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magicshopaholic · 1 year

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Never Have I

Summary: During a break in Seoul, Jimin runs into Sooah - and she’s not alone. Meanwhile, Hoseok sees a different side of Chaeyoung’s life.

Pairing: Jimin x OC, Hoseok x OC (different OCs)

Genre: Exes; humour, banter, flirting, bickering, angst

Word count: 11.3 K

Rating: 18+

Warnings: language, a lot of alcohol, peer pressure, shady characters

A/N: It’s happening! Jimin is back to dealing (or profusely not dealing) with his baggage when it comes to his ex, and Hoseok is back to being a pain in the ass for his best friend’s little sister - just a day in the life 🖤 Takes place a couple of months after A Phone Call and about six months after Movie Night.

Tagging: @bbl32 @quarter-life-crisis2 @meirkive @dreaming-with-happiness @confessionsofamarshlily @jiminjhang @xjoonchildx @tarahardcore @infinitehobi @handfullofcandids

Listen to: “anna (go to him)” by the beatles

jimin masterlist | hoseok masterlist | main masterlist

Sooah checks her phone as she steps out of the building, squinting slightly at the sunlight. The battery is depleting fast; she hopes it’ll last until she gets home. She considers plugging it into her scooter, when she remembers. Whipping around to run back into the building, she halts in her tracks when she spots her target jogging out of the building in Sooah’s direction.

“Hey!” The younger girl - for she has to be younger; no one her age still has bag tags with fur on them - waves and stops in front of her, panting slightly. “Sooah, right? You forgot this.” In her hand is Sooah’s power bank, slightly frayed on the edges but still sturdy and reliable, her name written in the corner in silver ink.

“Right, thanks.” Glad she doesn’t have to go all the way back inside, Sooah tucks her yoga mat under her arm and smiles. “Your phone good and charged?”

“Yes, thank God. You’re a lifesaver,” adds the other girl, rolling her eyes dramatically. “I wouldn’t have been able to concentrate on the class at all if my phone had died.”

“You concentrated alright, from what I could see,” remarks Sooah. “That was a hell of a backbend.”

Her smile brightens and she looks almost shy, as though she isn’t used to getting compliments. “Thanks.” She tilts her head up towards the sun, her long hair shining in the brightness. “Any plans for the weekend?”

Don’t start. “I did have plans but then my boyfriend got called into work which is where he’s going to be all weekend.” She shakes her head, trying not to sound too disgruntled. “Unless something goes really right and he gets a couple hours off tonight, I’m probably going to sit around with no one but myself for company the entire time.”

The girl winces, and Sooah gets the impression that she truly understands. “Well, I mean, if you’re not doing anything…” she begins, shrugging, “my roommate and I are having a party tonight. If you want to come?”

Sooah squints and frowns, somewhat amused that this girl doesn’t seem to realise she’s invited a total stranger to a party at her house. She asks the first question that pops into her mind. “You, uh… where do you live?”

“Hongdae,” she supplies. “There’s going to be drinks and music and dancing… I mean, only if that’s, like, your thing,” she clarifies suddenly. “Totally cool if it isn’t.”

“No, it’s… it’s definitely my thing,” murmurs Sooah honestly, realising she’s actually considering it. “I - will your roommate be okay with you inviting someone she doesn’t know? Or he?”

“Oh, no, Sungmi is cool. We both have free reign to invite whomever we like.” She leans in a bit then, lowering her voice. “To be honest, I won’t know a lot of people there,” she confesses, looking a bit sheepish. “So I just thought a familiar face would be nice. But, no pressure. Obviously.”

“Of course.” Sooah nods. “I’ll let you know if I can.”

“Sure.” She smiles again. “I’ll give you my number; you can text me in case you decide to come.”

“Cool.” Sooah dictates her number as the girl saves it. A moment later, she hears a ping from her own phone. “Got it.” As the girl waves and starts to leave, Sooah suddenly remembers. “Hey, uh… what’s your name, by the way?”

She looks confused for a second before her eyes go wide. “Oh, God, I’m such a ditz. I’m Chaeyoung,” she says, skipping back over and sticking out her hand for Sooah to shake. “Hope to see you tonight, unnie.”

—

The sun is just setting beyond the horizon when Jimin exits the elevator of the Big Hit building into the basement, with a spirited young idol who’s apparently just made his debut.

“... saw you in Wembley, too,” he gushes, in step with Jimin. His youthful face is full of energy and wonder, and his smile is the exact kind that Big Hit looks for to plaster on billboards everywhere. “My group was in the audience - we couldn’t believe it. The stage was just on fire.”

Jimin grins, a mixture of gratitude and pride. Next to him, Hoseok cracks a bashful smile. “Oh, come on. We all saw your debut. You guys are fantastic - you’ll be at Wembley in no time.”

The younger idol - Alex (“half British, half Korean”) - almost chokes. Even taller than both of them, certainly Namjoon’s height, he looks almost deferential. “We’re just learning from you, hyung,” he says humbly. “Even the hours in the studio are crazy - but it’s worth it.”

“Make good use of the free time you have then.” In a sweet yet clear way that they must now part, Hoseok pats him on the back and waves. “Have a good evening, Alex.” He and Jimin walk towards their car as Alex goes in the other direction, his shoulders clearly reflecting the tiredness Jimin remembers from his own debut days.

“Shit, I feel for them,” he muses, watching him until he disappears behind a pillar before turning to Hoseok. “Remember when Jungkook tried to sneak us that half bucket of fried chicken and got caught?”

“And put the blame on Taehyung?” Hoseok chuckles at the memory while Jimin laughs. “Man, we really had to beat some sense into that kid.”

“Still a work in progress,” remarks Jimin as he climbs into the shotgun seat of the car. While Hoseok adjusts the rearview mirror and straps himself in, Jimin checks his hair and smirks at his reflection. “The blond really suits me, doesn’t it?”

“I can’t believe we have to go to this,” grumbles Hoseok, sighing and reversing out of the parking spot. “Such a bad idea.”

Jimin deflates, realising that this tirade of it’s such a bad idea that had been a constant during their recording session just now, was only going to continue throughout this car ride. “Hyung, I’ll say it again. We don’t have to go.”

“Yes, we do,” mutters Hoseok, driving out of the private exit at the back of the building. “Chaeyoung invited me - because I invited her to my house. If I snub her invitation, she’ll probably go running to her brother or something.”

Jimin squints skeptically. “Really? She’ll go running to her brother if you don’t attend a house party thrown by her roommate?”

“You don’t know her like I do, Jimin.”

He rolls his eyes at Hoseok’s serious tone, unable to understand what it is about that girl Chaeyoung that riles him up. “Fine. Can we listen to music?”

“Knock yourself out.”

Jimin connects his phone to the stereo and puts it on shuffle, easily bopping to the music while Hoseok drives with a scowl on his face. Finally, he speaks again. “Hyung? Seriously, what’s wrong?”

For a moment, Jimin thinks he isn’t going to answer, but then Hoseok sighs. “Nothing.” His fingers tighten on the steering wheel. “I just don’t know how to be around her. She’s different and grown up and… we were never really friends.” He shrugs uneasily. “It’s just weird.”

Jimin nods, not quite understanding the extremity of his friend’s reaction. Still, he tries to be supportive. “Well,” he begins, shifting lower in his seat, “speaking as a person who just met her, she’s pretty nice. Fun. You’ve met her a couple times, too, haven’t you?”

“Yeah, at that shoot for Vogue - but she was only filling in for someone,” says Hoseok. “We didn’t really get an opportunity to say anything to each other except a hi.”

“It’s a good start.”

Hoseok cracks a smile. “Thanks for coming with me, though. I know I probably hijacked your Saturday night.”

“Nah, not really. I didn’t have plans.”

“And now your plans involve hanging with Chaeyoung all night.”

“I don’t mind. She’s cute.” When Jimin gets no response, he looks up and does a double take when he sees Hoseok staring at him. “What?”

“She’s cute?”

Jimin rolls his eyes. “Come on, hyung, don’t be weird about this,” he says dismissively. “She is cute. Jungkook thinks so, too,” he adds casually.

“Do I need to put a leash on you two or something?”

He snickers. “Kinky. Do you think Chaeyoung would -”

“I will drive us into a tree,” warns Hoseok, “and I won’t regret it.”

“No, you won’t,” he retorts, unimpressed. “This is Suga hyung’s car. And I was going to say: do you think Chaeyoung would mind that you brought me along?” Jimin clicks his tongue. “You’re being really high-strung about this. Do you have a crush on her or something?”

“Ugh. Let me know if you see a tree, yeah?” When all Jimin does is hum in response, Hoseok sighs. “I don’t think she’ll mind. She said herself that she won’t know a lot of people there, so she’ll probably be glad to see a familiar face.”

“You’ll be one of those familiar faces, too,” points out Jimin. “That’s probably why she invited you.”

“I guess.” Hoseok is quiet for a minute. “I know she’s not going to complain to her brother. It’s just easier to think that because I don’t know what she’ll do otherwise.”

“Here’s an idea: get to know her.”

Hoseok makes a choking sound. “Let’s not get carried away here. We’re not friends.”

Jimin is about to point out that they can be, but for some reason he feels as though the suggestion would be lost on his friend. He therefore leaves Hoseok to his pensive thoughts and stretches in his seat, feeling like he’d rather enjoy this impromptu weekend plan than sit around and decipher his friend’s many sounds and sighs every time Chaeyoung is brought up. In fact, if he’s learnt anything since he was a wee rookie, like that Alex they just met, it’s that free time cannot be treated callously.

With that thought, they reach Chaeyoung’s apartment twenty minutes later. The sun has now fully set and the buzz of a Saturday night is all around Hongdae. Hoseok parks a couple of buildings away and both of them keep their heads low as they pass the crowd, smoothly making it unseen.

“Jesus,” breathes Hoseok, when they step into the building. His tone betrays nothing except that of something unexpected, and Jimin can’t help but agree. Chaeyoung’s apartment is meant to be on the second floor, but it’s no matter since the entire building seems to be in party mode. It looks like how college dorms are portrayed in movies, with young adults bustling around in various styles of clothing, a thin haze of smoke permeating every corner, and thumping music that seems to be playing through the walls.

“Are you sure she lives here?” Jimin asks as they gingerly step in. He dodges a couple sharing a cigarette and grinding to the music at the same time. “Maybe you should call her.”

“No, this is it,” replies Hoseok grimly, snaking his way around a bunch of guys chugging huge mugs of beer. “Come on, I can’t wait to see how this generation parties.”

As it turns out, the aforementioned generation parties alright. The door to Chaeyoung’s apartment, while open, is still on a floor that’s less crowded. There isn’t as much smoke and most of the partying seems to be happening indoors.

Hoseok and Jimin pause at the door, peering in hesitantly. Jimin, at least, recognises no one - although he sees a couple of people do a double take at the sight of him. He smiles back charmingly while next to him, Hoseok gets on the tips of his toes, as though hoping to spot Chaeyoung in the middle of the party.

“Let’s just go inside,” suggests Jimin, and pulls Hoseok with him by the arm. The apartment is small but lively, seemingly held together at the seams, but has the unmistakable air of cool. Jimin can tell, especially when they walk further into the apartment and he catches a glimpse of someone familiar.

“What the -”

But she’s disappeared. Jimin frowns, knowing it’s too much of a coincidence for Sooah to be at this party, this awfully random party, but also knowing that he’d recognise her face anywhere. “Hey, hyung, did you just see -”

“Chae!” Hoseok’s voice is filled with a mixture of exasperation and relief, and Jimin turns to see Chaeyoung making her way through the crowd towards them, a glass of dark liquid in her hand.

“Hey, you came!” She sounds bright and cheerful, not to mention rather relieved as well. “And you brought Jimin! Hey,” she adds with a light laugh, reaching up to give him a one-armed hug. Jimin raises his eyebrows at Hoseok’s stony face over her shoulder and stifles a laugh.

“Wouldn’t miss it,” he says cheerfully, straightening his jacket and running a hand through his hair, trying not to make it too obvious that he’s still searching for the face he knows he saw. He forces himself to look at Chaeyoung. “Nice party.”

“My roommate’s party,” she corrects, shrugging and looking around. “I unfortunately don’t have friends cool enough to smoke out of rolled up bills and still be doing body shots in this day and age.” She chuckles, but doesn’t sound judgmental. “It’s fun, though. You look great,” she adds, fingering the lapel of his jacket.

“Hey, thanks. You, too.”

“Thanks,” she replies sheepishly, sounding slightly self-conscious. “You look good, too, oppa,” she says after a moment, turning to Hoseok.

Hoseok, who’d been watching this exchange with no signs of amusement, takes a moment to realise he’s being spoken to. “Oh, uh - thank you. So do you,” he says a moment later, glancing and immediately averting his eyes from her bare legs under the short skirt she’s wearing.

Chaeyoung seems satisfied with this level of small talk. “You guys should meet Sungmi - she should be here somewhere…” She trails off, peering at the crowd.

“And Sungmi is… your senior?”

“Yeah, from college. Her boyfriend is here, too,” she adds, turning back around and taking a sip of her drink. “He’s pretty cool. Kind of quiet. But his tattoos are rad.”

Hoseok raises his eyebrows while Jimin makes a noise of appreciation, still subtly searching the crowd for her. “What, uh, what kind of tattoos?” asks the former.

“Nothing much. A tattoo sleeve on his arm, a bunch of stuff on his back,” she supplies, her head bopping subtly to the music. “The usual. His cousin’s are even cooler.”

“His -”

“Yeah, they hang out here a lot. Oh, there he is!” She points to the far end of the living room where a guy in his late twenties emerges out of a hallway, a tall girl swaying to the music beside him. His hair is a frozen blue, and Chaeyoung seems to have missed his most important tattoo - the one on his face. “That’s Ice, and Sungmi with him.”

Even Jimin lets out a low whistle, glancing over at Hoseok who looks scandalised. Neither of them bother to ask if his name really is Ice.

“How, uh -” Hoseok swallows. “And, uh, where - where did she meet this gentleman?”

“A concert.”

“Yeah? What was he doing at the concert?”

Chaeyoung gives him a look. “I don’t know. What do you do at a concert?”

Jimin snickers while Hoseok narrows his eyes. “I perform. What does Ice do?”

“Oh. Duh.” She lets out a light laugh. “He was just in the crowd. She met him while he was filming the mosh pit.”

Hoseok chokes just as the most familiar face comes back into view for Jimin - and this time, she spots him, too. “Of course,” he whispers, his heart already racing as her eyes light up with recognition.

Next to him, his friend seems to spot her, too. “Hey, is that Sooah?”

Chaeyoung frowns in surprise and turns around as Sooah makes her way over to them. In a shimmery top and black jeans, she looks, once again, like she just heard about this party and turned up to it, dressed to perfection for the occasion.

“Guys, hi!” She sounds more relieved than any of them at the sight of familiar people and immediately reaches up to give Jimin a hug before moving to Hoseok. “I had no idea you’d be here,” she adds, sounding slightly breathless and turning to Chaeyoung.

“Yeah, same here -” Jimin starts to say, but Chaeyoung beats him to it.

“Wait,” she says, pointing to Sooah and Jimin, “how do you two know each other?”

“Oh, we’re -” She catches Jimin’s eye and gives him a small smile. “We’re old friends.” She looks at Hoseok. “How do you guys know each other?”

“Same,” replies Hoseok, gesturing to Chaeyoung. “We’re old… neighbours.”

Chaeyoung wrinkles her nose. “Smooth.”

Hoseok makes a face while Jimin swallows, feeling the familiar rush of excitement and anticipation at seeing his ex-girlfriend. “I didn’t expect to see you here,” he says.

“I didn’t either,” she agrees, taking a sip of her drink - a whiskey, from the looks of it - and nodding. “It was shaping up to be a pretty shit weekend in all, but then someone -” She throws a friendly arm around Chaeyoung’s shoulders and squeezes it “- invited a practical stranger to a party at her house.”

Chaeyoung chuckles, a faint blush spreading to her cheeks. “You’re not a stranger. Today was our fifth class together,” she points out. “But I’m glad you know these guys,” she adds, pointing at Jimin and Hoseok. “I was feeling a bit guilty, thinking you’d only have me and your boyfriend for company.”

Jimin’s mind does a double take but he can’t immediately pinpoint why. When he notices Sooah’s gaze flicker to him, he remembers.

I was a bit nervous to tell you that I’m seeing someone, if I’m being honest.

He’d balked at the word “seeing” but thankfully, Chaeyoung’s remark answers a question he didn’t think he’d be able to bring himself to ask - at least, not without letting Sooah think he really cared.

“You guys should meet him, too,” she says lightly after a moment. “He’s really great.”

“Of course,” he says, glad to hear his voice sounds normal, for if he really thinks about it, he doesn’t mind.

As he thinks about it, he scans the crowd, automatically wondering which one of the guys in this room could be Sooah’s new boyfriend. There’s the one in the middle of a circle by the sofas with a charming smile and a girl on either side of him; if this were high school, this guy would be Jimin’s first guess. But if she doesn’t know anyone at this party then neither does her boyfriend, so Jimin moves on.

There’s another guy by the dining table where all the drinks are, wearing ripped jeans and a leather jacket - in the summer: also potentially Sooah’s type. Then there’s one by the balcony, not really standing outside but not standing inside either, smoking a cigarette while he stands alone. Not quite Sooah’s type of boyfriend, but definitely Sooah’s type of distraction.

Jimin’s brought out of his surveillance when Hoseok nudges him. “I’m going to get a drink,” he says, somewhat pointedly. “You want one, too?”

“Um…” He meets Sooah’s gaze, who gives him an innocent smile. Fighting one of his own, he shakes his head. “You go ahead. I’ll, uh… I’ll think about what I want.”

“Okay.” Hoseok shrugs and turns to Chaeyoung, his tone shifting. “Alright, what have you kids got to drink here?”

She clicks her tongue as they walk away. “Sungmi is, like, two years younger than you, oppa…”

Jimin watches them, fully aware of Sooah taking a couple forward until she’s right next to him. He catches a faint whiff of her perfume, something like roses and sugar.

“You look great,” she says, giving his frame a quick once-over.

He tries, for a moment, to think of something witty to say but gives up. “Thanks. You, too. But you know that,” he adds.

“I hoped.” She nudges his shoulder softly. “I’m really glad to see you.”

“You are?”

“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?” Sooah holds his gaze for a second before her shoulders fall slightly. “Come on, Chim. This isn’t going to be awkward, is it?”

Jimin flushes, suddenly feeling rather juvenile. “Of course not. It’s really good to see you, too, Sooah,” he says after a moment, realising he means it.

“Great.” Sooah nods in what he imagines is sympathy. “I would… really like for you to meet him.” There’s no need to specify who “him” is referring to. “If you’re okay with that.”

“Of course. Sooah, come on, I know we were… fooling around,” he says, and they share a sheepish smile, “but we haven’t dated in years.”

“Five years, to be exact,” she remembers softly.

He swallows. “Yeah. We’ve both dated since then. It’s not a big deal,” he adds, not fully sure if he even believes it himself.

Sooah watches him for a moment before nodding. “That’s true. I guess we’ve just never been friends while dating someone else. This would be the first time.”

“That’s a lot of pressure.”

She laughs and squeezes his shoulder. “I have faith in you, Chim.”

“And I have faith in you. Which is why I hope that I didn’t get replaced by a guy wearing metallic buckles in his jacket.”

She immediately turns in the direction he’s gesturing in, before snorting. “God, no. It would be so difficult to take off,” she adds cheekily.

“That’s what I thought.” He taps his temple dramatically. “The guy with the red hair, though -” He points at the makeshift bar, “he just drank the foam out of the mug while he poured his beer.” He lets out a low whistle. “Come on, that’s got to be impressive.”

“Everything a girl looks for in a guy,” she agrees dryly. “Any other guesses?”

Jimin grins, for this exercise feels like a crash course in Sooah’s romantic past - the one list Sooah has admitted in the past that was topped by him.

“Oh, I don’t know. How about that one over there? We all know how much you love facial piercings.”

“A real winner.”

“And he’s got one of those cool wrap-around earphones. Sooah, you may just have hit a jackpot with -” He breaks off when he sees Sooah’s gaze shift to something behind him.

“All worthy guesses, Chim,” she begins, clearly trying to suppress a smile, “but it’s time you met the real one.” She pats his shoulder and grins. “I’ll be right back, okay?”

Jimin takes a second to process this abrupt change in topic but turns to watch her wade through the crowd, only to reach -

“Fuck.”

The word falls out of his mouth before he can help it, and he hasn’t a clue what it means. All he knows is that when he sees Sooah reach up to hug debut rookie half-British-half-Korean Alex, he almost wonders for a moment if coincidences really do occur in the universe or if the universe just enjoys fucking with him.

As Sooah brings Alex over, Jimin is suddenly conscious of his hands. They hang by his side uselessly before he quickly stuffs them into the pockets of his jacket, just as Alex catches sight of him.

“Jimin sunbaenim!” Alex exclaims, loud enough that a couple of people even turn to look. “Sorry,” he mutters sheepishly. “I didn’t know you were going to be here, too! Sooah, do - do you know him?”

Sooah doesn’t speak for a moment. She looks up at him and nods before, with what looks like an enormous effort, she turns to Jimin. “Yeah, we know each other from school,” she says to Alex, while her gaze bores into Jimin’s, as though daring him to say something.

Jimin, for all his self-control, gives her a wide smile. “It’s true,” he agrees. “Sooah was the most popular girl in our class.”

“Really?” Alex grins down at her and they seem to share a momentary private joke. “Somehow, I can believe that.”

“And Jimin was the best dancer in our class,” she adds, nudging his arm. “And the best at math.”

“I can believe that, too. The dance part, not the math,” corrects Alex immediately. “I mean - I’m sure you were good at math, too, hyung.”

There’s a moment of awkward silence before Jimin chuckles. “It’s okay. You didn’t tell me this was your night off.”

“Big Hit must have gotten more lenient over time,” offers Sooah, giving him a knowing look.

Alex doesn’t catch on. “We’ve been rehearsing for three days straight so they gave us tonight to go home. But I haven’t seen Sooah in a while, so…” He shrugs and puts an arm around her shoulder. Jimin is surprised to see the smile that involuntarily appears on her face, when Alex continues. “You would know what that’s like, though, hyung.”

Jimin doesn’t say anything for a moment. “It’s the price of debuting,” he says finally, slowly looking over at Sooah, whose smile fades slightly.

“Seems like it’s worth it.” Before Jimin can process why this response stings something ancient in his heart, she turns to Alex. “Let’s get you a drink?”

“Oh…” He winces apologetically. “Sorry, noona, I can’t drink tonight. We have that shoot tomorrow…”

“Oh, yeah, I almost forgot.” She bites her lip before linking her arm with his. “Alright. Why don’t you come with me while I get a drink? You should say hi to Chaeyoung, too.”

“Yeah, of course. I’ll see you around, sunbaenim,” he says to Jimin, eyes shining, before he and Sooah leave for the drinks’ table.

Years and years ago, when Jimin had first accompanied Sooah to one of their high school parties, he had wondered for the umpteenth time whether they even made sense together. When they were alone, they did. They laughed, bickered, kissed in empty classrooms and texted all night underneath the covers. Beautiful, popular Kim Sooah was goofy and silly and funny and adorable, and Jimin felt like he’d won the lottery at sixteen.

But out in public, Kim Sooah was Kim Sooah, and Jimin was the boyfriend that everyone subconsciously frowned at momentarily before smiling and introducing themselves. Sooah hadn’t left his side, though, not even when her friends had called her over, not when the drinking games had commenced. She’d given him his first drink - a vodka - a little hesitantly.

“This doesn’t make me a bad influence, does it?”

She’d bit her lip, red and plump, as she tugged her tube top up her chest. Jimin, who’d been fairly curious about alcohol anyway, had only one answer in mind.

“Of course not,” he’d said, smiling and taking the glass. “I need to fit in with your friends eventually, don’t I?”

“Don’t worry about them,” she’d said dismissively. “It doesn’t matter what they think. You don’t have to drink that if you don’t want, Jimin.”

He appreciated it, but Jimin knew he had a rare opportunity. Boys like him didn’t attract the attention of girls like Kim Sooah; if he had any hope of sustaining this, he needed to prove he could fit in with the cool kids.

Across the room, Sooah mixes herself a gin cocktail, hands moving with ease. Next to her, Alex reads the label of a soju bottle before muttering something to her that makes her laugh and nod.

“Wow, you’re Jimin, right? From BTS?”

Startled, Jimin turns to see a girl about his height, her face flushed as she takes in his appearance.

“Um -” He clears his throat. “That’s right.”

“Wow, I can’t believe it,” she breathes. Behind her, a couple of more people spot him, their eyes going wide. “Can I take a selfie with you?”

“Uh, sure.” Before he knows it, she’s leaned over to him and raised her phone, clicking a series of pictures in succession in which she’s pouting and he’s just about registering what’s happening.

“Thank you,” she gushes, reaching over and giving him a half-hug that he returns hesitantly. “Find me later,” she says in a low voice before stepping away. “If you’re still here.”

It takes Jimin a moment to gather his bearings, even as a lightness spreads through his insides. Suddenly confident, he struts over to where Sooah is standing next to the mantle, this time by herself.

“So,” he begins, leaning against the wall next to her as she scrolls through her phone, drink in her other hand. “Where’s my biggest fan?”

Sooah doesn’t even look up. “Probably in a dark room somewhere, stalking your flight schedule?”

“Not him,” says Jimin, unfazed. “My other biggest fan.” He leans closer to her, his bangs brushing hers. “Noona.”

“Don’t start, Jimin.”

He laughs. “What? I thought you hated being called noona.”

“I don’t hate it.”

“Really? You threw a piece of chalk at Taehyung’s head when he called you that once.”

“That’s because he was fucking with me,” she clarifies, finally looking up at him and holding up a finger. “Secondly, it’s a little hard to get annoyed by it as you get older. There’s too many people calling you that all of a sudden.”

“Including your boyfriend. Where is he, by the way?” Jimin asks, scanning the crowd briefly.

“He ran into someone he knew.” Sooah turns to face him, leaning sideways against the wall. “Jimin.”

“Sooah.” He grins down at her, his gaze involuntarily flickering to her red lips. “Did he mention that I ran into him at Big Hit?”

“No. Was he supposed to?”

“Fans do that sometimes. How have we never been introduced before? I mean, we seem to have a lot in common.”

Sooah scoffs. “This might surprise you, but you are not first in line of the people I want to introduce my boyfriend to. But wait a second,” she adds, straightening up slightly, “weren’t you dating a girl, too? When do I get to meet her?” She looks around, as though hoping to spot her. “You didn’t bring her?”

Jimin frowns and it takes him a second to place the name. Ahnjong. The name, still one of the sweetest he’s ever heard, swims through his mind, as does the disastrous ending to their date two months ago.

“Yeah, that…” He rubs the back of his neck. “We, uh… we decided to see other people.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Not like, say, your boyfriend.”

“Jimin,” she repeats.

“Sooah.”

She sighs. “God, you’re cocky.”

Jimin chuckles as she rolls her eyes. “Hey, I love my fans, alright? They are what keep me going, Sooah. You should be more respectful of that.”

“Shut up.”

“What? You used to be one of them,” he reminds her.

“Yeah, and now I’m dating one of them.” She holds his gaze. “He’s my boyfriend, Jimin.”

“He’s a rookie.”

Sooah raises an eyebrow. “And?”

Whatever Jimin had been about to say goes straight out the window in an instant. “And…” He pauses, desperate suddenly to change tacks “… where does he find the time to date?”

She shrugs. “I don’t know. Where did you find the time to date?”

“I didn’t,” he points out forcefully. “That was the problem, apparently.”

“That was not the -“ Sooah breaks off abruptly, exhaling. “No. No,” she mutters, shaking her head before looking up at Jimin. “You really want to do this now?”

“You’re the one who brought it up,” he shoots back, even as his heart races. All it takes is a momentary lapse of emotion for them to fall back into the darkest pits of their history, and Jimin isn’t sure she wants that. Not with her new boyfriend in the vicinity.

Sooah sighs and looks away uncomfortably. “Look, aside from the girl that I met at yoga class today for the first time, I don’t know a single person here. Except for you.” She tilts her head and frowns slightly. “Can we please not do this now?”

A vision of teenage Kim Sooah, soft cheeks and sparkling eyes, whining cutely at him for the first time clouds Jimin’s mind. Even sweaty after volleyball practice with her hair unbrushed and tumbling down her shoulders, she was irresistible.

“You know Hoseok hyung,” he points out after a moment, mimicking her position.

She shakes her head. “Doesn’t count. He’s busy. In fact,” she continues, just as Jimin opens his mouth “word on the street is, he’s been prowling around the apartment and was last seen in the kitchen, taking pictures.”

He frowns. “What? Like, selfies?”

“No, pictures of the kitchen.” Sooah drops her hands from her hips to her sides. “I mean, I’m sorry to tell you this, Jimin, but your friend might be a crazy person.”

None of this makes a jot of sense to Jimin. He stares at her before clearing his throat. “Okay, we’ll - we’ll circle back to that,” he says quickly, pinching the bridge of his nose. “So… what? We’re going to play drinking games until your boyfriend joins us?”

“Yes,” she answers, looking relieved. “That’s exactly what we’re going to do.”

“Fine. Twenty questions.” He smirks.

Sooah rolls her eyes. “Oh, God. Okay, twenty questions. But I’m warning you, you may not actually want the answers to some of your questions.” Her gaze darts to something over his shoulder and Jimin turns to see Alex wave back as he talks to a girl. “Do you mind if he joins us?”

Do I ever. “Hey,” he says, shoving his hands into his pockets, “I am all for hanging out with -“

“Do not say my biggest fans.”

Jimin scoffs. “I was going to say… I’m all for hanging out with my ex-girlfriend’s… new boyfriend.”

Sooah gives him a look before chuckling. “You are so transparent, Chim.”

Jimin laughs. “What? You can invite him if you want.”

“Nobody should play drinking games with you,” she states, poking him in the chest. “Not without supervision.”

He nudges her shoulder playfully with his. “You’re supervising me, aren’t you?”

“And we both know I’m a really good influence.” She taps his shoulder and grabs his arm, steering him to the drinks table. “Go on, choose your poison. Oh, wait, I know your poison,” she chuckles, grabbing the vodka and cranberry juice.

Jimin snickers as she makes him his drink, taking sips of her own from next to her. When she hands him the pink cocktail, smelling like just the right combination of sweetness and youth, he suddenly feels as though the entire night was leading to this: a wild Saturday night with Kim Sooah.

