Hi there! Hope you are doing well! thanks for responding to my ask, I totally don't expect you to respond immediately. I really enjoyed the latest fan videos and social media posts you've uploaded!!! I'd also love a Minnie-Dino video! She'd be so supportive of his mixtape <3 All those variety shows you listed would be fun, also seeing how she and BM can bond over being in co-ed groups would be interesting. I wish Jessi's showterview was still a thing. Maybe Somi's yes or hot? --boo's pld anon
series masterlist
word count – 15k
a/n: I had troubles with the tags, but I think this will show up… let’s hope so🥲 thank you babes for your opinion and help! I decided to start with the minnie x dino fan video since I’ve also gotten private requests on my google form for a chapter like this so a big thank you to everyone you has sent in ideas for this through my form ˙ᵕ˙ Minnie and BM would be PURE chaos as well and I can’t wait to write something about them hahaha I thought maybe about doing a past Jessie‘s showterview kind of chapter bc I just love those videos so much, she’s so unhinged😭 but yes! Somi‘s yes or hot could also be an idea, I’ve only ever seen clips from her with hyuna, but I loved it hahah🩷 anyways, I hope you and everyone else enjoys this chapter, thank you as always and please stay happy and healthy🫶🏼
minnie and dino: the adorable noona-dongsaeng duo of seventeen
[welcome, welcome]
[this video will for one, warm your heart]
[and two, tear you to shreds when you remember that you neither have a minnie or a dino in your life]
[have fun]
[GOING SEVENTEEN] EP. 36 SVTSIDE OUT
[when I tell you, this woman would literally defend this man with HER LIFE]
[i mean it]
The mood was abruptly changed to 'anger', already calling out for chaos as Minghao was just passing around the bottles of different drinks he had brought for the group. Speaking normally was unknown to the members from that moment on. They only knew how to converse in shouting.
Hoshi had come up to the '97 Liner, ordering him to go back again and get more drinks.
[the entire episode was so chaotic, good god]
He got on his way but stopped a few feet away from the rest of the group to ask for specific wishes as to what drinks the members would want. When Dino offered to come along and help him, Hao shouted at him.
"Sit!"
[everything about this scene was so freaking funny]
[i literally almost peed my pants]
[#tmi]
Getting an immediate response from the maknae in doing exactly that. The girl next to him chuckled, hiding her grin behind her hand as she tried to keep the juice she had just drank from the bottle in her mouth. It was rare to see Minghao in such a state of anger, even if he was just acting. The dancer disappeared around the corner when at the same time, Jeonghan decided to speak up.
"Dino, go with him!" He demanded.
The youngest, who was just about to sit back down between Minnie and Jun, decided to stay up and turn around.
"But he- he doesn't- he said DON'T!" He shouted out, making all of the other members chuckle and laugh out loud.
[okay but why do i kinda want dino to scream at me now...]
Hoshi leaned onto the female member, almost unable to control his laughter.
"I want to, but he says not to!" Dino continued to argue with the '95 Line on the far left in the camera view as they continued to order him around, trying to get him to follow Minghao.
"Ya!" Minnie surprised everyone by suddenly standing up, "Leave him alone!"
[minnie not taking shit from man, even if it's just acting, even if it's her own members, LET'S GOOO]
Getting a hold of the maknae's lower arm. "If you want your drinks, go get them yourselves!"
[her defending him is so fucking cute omg]
"You can go with him if you talk back to us like that!" S.Coups stood up, making the girl subconsciously take a small step back.
[not minnie or dino related, but i just KNOW that was muscle memory and our girl here was SCARED]
[i mean, who wouldn't be, yk]
[but i'd also be turned on bc it's scoups]
"Yeah, go with him!" Joshua joined.
Followed by Jeonghan, "You have to respect your elders, Minnie!"
[why could i actually hear them fr using these arguments with her omg]
She was just about to open her mouth again, a small smirk making her lips curl that she tried to hide so hard when she felt a soft tug on her arm.
[oh she was ready to go OFF on them]
[i'm so sad she didn't]
[i need the evidence of scoups constantly talkign about minnie talking back to him]
[i need it]
"Come on, noona," Dino dragged her along with him. "They're not worth it."
['THEY'RE NOT WORTH IT']
[OMG]
With a sarcastic shake of her head, she sent one last glare towards the three eldest of the group before following the younger member.
[the comedic duo we never knew we needed just disrespecting elders]
[slay]
-
In the Soop 2 Ep. 2
[there's wayyyyy too much in the soop content]
[i should make a solo video of just minnie moments with certain members from in the soop bc it's literally my fave thing ever]
[but anyways, here we go]
Some of the members had gathered outside, drinking a bit and eating their dinner even though it was already late at night. Seungcheol, Jeonghan, and Dino, who before had been on their own in a tent a little further away from the others, joined them - some other members, like Wonwoo and Vernon, had already left, leaving Seungkwan, Dino, Dokyeom and Minghao on one side of the table, while Seungcheol and Jeonghan were occupying the other seats opposite of them.
[they're were just enjoying their time together so much and i'm praying they'll get to do this OR things with na pd more often]
[pledis pls]
[but i know these bitches won't listen]
Minnie and Mingyu had decided to stand up with the rapper standing closer to the maknae line, his position fixed at the grill, and the girl resting her hands on Cheol's shoulders. The oldest member had put his right hand on top of hers, his thumb gliding over her skin comfortably.
[again: not dino-minnie related, BUT LIKE...]
[are we interrupting something here?!]
[i mean we know how close they are... platonically... right...]
[anyways]
[we'll never know]
[but it was a cute scene either way, so you better bet i kept it in]
After the not-so-few few drinks she had had, she needed every little bit of support she could get.
She had blended out most of the conversation that was going on around the table, too occupied with trying to understand what Mingyu was trying to tell her - how the hell am I supposed to be able to read lips while drunk, she thought to herself.
[i don't know what kind of messages they were sending each other but istg minnie and mingyu are something else]
[ESPECIALLY WHEN DRUNK]
[or maybe just when they're in the soop, i don't know]
[but i freaking love it]
Only snapping back into the present when Dino's voice rang through her ear.
"Have you ever lit a campfire before?"
Jeonghan's answer, was, as expected, "No, I haven't."
"Oh, he hasn't!"
"So, let's try lightening it tomorrow," the '95 Liner proposed.
Minnie let her hand drop from the leader's shoulder before walking to the other side of the table, passing Joshua, who had also joined them again. S.Coups' eyes followed her form as she walked up to Mingyu. To whisper something into his ear, she placed her hand on one of his arms, that he had crossed over his chest, to make him lean down to her height. As he raked himself up again only two seconds later, he smiled with a nod.
[?!]
Her attention was then immediately back on the maknae.
"If there's no fan with your mouth-" he spoke but stopped to show them how to blow onto the imaginary fire he was trying to create. "You have to blow like this to light it up," he continued explaining.
The female member was already grinning from ear to ear, listening attentively to every word the youngest was saying.
[BE MORE WHIPPED FOR HIM MINNIE, MY GOD]
[she loves him so much, i can't]
[he's literally just talking and our girly here is looking at him like that]
"Honestly," Jeonghan pointed at him, "You did this to look cute, right?" Minnie smiled to herself as this was exactly what she was also thinking.
[oh he most definitely did]
[gotta impress the noona]
As soon as the '95 Liner and Seungkwan started to imitate Dino's antics, there was no going back for him. They reenacted his pretended cuteness, getting chuckles from everyone at the table.
"Ok ok, then let's say that's not it and say it again," Jeonghan tried his best to get the maknae to repeat himself.
"Yeah," Dino started again. "When I went camping with my friend, we tried to light a fire, but we couldn't."
The '95 Liner played along. "Oh, then how did you light it?"
[jeonghan is such a parent HAHAHAHAHA]
[gotta love him]
"So, I just- I thought I should blow on it a lot. Like this-" the youngest repeated his action, adding an extra tint of cuteness as he imitated a 'blowing onto a fire' facial expression.
[STOP]
[WHAT A CUTIE]
[LOOK AT HIM]
Not able to hold back anymore, along with the rest of the members, Minnie started cheering and laughing out loud at the over-the-top cute antics of their maknae.
[GIRLY HAHAHAHA]
With quick steps, she was right behind him, throwing her arms over his shoulders to pull him back against her.
"Aaaah, our Dino's so cute! So grown up, but still so cute!" She squealed, getting a chuckle from the man in her embrace as he petted her arms.
[SHE'S SO CUTE]
[HOW CAN SOMEONE LOVE THEIR LITTLE BROTHER LIKE THAT]
[mine's a rat fr]
[but for minnie...]
[it's like once she looks at dino, nothing else is important anymore]
[but tbh, same]
The two swayed slightly before she released him again. In the next second though, her hands hand his cheeks, squishing his face in between her palms.
"Look how cute he is!" Getting another round of giggles from the guys surrounding them.
[i love how this seems such normal behaviour for them]
[i desperately need to drink with them one day]
[i want to be hugged and squeezed like that by minnie]
"Our little maknae!" She let go of him completely after pressing a kiss on the top of his head.
[AAAAAAHHHH CUTIESSSS]
-
Minnie Birthday Live 231222
The female member's eyes were fixed on the screen in front of her, frantically moving up and down and left and right as she tried to read through the comments Carats were writing. The cake she had only eaten a little bit of, was still in front of her, on the table in the hotel room she was staying in.
[i have so much to say about this birthday live]
[and just want to quickly adress how proud i am of her for adressing the airport issue]
[a queen]
[and now back to how much dino and her love eacht other]
"'What are you listening to these days?'" She read out loud, a small smile immediately appearing on her lips. "Well... I don't know if you've heard about it, but there's a new song that came out in... November- at the end of November. It's called 'Wait' and it's by this really cool artist called Dino," she couldn't help but chuckle at her own antics.
[and y'all are still arguing over who is the biggest dinonara, when this girl right here exists]
"So, yeah. In case you haven't looked up that song, I highly recommend it."
[of course you'd just try to mention him literally whenever you can]
[and of course, i've already listened to the song]
Right away, the comment section was filled with different coloured hearts - mostly pink and blue ones.
She giggled. "But jokes aside, I really have been listening to Wait a lot. It's really good and I really enjoy seeing this side of Dino. It's different... a little. But... it's good. And I'm really proud of him, so I want to support him, of course."
[she really is the best big sister ever wtf]
-
"Oh, is Dino watching? Some of you guys are saying Dino's watching."
[OF COURSE HE IS]
[he can't miss his noona's live]
The girl looked down at her own phone, which she wasn't filming with, chuckling down at the screen. "Ah yes, he is watching. He asked me how much longer I'll be live. Wait a second, Carats."
[he's actually a fan just like us, i'm telling you]
After a few taps on her phone, she put the speaker up to her ear. Only a couple seconds later, she spoke up.
"Hi, I think I'm still gonna be live for a while. Do you want to join me?"
[i'm actually convinced her voice changes slightly whenever she talks to him]
[but i'm also delusional af, so it's probably just my brain telling me that tbh]
The corners of her lips curled up at what came from the other side of the call.
"Ok, ok. I understand. Of course, yeah. Alright, we'll see. Bye-bye." She ended the call and looked back into the camera.
"Dino's gonna make a quick trip to the gym downstairs, and then he might join us," she explained and grinned at the end of the statement.
[LOOK HOW EXCITED SHE LOOKS]
-
A knock echoing through the room made her head shoot up towards the door.
"I'll be right back, Carats." She was quick to leave.
[girl is SPRINTING to let in her favourite little brother]
In the background laughter could be heard, coming from both male and female voices - everyone obviously immediately knew who was out of the camera's view.
After a few short moments, steps became louder and heavier as the two got closer to the table again.
"Look who's joining me!" Minnie called out, letting the maknae appear on the right side of the screen. "Dino-yaaa."
[shout it out girl, yes]
With a big smile, she patted the empty chair next to her. Without having to be told twice, the youngest sat down and right away, scooched closer towards the female member, both now perfectly filling out the screen.
"Hi everyone!" He greeted into the camera, waving his hands. "How was the live so far? Is Minnie entertaining you enough?"
[i could literally watch her just sit and it would be entertaining enough]
[i wish i was joking]
With a smile, the girl shook her head. "I've been entertaining them very well," she answered for herself.
[facts]
"Have you been enjoying the cake?" He turned towards her, looking at her with expecting big eyes as she nodded.
"Yess. It's really good, thank you." She patted his arm comfortably. "Do you want a little bit?" Not even waiting for his answer, she was already putting some of the cake's dough, along with the icing onto a fork. But before she could bring it up close to his mouth, he stopped her.
"No, no, thank you."
[he broke her heart with that, i just know it]
With a pout, she glanced at him. The fork still in midair. "Why not?"
"I just came from the gym. I have to be careful what I'm eating."
"Because of your diet?"
Dino nodded quietly. Minnie wasn't going to let him go off like that so easily.
"But it's good if you have a little bit of cake. Just a little."
[minnie lot letting him diet is soo big sister of her]
The maknae chuckled at her. "Says who?"
"Me!" She exclaimed as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, chuckling afterwards along with him.
[i agree]
A few seconds later, she was back in her 'big sister agenda', "But it's really not good to diet too strictly. If you eat cake you'll be happy. And being happy is more important than to be in good shame." She kept up her guard by still holding the fork.
[YES]
[I KNEW I STANNED THE RIGHT GROUP]
[i love her so much]
With a sigh, he gave in. "I know, you're right." Leaning forward to eat the small piece of cake. "Noona's always right."
