?"

She laughed, "Are you back to speaking in questions?"

"Sorry, no. I am just a little shocked." he admitted.

She smiled, and it lit her whole face. "You really thought that you didn't stand a chance with me?"

He nodded, "You are perfect and everything that is good and kind in this world."

Her eyes misted up this time with happy tears.

He leaned down and kissed her, making her toes curl.

He then laced their fingers together, and said, "So, where should we go on our second date then?"

How desolate my former life,

Those dismal years, era yet

I chanced to see thee face to face;

'Twere better to forget

Those days before we met

By Atsutada

#mamoru chiba #mamoru #darien #darien sheields #usagi #usagi tuskino #serena #serena tsukino #sailor moon #mamoru and usagi in love #love poem #love confession #angst #romance #soulmate #true love #love poetry

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shemakesmusic-uk · 3 years

Photo

This segment features artists who have submitted their tracks/videos to She Makes Music. If you would like to be featured here then please send an e-mail to [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you!

Bayleigh Cheek

Dallas native Bayleigh Cheek began her love affair with music at an early age thanks to her immersive upbringing. Both parents were in the music scene, exposing her to a variety of sounds ranging from psychedelic and folk to progressive rock and new wave. Some of her personal music influences include Patti Smith, P.J. Harvey, Radiohead, and Angel Olsen. Those influences led to the creation of her EP, Immortals, that was self-released in early 2020 which brought her DOMA nominations for Best New Artist and Best EP. Her latest single is ‘Release Me’. "This song is about what it means to realize you've believed a lie, or false identity of yourself, and the process of becoming free from it and knowing the truth,” explains Bayleigh. “Growing up listening to a range of genres, from psychedelic and folk to progressive rock and new wave, ‘Release Me’ opened my eyes to the world of synths and everything electronics can provide to create a whole new universe of sound. Taking something seemingly fun and cheerful on the outside, and revealing something deeper on the inside. Before I started writing my upcoming debut album, I decided to be more vulnerable, honest and raw. I've hidden behind surrealism, which is still a big part of my art and always will be, but in light of the pandemic, I felt I needed to really let myself be open and not hide anymore. I'm becoming the person I've always wanted to become, and art will always be there as gentle reminders." Listen below.

Bayleigh Cheek · Release Me

Cozy Slippers

Cozy Slippers have released their first new music since 2019’s single ‘A Million Pieces’ b/w ‘Will You Disappear?’ (Kleine Untergrund Schallplatten) and the band’s tour of the United Kingdom. Like everyone else, the Seattle indie band had to adapt to the challenges of 2020 and beyond. ‘When Will When Come?’ is the first release to come from a year’s worth of home recordings done by the band. “We started from scratch. We didn’t have any gear and hadn’t really thought about recording ourselves before. It was so great to escape the stressful outside world for a while by recording and meeting on Zoom to put it all together,” explains vocalist and bassist Sarah Engel. While the band couldn’t be in the same room at the same time, they made use of samples from their prior recordings in order to stamp their sound and personality on the song. “We did whatever we could to get this thing recorded. Some of the vocals I recorded into my phone while sitting alone in my car or late at night when everybody else was asleep. It was a challenge to find space to be creative and alone time to make the recording happen during the past year,” remembers drummer and vocalist Barbara Barrilleaux. The track was mixed by Dylan Wall (Versing, Great Grandpa, and High Sunn). Lyrically, ‘When Will When Come?’ is a plea from one person to another to embrace life’s messy possibilities -- to live before it is too late. Instead of participating in their own life, the subject of the song stares out a window and fantasizes about pink flamingos. “I remember the first time I heard Sarah singing the lyrics. I thought the idea of somebody daydreaming about traveling to see flamingos was weirdly sad. Flamingos look cool, but the world has a lot of other things I’d want to see before a bunch of birds. It seemed poignant to have such a relatively small wish and still be unwilling to make it reality,” recalls guitarist Steven Skelton. Listen below.

Cozy Slippers · When Will When Come?

Everstill

New York-based alternative rock band Everstill have released ‘In Your Dreams,’ their first single off their debut album, Longing. Singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sara Aridi (vocals, bass, guitars, keys) weaves her melodic guitars and haunting vocal harmonies with percussionist Luca Bertaglia’s pulsating drums to evoke sounds that are at once melancholic and euphoric. The group draws from disparate influences and genres including grunge, indie rock, jazz, metal, folk and more. ‘In Your Dreams,’ recalls artists like Warpaint, Wolf Alice and Chelsea Wolfe. Aridi wrote the song — something of a seductive plea to an unknowing crush — in 2015. A year later she met Bertaglia while playing in an alt-prog band, and the pair reconnected in early 2020 to bring her songs to life. They found themselves working on their debut album during the pandemic. Listen to ‘In Your Dreams’ below.

Everstill · In Your Dreams

No Lore

No Lore is unlike any other indie alt-pop duo. It all started when Manila-based visual artist Tita Halaman decided to make music out of her paintings and poetry with her brother Jerald. As an artist, she wants to elevate her audience’s experience by expounding the message of her paintings through the art of words and sound. No Lore’s goal is to continuously release a new song with a painting every month and to publish a book out of it. The band name No Lore comes from the concept of having no formal studies in visual art, music, and poetry. Both Tita Halaman and Jerald are self-taught and everything is D.I.Y. from ideation to audio and video production. New single ‘With Little Light’ is “a song about courage,” explains Tita. “I believe there is no such thing as complete darkness to a soul that thrives to seek for “light” everywhere. With all that’s happening these days, I hope that we can still see hope no matter how little it may seem. Hope prevails if we believe. I’m a visual artist here in the Philippines and my signature style is writing poems at the back of my paintings,” she continues of her creative process. “On top of that, me and my brother Jerald are also into music - we’ve been playing together and learning different instruments since we were kids. No Lore is our attempt to create a layered expression of our emotions. I’d say our songs are my art and poetry, but in sonic form. Every song is inspired by a specific painting of mine and the latter serves as the former’s cover art.” Listen to ‘With Little Light’ below.

Another Nguyen

Ngoc-Anh is a Vietnamese German independent artist from Berlin performing under the name Another Nguyen. She has just released her new single ‘My Friend’ which was entirely written, produced, mixed and mastered by women. She says of the song: “I wrote this song after a friend of mine opened up to me that her long-term partner was physically abusive towards her. Hearing her story was shocking because I had always perceived them as a very happy couple. With this song I want to tell my friend and anyone who has experienced intimate partner violence that "I see you" and "You are not alone". Listen below.

ANOTHER NGUYEN · My Friend

Noni A.

‘20s’ is the new single from the Berlin-based artist Noni A. Written in her bedroom and turned into a chill pop production by her brother, ‘20s’ talks about the aspects in your twenties that happen in the background but are not often addressed. 21-year-old singer-songwriter Noni A was born and raised in Prague in a German-Greek household. In 2020 Noni A. released her debut single ‘Losing Game’, an acoustic pop ballad. Currently based in Berlin, Noni dives into a different sonic direction in her new music. Inspired by the sound of Jeremy Zucker, Audrey Mika and Quinn XCII, Noni A. blends emotionally honest and unreserved lyrics with a clean and minimalist chill pop production. With her new single ‘20s’, Noni A. takes a new sonic direction. '20s' dives into the chill pop scene, including lo-fi elements, more samples, underlined by a strong beat. "I walked into my kitchen one evening and had absolutely no motivation to clean it,” says Noni A. “Apparently when you’re 20 that becomes a regular activity (cheers to my mom for letting me live blissfully unaware of this and cleaning up my stuff too). This realisation of my day-to-day life as a 20-something-year-old turned into the inspiration of '20s'. This song talks about all those things that everyone experiences in their twenties that happen in the background of our lives: moving out of your hometown, adjusting to life on your own, procrastinating (if you say you don't procrastinate, stop lying) and learning how to use your washing machine (in my opinion a straight-up mystery)." Listen below.

Noni A. · NONI A - 20s

Chrissie Huntley

One of Bristol’s most promising new artists, Chrissie Huntley has released her brand new single, ‘Supposed to Be’. Huntley decided to use the time granted by national lockdowns to her advantage. Collaborating with musicians across the globe and transforming her closet into a home studio, Chrissie has spent the past year equipping herself with a brand new body of work to return to the stage with later in 2021. ‘Supposed to Be’ is the first of a series of single releases set for release this year, and is one that the Brit School graduate holds close to her heart: “‘Supposed to Be’ is one of the first songs I ever wrote when I was a teenager and I just got dumped by the guy who I thought was supposed to be “the one”. I think we’ve all been in that position where you know that it’s over, but you just want to hold on and pretend just a little while longer…” Recorded in Bristol with upcoming songwriter and producer Laurence Fazakerley Buglass, the track demonstrates why Chrissie’s effortless vocals have had such an effect on her audience to date. Working with rising producers Jon Will, Gabriel Gifford (Harvey Causon, Maya Law, Lucy Lu) and Peter Beckmann (Gregory Porter, Laura Mvula, Marie Dahlstrom) to bring the song to life; ‘Supposed to Be’ is the perfect balance of collective ingenuity, creativity and talent... mixed with the exposed, emotional honesty that comes with having your heart broken. “... It’s a very vulnerable track I suppose. It was very raw at the time of writing and I never had any intention of releasing it- it was more like a therapy to me than anything else. But, seven years later and here we are! Releasing this as an introduction to my new sound seemed like the perfect fit, as it holds the part of me that first turned to music at a time where I was struggling, which went on to become the entire premise of my musical journey..." Listen below.

Karen Harding

Weaving enchanting melodies straight from the heart, Karen Harding crafts, intimate heartfelt tracks that help us become ones with ourselves. The kind of one-to-one soul conversations that dig deep into our hearts and wake emotions once thought long gone. She specializes in helping people shed away their insecurities and finally feel again in a special moment of true authenticity. Drawing from a lifetime of experience, the Melbourne-based singer crafts bittersweet melodies that move and inspire. She gorgeously crafts an entire experience with every timeless track she creates. The emerging singer has just released her debut track ‘I Didn’t Realise’. The heartbreak ballad talks on the struggle of an earth shatteringly painful breakup in a way so intimate it feels like we’re right there with her. It’s a reflective song that navigates us through every raw emotion during the healing process; from processing the pain to finally coming to terms with what’s happened. Truly a breath-taking journey that will leave you with a deep sense of wonder. The song was passionately penned in the peak of Covid-19 on a piano she played growing up. Like much of her music it came to her very organically. She had the chords already laid out and the words just flowed out of her soul naturally. It wasn’t created with the intention of being turned into a record. Rather it was a simple moment of self-expression based on the way she currently felt. The result is something deeply authentic that’s oozing in originality. She worked with acclaimed producer Josh Hennessy of Pivotal Music to bring the project to life. He helped add the magic to this simplistic yet innovative piano and vocal track. Listen below.

KarenHarding · I Didn't Realise

#submission saturday #bayleigh cheek #cozy slippers #everstill #no lore #another nguyen #noni a.#chrissie huntley #karen harding

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dulcetminds · 5 years

Text

some (concept) playlists

find my spotify here ✨ & my fandom character/ship playlists

this page is updated monthly!!!!

💫 monthly, yearly & get to know me playlists:

monthly mixtape: updated daily and refreshed every month with no correlation to anything what so ever.

twentytwenty: a song for each day of the year

the soundtrack to my life

my favourites

pass the aux cord, fool: car vibes

🍾🌉 playlists based off cliché concepts:

coming of age indie romcom soundtrack: cigeratte burns on film, a first kiss that tastes like beer and chapstick, and laughter falling on train tracks

not another coming of age soundtrack: red party cups and the never-ending feeling of nostalgia

Mother Nature reclaims: a soft apocalypse mix

tragedy in the dark: set in the 90's, you're driving at night on the highway, passing under street signs and street lights that illuminate your lovers tired face as they trace circles on your thigh

rise up!: (a futuristic teenage rebellion playlist) you live in a world full of holograms and plastic food, the government is corrupt and somewhere out there is a bunch of rebels that are fighting back

an angels kiss in spring: it’s the roaring 40′s and you hit the town in bold red lipstick, curled hair, flared dresses & traditional swing

a wispy field of sunshine: there's something alluring about falling in love under the sun, sipping on raspberry lemonade & kissing someone who tastes like chapstick

the air is fresh out here: i am lost beneath the earth; dirt and moss fill my lungs and i cough up ivy and rose petals as the trees whisper my name so soft, it gets caught in the wing of a butterfly floating by

3am dancing with my lover: fairylights are hung low around the kitchen, my lover has tired eyes full of wonder and we trip over our own two feet, laughter pumping our hearts alive

the last dancers at midnight: my prom could have been better so we're gonna visualise it like a teen romance movie; tired feet, starry eyes & a tender kiss under the disco ball in your high-schools' hall

even my phone misses your call: 'hey, this is [redacted] please leave your message after the beep!'

you’re so nice to come home to: finally moving into a small apartment with your lover; succulents adorn the windowsills and you both have a love for vintage polaroids and dream catchers — a dreamers dream

I've been in love with you forever: best friends that live next door to each other & know one another like the back of their hand, connected windows, rooftop talks, sleepovers, & everything that comes along with we're best friends & i don't want that to change but i am definitely in love with you

found you in this life: my mother once told me that some of the people we meet in this life, we knew in a past life and it’s up to us to decide where it goes from here

raspberry stains: spring flings includes squashing raspberries between finger & thumb, and dancing under the sun

rollerskating disco rink fever: we're twelve years young & there's a disco ball highlighting our hair as we dance the night away & i'm pretty sure we've happened to scuff the linoleum floor

endless summer afternoon: hopping from shadow to shadow, blisters on our feet; summer, summer, summer!

summer ate me alive: and I want nothing more than to sleep through the next three seasons

ragtag band of misfits from the year ‘87: group of four trying to solve the murder mystery of their late best friend / everyone’s hiding something / he might be in love with the boy he’s known since childhood

[our hands are brushing against each other as we walk]: i want to slow dance with you in the middle of the street

hey, new kid!: its highschool and life is full of rumours and giggling girls & boys with sharp teeth and then english class rolls around ━━ and did the principal just introduce a new student?