“Cheers.” She clinks his glass with his and watches as he takes the first sip, grinning when he dramatically smacks his lips.

“You can become a great bartender,” he tells her genuinely, his face already feeling warm from the vodka. “If this entire event planning thing doesn’t work.”

“It’s worked out well so far,” she says serenely. “I get to meet a lot of pretty cool people that way.”

Jimin bites his lip, remembering the last time he’d attended an event she was working at. He wonders if she’s truly being so bold as to bring that up, when he remembers that a work event is also where she’d met Alex. His drink seems less pink all of a sudden.

Sooah doesn’t seem to notice. “Okay, I’m going to go rescue Alex now,” she says. “I’ll be right back.”

“For twenty questions?”

“Or something.” She rolls her eyes but smiles, already taking a step in Alex’s direction. “Don’t make me regret this, Chim.”

Jimin simply raises his glass in response as he watches her go. Across the room, Alex doesn’t seem at all like he needs rescuing; his smile is the smile, the media smile that’s drilled into every trainee as he nods at the girls speaking to him.

It’s not quite Sooah’s move, he reflects. Jealousy had never been part of the many issues they had dealt with, which made sense given that there had never been another person that had entered their relationship. Just the two of them had been enough for it to implode each time.

As she reaches Alex and joins the conversation with ease, however, it occurs to Jimin that his data points are limited to their relationship only - and just because she wasn’t jealous with him, doesn’t mean she doesn’t get jealous at all.

The realisation confuses him to no end, as does the annoyance that comes with it. He gives her a proper once-over; she’s as gorgeous and sexy as ever, still somehow the life of the party despite not knowing anyone, but the attraction ends there. There’s too much baggage that prevents him from going further and the fact that one of them is in a relationship can finally signal the end of their ambiguous connection.

Sooah leans into Alex’s side then and he puts his arm around her shoulder. Jimin rolls his eyes, deciding he can’t watch this anymore; just because they’ve moved on doesn’t mean he needs a front row seat for their honeymoon period. He turns around and heads into the kitchen, only to be met by Hoseok with his phone pointed at nothing in particular.

“Uh, hyung?” Jimin steps in gingerly. “What are you -”

“Look at this,” interrupts Hoseok, not taking his eyes off the screen until he clicks a picture. He points to something in one of the lower cabinets and Jimin peers over his shoulder to check it out. “Look at how close the gas line is to that plug point.”

“The -”

“What if it sparks?” Hoseok shakes his head, eyes wide and manic. “The entire apartment could catch fire!”

“That’s a bit unlikely,” points out Jimin hesitantly. “And… why are you taking a picture of it?”

“I’m sending it to her brother,” he mutters, going back to examining the offending gas line. “God, this is so typical of Chaeyoung. So irresponsible.”

“So your solution is to tattle on her?”

“Well, she’s not going to listen to me.” Hoseok scoffs, turning and pointing to one of the upper cabinets. “Look here. Do you see that?” he asks, tapping a splintered piece of wood jutting out at his eye level. “I almost knocked my head on it.”

Jimin raises his eyebrows. “Well… she’s about six inches shorter than you so it’s probably not as much a problem for her?”

“Irrelevant,” he dismisses immediately. “Anyone could get hurt. Look, I don’t like having to take such drastic measures, alright?” he continues. “But believe me, she is going to resist every single suggestion that either of us -“

At that moment, a shorter figure comes barrelling into the kitchen, leaving a faint flowery scent in her wake.

“Oh, God, it’s true,” she exclaims with dread. Reaching forward and snatching Hoseok’s camera, she gasps as she sees the picture on it. “Jesus Christ, oppa, why do you have to be such a freak?”

“I’m the freak? Look at your gas line!”

“There is nothing wrong with -”

“Chae - do you have any idea how dangerous it is to have it so exposed that it’s -”

“It doesn’t even matter! It’s not my apartment,” she reminds him, throwing her hands in the air in frustration. “It’s Sungmi’s, and I can’t go around changing things without discussing them with her.”

Hoseok glares at her before exhaling through his nose, apparently trying to calm himself. “What about this?” he demands, pointing at the broken cabinet.

Chaeyoung raises her eyebrows “What about it?”

“Do you need her permission to get things fixed, too?”

“Um, kind of, yeah,” she answers, looking a bit incredulous now. “I can’t afford to get things fixed by myself in any case. And besides,” she continues, reaching up and tapping the piece of wood, “neither Sungmi or I can even reach this.”

“I’m sure Chan will be more than happy to help you out.”

Even Jimin, who hasn’t known Chaeyoung very long at all, knows from the way her eyes widen that this was the wrong thing to say.

“Oh, of course you think Chan needs to come to my rescue!” She scoffs and places her drink on the counter with a loud thud. “You really don’t think I can make it a second without my perfect brother, do you?”

“That’s not what I meant! I just - okay, I’ll pay for it,” he backtracks hastily. “I don’t mind, really, just as long as you -”

“Seriously? I don’t even know when I’ll be able to pay you back.”

“You don’t have to -”

But Chaeyoung cuts him off. “And you’re overreacting, oppa,” she informs him, folding her arms across her chest. “The only person who can even reach this is Ice, and he’s never brought it up in all the -”

“Ice? How often is he over here?” He whips around to look at Jimin, as though expecting him to have the answer. Before Jimin can stutter out a response, however, someone else joins them in the kitchen.

“Hey,” a voice drawls, sounding like it’s coming from miles away. Everyone turns to see the aforementioned Ice, blue-grey hair, facial tattoo and crooked smile on full display. In one hand is a glass of whiskey and in the other, a joint between his fingers. “Thought I heard someone say my name.”

“Oh… hey, Ice,” says Chaeyoung, taking a step back.

“Hey, hey,” he replies, swaggering into the kitchen with that distinct aura of speaking from far away. “Everyone having fun?” he asks, reaching down to hug Chaeyoung without warning, who simply pats his shoulder as he steps away.

Ice doesn’t seem to realise, drifting sideways to hug Jimin next. “It’s a party, yo,” he informs them, raising his joint. “Come on in, man,” he says to Hoseok, apparently waiting for a hug. When he doesn’t move, Jimin suppresses a snort, immediately burying his face into his glass.

Ice frowns, looking mildly confused. “No?” He places a hand on Hoseok’s shoulder. “I like this one,” he says to no one in particular.

Hoseok, clearly speechless, simply stares at Ice’s hand before looking back at him, and then at Chaeyoung as if to say Really?

Even Chaeyoung shrugs, looking somewhat embarrassed until a few more people enter the kitchen and Ice is successfully distracted.

Jimin, who had been greatly enjoying the episode between Hoseok and this girl from his past who irritated the life out of him, takes this opportunity to intervene.

“Alright, who needs another drink?” he asks in a low voice so only the two of them can hear.

Chaeyoung turns to him as though just realising he’s there. “Jimin,” she states, “will you please tell Hoseok that he’s being insane?”

“Oh, grow up, will you?” Hoseok snaps back.

“You grow up -“

“Okayyy, tensions are high,” interrupts Jimin soothingly, “because everybody’s too sober.” He turns Chaeyoung around by the shoulders and steers her out of the kitchen. Hoseok follows without a word, rolling his eyes.

They reach the drinks table again where Sooah seems to have successfully rescued her boyfriend.

“Sooah!” Jimin points at Chaeyoung and Hoseok frantically. “We have a sobriety emergency for you.”

“On it,” she replies, without missing a beat. “Cosmo for you and… Hoseok? For you?”

“I’m driving,” he answers sullenly.

“We’ll get Suga hyung to pick us up,” interjects Jimin hastily. “He’ll have tequila,” he tells Sooah.

“Perfect.” She bustles around the tables, gathering her paraphernalia and mixing a row of drinks with precision. Jimin watches with admiration, amusement and a bit of nostalgia while stealing glances at Hoseok and Chaeyoung beside him, both of whom glare in opposite directions.

“Alright, drink up, everyone.” Sooah passes a drink each to Hoseok and Chaeyoung, followed by one for Jimin. “You need to freshen yours up, too,” she adds with a smirk.

He holds up his half-finished drink. “But I’m not -” He breaks off when Sooah clinks her own half-empty glass with his. “Right.”

“Bottoms up, Chim.”

Both of them guzzle down their drinks in one go before emerging, warm and flushed. Jimin’s face feels like it’s on fire and his throat burns. But when he spots Sooah shaking out her hair and reaching enthusiastically for her fresh drink, he rallies.

“Cheers, guys,” he says, turning so that Hoseok and Chaeyoung can clink their glasses, too, when he notices something amiss. “Alex,” he adds, raising his eyebrows. “No drink for you?”

Alex, standing a step behind Sooah and smiling as he watched them drink, looks surprised to be spoken to. “Oh, I - I have rehearsal tomorrow.”

“And?”

“And… well, I don’t – I don’t want to be hungover during it.” He chuckles sheepishly. “Yeonjun hyung will kill me.”

“One drink won’t get you hungover,” says Jimin dismissively, reaching for a can of beer on the table and tossing it to him, which he catches at the last moment.

“You don’t have to drink that, Alex.” Sooah cuts in. “Jimin.”

“What?” Jimin half-chuckles, but there’s suddenly far less humour in it. “He can’t be the only one not drinking. They’re called drinking games for a reason.”

“I don’t mind,” says Alex quickly. “It’s just one drink, noona. And… beer doesn’t have sugar,” he adds a bit uncertainly, glancing at the label.

“Exactly. And he’ll work off the carbs at practice tomorrow, anyway.” Jimin grins. “Been there, done that.”

Sooah fixes him with a steely look that he returns innocently, taking a sip of his vodka drink. Behind her, Alex’s face seems to crease at the mention of carbs.

“Just one,” he mutters to himself, before holding it a few inches away and cracking it open. A bit of foam overflows and drips on the floor, but he takes a big gulp anyway. “Good beer,” he says after a moment.

“We also have breezers -” Chaeyoung starts to say but Hoseok catches her eye and shakes his head an infinitesimal amount, causing her to fall silent.

“Alright, now that everyone has their drinks,” continues Jimin, deliberately not looking at Sooah, “we can begin. Twenty questions, you said?”

“You said. And drinking games are perfectly possible without alcohol,” adds Sooah, apparently not about to let this go. “Remember your first drinking game?”

Jimin’s smile fades a bit as flashes surface from the recesses of his memory: a crowded house, a glass of Coke - and laughter from his classmates. Sooah hadn’t rushed to his defense this quickly then.

“Yeah, I remember,” he replies after a moment. “Just making sure Alex doesn’t make the same mistake.”

“That’s not your call, though. He can decide what he wants to do.”

“Wow, did you hear that, oppa?” Chaeyoung pipes up. “Sound familiar?”

Hoseok scoffs. “Seriously? How is what I said similar to this?”

“It’s the way you said it, like you think I can’t do a single thing right.”

“That sounds familiar,” mutters Jimin into his drink, just loud enough for Sooah to hear.

“Oh, God, Jimin,” she snaps, rolling her eyes. “Now you’re just reaching. You can drink if you want, but you don’t get to tell others how to -”

“It’s a party! Let loose here because you can’t anywhere else - remember when you told me that?”

“I remember that that was in the context of you worrying about your math homework at a party, Jimin.”

Jimin gasps, his cheeks growing hot. “Never have I ever worried about my math -”

“Oh, are we playing Never Have I Ever?” A voice interrupts them, sounding incongruously excited. Everyone turns to see Sungmi and her boyfriend Ice in tow, holding a drink and a joint respectively. When no one responds, she frowns. “No? Damn, this party must be going worse than I thought.”

“We can play Never Have I Ever,” offers Chaeyoung, turning to the others. “I’ll go first. Never have I ever… poked my nose in someone else’s business,” she finishes, looking straight at Hoseok.

He gives her an unimpressed look and takes an exaggerated sip of his drink, wincing slightly. Meanwhile, everyone else in the circle takes a sip as well, some sheepish, some shameless and, in Jimin’s case, with a bit of guilt.

“Your turn, Jimin,” says Chaeyoung, sounding satisfied.

“Okay, um…” Jimin wracks his brain, the alcohol suddenly making his mind swim. “Never have I ever dated a carbon copy of my ex.”

He watches as all the expression leaves Sooah’s face, but he turns away, looking questioningly at everyone in the circle. Hoseok wrinkles his nose while Chaeyoung snorts and shakes her head. Sungmi tilts her head thoughtfully and takes a sip, however. Across the makeshift circle, Sooah deliberately places her glass on the table while, to Jimin’s surprise, Alex takes a small sip of his beer.

“Alright, your turn, hyung,” says Jimin after a moment.

Hoseok’s eyes widen as he scrambles for a question. “Um, never have I ever… been to a party where I don’t know a single person apart from the host?”

Every single person in the circle takes a drink, including Ice, who takes a sip of his girlfriend’s.

“That was a good one,” remarks Sungmi, smiling with humour. “Okay, I’m next - and we’re going to make this exciting now,” she adds, rubbing her hands dramatically. “Okay, never have I ever… had a sex dream about someone in this room.”

A sort of silence seems to spread through the circle. Swallowing, Jimin takes a hesitant sip of his drink, glancing as quickly as he can at Sooah. She takes a sip, too, her eyes on the contents of her glass the entire time. Apart from them, Alex takes a sheepish sip, and Sungmi and Ice both take turns as well. Jimin feels something move next to his elbow but ignores it, eager to move the game along.

“Babe, that was an easy one,” drawls Ice, winking at the circle. “We’re all people, we all love, we all dream,” he rambles, taking another long puff of his joint. “I’ve had dreams, too, you know? I’ve had dreams about my lovely lady here -” He pulls Sungmi to his side by the waist and kisses her neck “- I’ve had dreams about my tattoo artist, I’ve have had dreams of Sungmi and my tattoo artist, Sungmi and her roommate -”

“Wait, what did you say?” Hoseok begins sharply, but Chaeyoung immediately interrupts him.

“Okay, no, the game, the game! Uh, Ice - it’s your turn, I think,” she adds hastily, stepping closer to Jimin. But Ice waves a hand good-naturedly.

“Nah, I’m good, sweetheart. I live here, in the mind and the -”

“Okay, moving on,” interrupts Sungmi, and Jimin guesses her boyfriend has finally made her uncomfortable as well. “It’s, uh - your turn,” she says, pointing at Alex. “I’m sorry, I don’t know your name.”

“Oh, I’m -”

“This is Alex,” says Jimin brightly. “He’s Sooah’s boyfriend.” Sungmi’s blank expression tells Jimin a moment later that she obviously has no idea who Sooah is either, but she shrugs eventually.

“You go, Alex.”

“Um -” With his wide eyes, full and parted lips, and his hair falling effortlessly over his forehead, he looks like every label’s dream idol. Jimin taps his foot impatiently, an act that doesn’t go unnoticed by a few others.

“Okay, uh, never have I -”

“Make it a good one, Alex,” warns Sungmi.

“Ah, I’m sure he will, unnie,” snickers Chaeyoung, raising her glass encouragingly. “Come on, Alex, the pressure is on!”

“- ever - okay -”

“They’re just kidding, babe,” murmurs Sooah with a smile, squeezing his arm.

“Only a bit,” adds Jimin, winking and ignoring her frown.

“- lost my virginity to someone in this room!”

Everyone processes this before a few chuckles break out. “Alright, that was a good one,” allows Sungmi. “Not one I can drink to, unfortunately.”

“Yeah, we may have gone into historic territory here,” agrees Chaeyoung, “but you just made the game a lot more interesting. Cheers.”

No one seems to notice Jimin and Sooah lock gazes for a moment before quietly sipping their drinks. Memories that Jimin had always treasured threaten to resurface, but there is nothing he wants to be reminded of less at the moment.

“Your turn, Sooah.” Alex nudges her gently.

“Right.” She clears her throat and stares at the floor. “Never have I ever lied to someone while breaking up with them.”

Jimin scoffs audibly but it fortunately gets drowned in a sea of agreement, with almost everyone taking a sip of their drink. He doesn’t, however, shaking his head slightly at Sooah. A part of him is unsurprised; this had to happen eventually. There was seldom a time when he and Sooah got together and didn’t begin descending into their history - and it was never pretty.

“My turn, then,” chimes Chaeyoung. Her drink is almost over now and she stumbles slightly next to him. “Um… never have I ever been cheated on.”

Sungmi rolls her eyes and drinks, as does Hoseok. Across from the circle, Sooah lifts her drink to her mouth and pauses for a moment before drinking. Her eyes flicker to Jimin before looking away.

His heart thuds in his chest. Nothing would ever be good enough for Kim Sooah. Not two years of a relationship, not how much they meant to each other - none of it. All that would ever matter to her would be how they broke up - even if part of it wasn’t true.

“Jimin?”

He comes out of it, chewing the inside of his lip. “Never have I ever…” His eyes dart up to Alex, who seems to be realising that something is awry. “... dated another idol’s ex-girlfriend.”

No one drinks, predictably. Jimin ignores the “huh?”s and the joking groans, his gaze solely on Alex who, frowning at Jimin, slowly takes a sip of his drink. Next to him, Sooah closes her eyes.

Jimin waits to feel victorious, for it’s clear that Alex now knows about his and Sooah’s shared history. But a deep-seated bitterness creeps through instead. New boyfriend in, old boyfriend out.

“Okay… who’s next?”

“Oh, that’s me, I think,” says Hoseok distractedly, reaching out to steady Chaeyoung. “Um - I don’t know. Can I pass?”

“I’ll take your turn.” Sooah’s voice rings out, calm and sharp. She looks at Jimin through steely, heavy-lidded eyes; standing next to a tall and handsome boyfriend, Jimin can almost imagine this is high school once again - but in a parallel universe where she would ever look at him with anything but affection.

“Never have I ever caused a friend’s break-up.”

There are scoffs from around the circle, with Sungmi and Ice both taking a sip each. From next to him, Chaeyoung takes a sheepish sip as well, while Jimin glares at Sooah. The cranberry and vodka drink suddenly looks vile in his glass and he feels like he could throw up.

“Think I need some air,” he mutters, turning around and leaving the circle amidst the mild chatter. He places the glass on some surface on the way as he nudges his way through the crowd of drunken young adults. He just about exits the apartment when he realises he has no plan whatsoever of where to go, but he knows he can’t go back. So he carries on, reaching the end of the hallway where the warm summer breeze of the night gives him some respite from the haze of smoke at the party.

He hears footsteps behind him then, right on cue.

“Storming out, Jimin?” The footsteps stop abruptly. “Really?”

He doesn’t even turn around. “Don’t start, Sooah.”

“Jesus Christ. You have to grow out of this.”

“Grow out of this?” Jimin finally whips around, momentarily surprised to see her standing so close to him. Goosebumps have erupted on her bare shoulders but she doesn’t seem to have noticed.

“Yeah. It’s been long enough.” Sooah gives him a distinctly unimpressed look, as though this fight isn’t worth her time.

“You know what? Why don’t you just go back to your boyfriend?” Jimin says scathingly.

“I will, just as soon you stop - okay, no, you are not walking away from me right now.”

Jimin rounds on her the moment he hears footsteps behind him again. “You completely attacked me in there!” he blurts out accusingly.

“Because you attacked Alex!” Sooah sighs in frustration. “He’s my boyfriend, Jimin. You can’t go there - you know that.”

“You’ve known Alex for three months. And you’ve known me for six years, Sooah,” he reminds her, knowing deep down that it hardly matters. But the words spill out like they’ve been pressing up against his vocal chords, desperate to get out since the evening began.

She’s quiet for a moment, biting the inside of her cheek. “Yeah, well.” She gives him a look that’s part firm and part sympathetic. “Unfortunately, current boyfriend trumps ex-boyfriend. I’m sorry, that’s just the way it is.”

Jimin scoffs, ignoring his stomach sinking. “What happened to old friends?”

“You are an old friend, but you’re also my ex. And boyfriend trumps -”

“Yeah, I got it,” he interrupts her, rolling his eyes. “I thought it was all in good fun,” he says after a moment, looking away from her.

Even without looking, he can hear the skepticism in her voice. “Really?”

“Yes. I - I may have gone a bit overboard in the end,” he admits, swallowing as he remembers Alex’s confused face, the realisation dawning on him. “I just… didn’t expect to see you here tonight.” Definitely not with someone.

“Jimin, it’s been five years,” she reminds him in a low voice. “We’ve both dated other people since then; it can’t be a surprise that -”

“I don’t care that you’re dating him,” he interrupts her again, realising as he says it that it’s true. He doesn’t care, not really. Not like that, anyway. “You and I dated in high school. I never expected us to end up married or anything. Okay? We’ve all moved on.”

Sooah doesn’t say anything, just continues looking at him, a small frown on her face. She’s confused.

Jimin can relate. It’s immeasurably frustrating not being able to put his finger on the problem. “It’s just weird… seeing it up close,” he finishes lamely, knowing it’s the best he can come up with right now.

“Even now?”

“Yeah. I mean, the last time I saw it up close was…” He shrugs. “... when we were sixteen. With Daehyun.”

Sooah’s eyes widen right on cue. “Oh, God,” she exclaims, taking a deep breath.

“Come on, you know that -”

“If you bring up Daehyun one more time -”

She’s interrupted by the door to the apartment thudding open. A couple of people spill out, loud and drunk. Sooah turns back to him.

“Alright. I’m done.”

“Are you?”

“Yeah. Because I can’t have this conversation one more time, Jimin.” She shakes her head. “I’m going back inside.”

“Yeah, you do that.” Jimin watches her walk back inside, steps quick and steady, despite how much she’s drunk all night. Just as she enters, two people pass her by. Jimin realises with a start that it’s Hoseok and Chaeyoung.

“- only came here to criticise me!” Chaeyoung’s voice is loud and shrill compared to Sooah’s low one.

“If you think this is criticising, then you’re missing the point,” says Hoseok loftily, rolling his eyes. “I just don’t want you to kill yourself, okay? Sorry for being the only adult around here,” he mutters, striding down the hallway towards Jimin.

“Oh, please,” she snaps, scoffing. “You’re just programmed to find something wrong with everything I do.”

“And you’re just programmed to be a brat!”

“Great! Now you sound like my dad. Why don’t you call him and have drinks over it?”

“Seriously? I’m looking out for you because you’re my best friend’s sister,” he points out, turning around to face her. “I didn’t have to spend my Saturday night with Fire and Ice, you know?”

“Oh, because she has red hair? Clever.” Chaeyoung crosses her arms across her chest. “And you know what? Your best friend,” she continues, “doesn’t give a shit, alright? He knows I’m not twelve anymore. If he doesn’t care, why do you?”

“I - I don’t!” Hoseok sputters, going red in the face. “You know what? Fine. Hang out with that Ice and his group of Neanderthals - I don’t even care.”

“Great,” she says sarcastically. “Now you sound like the Hoseok I grew up with!” With one last glare, she turns around and stalks back into the house exactly the way Sooah had a few minutes ago.

Hoseok stands motionless for a moment before turning to face Jimin, eyes wide. “What the hell just happened?”

Jimin shakes his head, lost for words. “I have no fucking idea,” he mutters. “Do you want to call Suga hyung or should I?”

—

The doorbell rings and startles Namjoon, who spills a couple of drops of milk on his t-shirt.

“Damn it,” he mutters, dropping his spoon back into the bowl of cereal and holding the t-shirt away from his chest. “Can you get that?” he asks Jungkook, who’s sitting across from him at the breakfast table.

Jungkook nods and heads towards the door as Namjoon disappears into his room, opening it to see someone he hasn’t in a while.

“Sooah?” He chuckles in mild disbelief. “Um - hey, noona. Didn’t expect to see you… here.”

“Yeah, I know,” she says lightly, biting her lip. “Is Jimin here?”

Jungkook’s pause before he nods tells her that he knows something happened last night. “Come on in. He was pretty drunk last night so he went straight to bed,” he adds, shutting the door behind her and beckoning her inside. “I’ll just get him.”

Sooah nods as he shuffles inside, hearing a door open and him softly calling Jimin hyung. “He’ll be right out,” he says generously, coming back out from the hallway and going back to the kitchen table. A minute later, Jimin emerges from the same direction, his hair messy and eyes still a little droopy. He doesn’t look wholly surprised to see her.

“Morning,” she says after a moment. “How’d you sleep?”

“Crap.” He gives her a quick once-over. “Are you hungover?”

“Not in the least. You?”

He shakes his head, frowning a little at the movement. “Nope. Not at all.”

“Right.” Sooah falls silent, glancing surreptitiously at Jungkook as he scarfs down his breakfast. Jimin copies her, and they stare at him until he looks up from his phone.

“What?” he asks through a mouthful of cornflakes.

“Hey, Jungkook,” she begins. “Um, do you mind if…” She trails off, biting her lip when Jungkook simply frowns.

“Leave us alone for a minute?” Jimin prompts, and Jungkook immediately nods.

“Oh. Yeah, okay. Right.” He climbs off the chair, gathering his bowl, a plate of toast and a bowl of ready-to-eat kimchi, with his phone piled on top of the bread. “I’ll just… finish inside,” he mumbles, balancing everything and precariously walking inside.

Jimin turns back to face her again. “So… what’s up?” He frowns as she throws something to him, catching it easily. “Hangover pills?” he reads off the label. “I told you, I’m not hungover.”

Sooah shrugs. “Just keep it. For some other time.”

“Okay,” he says, slipping it into the pocket of his track pants. “Thanks. Was that it?”

Without his hair styled and his expensive clothes, he looks… young. His cherubic face, even with a straight expression and tired eyes, stirs an old, innocent adoration in her.

“I wanted to talk about last night,” she says. “Sober.”

Jimin shakes his head. “We don’t have to. I was - I was a bit of a dick, I know.”

“Yeah… but so was I.” Sooah’s eyes flicker to the floor. “I got defensive when you were picking on Alex and… I may have said some stuff I didn’t mean to.”

He nods slowly. “Guess I didn’t know what it’s like on the other side,” he says, cracking a half-smile. “I’m sorry if I… did I get you in trouble? When he found out that we used to…” He gestures between the two of them.

“No, you didn’t. He was a little surprised, yeah, but… kind of impressed?” She shrugs. “He really looks up to you.”

“That’s nice of him, I guess. He seems like a good kid.”

She chuckles. “He’s not that much younger.”

“No?”

When he doesn’t say anything further, Sooah sighs. “Jimin… I didn’t mean to say all that stuff last night.”

“No, you were right. Current boyfriend trumps ex-boyfriend,” he repeats, swallowing. “You weren’t the only one thinking it.”

“No, Jimin, that’s not true. Okay, fine, it’s true if I have to choose between them,” she amends, rolling her eyes. “In that case, I’m forced to choose my boyfriend over my ex.”

“Yeah. Right.”

“So don’t make me choose.” Just as she’d expected, Jimin’s shoulders relax, as though he hadn’t considered this. “Jimin, you are my ex but you don’t have to be just that for the rest of our lives. Come on, we’ve been broken up for longer than we were together - isn’t it time we actually became friends?”

“Friends?” He says it like it’s a foreign word. “I - Sooah, I get what you’re going for, I really do, but…” He takes a deep breath, like he’s bracing himself to say something. “I don’t know how we’ll do as friends, honestly.”

“Why? I can be a good friend,” she says, a little defensively. “I had a pretty good circle of friends, you know?”

Jimin chuckles. “No offense, but that is not a group I want to join. Come on, you’re talking about your high school friends, right? Sooah, they were awful,” he confesses, shaking his head. “Those girls didn’t have a shred of loyalty - they’d sell their mothers for gossip. And those guys you hung out with?” He exhales in disgust. “They weren’t friends. They were complete jerks and they just wanted to get with whichever girl would give in first.”

There’s a moment while Sooah processes this. “Right,” she says. “Okay.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that,” he says immediately, the regret audible.

“I know you didn’t,” she assures him. “I know, Jimin, because you’re a good guy. You were the best person I knew,” she admits, hoping he believes her. “That’s why I fell for you, and not any of those other jerks.”

Jimin says nothing, his eyes falling to the floor.

“You still are one of the best people I know,” she adds after a moment. “And I don’t want you to just disappear from my life because I’m dating someone. I’d rather have you as my friend than this - this guy from my past I hook up with a couple times a year.”

When Jimin still doesn’t respond, she sighs.

“Fine. Whatever. I’m still your friend.” Sooah stares at him, hoping for something, anything. “Bye, then.”

“You really think it’ll work?”

“Yeah, I do. We get along pretty well, in case you haven’t noticed. We can try at least,” she adds when he continues looking doubtful.

“You’re sure you won’t fall in love with me?” he asks seriously.

Sooah stares before snorting. “Jesus, Chim,” she says admonishingly as he bursts into giggles, “don’t say whatever pops into your head.”

“Sorry, I forgot you’re dating another idol now. Probably not a big deal for you,” he allows.

“It wasn’t a big deal when I was dating the first idol either.”

“Not even with his abs?”

“I preferred his calculus notes over his abs.”

Jimin makes a face. “Some friend.”

Sooah smiles back. There’s still something resembling hesitance in his expression, but she hopes it’s temporary. It’s unchartered territory for both of them, but a necessary change. She suspects it was what scared Jimin last night in the first place.

“I should go,” she says after a moment. “I just came to…”

“Ask for my forgiveness?”

She rolls her eyes. “Sure.”

Jimin grins, and she breathes a silent sigh of relief. He walks her to the door and for the first time in a long time, Sooah looks forward to their common future.

“By the way,” he asks, just as she’s stepping out, “you - you don’t actually think that I cheated on you. Right? When we broke up?” he clarifies.

Sooah frowns. “Um… no. Why - oh, the game? Last night?”

Jimin nods, his lips pursed. “You drank.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that.” She shakes her head and pats his arm comfortingly. “That wasn’t about you. Like you said,” she adds with a half-chuckle, “most of them were jerks.”