[jesus christ]
[they're so much closer than just siblings]
[this is the kind of platonic love i just don't get]
[but i love it]
Minnie laughed out loud as he chewed. "I'd be careful with that statement. I might use that against you later," she pointed out.
[HAHAHAHAHAAHA]
[i mean, at least she's warning him]
"Oh," his face dropped immediately, "you're right."
[this, my friends, is the look of immediate regret]
Before laughing together with her, knowing damn well she will FOR SURE use it later at some point.
-
The two continued to spend a comfortable time together, going through some more comments, and talking about the tour, the upcoming concert, a little bit about the Christmas time, and his mixtape.
[they kept talking and talking and talking, like damn...]
"'Minnie and Dino haven't done the 'Wait' challenge yet', you're right!" The youngest member pointed at the screen in front of them. "We haven't yet. We still need to."
[fr]
[i was actually so surprised that she wasn't one of the first ones though]
Without missing a beat, the girl just spat out, "Do you wanna do it now?"
[i love her]
Dino turned his head to look at her. "Do you know it?"
[RUDE]
"Of course, I know it!" She scoffed. "How dare you think I wouldn't!"
[she was so offended omg haha]
He raised his arms in defence. "I don't know! We haven't learned it together yet, so I wasn't sure."
"Let's do it now," Minnie impulsively decided, standing up quickly and getting her chair out of the way - Dino copied her every move.
[there wasn't even a 'yes' or 'sure' from him]
[she just wanted to show everyone that she knew the dance even without actively learning it]
[bc I BET she watched that mv an unhealthy amount of times]
[girly is probably half of the streams]
Soon enough, they had also moved the phone they were filming with a little further back, giving them more room and showing more space of the hotel they were staying in.
"Wait, we need the music," the maknae remembered, looking around to find his phone.
Minnie pointed towards something on the right side of the screen, "You can take mine."
Dino looked at her with scrunched eyebrows. "I thought you were using your phone for the live? Who's- ah, ok," he started but cut himself off before walking over to where she had pointed, coming back into the shot with the female's member phone in his grasp. He unlocked it, and a few taps later, the intro for his Mixtape was already playing.
[such a small thing, but i just noticed it: he knows her passcode?!]
[THE TRUST]
To get to the chorus quicker, he moved the bar on the music app, stopping shortly before the part they'd be dancing would start.
"Are you sure you know it?"
Minnie just nodded enthusiastically. "Of course!"
And sure enough, she did.
[she freaking killed it]
-
[INSIDE SEVENTEEN] Golden Disk Award Sketch
The group was in the middle of their practice session for the upcoming award show. Diverted into different small groups, the members were scattered around the room.
The group consisting of Jeonghan, Dino, Seungkwan, Hoshi and S.Coups, was up next to not only practice their own little moment but also ready to perform it and let their choreographer film it.
Youngjoon growled as soon as Seventeen's leader walked up to the camera. But once Dino had stepped into view, it was Minnie's voice that called out from the background.
[wonwoo and minnie are fr fighting for biggest dinonara and she is giving it 110%]
"LET'S GO DINO!" Getting a smirk from the maknae before he started his solo movements.
[HE GETS SO SHY]
[UGH I JUST WANT TO SQUISH HIM]
"WOW, SO COOL," she continued to cheer him on, making not only him but every other member too, chuckle, along with their choreographer.
[imagine being loved as much as dino is]
[damn...]
As soon as Hoshi moved into the middle, she fell quiet again.
In the next shot, after the practice round was finished, the camera was on the '96 Liner, who just looked at something out of view. A pout was evident on his lips.
Minnie chuckled, making the cameraman move over to her, letting everyone know that it was her, who Hoshi was looking at. "What?" She giggled.
"Why were you only cheering on Dino? What was that?" He asked her, keeping up the disappointed expression.
[HOSHI IS SULKY TOWARDS HER?!]
[compare this moment to all those stories they told about minnie being literally terrified of hoshi]
[how are these the same people HAHAHA]
This only made her chuckle again.
"Well," she sighed, "I guess you just have to work harder for me to cheer on you too."
[WOW...]
Before the performance unit leader could say anything, their maknae appeared from the right side, rushing over to the female member.
"No, Minnie just likes me more than you," immediately throwing an arm around her shoulder.
[HE'S THE CUTEST LITTLE BROTHER EVER]
[MY GOD, JUST LOOK AT HIM Y'ALL]
The girl giggled against his side before wrapping both arms around his torso, cuddling even deeper into him, as he put his other free arm around her frame as well - both now just standing in each other's embrace with big grins decorating their faces.
[i would actually do anything and everything for them]
Hoshi just continued to stare at them.
-
SEVENTEEN ‘손오공’ M/V BEHIND THE SCENES
Dino was in the middle of getting interviewed by the cameraman when in the middle of the sentence, the female member of the group surprisingly appeared. She engulfed him in a side embrace, her arms around his upper body and arms, holding him close as she let her chin rest on his shoulder.
[just IMAGINE being minnie and just getting to do that on the regular]
[he literally just continued talking as if this was nothing new to him]
Absentmindedly, she nodded along to everything the youngest was saying. After a few moments, he stopped and looked moved his head to look at her.
"Cold?"
She answered him with a simple nod and smile before opening her mouth to answer him.
"But don't worry Carats, Dino's body will keep me warm." Her comment got a chuckle out of the maknae, whose hands had started to rub her arm, trying to create some form of warmth, knowing she was one of the members to easily get cold.
[HOW DO I FIND MYSELF SOMEONE THAT LOVES ME THIS MUCH]
[DINO PLS I WILL BE GOOD TO YOU]
"You know," she glanced into the camera. "Whenever I'm hugging Dino these days, it feels like I'm hugging Mingyu."
[THE WAY SHE'S RUBBING IT IN]
[WE KNOW HE'S BEEN WORKING OUT]
[WE CAN SEE THAT]
[but she just had to mention it once again]
She dropped her arms to free him just in time as her compliment made the maknae laugh out loud, giving her his signature contagious bright smile as he threw his head back. She grinned at him.
[THAT SMILE IS PURE LOVE AND ADORATION]
He shyly smiled at her, "Ah, noona, don't overreact-"
[don't get all shy now]
"Hugging Mingyu?" Suddenly the familiar voice of her fellow '97 Liner appeared from the side she had just come from as well. "What about hugging me? Do you want a hug?"
[this man has ears EVERYWHERE when it comes to minnie]
[my god, my guy, she just mentioned you, calm down]
Without waiting for an answer, Mingyu copied her stance from before, wrapping both of his arms around her shoulders, her left arm buried into his muscular chest as she chuckled.
[?!?!?!?!?!]
[SO THIS IS WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE MINNIE?!]
"I just said that hugging Dino feels like hugging you nowadays," Minnie glanced up into his eyes. "He's been working out a lot."
[also: can we talk about when the hell minnie went from pushing mingyu away to literally MELTING in his embrace?!]
[what chapter did i skip?!]
[bc i literally remember her avoiding his hugs to annoy him like it's yesterday]
[and now she's suddenly like this?!]
[girlyyyyyyyy]
The rapper nodded, both of the '97 Liners smiling at the youngest, who had a subtle, yet noticeable blush brightening his cheeks.
"That's true."
"But be careful not to get too big, Dino," the girl added, still in the embrace of the older member.
With a frown, Mingyu looked down at her, his arms loosening around her frame. "Are you saying I'm too big?" He wondered.
[THE WAY HE NEEDS THE VALIDATION]
[no mingyu, don't worry]
[minnie noona is just looking out for her favourite little dongsaeng]
No answer, just a pat on his chest and a loud laughter from the maknae followed.
-
'sleepover live hihi'
[i really do think that we as carats have moved on way too fast from this]
[their sleepovers... who seem to be like an almost REGULAR occurrence?!]
[but anyways, here are some of my favourite moments]
[mind you, this live is almost two freaking hours long... it's so hard to cut out only a few parts for this video]
The live started with no members in frame. The only thing Carats could see was the edge of a table and a navy couch in the background.
The comments were skipping over the screen at a quick pace.
'Who is this?'
'Which member put on the live and forgot?'
'Who's sofa is this?'
'omg they're having a sleepover????'
Then all of a sudden, two heads popped into the frame from each side.
"Hello!"
"Hii!"
Minnie and Dino greeted the livestream with wide smiles as they showed their faces, scooching in closer to sit right next to each other. Both of them were not wearing any makeup and in sweats, along with him in a black sweatshirt and her with, what appeared to be the same one in cream.
[CUTIES]
[LITERAL CUTIES]
[ANGELS]
[BABIES]
"Hi Carats," the girl leaned forward with a grin, her eyes scanning the comments. "Ah, everyone's so shocked to see us."
[not surprised]
[but i definitely wasn't expecting it ngl]
[but this has to be one of the best lives in svt history]
"That means our surprise worked," the maknae added, a proud smirk on his lips. He leaned back against the sofa, swiftly brushing a hand through his hair.
Minnie nodded, "Looks like it." She stopped for a second before continuing. "'Dino and Minnie look so cute so late at night'" Thank you," she chuckled. "Even though we've already had a few drinks, Carats still say such nice things about us."
[i feel like she gets so giggly when drunk and just even more beautiful fr]
[y'all see that GLOW?!]
[gorgeous]
"Mm," the youngest nodded, now joining the girl by leaning forward to also read through the comments. "Yeah, we've already had a few drinks, but we only now decided to put on the livestream."
[AND HIM?!]
[YUM]
"I think not a lot of Carats expected us to drink together like this."
"Hm, yeah, that could be true," Dino stated before his eyes fixed on one specific comment. "'Are you really having a sleepover?'-"
"Yes!" Minnie showed a bright smile to the camera, stretching out her arms to the sides.
[SHE'S SO EXCITED ABOUT IT AAAAH]
[you gotta love her, come on]
The youngest changed his seating position slightly. "Minnie invited me over to her place."
[defo not crying]
"Because you haven't slept over here yet," she glanced at him as he nodded.
"That's right, not here yet."
[didn't know wtf they were talking about back then]
[now we know: mimiwon moved into a new apartment]
[and minnie needed dino and her to have a sleepover at the new place]
[CRYING]
A yawn escaped her lips, making Minnie cover her mouth and close her eyes for a second. "But I'm more tired than I expected, to be honest," she commented.
Dino smiled at her, his hand patting her shoulder comfortably. "We've been preparing for the album very hard, that's why maybe."
"Mm, probably."
-
After a few minutes of just casual conversation flowing between the two idols, as if the camera wasn't even recording, the girl had gotten up to get them something more to drink.
It was now Dino who was in charge of entertainment.
"Okay," he looked down at his own phone, which he had put on the livestream, so he could read through the comments more easily. "'Do you have sleepovers like this often?'" He read out before speaking up slightly louder, looking to the right side of the screen where the girl had disappeared into. "Would you say we do this often, noona?"
[there's just something... about him... he's just too adorable]
Minnie's distant voice could be heard in the background. "Not as often as I would like to." Her comment got a wide grin from the maknae in return, who tilted his head to the side.
[GIRL YOU CAN'T BE SO CUTE WHAT THE HELL]
"Awww, noona! You're so cute!" He almost squealed, making her laugh out loud.
[FACTS DINO]
"Carats, Minnie-noona is really so sweet, right?' For a second he went quiet, now back to looking at his phone. "They're all saying how sweet you are!" Dino called out to let her know.
[well, gotta let the queen know that we love her, yk]
Minnie chuckled, "Thank you, guys!" She shouted out to make sure her voice could be heard in the live.
"Oh-" the maknae suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
"What?"
"Some are saying Vernon is watching- is he watching? Hold on" After tapping around his phone, his lips curled up. "Aaah, he really is watching. He commented 'Wow, now I'm jealous', 'Minnie is making drinks for you?'"
[OF COURSE]
[of course vernon is jealous of them]
[i'd be too]
[minnie pls take good care of him as well]
[god... minnie and vernon are also so adorable together]
With quick steps, the girl was back in the living room,
"What? No! I asked him if he wanted to come too, and he said no!" She whined out loud as the sound of clinking glass rang through the background, coming from everything she was placing on the table for them to drink.
[missed his chance i guess]
"He's regretting his choice now," Dino stated.
[i'd be regretting it for weeks tbh]
Once the girl went back into the kitchen, the youngest's eyes went wide as soon as they landed on the amount of liquor on the table that was hidden from the view of the livestream.
"Noona! You really think we're gonna drink that much?"
[let's gooooooo]
"I don't know, maybe," she just answered. "Maybe Mingyu wants to drink something too."
[she really thinks of everyone, doesn't she?]
[god, i'm gonna cry]
"Aaah, ok ok," Dino nodded, going back to reading through the comments while the girl came back with takeout containers, putting them somewhere behind the camera and onto the floor before she made herself comfortable again next to the maknae. "'Is Mingyu invited too?' He... I don't- I don't know, is he invited?" Directing the last question to the girl, who just chuckled.
"I can't not invite him. He lives here."
[she knows that we know and i know that we know, but will i ever get enough of mimiwon living together? No.]
[i need all the domestic shit about them, pretty please]
[including dino, their child, having fun sleepovers at their place]
"Exactly!" A loud voice surprised the two younger members, making them jump up and look to the right side, groaning when they came to sight of the culprit.
Minnie was holding her chest. "You idiot! Stooop! Don't scare us like that!"
Mingyu ignored her scolder and started chuckling, "Did you buy the entire liquor store? Are you crazy?"
[not him judging her for that]
[bro, when i tell you i bet he drinks even more than her]
"I can buy whatever I want. It's my money, and I'm an adult," she fought back and sat up straighter, making the maknae clap and nod proudly as he was just sitting there, listening to the two '97 Liners bickering around.