🧚🏻‍♀️ specific concept playlists (mostly based on moments and emotions that I've experienced & can’t get over):

head’s a buzz!: stoned out of my mind, I'm pretty sure I met the girl of my dreams last night

I should be sleeping: but i am walking aimlessly under street lights trying to forget your face, your taste, your voice; with vodka stained cheeks and chipped nail polish

pity party for two: the sudden realisation that the future is scary and we're two lost souls stuck in love with people who helped us grow

we’re under the same stars: It’s talking under the stars till the sun breaks through the trees with him, who makes your stomach ache full of laughter and although the wind is cold against your skin and the sleeping bag is thin, he burns just as brightly as the stars in the night sky, and you want to exist between 3 and 4am forever.

I fell in love for one night: he kissed my shoulder & held me tight

moments left unsaid: I love every part of you when it’s loud, when it’s silent, when you don’t know it at all (basically falling in love with your friends in the moment over the smallest of things like the way they dip their head back to laugh or hide their smile behind their hand or when they slow down waiting for you to catch up or pull you aside to ask if you’re doing okay, etc)

angel in disguise: can angels fall in love?

skate park shenanigans: I spent a the hours 8-11pm at a skatepark with my friends and we don’t even skate but this is the specific energy those hours gave off

you’re dreaming beside me: & I’m dreaming of you

how to be soft, sad & content at 4pm

I wish we could live forever: knowing someone you love is gonna die is the one of the hardest things you’re ever gonna witness

remember when we were in love?: 2015: yellow. open roads. a boy. a girl. my house. high school musical. clouds. stars. a pillow. sunflowers. beauty and the beast. skype calls. a bear. / 2017: a girl. blue, blue, blue. / 2019: a girl. a boy. picnics. skateboards. burgers. your house. an empty promise.

the pretty reckless: my friends fall in love too easily

the ceiling is staring back at me: it’s 1am and I'm thinking about everything and anything

me against the world, vol. 1

me & my apathetic brain: basically Russian roulette with I’ll die anyway by girl in red & just a girl by no doubt

🏳️‍🌈🌈 lgbt+ playlists:

this is for the gays!: for pride month 2019, gay bops to rock your socks to

all I see is her: girls r great!

we should fall in love or something: just kidding... haha... unless?

I don’t wanna b ur friend, I wanna kiss ur neck: yeah, it’s based off I wanna be your girlfriend by girl in red & also my ex but we’re gonna take the former

please look at me the same!: my bisexual teen angst

🦋🏹 ‘old groovy, 70′s, 80′s, 90′s etc music’ playlists:

butterfly dust: old time music that goes together

groovy, groovy: 70′s, 80′s, 90′s

lovestrucklovestruck: nothing goes wrong when you live in your head

she’s gold dipped & cherry wine kisses

funky glow

🥁🍒 genre specific playlists:

metamorphic: rock n roll

devils advocate: it’s like white noise before you enter hell (mostly ghostemane)

you’re not indie till: you skate, own a pair of hot converses, have good fashion taste, drink ice coffee and and and

monsters live amongst us: hiding in plain sight, the people we call our friends / a horror pop playlist

hazy affection: anxiety reducing songs and study beats

softly, sweetly: relax your eyes & dream of simpler times

bubblegum pop: the radio is overrated but here we are

glazed eyes, cherry skies

darkness looms overhead

magic under fingernails / under veins

state of mind: kinda like rap but not, definitely an easy listen to while stoned

moon rockets: fly me to outer space where we’ll become another star in the night sky.

dream & folk pop

my dreams reach the stars: my mind is far away from here / starry-eyed and captivated

local neighbourhood party: songs I'd bang my head to at a party

heavenly hymns

fluorescent heartbeats

take me away, into the night

if you see me listening to this, look away: literally Disney musicals mainly Disney’s descendants & zombies

autumnal breeze: a mix of bedroom pop & 80′s tunes

blueberry feelings: is this soundlcoud or tiktok?

untamed glory: the songs dont vibe together as well as they should but i guess thats ironic given the name of this mixtape

all strung up: my favourite female pop songs & then there's sunflower, vol. 6 by harry styles

candyfloss kisses: baby pop

and that’s on tiktok luv: literally what it says

candle lit afternoons: candles + rain = a gentle quiet in it’s purest form

tenderness: soft, quiet, yielding; murmurs at dusk & the playing of hair

my bed is the warmest place: for rainy days & the chill in your nose

🚀🍁🍓 playlists to listen to when your doing this specific thing:

classic picnic bitch: (cute songs that give me picnic vibes) and we bond over a pack of UNO cards and strawberry-filled desserts

beach bums, baby!: a beach-y playlist

hotboxing ur friends car: get high w/ me!

🥺💫🌞🌻🤩🐝 playlists to grow & fall in love with yourself to:

falling in love w/ myself !!!!!: I'm still learning how I work

then I defy you, stars!

seventeen: I made this when I was seventeen and getting over my first heartbreak and realising that I should never wait for people who can only give half back

no negative vibes here!

💌💖 my romance / love centred playlists:

dancing in my room to the sound of you, you, you (middle school crush vibes)

love cluster: and i guess there are lot of love songs out there but there are also a lot of songs that aren't about love that got me feeling like i'm in love so which is it

lovelorn: (a unrequited love playlist) and we yearn for the hearts we cannot hold; lovelorn, lovelorn, lovelorn

our love has gone cold: I love & I loved

whimsical lovers falling out of love

baby boy blues: fell in love for a day with a boy whose smile is contagious and ever-lasting

you gave me panic attacks & I called it love: unsure if you’re in an unhealthy relationship? leave them.

regret in the simplest of forms: I could have loved you / I think a small part of me did

my favourite ‘what if’: soulmates who weren’t meant to be

seeking love among cruel hearts: perhaps we were friends first and lovers second. but then perhaps this is what lovers are.

it’s a long way down from your window: everyone’s favourite secret relationship trope

heartbreak hotel

i’m yearning for his heart while he gives me his body: I love you, don’t you love me too?

make out w/ me?: songs I'd kill to make out with someone too

miss you forever: sad pop love letter

I liked you better in my dreams: the idea of them has taken root in your mind and it’s much different to how they really are

little bit in love with u: alterous attraction? we KNOW her

drowsy cacophony of love

tracing you back to the roots of my house: I'm sifting through the memories of us, where did we go wrong?

love; a choice or a feeling?: and it is both I suppose, it is a feeling, it’s happiness and soft giggles, faint blush. and then it is a choice, a choice to stay with them or leave. it is a choice to not only love them, but yourself too.

tenderly, tragically: this used to be a collab playlist with someone who loved me fully and unconditionally, things have changed since, but this is whats left; it's our story compiled into a playlist

second chance at love: you make me hard, but she makes me weak

lonely in love: (it was supposed to be just casual sex but fuck, I think I'm in love with you)

silent lovers: skinny love (n.) a type of love where two people are in love with each other but are too shy to admit it

my first love: they say your first love never dies, and love, they’re right

my lover is a liar: victim to broken promises and false truths by a boy who died when he gave me his heart

love locket type of love: I loved you in secret !!

the charms of love: don’t fall in love with the moment & think your in love with the girl! (yes, she’s american by the 1975 lyrics)

almost lovers

💸💄💅🏻⛓ playlists that give off bad bitch energy:

rich girl$: my cash flow will never ever end

kiss the boys n make em die!: femme fatale, girl revolution, girl power

GIRLS. FOOD. GEAR: loosely inspired by people by the 1975

girl, interrupted

you’re like a rhinestone pick-up line: picture this — a girl with a hard attitude that you can’t just seem to get off your mind

back on my bullshit: just got my heartbroken; revamped!

👻👽 my halloween inspired playlists:

hallohalloween: basic halloween playlist

the fae know my name: humans beware the manic pixies & lip curling fae for although they don't lie they are cunning creatures with kind eyes!

frothy vampire chick meets soft green witch: red fanged lover & a green house full of potions, spells & succulents

sirens lament: sharp teeth hidden under a pretty face

murder at the casino: (in breaking news: monster hunters just cant seem to catch a break!)

the howling

witchy renaissance

fuckin vampires, man!

🥀 if I were series (playlists that only feature one artist based off something specific):

if I were to dance in a faerie ring to hozier songs: maybe I want to fall in love with a faerie and be under Hozier’s rule

if I were to live my teenage years to Lorde songs

if I were to get high by the beach to skeggs songs: BIG greening out energy

if I were to fall in love to tom rosenthal songs: tom rosenthal songs that make me feel like I'm in love!!

if I were to reminisce about heartbreak to LANY songs:

Hogwarts Houses:

🌻 Hufflepuff

🥊 Gryffindor

🐍 Slytherin

📘 Ravenclaw

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mollymauk-teafleak · 4 years

Text

A Little Bit in Love

Whitestone Academy is the most prestigious boarding college in all of Exandria, welcoming young men from high society families across the continent.

And, this year, Caleb Widogast.

Caleb is determined to prove himself amongst his classmates and show them, and himself, that he deserves to be here.

Percy de Rolo just wants to feel normal for a change, hard when your family owns the ground the school sits on.

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

I shouldn’t be here.

Caleb had hoped to feel something more than that, the very first time he crossed the gates of the Whitestone Academy. After how hard he worked to get here, everything he’d been through, everything he’d endured just to have the right to study here, he’d wanted something more than the crushing realisation that maybe everyone who’d doubted him had been right.

I don’t belong here. I shouldn’t be here.

The uniforms were a combination of slate and heather grey, as if to match the cold exterior of the building itself, the only colour being the ivy growing up along the turrets and the slight gold edging on the school’s crest adorning every blazer in sight. The school simply looked ancient, the kind of structure that had stood here amongst the hills of north east Tal’Dorei for millenia and would stand for millenia more, defying all kinds of change. Standing in the courtyard was like standing in another time, a time much further in the past.

But it wasn’t that making Caleb Widogast feel out of place. It was the other students.

Though it would be hard to describe the difference between him and them with words, it was so obvious that they could be different species. It was in the way they carried themselves, the way their eyes passed over everything as if it had been all set there for them, all of it a backdrop to their performance. Their uniforms fit perfectly, they held their bags over their shoulders carelessly, they stood tall and confident. Most were human, some elven, some poised between the two. There were even some drow, few and far between, though that was where the variety ended.

They came from money, they came from old families. They’d known since they could walk that this school, the most prestigious school in Exandria, with the most renowned magic department outside of the Solstryce itself, was the place they would be attending.

I really don’t belong here.

Caleb knew he was staring but he couldn’t help it.

He’d sat all of the entrance exams and interviews in Rexxantrum, the closest city to his village, this was the first time he’d actually been to the academy. It had taken ages to get here, hopping on and off trains across half the continent and in that time he’d thought he’d imagined every possible combination of plush carpets, brass sconces and dark wood panelling, leaving him nothing to be impressed by. But in the flesh it was still astounding, like places he’d only ever read about in books.

He took his acceptance letter out of his pocket and read it for what had to be the hundredth time. It was well folded, grime gathering in the creases from his pocket, from how many times he’d read it just to make sure this was all real.

Due to your unique circumstances, please join the Headmaster for a meeting upon your arrival at the start of term.

That last sentence, before the polite farewell, made his chest pinch a little. Unique circumstances. Caleb hadn’t been able to figure out exactly what aspect of him that referred to. Probably all of him, if he was honest.

He wasn’t an idiot. He knew he’d only been allowed to attend this school because of their need to at least be seen acquiescing to changing times. He knew he was a trophy. He knew he was a performance, designed so the people who ran the school could point and say look, our admission policies are perfectly fair. How else could you explain him?

They’d probably pause before allowing Caleb the designation of ‘him’, of course. But still.

Caleb told himself he didn’t care. He was here, after scoring the highest grades in the entrance exams in decades. And he was going to do great things.

The thought entered his head just as he took a corner and collided into someone.

People came from all over the world to attend Whitestone Academy.

Percy de Rolo could have walked.

He didn’t of course, he took the car. That was his compromise with Father who would probably have sent him in the family carriage with a full accompaniment of trumpets to announce his arrival if he had his way. Behold, the next of my line.

Instead he’d been able to look at least a little bit normal. Pretty much all the other boys had shown up in similar ways, a fleet of ridiculously fancy cars with personal drivers, enormous for reasons of showboating rather than to hold all of their stuff for a full semester away from home.

Those golden words, as magical as anything taught within these walls. Away from home. Percy clung to that like a talisman, the idea of most of the year out of the mansion, away from his siblings irritating him like sand in his eyes, away from the eyes of his parents scrutinising everything he did for flaws. A chance to be himself, to go to lessons and join the rugby team and sleep in on Saturdays and eat in a hall full of rowdy teenage boys. A chance to be a rowdy teenage boy.

Percy couldn’t wait. He’d been counting down to this day for years.

He’d just come out of a meeting with the Headteacher, a man he’d already met at plenty of parties at Whitestone. His face when Percy had explained that, despite the requests of his father, he didn’t want one of the handful private tower rooms over one of the two person dorm rooms most of the students would be staying in, had been a picture. But he’d gotten his way in the end.