—

Thank you for reading. Don't forget to drop a review :)

#jimin x oc #hoseok x oc #jimin x reader #hoseok x reader #jimin fanfic #hoseok fanfic #thebtswritersclub #btshoneyhive #bangtanwhq #bangtantheatrenet #bangtanoasis #bangtanbathhouse #houseofddaeng #k-vanity #wkcnet #bts jimin angst #bts j-hope fanfic

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mysticsparklewings · 1 year

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Full disclosure: this isn't really supposed to be a proper "art" piece. Rather this is just a little "friendly reminder" from me that I think not enough people realize as we head into a new year. Loyal Sparklers may remember that I mentioned at the end of last year's Art Summary that I myself got scared off of sharing any detailed Art Goals publicly after I did that at the end of 2019's Art Summary, and then literally days into the 2020 new year, my drawing tablet/computer succame to a known hardware issue for the second time. That, in turn, threw off every last Art Goal I had that year and then some. After that fiasco, perhaps I'm being overly cautious, but it seems like asking for trouble to post said Goals publicly again. I do have things I'd like to do/accomplish or improve upon in regard to my art, but A. that's true all year long, not just in December/January, and B. they aren't necessarily "goals" in the sense that there's a clear path to take to accomplish them. Related to that first point: I said last year, I'm already not really a New Years' Resolution type person just because it seems silly to me to specifically wait/hold off on a goal just because it's not a "New Year" yet. So it was already not unusual for me to be the quiet one while everyone else is chatting up their big plans for the year ahead. And I realized in the last couple of days that while I've made my peace with that, a lot of other people might not've—They might be in a similar position where making a big deal out of your goals for the year ahead feels like setting yourself up for failure, or maybe they just don't have any exciting goals they feel are worth sharing because when it comes down to it, they're fairly content with where they're at. But as we know, peer pressure can be a terrible thing, especially when it comes to posting stuff on social media. So, if you need it, please take this as my personal assurance that you are not required to share any New Year's Resolutions or big Goals for 2023. As long as you know where you're going, that's all that matters and it doesn't have to be anyone else's business. And that's really all I want to do with this piece today—Give anyone who needs it that little bit of reassurance. If this had occurred to me sooner, I might've been able to figure out a more artistic way to present it, but for the here and now since I'd like to actually get the 2022 Art Summary posted before New Years', among other things, I re-used the "panels" I originally made for some promotion of my Ko-fi page on other platforms and that you Sparklers last saw in Just Let Me Type. Suffice to say, the Chibi-Me .PSD file with all the different parts to it I originally made for Seasonal Profile Pictures [and another project that is still in the works but had been on hold for a little while...] is really coming in handy. I think that about covers everything I wanted to say, though. Now I should probably get back to working on that Art Summary so it can go up in the next two days... ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ Artwork © me, MysticSparkleWings ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ Where to find me & my artwork: My Website | My Book | Commission Info + Prices | Ko-Fi | DeviantArt | RedBubble | Twitter | Tumblr [You Are Here]| Instagram

#happynewyear #new year #new years resolution #resolutions #goals #art goals #reminder #in case you need to hear this #friendly reminder #digital art #illustration #procreate #photoshop cc #xxmysticwingsxx #mysticsparklewings

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thefaultinoursprinkles · 1 year

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I like. I need to process everything that’s been going on and I need to talk about how I’m feeling to be able to do that but I don’t.. want to I guess. I don’t want to bother people with my issues and I feel silly talking about how I feel. So then I think that I should go back to therapy so I have someone to talk to but I honestly really don’t want to unless it’s someone with a PhD because at this point I have as much education and training as a “mental health practitioner” and I’m about 2 years of internships away from an “LMFT” or other “licensed therapist”.

and that’s the other thing like, I’ve been in therapy for a long time, I’m a psych major, I did DBT, I feel like I’ve gotten everything I can out of “therapy” basically. So then like pursuing therapy just to talk through my emotions feels stupid and like a pointless waste of money to me. But then I go back and forth like would it actually help? Am I avoiding this out of shame or not wanting to damage my pride? Or as a form of self harm? Or do i genuinely think I won’t get anything out of it? Idk.

a big part of it too is that a lot of the stressors like with money and stuff are temporary and therapy isn’t going to help them. Like not to talk highly of myself but I’m pretty self actualized and the majority of my problems/stressors stem from external factors like not having enough money or my fiancee trying to kill themselves or close friends dying or work being stressful, which like therapy isn’t exactly going to solve any of those problems. It’s just supposed to teach you the skills to deal with those kind of things or change them or tolerate them which like. I already have. So again, pointless.

Even then, the problems i do have outside of external stuff are ones that I’m pretty confident cannot be treated through therapy. Like I really think a lot of my issues stem from unmediated adhd, and like I have skills that I use and I have work arounds and hacks and whatever else that are supposed to help me manage it better but it doesn’t work. like I take the notes and I track the things and I put trash cans everywhere and have other people remind me of stuff like. I can get by. but every fucking day of my life I am so overwhelmed by everything at work and at home and in relationships and I feel guilty and embarrassed that I can’t do the things that should be so easy.

Like every few days to every few weeks I find myself exasperated and thinking “WHY CANT I JUST DO IT. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME. THIS IS SO SIMPLE. WHAT IS FUCKING WRONG WITH ME” and like on some level I know it’s because I have symptoms syndrome and it affects me but I feel like there’s nothing to do.

like I’m doing all the stuff I’m supposed to do, I’m doing all the stuff that therapists and counselors have told me to do and I’m doing all the stuff that is recommended in the DSM V and I stay up to date on the current research in the causes, management, and treatment of specifically adhd but also generally all psych topics because I’m just genuinely interested in them so I read peer reviewed journals for fun.

And there are some things like. Idk exercise. And I’m like oh I should exercise then I’m like well not “should” but I want to exercise because I know it makes me feel better and it’s been proven to help with focus and clarity as well as alleviate symptoms of depression. And then I find myself being like “I can’t I can’t I can’t” so they I think about it. Why can’t I? And it’s like well, I don’t have enough time, I’m always tired, blah blah blah. And I think really the root is that I don’t want to spend “my” time doing something I don’t like doing and I don’t have any way to do the exercises I actually like (like biking or swimming).

So then I get back around to like okay we’ll I’m not actually doing EVERYTHING I can I’m not exercising or watching my diet, I could be doing more. So then I try to plan out time to do it and I set reminders and then I fail and fail and fail and fail and give up.

And it’s like what is therapy going to do? I know they’re gonna tell me to sleep and eat and exercise and be mindful. I know I need to do those things and I want to do those things but I CANT and I don’t know WHY.

AND THEN I loop back around to like what the fuck is wrong with me I know I need to do these things I want to fucking do these things I LIKE doing these things SO WHY CANT I JUST DO IT WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME and it starts all over.

And how do you explain that to someone? I’m objectively successful. I’m well educated. I have a high paying job. I don’t get into extreme legal or financial trouble. I have lots of very supportive and close friends and family. I don’t have the “right” things wrong with me to have people understand or recognize the struggle going on behind the scenes to do any of it. Like I know what to do, I do most of it, and it’s, by all accounts but mine, working well because I’m able to live independently and maintain relationships and hold a job and even get promoted at said job. So to any therapist I talk to it’s like. “Why are you here?” And I have to explain like yes I know I’m making it work I’m doing impressive things but I’m DYING I’m constantly stressed and overwhelmed and anxious and on the brink of a panic attack. I spend hours of my day staring at wall screaming inside my head about all the stuff I have to do but unable to do it. I’m smart enough to be really good at doing what I need to do to get by or knowing where to focus my efforts but I constantly feel like I’m in an out of control car spinning out with no brakes.

and I feel so stuck because I don’t know where to go from here. I don’t think there’s anything else I can realistically do to have a better handle on things, this is just the reality. Like I feel like I just need to accept that this is how it’s going to be and this is how it’s going to feel because I truly do not think there is anything that could possibly help me get out of this internal mess.

and of course, then I start thinking like, that’s pretty defeatist, am I giving up before I even try? So then I feel like, even more than before, i just need to try harder and do better and get further because it’s my own lazy ridiculous fault that im in this position in the first place.

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chorusfm · 6 months

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Thomas Nicholas Band

Recently I was able to schedule an interview with actor/musician, Thomas Nicholas, who will be releasing an album next year via SBÄM. In this conversation, I asked Thomas about his great, energetic new single called, “Tomorrow’s Gonna Hurt” and the inspiration behind it, his recent collaborations with musicians like Jaret Reddick of Bowling For Soup, and the difference in how prepares for film roles versus making albums. Let’s get rolling! Thank you so much for your time today. Let’s first talk about your energetic new single called, “Tomorrow’s Gonna Hurt.” Can you walk me through the lyrical material on this new song, and the inspiration behind it? Yeah, this new single does have a lot of energy, I think probably more so than my previous six albums, maybe combined. And that’s all in part to Taylor Carroll, who’s producing the album. You might know him best as the drummer for Lit. He’s been in for about five or seven years, or something like that. And then he also has another band called Kemikalfire that is really heavy. So yeah, with this song, I don’t know that this is necessarily where the inspiration came from…but I do know that my first time of hanging out with Taylor, a couple of years ago, we both live in LA, even though he’s from Nashville, and we made a plan to just go get a drink at a local bar, grab a bite to eat, and connect. And then we ended up closing out the bar. And then we sat in my car for like three hours. And he played me the advance of the new Lit album, Tastes like Gold, six months before it came out, I got to listen to the whole thing. He played me KemikalFire, and songs he was also producing for Mest, and we just had like a whole evening. And that’s kind of on par for the course with Taylor and myself. We’re always the last ones to leave the party. Despite whatever we’re getting up for the next day, whatever time I gotta get up and take my kids to school or whatever is going on…I’m sacrificing sleep and the next day is gonna hurt, but it’s always worth it! Nice, and that’s a cool story behind it too. While many know your face from your work in films, like American Pie, and Rookie of the Year way back when, your band has clocked over 1,000 concerts, which is a remarkable feat! What are some of your favorite memories of playing to new crowds? I mean, this is gonna sound so bad, but if I’m playing to a new crowd, and they do know my work as an actor, I have probably the easiest job of winning them over because their expectations are so low… So all I have to do is just not suck! And so that’s always a cool thing too, I’ve got my stories that I like to tell. So, if I’m in front of a new crowd, their reaction to that is always the freshest. Though I try to change things up just a little bit. So, if you come to a few shows, you’re not going to hear quite the same story. There’s always going to be something new happening. Can you think of a time when you kind of “won over” a skeptical audience? I think the moment that is kind of the pinnacle, for me, is in line with having released six albums before getting the record deal, for the seventh. You talked about 10,000 hours of work, I’ve probably put in 20,000. But 10 years ago, when I was doing American Reunion, I had been playing music longer than I’ve been doing those films. And I basically kept asking for the favor of getting a song on the soundtrack. They kept telling me yes, but they kept not doing it. So finally, I decided on the fourth film, I’m wasn’t going to ask them. So I played the wrap party just by myself and a guitar. When I went to the bar to get a drink one of the directors, Hayden, came up and it was the equivalent of his surprise of, “Wow, you don’t suck!” And then talking about doing a song for the soundtrack. So that’s probably my favorite, shining moment of winning over a skeptical audience of my peers to get what I wanted. And it only took me 13 years! So you also did a parody of the “1985” single that was originally written by Mitch Allan for… https://chorus.fm/features/interviews/thomas-nicholas-band/

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trustasset · 2 years

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Download skype for mac 10.6 8

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Skype 10.6 Mac OS X AtĪny way around this I cannot upgrade my Mac OS X at this time to be able to run the latest version of Skype, which needs Mac OS X 10.9 or higher.Īpparently theyve already had a lot of protests - obviously I have not idea whether theres any chance of their being pressured to change their corporate minds.Īpple disclaims any and all liability for the acts, omissions and conduct of any third parties in connection with or related to your use of the site.Īll postings and use of the content on this site are subject to the. This is the closest I can find to the Uninstall option on windows. Perhaps some people can get by and ditch all that stuff.Then I searched for all skype related files and deleted them.

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Hangouts is better tech (I'm a longtime Google Voice user myself) but it doesn't help when the other guys aren't using it and I'm not about to spend hours of my time teaching someone else's sales/marketing person how to use the latest/greatest tech (which will probably be different in a year anyhow).Īdmittedly, my employer still maintains telephone numbers, a mailbox, and a fax number. Like you I don't run Skype unless we have a call planned beforehand. I suppose I deal with too many old timers and people from Asia in my work life where Skype remains the lowest common denominator. I usually have people trying to contact me to chat all day on Skype (complete strangers) so I don't turn it on unless the people on the other end schedule a call. Google Hangouts and FaceTime has replaced a lot of the communication that I usually need to do. like a lot of other people, Skype, like e-mail, has become irrelevant. I think the person who asked is saying that. Like any other productivity oriented app, Skype is a tool that serves audiences that need the service's robust flexibility.Īt this point, I suggest you visit the Skype website ( to learn more about its capabilities. Now if you have never left your province and you only communicate to Mum, Dad, your siblings, a few mates, and your boss at the fast food hamburger stand maybe you will not need Skype. It's not the most sophisticated way to contact another person online on this planet, but it is realistically one of the lowest common denominators, which makes it quite relevant. If you are not employed in position that requires you to communicate to foreigners or to business folk in general, it is possible that you may not have found much use for services such as Skype. It is heavily used for business and international communications where multiple users relying on a variety of systems need a common communications platform. In a way, it's the voice equivalent of e-mail. It's a multi-platform telecommunications service that - unlike FaceTime - covers a wide range of system configurations and devices.

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callumkirkwood · 2 years

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Graded Unit - Evaluation

My graded unit “buskers of Glasgow,” this was a personal project of mine and one which I was excited for. This included me going into Glasgow, talking to buskers, and having an interview with them afterwards to get an idea of who they are and why there out. I also researched and planned out what equipment I was going to use and how I was going to approach my subjects.

Although planning for each shoot was easy, it was the following through with the plan which was most difficult as I was relying on pleasant weather and people coming out to busk of which not a lot was in my favour most of the time and needed to be particularly careful on which days I went out on. When I was able to go out and shoot there was also another issue at the beginning being I was very nervous to ask the buskers to take pictures of them as I was making a bigger deal about it in my head than it was, luckily the first person I had a shoot with was lovely and made the rest of the shoots easier in terms of communication.

My original idea was to have buskers come into the college studio with some equipment and use the studio lights and backdrop and to capture them in an environment quite different to what they might be used to, however this plan fell through very quickly as I could really find enough people in the space of time I had to come and in have a shoot. This lead on to my next idea which was bringing the studio out to the buskers which seemed like a great idea at the time as it was coming into the summer and the better weather so I assumed that it would work out, yet again it did not there was a few flaws with the backdrop, the biggest flaw being that the weather was not great at all and kept on blowing the backdrop about and ruining the shoots I was trying to do. So, this led to be completely changing my original idea and doing environmental street portraits.

On the contrary something which went very well during the project was how responsive the buskers were and how happy they were to pose and let me take pictures of them, yes somewhere more into it than others but as a general overall all of them were happy with it. Another thing which got better with time was the conversations I was having with the buskers, the more I done the easier it became which led to the interviews afterwards being more interesting and as a bonus has made more confident talking to people in general. During this time of back and forth into the city and I was reviewing my images all the time to make sure I was happy with what I done and what I found helped a lot of Aswell was peer feedback both in the classroom and those from other class, I felt like this helped a lot as it allowed me to see an outsider's impression and overall calculate which images, I felt were strongest.

During the project I felt that at the beginning of the shooting process when I was being unsuccessful in my shoot, I was rather determined in making the backdrop work which now that I look back at it was rather stubborn of myself as it wasn't working out for me and I think if I changed my idea sooner than I did I would've saved myself some time and feel less stressed due to time restraints etc. I felt that after I made the change everything went very smoothly from planning, shooting, editing and eventually printing.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this project and I'm glad I was able to have a lot of creative freedom as without it I don’t think the project would've turned out as well as I think is has. It is something I'd like to continue doing as I discovered I love meeting new people and finding out about them and getting some fantastic entertainment in the process. Something I particularly enjoyed was sending my images away for prints as it’s the first time I've sent for professionally done images and I was very excited to see how they had turned out and I was not disappointed at all and feel they turned out very well. Although at the beginning of the project there was a lot of struggles through things such as the background not doing too well in the poorer weather and the poor weather leading to no buskers coming out. This led to a build-up and was affecting my motivation as I felt that I wasn't making progress and losing time. However, with the slight change of no backdrop I was getting shots I was very happy with, and my motivation came back as I felt myself doing well which led to me going on a “winning streak” which made the process feel a lot easier and less stressful. As I've previously stated enjoyed getting my prints as they turned out great, but I also loved putting them together as a collective in the binder I got for them and seeing my work literally back-to-back In front of me. This whole process and experience were amazing and something which I enjoyed very much and was extremely bumpy to start with however I felt that it's turned out very well and I look forward to continuing this project outside of the graded unit.

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neonacity · 3 years

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HYACINTHE | Chapter 1: Jaemin x Reader

Summary:

Na Jaemin is far from being your typical 20 year old. Instead of slaving through college, he wastes away his hours cracking safes. Weekends that should be spent partying with friends consist of illegal races on good days and small scale bombings on bad ones.

Na Jaemin is far from being average, unless you consider being a member of Seoul's top organized crime family normal.

There is no such thing as a sense of normality and peace in his trainwreck of a life, so when he met a barista who was brave enough to call out his dangerous taste in coffee, he was like a moth to the flame. Everything about her is normal, which means she is forbidden to him, in all sense of the word.

So why, then, does he always find himself in the front steps of her shop, breaking all his personal rules even if he wishes he could stay away?

A/N + Disclaimer: this is a side story to Black Daisies, my main mafia fic feat. 0T23. While the plot is based on the main story, this can also be read as a standalone fic. As usual, this is purely a work of fiction and in no way am I implying any member of NCT to behave the way I write them here. tw: crimes, heists, potential death, mentions of drugs and other illegal activities.

PAIRING: Jaemin x Reader

BLACK DAISIES MASTERLIST

___________________________________________________________

I've known him for almost a year and a half when it happened.

The small bell of the cafe's back door dinged so hard, I thought it would get ripped off from the wall. I looked up, eyes wide with panic and hands still wrapped around the cold corners of a metal tray when a head of jet black hair appeared on the entrance. It took me half a second to register what I was seeing before I found myself flying to his side in a heartbeat.

"Jaemin! Oh my god, what the hell is going on!"

My first thought was that he was injured. He was doubled over and I quickly hunched to his level so that I could peer at his face. He looked paler than usual, beads of sweat stuck on his forehead, eyes glazed with a slight look of panic as he tried to keep himself from falling over. I threw out my hands to hold him by the shoulders and that's when my gaze caught it; the small black package that he quickly tried to hide inside his bomber jacket before I could even fully see what it is. I didn't give it much attention back then—I was far too focused in trying to see if he was hurt anywhere to worry about anything else. When his gaze finally focused on me, I thought I saw guilt there.

"I need your help. Sorry, I don't know where else to go."

My brows furrowed together.

"What the hell is going on—"

He reached out for one of my hands helping him up and squeezed it tight.

"Please don't ask me questions. Just—can you trust me?"

"I don't understand—" my voice started to rise. Is he hurt? Bleeding? In pain?

"Please."

My lips parted then pursed again.

"Okay."

Jaemin tugged me closer to him and threw a panicked look outside. He then pulled me farther into the now closed cafe, back into the storage room, the location of which he shouldn't even know in the first place.

"Let me hide here for a bit. Just a bit."

That encounter was my second mistake since meeting Na Jaemin.

I should have asked questions.

Lots of them.

___________________________________________________________

The first mistake happened about a year and half ago.

"Welcome to Brick and Beans, what would you like to have today?"

I plastered on my practiced smile and looked at the stranger in front of me without actually looking at him. Working in the service industry sure does things to your head once you get used to it. Despite having to deal with people all the time, you also get to develop a kind of numbness and detachment to human interaction. A face just becomes a face, a customer simply becomes just another passing responsibility. I tried to blink a few times to make myself seem more interested on the boy standing in front of my counter, patiently waiting for him to give me his order so we can go ahead and get on with both our business.

"Uh… I'll have an iced americano. No water. Eight shots of espresso."

My lips parted and curled on the sides to give him my service smile. My hand automatically reached out for the plastic cups stacked on my side while my other whipped out the marker clipped on the pocket of my apron to scribble his order.

"That's one iced americano, no water, eight—"

I stopped and blinked once. Twice. My gaze shot up at the customer in front of me again and really looked at him for the first time.

"I'm sorry, that's eight shots of espresso?"

He nodded, seemingly unbothered by my question.

"No water?"

A slight shake of the head.

"...eight shots. Of espresso."

"Eight shots, yes."

For a moment we both just stared at each other. He was looking at me patiently, probably only slightly weirded out by my question while I gave him a look that's a mix of worry and disbelief. Working as a barista has exposed me to my own fair share of weird coffee requests, but this is by far the one that takes the cake.

I softly cleared my throat and turned my attention back to the words I was scribbling on the cup. As strange as it is, I really am not in the position to judge a customer.

"That'll be 4.50 dollars. Is that for here?"

"Make it to go."

"Got it. I'll get you your order soon…"

"Jaem."

I smiled and scribbled his name on the cup.

Foot traffic was pretty slow on the cafe so I was able to quickly finish the order on autopilot. As I worked on mixing, I found myself humming softly to myself, my tune shifting into short whistles every time I would dunk an espresso shot down into that cup. I didn't even realize that the customer didn't bother taking a seat on one of the empty tables, opting to lean on the wall by the side instead, hands shoved in the pockets of his jogs as his eyes followed me.

"One iced americano for Jaem," I called out and pushed the packed drink into his hand. He handed me his card and I quickly worked on swiping it.

"You sure like your coffee explosive, huh?" I shot him a question for the sake of making small talk as I punched some buttons on my terminal.

"It's the eight shots, isn't it?"

I answered by giving him a shrug and a smile.

"It's the first time I ever did one like it. I can only imagine how it tastes like."

His lips slightly quirked into a smile. A...really cute smile if I might add.

"Is there anything wrong?"

"It's really good."

"Sure, Jaem. I'm not here to judge," I gave him a wink before handing back his card and receipt. "Well, thank you for dropping by. We hope to see you here again." He took both wordlessly and slipped them on his wallet.

I was waiting for him to walk off with his drink with the practiced polite smile plastered on my face again. He turned, coffee in hand, took about five steps, before turning to me again. I blinked in mild confusion as he placed his cup back on my counter.

"Actually… I'll have it here."

___________________________________________________________

"I'm not going to try your death coffee, Jaemin."

I didn't look up from the page I was reading but I could feel it, that deadly pout and puppy eyes combo drilling onto the side of my head. I flipped a page of my textbook over and I heard a sigh come from the boy beside me.

"I bought it for you. You said you need to finish a paper tonight."

"I do. That doesn't require me to be awake for the next week and a half," I answered back with a quirk of my lips as I finally looked up to meet his gaze. We were seated at one of the far tables of the cafe for my 15 minute break, away from the handful of customers scattered on the smattering of tables and high chairs. This has become quite a routine already… but how it started, I can't really explain.

Ever since that first order, Jaemin had made it his routine to drop by almost regularly. At first the banter started similar to how a regular customer and his favorite barista would have, but since he would always come and visit during slow hours, we would always have more time for longer conversations. Casual talk turned into light-hearted jokes, and finally into a kind of banter that comes with familiarity with each other. Slowly, I came to know the complexities of Na Jaemin, and boy, is he an enigma and a paradox rolled in one.

You never really know what to expect with him. There are days when he would be a bursting ball of energy—most of the time when he would order his drink from hell—but there are also moments when he would be quiet and reserved. I found it odd at first, but slowly accepted it since it didn't really hurt me in the first place. In fact, if I am going to be completely honest, I find this kind of personality set working for me. Imagine gaining two friends, except they're only in one body.

But that's not the only odd thing in our dynamic, too. If someone would ask me now to describe the kind of friendship I have with him, I wouldn't really know how to explain it. We joke together, laugh together, sometimes even tease the crap out of each other like we've known each other for years. We work well together, but at the same time… I know almost next to nothing about him. I don't know his address, who his other friends are, if he's going to school or not… hell, I don't even know what his number is. Outside of this cafe and his regular visits, I don't have anything to prove that he actually exists. He didn't share, and I also didn't ask.

Until today.

"Fine. I'm just going to drink this then."

I gasped before shooting him a squinted glare.

"You are going to burn a hole in your stomach, I swear to god—"

He simply shrugged and made a huge show of sipping the previously untouched tears of Lucifer.

I reached out to tug at the hood of his jacket in an attempt to call him out when I noticed it. His hair was initially masking it at first but now I could see it in full view: a purple bruise just on the side of his eye, almost to his temple.

"Oh my god, Jaemin. What happened?" I asked in a hurry as I tried to take a closer look at it. His expression changed in a heartbeat as he realized what I saw and he quickly leaned back and pulled the hoodie again over his head.

"That's—it's nothing."

"It looks so bad. How did you get that?"

He didn't answer. His eyes avoided my own and his hand gripped the plastic cup between us a little bit tighter.

"Did you get into a fight?" I pushed, gently this time.

His gaze moved to meet mine again for a few seconds. It's obvious he was contemplating what and how to answer.

"Yeah… I got into a bit of a tumble with some friends."

I frowned and crossed my arms over my chest as I leaned back on my seat. He threw me a look that silently asked what else I want from him.

"Look. You don't tell me shit but at least I know enough to be sure you are lying."

Jaemin looked away and started tapping his finger against the table.

"Why are you… why do you even want to know?"

I looked at him incredulously for a few seconds before leaning over.

"Because you're my friend and I want to make sure you are okay."

"I am okay."

"Your black eye says otherwise."

"Come on, don't push this. Can't we be friends without," he waved his hand between us. "This?"

"Jaemin, I don't even know who you are."

That made him stop. He stared at me for what felt like a full half minute and that's when I saw it for the first time. The dilemma in his eyes.

"It was because of work…"

The look of confusion I made must have been so intense that he quickly tried to jump over it.

"Work—why, what do you—"

"I'm sorry, but that's really all that I can tell you."

The sound of desperation in his tone wasn't lost on me. He looked so torn that I felt almost guilty for pressing.

"Fine… I won't ask again… As long as you are sure you're fine."

He peered at me once more as if assessing if he was finally off the hook.

"So...we're still friends?"

"Huh?"

"You and me… we're still friends?"

"Uh, yes…"

The look of relief on his face made me smile despite myself. He caught it and he made it a point to answer it with his best eye roll.

"Don't laugh at me. I don't know how to do friends."

"You're so cute~"

"Shut up."

And that was the exact day I decided—I'm never going to let Na Jaemin feel alone again.

Chapter 2

#na jaemin #jaemin #jaemin x reader #nct mafia #nct mafia au #mafia!jaemin #jaemin imagines #nct mafia fic

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bvidzsoo · 3 years

Text

No one like you

Author: bvidzsoo

Warnings: light swearing, overload of fluff for the light hearted

Pairing: Kim Mingyu x female reader

Word count: 15, 074

Summary: On a very important day you get a call from your sister asking you to babysit her daughter. She knows how important the project is for you and wouldn’t have bothered to ask you if it really wasn’t urgent. And you know that, so you reassure her that you’ll babysit Jieun. However, you get a little surprise when Kim Mingyu, your brother-in-law’s best friend, shows up unannounced, did I mention he’s also your ex?

A/N: Holy moly what a ride this one shot was writing! I had no idea I had the capacity to write something as fluffy as this bUT! THIS IS KIM MINGYU! and I love Kim Mingyu too much, so this is me channeling my inner love haha. Hope you enjoy it and I would love to read your feedback!

The studio has been buzzing with people the whole week. The new exposition was going well and I was proud that my works gained so much attention in so little time. I have been painting ever since middle school, a small and innocent passion became the job that allows me to put bread on my table every day. I never imagined that one day I would become a well-known painter, it just seemed surreal. But it happened, in my sophomore year, I painted a little piece for a contest and I won, gaining a lot of attention. Ever since then things changed, but they really only changed after I finished high school. I didn’t go to college, like many of my peers, I downed myself into the world of art and went around Europe, researching and learning as much as I could about the painters. Somewhere along the way, in Switzerland to be exact; I was actually taking a break; is where I met my manager. Hansol Vernon Chwe. He had a fine eye for art, very sophisticated taste and unique views. Through him, I met Xu Minghao, my second-in-hand. Minghao was mesmerizing, his mere presence could capture your whole attention. Everything about him was delicate, his taste was even finer than mine and he was ruthless. He knew what he wanted, always, and wasn’t afraid to demand it. Only wanting the best, always striving to be the best. I’m a perfectionist, I rarely let loose and I’m obsessed with order. Minghao and I clicked instantly, it was love at first sight, in a very platonic way. Ever since Vernon introduced me to him, we’ve been working together. Minghao is a painter as well, his style rigid and very colorful, meanwhile mine is warm and homey. We run the studio together, he’s a few years older. It was his idea to work together, to build the studio together, to give it life together. It was his project of a life time, his very own dream, and when he shared it with me, asked me to join him, I knew I couldn’t refuse him. It was great exposure to the both of us and it wasn’t a big surprise of how well it worked.

I was busy talking to a client when my phone started ringing, cutting my words off. Vernon threw me a displeased look, they were clients from France and they wanted a contract with me, some of my paintings would be exposed in their art gallery if I went through with the deal today, but when my phone rang for the second time, I knew I had to excuse myself. I wouldn’t have to, if it wasn’t my sister calling. She had a different ringtone, on purpose, and she knew I was busy today, so, she wouldn’t have called unless it was something very important.

“I’m so sorry for bothering you!” Were her first words as I picked up, eliciting a chuckle from me.

“Yeah, I’m talking to some very important people, right now, Joohyun. What’s wrong?”

“Wonwoo and I got stuck.” Her sigh was loud and I listened closely, eyebrows furrowing.

“Where?”

“On the highway, we are still three hours away, traffic is insane, again…”

“Okay, what can I do?” I asked, already knowing it involved Jieun, my 4-year-old niece.

“Jieun’s nanny has to leave in an hour, something came up for her…can you go over? Look after her until Wonwoo and I get back?” I bit my lower lip, thinking hard. Can I leave the studio in an hour? The event goes on the whole day and I am supposed to stay. But if Jieun needs me, our parents live on the other side of the country they won’t be able to come in such a short time, I had no choice but to make it work.

“Yeah, sure, don’t worry. I’ll go babysit her.” I reassured Joohyun and she sighed out relieved.

“Thank you, Y/N, you are a life saver!” Came Wonwoo’s deep voice through the speakers, no doubt my sister was using the car’s Bluetooth to speak on the phone.

“Sure thing, Won, see you later. Drive safely, brother-in-law!” After my sister and her husband bid me their goodbye’s I hung up the phone and went to find Minghao and Vernon. Vernon just finished talking to the French clients and as I neared him, he shook his head.

“What could have been more important than this deal?”

“My sister.” I deadpanned and Vernon sighed as he nodded his head.

“Well, I made the deal. So, if you want to back out, we can’t anymore. The paintings we talked about will be shipped off to Lyon next week.”

“That’s alright with me. For how long is the contract?” I let my eyes run over the people inside the studio, eyes falling on Minghao. He was standing next to one of his painting’s, a glass of red wine in his hand as he spoke to three blonde females. They were giving him suggestive smiles but Minghao paid little to no attention to them as gazed at his painting proudly.