[POP OFF MINNIE]
[love supportive feminist dino]
"Wow," the rapper sighed, "You two... you guys are really- wow..."
[he's so done]
[he is sooooo done HAHAHAHA]
-
"'Dance cover now please'" Minnie chuckled after reading a comment she found amusing, "Right now? I don't think that's a good idea." And oh how right she was, but that wasn't gonna stop the maknae.
"No, noona, let's do it!"
[HOW COULD SHE EVEN SAY NO IF HE LOOKS AT HER LIKE THAT AND LITERALLY SPEAKS IN POUT?!]
He turned towards the camera, "We've been wanting to film a Danceology video, but we can never decide on just one song. We have so many songs we want to do, so it's hard. But we can show you now." Without wasting another second, he pushed himself up from the floor, only for Minnie to quickly reach out for him.
"No, Dino, stop," she laughed, "You're gonna hurt yourself. Don't. We can do it another time, but not after drinking," she assured him with a nod.
[...]
[when i tell you: she will in fact be the most amazing mom]
[i don't care that they're 'only' two years apart]
[the way she acts with him, takes care of him, AND TALKS TO HIM]
[perfect sister and perfect future mom]
[minnie pls adopt me]
Slowly, but surely, Dino lowered himself onto the floor again, landing on his butt with a heavy sigh. "When did you become so responsible?"
[SINCE SHE CARES ABOUT YOU]
[but in all seriousness: jesus, just call her out like that]
[minnie just gets responsible when it's about dino]
[her favourite]
Making the girl laugh out loud.
-
"Noona?"
[melting every single time.]
"Hm?" Minnie hummed in wonder while her eyes were still trained on the comment section on her phone in front of the duo.
Dino, who was still looking at his own screen, leaned forward, tapping his older sister on the shoulder to make her turn towards him as he pointed at the screen.
"Read it," she told him with a nod, but he shook his head.
"I don't know how to pronounce it."
Her frown at first quickly turned into a kind smile as she tilted her head in awe. "Yes, you do. You can speak English. Read it."
"Ah, noona, I don't want to. You do it." Pushing his phone towards her.
But even with his cute voice ringing through her ears, Minnie stood her ground, "No, you can do it."
[the way she keeps insisting on him reading it]
[like yes, go on]
[i love how supportive he is of every member whenever they speak english or want to speak it]
"Then I will look for a different comment," he shook his head and leaned back against the couch, getting another chuckle from the girl.
[but then, she also doesn't push him to make him feel uncomfortable, but just lets him do his thing]
[UGH, probably looking way too much into this, you don't have to tell me, but just leave me to it pls]
-
"'Is Dino... your... fa-vourite member?'" Dino read out loud in English.
With a wide smile, the girl turned her head to glance at him, "Of course, you are."
[GIRLY DIDN'T EVEN HESITATE FOR A SECOND]
"Ah, noona!" With a shy squeal, he hit her arm, making both of them chuckle in synch. "You are my favourite member... too."
[HIS ENGLISH]
[stop, he's actually the cutest]
"I'd hope so."
"What?"
"It means I would hope that that's true."
-
The maknae surprised the female member with his sudden laughter.
"'Minnie and Dino have couple hoodies?'"
"What?!" She whipped her head to look at him, shock written all across her face. "Those aren't couple hoodies!" Minnie whined out while all Dino could do was fall onto the floor, his laughing continuing.
[SHE SOUNDED SO OFFENDED]
"Why would we own couple hoodies?!" She wondered out loud, more to herself than to anyone in particular, before looking back into the camera. "You guys," she pointed a strict finger. "Ew, why would we wear something like that?"
"Hey!" The youngest pushed himself up again, glaring at the girl. "Why 'ew'?"
[oh no dinooo]
Minnie sent him an unamused facial expression. "What else am I supposed to say? It's weird."
Dino shrugged, "It's funny. Maybe they are couple hoodies and we didn't realise when we bought them."
With a pout, the female idol leaned back against the couch. "Now I don't know if I want to wear them anymore."
[she's so dramatic, i love it]
"No, you can't take it off," the maknae was quick to tell her, his eyes giving her a serious look.
"Why not?"
"Because... I would be really hurt," he simply told her, making Minnie giggle.
[well now she REALLY can't]
[she'd never do that to him, we all know that]
She threw her head back against the cushion, reaching forward with one hand to push the younger member away from her.
Dino chuckled at her reaction, touching the spot where she had shoved him. "I mean it, noona. Let's just continue wearing them."
[love how persistent he is about this]
"Okay, okay," Minnie agreed, running her fingers through her hair to get them out of her face. "But let's not call them couple hoodies."
"Yeah... it feels a bit weird," the youngest admitted shyly, sending a quick look towards the camera when a sudden touch from the girl surprised him.
"I told you!"
-
[you gotta understand]
[if dancers do a livestream, they gotta also dance]
'That That' by Psy feat. Suga was blasting through the speakers in the living room of the apartment. The coffee table had been pushed back, the phone still prompt up on it. Minnie and Dino's bodies were eliminated by the colours reflecting on them from the video the beamer was displaying on the wall. The duo had the choreography perfectly memorised- of course, they did.
[i just imagine wonwoo and mingyu somewhere in the apartment, just praying that minnie and dino will get tired and just go to sleep]
[it was way too late for them to be up and have this much energy for dancing like this istg]
Along with the, at this point probably too much, alcohol in their system, singing and dancing had become much harder than each of them expected - now rather slurring and panting through the lyrics of the song.
Shortly before the song had reached the end, the female member fell to the floor, her hands on her knees.
"Jesus..." she breathed out heavily.
A laugh erupted from the maknae as his eyes fell on her crouched frame. "Noona! You're a main dancer, come on!" Reaching out and grabbing her arm to pull her back up.
[oh to have dino's energy]
Minnie groaned as she straightened her back, "I'm not as young as you anymore, Channie." Only making him shake his head and laugh even more.
[PLS]
[she really just took over jeonghan's old person personality]
He turned around to snatch the phone from where he had thrown it onto the couch and tapped on its screen. "What do you want to do next?" He moved his body around to let the girl get a look at the screen as well. "This?" He asked her, to which she nodded,
"Let's do that."
[whatever the baby wants, the baby gets]
-
DINO Mixtake 'Wait' M/V BEHIND THE SCENES
Vernon stepped into the shot first, greeting the camera with a quick "Hello" as he passed the cameraman. Dokyeom, Wonwoo and Minnie were already taking their seats by a table that wouldn't be used in the scene the crew and Dino were filming.
"Our Dino's first mixtape," Seokmin smiled into the camera as he spoke. Behind him, the girl was standing up with her phone in her hand, filming and taking pictures with a big grin on her face.
[insert kris jenner's camera meme]
[YOU'RE DOING AMAZING SWEETIE]
Wonwoo took a quick glance to his left, the same direction Minnie was focused on. "Woah, so cool!" He shouted out proudly, getting a chuckle from the other members.
[again: the fight for biggest dinonara continues]
[why not just agree they're both the unofficial parents and leaders of the dino fanclub?]
"Dino-ya!" The female member called out, making the maknae turn around, immediately smiling when he saw her with her phone on him. He sent her a quick grin and a thumbs up. The girl's smile widened.
[she's such a mom omg]
One last picture later, she put her phone down, turning towards the other members, who were looking at her in amusement, when she noticed the camera was still filming her.
"I'm gonna send those pictures to Dino's parents." She explained, taking a seat opposite Wonwoo, who was still gazing at the youngest member.
[HOW COULD SHE BE SO ADORABLE?!]
[her sending his parents pictures of their son, omg stop i'm already about to cry myself to sleep]
[this is too much for my heart]
-
Seungkwan and Mingyu had joined the group, also deciding to visit their maknae on set. The younger of the two was speaking into the microphone as Minnie joined them, walking up to them behind her fellow '97 Liner to stop by his right side. With her arms crossed she kept her eyes on the younger member, who had started to comment on Dino's hair.
[i love how literally whenever there's seungkwan bickering with dino, there's minnie showering him with even more love]
The girl suddenly got closer to Seungkwan, motioning for him to hand her the microphone, not wasting a second, to voice her opinion.
"I love your hair, Dino-ya!" She smiled brightly. "And I love you too!"
[gotta let the world know yk]
Her quick addition earned her a gentle smack on her arm by the '98 Liner while Mingyu just chuckled at the duo, as Minnie had started to hit him back.
[don't even get me started on seungkwan and minnie, my god]
-
DINO Mixtape 'Making of Wait' EP.1
The youngest member was in the studio with Seventeen's main lead vocalist and producer. The two were going through the lyrics Dino had written for his upcoming solo.
"Minnie said she'll be here in ten minutes," he explained to Woozi. "I want to show her before we record."
[NOW THIS IS WHERE I ACTUALLY START WHEEPING]
[HE WANTS TO SHOW HER HIS LYRICS FIRST?!]
[stop being so adorable, dino, please]
[for the sake of my well-being]
"Ok ok," came as an answer from the '96 Liner who was out of the shot, his voice only barely noticeable.
The maknae turned towards the camera after reaching for his water bottle on the couch behind him. "I really trust noona when it comes to lyrics. Maybe she has better ideas for them."
[...]
[you don't want to know the noise i made when he said that]
The next moment, Minnie entered the studio, greeting the room with a cheery, "Hi!" Getting a wide smile from the '99 Liner in return. His eyes lit up as a plastic cup of coffee was placed right in front of him, slightly covering the camera's view.
"Wow, thank you, noona." As Dino reached out for it, the female member gently patted his head with a grin before letting herself fall onto the sofa.
[AGJFKSJOIFHEIBIF]
"Oh-" he stopped himself before he went to take a sip, snatching a piece of paper from the table the camera was placed on. "Here are the lyrics." Turning around to face her, Minnie stopped him by waving her phone.
"I read through them on the file you sent me."
"You already looked at them?"
With scrunched eyebrows and a slightly shocked facial expression, the girl gazed at him. "Of course, why wouldn't I?"
[exactly]
[how dare him even question this]
Dino shrugged, taking a sip from the Iced Americano. "I thought you were busy maybe."
[STOP]
Minnie had started to hunch over her phone, her screen brightening up the lower half of her face as she looked up at him. "Yeah, but this is important to you. Of course, I'm gonna look at it right when you send it to me."
[...]
[I...]
[... i am so not okay]
[i don't even think i know people that care this much]
[LIKE HOW]
Before the youngest could answer her again, Woozi spoke up from the right side of the screen. "You never do that with my lyrics. You always text 'I'll take a look later, I'm busy now.' And then you never do."
[OH HERE WE GO]
[lee, i'm so done with this girl but i also love and cherrish her so much and even let her stay in my studio when i'm not here and will always support her but also annoy the hell out of her and be an annoying ass brother who just loves her so dearly and will support her till my last day, jihoon]
"Stop lying!" Minnie exclaimed. "I don't say that! And you never look at MY lyrics!"
[the money i would pay to be a fly on the wall in the studio when they're there]
The maknae chuckled at the silly argument going on behind him, laughing out loud as Minnie tried to throw a pillow at their producer.
[and he's just sitting there enjoying this PLS HAHAHA]
-
"Alright," she took a deep breath as she pushed herself up to her feet. "I'm gonna go now."
"You're not staying?" Dino turned around, looking up at the older member.
[IF SOMEBODY LOOKS AT YOU WITH EYES THAT BIG, YOU STAY]
Minnie stopped in her tracks, "You wanted me to stay?"
He shrugged, "No no, I just thought maybe you want to."
[DINO PLS I CANNOT HANDLE THIS ANYMORE]
[HE IS TOO PRECIOUS FOR THIS WORLD]
"Aah..." she let out a sigh, "I'm sorry. I'm meeting up with someone. If I knew you wanted me to stay, I wouldn't have made plans."
[just drop them, minnie]
[drop them]
[stay with him]
[pls he needs you]
[LOOK AT HIS EYES]
"It's okay, don't worry," he assured her. "Go, don't make them wait."
[noooo dinooooo]
The girl couldn't help but chuckle after she finished putting on her jacket again. "I shouldn't 'tell them, wait'," she imitated the sound of the song he was about to record, getting a laugh from him in return.
[... girl has been spending too much time with wonwoo bc good god, that was even worse than a dad joke]
"Exactly," he chuckled.
Before she left the duo to finish the recording, Minnie leaned down to be back in the camera's shot.
"Carats, please support Dino's solo well. It's gonna be really good and I know you're gonna love it."
[and she was right]
[we did]
-
[INSIDE SEVENTEEN] UNESCO Youth Forum Special Video Sketch
Seungkwan was grasping onto the sheets of paper in his hand, the maknae of the group right by his side as they read through the lyrics they had printed out. They were going through the English version of the group's song 'Together'. With both of them unsure about their pronunciation, Dino started looking around.
His eyes stopped scanning the room. "Noona!" He called out for the female member who was out of the cameraman's view.
[i could literally make a compilation of just him shouting out for her and wouldn't get tired of it]
"Can you help us?"
[OF COURSE BABY]
With quick steps, Minnie jogged up towards the two, coming to a halt by his left side. "Hm?" She hummed as her eyes fell onto the black-on-white text in front of them.
[girl was so quick]
[she'd definitely drop everyone and everything to help him]
[reminds me of when wonwoo called her with na pd-nim and she was on her way literally while they were still talking]
[she loves them so much, like HOW]
"You and I are never losing our way. You and I, we will be walking straight." The two younger members sang along to the song that was playing in the background. Seungkwan went over the lyrics with slightly more ease than Dino, who started chuckling at his own struggle.