Percy had a suspicion that would always be easy while he was here. The school was named after his bloody house. But he was determined that this would be the last time he’d do it, the last time he’d use his surname to change the course of things.

He let the heavy oak door shut behind him and started down the corridor, eager to find his room and meet his roommate.

He was already blissfully imagining the mess he’d allow to build on the floor when he collided hard with someone.

Caleb gave a very undignified yelp, his rucksack tumbling to the floor. It burst open on impact, scattering his meagre possessions across the hardwood, his clothes, his books, his toiletries.

“Oh gods, I’m so sorry,” he stammered, throwing himself to his knees and trying to claw it all back together, hoping it would give him an excuse not to look up and never know the face of the person he’d just embarrassed himself in front of, “I just… I wasn’t looking…”

“It was my fault,” a nicely accented voice answered and, oh no, he was bending down and helping him, please no.

Panic surging up like bile in the back of his throat, Caleb snatched his binder from an inch away from the stranger’s hand, desperately hiding it under some books.

Not that it wasn’t going to be around the school soon, he’d had that depressing realisation long ago. But he couldn’t have that conversation with someone he’d just ploughed into in a random corridor five minutes after he’d arrived.

“You can, um… I’m sure you’re busy, I’ve got this… “ Caleb tried to get out, in between chasing down his balled up socks.

“It’s no trouble. I’m Percy by the way, are you just starting today too?”

Realising the general rules of politeness meant he couldn’t avoid looking at him any longer, Caleb gave in. The word that instantly slapped him across the face was gorgeous.

He felt himself sigh on the inside. Was he going to fall into a hopeless crush with every single one of his schoolmates?

Well hopefully they wouldn’t all have such angular jaws, sharp blue eyes and soft brown hair falling into said eyes.

Though, even if they did, they’d probably be bullying him within the first half term. Which should make the crush wilt somewhat.

“Yeah,” he said quickly, after too long a pause, “Yeah, we must be in the same year. I’m Caleb Widogast.”

“Well, I’m glad to meet you,” Percy nodded politely, flashing a smile that Caleb was sure he was going to be seeing in his more hormone fuelled dreams.

“Good to meet you too,” he mumbled, the way he always mumbled when he was nervous, “I’m sorry it has to be...like this.”

Percy laughed softly, finally passing over the items he’d managed to gather up, “I’ll pretend not to know you when I see you next and we can try again.”

Caleb gave a nervous little laugh in return, following his lead, though he was more focused on getting his underwear out of the guy’s hand as fast as physically possible, “Sure. Sounds good.”

As soon as everything was stuffed back into his bag, he took off down the hall, mumbling something indistinct about having a meeting to get to which was, in fairness, true. He left handsome Percy looking bemused under the gaze of the portraits of former headmasters.

Percy watched the red haired boy go, blinking in confusion.

His accent was different to his own, softer around the edges, an upward inflection. Less polished, less sculpted than the peers he’d grown up with. It stayed snagged in Percy’s mind for a long time after the boy himself had turned the corner.

He seemed younger than Percy somehow, even though they were apparently in the same year. His uniform seemed to sit too large on his skinny shoulders, tie done up a little too tight to anchor it in place, blazer sleeves coming a shade too far down his arms. He’d given the overall impression of some nocturnal animal startled awake in the middle of the morning.

His first classmate. Percy had been hoping to make a better impression but still, he seemed nice, if scared stiff of him. He winced internally, hoping that wasn’t going to be how everyone would react to him. He needed to get in ahead of his surname, try and seem normal and make friends before they could get weird about the fact that his father owned pretty much everything that surrounded the school grounds.

He hoped there was still a chance to do that. He hoped his family hadn’t ruined yet another thing for him.

Percy exhaled and checked the freshly printed welcome letter in his hand, with his amended room number. All of the dorms were on the second and third floors and it looked like he was in the very corner of the west wing, amongst the other first years. He mentally orientated himself and strode off to unpack and settle in, hoping idly in the back of his mind that the boy with the unusual accent wasn’t too embarrassed.

If anything, Percy was a little impressed at how many books he’d had for so early in the term.

Caleb still felt a little itchy even after he’d closed the door to the headmaster’s office and hurried in the direction of his new room. It was as if he could still feel those eyes on him, studying him like some kind of specimen, like a stray cat that had wandered in from outside and was a hair’s breadth away from being firmly ejected.

He was told flatly, emotionlessly, that he would change in a separate room to the rest of his PE class and that the only reason he wasn’t in his own room was because the school was at capacity, as if Caleb had some kind of contagious disease. He was told any drop in his grades, at any point in the year, not just around finals, would put his scholarship under immediate review. He was told if there was any trouble with any of the other students that the administration became aware of, that threatened the reputation of the school as a whole, there would no longer be a place for him at the academy.

And that he would be immediately placed in the advanced magic classes with the upper students.

The last part had been said somewhat grudgingly, Caleb felt.

He wasn’t quite sure what sort of trouble the administration was expecting, he thought bitterly as he headed towards the west wing, or how he was going to cause it. Probably by existing.

He chanted his room number in his head over and over so he didn’t forget it. Already, he could feel his palms start to sweat in his blazer pockets at the thought of meeting the boy he’d be sharing a room with for the rest of the year. He had a sinking feeling he’d cycle through quite a few, surely no one in their right mind would want to room with the scholarship boy from the back end of nowhere.

Good thing he didn’t have many possessions to move. Maybe he wouldn’t even bother unpacking.

Room 2.04 was the one on the end of the corridor, sort of tucked away on its own. Caleb could already hear voices behind most of the doors, laughing and cheering and chanting, the general celebratory air of the start of the school year and many boys’ first taste of freedom away from home.

Swallowing hard, he hesitated with his hand on the doorknob. Maybe his roommate would be somewhere else, off with the boys he probably already knew from a childhood of high society parties. Maybe he’d have a little lucky break.

Either way, the journey and the grilling from the headmaster had exhausted him. He wanted a bed and the only way to get one was to open the door and pray for a little luck.

He didn’t get it.

Someone was already sat on the left hand bed. Someone with sharp blue eyes, soft brown hair, neat circular glasses. Someone gorgeous. Caleb’s heart hit the bottom of his shoes with a thud.

Percy gave a slight, nervous smile, clearly trying to make the best of the situation, “Uh...have we met before?”

#here it is!#Percy de rolo #caleb widogast #trans caleb #percy/caleb #please consider leaving a comment on ao3 #boarding school au #critical role #cr fic

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purplesurveys · 4 years

Text

752

Have you ever had a controlling boyfriend/girlfriend? No, my girlfriend is super laidback and in fact she’s always the one encouraging me to go out and try new stuff with other people.

Have you ever written a love letter to someone as a joke? No but that doesn’t sound like a very nice thing to do either.

How many true heartbreaks have you had in your lifetime? In a romantic sense, once. I’ve had my heart crushed in other ways as well, like when a loved one dies.

Who last grabbed your ass? It’s definitely Gab but I don’t remember when that was. It’s been a while.

Have you ever cut yourself? Yeah man, I was big on that from 2016-2017. If I remember correctly I had a short lapse last year too, which is disappointing.

Do you get a 'Good Morning' text from someone every day? Not everyday but often enough. I like them; I do feel like I need greetings like those more so these days since I haven’t gotten to see anyone other than my family for two months now.

Do you have any gay family members? I honestly think I do but my family is so secretive about everything, from family drama to who has a terminal illness to sexual orientation. I will probably be the first one to publicly come out, if everything goes right in the new few months.

Where did you get the shirt you are wearing? I got it from one of the independent clothing stores in Feliz. They sold all these really cute tiny halter tops for only ₱80 each ($1.60)?!?!?! which was wild so I went ahead and got like four, and one of them is what I’m wearing at the moment. I’m so desperate to be outside, or at least, feel like I’m outside, so I’ve taken to wearing the clothes I’d wear in public right at home loooool.

Do any of your friends dislike each other? Yes lmao it’s hilarious. Andrew (who’s part of the newer wave of members in our org) has never been able to win over my OG org friends – Jo, Kate, Aya – so it gets super awkward when both ~generations~ get together in org parties. Since I’m everyone’s friend I always have to divide my time between groups or tables so that I get to spend time with everyone :(

Who is your last missed call from? It was from Angela’s mom, who called on the morning of my birthday to greet me. I feel bad about missing the call but you have to know that I hate getting calls from anyone other than Gabie, so when I woke up to my phone ringing I just rolled over to the other side and let the call pass. I did thank her profusely once I was properly up though.

Do you feel like everything is falling apart around you? This was me last night. As a journalism major, I felt very helpless seeing ABS-CBN get off the air at 7:47 PM and even more helpless when I saw so many people rejoicing over their shutdown, with absolutely no regard for the 11,000 employees who have just lost their jobs. Times have been hard enough in the country because of the government’s poor response to the virus, and now one of our biggest sources of news and information has also been silenced. It was enough to make me shut down last night and I just couldn’t do anything, couldn’t think properly, couldn’t even talk to my girlfriend.

Was your first kiss romantic? I’ve always thought it had been more awkward, but when we got to talking about it in the past my girlfriend apparently found it very romantic and sweet.

Do you miss any of your ex's right now? No ex.

Have you ever overdosed on anything? I have not.

What would you say if you found out your last ex was in a relationship? Look two questions above.

Who was the last person to text you before you went to bed? No one texted me before bed but I did get a text upon waking up this morning; it was Andrew. I’m guessing they saw that I deactivated all my social media last night because they texted their concern for me and told me they were gonna be there for me if I needed anyone to talk to.

How many chances do you tend to give people before enough is enough? One.

Do you know anybody whose last name is a color? Answered this in a survey but yeah, Maroon and Black.

What are you most likely to go to jail for? Ooh I dunno, I’m honestly such a goody two shoes skskksks. Does answering back to the police count? That’s the legit worst thing I imagine myself doing.

Where was your last kiss? Near my car. I was leaving Gabie’s place and she walked me to my car, and I gave her a kiss before I left.

Who was your date to Prom? My cousin. I didn’t give a shit about prom during my junior year since I was super infatuated with Gabie then, I was already seeing her, and I still had no guy friends, but because prom in my school was mandatory attendance I just pulled my favorite cousin to be with me that night.

Do you still talk to your first love? Yeah, I’m still with her to this day.

Whose wedding did you go to first? I honestly don’t remember since I was gotten as flower girl so many times as a toddler. I do have photos of being a flower girl when I was 3 and at least, that’s the oldest-documented wedding I was in. I don’t know whose it was, but it must have been a very distant relative since I only went with my paternal grandparents and absolutely no one else from my family, not even my parents lol.

When is the last time you went to the beach? Nasugbu, August 2019.

Do you ever feel like life is going by too fast? For sure. April was a fucking blur.

Are you ashamed of anyone you've dated in the past? No but my friends have always made me feel like not dating Mike was a bullet dodged. I dunno what to think of it though as I barely knew/know him.

What about anyone you've been friends with? Mostly no, since former friends were important to me at some point and to be ashamed of them is to throw away the good times we did have, but I do prefer to dissociate myself from Athenna. Her behavior has turned so rotten in college and she badmouthed Angela and made her miserable for a very long time; it’s like I have no clue who she is now. Apparently people in her school also think she’s a fucking weirdo, so that has just made me all the more confused about what’s happened to her through the years.

Have you ever made out with someone in a pool? In the sea, yes. Not in a pool since there’s always kids around.

What are you doing this weekend? Same thing I’ve been doing the last 51 days I guess: have late breakfast, take several surveys, maybe take a nap, continue my Spanish lessons, play with my dog, take more surveys, maybe meet some progress on my thesis if I feel mentally capable to work on it.

Who’s the last person that slept over your house? I think it was Gabie. I’m really the only family member that brings over someone at our place for the night haha, and it’s usually Gabie.

Do you still talk to the last person you kissed? Yes.

Have you ever kissed someone with a tongue ring? No but this did remind me of when I used to have a big crush on CM Punk, who used to have a lip ring hahahahahaha.

Is it hard for you to get over a lover? As a demi, I imagine it would be very hard as it would also be losing a best friend.

Have you ever had a best friend of the opposite sex? I wouldn’t say that. I have a couple of close friends though.

Was your mom ever a stripper? No.

Do you regret any of the relationships you were in? A little bit. I wish my first relationship with Gabie ended months sooner than it actually did. The last few months of it were just us beating around the bush and physically avoiding it each other in school; it was a huge waste of time.

Have you ever tried making someone jealous? Yes, that’s what I did when we ^ finally broke up. By the time we broke up I had long accepted that the relationship wasn’t working and I was already doing a little fine, and I was well enough to do stuff to make her see that she was missing out. It’s high school pettiness so I’ve forgiven myself for it lol.

Would you ever get a boob job? I’ve definitely thought about it but idk. I’ll have to be rich enough to want to allot money for plastic surgery because it’s not very essential for me.

Did your last relationship end because of you or the other person? Because of her.

Who is the last person you flirted with? Just my girlfriend.

Whos the most racist person you know? Probably my mom. She has said some eyeroll-worthy stuff about the Chinese throughout the lockdown and I remember she initially had a negative reaction to my cousin Joelle when she introduced us to her black fiancé. I do know she’s a bit scared of me because I wouldn’t hesitate to call her out on her racism, so thankfully her statements have lessened over the years.

Do people ever compliment your eyes? Not really. It’s not a strong suit.

Have you ever lied to your boyfriend/girlfriend? Eh, just about small stuff like lying about not being hungry.