��Contract is for two years, Y/N.” Vernon answered me and I nodded with my lips pursed, waving Minghao over once we made eye contact. He excused himself and jogged over, a bright smile on his lips.

“Everything good?” He asked with his honey voice and Vernon nodded.

“So, uhm…” I cleared my throat and looked at them apologetically, “I have to leave in an hour.”

“Oh?” Minghao asked surprised, looking at Vernon to see if he knew about this already, but he didn’t.

“Joohyun called and asked me to babysit Jieun, her babysitter has to leave in an hour.” I explained to the guys and Vernon’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Is there no one else that could go?”

“No, I’m sorry, I really want to stay, but I just—can’t.” I sighed and Vernon nodded in understanding.

Minghao’s eyes lit up in sudden realization as he pointed his glass of wine at me, “Mingyu.”

“Uh…what about Mingyu?” I asked confused, looking at Minghao with furrowed eyebrows.

“Call him and tell him to babysit Jieun instead of you.” He proposed his idea and I took a second to think.

“I’m sure Joohyun and Wonwoo thought of Mingyu first.” Minghao went to cut me off but I raised one finger at him, “Joohyun knows it’s important what we are doing today, she really wouldn’t have called if Mingyu was available, okay?”

“Sure.” Minghao muttered with a sigh and Vernon patted my shoulder reassuringly.

“Don’t worry, we’ll take care of everything. Minghao will entertain the guests, no doubt.” A teasing grin came onto Vernon’s lips as he took the glass of wine from Minghao.

“Why can’t you do it, huh?” Minghao snapped back, glaring at Vernon when he took a sip from his glass.

“And this is why I didn’t want to leave…” I muttered with a shake of my head, making Vernon chuckle as Minghao shot me a glare.

“We are very competent of running things on our own, Y/N, thank you very much.” I gave Minghao a look before he returned it, challenging me. Sometimes our personalities would clash together, one more stubborn than the other.

“Chill, guys,” Vernon raised a hand in the air to get our attention, our mediator in tense moments, “Y/N, you should greet Mr. Yoon’s grandmother before you leave, she’s been looking for you.”

“Of course!” My face lit up at the mention of Grandma Yoon, the old lady having been a very loyal customer of mine. I met her through the contest back in high school and ever since we’ve kept in touch. She used to think Yoon Jeonghan, her charming nephew, and I would become a thing. She was really convinced she could make us date, but Jeonghan and I were too different. And to be fairly honest, I’m not someone very interested in relationships. I’m fine on my own, I don’t mind not having a partner. It was long since someone held me in their arms and kissed my forehead softly, but my art required a lot of attention and time that I wasn’t willing to sacrifice for someone else. I’ve been on a few dates since high school, but they never worked out. I blamed them on my atrociously high expectations but those weren’t the reasons for my failed love life. It was a person that I never truly got over, he ruined me in the best way possible, and now I just can’t find anyone that could live up to his level. No one. And it was frustrating until I realized I didn’t actual need someone to feel completed and happy. Excusing myself from Minghao and Vernon, I went around the studio with a smile on my face, searching for Grandma Yoon and Jeonghan.

The car ride to my sister’s house took a lot longer than usual, traffic at noon was horrible in the city. I was at least fifteen minutes late by the time I pulled in their driveway, quickly getting out of the car, big bag full of supplies almost falling from my hand. I locked my car and rushed to the front door, ringing the bell. It took three seconds and the door was thrown open, a relieved look on the nanny’s face.

“I’m sorry, traffic was really bad today.” I shot an apologetic smile to the nanny and she opened the door wider, to let me step inside.

“I understand, thank you so much for coming!” She bowed her head as she pulled on her coat, stepping outside the door, “It’s really urgent.”

“Hurry, then…” I motioned for her to leave with my head and she bowed a bit before rushing away, leaving me shaking my head. I closed the door and threw my heels off, music coming from the living room. I smiled to myself when a girly voice echoed to the hallway, singing along to the lyrics. I left my green, thin, coat hanging on the hanger and gripping my heavy bag with both hands, I headed towards the living room. My sister’s house was big and beautiful. Her and Wonwoo have a simple yet sophisticated taste. Their house looked a thousand times better than my apartment. As clean as I am, my apartment could be a mess from time to time. Especially my art room, where I paint, that one was always a mess. But for me that mess was order, I always knew where everything was and found whatever I was looking for within seconds. As I walked down the hallway to the living room, I gazed at the pictures in white frames that were hung up on the white walls. The pictures were of Wonwoo, Joohyun and Jieun, mostly. There were a few family portraits from both parties, Wonwoo and Joohyun, and there were even some of me and Mingyu. Actually, the one who took almost every picture was Mingyu. He has had a passion for photography since high school and continued to do it as a side job, even currently. He was borderline an artsy, borderline a jock kind of guy throughout high school, maybe that’s why he attracted all kinds of girls. Myself included.

“What a nice voice you have, Jieun!” I exclaimed as I let my bag fall to the floor once I made it into the living room’s doorway.

Jieun’s head turned away and a big gummy smile, nose scrunched up, spread on her soft face, “Auntie Y/N! You came!”

“Of course, I came, auntie wouldn’t miss any chance of spending time with her favorite girl in this whole world!” Jieun started giggling loudly as I spoke in a funny way, jumping my way towards her.

“I’m really your favorite girl?” She asked with another giggle as I reached her and scooped her up in my arms. Her weight wasn’t something I couldn’t handle; she was only four after all.

“Well…it might be Joohyun, but—”

“Auntie, bad auntie!” Jieun whined with a pout and I grinned at her, kissing her cheek.

“Bad auntie, I know.” I muttered and she pressed a soft kiss to my cheek, so I placed her down, “What were you doing with your nanny?”

“We studied a little bit of numbers, then I wanted to watch cartoons and she promised to make some French fries for me but—she’s gone now.” Jieun’s lips formed a pout and she oddly resembled a little bunny, cheeks puffing up. I laughed and crouched down in front of her.

“So, here’s my plan…” I motioned for her to lean as if I was sharing a secret with her, “Auntie brought some of her painting stuff over…so, after we paint a bit, I will make French fries for you. Cool?”

“Cool!” Jieun exclaimed loudly, clapping her hands together. I winked at her and went to grab my bag from the doorway, dragging it to the coffee table. I glanced at her as I opened the bag, her big eyes shone with excitement; she loved drawing and painting; and her nose scrunched up in the most adorable way as she smiled. She was an oddly mix of both Joohyun and Wonwoo. Sometimes, the two would start bickering about who she looked more like…in those time, of course Mingyu and I would have to interfere, and of course Mingyu would be on Wonwoo’s side meanwhile I was on Joohyun’s, just to balance out everything. But when Jieun smiled, she was the exact replica of Wonwoo, nose scrunching in the same way and eyes disappearing almost. When she was serious or pouting, she looked like Joohyun with her big eyes and delicate lips. Her beautiful dark hair reached her shoulders and she’d always brush her bangs out of her eyes, especially when she was frustrated with something. And oh my God, she was one of the most stubborn kids I’ve ever met. She knew how to manipulate people, even at the age of four, and most of the time got what she wanted. She inherited Joohyun and Wonwoo’s calm natures, never being a hyper child, nor too loud. She could be a little angel but she had her moments when she was hard to deal with.

“So…” I looked at Jieun as she kept smiling at me, “Do you have anything in mind that you’d like to paint?”

She sat on her knees close to the coffee table as she stared down at the smaller white canvas I placed on the table for her. All kinds of brushes and colors lay on the table, Jieun’s eyes running over them eagerly.

“Nothing special, maybe some trees…a blue sky…green grass…something nice.” She mused, more to herself, and I chuckled quietly as I shook my head. One day, my little Jieun, would turn into a big painter herself, making her auntie proud.

“Sounds excellent,” I raised my thumb up at her and she giggled, “Should we start?”

“Yes!” She exclaimed and quickly claimed her brush, asking me to pour some blue paint onto her palette. I did as I was asked and watched as her tongue darted out and eyebrows furrowed as she mentally imagined where she’d place the sky.

“Auntie, will you not paint?” She gave me a quick glance before swiping her brush against the canvas.

“Not today, I’m taking a break.” I answered her as I leaned against the sofa, watching her paint, “Auntie has worked really hard the past three months, I need some rest.”

“Don’t you paint though because it makes you relax?” Her eyebrows rose as she tried to lighten the blue color she placed on her canvas.

“That’s true, but I’m wearing white pants…” I trailed off with a lame excuse, making Jieun throw me an amused glance. I giggled when she shook her head, it made me feel like I was the kid and she was the adult. Jieun, sometimes, would act really mature for her age, saying meaningful things without realizing the weight of her words. Mingyu always blamed it on Wonwoo and Joohyun, who would never fail to remind their daughter certain things that would form her into a decent human being later on in life.

“I’m so excited!” Jieun giggled as she pointed at the yellow paint, and I took and pushed some of it onto her palette.

“Do you like painting so much?” I chuckled and Jieun nodded, “That makes auntie really happy!”

“Yes but no!” She exclaimed and I raised my eyebrows at her as she attempted to paint a big sun onto the blue sky she just painted, “Uncle is coming over too!”

My eyebrows furrowed as I looked surprised at the little girl sitting next to me, Mingyu is coming over?

“Did you speak to mommy and daddy, Jieun?”

“Yes, they said uncle Mingyu couldn’t make it in time so they will ask you to come instead.” She hummed and grinned at me before turning back to her canvas.

“Ah, so Mingyu isn’t really coming over…” I let out a sigh, pleased to hear he wouldn’t show up today. I haven’t seen him in over a month, and meanwhile it was a long time, it was actually refreshing. I didn’t have much time to spend time with my family as I was busy with the studio and the project Minghao and I have been working on. Mingyu was considered family, even though he wasn’t related to anyone. It’s just the way it is, Wonwoo and him grew up together, it was only natural Wonwoo considered him his brother. So that made him, indirectly, Joohyun’s brother-in-law and my…well, brother-in-law? I wasn’t really sure, it didn’t matter, I didn’t consider Mingyu really family either way. It was just weird, to look at him and think ‘oh yeah, he’s like my bro’, because we have dated in high school before, for two years. Two years of bliss and pure happiness, two years I wish I could time travel back to.

“But uncle is still coming over though…” Jieun muttered to herself and my eyebrows furrowed, but I ignored her comment. She just misunderstood what her mom and dad told her. Mingyu couldn’t make it today, so they called me instead. Just like I suspected, I knew Joohyun wouldn’t have bothered me if she had other options.

Painting the canvas went well and in-an-hour Jieun was finished, happy and proud of her work. She asked me to critically asses her painting and so I did, entertaining my little niece furthermore, her giggles filling the living room. She was so loud that I didn’t even hear the front door opening, a mistake on my part as I forgot to lock it, and the deep voice made me jump upon I heard it.

“And what do we have here…” My eyes were wide as my heart beat quickly, a loud squeal leaving Jieun’s lips before he was up on her feet, dashing towards the giant standing in the doorway. Mingyu was grinning down widely at Jieun as he scooped her up in his strong, and well-built, arms, his sharp canines showing off when his smile widened more. His black hair was disheveled, probably because he continuously runs his hand through it, and the sides stuck to his face, still wet. He was wearing black shorts that reached his knees and a sleeveless blue loose tank top, a silver chain dangling from his neck. I quickly caught myself ogling him and huffed as I rose to my feet, arms crossing in front of my chest. Truly, who knew not seeing him for a month would make him look more attractive? Mingyu, no doubt, had an incredible glow up since high school. If he would’ve looked like this during high school too, I’m sure all the girls would’ve lined up in front of his classroom to bring him all sorts of things. But even as handsome as he was now, I found him plain. Maybe because I’ve known him for a long time now, and don’t get me wrong, plain not in a bad way…he was just, plain, transparent.

“Look how excited you are to see uncle!” Mingyu teased Jieun as he poked her stomach, eliciting a loud shriek. I couldn’t help it but smile, having a big weakness for Mingyu and Jieun together. And alone, just…when it came to Mingyu, after all those years, he was still my one and only weakness. It amazed me how I never got over him one hundred percent, I just couldn’t. But I didn’t want to either, not when his flaws seemed perfect too.

“Because I love uncle!” Jieun grinned at Mingyu, nose scrunching up making Mingyu giggle.

“Of course, you love me! I’m the best uncle ever!” Jieun cheered with Mingyu as he started dancing around with her still in his arms, Jieun poking Mingyu’s cheek.

“Finally, uncle and auntie are together!” Jieun cried out as Mingyu started tickling her sides, making her laughter echo loudly in the house. It seemed like realization dawned on him upon he heard Jieun’s words, he seemed to realize that there was another person there with them, standing a few feet away, smiling at them. Mingyu stopped moving and Jieun giggled quietly, trying to catch her breath from being tickled, throwing her arms around Mingyu’s neck to give him a tight hug. Mingyu’s gaze locked with mine and I kept my smile on as he returned it.

“Look who finally showed up!” He teased and put Jieun down, acting as if his muscles were sore from holding her and he earned a light slap from Jieun.

“Well, hello,” I said with a chuckle as Mingyu walked further inside the living room, headed my direction, “Long time no see, old friend.”

“A month, to be exact.” Mingyu said, suddenly serious, as he stopped in front of me, “Are you ignoring us now?”

“As if you don’t know…” I rolled my eyes and undid my arms that were in front of my chest, to turn and walk away, but Mingyu was fast and he was already pulling me in a hug. His body was bigger than mine and whenever he hugged me, I felt like I was melting into him, disappearing from the world. This time wasn’t different, in fact, it felt like his body swallowed mine all up as he gripped me tightly. One month was really that long of a time, huh. I returned the hug, suddenly realizing his tank top was damp and he didn’t smell exactly the most pleasant, at least his usual cologne was less strong, “I was busy with the studio and—are you sweating?”

“Right now?” Mingyu started laughing and his chest rocked against mine, my eyes widened, realization hitting me. He just finished work!

“Ew, Kim Mingyu, get off!” I shrieked and tried to wrestle myself out of his bear hug, but he squeezed harder and started laughing louder and louder, “You’re sweaty, no, stop!”

“Too late, dummy!” He said while laughing and twirled me around, very amused that I couldn’t get away from him.

“Don’t make me kneel you where the sun doesn’t shine!” I threatened with a deadly voice and in two second, he let go of me, “You’re disgusting!”

“That’s not something nice to say to someone, auntie…” We heard Jieun in the background say very lightheartedly.

“That’s right, Jieunie…” Mingyu said with a pout, leaning his face closer to mine. I quickly pushed it back and it made Mingyu snort before he glanced at the canvas on the coffee table.

“Oh! Did you paint this Jieun?” He asked, eyes wide and mouth open.

“Do you like it?” Jieun asked happily, bouncing on her toes.

“Love it! It’s so beautiful!”

“Thank you!” Jieun giggled and I patted her head as she came to stand by my side, grinning at Mingyu, “Next time I could paint you!”

“Oh, uncle would love that!” Mingyu winked at Jieun playfully as he looked back at me, “Missed you, Y/N.”

My heartbeat quickened and I snorted, very unladylike, as I rolled my eyes, “Yeah, sure…Can’t say I missed you very much, I guess—Yeah, kinda? A bit, yeah, I missed you too, idiot.”

“Wow,” Mingyu breathed out, an amused smile on his lips, “That sounded like you got a brain malfunction, glad to see I still make you flustered, Bae.”

“Don’t call me Bae.” I snapped at him, eyes narrowing as Mingyu went to the doorway, picking up his discarded backpack.

“Isn’t that your family name, Bae?” A sneaky smirk crossed his lips, he knew what he was doing. Of course, that is my family name but he is using it knowing it has double meaning.

“Go take a shower Kim, you stink.” I pinched the bridge of my nose with two fingers, making Jieun laugh loudly as she pointed at Mingyu.

“Auntie is making fun of you!”

“Didn’t Wonwoo hyung teach you to not point fingers or make fun of someone, Jieun?” Mingyu’s voice turned stern, but his expression remained light. Jieun, however, knew Mingyu was being serious and scolding her.

“Sorry,” She muttered with a pout and hid her face in my pants as she turned her body into me.

“Go shower, before I cut off the warm water, you dick—” I sucked in a deep breath at the almost slip, it was already bad that I let dick slip, as Mingyu started hollering with laughter.

“Good luck explaining that to Wonwoo and Joohyun later, bae.” He called as he walked down the hallway and towards the bathroom, laughter following him. I cursed in my head as I looked down at Jieun, a big smile on her lips.

“Dick?” She asked with a giggle and my eyes widened in mortification.

“Jieun, no! Never ever say that to anyone, okay?!” I snapped, eyes narrowing at her as I leaned down to be eye level with her, “Auntie will cry if you do, I swear, Jieun.”

“Auntie will be sad if I say…dick?” She giggled again and I glared at her, trying to make her understand she couldn’t say that. How do you make a kid stop from saying a bad word? Help?!

“Auntie will bawl, Jieun, not cry, bawl!” I emphasized the word, knowing how much Jieun hated seeing people cry.

“Okay, I won’t say it at all,” She raised her pinky finger and hooked it with mine, “Pinky promise.”

“Pinky promise.” I echoed after her, biting my lower lip nervously. This will come back and bite me in the ass later, I know it, and that’s when I’ll really be bawling. Especially if Joohyun will be shouting my head off with Wonwoo throwing daggers at me, dear God, what have I done?

Jieun was beyond excited when I told her that I would have to cook lunch for us now, and she even volunteered to watch some Barbie movie while I do that. She knew I didn’t like other people in the kitchen with me while I was cooking, I always worked better alone. Mingyu was in the shower still, his phone blasting some upbeat song that we could hear clear and loud from the living room, hallway, and even a little bit from the kitchen. I shook my head as I turned on the Barbie movie for Jieun, Rapunzel, and walked to the kitchen while throwing daggers towards the closed and locked bathroom door. Mingyu always had weird habits but ever since we finished high school, he started developing some even weirder and annoying ones, like blasting music while showering. Maybe if it was Mozart or some jazz music it wouldn’t have bothered me, but the kind of music he listened to were men and women screaming and throwing out nasty words while saying them fast, that’s not music in my opinion. But I learned not to question him about many things, his rants would leave me with a headache afterwards, he always spoke too quickly which messed with my brain. He definitely wasn’t a very patient person and it showed in many ways.

I opened the fridge and took out everything I needed for lunch. I promised to make French fries for Jieun so that was the first thing I started working on. I washed the potatoes before peeling them and washing them again, then I placed them in a bowl and started cutting them up into long, thin, sticks. Without realizing, I found myself humming a ballad I heard a while ago while preparing the studio. It was a beautiful song about a man who regretted letting go of its lover, realizing too late what an amazing person this was. I could relate, almost, but it wasn’t me who broke up with Mingyu. He wanted us to break up, so I didn’t have much choice but to move on. Something I actually failed doing, only partially though.

I prepared the oil for the fries, placing it in a pan and putting it on the cooker, waiting for it to boil. I washed some vegetables and started cutting them, preparing a salad with some yoghurt and lemon dressing. I placed the first round of fries into the pan and hissed when some hot oil collided with the skin of my wrist, I always hated cooking with oil, that shit hurt when it burned you. As I moved around the kitchen, trying to find the salt that seemed to always be in a different cupboard, I became aware of the silence coming from the bathroom. Mingyu must have finished washing up, I strained my ears and was able to hear the Barbie movie still playing in the living room. I went back to the fridge and took out the meat that Joohyun placed there last night to defrost and took it to the chopping board. I took out the sharpest knife from the drawer bellow and started slicing up the meat into, somewhat, even pieces. I always found the cleaning and slicing of meat disgusting, nowadays, I didn’t even cook it anymore for myself. But Mingyu and Jieun really liked meat, and it seems like Joohyun had in mind to prepare it today, so I sacrificed myself to cooking it, not that it’s a big deal.

“Mhm, smells good in here,” The male voice made me flinch, I always get scared from the smallest things, “What are we cooking today?”

I heard shuffling from behind as Mingyu walked further inside the kitchen, his big feet thudding loudly against the marble floor.

“I’m cooking today.” I said as I proceeded to cut off the excess fat from the meat.

“You really don’t expect me to sit back and watch you cook?” Mingyu sounded amused and I knew I couldn’t really argue with him. He loved cooking and he was really good at it too.

“I mean, I wouldn’t mind…” I trailed off as I crouched down to open the cupboard and take out a bowl, “You know I don’t like people bothering me when I do something.”

“Yeah, and if it wasn’t for me, your first round of French fries would’ve turned into ashes.” I rolled my eyes as Mingyu took his position at the cooker, taking out the French fries and dumping them into a deep bowl.

“I was about to check it…” I muttered as I proceeded to season the meat, licking the mixture from my palm. It tasted fine but I needed to mix it better so I proceeded to do that.

“From what I can see, you do need an extra pair of hands here…” Mingyu muttered with a chuckle and I felt him passing behind me to wash his hands in the sink, “Not that I wouldn’t mind sitting and watching you move around—those pants really do their justice to your ass—”

“Kim Mingyu.” I snapped and rolled my eyes, refusing to look at him and let him see the redness of my cheeks. I swear to God, he says things like that on purpose just to make me flustered. And they always work.

“What? I’m just giving you a compliment here!” He said defensively and passed again behind my back, coming a lot closer and I clenched my jaw.

“Slap my ass and I will cut off your fingers.” I warned, knowing him well enough, and Mingyu started giggling as he quickly ran past me, coming to a stop in front of the cooker. He placed the second round of potatoes into the boiling oil, no complaints coming, unlike from me. His technique was always better. I licked my finger again and hummed contently, about to wash my hands when Mingyu spoke up.

“Let me taste it!” He whined and I rolled my eyes, heading for the sink.

“When it’s done.” I muttered as I turned on the water, hand almost underneath it, when a large hand gripped my wrist and raised it up.

“Mingyu—” I choked on air when he proceeded to such off the mixture from my middle finger, knocking all air out of my lungs. He hummed with his eyes closed, lips in a pout as he released my finger from his mouth. My heart went crazy and my jaw hung open, I shifted from one leg to the other, saliva pooling in my mouth. What the fuck?!

And then my eyes proceeded to travel lower and now I was definitely turned on, “What the fuck?!”

His eyebrows rose and he looked confused as he followed my eyes, which were currently on his well defined six pack. Jesus Christ, woman, as if you haven’t seen men with six packs before! Yeah, but those men weren’t Kim Mingyu…The hand he was still holding twitched and I snatched out of his hold, mustering up my most frightening glare as my eyes connected with his. It took a lot of power to punch his biceps instead of his, very firm looking and broad, chest.

“Go put on a shirt, Jesus, Jieun doesn’t need to see you shirtless.” I scolded him and quickly turned around and washed off the mixture, before he decided to lick my whole hand clean.

“I don’t see Jieun around though…” I could hear the smirk in Mingyu’s voice and I scoffed as I rolled my eyes aggressively.

“Here or not, go put on a shirt, dickhead, no one is curious of your body. This isn’t the gym, Mingyu.” I muttered aggressively, avoiding to look at him as I reached for the towel to dry my hands, knowing well if I looked at him my eyes would be drawn to his chest instead of his face. I tensed and groaned in annoyance when Mingyu’s front was suddenly pressed up against my back, his warm enveloping mine. I hate how easily he could tease me and how easy it is to make me react; how easy it was for him to play around. I knew he only teased me because he lived for my reactions, but deep down I always hoped it was because there were still some lingering feelings for me. Maybe not, he broke up with me, after all.

“You left the water running, Y/N,” He muttered, voice low as he was so close, his breath tickled my exposed shoulder and I tried not to cover away, “Joohyun and Wonwoo won’t be too happy when their bill comes.”

“Yeah, well, how about you learn what personal space is?!” I snapped as I placed the towel down forcefully, wanting to turn around but knowing I couldn’t resist looking at his toned body, I stayed put instead.

“And miss all the reactions you give me?” He giggled as he placed his chin on my shoulder, making me sigh out loud, “That would be a total waste of my time.”

“And a lot of saving of my energy—your potatoes will turn into ash soon, so how about you move?” I raised my elbow and let it collide with his abdomen, not too harshly though. Mingyu giggled again and suddenly a new voice rang through the kitchen.

“Uncle, you’ve finished showering!” I panicked as I didn’t want Jieun to see us like this, she would tell her mom everything and I didn’t want Joohyun and Wonwoo smirking at us the next time we’ll have dinner together, “Why didn’t you tell me you’re cooking?”

Jieun was pouting and I hissed when Mingyu did nothing to move, looking at Jieun with a smug smile, “I want to help too!”

“Sure, sweetie, uncle was about to make some sandwiches, do you want to help?” Mingyu cooed at Jieun and I elbowed him again, harder this time, to make him step back. He groaned in pain and finally put distance between our bodies, when suddenly I felt teeth sinking into my shoulder.

“What the fuck?!” I couldn’t help but cry out and turn around sharply to slap a smirking Mingyu. I started back at him wide eyed as he started cackling, unphased by my slap to his side this time.

“Uncle will go and put on a shirt if he wants to live.” I said with a forced smile as I gave Mingyu a look, eyebrows raising at him, “Or do I have to make you wear one? Like a little kid?”

“Oh, bae, I can do that fine on my own.” He laughed as he walked to the table, where his grey shirt, with a deep V, was thrown down on.

“What is fuck?” Jieun asked, eyebrows furrowed, and my eyes widened as Mingyu started hollering with laughter again.

“Yeah, auntie, what is fuck?” Mingyu smirked once he was able to speak, hid laughter having died down, “I’m really curious too.”

I glared at both Mingyu and Jieun, placing my arms on my hips as I took a deep breath, “A very ugly word that only adults can use, alright?”

“Well, that’s unfortunate for you, Jieun.” Mingyu said with a shrug as he went to take the bread.

Jieun stuck her tongue out at Mingyu and I smirked as I walked towards the oven to take out the roasting tray, “I said adults, Mingyu.”

Jieun started giggling loudly and Mingyu threw me a glare as he paused slicing up the bread for the sandwiches he planned on making.

“Hand me some ham, cheese, tomatoes and lettuce, Jieunie.” Mingyu asked the little girl, watching me still as I stuck my tongue out at him before I started placing the meat into the roasting tray. Jieun pulled a chair to the fridge, climbed on it and started taking out the items Mingyu asked for.

“Thank you.” He thanked her when she waltzed back to him, grinning at Mingyu as she sat at the table, chin in her palms. I grinned at Jieun, she looked really cute. I quickly remembered the French fries and placed another round into the boiling oil, making me hiss when it went on my skin, again.

“You okay, auntie?” Jieun muttered as she threw me a glance, her eyes going back to Mingyu, who was assembling the sandwiches now.

“Yes, yes, don’t worry.” I smiled towards the girl before turning up the heat in the oven and placing the meat inside. I turned around and leaned against the counter and watched Mingyu work. His back was a bit hunched as he is very tall, his muscles flexing from time to time as he used his hands to make the sandwiches and he kept making faces at Jieun. He beaconed her over and let her place the round tomatoes into each sandwich, poking her nose and praising her once she was done. I sighed and checked on the potatoes again, stirring them a bit around.

“I have an awesome idea,” Mingyu spoke up, canines showing from how big his smile was, “Let’s have a picnic!”

“A picnic!” Jieun exclaimed, jumping up from her seat, “Auntie! We are having a picnic!”

I chuckled and nodded my head, looking at Mingyu with an impressed smile, “Seems like we are having a picnic!”

“I’m having a picnic with my favorite auntie and uncle!” Jieun shouted as she ran out into the hallway, “I will go and change! I want to wear something pretty!”

Mingyu and I laughed quietly as Jieun ran up the stairs, her feet thudding loudly upstairs as she went to her room to get changed. My eyes fell back on Mingyu, he was already looking at me, and he smiled warmly. I returned it and before I turned around, he sent a wink. I winked back and shook my head as I went to open the cupboards, looking for a tablecloth.

“I’ll prepare what we need for the picnic.” I informed Mingyu and he hummed.

“I’ll finish the rest of the potatoes, how long until the meat is done?”

“Forty-five more minutes.” I said after I glanced at my wristwatch, going around the kitchen to get the plates, utensils’ and what we else we needed.

When forty-five minutes were up, the three of us went outside in the little garden behind the house. It was a good day, the sun high up in the sky with a few clouds here and there, and it was warm enough that you could wear a tank top and a cardigan over it. Spring was always a season I enjoyed the most. The pleasure of seeing everything bloom to life once again brought great joy for me. Taking walks in parks while the trees and grass turn once again green is a certain satisfaction you understand only if you experience it.

Meanwhile Mingyu prepared a few more dishes with Jieun’s help, I placed a blanket onto the grass and started carrying outside plates, utensils, glasses, apple juice and the food that was prepared, one by one. Jieun bounced around me the whole time, talking loudly and quickly as she told Mingyu to hurry up and bring the meat out so that we could start eating.

“Jieun,” I spoke up, looking up from my kneeling position on the blanket, “Go put on your denim jacket, sweetie, you might catch a cold in a simple t-shirt.”

“Do I have to?” She whined, lips jutting out and eyebrows furrowing.

“Yes, you do.” I gave her a look that she knew she couldn’t argue with, so she rose to her feet and ran back inside almost crashing into Mingyu when he appeared in the doorway.

“Woah, chipmunk!” He exclaimed, clutching the plate close to his chest, “We almost lost the meat!”

I giggled and shook my head at Mingyu, his eyebrows were furrowed as he turned around to shout back inside the house, making sure Jieun heard him. I sat down on the blanket, sighing out as I massaged my sore knees, I kneeled for too long.

“Stop being dramatic and bring that here.” I said when Mingyu turned back around, shaking his head in displeasure, exiting the house, “You hang out too much with Jeonghan.”

“I don’t,” He scoffed as he handed me the plate before taking a seat on the blanket, “I haven’t seen him in three weeks.”

“Oh no, did he finally ditch you?” I teased with a grin and Mingyu rolled his eyes.

“You wish, he’s my most loyal client!” Mingyu exclaimed, a proud smirk on his lips.

“Is he becoming as buff as you are?” I found myself asking absentmindedly, hating that I was confessing to having checked him out many times. It’s not my fault, his body is eye catching. The whole existence of Kim Mingyu is eye catching. You’d be a fool to be in a room and not notice him, his sole presence is powerful and like a magnet.

“Oh, so I’m buff?” I rolled my eyes as Jieun came running out the house.

“Yeah, whatever,” I muttered, smiling when Jieun plopped down next to me, “Ready to have lunch?”