"Try going slower first," the female member placed a comforting hand on the younger's upper arm.
[she is so patient]
[... god... please let me have my own minnie]
[or dino honestly too]
"But it's supposed to be sung at a quick pace," he told her.
Minnie nodded. "Yeah, but try speaking the lyrics slowly first and then increase the speed. That way your pronunciation will be clearer and you won't stumble over your words."
[THE PATIENCE]
[the way she's also explaining it to him so softly]
[as if he was delicate keramic]
[what a comparison, wow...]
With a grin, Dino turned towards the camera, "Everyone," his arm was thrown over the petite shoulders of the '97 Liner. "I have the best English teacher."
[AWWWWW STOP]
Getting a shy giggle out of her and a smack towards his chest, making him chuckle.
-
After his somewhat decent acrostic poem to UNESCO, Dino called out for the girl as she walked past the cameraman's back. Without having to be asked twice, Minnie showed up right next to the younger member.
"We're filming for UNESCO right now and we'll be in Paris in a few days, right?"
"Mm," the female performer nodded with a grin, the strong wind blowing through her hair, making her squint her eyes and tighten the colourful jacket around her body.
"Are you excited?"
"Of course," she smiled, "I can't wait to finally be in France with almost all of the members."
Dino nodded along with her answer. "Should we learn a little bit of French? Can you teach me something?"
[he really wants her to teach him, stoooop]
[omg imagine if he just started learning french from her]
[he'd be unstoppable]
Minnie chuckled, "What do you want to say?"
The maknae looked around the open field for a second as he thought to himself, the girls' eyes never leaving his form. He turned back towards her. "Something like 'thank you for your support'."
"Merci pour votre soutien."
[fuck, she's so hot]
"W-What?" Dino just glanced at her dumbfounded, taken aback by her quick answer, not remembering a single syllable that just dropped from her mouth. "What did you just say?"
[same dino, same]
Minnie couldn't help but laugh out loud at his reaction, stumbling back a few steps. Her cheerful sounds must've caught the attention of Wonwoo as he suddenly showed up next to her, bringing the girl into the middle of the two male members.
[and oop, there we go, the next dinonara appeared]
"'Thank you for your support' is 'merci pour votre soutien'"
"Ok," the youngest nodded slowly, "Merci-"
"Hm," Minnie supported him with a smile, "pour."
"Pour."
"Votre."
"V- Votre."
"Soutien. Sou-"
"Sou."
"Tien."
"Tien. Soutien?"
"Exactly," she nodded proudly.
[SHE'S SO PROUD OF HIM]
[LOOK AT HER SMILE]
[AW MINNIEEEEEE]
"Merci pour-" Dino stopped himself before continuing, glancing at her with squinted eyes as he tried to remember the correct pronunciation.
"Votre soutien," Wonwoo suddenly spoke up. "Merci pour votre soutien."
[HUIDHNIFJBHUZDGBP]
[I ACTUALLY JUST THREW MY PHONE AGAINST THE WALL]
[THIS MAN JUST DROPPED THIS SO EASILY]
[WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK]
[just when we thought he couldn't get hotter...]
With a shocked facial expression, the maknae looked at the '96 Liner. He pointed at him, "Who on earth do you know how to say it so perfectly?"
[RIGHT?!]
[i mean i'm no french expert but that sounded pretty freaking good]
[also: if you have minnie as a teacher, you're gonna learn well either way]
Getting the rapper's signature deep laugh in return.
"I already taught him," Minnie chuckled, looking back at the other member as he caught himself again, a small smile still on his lips.
[this is a minnie x dino video, so could you quit acting like the cutest freaking lovebirds, my god]
[:)]
"Aaah, ok ok," the '99 Liner smiled along with the older duo. "Ok, so... Merci pour... votre... and then?"
"Soutien."
"Soutien is support?"
Minnie nodded.
"Merci pour votre soutien," Dino repeated her phrase slowly, looking straight at the French speaker of the group, whose eyes went wide in pride.
"Yes!" The girl clapped her hands, Wonwoo joining her.
[#proud #oursonisagenius]
The youngest turned towards the camera. "Carats, merci pour votre soutien."
"Well done," she patted his back, the proud grin not leaving her face.
[i could actually cry from the way she looks at him]
-
[Relay Pick] BALANCE GAME with SEVENTEEN ┃Performance Team
[teacher minnie strikes again]
[but yk, sometimes you gotta teach 'em about life]
The next two scenarios were presented to the unit.
"Peeling perilla leaves or peeling shrimps," Hoshi read out loud. Minnie's head popped out from behind his shoulder, trying to get a look at the screen ahead of them.
Dino, who was standing right behind her shook his head, "I don't really know this."
"Really?" The female member whipped her head around, looking up into the wide eyes of the maknae. "You never heard of that?" But he just shook his head.
"Do you know this?" He asked her, to which she nodded.
"Of course, it was a big debate."
Jun, who was just as lost as the youngest of the group, had walked up to the screen, disappearing out of the camera's view.
"Look, it's like this, Jun," the performance unit leader started explaining. He took a step back, urging the others to do the same to create more space between them as he started.
"But why must it be perilla leaves?" Dino suddenly wondered, getting a chuckle out of the female member and making her turn around to describe the situation to him.
"Perilla leaves get easily stuck together, that's why they chose it."
He nodded along, "Aaah, ok ok."
[just accepting everything she tells him]
[i love them]
Mingyu's sudden voice surprised the duo that was deep into their own conversation.
"You're seriously so old fashioned," the '97 Liner commented, "it's a famous topic nowadays-"
"But that just means that he doesn't get jealous easily, that's good," Minnie fought back to the man she shared an apartment with.
[oh- there we go again hahahahaha]
"But he's part of the MZ generation, come on."
"No," a gentle pout formed on her lips as she took a small step back to place a hand on Dino's upper arm, "He's not the jealous type, it's a good thing. Old fashioned isn't bad anyways."
[THE WAY SHE DEFENDS HIM SO HARD]
With a smirk, the youngest turned towards his older sister. "But that means that you're really jealous, right? You know a lot about this topic."
[AND HE THROWS HER UNDER THE BUS JUST LIKE THAT]
[wow dino...]
[she got called out fr]
Minnie's expression changed when she glanced up at him with an open mouth, surprised by his statement. Hoshi moved to the side to take a look at the duo, chuckling at the situation when laughter in the background could also be heard, followed by Minghao and Jun who joined in.
"No!" The girl defended herself quickly, shoving him away from her. "I'm just... I'm into popular stuff at the moment, so I know about discussions like this."
[MH, sure...]
"No, noona. You just admitted that if you know about this, you're a person that gets easily jealous-"
"Alright, but it's not a good thing!" She quickly gave in, getting another round of laughter from the members in front of and behind the camera.
[this is were the real sibling energy is coming through]
[why would he call her out like that in front of the camera hahahaha]
"But how can it be considered normal for a friend to do things like that with your partner?" She whined out loud.
"Well," Hoshi answered her, "It depends on how good their relationship is, I guess."
"It's TOO GOOD if my friend does these things!"
[ngl... i feel a very deep and desperate need to see jealous minnie]
[pls]
[i NEED it]
A soft hit on her shoulder made her chuckle. Turning to the side, she found the youngest leaning into her, his laughter ringing through her ears.
"It's okay, noona." Infecting her with his joy.
[YEAH, CALL HER OUT FOR BEING JEALOUS BUT THEN TELL HER IT'S OKAY]
[little siblings, istg...]
"I'm okay with peeling shrimps," the leader made his final decision, "but the perilla leaf one is weird." He stepped to the side to leave a stunned Minnie in the middle - Dino, with a matching facial expression, right behind her.
"What?"
"Why?"
"Amazing..." Minghao added to the shock.
[they were NOT having it]
[but i get it bc same]
"Peeling it by hands like this," the maknae imitated the action of peeling a shrimp to the rest of the group.
"That's so much worse!" The girl agreed with him. "You take your time to peel it... only to then give it to the partner of your best friend?!" She turned to Hoshi. "That's not okay."
[SHE GETS IT]
"I agree," Dino nodded, linking his arm with hers as he dragged her in the opposite direction in which their leader had gone.
[dino went from not knowing anything about this topic to agreeing with his noona]
[gotta love them]
-
[GOING SEVENTEEN] COMEBACK SPECIAL: God of Light Music #1
[i'm so obsessed with every pi cheolin x minnie/a minnie character interaction]
[why do her characters literally ALWAYS have beef with him HAHAHA]
[but i think that might need to be a seperate video ngl]
[anyways, the following few scenes have still made it into this video just bc i love them so much]
"And I've also been working with a lyricist recently," Woozi explained to the man in front of him.
"Ooh," Pi Cheolin sat up straighter, "Who is this new lyricist?"
"Her name is Minnie, but she sometimes goes by Minhee."
"Minhee?" The man's face scrunched up in almost disgust. "I don't like that name."
['i don't like her name' when it's literally her government name😭]
Getting a chuckle out of Woozi that he couldn't hold back. "Where's she from?"
"She's from abroad. Europe," the '96 Liner continued. "Young and very talented."
"I see..." Dino, deep into his character, glanced around the room. "Then she must be really good in English, right?"
Woozi nodded, "Yeah, she lived in England before. She writes a lot of her lyrics in English, actually. And I, ehm-" he cleared his throat. "I actually asked her to accompany me here today to this meeting, I hope that's okay."
"Oh, of course, of course!" Pi Cheolin raised his arms up into the air. "The more, the better!"
The producer nodded with a smile, "Good, good. She should be here any second, I think." Just right after he had said that, a knock shook through the door.
"Come in!" Pi Cheolin shouted out.
Only a second later, the door opened to reveal the face of the girl they had just mentioned, peaking in to look around. Her eyes held still on Woozi's form, but before she could say anything, the man in the hat shot up from the chair.
"Minnie! You must be Minnie!" With a hard push, he jumped up onto his feet, his chair hitting the wooden shelves behind him before rushing over to the female member.
[bruh HAHAHA]
"What a beautiful young lady!"
[he's too good in this role, i love him]
Without warning, he grabbed her by her upper arms and pulled her in, letting first their right cheeks touch, then the left ones. Each time, he added an overly dramatic kissing sound.
[STOP]
"O- Oh- ok-," Minnie looked at him taken aback as soon as they were face to face again.
[so this was definitely not scripted, i guess]
[HAHAHAHAHA]
Pi Cheolin smiled brightly at her. "That's how you greet people in Europe, right?"
"I- sure? I guess?" She just shrugged.
[her new personality: europe]
Harsher than needed, the man patted her arms, making her almost wince.
[i can't]
"I'm glad to finally meet you!" Without looking at her again, he turned back around to go to his seat. "Please, take a seat! I heard so much about you."
Minnie directed her eyes towards Woozi as she claimed the chair right next to him, raising her eyebrows to ask him 'Really?"
He shrugged, "I only just started telling him about you. I don't know what he's talking about."
With a slow and unsure nod, she sat down.
[they're too good]
-
"I have to be honest with you, Minnie," Pi Cheolin suddenly turned seriously after the three had just negotiated the producer-writer duo to join his agency.
"Ok..." the girl carefully answered, fiddling with her fingers in her lap.
With his teeth tightly pressed together, he hissed in a breath. "Minhee. Your other name."
"My legal name, yes."
"We have to change it." He simply stated.
"What?" Minnie stopped with every little action she was previously doing, glancing over at the man. "But that's my real name. My grandma gave me-"
"We need to change it," he interrupted her, making her send an unamused look right into the camera.
[he really don't give a fuck about the grandma huh?]
For a second the room fell into complete silence. Pi Cheolin had a finger on his chin, looking like he was deep in his thoughts. "What about..." he spoke before stopping for a bit again. "Minstar!" He shouted out, surprising both members, making them cover their mouths as chuckles escaped their lips.
[HOW IS HE NOT DYING FROM LAUGHING]
[MINSTAR?! HOW DO YOU EVEN COME UP WITH THAT SHIT]
"Minstar?" The girl wondered.
The man nodded. "Yeah. 'Min', from Minnie. And 'star' because you are A STAR!" The sudden change to English was all it took for another round of quiet chuckles to fill the room.
[he's so random for what]
After not getting an answer in return, with Woozi covering his face with one hand and Minnie turned around towards the wall, trying to calm down her laughter, Pi Cheolin continued.
With his arms opened wide and a big grin plastered on his face, he stared at the two. "Do you love it or do you love it?"
The girl just sent him a thumbs-up.
[i just KNOW i could never hold it together in front of the camera]
[i know, out of all the members minnie falls out of character the most, but i would be so much worse omg]
[how could you not if you have someone in front of you playing this old man just a little too well for it not to be real?!]
-
As soon as the three walked into the recording studio, where Wonwoo, Jeonghan and Dokyeom aka Leo, Charles and Seokmin, Minnie was holding her hand up to cover her mouth, unable to keep any grins hidden as soon as her eyes fell on her fellow members.
[she was having a hard time keeping it together for literally the entire episode]
[but who could blame her]
They stood up to greet the CEO, producer and lyricist.
"Have you seen these guys before?" Pi Cheolin asked, pointing at the trio in front of them.
Minnie and Woozi shook their head. "We've never met them before," the '96 Liner answered for both of them as the female member was busy wiping away the tears that had fallen from her eyes due to her laughter.
"Oh, is that right?" The man exclaimed. "Then I'll introduce you-" As soon as he turned to the girl, who was crouched over, he stopped. "Are you okay? What's so funny?"
She was quick to catch herself, standing up straight again, "Nothing. Nothing. I'm okay."