When is the last time you saw one of your ex's? Gabie was my ex at one point I guess? I last saw her March 7th.

Who was the last person you hung out with? Also Gabie. She was the last non-family member I saw before the whole world fell apart, basically lol.

Which one of your ex's do you hate the most?

Would you be upset if you caught your boyfriend looking at porn? No. I never understood why it’s a big deal for a lot of couples and I’d genuinely like to hear a good reason why. We don’t watch porn together but Gab and I would definitely watch some on our own time and it hasn’t affected our relationship or sex life at all.

Out of everyone you kissed, give me the initials of the best kisser? I’ve only kissed one person and she kisses amazingly, so GAD.

Do you regret a lot of things you did in the past? No. Just some small stuff here and there.

How many people have you kissed this year? One.

How many people has your best friend had sex with? One.

How long have you known the last person you kissed? I have technically known her since 2002, but we didn’t know each other and become friends until 2011.

Do you think one of your friends is a slut? No. One of my former acquaintances was and I’m so not saying that in a judgy way lmao she can fuck whoever she wants whenever she wants, but I don’t really talk to her anymore + she’s no longer single.

When is your birthday? April 21st.

#survey #surveys

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solecize · 5 years

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REPLY 2009 ⠀ ⠀⠀.⠀⠀.⠀⠀.⠀(OR: 2009, YEAR OF US) — 004.

now playing: y.o.u (year of us) by shinee

summary: ten years ago, we found ourselves at a turning point in pop culture as the decade began to close. this was the year that brought the world obama, the death of michael jackson, and the highest grossing film of all time, avatar. however, in south korea, something big was brewing as well and it started off with infectious lyrics, colourful costumes, and sensational dance moves: kpop. the korean wave that started to build several years ago begins to find its footing in the international limelight in 2009. this was the golden era of kpop. this was the time of sorry, sorry. the debut of quite possibly the most different and groundbreaking girl group in korean entertainment, 2NE1. the rise of shinee, one of the most consistent boy bands of this era and beyond. the throne of bigbang would remain steady with their ventures into japan. and of course. . . snsd's gee that would solidify their place as the nation’s girl group and overtake their male counterparts. nothing can touch this legendary age.meanwhile, in the very city that milled and churned out these stars, eight teenagers were also coming to a certain close in 2009. youth was suddenly running out like grains of a darkened hourglass, as everything and everyone brought tension into their lives. where was the next step on their path? high school is nothing more than a cruel halfway point between childhood and adulthood, but this group of friends made the most out of it. after all, this is the youngest that they'll ever be. this age is the time where hopes rise higher than ever, where love burns the most passionately, and the desire for freedom expands the furthest. in 2009, we follow these teenagers' stories to the background music of the opening chapters of kpop's greatest legacies.but, ten years later at their high school reunion, where do we find them.

or: highschool!got7, dancecrew!got7, coming of age, school reunion angst, reader x ?

PRESENT DAY (08)

“Hey, what song is this?” Bambam was in the middle of drowning a champagne glass as soon as it was offered to him by red bow tied waiters with trays. The stereo system had been blasting the ever iconic ‘Poker Face’ by Lady Gaga before switching abruptly to a much more mellow tune led by a heavy drum and piano. The sound of the song filled the old gymnasium all around and generated many different reactions from attendees, from sighs to cheers.

Faces, both familiar and unfamiliar, began to slowly trickle into Haerin’s varnished gymnasium. Bambam and I remained at our assigned table in the back, but many rushed there, mostly for the attention of the famous actor. Half of these people didn’t even talk to either of us during high school, while the others were faces unrecognizable due to age or plastic. I bit back a smile upon encountering some that used to make my blood boil—I needed to let past prejudice die.

One of those faces happened to be Bae Suji, strutting in with as much poise as she had all those years ago.

I looked away, hoping that she wouldn’t notice me. “Sounds like SHINee. . .?” I said, unsure of myself.

“It’s Year of Us, isn’t it?”

Jinyoung appeared from behind me, settling into a seat at the table. He slid a shimmering CD case across the table towards us. I raised an eyebrow at him, wondering why he went back to the car for it, but then, I took a closer glance at the item. Scribbled with eight different signatures, I realized that it was one of the many mixes that the dance crew used over the course of senior year. I slipped it into my purse for later on, catching the look in his eyes.

Bambam snapped a finger. “Yeah! Hey,” he tilted his head at my brother, “how’d you know that?”

“They played it at our graduation. You guys don’t remember?” he said. The melody felt familiar, but the memory was so fuzzy that I couldn’t place my finger on it. Graduation was a day full of whirlwind experiences that it was hard to even pinpoint a singular one.

At that moment, the lights in the gym began to darken. The party was really about to get started and a round of cheers flared up, as the attendees raised their glasses. I felt a little bit out of place, watching others greet their old friends and exchange pleasantries. Maybe it was the inner hatred I had for other people, but I had yet to go out of my way to say hello to anyone.

Bambam seemed to notice this, as he nudged my side. “Oh, look who’s right there. Call her over!” He was referring to Suji and at that moment, I wanted nothing more than to fling myself into the sun.

“No!”

“Come on!” The Thailand native began to whine.

Jinyoung seemed to agree with him on this one. “Yeah, just this once. It’s not going to hurt.”

I wanted to retort a yes it will, but then she suddenly turned around. Our eyes met and it took a second for her face to contour into what I believed was faux enthusiasm, eyes wide and mouth formed into an ‘O’. I did the same, only my smile was spread thinner. I could hear her heels clicking even through the belting out of Lee Jinki.

It was as if she naturally drew attention like it was nothing. I noticed how people started to squint through the flashing neon lights from above, trying to make out everyone’s favourite Prom Queen. At her side towered a man with fair skin and blonde hair, sunglasses perched upon his face. The material of his all black suit shone under the light and seeing the way Suji dug her long fingernails into his sleeve, he appeared to be her date for the night.

“Suji! I can’t believe it’s really you!” I exclaimed, mustering up as much fervor that my body had.

Looking at her up close, it was evident that she had no ability to age. She still looked the same way she did when I first met her at the end of middle school, minus some baby fat in her cheeks. Suji’s face was fresh and glowing, free of makeup sans a swipe of peach lip gloss, and her light brown hair flowed in a curl to below her shoulders. Gorgeous, as she’d always been.

She squealed my name in response, pulling me in an all-too-tight embrace. “Wow, look at you! Oh. My. Gosh.” Suji started to shrill again and I attempted to echo her. People were beginning to stare.

“You look so much different! Did you lose weight?” Suji took my wrist and raised up my arm. “And your hair! I love the long bob, it’s so chic. You’ve gotten so much prettier since high school!” At the last statement, I was sure that I was going to lose it with her.

I looked around for help from my brother and Bambam, noticing the way Jinyoung was trying to hold in his laugh. “It’s nice to see you again, Suji.”

“Oh!” she said. “Right, it’s so wonderful you see you, too, Jaehyung—”

“—Jinyoung.”

The former cheerleader walked right past him and up to Bambam. Jinyoung and I exchanged looks, as I smirked at him. He polished off a glass of whatever drink he could get his hands on immediately.

“Bambam! Wow!” Suji pulled him into a similar hug, only it seemed like he actually didn’t mind. This was, after all, his senior year crush. “Noah and I absolutely adored you in The Shuttle!”

It took him a second to process that, looking between Suji and the tall man waiting behind her. “Noah?”

She giggled, as if she were waiting for that. “Guys—” she pulled the man closer by the wrist, “—this is Noah! My husband.”

There it was, her gloating point for the night. I couldn’t help but stare at the enormous rock that sat on her left hand, wrapped around the equally enormous bicep of her husband. A princess cut diamond ring with a rose gold band and smaller pink diamonds adorning the sides. No matter what she did, even the slightest bit of movement allowed for a beautiful luminescence.

“Noah. . .are you Noah Ward? The director?” Bambam gaped when the man removed his sunglasses. His face was tight and his body went completely frozen, as he was trying his very hardest to contain his emotions.

The other man nodded in response, a pearly white smile playing on his lips. “That’s me alright.” He held out his hand.

“I’M A HUGE FAN!” Bambam finally sputtered out and immediately took his hand in for a shake—or, several rapid shakes.

Showing no interest in watching him fangirl, I returned to my seat at our table, where Jinyoung already retreated to. He held his cellphone to his ear, appearing to be giving instructions to get through traffic to the person on the other line. I hoped it was who I thought it was, as our table of eight was barely full. As the evening progressed, I found myself growing anxious for the appearance of my old friends.

Suji followed me, sitting across with a glass of wine suddenly appearing at her hand.

“Oh, how adorable are they?” she cooed, looking over at Bambam and her husband talk about their careers.

“Just so sweet,” I murmured, not bothering to look as I rummaged through my purse for my phone. For whatever reason, that elected a gasp out of Suji and she squealed my name. “What? What is it?”

She grabbed my hand and brought it closer to her face for inspection. “How could you not mention it?”

My engagement ring wasn’t as colossal as Suji’s and it didn’t twinkle as easily as hers did, but the light glint couldn’t be missed. Sometimes, I even forgot that I wore it, since I never bothered taking it off when sleeping or showering. I didn’t plan on announcing it to anyone outside of the seven, so I remained nonchalant for the most part.

“Oh, well, yeah. . “ I trailed off. “We’ve been engaged for a while, but none of the wedding plans have really started. Busy lives.” The first part was true, while the latter bit I tried to exaggerate so that she wouldn’t feel bad about not hearing any word about it.

The story was that the two of us got engaged on a whim last summer without any idea of where and when it was going to happen. I explained that carefully to Suji, who thought it was just so cute how I was so spontaenous. It was just like us to do something like that. As of late, people were starting to bug us about the wedding, so we were trying to at least settle on a date. However, things were hard with our careers and especially with the news I was going to deliver tonight.

“Ooh, a ruby ring! It looks so, um, vintage.” She began to inspect my yellow gold ring, highlighted by a not-too-big, not-too-small blood stone.

“It was my fiancee’s mother’s ring.”

“Oh.” Suji cleared her throat at that and clapped her hands together. “Where did you guys meet?”

“Here.”

“Here?!” she exclaimed so loud that even Jinyoung’s eyes cut towards us in curiosity. “Wait! Do I know him? Is he coming tonight?”

Suji was surprisingly excited once hearing of the news, considering how little we got along in high school. I was taken aback by the fact that she even bothered with a conversation longer than a simple greeting, but she seemed genuinely interested in what was currently going on in my life.

A chair screeched and I looked over to see Jinyoung standing up.

“Guess who’s here?” he said.

MARCH 2009 (09)

Dad was almost always working the night patrol, so Jinyoung and I couldn’t see him during the day when he would be catching up on his sleep. This week, his entire shift schedule was temporarily changed, so the family had him during regular hours. We were sitting at our mahogany dining table one day with Infinite Challenge on in the background, while Jinyoung and I did our school work. Our father was tending to our dinner and mother was going through the bills that came in the mail earlier that day.

“Honey, where did you put the soy sauce?” he called out. He never got to make dinner for us and jumped at the chance to do so this week.

My mother replied, eyes fixated on the envelopes, “On the top shelf of the counter above the dish rack!”

With a sudden slam, Jinyoung shut his Korean textbook closed. He started to collect his notes and other books. I looked at my own sprawled out work, then back to him. We both started working at the same time, as soon as we got home, and yet, he managed to finish miles ahead of me.

“You’re done?” I gawked.

Jinyoung responded casually, “Yeah. So?” He noticed that I was still on the second question of my Calculus homework.

“You’re a whole freak of nature with that brain of yours, you know that?” I scoffed at him, not believing that we could possibly be related. Perhaps I should have been used to it by that point, considering his far more pristine report. There was also the fact that he was too many ranks ahead of me in school than I was willing to admit.

He pointed his black pen towards me. “Maybe it has to do with you taking, like, six breaks since we started.” I should’ve been used to it by now, considering in school, Jinyoung was too many ranks ahead of me than I was willing to say out loud.

“Like four, stop exaggerating! I needed to use the bathroom and check up on Facebook,” I quickly riposted and sent him a glare. Dad suddenly seemed to snap out of the trance that was watching his stew cook and poked his head out of the kitchen. I closed my eyes, bracing for the impact.

“I had to use the bathroom!” I countered.

“And check up on Facebook?”

The ruckus captured the attention of my father, pulling him away from his stew. He exited the kitchen, ladle at hand. A groan left my mouth. I could already feel the reprimand coming, something always being nitpicked at by my parents. I learned to tune them out, but it only backfired against me when they would realize that I wasn’t listening.

He narrowed his eyes at the two of us. “What are you two bickering about?” Dad noticed the way my school stuff was still messily spread out. “Are you having trouble with your work?”

“No,” I replied, a little too quickly.

Jinyoung cut in, “She takes a break every time she can’t figure something out to avoid it.”

He wasn’t wrong, but I continued to make sounds of disagreement. I could never figure out calculus no matter what I did. Math was never my strong suit and I knew that, so attempting the work felt extra discouraging because I knew failure was more likely. That, and my fan group on Facebook depended on my activity.

My mother peered at me through her circle glasses from across the table. “Cram school hasn’t ever helped you,” she said, “maybe you need a tutor, sweetheart.”

It took a lot of willpower to not slam my head onto the dining table. My bad, Jinyoung mouthed to me. This sparked a quieted discussion between our parents, while I watched the Ha & Su segment on the television. While it was true that cram school did nothing for my grades—most likely attributed to the fact that I often skipped or flat out didn’t pay attention—the idea of a tutor was not a fun one.