“This is the best day of my life!” Jieun screeched and I chuckled, poking her cute cheek. Mingyu giggled quietly, grabbing a plate and starting to put various foods on it. Jieun watched him eagerly and so did I, failing to notice the fond smile on my lips.

“This one is for the princess,” He deepened his voice and did a little bow as he handed Jieun the plate, “From your loyal servant, Kim Mingyu.”

“No!” Jieun giggled, taking the plate excitedly, “You are uncle Mingyu! Not my servant!”

“Let me spoil you for a second, Jieun…” Mingyu said with a sigh, grabbing another plate. I handed Jieun her fork, she still struggled with her chopsticks, and placed a napkin on her lap.

“Don’t stain your pretty skirt, okay?” I asked and brushed her bangs out of her eyes.

“Don’t pressure her, Y/N,” Mingyu shot me a look, “Don’t worry about that, Jieunie, just eat freely!”

“You really do spoil her too much…” I chuckled, leaning forward to grab a plate but Mingyu slapped my hand away, “No wonder Joohyun complains about you.”

“She does?!” Mingyu made an offended sound and I watched as the, now, plate full of food was handed at me.

“Thank you.” I muttered with a smile, suddenly feeling shy at the look he was giving me. I looked away and turned my head quickly, reaching for my chopsticks. Mingyu remained quiet and I could feel him still looking at me but Jieun spoke up.

“The French fries are so good!” She exclaimed, making a ‘mm’ sound as she stuffed her mouth with more, “You cook better than mommy and daddy!”

“We do?” I asked with a laugh, glancing at Mingyu, who was smiling smugly.

“Of course, we do!” He gave me a look, “You’re sitting next to Korea’s biggest chef!”

“You wish.” I snorted meanwhile Jieun started giggling, shooting finger guns at Mingyu who winked back at her. It was heartwarming to see Mingyu and Jieun interact, their personalities were weirdly quite similar. Except, Mingyu was acting like a child sometimes as an adult and Jieun was still a child, she had an excuse. I liked spending my time with the two, I felt refreshed and full of positive energy afterwards. Even Mingyu’s teasing could feel pleasant after a long and tiring day at the studio.

“How’s the studio going?” My ears perked up when Mingyu spoke up, eyes on me.

“Oh, pretty well,” I said after swallowing, “The exposition is going well, I wish I was there…”

“Yeah, sorry,” Mingyu scratched his chin, shooting me an apologetic smile, “I thought I wouldn’t be able to come look after Jieun today, that’s why I told Joohyun to ask you. I had three more clients that were supposed to come in but Jeonghan is apparently sick, the other pulled a muscle two days ago and can barely walk and well the third one—I forgot.”

“You always forget things, uncle…” Jieun said with a giggle, dipping her French fry into ketchup. I leaned over the bowls placed in front of me on the blanket and grabbed the one with the salad.

“You have to eat vegetables to stay healthy, Jieun, not just junk food.” I said as I pushed a bit of the salad on Jieun’s plate, making her scrunch up her nose in disgust.

“You’re like dad, ew.” She muttered, shooting me a cute glare. I giggled and put the bowl down, turning towards Mingyu.

“I get it, don’t worry…” I reassured him with a smile, eating more of the meat from my plate, “I just worked so hard for this exposition and—you know Vernon and Minghao! They always find something to disagree on and to be honest, I hope they can keep it together at least until the event is over…”

Mingyu’s eyebrows furrowed as he nodded in understanding and he placed his right hand on my thigh, giving it a small squeeze, “Don’t worry, Vernon and Minghao know how much this means to you. And, besides, they would be jeopardizing themselves too if they fuck up, so…maybe that’ll make you sleep better at night—”

I started laughing, loudly, as I squeezed my eyes shut the food still in my mouth. Mingyu paused talking and his eyebrows were raised as he exchanged glances with a confused looking Jieun. It made me laugh more and I had to place my plate down and swallow carefully, my body rocking with laughter.

“Uh—I’m sure what I said wasn’t that funny—” And then Jieun started laughing too and I couldn’t help it but laugh harder. Jieun was clapping her hands excessively as she kept pointing her finger at Mingyu’s face, unable to say much.

“Un—uncle—you—” I tried to take deep breaths and calm down. Mingyu’s confused face turned into an angry expression, plate sitting on his thigh, as he crossed his arms in front of broad chest.

“What.” He snapped, eyes falling on me now that I stopped laughing.

“You—” I took a deep breath, calming my racing heart and clutching my stomach, “Have salad stuck between your front teeth, I’m sorry—”

I started giggling again and Mingyu’s eyes widened as he started chuckling, sticking his finger in his mouth to take care of the stray salad stuck between his teeth.

“Ew, uncle!” Jieun screeched, closing her eyes, “Cover your mouth when you do that!”

“Yeah, did your parents never teach you that’s disgusting?” I threw him a disgusted look and Mingyu grinned once he cleaned his teeth.

“You dared to laugh, at me,” He pointed at himself, straightening his back, “The great, Kim Mingyu?”

“Please…” I rolled my eyes with a scoff and gave Jieun a look, a look she returned with an amused grin.

“You shall face the punishment now!” I scoffed again and Mingyu leaned over the food and started poking Jieun’s sides, making her laugh again. She swatted at his fingers, throwing him a glare when he stopped.

“That’s not funny…” She muttered to herself as she resumed eating and I chuckled about to eat as well, when I felt a jab in my side.

“You don’t want to do this, Kim Mingyu,” I warned him, pointing a chopstick at him, “We both know you are more ticklish…”

“A punishment is a punishment, bae.” I rolled my eyes at the nickname but of course, Mingyu quickly started tickling my side and I started jabbing him with my chopstick wherever I could.

“Fight, fight, fight!” Jieun started chanting playfully and I huffed as I caught Mingyu’s wrist and stopped him.

“Seriously, don’t.” He pouted and pulled his arm back, throwing me a glance.

“You’re no fun.”

“Do you want me to tickle you?” I raised my eyebrows, wriggling my fingers when Mingyu glared.

“No.”

“That’s what I thought.”

Halfway through the meal, Jieun said she had enough and got up and ran to the little swing they had for her in the garden. Mingyu and I remained on the blanket, splitting what Jieun left on her plate and eating that too. Once we were finished, I poured him some apple juice, then for myself, and we drank it quietly while watching Jieun run around. I chuckled when she started playing with a small butterfly flying by, handing my cup to Mingyu when he asked for it. He gathered our plates, the bowls of food and put them on the far end of the blanket, away from us so that it wouldn’t bother us. Mingyu was leaning back on his forearms as his eyes followed Jieun around, a fond smile on his lips. I sighed and glanced at him, my eyes falling on the black camera resting by his thigh.

“How’s that business going?” I spoke, getting Mingyu’s attention. He followed my vision of line and nodded his head lightly.

“Pretty well,” He said, picking up the camera in his hands, “I’m collaborating with a high school currently, so I’m taking graduation pictures of their seniors.”

My lips formed an ‘O’ shape and I gave him a smirk, “You must be pretty famous around that high school.”

Mingyu chuckled and nodded his head, “Can’t say I’m not, Y/N.”

“Right, can’t remember a time you weren’t famous…” I trailed off, the two of us sharing a knowing look. Mingyu nodded solemnly and then raised his camera, turning it on.

“Two weeks ago, I had a wedding, that one was a big hit, made a lot of money!” He said with a grin, looking into his camera as he pointed it up towards the sky. I looked up and saw the sky was covered with more clouds now, but the sun was still shining brightly.

“I wanted to ask you to come to our studio for today, but Vernon and Minghao apparently booked a really famous photographer so, you know…I didn’t want to say no to them…”

“Yeah, that’s fine!” Mingyu shrugged and started grinning as he took pictures of Jieun, “Your events are way too prestigious, I might have turned down your offer either way.”

“No, you wouldn’t have, Mingyu.” I chuckled, raising my eyebrows and making him glance at me.

“You sound so sure…why not?”

“Because it’s me asking.” Mingyu’s finger paused mid-air and he gulped before nodding his head wordlessly. It’s moments like this one that give me hope, hope that he still feels something for me. Even if it’s been five years. It was enough time for us to get over the other, but having to spend so much time together again made me realize that I wasn’t even far from being over him. Maybe it’s the memories we share, the time spent together, the pleasant moments, the hardships or the person I shaped into while being with him, but it was really hard to look at him and not feel something more than just platonic feelings. It came as a shock after we finished high school to find out that Joohyun and Wonwoo have been dating for two years in secret. No one ever saw it coming, they never left any hints for us to pick up on, it just seemed like they got along due to Mingyu and I dating and always being together. Turns out, they were dating too at the same time with us, except their relationship worked out. And I couldn’t have been happier, they were perfect for each other and they blessed us with little Jieun, the sweetest kid. When Jieun turned two, Joohyun and Wonwoo decided to get married and tie the knot for a lifetime. I was a little jealous when we got the news of their marriage, I always thought I’d be the one to get married first as Joohyun was closed off and wasn’t ever interested in dating or having a family. I guess it was just a matter of time and person.

My eyes widened when the camera made a sound, this time directed at me. Mingyu was grinning as he kept snapping picture after picture and I raised my middle finger at him while sticking my tongue out.

“Hey!” He gave me a glare before turning the camera back to Jieun, snapping a picture of her as she was playing with the flowers, making a crown for herself, “Look at this!”

Mingyu’s canines showed again as his grin spread bigger, he scooted closer, “Joohyun will love this shot!”

It was a close up of Jieun, she was crouched down with yellow flowers in her hands, her dark hair falling around her shoulders and lips in a soft pout. I smiled and looked at Mingyu, “Why don’t you drop the gym and turn into a professional photographer? You are so talented.”

“Y/N,” He gave me a grin and a scoff, as if I already knew the answer, “You know photography is just a hobby for me—”

“Doesn’t it pay better than that smelly gym you work at?” I interrupted him with my eyebrows raised. He chuckled and shook his head as he turned around to take more pictures of the nature.

“Smelly or not, I really like working there…” He muttered and Jieun shrieked, alerting us.

“Jieun?” I asked loudly, eyebrows raised when she turned around, she was holding something brown between her fingers.

“It’s a caterpillar!” She exclaimed excitedly, waving the small animal between her fingers.

“Say hi and put it back into the earth, okay?” I called back and Mingyu snorted as he looked up from his camera.

“This one goes for Wonwoo…” He grinned to himself, looking at me, “His daughter ain’t a pussy like your sister—”

“Mingyu!” I threw him a glare and punched his arm, “Irene hates every little insect, you know that. It’s not her fault—”

“It technically is though.” He gave me a pouty look and I snorted and shook my head. I extended my arms over my head and stretched, hearing the camera go off again, before laying down on the blanket. I groaned loudly as the tension eased from my lower back and I relaxed into the earth, closing my eyes to breathe in deeply the warm air. It was tranquil, the moment felt nice, Jieun’s laughter and chatter faded nicely into the background. I let my muscles relax and enjoy the moment of calmness, that is until weight was dumped on me. I yelped loudly, eyes opening and muscles tensing as I went to sit up but Mingyu’s hand pushed me back down.

“Don’t get up!” He exclaimed, eyebrows furrowed, “Why’d you move?!”

I threw him a glare as I watched him whine more, pushing his ass against my pelvis and sitting on me.

“Mingyu, I don’t know if anyone has made you aware of this, but you are heavy!” I exclaimed again, crossing my arms in front of my chest.

“I won’t get off until you give me the same expression you did a few seconds ago—”

“How can I do that when a man is literally crushing me?” I raised my eyebrows and Mingyu scoffed, pushing up onto his knees but still straddling me.

“Happy?”

“Not until you completely get off.” I gave him a sweet smile and Mingyu threw me a glare as Jieun’s loud laughter came from behind him.

“Why are you sitting on auntie?” She asked giggling.

“Good question, Jieun, I think he wants to crush auntie—”

“I was just trying to take a picture of auntie, Jieun, but she’s stubborn and wants to upset me.” Mingyu said pouting, giving Jieun a sad look.

“Well, hurry up auntie then, I want to go inside—I’m tired.” Just as she finished speaking, she yawned and pouted.

“Five more minutes and we go take a nap, okay?” I smiled at Jieun and she nodded before running back to the swing. I looked back up at Mingyu and gulped as I stared into his eyes, the butterflies in my stomach kicking off.

“Make it quick, okay?” I sighed out and closed my eyes, willing my body to relax and let go. Forget that Mingyu is straddling me and dangling his camera in my face like all those times when we were still dating. The camera went off and so did my heart, it started beating faster and faster as all the memories swam in my mind tauntingly.

The basketball court was full of students as everyone was in recess. I was sitting with my friends on a bench underneath a tree to hide from the blazing sun as we all ate our lunch and gazed out onto the field, where the basketball team was shooting around. All guys were tall, the team consisted of mostly juniors and seniors, but Yuto, a guy my age, made it into the team due to his height.

“Ah!” Yuna exclaimed next to me, eyes following a boy, “Look at Wonwoo! He’s so handsome!”

“He’s a good player…” I muttered as I finished up my lunch.

“He could be the worst and I’d still love him!” Yuna mused and the rest of our friends agreed with her. I rolled my eyes when someone from behind us scoffed.

“So, you only watch the basketball team because the players are handsome?” The voice was sharp and I rolled my eyes, turning to face my sister.

“You’re still moody?” I asked her and she shook her head, coming to stand in front of me and blocking my view of the field.

“No, I passed my chemistry test, I’m feeling better.” She gave me a wide grin and extended her arm. She was holding a small cartoon of chocolate milk and my eyes lit up.

“Unnie!” I gave her a big grin and stood up to give her a brief hug, “Thank you!”

“Yeah, mom told me you forgot to pack one.”

“You’re the best.” Joohyun chuckled and pinched my cheek aggressively.

“You only say that when I give you something or do something for you—”

“Joohyun—” My friends shrieked and both Joohyun and I jumped as a ball hit my sister’s back. She hissed and turned sharply, the ball bouncing on the ground.

“Joohyun—” My friends started but Wonwoo running over shut them up quickly.

“Are you okay?” His deep voice was laced with worry and Joohyun glared the boy down. She was a lot shorter but her gaze could always make her seem powerful and scary. She leaned down wordlessly and picked the basketball up.

“Be careful next time, Wonwoo.” Her voice was soft, a contrast to the look on her face.

“Sorry, Joohyun.” Wonwoo bowed his head a bit, hands extending to take the ball from my sister. She glanced down at the ball before handing it over, their hands brushing against each other and small smiles appearing on their faces. The snap of a camera distracted me from throwing a suspicious look at the two in front of me. A tall guy, taller than Wonwoo, was holding up a camera to his left eye as he grinned.

“Yah! Kim Mingyu!” I exclaimed, crossing my arms in front of my chest.

“Yah! Bae Y/N!” He imitated my voice, pushing his lips out into an exaggerated pout.

“I don’t look like that!” I snapped at him with a glare as Mingyu walked closer.

“Yes, you do.” He taunted, the camera hanging at his side. Wonwoo and Joohyun chuckled behind me and I glanced back to see them lost in their own conversation.

“Stop pouting, you’re too cute.” Mingyu cooed and I punched his bicep as he started leaning down.

“Why do you keep taking pictures of me—” My words got muffled when Mingyu pressed a small kiss against my lips, a smile appearing on my lips.

“What were you complaining about?” He whispered as he pulled back just a little bit, making my smile widen.

“Nothing.” I muttered and as I went to press another kiss against his lips, his camera went off again. My eyes snapped open to find Mingyu giggling as he was looking down at the picture he took, cheeks rosy.

“Yah! Kim Mingyu!” I exclaimed and raised my arm to punch his arm again but he suddenly jumped back. He stuck his tongue out and I glared at him.

“You two are so immature.” I heard Wonwoo saying from behind me.

“He won’t stop taking pictures of me!” I snapped, watching as Mingyu was slowly raising his camera up again, “Don’t you dare—”

Snap. Oh, that’s it, he asked for it. I took off running towards him but Mingyu just giggled loudly and took off too, running ahead of me.

“You can’t catch me!” He shouted as he turned his head before running faster.

“Screw your long legs!” I shouted after him as I chased him around the basketball field, underneath the blazing sun.

“I love you!” He shouted while trying to take more pictures of me, almost falling when he tripped on a rock.

“You’re an idiot!” I screamed after him, laughing when he almost fell, “I love you!”

“I know you do!” He winked cockily and slowed his running, making me think I’d finally catch up. But when he was in arms reach, he sped up again while cackling evilly. I let out a frustrated cry and continued chasing him, unphased by the looks the students were giving us.

The click of the camera brought me back to the present and I opened my eyes to find Mingyu with his eyebrows raised and a small smile on his lips. His personality didn’t change much since high school but his looks did. It’s not like that mattered much, I didn’t like him for his looks, it was his personality that drew me in at first. His looks were just a plus.

“I want to go in!” Jieun came running to us, whining loudly.

“We are going.” I smiled at her as she looked down at me with a pout and I looked up at Mingyu with raised eyebrows. He blinked and looked at me for a second before he realized he was straddling me, so he got off and helped me off the blanket as well.

“Can you please clean up? I have a Yoga class in half an hour.” I said after looking at my wrist watch.

“And Jieun?” Mingyu asked as he started gathering the things we gathered on the blanket.

“I’ll put her to sleep, don’t worry about her.” I gave Jieun a smile and crouched down, opening my arms, “Do you want auntie to carry you to your room?”

“Yes!” Jieun exclaimed, her droopy eyes widening as she climbed into my arms quickly. I patted her back and walked inside the house, towards her room upstairs.

Jieun took longer than I expected to fall asleep, leaving me ten minutes to get ready for my Yoga class. I closed her door carefully after drawing her curtains closed and raced into the master bedroom, opening Joohyun’s closet. We go to Yoga class twice a week together so I have my clothes here, in case, I don’t have time to go home from the studio. We were supposed to go together today but since I had to be at the studio, we decided to postpone it. Thankfully, our Yoga instructor does online classes in the afternoon for those who couldn’t attend it in the morning. I quickly got dressed in my olive khaki green leggings and matching sports bra, rushing downstairs quietly, to Joohyun’s study room, where we kept our mattresses. She had enough space in her office, so I decided to lay out the Yoga mat underneath the window and quickly turned on her laptop, logging onto the platform of my instructor. In the big rush, I forgot to close the door and I could hear Mingyu coming and going from the garden, bringing everything inside like I asked him to do. I pulled my hair in a low ponytail and took a comfortable seat on the mat as the instructor started the class.

“Good afternoon!” She greeted with a big smile on her lips, her voice raspy but honey-like, “Good to see some familiar faces around; Y/N…”

I smiled and turned on the microphone, “Nice to see you! Joohyun and I couldn’t make it in the morning, we were both busy.”

“Is she not joining us today?” The instructor asked as more cameras got turned on, there was a total of ten people in today’s class.

“No, she’s not at home, at the moment.” I answered her and as the backdoor was closed, loud singing rang through the hallway. Mingyu’s deep voice bounced around the quiet house and my eyes widened as I quickly shut off my microphone, embarrassed when I saw some ladies smiling through their cameras. I glanced out in the hallway as Mingyu passed by the office, unaware that I was inside, as he bobbed his head to his own rhythm while he continued singing. Did he forget I put Jieun to sleep? He’s going to wake her up. But before I could quickly go and shut him up and close the door to the office, our instructor alerted us that we were starting the session.

“I prepared a relaxing Yoga sequence for today, a thirteen-minute-long practice,” She said with a smile as we took a comfortable seat in Lotus pose, “It’s the middle of the week, but we might be feeling burned out a little bit. I know that I do!”

I chuckled as I straightened my back, aligning head over heart, and heart over pelvis, “You can turn on your microphones as we are about to take deep breaths together, let us hear each other.”

I quickly reached over and turned on the microphone, as did the other ladies, whom I were familiar with from other classes, “Good, now let’s take five deep breaths in, tuck your chins, straighten your backs and close your eyes, empty your mind.”

I did as I was told, willing my muscles to relax as everyone took deep five breaths, emptying our lungs out loudly. It was a relaxing motion and it always helped me focus on the task I was about to do, my mind was a buzzing place 24/7. But my tranquil moment ended when Mingyu’s voice rose a few octaves and he started sputtering words after words. I opened one eye to see if the others could hear him as well, but upon seeing no reaction, I quickly closed my eye and took one more deep breath to relax again.

“Let us stretch our side bodies now.” With eyes open, I followed the instructor, breathing deeply still, “This is a great moment to take a step back from your busy lives and reflect on yourselves. Get lost in the silence and the guidance of my voice, trust your bodies and meet me in a tabletop position.”

I smiled and slowly moved into the position, cracking my lower back in the process, “Let’s do three rounds of cat and cow now, everyone following their own rhythm. We are not here to rush today.”

Closing my eyes, I arched my back into a cow position, letting out a quiet sigh when a few vertebras popped, then starting from the tailbone, I curled up into a cat position. I did that two more times while breathing deep, hearing the other ladies do the same calmed my nerves a little bit. I got lost in my own world, finally, blocking out sounds from the outside that didn’t serve me in this moment.

“On your next breath in, bring your big toes together and widen your knees as big as your mat, then meet me in extended child’s pose, with active fingers.” The instructor spoke up, and we followed, “Let’s wake up the muscles in our upper backs while opening our heart space, okay?”

The skin of my lower back and upper back were getting a good stretch as I gently rocked from side to side at the hips, loosening up the tight joints, breathing deeply.

“Make your next inhale the longest breath you’ve taken all day long and, on your exhale, let go of everything that doesn’t serve you by using lion’s breath,” I filled my lungs with air to the brim and paused at the top for three second before sticking my tongue out, eyes looking at my third eye and letting all the air out, similar sighs coming through the laptop.

“Carefully moving, let’s meet in downward dog, but only proceed from a tabletop position.” I raised back into a tabletop position and carefully, knees bent and arms placed at a wide distance on the map, I raised into a downward dog position, heels coming down on the earth.

“Let’s pedal it out,” The instructor said, “Your heels don’t have to come down to the earth straight away, pedal them out first, feel your muscles stretch and when you did all that, grow heavy in your heels and come to a still position for three deep cleansing breaths.”

I moved my legs as if I was walking, in one place, pedaling them out and sighing out when my hamstrings got the stretch they so desperately needed. I ground my heels down and stilled my movements, taking deep breaths. As I took in my last set of deep breath, the floor creaked in the doorway and I opened my eyes, seeing Mingyu upside down from this position, standing in the doorway. His jaw was hung open but when we made eye-contact, a wide smirk spread on his lips.

“Damn,” He muttered as he leaned against the doorframe, “If you only had this ass back in high school too—”

I gasped as my cheeks flushed, the sudden laughter coming from the laptop making Mingyu jump. His eyes widened as he looked towards the screen, and as I lowered from the downward dog, I caught the faint tint of red on his cheeks. The ladies were still giggling, the instructor’s eyebrows raised curiously.

“Uh—I’m really sorry—he didn’t know my microphone was on—”

“Good evening, ladies,” Mingyu smiled charmingly, they could see him well through the camera, “Sorry for interrupting, I’ll quickly head out.”

“Now, now,” The instructor said with a chuckle as Mingyu slowly left, throwing me a smirk that made me glare at him, “We needed that laughter, didn’t we, ladies?”

There was a chorus of agreements and my cheeks flushed again as I chuckled in embarrassment, “Sorry, he’s—”

“A charming young man, indeed,” The instructor interrupted me with a small smile, “let’s try to focus once again though and repeat our downward dog before we proceed with our practice.”

And we did proceed with our relaxing practice, but the problem was I couldn’t relax with Mingyu continuously walking in and out of Irene’s study room and always whispering things at me. At first, he was asking for some books Wonwoo recommended him to read, then he took a seat on Irene’s couch and started reading out loud but in a whisper, meanwhile I kept throwing glares at him. Does he know he’s supposed to leave me alone? By the time the class took an end I wasn’t anywhere relaxed, instead I was angry and irritated. The practice was supposed to make me feel light and relaxed but due to Mingyu bothering me, it didn’t work out. When we were talking leisurely after we finished the practice, Mingyu dangled his head into the camera. The ladies started laughing again and he had a heartful conversation with my Yoga instructor, to which he even got an invitation to her class after he complained about his muscles being stiff after a long day at the gym. When we were saying our goodbye’s, a lady had the audacity to call Mingyu and I, a cute and playful couple, which I wanted to deny but before I could, Mingyu was nodding and thanking her making my heart pump quickly. Once the call was over, Mingyu sat back on the couch and I proceeded to roll up Irene’s mat and placed it back to its place, throwing a glare at a grinning Mingyu. My eyes fell on the book he tormented me with and I took it in my hand and whacked him over the head.

“Hey!” He exclaimed and started rubbing his head, “What are you doing?!”

“What are you doing?!” I snapped, crossing my arms in front of my chest, “I took the Yoga class to relax a little bit but thanks to you I just became more irritated!”

“You did?” He raised his eyebrows and I went to whack him again but he caught my arm and quickly jumped up, “Okay, okay, I get it! Sorry, I won’t do it next time!”

“Of course, you won’t. There’s no next time.” I rolled my eyes and let Mingyu take the book from me and place it back onto the shelf.

“What are you saying?” He asked with a chuckle, becoming amused when I sighed and looked at him expectantly, “I got an invitation to your instructor’s next class and I’m definitely not going to miss it—”

“Hell, no.” I snapped and turned around to leave the office, but not before opening the window to let fresh air in, “So that you torment me there too? No, thank you.”

“Come on! I won’t!” Mingyu whined as he followed after me, closing the door behind me, “I’ll take it seriously!”

“You won’t, I know you too well, Kim Mingyu.” I said with a snort as I started walking up the stairs, Mingyu still following close behind.

“Please?” He looked at me with puppy eyes when I glanced back, “I’ll let you drive me around, okay?”

“As if I want to do that.” I scoffed as I walked to the master bedroom to get my clothes before I head to shower.

“I know you do,” A smirk crossed Mingyu’s lips as he blocked my way, “I heard from Wonwoo you bought a new Mercedes, I just know you’re dying to show it off to me.”

“Am not.” I said with a scoff, biting my lip afterwards. Oh, and how right he is, I can’t wait to pick him up from work and drive him here, in my new light turquoise Mansory S-Class Cabriolet, the next time we are having dinner with Joohyun, Wonwoo, and Jieun.

“You do,” Mingyu cooed and I rolled my eyes as I side stepped him, heading out the bedroom and down the hall to the bathroom.

“Now, stay quiet and don’t wake Jieun, I want to shower.”

“Go, go,” Mingyu ushered me inside the bathroom, gripping the handle, “Relax now, since you couldn’t while doing Yoga.”

“Dickhead—” He cut me off by closing the door in my face and I could hear his giggles as he walked away, his footsteps still loud. I groaned and quickly put my hair in a bun, turning on the warm water in the shower stall. The bathroom upstairs was bigger and it was divided in two in such way that if someone was showering another person could still come in because you wouldn’t see them, as the shower stall was just behind the other wall.

And there’s a reason why I usually avoid showering upstairs. It’s so big that the person won’t even hear the running water and often times would walk in, it happened with both Joohyun and Wonwoo while I showered, when they newly bought the house. Like I said, they still couldn’t see you, but the thought alone was enough to drive me away from showering upstairs and just using the downstairs shower. And that same thing happened while I was massaging an exfoliating soap onto my skin. The door opened and I heard feet thudding inside loudly.

“Jieun?” I called out, straining my ears to hear the person inside, “Did you have a nightmare and wake up? Mingyu is downstairs sweety, I’m showering, you can go to him—”

“Yeah,” My eyes widened at the male voice and I quickly turned around in the shower stall, making sure he didn’t already approach me, “Mingyu is upstairs, actually.”

“What the hell are you doing inside, Mingyu?!” I exclaimed, frozen as I listened closely, “I’m showering!”

“Uh, yeah, I know, you told me and I hear the water running—”

“What the fuck are you doing inside then?!” I exclaimed again, eyebrows furrowing when Mingyu cursed loudly.

“Fuck, I stubbed my toe!” He hissed and I scoffed as I quickly rinsed off the soap, “And I know, but I was bored downstairs alone…”

“So, you just come and intrude on a woman while she’s showering? Because that’s fine?” I snapped; eyebrows raised even if he couldn’t see me. I heard the toilet making sounds and realized Mingyu closed the lid and sat on top of it.

“Hey, don’t make me sound like a creep!”

“You are being a creep right now, though.” I pointed out as I took my regular, tropical scented, body lotion and spread it on my body.

“Okay, I’m sorry, I can’t even see anything, you know that, I just—” He let out a long sigh and my eyebrows raised as I paused.

“You just, what?” I asked curiously as I let the warm water wash off the body lotion.

“I was wondering, like, I’ve been thinking about this for a long time, actually, you know…” There was a pause as Mingyu cleared his throat before he continued, “Just…after we broke up, you know…did you date anyone else? Like, had a boyfriend, girlfriend, or something…”

My eyebrows furrowed at the odd question, not expecting it from Mingyu, we never talked about relationships or partners. We always stayed away from the topic that involved our personal lives for multiple reasons, so it was a surprise that he finally asked about it, especially when I was showering.

“I mean…” I let out a breath, standing underneath the warm water, “It’s been five years since we…broke up, so…yeah. I had…three…boyfriends.”

“Oh,” Mingyu sounded surprised and I grimaced waiting for him to continue speaking, “Yeah, I had a lot of flings during college, then a serious girlfriend that lasted for a year only, so…”

He chuckled, but I could hear he didn’t take it lightly, it bothered him that it didn’t work out. Something was bothering him still; I could hear it in his voice.

“Well, you know, I don’t know if Joohyun and Wonwoo talked about me and if they did and Wonwoo told you, but…” I took a deep breath and turned off the water, reaching for the long towel, “You pretty much broke my heart, no joke.”

Mingyu remained quiet as I placed the towel around my body and secured it tightly at my breasts, “I don’t blame you now, with this mentality, and I don’t hate you either anymore.”

We both chuckled at the same time and Mingyu sighed as we both stayed put where we were standing, “Honestly, I was a big dick back then. Breaking up with you because I wanted to get the whole college experience—I was a fucking idiot, to be honest.”

“You still are…” I muttered and Mingyu chuckled before he sighed again, “Actually…you know, how I was supposed to come with a plus one to my sister and Wonwoo’s wedding?”

“Yeah, and then you showed up with—”

“Minghao,” We said at the same time.

“Yeah, Minghao, and everyone was fucking confused from your family.” Mingyu continued talking, “Even Wonwoo…I still don’t get what the fuss was about.”