With a slight squint, Pi Cheolin glared at her. "Lyricists need to be a bit more serious, I think."
[oh okay]
"I'll try my best," she promised him.
"Well then, let me introduce you to the best singers in the industry! Say hello, starting with you," he pointed at the '95 Liner, who revealed his age and name, followed by Wonwoo until they landed on Dokyeom.
But instead of talking to them, the '97 Liner started moving around, showing them a variety of what could only be described as 'tiktok moves from 2019'. Minnie couldn't hold it again and gave in as she turned to the side slightly, trying to ignore her fellow member in front of her. Pi Cheolin was having none of that.
"No, no," he grabbed her shoulders and turned her back around. "It's rude not to look at people when they introduce themselves." The girl just nodded.
[PLS LET THIS GIRL LIVE IN PEACE]
After a few more seconds, the CEO took the word again. "Your name... what's your name?"
"Seokminie," Dokyeom answered him.
"Oh, Seokminie?" Pi Cheolin's eyes widened. He surprised the girl with a slap on the back.
[why is he like this]
"See! Another reason why you have to change your name." But she just continued to stare at him. "So people don't confuse you two!" Pointing between the '97 Liners.
"So they don't confuse us?"
[...]
"Yes! Look at you two. You could be twins. Both young. Both attractive."
[DINO😭]
No comment was made to his statement as everyone was trying to hold in their giggles. Minnie shook her head.
After a few more jokes back and forth, including Seokmin shouting into their ears and bursting their eardrums, everyone had sat down.
"So!" Pi Cheolin suddenly stood up again. "Now, I'll introduce my trusted people right here." He placed both of his hands on the female member's shoulders, making her tense up slightly, which he noticed right away.
"Aah, don't be so tense, Minstar," he started massaging her shoulders, clearly not in a comforting way though as her face scrunched up and she tried to free herself from his grasp.
[MINSTAR]
[he's really going through with it]
After a few seconds, he stopped, only to squish her face in between his hands. "This is Minnie. We call her Minstar because she is A STAR!" His hands started moving around, squishing her cheeks a slight bit more. "
[minnie is so much stronger than i am bc i would actually beat him up as soon as the cameras go down, but i just know she lets him do this bc he's dino and she loves him]
[bc imagine if this was seungkwan]
I mean look at her." The room went quiet. "Look at her beauty. Her talent. You can smell her intelligence." Another moment of silence washed over the group after he took a big and loud sniff.
[JUST WHY]
"I see, you agree with me." He freed her again, making her touch her own cheeks again and frown at the camera.
"Let's move on to Woozi, the genius producer!"
-
[GOING SEVENTEEN] Don't Lie III #1
[something about dino in this episode was just so pure and cute]
The members cleaned up nicely. Each one of them was wearing a personalised, colour-coded outfit for the filming of the third part of their Don't Lie series. Minnie was sharing the couch with Minghao, Seungkwan and Jeonghan, sitting between the '95 and '98 Liner.
After going through the casualties and flaming Mingyu along the way, the group decided to let Dino be the first in the starting round of the Lie Detector test.
He got down to the floor, to sit right in front of the coffee table with the machine on top of it. After securing his hand with the velcro seal, one of the producers behind the camera started to explain the rules.
"After detecting your heart rate, when you're asked a question, press the button and answer-"
The members listened attentively, some nodding along to her words, but the maknae seemed as lost as he possibly could be. Dino looked to his left, making the girl chuckle as she could practically see the wheels in his head turning.
"How?" He suddenly asked, his eyes wide in lostness.
[THE CONFUSION]
[oh dino]
The group couldn't hold back laughing at his reaction.
Not even a second later, Minnie was already up on her feet, Jeonghan's hand on her back, dropping down to his side.
[she literally only smiled before she SHOT UP to get to him]
[the older sister instincts KICKED IN]
[also: pretty sure jeonghan kinda like pushed her forward bc he saw his baby in need]
She walked over to him and crouched down on the floor, her knees hitting the carpet as she tried to explain it again in simpler terms. But his eyes told her everything she needed to know - he still had no idea what to do. It just made her chuckle even more.
[minnie pls he just needs your help]
[pls help him]
"I'll do it for you. I'll activate it," Minnie placed a hand on his shoulder while her other one was on top of the coffee table, close to the lie detector. All Dino now had to do was listen to the question and answer truthfully.
-
"Noona!"
The female member whipped her head around at the sound of the youngest's voice. An awaiting smile was already plastered on her face.
With quick but short steps, Dino was right in front of her within a second.
"Is there a pharmacist?" He wondered in a hushed tone.
[i love how she was the first person he thought of to ask]
With scrunched eyebrows, clearly confused by the random question, the girl looked at him.
"What?"
"Is there a pharmacist in the game?"
"A pharmacist? Like... someone that works in a pharmacy?" She repeated his words, still unsure if she had understood him correctly. After getting a nod from the maknae, she spoke up again. "Why?"
Dino quickly glanced at his left and right, before leaning into her just a little bit closer and lowering his voice. "Jeonghan said he's the pharmacist," he explained, "I didn't even know there was such a role."
[well ngl i wouldn't believe anything that comes from jeonghan's mouth after being with him in the same group for this long of a time]
[the trust issues i have with this man are unreal]
"Aaah," Minnie nodded, almost unable to hold back her chuckle. After having dealt with the older's mischief for far too long, and getting involved in it for just as long, she immediately saw right through the lie.
You could see her eyes looking around the room as she debated her next statement - she could play into it, or she could tell him the truth.
But with those boba eyes looking right at her, she only had one option.
"No," she shook her head with a grin. "He's just joking with you. There's no pharmacist role."
[BUT DINO AND MINNIE, TRUST ISSUES?! NEVER]
"Really? Are you sure?"
Minnie nodded.
"But he keeps on collecting little pieces of paper that he finds," Dino imitated the size of the mentioned paper slips.
"I don't know... maybe he wrote them earlier? He was writing something before we started filming." The female member dropped the truth, making the youngest look at her with an open mouth.
[she even reveals jeonghan's secrets to dino, like what]
"Aaah... wow..." he shook his head. "He's really passionate about this game."
[he IS REALLY passionate about that game]
[but so is everyone else of you, sooo...]
The female member laughed as she agreed with him by nodding again.
-
[GOING SEVENTEEN] Runner-Up Sports Day #2
Part of the members were standing in a line, waiting for the next instructions during their filming. Vernon was holding the ball they'd be using for the dodgeball match that was coming up. It was fairly windy, but Minnie had found out the Mingyu was a good wind blocker, explaining why she was standing to his left.
[the gose producer's caption 'the great wall of mingyu' was perfect]
Dino was next to her, on her other side.
The group had fallen into a comfortable conversation, forgetting about the multiple cameras on them for just a few minutes.
After finding out that the only members to know about 'Shaun the Sheep' were Vernon and Minnie, Dokyeom had another question,
"Who knows 'Fairly Odd Parents?"
The youngest member of the hip-hop unit turned to the '97 Liner, continuing to subconsciously play with the ball in his hand.
"Ah, the Nickelodean cartoon?"
Dokyeom confirmed his wonder.
Minnie was fixing her hair when the maknae spoke up after a chuckle fell from his lips,
"My nickname in elementary school was Jimmy Neutron." The girl next to him fell into a fit of giggles, her head falling back as she was surprised and most definitely amused by the sudden comment. "My head was so big back then," Dino continued to explain.
[AWWWWW]
With a pout, the female member reached out to touch his arm, leaning forward to rest her forehead on his shoulder, hiding her amusement.
[she adores this man so much]
Without even thinking twice, Mingyu opened his mouth, "It still is." Followed by a chuckle.
[PLS]
[MINGYU]
[no filter]
Minnie's head immediately shot up. Her eyes wide, but her lips pressed together, trying to keep the corner of her lips from curling. She turned to her side and got a groan from her fellow '97 Liner in return as his hand flew up to where she had just smacked him on the chest.
[go off big sister minnie!]
[getting ready for defence]
With a sarcastic unamused facial expression, Dino commented on his statement. "You say such nice things." To which the girl was quick to turn to him,
"Awww," she laughed out and let her hand come up to cup his cheek, leaning onto his shoulder once again.
[PURE ADORATION]
-
In the Soop 1 Ep. 2
[what i want to say:]
[i am very sorry to end this video with this in the soop moment]
[BUT]
[it's literally probably my all time favourite minnie x dino moment, EVER]
[we see them always acting all sweet and loving and just caring for each other]
[but this... this was so much than that]
[and i still cry whenever i watch it]
All of the members left to do their individual things. Some had started getting ready for bed. Others were already sleeping. A few had gone into the kitchen for snacks. The only ones left outside were Dino and Minnie. As it was starting to get colder, Minnie had thrown a blanket around her body, while the maknae had chosen a jacket to keep him warm. The girl had started to collect some of the trash left behind by the other guys and put together the empty bottles of alcohol, so they'd have it easier to throw away.
It was quiet. The only sounds filling the open outdoors were coming from the river from a distance and the crickets and other insects that you'd find close to the woods.
Dino's eyes were trained on the female member, following her every movement.
[i don't know what it is, but dino just gazing at her is something that hits me so hard]
[like, a lot of the members look at minnie in a specific way, but dino... it's very special]
[again: pure adoration]
He stayed quiet, feeling just a bit sorry that he wasn't helping her, but the sudden rush of tiredness had surprised him - Minnie knew that and wouldn't comment on it.
Then the maknae suddenly broke the comfortable silence, "I'm really proud of you, noona."
[LITERALLY STARTED TEARING UP ALREADY]
The girl stopped in her tracks. She lifted her head to meet his gaze. "What?" She chuckled. "All of a sudden?"
"No," he shook his head almost shyly, immediately crossing his arms in front of his chest. "I've been wanting to tell you things like that, but... I've never found the right time."
The female member stopped her actions, taking a seat in the chair that Seungkwan had previously occupied.
[notice how she literally dropped everything and just sat down to listen?]
"Well..." she took a deep breath, "Do you think now is the right time? Do you want to talk to me?"
"I always want to talk to you, but...," Dino admitted, looking down at his hands before up at the older member again. "I don't really know... how to say it well."
"You can always talk to me. I'm always all ears for you, you know that," Minnie reached out to get a hold of the glass of water one of the members had left for her.
[first tears started falling]
"I know- Of course, I know." The maknae gulped. "But I really am proud of you."
The girl's eyebrows shot up as she tried to fight a pout. "Thank you, I'm really proud of you too."
Dino nodded. "You've been working so hard, so I... I just wanted to tell you that. Especially this year, you've been working a lot- I mean, you've always been working very hard with writing lyrics and helping Woozi... and also doing photoshoots and promoting Seventeen so well."
"Thank you, Channie," she smiled at her younger member who had been trying to avoid her gaze.
[something about her using his real name seems so special]
[i mean, maybe it was the alcohol]
[but also maybe not]
She continued, "But you should be really proud of yourself too. You've been doing a lot for not only the group but also for yourself. You've grown a lot over the past few years. You can be very proud of that."
Dino's eyes were fixed on nothing specific as he just glanced into the dark emptiness to his right.
"Do-" he suddenly started again. Minnie was still waiting patiently for him to speak, a soft smile plastered on her face as she couldn't take her eyes off the maknae. "Do you ever feel like you've missed out on something?"
She scrunched her eyebrows, "What do you mean with 'something'?"
He took a deep breath, brushing his hands over his thighs as he looked down. "That's something I've always wanted to ask you... but I was never sure if... if you wanted to talk about it." He took another second to let the question fall from his lips. "...Do... you ever feel... like you've missed out on something because you're in a group with us?"
"Because you're guys?" She wondered.
The maknae nodded. "I've been wondering about that for a long time I think, but especially now... and... after our contract renewal- I don't know-" he shook his head slightly. "I just... I was asking myself that. And if... like- do you ever think about how you're life as an idol in a girl group would've been?"
[HE WAS WORRIED ABOUT HER FOR SUCH A LONG TIME]
[AND NOW HE'S ASKING HER ABOUT THIS]
[bc of the contract renewal]
[makes me kinda think what if he was scared that she wouldn't want to renew it bc of that exact reason]
[brb gotta dry my tears]
A nearly sad chuckle tumbled from Minnie's lips as she looked at the younger member in front of her. "Why are you wondering about that?" Sounding almost concerned.
[fr don't make us cry like that]
Dino shrugged. "I was always wondering about you... and the group... but... when the contract renewal became a topic... I... almost started to feel bad, I think." Minnie decided to stay quiet to let him continue and give him as much time as he needed. "I was thinking about if...if we were maybe taking something from you... or... just in general... if you feel pressured into resigning maybe for some reason."
[...]
[...]
[...]
[WE DO NOT DESERVE THIS MAN]
"Ah..." Minnie sighed, looking down at her own hands, "Why are you worrying so much, Dino?" As soon as she looked up again, the camera, as well as the youngest, caught her glassy eyes. She didn't get an answer from him in return as he just continued to look at her.
"I..." she started quietly, her right hand brushing through her hair as she looked up at the sky and gulped. "I definitely- during the contract negotiations, thought a lot about the future and... also, of course, the past and... everything that has happened and what we've been through and... also how my mindset used to be in the beginning, you know? Because it changed a lot."
"What do you mean?"
"I... I- like you asked about me missing out on something. I never felt like that. I never thought that I was missing out on... for example, being in a girl group. Because... all of you make me so so happy. And... I know that every single member is, like- I know that all of your guys' kindness and support, and... just everything about you... I couldn't ask for anything more, because... it's so much more than I could've ever imagined already. And so much better and... I don't deserve any-"
"No no, stop," he was quick to interrupt her. "You deserve everything, noona. You deserve so much more."