“It’s fine, I don’t need a tutor! I have Jinyoung,” I insisted.

“You’d sooner rake his eyes out than manage to learn something,” Mom scoffed.

Jinyoung and I did get along, as well as any siblings would, especially twins. However, we’d gone through this route before and quickly realized that my attention span was the same size as his patience, which led to arguments and insults galore. We were one in the same, except when it came to school.

Both of our parents looked at me, then at each other, then to Jinyoung as if he held the answers to the universe’s mysteries.

He started, “Well. . .” Jinyoung slumped in his seat and a ran a hand through his immaculate hair. “I know a few people. Hyoseop?”

“Ew.” I scrunched my nose at the name of the school playboy. Sure, he was quite smart, but there was no way I was putting myself in a closed space with just himself and I for any longer than twenty minutes.

“Jihyo?”

“She’s in my calc class and is definitely worse than me!”

Jinyoung didn’t look convinced, but continued on. “What about Yugyeom?” He raised an eyebrow at me.

That made my face curl up in distaste. “Yugyeom? Like, your friend Yugyeom?” I scoffed. “He’s a whole year younger than me!” Asking for help from a second year was nothing less than embarrassing and my pride weighed more than my need to pass my test.

He countered, “Yugyeom is also ranked second in his year! Even I ask him for help sometimes. He’s a genius and he’s a relatively nice guy.” If I hadn’t known better, I would have assumed that Jinyoung was just praising him because they were friends, but I’ve heard the same things said about him from other people.

That seemed to catch the attention of Dad. “Kim Yugyeom, right?” He chuckled. “The really tall kid from the dance academy?”

The memories of the dance academy were so blurry after leaving, but it wasn’t too long ago that it was completely forgotten. Mom heard about the academy from a client and immediately enrolled the two of us in after realizing that neither of us had a gift for the piano. I was convinced that she would do anything to keep us out of her hair.

We were probably around twelve at the time, when I was still taller than Jinyoung and wearing jeans underneath a skirt was considered fashionable.

OCTOBER 2003 (10)

Beyonce repeating over and over again about just how crazy in love she is was getting old. For the most part, I had no trouble keeping up with the choreography, but I didn’t want to be here at all. When the dance teacher called for a five minute break, I let out the biggest sigh of my life. That meant just another thirty minutes after and soon, I could go home.

Jinyoung quickly made friends with other participants in class and I saw how he interacted with one of them so easily in one corner. I made small talk with some other girls, too, but I didn’t particularly care enough to get to know them.

“I get that our class got cancelled and we got put in the beginner’s lessons, but stop looking so grouchy.” My brother tossed me a water bottle when he saw me approaching.

The male beside him flashed his pearly whites. “Hey! You were really great out there.”

It took me a while to search my memory, trying to figuring out if I’d seen this guy before. He was around our age and was taller than Jinyoung, but shorter than me, and wore all Nike on his body. Shaggy hair in the boyish and purposefully messy kind of way, he was cute. Cute enough for me to take note of him if he were in the intermediate dance class with Jinyoung and I, but I couldn’t recognize him at all.

“Thanks. Are you a beginner dancer?” I asked.

That seemed to make my brother burst out loud into laughter, while the other male just awkwardly chuckled.

Jinyoung replied, “Yugyeom’s in the advanced class with the teenagers.” He gave me the are you an idiot face, so I responded swiftly with a punch to the shoulder.

The assistant choreographer, Yeeun, announced from across the room that we had two minutes left to relax and catch our breaths. I took a swig of my water bottle. Yugyeom must’ve been dancing in the back, as I didn’t even notice him during the session.

“Uh, yeah, I am,” he said bashfully and swiped at sweat on his eyebrow. “I just started at the school early.”

“And Kyesang said that I can join the class soon, too,” Jinyoung added with a smug smile on his face.

I furrowed my eyebrows. “He didn’t say anything to me.” Kyesang was the head of the advanced class and constantly praised both Jinyoung and I. There was no way that Jinyoung got the offer to move up in levels before I did.

Yugyeom said, “You’re a great dancer, too. I bet you’d be able to join with a little bit more confidence!”

Before, I was rummaging through my backpack to find my second water bottle. My head slowly moved, my eyes raised to meet his. Did he really just say that? I wasn’t sure what exactly that was supposed to mean, but I saw the smile on his face and it seemed like he wasn’t joking at all.

“What, I don’t dance confidently?” Something about my stare seemed to wipe the grins from both of their expressions.

Yugyeom was beginning to stammer, then finally spit out, “No! I mean, yes! You dance fine!”

“Alright, back to your places everyone!”

Shoes began to squeak, signalling that the others were walking back onto the main floor. I raised an eyebrow at him, waiting for further explanation, but Jinyoung just dragged him away. That was Kim Yugyeom at age eleven, happy-go-lucky and playful like he was meant to be. Jinyoung lacked the stress placed upon his shoulders because of school. And, for me? I felt on top of the world, actually being able to be good at something.

MARCH 2009 (11)

Tracking down someone like Yugyeom at school proved to be more difficult than expected. For someone who was said to possess an abundance of brainpower, he was not in the library. He wasn’t normally found with the rest of Jinyoung’s dance crew for whatever reason. I didn’t have any classes with him, so that was out of the question. After needing to use Jinyoung as a middle man to get to the younger male, I figured out that Yugyeom came to school extremely early in the morning and that was the only time before the end of the day that he could be found easily.

I tended to be early myself, since I left home whenever Jinyoung did. However, the fact that Kim Yugyeom arrived an hour earlier than that was mind boggling to me. I didn’t even realize that the school gates opened at such an hour.

Jinyoung came with me, claiming that he needed to check up on some things for the upcoming Spring Festival as apart of his student council duties. That was code for ‘I guess I’ll be a good brother and not let you walk alone in the dark morning.’ He also probably felt bad for me, since he was the one who redirected me to Yugyeom in the first place, knowing full well how difficult it was to locate him.

Entering the school’s main foyer, I took notice of how it looked when it was so empty. The main administrative office was darkened and nobody was inside. There were no loud students blocking off the entrance, no nagging teachers—not counting the two first years off to the side playing on their Ninento DSis. They probably got dropped off by their parents on their way to work. Other than that, the floor was absolutely sparkling and the air felt peaceful without so many bodies.

Each time I ran into a teacher and wished them a good morning, they appeared startled at my appearance.

“Oh my goodness, I thought you were a ghost! Nobody is here this early!” My homeroom teacher exclaimed when I bowed to her out of nowhere.

Yugyeom was sitting cross legged on the floor in between blocks of lockers. I could hear the Chris Brown blasting from his headphones and he was bopping along to the rhythm. There was a chemistry textbook opened up in front of him and on his lap was a notebook that he was scrawling information onto. It seemed awkward having to just suddenly appear in front of him and I didn’t want to scare him like I had with the teachers.

I tentatively called out his name at first, but to no avail. I said it louder at least two more times, before his eyes flickered my way. A small, polite smile formed on his face and he took off his headphones promptly.

“Oh, hey there. Jinyoung said that you’d meet me.” Yugyeom gave a wave.

Approaching him, it felt odd having to talk and look down at him, so I leaned against the wall opposite from him and slid down until my bottom hit the ground. “Does that mean that you’re willing to help me out?” I crossed my fingers behind my back; if he rejected me, that meant I’d have to go to Hyoseop and I really did not want to do that.

“Yeah, of course I would!” That allowed for a relieved sigh. “But, uh, when’s this test?”

“. . . Three days.”

He widened his eyes. “Three days? That’s not a lot of time.”

I responded, “Oh, yeah. I totally understand! I’ll just find someone else—” He cut me off and I’d never felt so happy in my entire life.

“—No, no, no! Don’t worry about it. It’s just a little surprising that’s all.” Yugyeom scratched the back of his nape. “I’m just a little busy this week—but, not that busy. I, I mean not busy enough to help you.”

I nodded slowly, watching him flip through his notebook. He stopped on an empty page and ripped out a piece of the paper. I wondered what he was doing, but then he handed the paper to me after scribbling something down on it.

“Are you free today after school? I can help you out then.”

That was what changed everything.

#—— REPLY 2009.#got7 fanfic #got7 series #got7 #got7 scenarios #got7 imagine #got7 imagines #got7 x reader #got7 x you #got7 fluff #got7 au #kpop fanfic #kpop series

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mearcatsreturns · 5 years

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We Part Only to Meet Again, ch. 10

A problem springs up with Luka’s work visa and he is on the verge of having to leave the country. Abby can’t stand the thought of him leaving and offers a solution: a green card marriage. It might kill them both, but they're committed.

Mark's funeral brings sadness to our couple, as well as some old friends to churn up insecurities.

@somekindofflowergirl and I are back! This story is, as always, also on ao3 if that’s where you prefer to read.

And a quick disclaimer: We both like Carol, we really do. One of the things we love about ER, though, is that even the characters we love the most are very human, and thus allowed to have very human faults. Some of Carol's faults are on display here, but it doesn't mean we don't love her, so please keep that in mind as you read!

Ch. 10: Near Death at a Funeral

Abby leaned back into Luka, his hand at the small of her back grounding and comforting her. Mark’s funeral was...harder than she expected.

She and Mark hadn’t been close, but she hadn’t been lying—she looked up to him and saw a lot of the traits she wanted to have as a doctor.

And it was awful seeing how broken and devastated Dr. Corday was.

Corday was so strong and capable, one of the most gifted and empathetic surgeons Abby knew. Yet here she was, crippled by loss, held together only by the need to do so for her daughter and step-daughter.

Abby shivered, glad that Luka was a warm and solid presence at her back. Glancing up at him, she met his questioning eyes. She shrugged at him and turned back to face the funerary proceedings, trying to hold in a smile when she felt Luka kiss the top of her head.

Near the end of the funeral, she felt Luka stiffen next to her, but she couldn’t tell what he was looking at. (The perils of being short, she thought with a sigh.) Hopefully, everything was going smoothly as possible, for all their sakes.

Afterwards, they piled into cars and headed to the reception/wake. She noted with some relief that it wasn’t at a bar, though there would undoubtedly be plenty of alcohol flowing. Fortunately, she had Luka beside her to help keep her accountable. Reaching across the center console, she rested her hand on his thigh and squeezed lightly, hoping she could wordlessly convey the depth of her gratitude and affection.

He smiled at her and took her hand, twining their fingers together. “It was a good service.”

“It was. And Elizabeth seems...well, she seems okay, under the circumstances.”

“It’s hard. But it’s good she has Ella and even Rachel.” His reply was quiet, matter-of-fact, and her heart broke for him. He knew the pain Elizabeth was in, and his loss had been compounded by losing his children at the same time.

Pulling his hand to her lips, she pressed them to his knuckles. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. And I had my parents there for me. It seemed...I don’t know, I hardly remember the day of the funeral, but I’m glad they were there to see me through.”

“I am too, you know.”

Arriving at the restaurant, Luka helped Abby out of the car. She wrapped her arms around his waist in a quick hug before they headed in. “Ready?”

“If you are,” he said with a nod.

They walked in hand-in-hand. They had just made their way to the refreshment table when Abby heard a soft and familiar voice call out, “Luka!”

Carol. Carol Hathaway, Luka’s first crush at County, here in the flesh. It hadn’t escaped Abby’s notice that Luka hadn’t started showing interest in her until after Carol was gone. So now she stood, frozen in place as Luka lit up, beaming at his former maybe-flame.

He let go of her hand to go hug Carol, and she continued to stand there, rooted to the floor.

“I saw you at the funeral, but I’m glad we have a chance to say hello here,” Luka said. Ah, that explained his moment of distraction. “Are the girls with you, or…?”

“We left them with my mom, actually. And it’s too bad it had to be such a sad thing bringing us back out here, but I’d love for you to meet Doug. If you’re okay with that.”

Luka nodded, smiling at Carol before blindly reaching behind him. “Oh! And you were right, you know. About me finding someone. Ah, you already know her, but Abby Lockhart? She and I are married now.”

Abby peeked around from behind him, coming to stand beside him.

She wasn’t sure whether to be pleased or insulted by the way Carol’s eyes widened in shock. It definitely veered more toward insult when Carol’s mouth tightened and she raised an eyebrow at Abby.

“Congratulations,” she said, falsely cheerful. “Oh, here comes Doug. Doug!” she called out to him. A smiling man of average height with salt-and-pepper hair made his way over to them.

Huh, so this was the (in)famous Doug Ross, former heartthrob and heartbreaker of County. Abby supposed he was good-looking, but she was unimpressed when she compared him to Luka. Still, she pasted a smile on her face.

Glancing up at Luka, she sighed internally when she saw the mildly contemptuous sneer hidden behind the polite mask. God, she hoped he wouldn’t be a complete idiot.

Carol softened as she looked at Doug and took his arm, and Abby let her guard down a fraction of an inch at the sight. “Doug, come meet my friend Luka and his wife, Abby.”

Oh, lovely. Being introduced as a friend’s spouse and not one in her own right, or even as the person who had delivered their children.

Doug shook Abby’s hand first. “Nice to meet you. Your name rings a bell—were you at County back in ‘98 and ‘99?”

“Nice to meet you too. And um, kind of? I took shifts up in OB as a nurse while I was in med school. That’s actually how I met Carol.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah, I actually helped deliver Tess and Kate—how are they, by the way?”

Paternal pride exuded from him at that. “They’re great. I can’t believe they’re going to be three this year.”

“That’s crazy,” Abby agreed. Turning to Carol, she asked, “How are you liking Seattle?”

“It’s nice. The people are decent, and I gotta say, the weather has Chicago beat,” she said.