“I was supposed to come with my fiancé—”

“Fiancé?!” Mingyu choked out and I giggled, “You had a fiancé at the age of twenty-one, what the fuck?! And you didn’t tell me?!”

“We met when I was nineteen, actually, but back then I was kinda playing around with two guys, you know…still not over you, dickhead, but then him and I got closer and we got engaged three months before the wedding.” I explained, enjoying when Mingyu gasped.

“What happened?”

“I don’t know?” I asked with a chuckle, leaning my head against the wet tiles of the shower stall, “We realized we were too different? I don’t know, honestly, but I’m glad we broke up. I don’t think we were a good match.”

“Yeah, I’m glad too.” I scoffed and I heard shuffling, meaning Mingyu stood up, “Why did even Vernon show up at the wedding? He wasn’t even invited—”

“Two drunk calls from Minghao and I were enough to bring him around—”

“And then I had to drive the three of you home, yeah, I remember.” Mingyu didn’t sound amused and I started laughing.

“Well, if you were dumb enough to come by car and not with a cab like everyone else…”

“Yeah, whatever,” Mingyu scoffed and he cleared his throat again and hesitated to speak, “So, uhm, I was thinking…let’s go on a date?”

I blinked once and then twice and paused. Kim Mingyu was asking me on a date? Or was I hallucinating?

“I really should have waited after you finished showering, not seeing your face is frustrating.” He groaned to himself and I chuckled.

“To your information, I’m gaping right now,” Mingyu chuckled and I pursed my lips, “You want to go on a date with me?”

“Yeah, I think we are both mature enough to start things over, if we wanted to,” He sighed and I licked my lips, pushing off from the wall, “At least, I want to if you’re not against it.”

“Did spending your day with me make you nostalgic, Kim Mingyu?” I asked with a chuckle and he just hummed. I didn’t know how to feel. Did I still have feelings for him? Yes. Did he hurt me already once? Yes. But as he said, we are adults now, we view things differently now. I’m still unsure however.

“I can’t give you an answer right now,” I decided to be honest with him, he deserved it, “Give me time to think.”

He hummed quietly and I knew he wasn’t expecting that answer and he was disappointed, but he quickly spoke up, “I’ll go wake Jieun so that we can prepare dinner together.”

And he was out of the bathroom, leaving me alone with my conflicting thoughts. Did I want to go on a date with him? Yes. Was I afraid we wouldn’t work out anymore and I’d lose him forever? Yes.

After Jieun woke up, the three of us went downstairs and prepared dinner together, spending a good hour in the kitchen. But it still wasn’t dinner time so we snuggled up on the couch in the living room and watched a family movie together, Mingyu bringing us a big blanket to keep us warm. Jieun was snuggled up into his side, putting Mingyu into the middle, and I threw him a curious glance when he kept shifting around, until his arm was around my shoulders and his body was leaning onto mine.

“It’s comfier.” He whispered, keeping his eyes on the TV and I shook my head before looking back towards the TV and feeling my cheeks heat up. It felt nice being snuggled up next to him, his warmth enveloping mine and creating a feeling of calmness and safety. If there was a feeling I missed after Mingyu left me, it was the safety I felt whenever I was with him. His bigger body and the way he carried himself and even interacted when he was with me made it obvious to me that he’d do anything to keep me safe and that I shouldn’t worry. So, in the middle of the movie I cleared my throat and glanced up at him to see him already looking down at me.

“Let’s go on that date.” I whispered quietly at him and instantly Mingyu was grinning from ear to ear, squeezing my shoulder tightly for a few seconds before he sighed out happily. I chuckled and placed a palm against his beating hart, cheeks flushing when I felt his quick pulse. A feeling of fulfilment filled my senses and I couldn’t help the smile spreading onto my own lips.

After the movie was over, the moon was high up in the sky, and we headed to the kitchen to have dinner. Jieun excitedly told us stories about her encounters with other kids in kindergarten and how she kept tricking her nanny into giving her candy without her mom and dad knowing. Dinner was filled with giggles and Mingyu throwing me glances every few minutes, eyes warm and happy. Jieun even pointed it out at some point, asking us if we were hiding a secret or surprise from her. When we reassured her that no, we weren’t, she pouted and settled on finishing her dinner quietly while Mingyu and I conversed about what we did the one month we didn’t meet up, laughing at the memories we shared in high school when one brought it up randomly. After dinner, Jieun had a warm bubble bath and I braided her hair in two, helping her into her pajamas before Mingyu and I tucked her in bed. We were both sitting on each side of her bed, her bedside lap turned on and we chatted for a little while, until she fell asleep.

“You know,” Jieun muttered sleepily, her eyes already closed, “Uncle and auntie act just like dad and mommy. Will you have babies too? I’ll have someone to play with forever…”

Mingyu and I shared a look as I chuckled and leaned over Jieun, cradling her cheek, “Auntie and uncle aren’t like that, Jieun. There’s men and women who are just friends, who love each other but never make babies, because it’s not that kind of love, you know?”

“Don’t worry, Jieunie,” Mingyu leaned closer too, a devilish smirk crossing his lips, “Uncle will convince auntie to make babies so that you’ll have someone to play with, okay?”

Jieun’s eyes opened and she grinned widely as I threw Mingyu a glare, “Pinky promise?”

“Pinky promise!”

“Hey!” I exclaimed quietly as the two pinky promised in front of me with grins on their lips as if I wasn’t even there, “It’s not that easy to make babies—”

“We’ll figure it out.” Mingyu cut me off with a wink and I scoffed, leaning down and kissing Jieun’s cheek.

“Sweet dreams, angel.”

“Sweet dreams, chipmunk.” Jieun grinned as Mingyu pressed a quick kiss against her forehead and then we got up, turned off her bedside lamp and turned on her fairy lights. Quietly closing her door, we descended down the stairs and I could feel Mingyu smirking next to me, his hand continuously brushing against mine.

“Stop giving Jieun false hope, dickhead.” I snapped finally, making Mingyu giggled. He was expecting my reaction, as we walked back to the living room.

“I was being serious, Bae.” I groaned as Mingyu turned on the TV, putting on some random movie as we sat down on the couch, pulling the blanket over us again. We remained silent during the movie, enjoying the presence of the other, and my heart started racing when Mingyu interlaced his fingers with mine underneath the blanket and placed our hands on his thigh. I didn’t realize I wanted this until it happened, and I couldn’t be gladder. Because in this world, there was no one like Kim Mingyu, and he was mine.

My one and only true love.

419 notes · View notes

fweasleyswhore · 4 years

Text

Special To Me: Fred Weasley

requested by @fantastic-fans

a/n is it obvious I have a special spot for goblet of fire fred/george aka long hair times, uh yes. would i want it any other way? uh, no. sorry to my cedric stannies out there - but i think the transition from the fourth to fifth movie where their hair had been chopped off hurt more than cedrics death.

Pairing: Fred x fem!reader / Potter!reader

Summary: Reader struggles to feel significant compared to her twin brother (Harry Potter). These feelings make it hard for her to deal with her growing crush on Fred.

Word Count: 14.9K (i said i liked the idea and yes i did)

Warnings: a tad of angst and self deprecating thoughts (if you are struggling feel free to dm me and talk)

“But…” My eyes looked across the Great Hall table at Harry. His eyes were as wide as mine, shock was evident on his features much as my own. Had the situation been less serious we would have been teased about it, but this was anything but a laughable situation.

I felt Hermione’s hand on mine and she squeezed gently. I could see her looking at me through the corner of my eye but my eyes did not leave my twins. Again? He was constantly being pushed around, things being thrown at him but this year but we figured, this year would be ok.

“Blimey Harry, mind telling us how you didn’t grow a beard but put your name in?” George joked. I barely processed it and before I could punch him Dumbledore spoke again.

“Harry Potter, would you please come up here?” Harry looked at me, then to Ron and Hermione.

“I didn’t put my name in.” He rushed out. His voice was shaky and his eyes began to gloss over. “I didn’t. I swear I didn’t.”

I couldn’t respond. I was still just shocked.

“It’s ok Harry, we know. Go up there.” Hermione urged. She squeezed my hand again which grounded me. I hadn’t noticed that she hadn’t let go until she did that. My hand squeezed back. Not faltering but squeezing harder as I watched Harry walk up to Dumbledore, he tripped a few times but caught himself. My gaze didn’t leave him even after he went through the door at the edge of the Great Hall with the other champions. I sat there frozen.

“Love? Did you know he put his name in the cup?” Fred’s voice took me out of my trance. I stopped peering over Hermione’s head and turned to my side. His hand came up and held my shoulder, rubbing gently.

“No, I didn’t,” I spoke. My mind was racing a million minutes a second. I couldn’t stop thinking of our first night back at Hogwarts. Harry and I sat on the floor of the common room, a comfortable silence between us. We had both agreed that this year was going to be good. We both agreed that we were going to have a relaxed year, not push ourselves but enjoy the time at home before we went back to Uncle Vernon. He promised to stop worrying me, of course, I knew that it wasn’t his fault but it still made me feel some sort of peace. “He said he didn’t.” I could feel my eyes tear up. I’m not sure if it was the anger, the confusion, or the fear that set in that was causing it. “Oh don’t cry…” Fred pleaded. His hand that was rubbing my shoulder moved and he pulled me into his chest. I dropped Hermione’s hand and balled my hands around his sweater. He squeezed me tighter to his chest and rubbed my back as I came undone in his hands. I pulled back so my head was no longer pressed against him.

“Why is it always him?!” I nearly shouted. Friends who weren’t watching me come undone before definitely were now. Ron scoffed at my remark and rolled his eyes.

“My thoughts exactly.” He spoke snarkily before grabbing his things and leaving. My teary eyes watched him walk away. I looked at Hermione hoping maybe she understood but she held the same confusion as me. She sent me a sympathetic look before collecting her own things, squeezing my shoulder, and running after Ron.

“Foul git…” George mumbled. He brought his hand around Fred to give my shoulder a squeeze and send me a sympathetic gaze. I returned it and rested my head back on Fred’s chest. His arms were still holding me and that I was thankful for, he brought me in closer and sighed.

“Do you think they are going to make him play? People die in this competition...” I whispered to him.

He rested his head on top of mine and whispered back. “I’m not sure. It’s always something with you Potters isn’t it.” I couldn’t stop myself from laughing, he was right, sadly it was always us.

I brought my head up to look at him. If he wasn’t holding me I would’ve collapsed, his face was much closer than I thought and our noses almost touched. My face was flushing, I could feel it but I continued.

“Talk a lot yourself, Weasley. I could argue that you have more going on than us.” His smile was intoxicating, I couldn’t refrain from smiling back. Just like that my mood lightened. This was one of the many reasons I loved being around Fred Weasley, he just brings so much happiness into the world. In the worst situations I couldn’t help but find myself smiling because of him.

“Oh, you could? Because...” He leaned in after trailing off, my breath hitched. I was frozen as he leaned in so his lips ghosted over my ear. “You, are all I got going on.” He whispered, my face flushed and I could feel him smirking at me, confident in his ability to make me flush at the smallest things. I pushed my face into his chest again.

“I just want one quiet year,” I spoke into his chest. His arms tightened around me as he began to rub small circles into my back.

“I know. I know.” He spoke into my head. I could feel the vibrations of him talking in his chest. And even though there was hell all around us, I felt safe. I felt safe with him holding me. I tried to push down the bubbling in my stomach. This was our thing, we flirt, we joke but we are friends. He’s comforting a friend, that’s all. I pushed the thoughts aside, getting overwhelmed again wasn’t going to help my already anxious mood.

“We should, erm, go back to the common room.” George’s voice took me out of my trance. Untangling myself from Fred I looked around. Almost everyone had left the Great Hall. A few people stayed finishing up their meals or conversations. Looking around I saw Cedric’s friend group waiting for him.

“Come on, Harry can meet us in the common room,” Fred said standing. He and George outstretched their hands. I rubbed my eyes and rolled them at them before standing and wrapping my arms around theirs. “Attagirl.” Fred said after I linked our arms, earning a laugh from George and jab in the side from me.

Sitting in front of the fire I let my mind wander. Hermione could be heard in the dorms arguing with Ron and I didn’t really want to get in the middle of it. Behind me, Fred and George were talking about a prank they were planning. All around the common room, there was chatter, everyone was doing something, talking to someone, but I couldn’t bring myself to join.

Harry’s name was picked from the cup.

I tried to think back on the day. I was with him practically the whole time, the times I wasn’t Hermione and Ron were. None of us saw him put his name in the cup yet his name got picked. People died in the game. “This challenge isn’t for the weary of the heart, mind you, be absolutely sure you want this before entering your name. The rules have been altered but in the past champions have died. I do not expect any of us will be saying goodbye to our friends but I would not take this lightly.”

“Too bad they have the age limit, Harry you would win that thing so easily.” Ron piped in between bites.

“I think I have enough things trying to kill me in challenges I didn’t sign up for. Don’t think I would enter even if I could.” Harry shot back. He smiled at me from across the table and I remembered our promise, I smiled back.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Hermione asked softly, sitting down beside me. Her voice brought me back to the present as her knees hit my legs that I was hugging to my chest. I sighed and leaned back onto the couch where Fred and George were sitting, bumping Fred’s legs slightly.

“We agreed to have a quiet year,” I spoke slowly, a stark contrast to the thoughts inside my head that seemed to be swimming at 100 mph. “Quiet and good. And I understand this isn’t his fault. He didn’t put his name in but he is so tired ‘Mione. I don’t know how much of this he can take.” My voice began to break and tears welled up in my eyes for the second time that night. I was so tired of watching him get broken down to nothing and then being expected to piece himself together again. After last year where we met Sirius, we had hoped that we would be able to run off with him, live with him maybe. But the ministry is still doing everything in their power to capture him, so Harry and I had to go back to Uncle Vernon. Sirius sends us letters and communicates when he can but it still hurts not having him around. It especially hurt Harry. He had this whole life in the countryside dreamt up where we lived with Sirius and after Peter got away he was shattered. That summer I made sure to take more blows from Dudley. Usually, I got away with it being a “lady”, Aunt Petunia made sure to teach her son not to hurt girls, Dudley never saw me as a girl though, I don’t think Aunt Petunia did either but I wasn’t going to argue with it.

“Hey, don’t cry. Listen, tiring yourself isn’t going to help him. If you want a quiet year come hell or high water I will do everything in my power to make sure you get that.” She smiled and looked into my eyes, her eyes held a sense of security I longed for.

“Oh ‘Mione,” I wrapped myself around her in a tight embrace. I knew she wasn’t expecting it but she hugged me back slowly. “Thank you.” I whispered. She nodded into my shoulder.

A few hours passed and I calmed my swimming mind with the work I had been putting off over the summer that was going to be due at the end of the week. Small introductory papers going over what we learned last year. Not difficult but time consuming.

“I think I am going to head to bed.” Hermione spoke. I looked up, it was just us two. George was gone and Fred was sprawled out on the couch behind me, snoring slightly. I giggled at the sight of him, his long legs trying to stay on the couch.

“All right ‘Mione. I think I’m gonna stay and finish this. Wait for Harry to get in.” She nodded and rubbed my shoulder as she stood.

“Wake me up if anything happens or you need to talk.” I nodded and she set off up the stairs. I stood too. Stretching after being curled inward onto myself my joints began to hurt. I walked around the common room blowing out stray candles and tidying up slightly. I went back to my position in front of the couch to finish my potions essay on the new ingredients we learned last year highlighting their properties and effects.

“This is rubbish.” I laughed to myself reading the first few paragraphs. I honestly didn’t remember much from last year. I suppose that's what happens when you meet your criminal godfather and your friend's rat turns out to be one of Voldemort's henchmen.

While making notes on the margins of my essay I heard the portrait hole open. I turned to see Harry walk in, Fred turned slightly but didn’t wake. He didn’t register my eyes on him and he walked wearily towards the boys dorm entrance.

“Harry?” I whispered. He turned around, his pained face made a small smile when he recognized me.

“Oh Y/N!” He rushed over to me and collapsed in my arms. His body wrinkled my papers but I didn’t mind. I was just as fast to grab him back and hold him tightly. Soon I felt my neck grow wet as he heaved in my arms. I rubbed circles into his back and held him tighter.

He pulled back. “Erm, sorry.” He sniffled and rubbed at his face.

“You never have to apologize to me.” I sent him a comforting smile. “They’re making you play?” Although it was a question it sounded more like a statement. Deep down I already knew but I didn’t want to admit it.

“Yeah, so much for a quiet year I guess.” He let out a forced laugh, it sent a wave of pain to see him so broken. He stared at his hands in his lap and sniffled a few times. I looked back at the fire.

“I wish we were the chosen one’s.” I said quietly. “Just to take some of the burden off of-” “Do not ever say that.” He cut me off. I turned to him, his red eyes were wide and his face was full of grief. “Never.” “But Harry-” I tried but to no avail he cut me off again.

“No. I mean it. Half of the time the one thing that keeps me going is knowing that you are ok. Y/N if you had to fight this battle too I think I would break. I want to keep you safe.” He spoke slowly. His voice was lower and I could tell he genuinely felt this way. He grabbed my hands and I nodded.

“It’s not fair, it's always you.” I countered. I knew he was right but I didn’t want to stand idly by while he risked his life for me. “I understand you want to protect me, so you have to understand that I want to do the same. Harry this isn’t just your fight. We will fight with you, you just got roped in as our leader. I will do everything in my power to take even a miniscule amount of that burden off of you.” He was quiet. I looked into his eyes but his eyes were staring at our hands. His eyes were swirling much like how I imagined his head to be right then.

“When I lost you at the World Cup there was a split second I thought you died.” He hung his head even more if that was possible. “I couldn’t bear it Y/N and I knew if it happened it would've been my fault and-” This time I cut him off. I hugged him again and I felt him shake in my arms. I was mentally cursing the world for putting its weight on his shoulders. It wasn’t fair to him.

I pulled back enough so he could see my face. “Never in a million years blame yourself. It’s not and never will be your fault ok. Besides that only proves my point, this isn’t your fight alone.” I gestured to the sleeping form on the couch behind us.

That night rang through my head as I did so. I had linked arms with Hermione and Harry. The twins and Ginny were behind us. We were all trying desperately to find cover and we got pulled in different directions. Hermione’s arm became unlinked with mine and she trailed off with Ron and I got pushed down with Harry.

Scrambling to get up I looked around and Harry was gone. I began to scream his name but too many people were running and my yells were drowned out in the screams. Immediately I felt my body tense up and shake as panic set in. I figured my best shot was to go in the direction we were headed before I got split up from everyone. Trying to push through the crowd was hard, I was shoved around and soon I was sure my shoulders were bruised from the sheer amount of times I got shoved backwards by someone.

A loud scream echoed in the space. I looked around trying to find its origin when a couple tall men ran right into me. They didn’t even register it as they ran right on top of me. Digging their heels into my skin and kicking me. I tried to move when one of them kicked me directly in the head. I crawled into myself, cradling my head and waiting for the group to pass. The burning sensation in my shoulders now spread to my neck and I could feel the blood on my hands as I held my head.

I stood up shakily, nearly falling again as a wave of dizziness swarmed me. My vision was spinning but I tried my best to trudge forward in the direction I thought was the right way.

“Y/N.” I blinked, I know I just heard my name but I can’t see anyone around. “Y/N!”

My head injury must be getting to me. I looked at my feet which were having a hard time moving forward when I heard it again. I tried to turn around but something caught me.

Right then my feet were hoisted off the ground and my abdomen was squeezed. I yelled out and elbowed towards my back trying to fight off my attacker. I was set down and before I could run away strong hands were spinning me around. Immediately recognizing him I jumped into Fred’s arms and he lifted me up. I instinctively wrapped my legs around his waist. The pain I was feeling faded to the back of my mind as he held me.

“I thought we lost you.” He whispered in my ear. “Never do that again.” “I didn’t try to.” I whispered back. He laughed shallowly.

“I know, just, I don’t want to lose you.” He whispered. His grip on me tightened. The familiar feeling of butterflies erupted in my stomach, something I always felt when he was near. Even though he had been running around he still smelled like cinnamon and fireworks.

“You didn’t lose me Freddie. Never have, never will.” I whispered back. My grip equally tightened trying to communicate the feelings I have felt for a while.

He squeezed me again then set me down. I stood on my shaky legs trying to remain balanced. “Let’s go.” he whispered. Keeping up with him on a normal day was hard; this was damn near impossible.

Fred was tugging at my wrist, he had linked our hands together so I wouldn’t get lost again. I followed him, tripping every now and then but he always caught me. After what felt like hours we managed to the woods where we met with Hermione, Ron, Ginny and George. Immediately Hermione hugged me.

“I can’t breath.” I barely muttered to get out between pants.

“I thought that you had been trampled or…” She trailed off and looked behind me. I turned around but only saw the forest. “Where’s Harry?”

“I thought he was with you?” I looked around. Each Weasley held a similar look on their face of confusion as they looked between themselves then back to us.

Ron walked up to us. “I’ll go find him.” He squeezed my shoulder and looked between me and Hermione. “I’m coming.” Hermione piped up.

“Me too.” I said brushing myself off. They both looked at me like I was insane. “What?!”

“Y/N, you’re bleeding.” Fred said. I had forgotten he was still next to me. He gently grasped at my cheek to turn my head towards him as he inspected the cut on my forehead.

“I bet you all are bleeding. So what? I’m fine, I'm coming.” I pulled out of his gentle touch, immediately feeling cold.

“Your neck is bruised…” Hermione spoke. Again I could feel Fred’s hands on me. He trailed his fingers down the side of my neck, slightly pulling on the collar of my shirt as he inspected my injuries. I could hear him hiss while looking at them but I kept my eyes on Hermione.

“Y/N you could barely keep up with me on our way here. Just stay, please?” Fred’s hand had continued its tour of my body and it brushed my arm as he reached down to grab my hand. I finally peeled my gaze toward his. He was beautiful, his eyes were pleading, his grip tightened slightly so I hung my head in defeat.

“Please be safe.” I looked between Ron and Hermione. He nodded and she smiled before they ran out toward the direction of screams and fire.

I watched them until they disappeared behind some trees.

“Come sit love.” Fred said and he pulled me over to a tree trunk with a base to barely fit the two of us. Once I sat he began inspecting my face again, then my neck and shoulders. Occasionally I would flinch or gasp as he uncovered a new injury or an especially tender bruise, immediately mumbling a ‘sorry’ he would halt his actions before continuing.

He slouched against the tree beside me. I could feel his gaze on me but I kept my eyes trained on the forest where Hermione and Ron had walked out of a few minutes ago.

“You look horrible.” He said. I turned to him with a look of disbelief.

“Gee thanks, only nearly got killed a little while ago.” I shot back. His eyes widened as he realized what he said.

“No! No! Not like that. You’re beautiful I just mean-” I didn’t hear what else he said as I burst out laughing. He looked so panicked it was both heartwarming and hilarious.

“I’m messing Freddie. I know what you mean.” I brought my hand up to ruffle his hair. He huffed and rolled his eyes but he was smiling. I finally looked around us. Across from us a few trees to my right Ginny and George were snoring and leaning on each other. I giggled at the sight and realized how tired I was at that moment.

I yawned and tried to shift around to a comfortable position, something this tree was not allowing me to do. Fred watched me and snickered to himself. I looked up, catching him trying to stifle a laugh as I tried my third position, but gave up and turned so my back was against the tree again.

“Maybe I could get comfortable if your big butt wasn’t in the way.” I shot at him playfully. Looking towards him.

“I’ll have you know I have a tiny butt.” He said leaning down so we were eye level.

“Your butt looks big from where I’m sitting.” I shoot back. He rolls his eyes and smirks at me.

“If my enormous arse is taking up so much of your room why don’t you just sit on me then.” He patted his legs. “According to you I have enough butt to share so I figured I might as well.” He raised his brows at me and it hit me he wasn’t joking. My face warmed up and I prayed he couldn’t see it under the layer of dirt on my face. “Well?” He asked, smoothing out his trousers.

I mustered up my courage and crawled on top of him. I sat on him sideways and rested my head in the crook of his neck. His arms wrapped around me immediately. I sighed into him. My pain and uncomfort drifted away as my eyes drifted shut.

“Fred?” He moved his face so he could see me. I didn’t move my head, just brought my hand up to rest on his chest, he understood and rested his head back against the tree.. I could feel his heartbeat in his chest and it made me smile. He hummed in response. “Thank you. Not only for getting me tonight but all the times you just…” I trailed off. I didn’t think before I spoke but I knew what I was trying to say so I continued. “You always make me smile. Thank you.”

His arms tightened around me, and he placed a kiss onto the top of my head. I could feel myself blush so I pushed my head farther into his neck.

“Of course Y/N. Anything for you, love.” I smiled at the nickname. I felt safe as I drifted off. Even the distant screams didn’t disturb me, I focused on Fred’s heart beating under my hand and his hands rubbing small circles in my sides.

“Still haven’t properly thanked him for that.” Harry’s voice brought me back to the present and I smiled at him. That night was terrifying yes, but it's also something I think fondly about in retrospect. It showed how we all cared for each other, jumping up to protect one another, a lot of times I don’t feel like I fit in, that I’m the annoying sister who's included because she doesn’t have any friends. But after that night I realized I do have friends and they are all around me.

“You really should. Poor bloke carried me while I slept and took care of my cuts.” I looked over my shoulder and smiled at Fred’s sleeping figure.

Harry laughed and nodded. A comfortable silence fell between us as we stared at the fire.

“It’s gonna be ok Harry.” I spoke, my voice sounded confident, more confident than I felt inside.

“I know, just gotta get through it first I reckon.” He smiled at me. I nodded and smiled back. “I’m gonna head to bed, love you Y/N.”

“Love you too.” As he walked away I gathered my papers and tried to get them to lay flat but to no avail they were crumpled. I groaned and threw them in my bag and began to walk upstairs.

I ran down the stairs remembering Fred. He was still curled up on the couch snoring softly. I laughed to myself and gently woke him up.

“Fred, love, you should go upstairs.” He groaned and turned to face me. His long hair was a mess and his face was peaceful, he looked amazing, even then.

“Did Harry come in?” I nodded and he groaned again this time while standing, when he stretched his shirt rode up ever so slightly exposing his midriff. My cheeks burned as I looked at his toned torso and the small trail of ginger hair that stopped at his trousers. “Are you alright?”

I looked up to him and swallowed. His eyes showed genuine concern and I mentally slapped myself for drooling over him right in front of him. Luckily though, he didn’t notice.

I nodded. “Harry and I talked, we’re gonna push through.”

“With my help of course.” He smiled down at me.

I rolled my eyes but I couldn’t help but smile back. “I figured that was implied.” I said smugly, poking his chest.

“It better be.” He whispered. His voice was deep and drowsy and it sent a wave through me that made me shiver. I swallowed and looked back up to him.

“Goodnight Fred.” I leaned up on my toes to kiss his cheek. He looked at me stunned. I couldn’t tell if he was blushing from shock or embarrassment so I turned around and walked up the girls dormitory stairs. Why did I do that?

Barely audible I heard him yell after me. “G-Goodnight Y/N!” I smiled, falling asleep thinking of Fred. The weight of my conversation with Harry was gone, I felt dizzy like I was floating. All because of a certain redhead downstairs.

“Dragons! You have got to be joking.” I yelled.

We were steadily approaching the first task. When Hermione wasn’t studying she was helping Harry and I figure out what the tasks were going to be. Hermione was trying to split her time between us and Ron, I was trying to split my time between them and the twins, to say I felt overwhelmed was an understatement. Classes began to pick up in workload and I could barely imagine the stress that Harry was feeling.

“You could be a howler with a voice like that.” George quipped from his usual spot on the couch. I looked up at him and sent him a glare, he put his hands up defensively. “I’m right, it’s a compliment, look you would be much more effective than those damned things, that scared me!”

I rolled my eyes. “Your poor mum has sent you so many howlers, your saying not once did they scare you?” George shrugged and I looked back to Harry in front of me.

“He’s lying you know.” Fred whispered to me. I was sitting on the floor in between his legs where I usually sat. I turned my head to see him better. He glanced at George before leaning down to me again. “I once saw him cry after we got sent one. He was real torn up about it-”

Suddenly George hopped on Fred. I moved away from the couch partially to get a better view of them fighting and partially to not get hit by the flying limbs.

“Ugh would you two stop it! We have a real issue here!” Hermione stood up and hit them both with the book in her hands. George rubbed the back of his head where she had hit him as he sat back down and Fred hissed as he cradled his leg. They both sat back down, George glaring daggers into Fred, occasionally muttering something about him being a ‘Lying git’.

Hermione sat back down next to Harry.

“Is this what the brown dragon looked like?” She asked, pointing to a picture in the book. Harry examined it for a minute before speaking.

“Sure looks a lot more like it than the other ones.” Scratching the back of his neck he looked at her but she was busy reading about the dragon. They started to argue on if Harry had seen scales or skin and I tuned out, looking back over to the twins.

Fred caught my eye and he motioned for me to come back, sitting in my normal position again I smiled as he began to run his fingers through my hair.

“Does it matter much if its scales or skin? I mean, it's a dragon, they have a list of traits they all share, why don’t we tackle that before anything specific.” I interrupted their argument. They both looked at me. Hermione looked like she had swallowed something sower and I laughed to myself at the expression she had. She was about to speak before Harry intervened.

“Brilliant. What’s a common theme?” Hermione rolled her eyes and shut her book aggressively. She picked up spare parchment and a quill and started making a list.

“Well the fiery breath is something to be concerned about.” Fred said. I nodded along with him.

“And the massive talons that will rip you to shreds.” George added. Hermione glared at him and threw a pillow at him. “I’m not wrong!” He said removing the pillow from his face, everyone except Hermione laughed.

“Distraction and Execution. That’s what you need to plan on. I’ve watched these idiots do the same things over and over again and it’s always worked.” I said lifting a hand to point at Fred and George. “Well mostly worked but that’s not the point.” I laughed, George leaned over and flicked my shoulder and Fred ruffled my hair.

“Just use a strength of yours mate, what are you good at?” Fred asked.

Harry looked down at the ground in front of him, muttering things to himself and moving his hands. “I think I’m a fair flyer.”

My jaw dropped “Fair!?” He looked at me worriedly.

“Harry you’re an amazing flyer. Fair barely sums it up.” Hermione said. He looked at us smiling but then his smile dropped. “I’m not allowed a broom.” He said running his hands through his long hair. I frowned.

“You’re allowed a wand, use it.” Fred said. His hands now rested on my shoulders as he leaned in to talk to Harry. Not even thinking I brought my hand up to rest on his. I noticed when he squeezed my hand. I looked up and he smiled at me, I smiled back, relaxing my hand as his wrapped around mine.