[i don't want to interrupt this beautiful moment but yes, I'm crying]
"No, stop!" She chuckled.
"You really deserve this."
"Well, you do too!"
"But you're doubting yourself right now!" He argued back with a sad smile.
Minnie stopped him with a wave of her hand. "No, no, I'm not, don't worry. I mean... I don't know who even in this world would deserve a group as wonderful as Seventeen, you know?"
[facts]
"You do, noona."
[BUT EVEN MORE FACTS]
"Ah, stop, you're gonna make me cry!"
[you and me both sis]
The female member chuckled as she covered her sight with one hand before trying to wipe away the tears that had gathered in the corner of her eyes.
"No, don't! Please don't" Dino giggled along with her trying to find a napkin he could hand her. After his eyes landed on one clean one, he reached out with it for her to grab. Minnie thanked him.
"There were definitely times where... I doubted if I should be in a group like this, you know?"
[NO MINNIE DON'T DO THIS TO MY HEART]
She continued, and the maknae nodded while listening attentively. "Especially shortly after our debut... and during our trainee years," she cleared her throat, sitting up just a bit straighter. "None of the members have ever made me feel... like... I'm not a part of the group. You've always made me feel very included and... accepted... and just... never made me feel different, but... just... my own mindset and a lot of other things, you know? It sometimes told me that... I'm not- I'm not supposed to be here. That it's supposed to be only you guys-"
"But without you, something would definitely be missing."
"Thank you," she whispered, feeling the tears pool up again. "But I've learned not to listen to that and... just enjoy the time that we have right now. And... that made me realise that there is nothing better I could ever ask for. During our trainee days, I- I've definitely felt a bit lonely at times, of course, because... I was also growing into an adult, and that's a hard time already. But... I'm just so thankful for all of you... that's why I renewed it. I definitely didn't feel pressured by anything. I just... I couldn't imagine what else I would be doing, you know? I love you all so much, and I'm so thankful... I just want to hold onto every single member for as long as I can."
By the end of Minnie's speech, Dino's eyes had also turned slightly more glassy than before, but he continued to nod along to every word she spoke.
[seeing him like this in front of her is actually breaking my heart]
"During our trainee days, I don't think I thought much about it, but as I'm getting older, I started to realise that some times must've been very lonely for you. And I couldn't help but to feel sorry about that. Because... I don't want you to ever feel lonely. We all appreciate you so much and we hope that you can see and feel that... we really do. But when I was younger, all I thought was that it was weird but cool to have so many older brothers and one older sister because I never had that. And then... especially to have you as a sister... someone I know I can always rely on and ask for help and who I know will support me... but getting older, I just had to start thinking about what this all must be like for you. And that it must be very- ah, noona!"
And this point, there were already too many tears to count that were running down Minnie's face. She chuckled at the youngest's reaction, trying to pat away the stains on her cheeks, the silence of the night now also filled with her sobs.
"I didn't want you to cry, I'm sorry," the maknae spoke gently as he stood up, quickly wiping away his own tears that had started to fall before he pushed one of the chairs as close as possible to her. After taking a seat, he was quick to wrap his arm around her shoulder, pulling her into a comforting side hug.
"I just wanted to talk to you about this because I was thinking about it and I noticed that you're never complaining about it and have never said anything about this."
[i will stop interrupting now bc i don't even know what to say anymore]
[i love them so much]
[both of them deserve the world]
"Dino..."
"What?" He chuckled at her sigh.
"You've grown so much. You shouldn't be worrying about me or us in general like that," the tears were still running down her cheeks, but she was able to speak normally.
The maknae shook his head, "Don't say that. We all worry about each other."
"Yeah, but," she snuffled, "You're our maknae..." and looked up at him as his grip around her softened. "You haven't acted like a maknae since... I don't even know... since never. And... it's kind of... really hard to watch you grow up so quickly because... it's okay if you want to act like the maknae. You can act like a maknae! It's okay. That's what we expect from you. To see you all grown up like this and think so much about worries that shouldn't even cross your mind is really scary..."
Now it was Dino's time to look up, trying to blink away his tears. Minnie took his hand into her grasp with a sad smile.
"Please don't think that you have to grow up quickly. I feel like you couldn't even enjoy your youth much because you became a trainee so young-"
"You became a trainee at 13 too," the youngest told her with a somewhat chuckle.
Minnie nodded with a smile, "Yeah, but I was almost an adult when we debuted. You weren't. And... I feel like that may have made you want to grow up quicker than we wanted you to." She reached out to touch his cheek, running her thumb over the fresh tears that had escaped his eyes. "Please don't worry about us so much. Focus on your youth and enjoy it. And be a maknae at times. Don't be so mature, you're gonna make me sad to see you grow up!" Her scolding made both of them laugh and lean into each other.
"But-" Dino cleared his throat, "I feel like you never talk about your struggle and that worries me. I can't help but worry. You're a special person in the group. Of course, I'm gonna worry about my older sister."
"But you shouldn't," she patted his hand again. "I... I sometimes do talk to... Coups-oppa, especially. But you know... everyone has their own worries, so I don't want to hurt anyone with my worries even more."
"I know..." the maknae copied her soft tone.
"It's hard sometimes, but... yeah... everyone is struggling a little bit differently, but we all learn how to deal with it. And... we know that we can always rely on each other."
Dino nodded again. "And I just wanted you to know that you can always also rely on me."
"I know," Minnie told him in a whisper, another round of tears already making their way down her cheeks again. "But don't worry," She took a deep breath, "A lot of happy things have happened recently, so... I'm very happy as well." And smiled shyly, making the maknae copy her expression.
"I'm really happy for you." His whisper hit her ears oh so softly.
"Thank you." With a big smile, she wrapped her arms around the muscular frame of the '99 Liner. "Just remember that you'll always be our maknae. You're not the oldest here, so don't feel pressured to act like it."
"I know," he buried his face deeper into her neck. "You're a very important part of the group. And also to me. I mean it... I don't know what I would do without you, noona. I really love you."
"I love you too, Channie," she tightened the hug, noticing him doing the same, making her smile. After they released each other again, the female member took another look at the maknae.
"And you can always talk to me. You don't have to wait for a good moment or something like that. If you need to talk to me, I will listen. Doesn't matter when or where."
Dino decided to just nod, scared of the lump in his throat that was about to appear again.
[they both have been through literally so much individually]
[i'm so glad they found towards each other]
[if none of the moments from before convinced you that they need each other, i hope this one did]
[i really hope that they will be forever happy and healthy]
[also:]
[i'm actually convinced that finding someone that cares about me as much as minnie and dino care about each other would heal me from inside out]
Taglist: @waosobii @chaebb @lunarxsun @hoe4wonwoo @kimhyejin3108 @soobzao @billboard-singer @cosmicwintr @zwiehe @alixnsuperstxr @angie-x3 @smooore @allthings-fandoms
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And I'm petrified of being alone, now |
Part Eight
Matty Healy x reader
Summary: She’s just trying to get by, really. What with being a single parent to her four year old son whilst simultaneously trying to kick start a successful career as a radio presenter. She’s got everything she’s ever wanted though, friends close by, a mum who’s merely a phone call away, and of course her baby boy. What else is there to wish for? But then, it’s not long before her relatively normal life gets upended and turned on its head, and she’s suddenly forced to deal with situations she’s never even thought to imagine.
What happens when one mention of a certain controversial singer on her show sends a flood of unexpected challenges her way?
Authors Note: Hey! Quick note, this part has a LOT going on, it jumps from pov 2 or 3 times, but there's details mentioned that will make more sense later on, I hope that leaves no one confused:) Also there are a few new characters coming in, some will stay, some won't, so keep that in mind! I was gonna end this part like halfway through and then post, but it felt a little unfinished, so here it is hope you enjoy:))) x
Warnings: A short scene revolving around body image, mentions of scars, drugs, sobriety and heavy drinking
Masterlist
Messages now
Jamie O (glasses!)
In the area, fancy meeting up for coffee?
It had been a good few days since I had last messaged either Jamie or Matty. Though the latter hadn't seemed to have caught onto the fact that I had suddenly distanced myself. Jamie, on the other hand, had and had surprisingly given me some space with it.
Well, up until now that was.
It was a weary sigh that escaped me when I gazed down at my phone, needless chatter of gossiping mums and squealing children having faded far into the background.
I had only just managed to drop Teddy off at nursery, dipping and diving through the crowd to deliver him right to the classroom door, and was already halfway out of the playground now. It was my first day off in weeks- like proper day off. And now, I had Jamie to deal with.
Alright, maybe that was a bit harsh, but saying that, I wasn’t so much of a twat to just ignore the first message he’d sent me in a while. Especially after I'd disregarded all of the man's previous efforts. Still I couldn't quite stop myself from huffing quietly as I shot him back a message, anxiety creeping in.
Messages now
Closer to Tufnell Park than the studio at the minute
Jamie’s response came only seconds later.
Messages now
Jamie O (glasses!)
No worries! Meet you near The Dome?
Sidestepping a few latecomers as I exited the school gate, I chewed on my bottom lip but eventually sent a text to let Jamie know that I'd be there. I only hoped that the man didn't ask too many questions about my sudden disappearance, I wasn’t too sure I could take the heat.
Early morning rush hour was in full swing by the time I’d made my way out onto the highstreet, people bustled past me to get to work without a care, or even an apology, for anyone who got in their way, zooming on ahead like a soldier in a storm. That was one of the things that had taken me some time to get used to, in truth. How different the crowds of London were to the tiny population of my hometown.
I'd just surpassed the underground station when I caught sight of a vaguely familiar head of dishevelled hair. Jamie stood a way ahead, smiling at the passersby with his hands shoved deeply into the lining of his coat's pockets. He wore a pair of dark, fitted trousers and had a smart looking scarf thrown haphazardly over his right shoulder, something to shelter him from the exaggerated cold.
Somehow, his face seemed to brighten upon seeing me approach.
"Glad you could make it!" He said as I approached, and he clapped my upper arm in light greeting. "Thought you would have managed to beat me here though."
I made do with a small smile, before gesturing my head over towards where a quaint cafe sat up a few doors down so that we could begin walking.
"Nah, it's pretty hectic trying to escape the crowds at this time. Did you catch the tube up here then?" I conversed and saw Jamie’s brow dip for the briefest of moments before he hastily shook his head at my question.
"Oh, no. Was just leaving a meeting up in Shoreditch, you were on my route so I thought I'd ask."
I gave a low hum, unsure, but didn't comment on it when I thanked him for holding the door open for me to pass through.
"What are you in the mood for then? It's on me."
"Ah, no it's-"
I didn't even get the chance to decline the offer before Jamie was waving me off with a charming smile and a wave of his arm. "Honestly, mate. It's fine, a cup of coffee won't have me out on my arse. So what do you want?"
Blinking with a somewhat disbelieving shake of my head, I prattled off my usual order in a low murmur and told Jamie that I'd find us a table. Just wanting to be helpful, but also to get a second to think things through.
The cafe wasn't too busy. It held the expected usuals; a handful of early-rising old timers and a couple of suits headed in late. So there were a few free tables up for grabs. I picked the one by the window.
Jamie joined me a few minutes later, wearing his usual grin as he carried over a tray of goodies. I raised an eyebrow at the mountain of sweet pastries procured but the man simply shrugged.
"Looked like you'd had a long morning, figured you to be the chocolate type." He commented as he nudged a large croissant in my direction.
Just looking at the buttery roll made my stomach grumble. Teddy and I had been in a wee bit of a rush this morning to get out of the house after my alarm had failed to wake us, so I'd skipped breakfast and picked Teds up something to eat on the way into school.
Toying with the rim of the coffee's handle, I gave Jamie an appreciative smile. “Cheers.” I breathed out and carefully pulled the plate in a little closer.
After that we both simply sipped at our warm drinks for a short while, watching as the morning commuters passed by the large window. It was a calm affair and far from as awkward as I might've expected the meeting to be. In fact, it was actually the first time Jamie and I had met up since that day at the studio, and even then we hadn't had much of an opportunity to chat.
Still, Jamie’s company felt very similar to that of Adi's- perhaps even Finn's. It allowed me to relax a little.
It was only after I'd broken off the end of my croissant that I spoke up.
"So, is driving across London at nine in the morning just to buy me a drink your idea of a date, or do you do this with all your mates?"
Jamie blinked at me once, twice, before his eyes widened in alarm, which caused me to, quite literally, snort into my tea.
"I'm joking! Don't fret. Just wondering why the sudden change in pace."
Jamie gifted me a sheepish grin in response and took a quick swig of his coffee before he finally replied.
"You went quiet on us." He shrugged as he picked apart a blueberry muffin, separating the berries from the soft sponge, which amused me somewhat. "Gave you a couple days to breathe, but I reckon you've had long enough. You wanna tell me what's up?"
My eyes strayed back to the window as I withheld a sigh, knowing full well that this had been coming.
“You know how it is.” I shrugged, almost petulant, and gripped at my cup a little tighter. "Just got busy. I mean, you have to deal with Matty and the band constantly. Can’t be an easy feat."
I received a laugh in turn but my attempt at a little lighthearted humour didn't derail Jamie.
"I know we haven't known each other that long, and you really do have no reason to trust me, of all people, with your problems. But I am here if you ever need anything. Can't speak for Matty, try as I might, but I wouldn't put it past him to go completely out of his way to do whatever you asked either." He chuckled to himself then, like he knew something I didn’t. "He actually hasn't been able to stop talking about you, you know. Not since we met."