Luka grinned. “But what about the food? There’s not pizza like here.”

“Okay, so no good pies, but the rest of the food probably wins, especially the seafood.”

“That makes sense. I’m looking forward to taking Abby to Croatia in a couple months, the seafood there is amazing.”

“If it’s like most of the dishes you make, it’ll be great,” Abby said, smiling at her husband.

Carol looked between them, smile growing forced. “So...how did you two happen? It’s been, what two years? You were still married last time I saw you, Abby.”

“Well, like I mentioned a few times, it was nearly done. I was in the process of getting a divorce.” She had a growing suspicion all of the sudden that latter nugget of information hadn’t been shared with Luka.

Doug picked up his drink from the table and took a long sip.

“And I found out she was single about a month or so after it was over, right?” Luka asked.

“Yep.” Normally, she’d love to elaborate—their story was cute, dammit—but she was starting to get the feeling that no matter what she said, Carol wouldn’t be thrilled.

Luka, however, had no such reservations. “She had to quit med school, and when she was back as a nurse, I still let her place a chest tube, and Kerry was very unhappy about it. We were in the ambulance bay when she kissed me out of nowhere.”

“You were being so sweet and encouraging, I couldn’t help it,” she said, smiling in spite of herself.

“I remember how kind Luka can be. He’s lucky half the hospital hasn’t kissed him for it at this rate,” said Carol.

Abby gritted her teeth.

“Then we were in lockup a couple days later, and she asked me out,” Luka continued, oblivious.

“Oh, she asked you,” Carol said in a knowing tone.

Jesus. Did the woman think she’d drugged and kidnapped Luka? She couldn’t help her snappish response. “To which he said yes very quickly. He suggested that same evening, in fact.”

Doug finished his drink.

“Well, it must have moved quickly from there.”

Abby and Luka exchanged a look, not sure what they could share. Abby decided to bite the bullet. “We dated for about a year before breaking up, actually.”

In spite of herself, Carol looked intrigued. “Oh? But you two obviously got back together?”

Luka smiled. “It was a while apart, but yes. I went back to Bosnia and Croatia for a couple months, and we missed each other like crazy.”

“He got back and we just...connected again.”

“Marriage seems a bit extreme though, even if you missed each other,” said Carol.

Luka shrugged. “When you know, you know,” he said, looking down at Abby, taking her hand and bringing it to his lips.

Abby softened, the tension coiling in her back releasing a little. At least until Carol spoke again. “Well, that’s sweet. Unless congratulations are in order and you just haven’t said yet,” she replied, gesturing to Abby’s obviously non-alcoholic beverage.

It was a wonder her glass didn’t shatter with how tightly Abby gripped it. She didn’t want to talk about this, especially when children were such a sensitive subject for Luka. They hadn’t had a chance to discuss it yet, and she had mixed feelings about how it would be received, especially given that she needed to tell him she’d had an abortion before, at least if they ever broached the topic.

But rolling her eyes, Abby shot back, “This isn’t the 19th century. As you’re well aware. Even if I were knocked up—which I’m not, though you can join Frank’s club in doing a belly watch if you’re so inclined—we wouldn’t have to get married. We did that because we wanted to.”

“I didn’t mean anything by it, and you look great,” Carol said, rushing to smooth things over.

“Thanks, I think. So. You two married yet?” Abby asked, gesturing between Carol and Doug.

Doug nearly choked on the mini quiche he was eating, and Carol turned a mottled red. Luka smirked and raised a challenging eyebrow at Doug.

“Uh, not yet. It hasn’t been high on our priority list,” Doug finally managed.

Luka wrapped an arm around Abby, and she let herself lean in toward him. “I highly recommend it,” he said.

Susan made her way over to them then, greeting Carol and Doug with hugs. After a couple minutes, she turned to Abby, “Hey, could I get your help in the bathroom? Jing-Mei has that, uh, issue again and you remembered how to handle it last time.”

Since Abby had no idea what Susan was talking about, it had to be about something else. Reluctantly, she agreed and followed Susan.

Once they were in the bathroom, she couldn’t rein in her exasperation, “What’s going on?”

“I was just trying to keep you from challenging Carol to duel. We’ve had enough of that this year.”

Abby snorted. “Oh, come on, I wasn’t going to take one of the salad forks and charge her or anything.”

“It just looked a little...tense,” Susan said tactfully.

“It was,” she replied, sighing. “I don’t know what the deal is. I know Carol and Luka kind of dated before he and I did, but nothing much happened between them before she went to go be with Doug. It just seems like she’s, I don’t know, trying to protect him from me. He’s my husband, for god’s sake.”

“How did you two get along back in the day?”

“Mostly fine. When she found out I was a med student and not ‘just’ a nurse, she got a little bent out of shape, but I thought it blew over. We weren’t close or anything, but I thought we were on decent terms.”

“Yeah, that’s not what decent terms looks like.”

“I’d kind of figured that out,” Abby said, softening the snark with a smile. Susan was a good friend to her and doesn’t deserve for Abby to take out her frustrations on her.

Susan chuckled, then asked, “So is Luka always that oblivious, or…?”

“Oh my god, he’s the worst. Would you believe he’s actually gotten better?”

“I don’t get what you see in him,” she said, pausing, “well, except for the classic good looks, kindness, and being incredibly in love with you.”

Abby flushed fire hydrant red. “Is he now?”

“Attractive and kind? Duh. And nauseatingly into you? That can’t be news to you. And I still need brain bleach after catching you two post-coital last week.”

Shaking her head, she asked, “So...am I freaking out over nothing?”

“I really don’t think you need to worry about Luka.”

“It’s just...I’ve seen some pictures of Danijela, Luka’s first wife. Carol has the same curly dark hair, they’re both more...uh, curvaceous than I am, and it’s hard not to wonder, you know?”

“Abby, has Luka even mentioned Carol since she left?” Susan asked, exasperated.

“No…”

“I don’t know Luka very well, and I’m still getting to know you, but have you considered that maybe he’s not looking for a redux of his first wife? From what I can tell, he seems to like you. You’ve even said it, you’re best friends. Maybe his type changed, and it’s you.”

Abby wasn’t sure how to respond, or even think about it, for that matter. It was times like this where the secret of why they got married weighed on her. She wanted to confide in Susan, for god’s sake. “Huh.”

“Just some food for thought. So...once more unto the breach?”

“As long as Jing-Mei isn’t actually suffering from anything, sure.”

They headed back out, finding Luka, Carol, and Doug right around where they left them.

Luka smiled and reached out to wrap his arm around her shoulder when she got back to him, and Abby leaned in, hooking her arm around his waist. She relaxed at the familiar feel of him pressing a kiss to the top of her head. Maybe Susan was right; maybe this wasn’t a complete disaster.

Then he spoke. “I invited Doug and Carol over for dinner tomorrow night. We can do a nice double date, especially since we haven’t had a chance to celebrate you going back to med school in the next months.”

“You’re going back to med school?” Carol asked sharply, eyeing Abby with renewed suspicion.

Oh, screw this, she thought. “Yep, I sure am. Luka wants me to, so I figured I’d go along with it. Gotta be the good little wife, you know.”

Doug froze, Carol looked taken aback, and even Luka stilled.

Susan took a deep breath, and then blurted out, “Did you all hear that Carter and I dated? What a wild time.”

Doug and Carol just blinked at her, nonplussed, but then she dragged them away, telling them she couldn’t wait to tell them more, that they just had to find Carter.

Abby’s shoulders slumped. She was still angry, but now she had to face the music.

&&&

Luka was confused.

The funeral had been hard, even if he and Mark hadn’t been close. Seeing Rachel, the same age Jasna would be had she lived, always made his heart twist.

He’d been excited to see Carol at first, but it had been weird, to say the least. Doug wasn’t ever going to be in his good books, not after missing the birth of his children and most of their first year. Luka had been a little less than welcoming, but he hadn’t expected the real tension to be between Abby and Carol. That had come out of nowhere.

Abby was keyed up, though he wasn’t sure why exactly. Her brown eyes were snapping and throwing darts while her cheeks darkened and she looked good like that, whatever the reason. It was distracting. He couldn’t focus on what they were saying.

She couldn’t possibly be jealous, could she?

God, he’d had feelings for Carol, sure, but looking back, it was more that she was his first friend in Chicago, the first person who he’d connected with since coming to America. Yeah, he’d been interested, and she’d had a slight interest in return, though it was clear where her heart had lain, and it was never with him. It had hurt at the time, but then Abby had happened. He hadn’t even thought of Carol since. Surely Abby knew that. If not, he’d take her home and thoroughly remind her exactly where his interest was.

Luka was only half listening to Abby and Carol. He didn’t fully tune back in until Susan came up and dragged Abby off to help Jing-Mei with something, leaving him standing awkwardly with Carol and Doug.

“Well, that’s…interesting, Luka. I hope that your marriage is…everything that you wanted.”

Carol’s tone was odd, and he found himself wanting to prove to her how good he had it now. She’d been right that he’d needed someone who really loved him, and he was grateful she had done the right thing and left. Maybe Abby wasn’t 100% there yet, but he thought she was getting there. He couldn’t imagine his life without her. If Carol could only see them together in a more natural setting, she’d see.

The three of them traded a few questions about work, but finally Luka couldn’t help himself.

“How are the girls doing? They’re three now, right? Is Kate letting you sleep now? I remember what a hard time she gave you, that phase when she would only calm down for me.”

It was satisfying to see the amusement slide off Doug’s face at last. Abby would probably have told him not to start a pissing match, but he couldn’t help his disdain for this guy. He had left his children. He left Carol to take care of newborn twins on her own. Yeah, so Carol told him to go, but whatever. Luka would never do that, no matter what happened between him and Abby.

“They both sleep like champs now. At least, they save the screaming and running us ragged for the daylight hours.” Carol gave him a strained smile.

“Good, good.” He’d gotten that jab in and now he didn’t really know what else to say. The other two were shifting now, he’d poked at a wound, and he felt like a jerk instead of feeling vindicated. He looked around, hoping someone would come intervene. He’d even take Carter. Damn, no such luck. “So, uh…how long are you planning to be in Chicago?”

“We leave on Tuesday.”

“Would you, uh, like to come over for dinner on Sunday night? Abby and I would love to have you.” That might have been overstating it a bit, but he didn’t want to leave things like they were.

Doug’s smirk was back and he took a long swig of his drink before shrugging at Carol. Luka wished for some alcohol of his own for a second, but he didn’t dare. He didn’t want to make it harder on Abby.

“Uh, we…don’t have any plans, so…yes, I guess that works for us.”

They made plans for seven and Luka gave her their number to confirm the address later. Abby and Susan came back then and Luka smiled at her return. Whatever the issue had been, she seemed alright now, and he hugged her to his side.

Unfortunately, that was a brief reprieve.

&&&

They didn’t stay long after that, just long enough to make the rounds to give their condolences and greet all their coworkers. Abby softened enough during their brief exchange with Corday and Rachel that Luka thought she had calmed down. But when he put his hand on the small of her back, she scowled at him harshly enough to make him jerk his hand back.

What had he done?

An annoyed Abby would usually snipe at him or even confront him, but this time she was sitting rigid as a stone, staring determinedly out the window while waves of rage poured off her. He waited the whole ride for her to yell at him, to tell him what the problem was so he could fix it, but the only indication that she even knew he was there was how hard she was ignoring him.

Once they made it to their apartment, he shut and locked the door behind them and waited for the onslaught, but Abby headed straight upstairs without a backward glance. Luka took a fortifying breath and followed as she made a beeline for the bathroom and the medicine cabinet. He bounced on his feet as she took some pain pills and swallowed them with water from the sink.

“Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?”

He wished he’d kept quiet when she turned to him with an incredulous glare.

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

“Uh…no? You’re upset that I invited them over…”

Abby stormed off to the bedroom and he followed, hoping that was the right move. He was so lost.

“You seriously need me to spell out why? You’re really that oblivious?”

At his shrug, she groaned in frustration.

“Carol was awful to me through that whole conversation. She acted like I’m beneath you or something, like I had to trick you into marrying me because there’s no other way that could ever happen. And I’m supposed to invite her into our home and…what?”

Luka cringed. He probably should have paid closer attention to that interaction.

“I…I didn’t see it that way. I knew she didn’t approve, and I thought if she saw us together at home, saw how we are together, she might change her mind.”

“Do you need her approval?”

Shit, shit, shit.

“No, I don’t need it. She was just my first friend here, and I thought she’d be happy for me.” Apparently he was wrong there, and that sucked.

“She wasn’t really just a friend, though, was she?”

Luka rocked back on his heels. She was jealous. That was ridiculous, but also…kind of hot. He knew Abby had been insecure about Danijela, but he hadn’t realized she had possessive streak.

“She was cold the first time I met you in the ER, and I thought it was about me being a med student, but now…and then OF COURSE she told you I was married and left off the ‘soon to be divorced’ part of that.”

“Abby…” Okay, that was a little odd. “Maybe she forgot, maybe she was just mistaken?”

“Are you seriously making excuses for her right now, after how she acted today?”

“I don’t know, I guess I wasn’t paying enough attention. I saw there was tension, but your eyes got all bright and snappy, and that suit is…my mind wandered, okay? I didn’t hear everything.”

“You cannot be hitting on me right now, not after all of that and you making excuses for her treating me like shit and then inviting her to our home to do it more!”

Luka sighed and lowered himself to the bed, resigning himself to the argument. “I’m sorry! I saw it was weird and wanted to smooth it over.”

“Why does keeping the peace with her even matter when she isn’t part of our lives anymore?”