“Oh and I’m supposed to hop around with my wand between my legs and hope that makes me fly?” He said rather exacerbated. I knew it was getting to him but now I noticed it. The dark circles under his red eyes. His nails were unkempt, he was picking at them because he was stressed.

“No mate, use a summoning spell.” Fred spoke again. He looked at Fred like he was insane.

“There is a spell for that?” I laughed along with the twins, Harry didn’t believe him.

“There is a spell for everything, uh here.” George lifted his wand while talking. “Accio quill.” Just then Hermione’s quill jumped from her hand and into George’s. Harry watched bewildered. “Here you go, sorry about that.” George said bending over to hand Hermione her quill back who was currently glaring at him. I laughed to myself, poor girl needs to loosen up.

“So if I said ‘Accio Firebolt’ my broom would come to me?” Harry asked. George and Fred nodded and I laughed at his excitement.

Our good banter went quiet as the portrait hole opened. We all turned toward the sound seeing Ron walk in. He looked at all of us avoiding Harry, I sent him a small smile and gestured to the empty space next to me. He stopped for a moment, looking torn, then he looked at Harry and scoffed and rushed up to his room.

Harry focused back on the floor suddenly finding it really interesting. It must suck to have to room with someone so mean I thought. “Don’t worry, he’ll come around.” George spoke obviously trying to diffuse the tension.

“He better!” Hermione nearly yelled. We all looked to see her face turning red. “He’s acting like- like-” She looked around suddenly at a loss for words. “A huge baby!” She finally exclaimed. We all nodded, not trying to further poke the bear.

“I’m going to go talk to him.” She huffed and ran up the dormitory stairs. Harry yelled after her, trying to tell her it wasn’t worth it but I don’t think she listened. Soon enough he had disappeared up the stairs too, leaving me with the twins.

We sat in a comfortable silence for a minute before I felt Fred’s hand slip from mine. I tried to not act disappointed as I let my hand fall back into my lap. Suddenly I felt two hands firmly grasp my waist and I was being hoisted up onto the couch. I squirmed out of Fred’s grasp who was laughing at my red face. George was laughing too but I was focussed on Fred.

“And what was that for?!” I yelled.

“There’s space on the couch, figured you got tired of the floor.” He said in between chuckles.

“Well you could have asked!” I smacked his arm playfully at his antics. I couldn’t even stay mad at him, his smile was too intoxicating.

“Besides we wanted to let you in on-” Fred started.

‘A very special and-” George continued.

“Secret plan.” Fred finished.

I looked between the two. The both held a very serious look on their face which I couldn’t help but giggle at, it was so out of character for them to be serious.

“You two will be the death of me won’t you?” I asked.

“Maybe.” They said in unison which made me laugh harder than before.

It was the day of the first task, I was seated in between Fred and Hermione in my usual seat at breakfast shoving food in my mouth as fast as possible.

“Y/N, please slow down, you are starting to look like Ron.” Hermione said, obviously a little disgusted. Ron’s head whipped up from across the table where he was chewing down on his sausage.

“What?!” He asked. Hermione rolled her eyes and I laughed in between bites.

Once I was satisfied I looked at her. “Sorry, I’m trying to get down to the field as fast as possible to see Harry and also help these two.” I pointed behind me. Their very special secret plan was a portable gambling station to bet on the players. I told them that it was kinda messed up they were betting on our friends being put in life threatening situations, something they rolled their eyes at. After a few promises of chocolate frogs and butterbeer for ‘the next month’, I agreed happily.

Hermione looked at the twins with a disapproving look that they didn’t catch. Her seriousness made me laugh. “See you out there?” I asked. She nodded and I stood up wrapping a scarf around my neck and dragging George away from his bacon and out to the field.

I walked around the pitch, directing people to where Fred and George were collecting bets and finally found where the champions were. I poked my head into the tent and tried to find my twin.

“Y/N?!” I heard a whisper. I whipped my head around and Harry was sulking in the corner of the tent. I motioned for him to come over, he glanced at the other champions who were too busy stretching or meditating to notice my presence before he walked over. As soon as he was in reach I engulfed him in a hug causing us both to stumble a bit.

“You ok?” I searched his features while holding him at arm's length. He nodded and swallowed.

“A bit nervous.” He scratched the back of his neck and looked at the floor.

“You got this, out of all the people in this tent you definitely got this.” I whispered. Right then I saw Dumbledore walk in the tent. “I should go.” He nodded and I gave him one more swift hug before running back to the stands to find the twins.

I stayed with them helping them count money and sharing candies I had stuffed in my pocket. More and more people began to fill the stands and I looked around for Hermione or Ron but saw neither. I brushed it off, they would come, they are probably just fighting.

“Hey Y/N! Mind if I sit here?” I looked up to see Neville bundled up tightly. His overgrown hair was swaying slightly against his forehead but was mostly held down with his ear muffs. I smiled and nodded, shifting to make more room on the crowded bench. In doing so I sat flush against Fred with less than an inch of room between me and Neville. We both smiled at each other again before focusing on the arena, waiting for it to start any minute now.

“Hey Neville?” I asked, turning toward him. He looked back at me quickly like I had caught him taking cookies out of the candy jar. “Did you happen to see Hermione on your way down here?” He instantly relaxed, probably thinking I was going to ask him to move. His eyes trailed away from mine as he recounted his steps.

“Yeah I did, she wasn’t walking towards the stands though she was heading toward the field.” I nodded, glad that she was around but slightly upset she didn’t come sit with me like we agreed.

“And Ron?” I asked after a brief moment of silence. His face contorted the same way it had moments earlier as he thought back. “I saw him standing outside the entrance to the stands, he wasn’t moving though.” I rolled my eyes.

“Thanks Neville.” I smiled again even though anger was burning up inside of me. Ron had continued to play this game long enough, he needed to get over himself and help out his friend. His constant bickering and absence was obviously getting to all of us, especially Harry.

I turned to Fred. “Why does your brother have to be such a git?” I asked. George whipped his head around stunned and Fred laughed.

“I don’t know, I guess I took all the good genes and George got stuck with the bad ones.” He said not even looking up from the tally sheet in his hand.

I took his hat off his head and flicked his forehead. “I meant Ron you daft dingus.” This time he looked at me, more because of my actions instead of my words. From behind him I could see George relax and laugh out of relief. He held his signature smirk as he grabbed his hat from my hands and began straightening it out.

“Don’t know, but I don’t think you should worry about that right now.” He said coolly.

“And what should I be worrying about Freddie?” I shot back. My anger began to reside as we fell back into our natural banter.

“This!” He said while pulling his hat over my head. I tried to fight him off but his grip was much stronger than mine. Finally I dropped my hands and slumped in defeat. I could hear his muffled laughter as he began to pull his hands away. I began to pull the hat off when he stopped me halfway.

“No, it looks better on you.” He held a genuine smile as he fixed the hat and smoothed down my hair. I could feel my cheeks warm up and I smiled back before turning my attention back to the field instead of him. My stomach began to stop doing flips as I looked around. Dumbledore was walking up to his box in the stand with the Minister.

“Must be about to start.” I heard Neville say in my direction. I nodded not even sure if he was looking at me as I stared at the champion tent. Just as Dumbledore began to speak, a very angry Hermione pushed her way into the stands sitting on the seat in front of us.

I maneuvered my way down to the stand below me and grabbed her shoulder. Her face was red and her breathing was rapid, I couldn’t tell if it was from the speed she was walking or whatever just happened. I looked at her silently asking about what happened.

“That wench that works for the daily prophet made an accusation saying I was having a love affair with Harry. She saw us hugging and took a photo. Now it's going to be plastered in a Newspaper for the whole school, much less the wizard parts of London to see.” I sent a frown her way. I knew immediately who she was talking about. Rita Skeeter was one of the Daily Prophets biggest reporters. Upon reading any of her articles it is clear that she doesn’t report she gossips and almost half of the things she publishes aren’t true.

I squeezed her shoulder slightly. “You know the only people who read her column and believe it are old ladies who have nothing better to do.” Her eyes met mine again and I could see just how upset she really was. “What if Ron reads it, he’s going to think me and Harry have this secret relationship and he’s never going to forgive us.” Her eyes began to well up. I pulled her into a hug and she hugged me back. We both stayed like that until cheering brought our attention back to the field. Cedric had just walked out of the tent, all our heads turned as a giant Green dragon roared opposite him. Hermione grabbed my hand, squeezing it every time there was a loud noise or big gust of fire.

“How is Harry going to do this?” She looked at me after Cedric had jumped down behind a rock, nearly missing the giant fireball the dragon sent his way. I sent her a reassuring smile and squeezed her hand.

“He’s got this.” She turned back to the field. “He’s got this.” I repeated it again, and a few more times after that trying to convince myself that he would be ok.

Sure enough he was. We were all in the common room, I was smiling up at Harry who had been hoisted up by Fred and George. They were going off about something but I wasn’t paying attention, too happy seeing Harry happy for the first time in the past month. He was smiling, really smiling.

I didn’t notice the egg being passed around until it was back in Harry’s hands.

“Do you want me to open it?” The common room roared. I myself cheered too, heavily anticipating whatever the next task could be. He twisted the top and a scream louder than the one the whole common room produced was let out. Harry fell off the twins shoulders as they backed up and plugged their ears. Harry scrambled on the floor and quickly shut it. The room filled with gasps of relief as we all unplugged our ears. I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up to see Fred. He looked at me worriedly and I just nodded, silently communicating that I’m ok. I mirrored his expression and he nodded too. I looked around and saw George standing on my other side and did the same. He nodded and rubbed at his neck.

The room filled with chatter as everyone gave their guess as to what that noise was. A few votes rang for banshee and someone yelled out the cruciatus curse, the room erupted into argument at that. I stood there silently, slightly amused as Dean and Seamus started arguing. I leaned into Fred’s touch slightly which resulted in him slinging his arm around my shoulder. I smiled and looked up at him. His face was slightly pink, and he looked down at me too and flashed me his famous smile, stomach flipped when I looked at him. My cheeks burned up and I cast my gaze back down to the floor and leaned into him more.

Suddenly the room went quiet. I looked around puzzled, following everyone's eyes I saw what caused the interruption. Ron stood in the doorway, he looked scared, kind of like he was about to puke but I came to know that as his nervous face.

“All of you, uh, go back to your knitting. This is going to be awkward enough without you nosy sods listening in.” Fred shouted above the crowd. The only noise through the common room was footsteps as people began to make their way out. Fred began to walk pulling me with him. I turned my head around and sent Harry a thumbs up before falling back in step with Fred as we went up the steps, George and a few other people were behind us. I didn’t pay attention to our accent to our destination as we walked up the stairs. I tried to strain my ears to hear if the boys downstairs were fighting again or making up.

I finally looked up when I was pushed down. I looked around, I was sitting on Fred’s bed, he was laying on his back next to me, George was shuffling some papers around on his desk and Lee Jordan, who I recognized from the Quidditch games, was sitting on his bed reading a book. The realization hit me and I turned to Fred.

“You brought me to your dorm?” I asked. He lifted his arm from covering his eyes as he looked at me. He propped up on his elbows, smirking.

“Do you not want to be here?” He asked, raising his brows. He cocked his head to the side causing his long hair to shake a little bit. I felt myself blush and get nervous again. I tried to push the feeling away so I could reply.

“N-No I don’t mind.” Mentally cursing myself for stuttering in front of him I decide to try and cover it up. “Just surprised you managed to get me past the charm on the door is all.” He scoffed which caused me to smile smugly. “I’m going to assume a seventh year did that huh?”

He rolled his eyes and smiled at me. I found myself smiling back before I even processed it was happening. “Actually,” He drew out the word as he brought himself into a sitting position. “You can thank Georgie over there for that.” My eyes nearly popped out of my head, as I whipped my face between Fred holding in his laughter and an unbothered unaware George, still moving papers around on his desk.

“George Fabian Weasley!” I nearly shouted. His head snapped around as his wide eyes met my own.

“How do you know my middle name?” He asked, narrowing his eyes.

I ignored him and pressed on. “Who is she?” He looked between me and a snickering Fred, confusedly. “Who did you break the charm on the dorm door for.” I pressed. He rolled his eyes and went back to his papers. I looked at Fred who was laughing even harder now.

“George! Tell me!” I tried with my best authoritative voice but he didn’t budge, he didn’t even show any sign he heard me at all.

I looked at Fred pleadingly but he just continued to laugh. “‘She’,” Lee spoke, not looking up from his book. “Changes by the week.” My jaw, once again, dropped. Fred was now on the floor having fallen off the bed from laughter. “Hm, actually it changes more by the day.” Lee added. My head whipped around at him. His eyes met mine from over his book, he shrugged and looked back at the pages. My head was spinning.

“My quiet little George…” I started.

“Yeah he’s not very quiet.” Lee spoke again. This revelation earned him a swift kick from George. By now Fred had mostly calmed down, still laughing in between pants and pulling himself back onto the bed next to me.

“You little minx!” I yelled at George. He looked up from his papers and swiveled in his chair so his body was facing me.

“Oh I can assure you darling, I’m not little.” He winked and turned back in his chair. I swear I felt a small part of me die as Lee and Fred erupted into laughter. Fred returned to his position on the floor, laying on his side, howling with laughter as he grasped at his stomach.

The next few days passed by and things were going back to normal, mostly that is. I was now more aware of half of the student body ogling George, if that wasn’t revolting enough a few times I had caught him flirting with different girls. I always took him for a soft and caring type, but I could argue he had more confidence and outgoing personality than Fred and that was a tough thing to beat. I guess I never picked up on it due to our different class schedules, only seeing him at lunch and in between periods, but after seeing him in the act a few times it made sense, he was caring and flirty. More so than Fred, but he was good at hiding these interactions, probably an attribute that contributed to half the Gryffindor girls falling for him. The privacy he provided, partially, I assumed, to avoid teasing from us, made girls feel special. I understood, if he wasn’t one of my best friends and I wasn’t falling for his brother I probably would be after him too.

All classes had been postponed today. It was a month until the next challenge so none of us really knew what was going on. I assumed that we were all going to be scolded for something as each house was instructed to meet in their tower at 12 for a ‘Special Presentation’ at breakfast.

Walking up to the specified room in the tower with Hermione I asked her what she thought it was. She shrugged and huffed something about it being ridiculous they cancelled all of our classes. I laughed and shoved her slightly.

“Loosen up woman.” I giggled as she glared at me. Before she could start her rant Ron and Harry walked up to us. Harry walked in step with me and Ron wiggled his way between me and Hermione.

“I don’t know what you and Y/N were talking about but she’s right, you do need to loosen up.” Harry and I laughed immediately knowing what was happening next. Hermione slapped Ron on the shoulder, scolding him and calling him Ronald. “Bloody Hermione, you’re only proving my point.” He said grabbing me and switching our places, I stumbled a bit but fell back in step with them. Hermione huffed and walked ahead of us, Ron followed shouting apologies that only made her walk faster. I laughed again, happy things were all back to normal.

“So?” I turned to Harry. He mirrored my expression happily laughing to himself as he turned to face me. He raised his eyebrows at me, urging me to continue. “When do you think they will finally get together?” He began to laugh again so I jabbed in the ribs with my elbow. “I’m serious.” I whined.

He stifled his laughter. “So am I, honestly Y/N, Ron is such a ditz he’s not gonna realize he likes her until after we graduate.” I hummed and turned my head so I was facing forward again.

“I have more faith in him than that.” He just laughed at me again. Once we reached the rather large room I noticed McGonigal separating the boys and girls into different sides of the room. I left Harry and sat next to Hermione. Filch was busy trying to set up a record player, the occasional scratch was heard as his shaky hand tried to place the needle just right.

I looked around and saw Fred and George whispering to themselves against a wall. George said something and Fred pushed him away and gave him a weird look. He turned back to face McGonigal when he made eye contact with me. He smiled at me, I sent him a smile back. I mouthed ‘do you know what's going on’ to which he shrugged. He opened his mouth to say something back when George pushed him, George had a look of disbelief on his face and I watched them bicker. It felt like watching a sitcom on mute and I laughed as the both waved their arms around while explaining their points. My attention snapped back to McGonigal as she cleared her throat, her shaky voice filled the expansive room as she explained that Hogwarts would host a ball on Christmas eve.

Hermione looked at me, eyes wide with disbelief and my palms began to sweat. A ball? I had no clue how this was going to play out, or what it even really consisted of. All I knew in that moment was there was only one person I was interested in going with. I looked across the room to him, his brown eyes were already locked on me. My stomach backflipped. He was looking at me? His eyes looked immediately to the floor after catching mine. I could see George snicker from beside Fred but my eyes didn’t avert his. He was probably just scanning the room. My heart sank as I realized. I looked away but not before his head looked up and we caught eyes again. I felt like his eyes held the key to the universe. My face heated up and as my head screamed at me that this couldn’t possibly mean anything I tore my eyes away from him and focused on the speech McGonigal was giving.

I barely heard anything she said, making out ‘well mannered frivolity’ I gave up and gave into my thoughts. Focusing on the words swimming through the sea of my brain instead of the ones coming out of her mouth. I was still staring at the floor when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

“You ok Y/N?” Hermione asked. I looked up to see most of the students already gone and the last few shuffling out. I nodded.

“Just thinking about what I could wear.” I lied coolly. She gave me an odd look before pulling me up and locking our arms together. She spoke excitedly about the ball all the way back to the dorm. I nodded and hummed, not registering a word she said.

“So…” I looked up to see Fred sit next to me at breakfast. He usually skipped breakfast or showed up at the last minute before class. Hermione and I had agreed to meet at breakfast an hour early and study for our potions exam. There were a few other people from all houses sitting about eating breakfast, the atmosphere was really quiet and calm, or it was until my favorite ginger showed up.

“So?” I asked him, placing my quill down and shutting my book. He put his elbows on the table and rested his face in his hands, smiling. “It’s quite early for you isn’t it.”

He held his lazy smile as he nodded. “I heard you were going to be down here, couldn’t pass up the chance to tease you.” He winked at me. I rolled my eyes at him trying desperately to kill each and every last butterfly flapping their wings in my stomach at that moment.

“Tease me about what exactly?” I asked mirroring his position.

“Who are you taking to the ball?” The question stopped me in my tracks. I froze. The ball was two weeks away and I didn’t have a date, much less a dress. Fred’s ‘teasing’ was scaring me, what were his motives, why was he interested in who I was taking, was he going to ask me? The questions filled my head and I forgot to answer.

“Y/N?” His voice had brought me back to reality. Fred was staring at me with a concerned look.

“At the moment, nobody. Why are you asking?” Fred’s concern dissipated as I answered. He smiled momentarily before shrugging.

“Just wanted to take the piss out of him is all.” He looked away from me at the food and began stacking up his plate.

“Why would you do that?” I asked, sitting a little straighter. He cleared his throat and continued to stack his plate. Without looking at me he spoke.

“You deserve someone special is all, I know the guys in this school and not many of them can be coined special.” I was taken aback. Where were these words coming from. I couldn’t tell if this had a romantic protectiveness or a platonic one. I pushed farther.

“Who are you taking to the ball?” I asked. This was it, this was the moment I was either going to be ecstatic or heart broken.

He smiled at his plate and looked over to me. “I have someone in mind. Haven’t asked her yet though.” He returned to his food, shoving some toast in his mouth.

“May I ask why?” He stopped chewing for a minute then hastily swallowed.

“I really like her, and well, erm, I don’t want to muck it up.” He didn’t look at me, he was looking at his hands. I was shocked. We trusted each other but it was rare he was truly vulnerable, especially of his own accord. I slipped my hand into his and squeezed slightly. His eyes traveled up to mine.

“I’m sure that whatever way you ask she will love it. You’re a special guy Freddie, you will think of something.” He smiled at me. I hope my hint didn’t fall on deaf ears and he understood what I was trying to communicate. “And a tip, you can never go wrong with a chocolate frog and some flowers.” He laughed and squeezed my hand before letting go.

He ate while I continued to study and it was comfortable. I enjoyed his presence but mentally I was screaming. After the rereading the third paragraph for the fifth time I felt a shift beside me. Fred was standing up and collecting his things. He grabbed his bag and looked at me, I smiled and gave a little wave.

He grabbed my shoulder, leaned down and pressed a kiss to my forehead. Leaning in, he whispered a thank you and took off down the Great Hall. I watched him disappear out the doors, completely stunned. Suddenly I was whipped around and faced with a shocked Hermione.

“You better tell me what that was about.” She said sternly.

As a smile crept onto my face I looked at her and let out an airy laugh. “Honestly ‘Mione, I don’t know.”

That day had passed and some more, it was now the weekend before the ball. I was still dateless but I still held out hope as Fred was as well. Hermione had nagged me all week to tell her what was going on, once I finally confessed she screamed an ‘I knew it’. As much as her teasing got annoying it was quite nice being able to talk to someone about it and share the little moments I had with someone, we often spent our nights trying to decode what Fred had said to me and Ron to her. She told me about Krum and his incessant pestering, he had asked her three times before she said yes, giving up hope that Ron would ask.

I tried to keep her spirits up, Krum was much more of a gentleman and he was kind. It was better than nothing.

“Morning!” Ginny yelled bursting through the room. I shrieked and pulled my pants on faster, trying to cover up. “Sorry!” She yelled and covered her eyes. I laughed as she slowly moved her hand to make sure I was covered before fully looking at me.

“It’s dress day!” She squealed. I smiled back, Ginny was attending the ball with Neville. Hermione and I knew she fancied Harry but just like Ron he never mustered up the courage to ask her so she went with a friend.

Hermione knocked on the door before coming in. I walked over and nudged Ginny. “Did you see that? That’s what normal people do, knock.” She rolled her eyes and nudged me back making me laugh. Ginny was a dear friend of mine, her and I shared a similar sense of humor and she often told me secrets about the twins so I could torture them. She noticed my liking for Fred long before Hermione, Since her first year she’s been teasing me about it. I didn’t mind though, it was nice coming from her. She always ended a brutal joke by calling me her favorite sister.

“Are you two ready? The train is going to leave soon.” Hermione pulled us out of our moment and we nodded, happily skipping down stairs.

“And where are you three lovely ladies headed.” George spoke from behind us at the portrait hole. Fred ran up behind him pulling on his F sweater and trying to fix his hair as fast as possible. He looked up and I waved, he returned my gesture with a smile.

“Probably the same as you.” Ginny said turning back around, she pulled me with her. Her speed and strength nearly made me fall down the stairs.

“Mind if we join you?” I heard Fred ask. Immediately I got excited and nervous at the same time.

I started to say yes when Ginny cut me off.

“To buy dresses?” She snorted. I sent her a glare she didn’t see. Still being pulled down the stairs I couldn’t turn around and non-verbally answer without falling flat on my face.

“Just to Hogsmeade in general.” George replied.

I looked to Ginny pleadingly. We already had a similar conversation with Harry, then Ron, who we both turned down saying it was a ‘girls trip only’. She caught onto my stare and rolled her eyes.

“On the train then you leave us, we won’t have your boyness ruining our girls day.” Finally we reached the bottom of the steps. I turned to see George rolling his eyes and Fred pouting. I managed to shoot them a thumbs up before Ginny grabbed my arm and pulled me forward again.

The train ride was fun. The boys talked about their plan to stalk up on Zonko products and Honeydukes candies. I reminded them of their debt to me to which they reminded me of my ‘girls day’ so we agreed it would be paid on the next trip. Fred was uncharacteristically quiet. He spent most of the ride looking out the window and messing with his hands. I placed my hand on his bouncing knee looking up at him. His head whipped around to face me, eyes wide.

“You alright love?” I asked quietly, in case he wasn’t I wouldn’t be announcing it to the whole compartment. He nodded his face curling up in a sweet smile that my stomach tie itself in knots and my breathing faltered.

“Never better love.” He replied. His hand came and softly wrapped itself around mine. I smiled looking at our intertwined hands. He continued to look out the window for the rest of the ride but he was no longer fidgeting or shaking his leg.

Arriving at Hogsmeade we said our goodbyes and separated. I dramatically reached my arm out for the twins as Ginny and Hermione pulled me towards the dress shop. They laughed at my performance before turning around walking towards the many shops George said they would be visiting. Turning myself around I noticed both Ginny and Hermione staring at me.

“What?!” I shared a glance between the two.

“What were you and Fred whispering about on the train?” Hermione asked.

“We all saw you holding hands by the way.” Ginny pretended to gag after she said this, making me laugh.

I groaned. “Nothing really, he didn’t ask me if that’s what you are wondering.” I threw my face in my hands. Hermione gently peeled my hands away.

“He will, don’t worry.” I tried to smile at her but I could barely muster one up.

Ginny unlinked her arm with mine to open the door to the dress shop. Walking in I saw at least three levels, all lined with beautifully made gowns and skirts. I heard both Ginny and Hermione squeal as they lunged toward some rack up front. I laughed but squealed myself as I looked around. Everything looked so magical, as a witch this shouldn’t surprise me but I had never seen such beautifully made gowns before.

I looked through the racks, not thinking much or really liking anything enough to try it on. Moving up the levels I continued my search until I found it.

There was a mannequin in front of a display, every few seconds she would twirl or strike a pose, displaying her clothes. She was wearing a black corset. It stopped under the collarbone, the sleeves were made of a sheer fabric and had an intricate design sewn in them with lace, they covered the whole shoulder and puffed out a bit. The skirt was white. It had many layers, all the same length but with ribbon sewn across the semi sheer fabric so it looked tiered. I immediately knew this was the dress for me. I quickly scanned the racks trying to find my size in the skirt and corset.

I tried it on and paid as soon as it was off. Hermione caught me coming out of her dressing room. She ran up to me.

“You got yours already?” I nodded and gestured towards the woman who was delicately wrapping it up to place it in a bag. Her eyes widened and fear set into my stomach, what if she hated it.

“Oh Y/N! You are going to look so beautiful!” She wrapped me into a hug that I eagerly returned before slipping off into another isle. I walked back to the cashier and took my bag from her thanking her.

“Would you mind telling those two I went to the Three Broomsticks.” The woman nodded and I smiled at her.

I made my way back to the front of the shop. I was excited about my dress and the dance I had forgotten I didn’t have a date. Lost in thought I bumped into someone while leaving the shop.

“My bad!” I said backing up to let them through. I recognized them as three Hufflepuffs’ a year above me.

“No worries.” One of them said walking past. I let them pass before going back to the door to leave. As I did I caught part of their conversation.

“Did you see Fred ask Angelina out in Honeydukes?! It was the cutest!”

“Oh I know! And how he spelt her name out with jellybeans, it was adorable.”

I froze. My body felt cold and heavy all at the same time. Using the little strength I had left I turned around.

“I’m sorry, did you say Fred? As in Fred Weasley?” The girls whipped around and nodded frantically. One of them went to say something but I cut her off already having heard too much. “Hm, cute.”

The cold air hit my face as I walked away from the shop. It didn’t help the stinging in my eyes or pain in my lungs and I trudged forward. I made it to the Three Broomsticks and tucked myself in a booth in the corner. The room was empty except for a few Ravenclaws reading so I turned back around and stared at the wall as I felt myself push over the brink. Tears streamed down my cheeks with their own ferocity. I shook as silent sobs wracked through my body. I stayed there, crying and heaving for I don’t know how long. Eventually I put my head down as my eyes dried, unable to form any more tears I stared at my shoes.

How could I be so stupid to think that he liked me? My eyes welled up again, something I wasn’t even sure was possible and another sob wracked through my body. This one made noise so I quickly bit my tongue to stop myself for notifying anyone around me. The pain was overwhelming but I didn’t stop until I tasted iron on my tongue and my mouth felt more wet than usual.

I sat there swallowing my blood and trying to breath normally. Eventually I felt a presence. I looked up to see Hermione and Ginny standing over me confused.

“He asked Angelina. He never liked me.” They both looked at each other and then me. I relayed what happened to them and they comforted me. I sat with my head on Hermione’s shoulder sniffling and kicking my dress under the table.

Not any good now.

We sat there until the next scheduled train time. Only being there for a few hours we were one of the only ones to return that early. I trudged back to the common room where Ron and Harry sat on the couch. They watched us walk in, Harry immediately stood up after seeing me. I tried to walk past him but he caught me in his arms. I didn’t bother to hug him back. I just stood there, feeling uncomfortable and cold. He pulled off of me when he felt me not hug back, still holding onto me he looked between Ginny and Hermione.

“What happened?” I stood there, cringing slightly as they went over what happened. Harry looked back at me and sent me a sympathetic smile.

“Oi, since when did Y/N like Fred?!” Ron asked from the couch. I felt like I could fall over right then. Wanting nothing more than to disappear I moved my head and sent him a glare.

“Are you really that thick Ronald? She’s liked him since they met and your idiotic brother just broke her heart. Honestly if you paid any attention to the people around you instead of the food on your plate you would notice these things. Maybe even notice when someone is interested in you!” Hermione huffed out. She turned red realizing what she had said and looked away from him.

“Who fancies me?” Ron asked sitting up. Hermione huffed again and hugged her bag to her chest storming upstairs.

“I’ll kill him.” Ginny said from behind me.

“Not without me you aren’t.” Harry said. The two smiled at each other.

“I’ll help, he can be bloody awful sometimes, still need to get him back from turning my hair green.” Ron said leaning back.

I looked at him. “No offense Ron but are you completely unaware of anything that just happened or are you choosing to be a git?” His eyes widened and he raised his arms defensively.

“Don’t take your anger out on me! I didn’t break your bloody heart.” As the words left his lips he muttered a small ‘oh’, realizing his actions weren’t helping the situation at all. He jumped off the couch and gave me a small awkward hug before stepping back and patting me on the head. Any other day I would have been amused at his cluelessness but today I didn’t have the strength.

Harry looked at him like he just strangled a puppy. He swiftly smacked him on the head.

“I’m gonna, erm, go now.” I said. I gripped my bag tighter, the dress seemed to gain more weight the more I resented it. I walked over to the stairs when Harry called my name again. Turning around so I could see him he looked at me with the same intensity he did when we talked after his name was chosen.

“I meant what I said. I’ll kill him.” I smiled before muttering a ‘whatever’ and waving them off. Too emotionally drained to say or do anything about his protectiveness. I felt like an idiot, I felt like I had climbed one of the biggest mountains only for it to cave in and swallow me whole and throwing me into the deepest and darkest part of the earth. I was now below ground at this point.

I spent the next few days in my dorm. Hermione would bring me food and ask me to come hang out and enjoy the break but I always waved her off, I either had a book to read or an essay to do. She would give up and walk out of the room eventually. She knew why, I was too afraid of seeing Fred, knowing well Harry, Ron, and Ginny have told him everything by now. I couldn’t take the extra embarrassment, I hadn’t fully recovered from my last blow. The dress had been discarded under my bed. Still in its wrapping and the bag I just threw it out of sight.