I tapped at the mug and felt my tongue prod the inside of my cheek to keep from snorting at Jamie’s words. I just shook my head.
"Doubt he's even noticed I've stopped replying." I quipped lightly, trying to shrug off the sudden emotion that admission had stirred up.
"Ah, so you have been ignoring us then."
I inhaled sharply and dropped my gaze. I couldn’t outright lie to him.
"Yeah, sorry. Just had a lot going on, you know? This is all new for me, you and Matty, you've just. I don't even know. You just turned up out of the blue and..."
"Sort of invited ourselves into your life?" Jamie filled in with a wry smile.
"No, no! That's- that's not what I meant. Honestly. It's just strange. Different from what I expected." I attempted to backtrack, but ultimately failed.
"No, I get it." Jamie assured, but didn't push the topic any further. "You're stupid, by the way, if you think Matty hasn't noticed. In all the time I've known him, the idiot’s only ever texted me when he's needed something- but the last couple days? I don't think my phone’s stopped going off."
I shovelled another piece of the chocolatey pastry into my mouth to keep myself from replying or reading too much into that.
Jamie released a breathy chuckle and shook his head, as though he could read my reaction, my thoughts. "You've been good for him so far, Mouse. No parties. No drugs. Can't say the same thing about the drink, but he's cut a lot of it out. And I'm chalking that all up to you, ‘cause I can't think of anything else that might've changed in his life to have forced his hand like this."
His words confused me, but then he paused for a moment and purposely caught my eye.
"Whatever's happened, don't let it keep you from opening up. Not just for his sake, but for yours too. Besides, you can never have too many friends, can you?"
I wiped at my mouth before dipping my head in quiet assent. "No. I ‘spose I can do friends."
Jamie all but beamed, looking pretty proud of himself as he reached across the table for a scone. "Now, tell me all the things that I've missed."
***
Matty practically jumped out of his seat when he heard the front door rattle shut.
He'd been on edge since the moment he had woken up, but had decided to try for once. He made breakfast (well, rather a late lunch), tried all that meditating malarky (his therapist would be, oh so, proud), and even ended up doing a loop of the block in a desperate attempt to keep his chaotic mind at bay. But nothing. Nothing. Had been able to keep him from wearing the soles of his feet into the fucking floorboards.
"And where’ve you been?" Matty instigated as soon as Jamie strolled into his sitting room with his usual smile, shaking off the autumn chill he’d invited in with him.
"Around." Was all the twat replied as he draped his heavy overcoat on the back of one of the upholstered armchairs. He paused to eye Matty closely. "Why, what's got your knickers in a twist?"
Matty’s scowl was infamous by this point, but Jamie was one of the fair few to have gotten used to it. A right shame, that. "Nothing! Just- I texted you, wanted an update."
Jamie quirked an amused brow his way and it took all of Matty’s nervous pent up energy not to blow up at him. He could feel his own irritation building though, it tingled in the tips of his fingers and raised goosebumps across his skin.
"That all? You know the team won't give us an answer until they’re certain that it all won't fall through."
Matty gritted his teeth together and tugged a rough hand through his dishevelled hair. "It's bollocks! It's our fucking album, why do they get a say in what happens with it?"
Jamie sighed quietly to himself as he wandered over towards the heavyset globe sat in the far corner. Matty watched on as he slid its top off and procured a pair of tumblers, pouring two fingers of murky whiskey into each of the old fashioned glasses.
"You know why, mate."
They'd had this conversation too many times before. And yet,
Matty clenched his jaw to keep from snapping, lashing out, but his knuckles whitened around the glass when Jamie pressed it into his palm. He almost wanted to laugh.
"Thought you wanted me off the drink?" He remarked coldly but swallowed the spirit down before Jamie could give him an actual answer, or take it away. He only wished that the alcohol burned brighter, these days it barely left a bitter tang on his tongue.
Jamie didn't touch his own as he made his way on over towards the chaise lounge, but his fingertips tapped a smooth rhythm against the crystal. The house didn’t make a sound.
Matty followed, as expected, restlessly flinging his feet up onto the centre table before his agitation once again began to overwhelm him. He huffed when he dropped them back to the floor again, the heavy vibrations grounding him somewhat as he moved to rest his elbows on the knobs of his knees.
"That newest story's doing wonders for you right now though." Jamie told him gently when Matty’s quick eyes met his gaze, his hands still toying with the full glass. "They want to rebuild your image. Figure it'll help with album presales, and they're not really all that wrong, mate. Since you've been out of um-”
“You can say it.”
Jamie rolled his eyes but barrelled on, “Since you've been out of rehab. Well, the public's been enjoying seeing this new side of you. Besides, I thought you liked whatever her name was."
With a scoff, Matty forced his gaze away. "It's complete shit and you know it. PR just wants control. For me to fall in line. And the public couldn't give a single fuck about what I do! All they live for is the gossip, the drama. And that's what I do best, no? Don't worry though, J, I'm sure I'll fuck up sooner or later."
"Don't talk like that." Jamie scolded as he pushed his tumbler onto the table and moved a little closer. He looked to be fighting an internal battle, his fingers twitching on the inseam of his leg to keep himself from reaching out to comfort.
"Oh, fucking come off it, Jamie! You know it's true." Matty spat back, the rage once again building. These past few days had had him fraying. "I bet they’re already sitting there at that table just waiting for the other shoe to drop. And I already know they’ll want to be the first in the know, when I finally do fuck up again. Spout about what a waste of space I am! How they should've sacked me off sooner. That it should've been me and not-"
"Don't."
Jamie’s voice cut through the room like a blaring siren, but Matty had never heard him speak so lowly.
"Don't go there. He wouldn't want you thinking that way."
Matty locked his jaw and narrowed his scrutinising eyes at Jamie. "Don't act like you know what he'd want."
Jamie glanced away for the briefest of seconds and inhaled slowly before his gaze finally returned. Matty could see his own torment reflected in Jamie’s sad eyes. "It hurt me too. You know that."
Matty forced his eyes closed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Unable to deal with the many emotions that threatened to overpower him. He swiped Jamie's drink off of the table and swallowed it down in one, then swiftly stood and strode across the room to make another.
The amber liquid warmed his chest as expected and he felt the moment it hit his empty stomach. He braced himself against the globe's golden stand, leaving his hair to fall helplessly into his face. Thankfully, it shielded his glossy eyes from Jamie’s view.
It was still so hard. Most nights it was all he could ever picture-
No. Not today, he rebuked. Not now. Not again.
It was a never ending nightmare that he just couldn't seem to wake himself up from. And how he fucking wished he could wake up.
Matty went to refill the glass again but faltered. His hand stilled, midair, fingers itching to grab at the ancient old bourbon that sat only inches away, but instead he reached into his trouser pocket and pulled out his phone.
Too many notifications cluttered the screen. But not a single one from the person he wanted to talk to most.
In a fit of dismay, he went to throw the stupid thing at the nearest wall but a hand caught his wrist before he could do any real damage.
Matty’s eyes flickered up to meet Jamie’s- he choked.
"I just-" He tried to force out but the words felt like thick bile in his throat. His lip trembled and Jamie tugged him close. Matty wondered when he'd ever allowed the man to get so close. To breach his high walls.
"I know." Jamie hushed him, allowing a steady hand to come to rest at the back of Matty’s neck. "I know, mate."
Matty wondered if he truly did.
***
Mesmerising.
I let the word play over and over on a loop in my head as my fingertips trailed along the jagged lines of my torso.
Seventeen I'd been- my first time with this boy from college and he had called the scars I was forced to bare mesmerising. As if they were something special, something to be proud of. I'd frozen back then, the word had, so suddenly, hindered my entire world, but he'd gone on exploring without even noticing the way my mind had started to spiral.
The scars had always been a difficult pill to swallow. They weren't mine. I hated how others could so easily claim their own. His scars. My scars. Hers. I didn't want them. They were just there. A myriad of haunted memories to which I'd been burdened with since the age of seven.
All these years later and still I couldn't recall the smooth expanse of skin that had once been there- untarnished, unharmed.
The bronze shadows, created by the setting sun which illuminated my bedroom walls in a burning shade of amber, crawled across the floorboards beneath my feet and caressed my skin. They dipped and curved, exaggerating sharp lines and hallowing shallow slopes.
I'd only meant to have a quick shower, in and out, before Finn inevitably ended up dropping Teddy back home. But I'd left the wardrobe door wide open in my haste to leave early this morning and had yet to shut it, exposing the slim mirror attached to the inside of the wooden door. A slip up.
So now my distorted body stared back at me mercilessly and I couldn't find it in myself to tear my eyes away. The meek girl stood within its four cutting lines just wasn't me. It was simply the reflection of a sheltered kid who'd been forced to grow up far too quickly.
Her skin, hardly what you'd pale but not far off, was flushed and pink all over from the steam of the shower. Her hair, still damp and wet, clung to the majority of her forehead and dripped water droplets down the line of her throat. Her eyes, usually a deep, warm colour, were somewhat sunken, hidden behind heavy lids and long lashes. The dark circles that sat beneath them only emphasised the muted scarlet that rimmed her waterline- a lack of sleep.
I wet my lips. They were dry, bitten from hours of relentless anxiety, but parted enough so that my front teeth could just about be seen. Her face was lined by worry. Fine wrinkles etched themselves around the corners of her eyes and mouth, then again between her furrowed brows.
The scars, faded but somehow still raw, swept up her neck and collarbone, and jumped over her right shoulder. One crept across the cut of her jaw, whilst another sliced through the bridge of her nose to meet another, smaller scar, on her cheek. Her chest, where it had been previously impaled, was now stretched and knitted. Some lines were a few shades darker than her natural complexion, maroon, and oftentimes cardinal. Others were lighter, pale and whitened. Faded.
A gruesome gash down the centre of her abdomen led to a spattering of fine hairs that lined her navel, trailing low beneath the hem of the towel she'd wrapped around her waist earlier. Her hands were now fisted at her sides though, so much so that prominent veins danced up the insides of her forearms, skirting around the few fawn freckles that painted her skin.
Mesmerising.
The sudden blare of a mobile ringing sent a sharp chill up my spine and knocked the air back into me. Shakily I inhaled, averting my eyes from the mirrored prison, then spun round on my heel to answer the call.
There was no greeting, no small talk. It was cutthroat and to the point.
"I need a drink. You coming?"
And I had never answered a question quicker.
--
It was a hard task, squinting down at my phone in an attempt to concentrate on the text I was trying to send to Finn, but the strobe lights and throng of people around me were making the task rather fucking difficult.
To be honest though, I couldn’t actually remember the last time I'd stepped foot inside a club. Or even spent an entire evening sat in the local pub. But I’d been all but desperate, and so, in the heat of the moment, I had practically jumped at the first offer I’d been given.
I was beginning to second guess that decision now though as I pushed my way through the rowdy crowds, the assorted smell of liquor and sweat already clinging to my clothes. I hadn't really put too much thought into those, too busy trying to escape my own head. Really, I’d just thrown on an old skirt from my uni days, a top that made my tits look great but hid the scar there, and the well-worn leather jacket Finn had gifted me at the end of my first year working on the show.
I had just sent the text off, double checking with the man himself that he was still alright to have Teddy til the following morning, when a raised voice caught my attention.
Frowning, my head snapped up but that soon faded once I caught sight of the tall ginger propped up against the bar not too far away. My lips curled up into a lopsided grin on their own command and I was quick to pocket my phone, already moving towards him.
"Mighty Mouse. You actually made it!" Ronan Kelly bellowed in that familiar Irish lilt of his, welcoming me in with a hearty squeeze to the waist as we embraced. "It's a feckin' miracle!"
I gave him an impish smile and dipped my head slightly to rub at my nose, then made the effort to catch Ronan's icy gaze. "I guess it has been a while."
"A while- Babe, I ain't seen you in months!" Ronan laughed, flashing a row of white teeth and wrinkling his bright blue eyes. I felt some of my worries ease at the sight of the man's familiar face, a warm reminder of older days. "Can't believe you actually agreed to come out with us!"
I shook my head and released an airy chuckle, "You know how it is, Ro- got Teddy to worry about now."
Ronan's face, if possible, lit up even further at the mention of the small toddler. "Ah, grand! How is the wean? At school now, right?"
It was sweet of him to ask and I smiled up at him as I went to answer, but was forced further into Ronan’s space when some prat barged past me to get to the bar. Ronan caught me by the waist with a natural ease he’d always been capable of and narrowed his eyes at the guilty party from over my shoulder.
Not wanting things to escalate, I did my best to quickly wave it off and distract. "Teddy's good!" I heard myself tell him, voice slightly raised to be heard over the pulsing music, tiptoeing almost now in his grasp. "He's with Finn at the moment."
Ronan's gaze reluctantly trailed back to me upon hearing me speak, he reluctantly smiled and nodded but had yet to drop his hands from where they were now stationed at my hips.
"I'm sure Finn is completely lovin' that."
With a light laugh, I rolled my eyes at his sarky reply and moved to press my forearm up against the edge of the bar’s countertop. "They're a proper little duo. Finn has been a saint, what with all his help and that. Don't think I'd be standing here today without him really."
"Well, let's cheers to that then, hey?" Ronan grinned, then raised a hand to gesture over towards the barman.
Within seconds two pints were being placed on the bartop, a dizzying yellow colour filled to the brim with minuscule bubbles that had my mouth watering. It had been a long while since a fresh pint of lager had wet my lips and it helped that Ronan’s presence was a comfort.
"Sláinte!" He announced brashly, already having hoisted his glass into the air between us.
"Cheers!" I laughed, clinking our glasses together before gulping down a too large swig.