Okay, he had to know now.

“Is that what this is about—you’re jealous of Carol?”

As soon as it was out, he knew it was the wrong thing to say. Abby flinched and he could see the hurt momentarily, before anger took over her face again.

“No, I’m not jealous, do I have reason to be?”

He was pretty sure that meant he was right, even if that wasn’t helpful.

“No, I just thought—she and I weren’t even really together.”

“Well, that wasn’t your choice, was it?”

Okay, now he was getting pissed off, too. “No, it wasn’t. But I haven’t even thought about her in the last couple years.” Not since the first time Abby had kissed him, in fact, but he wasn’t clarifying that now.

“Okay, but you just…you don’t know what that feels like.”

“I don’t know what what feels like?”

He was so lost. This was why he hated fighting, it was never about one thing, it spiraled, and he couldn’t control it.

“Being jealous.”

Huh? Was she serious?

“Wait, what? You think I don’t…? What?” But he was the oblivious one? “Abby, what the hell did you think all the stuff with Carter was about?”

“I know you got annoyed because I listened to him instead of you, but…”

“Me being jealous was half the reason we broke up! And what did you think the fencing thing was about?”

“Okay, I guess I do know that NOW. I just..the first time we were together, I didn’t think you cared enough to be jealous.”

Did she still not get how he felt about her? Anyone who knew them knew he was head over heels. Hell, their neighbors, strangers, all knew. Everybody except for Carol, apparently, but worse, maybe Abby too.

It wasn’t the time for a love confession. He was still mad, and so was she, though her breathing had slowed and her shoulders slumped. But how did she not know?

“God, Abby, the reason I was only half listening is because I wanted to be with you so badly. How can you not know I want you?”

He had to show her. He spun her toward him by the elbow and she yanked on his tie until he bent down to kiss her roughly. The kiss snapped something between them, and they both turned their energy toward making out furiously instead of fighting. Luka pulled Abby’s hair clip loose and threaded his fingers through her hair, kissing every inch of her he could reach with his mouth as he worked the buttons of her jacket open. She pulled on his tie hard, and he was forced to duck for her to maneuver it over his head before she tossed it somewhere behind him, where it joined his jacket.

He growled at her top with the tiny straps, the kind that normally drove him crazy in a good way but at the moment was just another damn obstacle, before she huffed and pulled it off herself. As he fumbled with her pants—why did women’s pants have to have inside and outside buttons and hooks anyway?—she painstakingly undid each of his shirt buttons, one by one.

“Just rip them!” He bit out impatiently.

“No. I like this one.” She retorted back.

She was still angry. Well, so was he. But he refocused as he slipped her out of her pants and underwear, finally getting his hands on her bare skin as she got his shirt off and ran her nails up his chest.

It didn’t take long to get the last few articles of clothing off, but it still felt like an eternity to Luka. He mouthed at her breast and slipped his hand down to make sure she was ready, and she gripped his hair hard. She moaned and arched against him, and though everything seemed—and certainly felt—right, he had the fleeting thought that perhaps sex wasn’t the healthiest option. But he wanted to get rid of everything in between them: Carol, the space, their clothes, even their own insecurities. So when Abby whined at him in frustration, he hitched her up against him before tossing her lightly on the bed and climbing over her. She wrapped her legs around him and he slid home.

Usually she was the talker in bed, but this time he was, chanting her name, trying to burn his love and longing for her into her skin and brain and heart. She felt so perfect against him and around him. God, she was everything to him, and he was doing his best to show her everyday but especially now. It wasn’t long before she gasped and shivered against him and he finished with a hard jerk and another cry of her name.

He collapsed onto the mattress before pulling her into his arms, hoping she wasn’t going to draw away. It seemed that both of their tempers had been burned out by their passion as she nestled into him and pressed a gentle kiss to his chest. Luka knew Abby’s temper might rekindle at any moment, though, and he searched for the words to repair their rift. It turned out that he didn’t need to.

“I’m sorry,” she sighed. “I know it’s not your fault that Carol was a jerk. It’s just...she was right, in a way.”

“If she thinks you’re not good for me, she was not right, Abby. And I’m sorry she made you feel so bad.”

“No, I mean...I mean about how we got married. It wasn’t exactly traditional.”

Luka winced when he remembered thinking she was ashamed of it. “It wasn’t, but that doesn’t make it wrong or bad.”

“I know, but it does make me wonder…”

Wonder what? She couldn’t think he would marry just anyone. Instead of continuing, she stared at his chest.

“I wouldn’t have married you if it was just to stay here. You know that, right?”

When she didn’t respond, he bent his head and tipped her chin up with a light touch.

“Hey. I wouldn’t have,” he repeated firmly.

She blinked in acknowledgement, but he could see the questions still lingering in her eyes. Ah, to hell with waiting for the right time, she needed to know how he felt, even if it made his gut clench with the fear that she wasn’t there yet.

“Abby, I—“

The ring of the phone interrupted. Luka closed his eyes, torn between relief and annoyance.

“It’s okay, you can answer.” Abby got up and made her way to the bathroom as he watched. As the ringing continued, he threw on his boxer shorts. A hollow, let down feeling settled in his chest as he grabbed for the damn phone.

“Hello?” He answered with little grace, not caring if his tone was impolite.

“Hello? Luka?” It was Carol. Great.

“Uh, yeah.” He waited for her to confirm that she was coming over for the most ill-conceived double date in history.

After an uneasy pause, she spoke. “Doug just reminded me—I forgot with the funeral and all—we actually have plans with Peter and Cleo that night, so we won’t be able to come over for dinner.”

Thank GOD. Luka still kind of wished he could see Tess and Kate, make sure they were alright, and find out if Doug was actually a good father and partner to Carol, but none of that was worth making Abby feel like crap.

He couldn’t remember Benton and Cleo having any particular attachment to Carol. He’d also gotten the feeling there wasn’t a lot of love lost between the two men, either, but he was too grateful for the escape to mention it.

“Oh, that’s…” fantastic! “...a shame. We’ll have to catch you next time.” He begged silently that there wouldn’t be a next time, or that it would look very different from this one.

“Yeah, and about earlier…” He really hoped she wasn’t going to rag on Abby, this time to him. One yelling match in a day was more than enough for him. “I’m sorry if I was a bit, um, surprised by you and Abby. It was an emotional day and it just caught me off guard.”

“Okay…”

“Haleh and Susan filled me in on some of the stuff I missed out on, and I’m really happy that you found someone who loves you, Luka.”

Well, finally. And oh, he hoped she was right.

“Thanks, Carol. I’m glad things are going well for you too, you and Doug and the girls.”

They quickly said goodbye and hung up, and though Luka was still a little annoyed at Carol, he felt relieved to part on decent terms. He looked up to see a now-dressed Abby hovering in the doorway, shifting from foot to foot.

“That was Carol, they had to cancel.”

Abby snorted and smirked. “I’ll bet they did.”

He smiled back. “Anyway, we won’t have to sit through that now. It wasn’t one of my best ideas.”

“You don’t say.” His wife was back to normal, if the eye rolls were any indication.

He took her in, trying to screw up his courage and finish what he’d been about to say before the phone call, when she interrupted.

“I’m starving. Can we get Chinese?”

“Yeah. Sounds good.”

He deflated as she grabbed the phone and called their usual place for delivery.

Abby deserved better, he decided, than a rushed “I love you” as a result of a fight. She didn’t get a romantic proposal--or even a proposal at all, and even their wedding hadn’t been a fairytale, though it had been both romantic and wonderful. It was better to wait, to plan...something...for that declaration. Even if the words burned inside him, she was worth the wait.

#luby #luby ff #er #er ff #luka x abby #amber writes #somekindofflowergirl #we part only to meet again #we're back and look at these garbage idiots!

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theravenouswriter514 · 3 years

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Day Nineteen of the 30 Day Writing Challenge

The prompt for today is, “Write about your first love.”

One problem that I have with this one is that I haven’t ever had a “first love.” I’m twenty, turning twenty-one, and I have never so much as had my first kiss. Pretty pathetic, huh? It is by most of today’s social standards anyway. Fourteen-year-olds get on the internet now bragging about going to parties and hooking up while I sit patiently waiting for my first love to show their face. I haven’t had a first love in the conventional way that this prompt is looking for, but I do have a story for the first time I ever knew I loved someone and they loved me back. I’ll tell it instead.

I’m going to start this story with a crushing heartbreak, then I’ll back track. It was Thanksgiving Day of 2018. I was sitting around with the rest of my family at my grandma’s house, rubbing my tummy after over eating all of the good food from the day. It was past dark, and we were doing what we usually do when my family gathers, bullshitting. If you’re from Tennessee or similar regions of the south, then you know exactly what I’m talking about. I can’t speak for the northern or western states, but in the south when we say we are “bullshitting” it essentially means that we’re telling stories with a lot of lies, and calling each other out through sarcasm. It is always a relaxing thing for my family, because if we aren’t bullshitting with each other, then something is seriously wrong.

Anyway, my mom gets a call from my friend’s mom and steps out onto the porch to answer it. This isn’t unusual; my friend’s mom and my mom were friends and they spoke often. When my mom stepped back inside with the phone held out to me is when I knew something was off. I took it from her and heard muffled cries from the other end. I knew the voice well, because she and I had laughed and cried together on numerous occasions before. It was my best friend, pitifully crying and blubbering about how much she was hurting. I couldn’t understand much of what she said, because the poor girl couldn’t stop heaving with sobs long enough to get a word out clearly. Through a best friend’s intuition and my ability to put broken words together, I understood exactly what had happened. She had been dumped. Her rotten boyfriend, who she had been with since our junior year of high school, had dumped her directly after she had eaten Thanksgiving dinner with his family. She had put so much effort into taking care of this no good boy all the way through the relationship. She had bought his school supplies, paid for their food, even bought him a whole new wardrobe because she knew he couldn’t afford it. I suppose I should be a little easier on this kid; he came from a pretty rough home life. His mom ran out on him and his dad was disabled. They weren’t able to afford many things. That doesn’t excuse anyone from being a total dickweed, and it certainly doesn’t excuse him from breaking my best friend’s heart.

I did my best to comfort her via phone call, but she wouldn’t hear any of it. She was devastated to the core. Even before I hung up the phone with her, my mom already had her shoes and coat on ready to go out the door. She is the real hero of this story. She and I hurried directly over to her house, both of our stomaches hurting with worry for her. My mom loved her like a daughter. We had been friends since the first day of band camp our freshman year of high school. Most of the time it just felt like we’d always been friends. I can’t remember a time without her now, because the time before I met her was full of bullies and fake friends who broke my heart. My stomach, however, was feeling a little more than the usual worry at the time. My immediate reaction to her devastation was to go over and show this boy a little of my temper that I inherited from my dad’s side of the family. I knew exactly where he lived, and I was ready for a fight. My mom, being the voice of reason, insisted that that wasn’t what my friend (we’ll call her K) needed from me. She needed a pick me up. Someone to show her that the world hadn’t ended.

I walked right into the house and plopped next to her on the couch. K is a very small and energetic girl. I have always compared her to a little lap dog. The poor girl was curled up with her face buried deep into a pillow. She didn’t raise up or even acknowledge my presence at first, except for the occasional “It hurts, J!” in between cries of pain. I’ve never been one to find it easy to show affection. It takes me a long time to warm up to someone before I’m comfortable hugging or showing any kind of physical affection, but K had long since won me over in that sense. She was a cuddler.

I pried her little arms from around the pillow that she clung to and wrapped them around me, just craddling her for a moment. When she had eventually stopped crying enough to catch her breath, I picked her up off the couch and made her stand. I wanted her to feel that there was still ground beneath her feet. That the world had not stopped spinning. There is no way of knowing exactly what I said to her that night, but I do remember that I refused to leave her in that house to sulk. I loaded her into my mom’s car and we headed back over to my grandma’s house to give her a proper Thanksgiving dinner that wouldn’t be ruined with a break up. My older cousin and I spent the majority of the rest of the night convincing her that she would feel okay again soon. That things wouldn’t suck forever. It took a few weeks, maybe a month, but she eventually believed us. She moved on and began to recognize just how toxic he had been. I never did give him a piece of my rage, even though I had plenty of opportunities to. I was convinced by a few sources that I was better than that.

I tell you that story to tell you this, that relationship, in the long run, meant nothing. She was so devastated over a relationship that had been rocky from the beginning. The real relationship that she had had all along was the one she had with me. I know that sounds really narcissistic, but let me explain. All the way through high school, and especially through her relationship with the dickweed, she and I had been closer than any couple. After helping to lift her back onto her feet from the break up is when I really began to notice it. We held hands, cuddled, shared food, even showered in front of each other far more than she and her former beau had. People around the school were often convinced that she and I were a couple as opposed to she and her real boyfriend. We didn’t mind if anyone thought we were dating, because we loved each other. She had been there for every weird or stupid heartache that I had gone through and vice versa. She had lifted me and I had lifted her.

I really began to think about love around prom time. I hadn’t managed to snag a date. The guy I liked, who I thought liked me back, had stood me up on multiple occasions and I was ready to just give up on it all. Then I began to think about all the times she had been there for me. The times she had lifted me up when I was on the ground. The times she had rushed over to help me when I needed it. I watched as she left her trash boyfriend sitting at a table to dance with me at the prom. Later I watched as she surprised me with visits to my house with goody baskets and movies after I told her I didn’t feel good. I saw her go to concerts with me and listen to me scream my little teenage head off. In seeing all these things come together, I saw what love really was. Love didn’t have to be kissing in the moonlight with fireworks in the background as if in some Hallmark movie, like my young self had once believed. It was simpler than that. It was seeing each other with ugly crying, snotty faces and still giving hugs. It was watching each other do dumb shit, and joining in with the other so no one was alone in stupidity. It was making each other stand tall when someone caused our shoulders to slump. It was clinging to one another as we walked through haunted houses, screaming our heads off then laughing about it. It was calling her first when my house burnt. It was me helping her move when her parents divorced. It was just being with one another. Wanting to be with one another even in rough times. Even when we weren’t with each other physically, we knew each of us were there spiritually.