"That's what I like to see!" Ronan whooped, almost proudly. He squeezed my right hip in celebration before choosing to steer us both away from the bar and over towards a wall lined with darkened booths. "Come on, Auley and everyone's waiting over here, been excited to see ya!”
I only nodded in reply, pint close to my chest as I followed after him, bobbing between an array of patrons effortlessly now. The earlier anxiety shovelled deep, deep down.
***
Withdrawal was something Matty had never thought too much about in the years before. He'd always had everything right there, on tap. A quick hit, a line just to pick him up. It always felt so easy.
But now, without the copious amount of pills, the parties, he finally realised why the fuck people were never able to stay away for too long. Because sooner or later, they always ended up crawling back.
It wasn't so much the flu-ish like sickness that had him reeling, although he really could've done without the high-fever sweats and the full body tremors. It was more that ever encompassing sorrow. The depression that never seemed to lift- but then again, depressed wasn't even the first word he would use to describe it. It was like a thick plume of murky black that fogged every exit, far beyond the gut wrenching nausea that clawed away at his insides at all hours of the day, or the constant drilling in his head that kept him from sleep.
Being without-
Being without was practically maddening. A spiral of hellish days with no escape, the only choice he had was to carry on or simply turn back. And he'd come too far now to run towards the latter, he’d already made that mistake. And if he had anything to thank his godforsaken mother for, it was the sheer stubbornness they both so clearly shared.
Matty couldn't complain though, he wouldn’t, as much as he wished he often could though, because he was still leaning heavily on the spirits. He knew. As well as the band and Jamie, who'd also been hellbent on 'helping'. In their own way.
Although the idiots hadn't made things much easier for him, the guys hadn't put up much of a fight against his drunk ramblings or the never ending mood swings. They just took it all in stride. Which Matty was mostly grateful for.
The alcohol though, he'd currently taken to using as a crutch. He'd drink a little more and more just to cope with the effects, the longing, to get him through to the next day. But he'd never felt too dependent on it before and didn't feel as though it was a massive problem now, he'd been drinking since before he'd worked out how to pick the lock on his dad’s old liquor cabinet. He’d keep drinking ‘til he was near the grave.
The drinking though, was just a baby habit in comparison to the drugs.
It was also how he'd managed to find himself out on a Thursday night.
He'd actually managed to forgo Hann's mothering this time, sending his mate off home early from the studio before he'd called up an old friend. Itching for that familiarity of older times, shaking with it really, but knowing better.
"Oi, Healy- you still with us?" Crowed a loud voice in his left ear.
Matty startled at it and turned back around to find the one and only Danny Willis hanging over his shoulder, usual open-mouthed grin on full display, a drink in hand.
He blinked up at him once before Matty’s lips turned upwards into a lazy smile, he spun around on his foot to get further in his friend's face. "Thought you'd gone off with that bird?"
"Who, blondie?" Danny questioned, smirking now. "Nah, wouldn't have left you hanging all alone, mate."
Matty snorted.
"Ah, so you do care!" He drained the dregs of his bourbon then grinned at the twat, "Always wondered whether you fancied me, Danny boy! Guess this just proves it, don’t it?"
Danny wound an arm around his shoulders and leant in to press a sloppy, wet kiss to his cheek. Matty pulled away, cackling as he tried to shrug the added weight off.
"Prick." Matty scoffed lightly, stumbling as he rubbed at his face. He grunted at the small group he'd accidentally bulldozed into in his haste and they all scowled in return, but it wasn't long before Danny jumped in to rescue and steer him away.
"Come on. Let's get out of here, hey? The next bar awaits and all that." Danny proclaimed, chucking back the remnants of his own drink. Matty chuckled when the man winced and then wiped the corners of his mouth. "Reckon we might be able to find someone decent for you to take home there!"
Matty merely hummed in reply as they pushed their way through a set of double doors and out into the night, not really listening as he propped himself up against Dan's side, ignoring the whispers that tended to follow wherever he went.
"Ah, look at that, would you!" Danny's voice came again, right by his ear, as he paused on the pavement to cock his chin outwards, forcing Matty to follow his gaze. "It's a full moon!"
Matty rolled his eyes.
***
"Come on, Mouse!" Auley tried for the umpteenth time that night. His larger than life smile, I noted, had always been much gentler than that of his brother's. "You can't stay cooped up in this booth all evenin'! You need to put yourself out there, darlin’- have some fun!"
I shook my head, chuckling up at the giant of a man standing before me. "I swear I'm fine here, Aul. You go and have enough fun for the both of us."
Auley's face scrunched up in distaste as he reluctantly pushed away from the table's edge, the dim lights of the bar illuminating his hair, almost seeming to set it alight as it added a halogen glow to the already coppery red.
Ronan chose that moment to reappear, brushing past his brother to settle back into the booth next to me. He set two more drinks down on the table. "Leave the poor lass alone, won’t you, Aul! You know how she gets."
I rolled my eyes, albeit fondly, and Auley did the same as he slowly backed away, mouth quirked upwards. "Yeah, yeah. Yer like a pair of old women, you two- peas in a pod or somethin'."
"Ah, shove off!" Ronan laughed, a deep rumbling sound that shook his whole body. "Think I can hear the dance floor callin' your name, mate."
"Too right." Auley quipped, flashing another bright grin at his brother before he turned back to face me. "Know that this isn't over just yet. You might've won this battle but you ain't won the war, darlin’. I'll soon get that dance."
I snorted, but was unable to help my grin. "One day, babe."
Auley winked at me and I watched on as he melted into the mob of people before us, leaving Ronan and I alone.
I observed the crowd for a long moment, taking note of all their dizzying smiles. For a Thursday night, the bar was oddly rampacked, but I couldn't find it in myself to complain too much, not when everyone seemed to be having a great time.
There was a large group of us out tonight. Alongside asking me to join, Ronan and Auley had brought along the entirety of their flat as well as a few others, some from uni, others from work, I reckoned. They'd all split up within the first half hour though, but they kept drifting back and forth, I could easily spot Penn and his brightly coloured shirt over by the snooker table in the very far corner, and most of the girls had crowded together out on the dance floor.
"Havin' a good night then?"
I repositioned myself upon hearing Ronan's question, he was closer now in an attempt to be heard over the music, and I sipped at the foamy top of my pint before answering. "Yeah, I am. It's, well it's been a while since I last did anything like this." I chuckled, eyes roaming the room again.
Ronan shifted closer once more, the booth’s leather seat squeaking quietly under his weight as the song on the overhead speakers faded into the next.
"I'm glad. We haven't seen you proper since yer last year at uni."
It was true but that wasn't just down to me, I felt the need to say. But instead gave him a small smile as I just shrugged, thumbing the edge of the table, "Life gets busy with a baby. Plus, it's not as though any of you lot had time to just drop by and see me, with all your classes and what not."
Ronan’s lips pursed at my words and a quiet stretched between us. I watched on as he fiddled with the bottom of his pint glass, before finally he replied. "Could've made time. Finn did. Cassie, too. Just- it felt strange, going back after that summer and you not bein' there."
To be honest, I didn't really know what to say to that.
As much as I had loved my time at university, I hadn't really had much space for it in my life after Teddy had come along. And although I’d never regretted my decision to leave, not after everything I'd gone through to get to where I am today. Because my God, had that been hard. I did sometimes miss the memories I’d made there, the people I’d met and, surprisingly, the workload too. It made me question whether I could have had it all, a degree and a baby. Although, I somehow doubted that that was what Ronan was grasping at here.
But it wouldn’t do well to continue to dwell on the past. I'd already spent a large portion of my life doing exactly that, and I’d known in the long run that I would have to have let go of some things in order to provide a better life for Teddy, better than the one that I’d had. I wanted my son to have every possible opportunity, every choice, in order to better himself. I wanted him to be a kid for as long as life would let him.
And as much as I really did love spending time with Ronan and the old gang, I also knew that come tomorrow morning I had actual commitments and responsibilities to attend to. I didn't have the opportunity anymore to skive and bunk off of lectures so that I could deal with a nasty hangover and sleep in. Teddy was always relying on me to come through. And come through I would. Every time.
But right now! I just needed to let my hair down. Enjoy an evening away, and maybe (hopefully) get rid of some of that tension that had been piling up over the previous weeks.
Thankfully though, I was saved from answering when a flushed Alice came hurrying over, clinking her cocktail on the table so hard it's fruity contents spilled out across the wooden surface. The overexcited girl, who was practically bouncing on the balls of her feet, didn't pay much mind to the mess as she threw herself into our booth and peered over her shoulder to search for something or other.
I shot Ronan a bewildered look, but the ginger merely widened his eyes at me as if to say that he had no clue what was going on either.
"Er, you alright, Al?"
Alice's head snapped back so fast that I honestly fretted a little over the whiplash she must've felt.
"No?! Do I look alright?" Alice stressed, digging her perfectly painted nails into the red cushion that lined the booth's back. "You'll never believe who Penn and I just saw walk in!"
I only hid a smile to myself whilst Ronan decided to humour Alice. "Who d’ya see, Ali-cat?"
Alice's face was nothing like I had ever seen before, her usual pretty smile had been traded in for a kilowatt grin, bunching her rosy cheeks and narrowing her soft brown eyes.
"That singer! You know- the one with the hair and the face! Ah, what's his name? From that band!"
"Matty!" Answered Indra- seemingly a friend of a friend of a friend- who had bounded up to our table in the time Alice had been freaking out, practically hyperventilating. "The. Matty Healy!"
"That's who!" Alice exclaimed and was nodding away excitedly now, whilst I simply sat frozen, drink halfway to my lips.
"Didn't you interview him?" Indra queried suddenly, her eyes as wide as saucers whilst her gaze flitted back and forth between me and the bar at an impossible pace.
Shakily, I set my glass down.
"You did?" Ronan piped up beside me. I swallowed thickly before turning my head towards him, then back towards the two girls, who were anxiously waiting on my reply.
"Uh, yeah." It felt as though I’d forced the words out of my mouth. A ball of cotton having replaced my tongue.
"Oh, Mouse! Introduce us, would you? Please!" Alice all but squealed imploringly.
My alarmed eyes flickered back to Ronan again, then Indra, and then Alice.
My mouth had never felt so dry as I tried my best to ground myself, to get over the sudden, unexpected headfuck that had sent my mind reeling.
"Ah, I don't know, Al. It's, well. I-" I really did struggle to find the right words that could possibly get me out of this entire situation, but before I even knew what was happening, Indra was already reaching for me and pulling me up out of the booth.
Alice jumped up to join her and patted my sleeve eagerly before proceeding to try and drag me away. Ronan, thank the stars, reached out to stop them just in time, tugging on the hem of my jacket and shooting the two girls a sharp look.
"Oi, you two. Behave, will yer? You didn't even give her the chance to answer."
Alice looked up and flashed me a sheepish grin, "Sorry, hun."
Feeling sheepish and rather relieved, really, to be freed from all the clawing hands, I waved her apology off, knowing Ali was only just drunk and excited. "It's fine, just- I think I'm better off heading home now in truth. You know, I've got Teddy to think about."
Both of the girls' disappointment was overwhelmingly obvious, but they didn't push it any further, simply nodded and tried to smile as best as they could.
"No worries, Mouse. You get on home, babe. Sorry again."
"Wait, you're not actually leaving, are you?" Ronan questioned suddenly, causing me to cast a glance over at him. He was frowning now, that much was obvious from the deep set line rapidly forming between his bushy brows. "It's not 'cause of that tosser, is it?"
Immediately, I felt myself shake my head, already knowing that the lie would taste bitter in my mouth.
"Ah, come off it! Stay for another round at least." Ronan goaded me, moving to stand with the girls, his hand still on my elbow though.
"Nah, I'd best head home, Ro. I don't want to be dealing with a hangover as well as a screaming toddler tomorrow morning." I insisted with a lighthearted chuckle, I gifted him an apologetic smile whilst fishing out my phone to call a cab.
It wasn't even late yet, just gone eleven, and there was an unread text from Finn demanding that I have some fun. I gave a heavy sigh.
"Don't be like that, babe. Come on, one more drink and I'll even walk you home." Ronan raised a brow just as he jutted out his jaw and smiled.
It was tempting but...
I laughed lightly and shook my head. "Honestly, Ro-"
But the man wouldn't hear it. "Come on, ladies. Help me out here!" He implored to both of the girls standing either side of him now, the way he towered them was almost funny.
Indra giggled just as Ronan wrapped his strong arms around her and Alice, shaking them a little. Alice simply rolled her eyes at him in amusement, but pulled away slightly to squeeze my hand.
"It's up to you, M. You know we love seeing you, but I can call you a cab if you really want to head off now."
I could only smile at her and silently questioned why we didn't spend more time together outside of the group. I could easily recall Finn saying something or other about a pottery class the two of them had attended the previous weekend and wondered if that would be something I might enjoy.
"I'll be fine, babe. Thank you, though." I told her kindly, before turning to face Ronan. "You enjoy the rest of your night, alright? I'll text you when I've made it back."
"Mouse..." Ronan groaned unhappily, "Just one more drink. For me?"
I shook my head and tugged my jacket further around my body as I stepped away from the trio, patting down my pockets to make sure that I did have everything I needed.
"I'll come out again, soon." I promised them, but tried to aim my words at the frowning redhead as I continued to back away. "You can hold me to it."
Ronan worked his jaw before he nodded curtly, and I sighed to myself before spinning on my heel to hastily make my exit.
Only, it didn't quite happen like that of course, because, of all the people, in all the world, I just had to bump right into none other than Matty.
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