I see and speak to her far too little now-a-days. We are both on our own paths to success, not growing apart, but growing separately. She lives one state over, going to university. She has a new beau and a whole other friend group now. And yet she and I pick right back up where we left off when we do get in contact. Nothing has really changed except the amount of time we spend together. When we are together, any time I want to hold her hand, she gladly gives it to me. Whenever she feels like cuddling, my arms are wide open. If I cry at a movie, she cries with me. If she stresses about classes, I listen to her rambles. The very same level of love, that has always been there, is still very much present today. We say it as much as we can, to remind each other that it’s still true. She loves me and I love her.

So I guess you could say that I have had a first love. It’s platonic, but it’s just as important as any other that I’ll experience. This love she and I have is everlasting and will exist far into our grey years when we are thinking back to our glory days. I’d say that this first love is even more important than any first fling I’ll ever have with a significant other. It’ll certainly remain higher on my priority list.

#writer #writing #My writing #amwriting #writing challenge #30 day writing challenge #friendship #love #first love #my thoughts

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badnovels · 7 years

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The First Day

by sunsetsrmydreams

To Jessa, who blew up our world with a tiny drabble inspired by a grocery store. Thank you for being so encouraging!

And a shoutout to @louezem for The Wedding!

And I am so fucking sorry because there is some Galeniss in here. Rated…I’m going to go with M? But it may be E. There is a description of dick. You have been warned.

Part one of two.

——-

It’s her first day, she’s nervous as hell. Of course she would have to teach at the same school as Peeta. Damn her terrible luck!

This is a disaster.

What if she runs into him?

What if he tries to talk to her again like they’re old friends? She has to choke down the lump in her throat.

Maybe she should quit.

And move….across country…maybe Canada.

Taking a deep breath, she attempts to calm herself. She’s a grown-up and she going to act like one. If she sees him, she will hold it together this time. Their relationship was over years ago, if she runs into him, she’ll be distant and polite. She will be unmoved by his presence.

She vows to the mirror in her hallway that Peeta Mellark will never know the pain she still carries.

From now on, he will be nothing to her.

Walking into the school with her head held high, she makes her way to the Guidance office. A slim woman with platform heels and a huge blond beehive comes straight towards her.

“Ms. Everdeen!” she trills. “It is a pleasure to meet you. I’m Effie Trinket and I’ll be showing you around today. Follow me, please.”

“Ms. Trinket, Mr. Abernathy already took me around and I was a student here so I’m pretty sure I know where everything is,” Katniss explains as kindly as she can while trying to ditch this woman.

“Tut tut. Ms. Everdeen, it is not only my job to show you around our beautiful school but I will also be introducing you to the staff,” Ms. Trinket replies forcefully.

Katniss’ heart drops. Her first day hasn’t even started and she is already going to be forced into a meet and greet with Peeta. Great.

She follows a teetering Effie around the school as she points out this and that, introducing teachers along the way. So far Katniss’ luck has held out. Peeta is nowhere in sight.

Katniss breaths a sigh of relief, walking a few steps behind Effie as she leads her down the hall and through a large carved mahogany door that is, apparently, original to the school.

“This is the teacher’s lounge. Many of us like to have lunch here and feel free to make yourself at home whenever you have a free period.“ Effie says as she makes her way to the mirror to fix her hair.

Katniss looks around at the comfy leather couches, a table and chairs, vending machines and refrigerator. It’s actually quite….homey.

“Ah. Here is another one of out teachers now!” Effie squeals as she rushes back over.

Katniss squeezes her eyes shut for a moment before plastering a smile on her face. She turns.

But it’s not Peeta who stands before her.

This man is textbook tall dark and ruggedly handsome. In fact, he is the exact opposite of Peeta. Katniss likes him immediately.

Effie continues her introduction “Ms. Everdeen, Science, meet Mr. Hawthorne, History.”

Mr. Hawthorne smiles and holds out a hand. Which she promptly shakes.

“Gale Hawthorne.”

“Katniss Everdeen.”

“It’s great to meet you, Katniss. It about time we got some new blood around here.” He grins at her.

“Yeah, I suppose you have a lot of lifers here considering the teacher I’m replacing is 65 years old,” she says dryly.

He laughs. “We have a hour before class starts, I know you have to set up you classroom, but would you like to sit for a minute and chat?”

“Um, sure.” She can’t turn him down. He’s handsome and friendly, plus she could really use an ally in this place. He introduces her to several more teachers as they wander in. He motions her over and they take a seat at the table.

They’re discussing their class schedules and laughing at last year’s hijinks when she hears someone clear their throat loudly right behind her. She turns on instinct and immediately wishes she hadn’t.

Peeta is practically standing over her shoulder. She has no idea how long he’s been there but due to the strange expression that he is trying desperately to hide she guesses he has been there for a while.

“Katniss,” he states.

“Hello, Mr. Mellark.” She’s proud that her voice doesn't waver.

“I see you’ve met Mr. Hawthorne,” he mutters.

“Yes, I have, but now I think I should be getting to class.” She gathers up her notes, looking at Gale she smiles. “Thanks for the chat and for the suggestions, I’ll try to implement them.”

As she walks out she can feel Peeta right on her heels.

“Katniss, wait,” he pleads.

“I don’t have time for this Peeta, I need to get to class,” she says lowly.

“You had time to sit and “chat” with Mr. Hawthorne and you can’t spare a minute to talk with me?“ he fumes.

She rounds on him, eyes blazing. "Don’t you dare act jealous! I haven’t seen you in years, I owe you nothing.” Turning, she stalks to her classroom and starts to prepare for the day.

Peeta, wisely, does not follow her.

Katniss survived her last class, quickly packing up her things and making her way out of the school. She’s surprised to see Mr. Hawthorne waiting for her at the doors leading to the parking lot.

“Hey. How was your first day?” he asks excitedly.

“I think it went well, it’s my first year teaching at this grade level, I’m just hoping they don’t chew me up and spit me out,” she laughs.

“Your tougher than that, I know it.” He smiles. “I’m not going to beat around the bush….would you like to go to dinner with me on Friday?”

“Like… a date?” she asks cautiously

“Yep, a date.”

“Um…s-sure,” she stutters.

"Great! I’ll see you Friday.“ He turns and strides to his car a few rows over, giving her a little wave as he pulls out of the lot.

What did she just do?

Katniss starts walking toward the row where her car is parked, berating herself for accepting Gale’s dinner invitation to dinner.

When she looks up, she can’t help the "fuck” that leaves her lips.

Because, standing beside her green Honda, in all his glory, is Peeta Fucking Mellark.

Moving home was such a bad idea….

She tries to keep calm as she stalks to her car, but all she really wants to do is punch him. She needs to scream at him again for breaking her heart when he got her former best friend pregnant. She wonders if these feelings will ever go way?

She still remembers that day. She had been miserable for the weeks she was without him, she drove all the way to his dorm to apologize and ask him if they could try again. She knew long distance would be hard but it couldn’t be any harder than this.

She’ll never forget walking into his room after finding the door ajar and seeing he and Madge wrapped together in a strong embrace. Katniss was shocked but still saw the white stick, clutched in Madge’s hand, with those treacherous pink lines.

When Peeta saw her out of the corner of his eye, he went pale and dropped his arms, turning his whole body toward her, a look of agony on his face.

Katniss’ voice was barely a whisper. “Explain this."

He did.

And all hell broke loose.

She cut them out of her life, finding it easier to deal with the pain if it was wrapped up tight in a little box and shoved to the furthest corner of her mind. She changed her number, her email and deleted her social media. After confiding in Prim, her sister tried to comfort her, so afraid that Katniss would turn into their mother.

But she needn’t have worried. Katniss was a survivor. But she still spent most of that vacation home in bed.

One afternoon, she heard Prim screaming. Katniss lunged out of bed and raced in down the hall in skidding into the living room just in time to see Prim chuck the phone against the far wall. Katniss had never seen such a display from her sweet sister, so she just looked on with owl eyes.

Prim turned to her face red with anger. ” Damn telemarketers! They won’t be calling here again.“ She runs over and hugs Katniss tightly before retreating to her room.

Katniss knew it wasn’t a telemarketer. But when she saw Prim trying to protect her, she knew…she had to do better.

She bent down and picked up the pieces, sliding the battery pack back into the phone before snapping on the cover. Miraculously, it still worked.

She moved on, kept that hurt broken part of her secret.

But four years later when she heard Peeta and Madge were getting married, she couldn’t stop herself from driving to the church.

For some reason, she had to see it with her own two eyes.

The tears came without warning as Katniss watched them walk out, each taking time to hug their little girl.

Katniss catches Rye staring at her from the yard, she can read the sadness on his face from across the street.

When her gaze moves back to the bride and groom, she notices Peeta watching Rye, following his gaze straight to her car.

Time to go.

She pulls away quickly, refusing to look back, closing the book on that part of her life.

Remembering that day makes her feel less bad about the scowl etched on her face as she approaches him.

"Peeta, what are you doing here?” She moves past him to open her car door just enough to throw her things inside.

"We need to talk, Katniss. Please,” he begs as he runs a nervous hand through his ruffled curls.

“We don’t. We have history, can’t we just forget it?” she says dismissively as she tries to keep her face indifferent.

“I don’t want to forget,” he says quietly.

She snorts. “Sure. You had no problem forgetting when you were balls deep in my best friend without a condom. So fuck off, Peeta.” She jerks open her car door further, moving him out of the way as she climbs inside trying to ignore the absolutely crushed look on his face.

Pulling out of the parking lot, she looks back and sees him still standing there, hands hanging limply at his sides,shoulders hunched.

“Fuck,” she whispers. How is she going to get through this?

Peeta stays away for the rest of the week but she can feel his eyes on her. When she accidently meets them, they are wounded and sad.

She reminds herself that this is not her fault.

On Friday Gale walks her out and they go over their dinner plans. She can’t wait. She needs this. One night when she’s not thinking about the biggest betrayal of her life.

Rooting through the boxes in her disorganized closet she finally finds it, the only sexy black dress she owns. Pulling it on over her lace boy-shorts, she forgoes a bra, she doesn’t really need one anyway. Shaking her hair from it’s braid after adding the barest hint of makeup, she’s ready to go.

Gale picks her up at seven sharp. Anticipation is a feeling she hasn’t felt in so long. She can’t help but grin, and Gale is even more handsome when he returns it. The drive is quiet but nice.

Twenty minutes later they walk into the restaurant, and after checking their reservation, the hostess leads them to the dining room and sets menus on their designated table.

Katniss stops abruptly, her eyes widen and she stands frozen.

The Universe must really fucking hate her, because sitting not three tables in front of them are Peeta and Madge, a stack of papers sitting between them. Madge flips through busily.

Peeta sees her first.

He always had a weird sixth sense when she walkes into a room. His eyes round, his mouth falls open and she watches him whisper her name.

He glances at the man by her side before moving his burning eyes back to her. Katniss doesn’t miss the way he flushes as his eyes rake over her body, taking in every inch of her.

A second later Madge looks up from the paperwork to see Peeta’s lustful gaze and follows it till she meets Katniss’ eyes.

Katniss panics.

“I’m sorry, but we need to leave right now," she states and takes Gale’s hand.

Perplexed but accommodating, he says, "Okay, lets go.”

Following her as she dashes out of the lobby not stopping till they reach the car. He doesn’t bother to ask her about it on the drive home.

She fucks Gale on her couch that night, third date rule be damned.

His cock is hard as steel and a good size, that’s all she needs. She knows she’s using him but she’d do anything to avoid the tangle of emotions that threaten to choke her.

After sliding the condom into place, she rides him hard and fast and she can tell he’s not going to last at this pace, so she moves her hand down her body, rubbing circles over her clit.

It feels good.

She lets her eyes slide closed for a moment, but in her mind she sees broad shoulders and blond hair, her eyes spring open. She keeps them open, trained on Gale’s face, gabbing a fistful of his dark hair, he grunts. He grabs her hips, rocking her harder against him until he comes, groaning loudly. Katniss follows seconds later with a quiet moan.

She can tell he wants to stay afterward but when she doesn’t invite him to, he leaves her with a soft kiss and a promise to see her at work. She feels like shit.

She really wishes she had thought this through.

When Monday morning comes around she contemplates quitting….again.

She walks quickly into the teachers lounge hoping to grab her morning cup of coffee without running into anyone. Looking around, she lets out a sigh of relief when she sees she’s alone.

She almost makes it.

Gale meets her at the door, leaning down and laying a quick kiss on her lips. Katniss looks up startled, she hears a strange sound to her left and turns to see Peeta, his eyes clenched and face pale before he does an about face and heads in the other direction.

Gale doesn’t notice.

“I had a great time Friday. Are you free tonight?”

She doesn’t know why she says yes.

#thank you!#i can't believe this grocery store drabble affected yall like this #man #also #i know you warned about gale and katniss but I Wasn't Quite Ready #but katniss is right he can't be jealous right now #but yes i can tell yall want peeta to suffer lol #sunsetsrmydreams #submission

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