Taking a bite out of my toast I flipped through pride and prejudice. I envied Lizzy for having her affections returned. Getting lost in the book was one way I managed to escape. I snuck out late at night, surely when everyone was asleep to go sit in the common room for a change of scenery, a few times I walked up to the astronomy tower and looked at the stars. Besides being deathly cold it was peaceful. Learning from past mistakes I made sure to bring blankets or an extra jacket when I ventured out. I had a few goodies and pillows stuffed in an empty cabinet so I didn’t need to lug all my things out at once. The astronomy tower had become my space. I really enjoyed it there, it was quiet and peaceful and not once was I disturbed, that could have equally been due to the time I would go but no matter to me, it was my space.

A knock at the door pulled me away from the world that had engulfed me in my book. I groaned, signaling to whoever was out there that they could come in. The door didn’t open, they just knocked again. I groaned, louder this time, nothing happened so I threw down my book and toast and walked to the door. I opened it expecting to see Hermione but Harry was there instead.

“Harry?” He didn’t respond, he just engulfed me into a hug. Finally he pulled away and looked at me. I knew he was judging my appearance but I didn’t care much, I wasn’t leaving my room so there was no need to look good or try. I wore old clothes that barely fit, my eyes were red from my lack of sleep and there were definite bags under them. My hair was thrown up into a messy bun, the lack of effort evident as it barely held up.

“Y/N…” He took me in. Not letting him eye me up and down I turned and returned to my scrunched position on my bed and picked up my book. Harry stood in the doorway awkwardly. Any other time I would have laughed at him for his lame social skills but I didn’t have the energy today.

“So, what brings you here?” I asked, not looking up from my book. I wasn’t reading it. I just didn’t want to see the way he looked at me. His eyes were full of pity and I didn’t want that. I just wanted to sulk alone and he was throwing a wrench in my plans.

“I haven’t seen you in days.” I hummed a response and picked up my toast. “Y/N you gotta get out of here.” I put my book down and looked at him.

“Have you gone mad?” I was suddenly angry. How could he tell me to do that. Throw myself back out there and get destroyed again. “I am not leaving this room until classes pick back up.” I huffed. He walked over and sat at the end of the bed.

“You and I are going to hang out with Ron and Hermione today. Ginny agreed to join. We are going to visit Hagrid and walk up to the Shrieking shack, we all miss you. I think Hermione is going mad not having you around and Ginny keeps complaining that her favorite sister is missing.” I smiled before the pain set back in. She only called me her sister because she knew I liked Fred.

“Harry I’m sorry. I can’t. What if he’s there, I feel like a total idiot and…” He cut me off. “Y/N, I will drag you out of this bed if you do not get up and come with us. We miss you ok, if anything happens we will be there.” I groaned and threw my head in my hands. I knew this was going to happen. I was going to lose one of my friends because my feelings got in the way. Ginny kept asking me to stay with her at the burrow, I could never agree now. Fred hates me. Tears welled up in my eyes, it was a feeling I was very familiar with lately.

I nodded giving in. I stood up and pushed through some drawers trying to find some appropriate clothes while holding in my tears. Watching me get up he walked toward the door.

“Today will be brilliant, I promise.”

My attempt to dodge the plans didn’t work. After Harry shut the door I showered, got dressed and tried my best to cover up the signs I was crying. I looked tired but if you didn’t look too closely I looked nice. I walked over to the door but ended up standing there. I was afraid to move, afraid to see him, afraid of him seeing me. I didn’t have the courage to ask if Harry spoke with him. He probably did, I didn’t want to hear my second hand rejection. After about ten minutes Harry opened the door. I looked at him furiously shaking my head no.

“I thought this might happen.” Hope swelled up as I thought he would give in and leave me alone. “Ron! I need you!”

“What?!” I yelled. He sent me a sympathetic look before turning back to the door. I looked at the doorway where Ron had just made his way up the steps.

“Nice to see you Y/N.” He greeted as both Harry and him starting walking towards me. Realization struck at what they were planning on doing and I scrambled to get away. Ron and Harry picked up their pace and cornered me. I gave them both a pleading look, silently asking for them to leave me alone. “Sorry.” They both repeated the phrase as they locked their arms under mine and pulled me toward the door. I squirmed a bit and tried to fight but as we passed the door I figured it was no use. They were both much stronger than me.

I made it to the bottom of the steps where Hermione and Ginny were whispering. Ron and Harry let go of me and stood in front of the entrance to the dorms like deranged bouncers.

Hermione looked up and ran towards me, engulfing me in a tight hug. “I miss you.” I nodded and patted her back, just trying to get this day over with.

Meeting with Hagrid was nice, his warm house always felt comforting and I stayed curled up in an armchair with Fang the majority of the time. I didn’t talk much unless someone had talked to me. When we left Hagrid patted my back gently and gave me a small smile. “I hope yer feel better Potter.” I smiled back and nodded. His gruff voice gave a hum and I jogged up to the group who were a little ways ahead of me.

The way to the Shrieking Shack was filled with talk over the next task. Hermione and Harry talked about the egg. Ginny hung onto my arm as we navigated across the uneven ground stabling each other. Eventually after watching Ron fall for the third time I grabbed him and locked our arms. He smiled at me and I smiled back. It didn’t feel as forced this time. The heavy feeling on my shoulders lifted as we walked. Their company mending small parts of my soul in a comfortable silence.

Standing outside the fence of the Shrieking Shack we all hesitated before we continued. We knew what it looked like but it was still slightly creepy. Hermione brought up a few times how it would be cool to explore the house. Ron disagreed immediately, Harry was indifferent but I was, or used to be, bloody excited. The closer we got the harder Ron’s grip became on my arm and the slower his movement became.

“Merlin Ron, speed it up would you?” He looked at me swallowing, nodding he did as I asked. Looking forward Harry and Hermione had turned and were staring at me, I realized I hadn’t spoken since we were at Hagrid's. I just shrugged and urged them forward.

“So, who is going in first.” Ginny asked as we all stopped outside the front door.

“I’m bloody not.” Ron replied grumpily. We all shared a laugh at him and got quiet again. I felt like everyone was staring at me so I shrugged.

“Move aside then.” Harry smiled as I pushed the door open. The house grumbled as I walked in. The familiar moving feeling set in as I took a few steps forward. Looking around I saw soft light filtering in through one of the rooms, I walked toward it. I walked into the living room, it was the only room that looked nice. The rest of the house was destroyed but this one had been fixed up. Small candles were floating in the air and the fireplace was roaring. The couch was stocked with a ton of blankets, the table in front of it had a shelf filled with a few books, games and a basket. On the top of the table were chocolate frogs and green daisies. I felt out of place.

“I think we are interrupting someone’s date.” I called back, still admiring the room. When I turned around no one was there.

“Y/N.” Turning back around I saw Fred walking towards me. I felt my breathing halt and my eyes tear up. I looked around the room, anywhere but him, expecting to see Angelina pop out of wherever he was.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to disrupt your d-date. I will be going now.” I turned around and tried to run to the door. Before I could even step away he grabbed my wrist and pulled me back to him. The sudden action caused me to become flush against him. He wrapped his arms around me like I was going to break, holding me gently but tightly against his chest. I was frozen in place, I didn’t breathe, I just waited for him to speak.

“Y/N, I didn’t ask Angelina, George did.” The breath I was holding in suddenly released. I felt relief wash over me, then like a thousand bricks, guilt hit me. I pulled my head away to look at him and pulled my hands up to rest on his chest.

“You didn’t?” My eyes were still teary and he was slightly blurry. One of his hands came up and cupped my cheek, his thumb brushed away a stray tear.

“No, I-I wanted to ask you. Then you left and I thought you found out about it and left to avoid me, that was, until I got back and got tackled by Ginny and Harry.” I laughed at the thought of them tackling him.

“You want to go with me?” I blurted out, realizing what he said. He smiled at me, the arm around my waist tightened.

“If you will have me, yes. I understand if you don’t want to, after I made you cry.” He looked sadly at the floor, his smile gone. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him down into a tight hug. He reacted immediately, wrapping his arms around me tightly.

“Of course I want to go with you Freddie.” I spoke into his neck. He squeezed me and lifted me up spinning. I squealed and held onto him tighter instinctively wrapping my legs around his waist. One of his hands trailed down under my thigh to help support me in the new position. He stopped spinning and I pulled away to see him.

Some of his long hair had fallen into his face. I lifted a hand and brushed it away and tucked some behind his ear. His smile grew brighter and his face got a little warmer. I let my hand fall slightly, cradling his jaw. His eyes looked into mine and in that moment I felt complete. As we stared at each other I watched as his eyes would dart from my eyes to my lips.

“May I?” He asked and leaned his head closer to mine. I didn’t answer verbally, I just closed the gap between us. Our lips moved against each other trying to find a rhythm and balance. Once we did it was perfect, our lips moved against each other in sync. He squeezed my thigh causing me to gasp, he used that to his advantage as he slid his tongue into my mouth and I let him, grabbing tighter onto his neck. I ran my fingers through his hair and tugged slightly at the hair at the bottom of his neck. The moment was perfect.

For two seconds.

Immediately we heard whooping and cheering along with a loud banging noise. Fred tightened his grip on me as we looked around. Turning we saw Ginny, Ron, and Hermione cheering. Harry was there banging on the window. Fred put me down and I laughed at them. Fred ushered them off which they did. Harry didn’t leave before glaring at Fred and mouthing a threatening ‘I’m watching you’.

He turned back to me. “Should I be worried?” He asked.

I shrugged. “No, I don’t think so, unless you break my heart.”

“Good thing I wasn’t planning on it.” I smiled up to him. Standing on my toes I pecked his cheek before pulling him to the couch. Fred had prepared a small station with books and games for us to pass the time as well as a whole meal tucked away in the basket.

“This is beyond perfect Freddie, I don’t know how to thank you.” I said looking around. It was all just so amazing I was afraid I was dreaming. I looked back to the boy in front of me. He was looking at me, smiling.

“You can... thank me by agreeing to my girlfriend.” He said scooting closer to me on the couch. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and I brought my hand up to his chest.

“Did I not already?” I asked. He laughed but looked back at me expectantly. He wanted a real answer. “Yes!” I rolled my eyes at him but didn’t stop the smile spreading to my face. He smiled back and we kissed. This one lasted much longer not being interrupted and already having a rhythm down. When we pulled apart for air we were both panting slightly.

“I wouldn’t mind doing that more often.” He said, smirking. I smacked him playfully and reached over to grab a chocolate frog. The rest of the day was spent eating and talking and enjoying each other's company. We didn’t pick up a book or game Fred had prepared, too infatuated with each other.

#fred weasley #fred and george #fred weasley x reader #fred weasley fanfiction #fred weasley fluff #fred weasley fic #fred weasley imagine #george weasley #weasleys wizard wheezes #weasley twins

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soggyjulpod · 3 years

Text

— cargo pants

summary: misinterpretion featuring a line from the wilds, “i’m not a lesbian, sorry to disappoint. i just like storage.”

warning: lil bit of angst but there's fluff, kissing, confident!reader (whoop!), also bi reader for this plot to work out, so sorry if ur purely homo

word count: 1.7k

on a tuesday night you found yourself sitting in a circle playing a game of truth or dare which was suggested by jackson’s very own dysfunctional couple, jesse and dina.

the chatter and laughter of the game continued around you but you were only focused on the redhead who sat across from you in the circle. though the redhead didn’t seem to notice the set of eyes on her as she was in deep thought.

ellie finally looked up when dina called on her to pick truth or dare. she noticed your eyes on her and her cheeks blush pink and sends you an awkward smile.

“uh dare i guess.” ellie says. there was a mischievous glint in dina’s eyes, “i dare you to kiss [y/n].”

the color from ellie’s face drained, instant panic set in. “what? dina, no.” ellie protests, “don’t make it weird.”

before dina could respond to ellie’s protests, you spoke up, “it’s ok i don’t mind.” you say scooting across the circle, sitting right in front of ellie. you felt your insides bubble in excitement but outwardly you appeared aloof, not wanting anyone to see a crack in your confidence.

“you know we don’t have to, if you don’t want to.” the redhead whispers quietly for only you to hear.

you lean closer to ellie, your lips just a hair away from her ear. this action causes a light blush to creep up on her freckled face.

“we got this, don’t want them to think we pussy out of things, right?” you say and move away with a grin on your face.

ellie gives you a shaky smile, trying to calm herself down at how close her crush was to her. you looked at each other, it felt like everything around you two had vanished and it was just the two of them.

your trance was broken by jesse who yelled at you two to “kiss already! we don’t have all damn night!”

you whipped her head around and flipped him off before quickly turning back around and taking ellie's face in your hands and connecting your lips.

the redhead was caught off guard for a split second but then kissed back, melting into it. the kiss was soft, it was just like what ellie had imagined kissing a pretty girl like you. it felt like they were in a trance again, like a veil closing around them giving them all the time in the world to feel each other.

they pulled away as the hoots and hollers of the teens around them grew obnoxiously. ellie’s cheeks grew embarrassingly red at the attention that was put on her.

ellie tuned out the game as it continued on, she was too in her own head thinking about how she just shared a very hot kiss with the girl she’s been crushing on for over two year.

the redhead only perked back up when she heard your name be called out for a turn.

“truth.” you choose. “soooo [y/n]...” dina trails off cheekily.

“yes, dina?” you challenge with a smirk and takes a sip of the terrible beer in your cup.

“how many girls have you kissed?” the dark haired girl asks.

“one.”

“seriously?!” dina exclaims in disbelief, her eyebrows then furrowed in thought, “does that mean ellie was..?”

“yep, first and only girl i’ve kissed.” you explain, you notice the surprised looks that start to appear on the faces of your peers, “what?” you ask, confused about the change in behavior.

“um, i think we all thought you were gay,” dina says awkwardly.

the dark haired girl then points to your pants, “you wear cargo pants a lot.” she states. you bursts out laughing at the archaic stereotype, “i’m not a lesbian, sorry to disappoint. i just like storage.”

laughter erupts from the room except from one person, ellie. you notice a frown appear on her face. you made brief eye contact with her in which the ginger gave you a curt smile, of course you could tell it was fake, that there was some pain behind those green eyes. but from what, you weren't sure.

to ellie that kiss felt so real, she thought there was genuine passion behind it. she had thought with that kiss and how flirting you’ve always been with her in the past that you would have reciprocated her feelings. but her heart broke has her reassurance was crumbled by a simple phrase, ‘i’m not a lesbian’

feeling overwhelmed with her emotions and not wanting to bring her bad vibe to the rest of the group, ellie felt it best to leave. she quickly said her goodbyes without sparing a glance at you, using the excuse of having patrol in the morning to leave early.

it immediately dawned on you that maybe ellie had misinterpreted what you had said, maybe the redhead got upset because she thought you didn’t like her back or had a chance with her at all.

you quickly got up leaving the group without bothering to respond to the people calling out for you, your only priority was to fix this misunderstanding as fast as possible.

“ellie! wait up!” you called out to the redhead a few yards away from you. ellie whipped her head around, a surprised look on her face.

even with being only slightly illuminated by the moon, you could see the redness and puffiness of ellie’s eyes, the green of them popping out and making it more obvious. your heart immediately sunk at the sight.

“hey are you ok?” you ask softly, your hand reaching up toward her face in concern but ellie moved her head away.

“yeah i’m good. what’s up?” she quickly responded, trying to change the subject. “can i crash at your place tonight? i don’t feel like walking across town this late and this drunk.”

“yeah sure.” ellie says, “how much of that beer did you have anyways?”

“too much, i swear i’m not a lightweight but honest to god i have no idea what seth puts in that beer.” you grin.

a smile cracks on ellie’s face, “no wonder it tasted so awful, it's because seth made it.” she jokes.

“he has his own little asshole recipe.” you joke back, making ellie tilt her head back in laughter. you smile at the fact that you were able to lift the bad spirit from your friend.

you continued to chat and talk shit as you two walked to ellie’s shed. the redhead was glad that even though she’ll never have you as her girlfriend, she could always have you as a best friend.

when you entered the shed you both immediately started getting ready for bed, the long night with your friends had tired you both out immensely. ellie handed you a pair of sweatpants to change into which you did, right in front of her.

ellie remembers the first time you two had a sleepover over two years ago, the redhead got taken by surprise when her crush started stripping in front of her to get in her pajamas with no regard that she was still in the room. she was flustered at seeing the bare skin of the girl she was crushing on.

“what? it's not a big deal, we’re both girls and it's just skin, no need to get weird el.” she remembers you saying to her. eventually ellie just got used to it, taking it as a sign of trust that you would be that vulnerable around her.

ellie changed into her night clothes as well, she watched as you take your bra off without removing your shirt, “you gotta teach me how to do that one day.” the redhead says, it was something you'd always done that had intrigued ellie.

“what, take off my bra?” you tease. ellie’s cheeks blush realizing how her words sounded. “no, i mean like i’ve wanted to know how to do it so i can do it to myself, not you.” she rambles trying to explain herself.

you start to giggle at her response, “what?” ellie says, pouting.

“it's just that you're cute.” ellie feels her heart skip.

you lay down, snuggling into the bed and pat the space next to you, beckoning her over. she lays next to you on her side. neither of you say anything as you stare at each other.

“you want to tell me why you were crying earlier.” you ask, ellie rolls her eyes and shift onto her back, refusing to make eye contact.

“it was nothing.” the redhead mumbles. “ellie i know you, that wasn't nothing, talk to me please.” you plead. ellie chews on her lip nervously, trying to decide whether or not she should confess to you.

“i, uh, shit i don't know how to say this” she starts, turning over to her side to face you, “but i really really like you [y/n], and i have for the past two years and its being eating me up from the inside to see you with other people and not be able to tell you. and i know you just want to be friends because you said that-”

you cut her off by placing your lips on hers. the redhead soon eagerly kissed back, her hands finding their way on your head and your hands to her shoulders. as the kiss progress you both got more desperate to be close, rolling over so that ellie was flat on the bed and you were straddling her waist. ellie’s hands moved to your hips and yours to the sides of her head.

the redhead pulled away from the kiss. “i thought you said you weren’t a lesbian,” she whispers.

“correct.”

“oh” ellie says as her eyebrows furrowed in annoyance and confusion, “then why’d you kiss me?” she questions, a bit pissed off that her friend was leading her on.

“just because i don’t like girls exclusively doesn’t mean i don’t like them at all.” you grin and lean down, giving ellie a peck on the lips. ellie smiles, realizing that she finally had her chance.

“what does that make us then?” she asks shyly. you smile down at her, “girlfriends, only if you want to.”

“are you kidding? that’s the only thing i’ve wanted for years.” she exclaims and sits up, placing you on her lap and kissing you again.

she pulls away slightly, “i could get used to this.”

“me too.” you whisper and pull her into another kiss.

the scene from the wilds:

#ellie williams x reader #ellie x reader #ellie williams #ellie tlou #the last of us #tlou2 #ellie #soggyjulpod’s fanfic

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tpwkay · 3 years

Text

Medicine (h.s.)

You’re finally given permission to cover the song you’ve wanted to perform for years and a special surprise during your performance sweeps you off of your feet.

Word count: 11.5k

Rating/warnings: NSFW - A lot of this is plot but there is smut as well. Contains explicit language and consensual sex acts between a man and woman. This is a story written in the 2nd person (“self insert"). This isn’t written to be exclusionary, it’s just my preferred style! Author’s note can be found at the end!

"Ladies and gentlemen, I cannot thank you enough for coming out tonight to listen to me and the band. We've got a couple more songs coming up for you but I just wanted to take a minute to tell y'all how much we appreciate you." You gesture to yourself and the band behind you as the lights on stage come up a bit. "We wouldn't be where we are without your support. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you!"

The crowd cheers and you can't help but experience an insurmountable feeling of joy. It never gets old. You'd been in the spotlight for a few years now, already at the end of touring your second album, though the size and scope of venues this time around was much, much larger. There was nothing that compared to being able to sing your own songs and have a crowd of thousands scream them right back at you.

Being an up-and-coming singer and songwriter in the genre of country music hadn't been easy. Girls your type had been a dime a dozen, hoards of Taylor Swift-wannabes covering "Teardrops on My Guitar" during open mic night. You held nothing against them; there was a path to success for everyone, but yours had been, well, different.

It was a karaoke cover of Brooks & Dunn's "Boot Scootin' Boogie", a song that you'd been singing since you were a toddler, that had gotten you noticed by a recording artist one night while out with your girlfriends, which led you to where you stand now, performing in front of thousands. You were liked for the range of your voice, with it's easy easy transitions from the sounds of pop to country and rock, in addition to the way you performed, and your take-no-shit attitude towards the entirety of the industry. People liked that you were forward and left nothing on the table, though you had to admit that it was mostly an act, a means of coping with the pressure of working your way to the top.

///

"It's refreshing!" Jax, your manager, had shouted one day, arms flailing as you had argued that maybe your attitude was going to get you into trouble one of these days.

"Aren't you, as, you know, my manager, supposed to be the one keeps me in line?"

"You aren't out doing coke, killing anyone, public indecency and all that," he had shrugged. "Far as I'm concerned, you are in line. People talk about you because of your attitude. They like it! They like you. Why is that so hard for you to accept sometimes?"

"Maybe I just haven't been caught doing those things," you grinned, effectively dodging his question. Fame hadn't helped break down the walls that you'd long ago built around yourself. If anything, you had done some reinforcing, built a moat even, in an effort to ensure that you protected yourself from getting too close to anyone that would only end up using you in the end. You had seen the way people in life had been used, and what it ultimately led them to, and you had promised yourself long ago that even if it meant being known as the Boot Scootin' Bitch, you would protect yourself and your heart at all costs.

"Your momma would tan your hide for much less than any of those, you know. Hell, you should be more afraid of her than you are of me or anyone else… 'cept maybe God."

///

You shake your head, working the memories free from your mind as you grab a bottle of water from the platform on which the drum set rests.

There's one more song of yours to sing before you performed a new cover, the one you had been looking forward to for months. Although you'd gotten permission to perform it not long into the start of your tour, the set list had been rehearsed already and every other detail ironed out around it. You'd convinced Jax and the crew to let you slot it into the last concert of the tour, Austin, Texas. These folks knew their music and for some reason, they liked you so you were thrilled to be able to share something new with the crowd that had welcomed you to their city with open arms.

You grab your guitar off its stand and slide the strap over your shoulders, adjusting it as you step forwards to the mic stand. A shimmering blue shirt catches your eye in the crowd and you do a double take because surely it can't be Harry because he's—

And it's not him, of course, though the fashion of the gentleman in the pit area would surely catch his eye as well as it's right up his alley. It's not him - it can't be him - because you know exactly where he is right now and it's not in the pit of your Austin performance.

A grin stretches over your face as you think of him. You strum the first chord of the first song you'd ever written about him, although there had been many more since. He probably knew this one was about him, having come just after your first meeting.

///

A friend of yours was good friends with Kacey, who had been the guest artist that night. Her name had been added to the VIP list and in the summer of 2018, just as you were hitting your own stride in your career, you tagged along with her to Harry Styles' live tour performance in your hometown of Nashville.

If you were being honest, prior to his concert, you hadn't heard much of his solo work, apart from the various huge hits like his Kiwi or Watermelon Sugar and a few other ballads. You liked his sound, seemingly influenced heavily by rock stars of days past, but you'd had other influences to worry about in your own side of the industry.

Sure, he had country music connections through the likes of Kacey Musgraves and Cam, and legends like Stevie Nicks, but his pop and soft rock style was pretty far removed from most country playlists that you yourself had graced. Your genres just didn't cross paths and the two of you seemingly operated in different realms of the music industry, topping your own charts and breaking your own peer's records.

Of course, you hadn't been completely oblivious to The Harry Styles. One Direction had been too big of a deal to ignore and you'd often found yourself bopping along to their old hits, singing along as they played amongst the other nostalgic pop hits to which you listened.

The concert had been in June, a hot sunny day followed by a perfect breezy evening. Downtown Nashville was always busy, but that night the city seemed to buzz, bright with music and life. After meeting for drinks at Acme on the River, you allowed yourself to luxuriate in getting lost in the crowd that milled about on Broadway. It was a surprising thing to not be recognized in your hometown, but you weren't one to complain about it. It was one reason that you value your time in Nashville over other music-centric cities like Los Angeles - it seemed that people here respected the private lives of musicians. There was an odd fan here and there, but you'd lived a majority of your "famous" life in Nashville in relative peace.

You were early to the venue, your friend having wanted to have a chance to see Kacey backstage. You were excited to finally meet the star - though you'd been around the block of fame a bit already, there would always be people that you never had an opportunity to meet in passing. You had been greeted at will call and had been led backstage.

The arena was alive with excitement. At that point, you yourself had never toured a venue that large, so the experience of being backstage and seeing the operations first hand were thrilling and a bit overwhelming. In her dressing room, Kacey pulled you straight into a hug, gushing about how excited she was to watch your career take off. She insisted on sharing her personal cell phone number with you, urging you to call her to get together on a collaboration. You were in shock leaving her room, blown away by her kindness and the way the music industry worked in the most bizarre of ways, when you turned a corner and ran smack into a tall, solid, smiling Harry Styles. His arms had come out quickly to steady you on your heels boots.

"Fuck," you swore, shaking your head at your clumsiness. "I am so sorry. What a great way to introduce myself."

He laughed and the sound flowed through you, warm and sweet like a cup of tea with honey. "Y'alright?" His eyes looked you over, and you couldn't help but notice the way they lingered.

Your cheeks blushed and a wave of embarrassment washed over you. "I'm the one that should be asking you that. I don't think your adoring fans would be very happy if I took you out with a textbook tackle right before you're due to go on stage." You took a moment to give him the same appreciative glance he had already given you, admiring the way his deep blue custom-beaded suit jacket fell open to reveal a black dress shirt, unbuttoned halfway down his chest.

"Ah, 'm fine. Lil' thing like you couldn't do too much damage to me, even in those heels. Don't think they'd be very happy though," he said, nodding his head in acknowledgement of the already-rowdy crowd while offering his hand. "I'm Harry."

You laughed as you introduced yourself, shaking his hand.

"I've heard that name before, but I'm sorry to say that I don't recognize you. You don't seem like one that's easy to forget."

"I sing, write music," you shrugged, not sure how to explain to a superstar that you were on the way up, yet still somewhere much farther down the fame totem pole than him. "Country, mostly. Not sure if that's on your radar."

"The new stuff's not, but I may have to change that." He was tapped by one of the event producers, needed for another pre-show procedure. "Where will you be tonight?"

"To your right, in the pit."

He smiled and you had almost immediately fallen in love with the crinkles that appeared under the corners of his eyes. "I'll look out for you. It was wonderful meeting you. Oh, shit, wait, just remembered— may I?" he gestured for the phone that was in your hand and you unlocked it before passing it to him.

You watched as he dialed a number and put the phone to his ear. He paused for a moment before he grinned. "Hi Harry, it's you from before the show. This is a message to remind you to text this number and ask the owner of it out on a date. She's the one with the beautiful smile and great tackling skills. You won"t have forgotten her. 'Kay, bye!"

You laughed at an almost embarrassing volume, blown away by his cheek.

"Why not ask 'her' out now?" you pondered to him as he handed the phone back.

"What, and risk getting shot down? Wouldn't want to be sad and disappointed through my whole show, now would I?"

"It would make the ballads a bit more emotional," you had reasoned with a grin.

"Ouch! They're already filled with emotion, love. You'll see, I'll sing 'em right to you if I have to. Gotta run, thank you for letting me use your phone, that was a very important message!"

You laughed again as he took off. "Harry!" you had shouted to get his attention in the busy hall. He turned quickly, a small smile on his face. "She definitely won't say no, but you can wait until later to ask if you want to."

His grin stretched wider and he'd pumped a fist in the air before turning and jogging down the hallway.

You liked to joke with anyone who knew the story that your life had changed that day all because you met Kacey. Which wasn't a complete lie - it had been her dressing room you'd come out of before slamming into Harry in the hallway.

///

Singing the last lines of one of your songs, your stomach began to flutter in a bit of nervousness and a lot of excitement. Performing the next cover was something you had been looking forward to for months, and the moment that you got to share it with your fans was finally here.

You retreat from the mic stand to pass your guitar off to a stagehand, taking another sip of water to settle yourself.

"Doing alright?" Wyatt, your drummer, shouts over the pounding bass drum and you give him a thumbs up before turning back to face the crowd.

"I've got one more cover to play for y'all tonight," you say, grasping the mic stand to keep your hands from shaking. "I've been working on getting permission to play this one for quite awhile now. I fell in love with it the first time I heard it played and now here I am, performing it for you all. It's an unreleased piece by a very, very good friend of mine, but his performances of it are all over the internet so some of you may know the words. This song is called Medicine."

The song starts out with a steady bass line and the rhythm centers you a bit, steadying any nerves that still linger. The intro gives you a minute to shake out your shoulders and get comfortable at the mic stand once more like Harry does at each performance. You catch yourself having fun mimicking him and feel thankful that you're able to perform one of your favorite songs of his. When the bass drops in pitch and the electric guitar riffs, you slide in close to the mic stand.

"Here to take my medicine, take my medicine," you sang the opening lines, already settling into the sexy rock sound of the song you and the band had rehearsed relentlessly over the last few weeks. No, the genre wasn't one you normally dabbled in, but part of the fun of performing was taking chances, risks. You had to admit, you liked the sound a lot. It tempted you to branch out a bit more on your upcoming album.

The opening lines of the first verse throw you back into thoughts of meeting Harry that first night. You hadn't imagined what would follow the concert, let alone have the foresight to see it bringing you to this very moment in time.

///

You had been standing outside the arena after the concert, ears buzzing and heart thumping still from the incredible show Harry had put on. As soon as he disappeared from the backstage hall earlier, you had immediately saved his number to your phone, still in disbelief over the night's events.

Your heart had soared when your phone began to vibrate, not in a text message but in a voice call. Harry's name appeared on the screen and your friend had nudged you, clearly approving of the night's turn of events.

"Harry," you answered, ready to praise him halfway to Sunday on his performance.

"Let me take you out," he interrupted you. "Right now. Please? Anywhere you want to go."

You laughed and paused. "Yeah, okay. I might know of a place."

There was a lot of shuffling on his end before his voice came back on the line. "Might've had to do another fist pump."

"Told you she wouldn't say no."

"Where are you?" You heard the smile in his voice, already familiar with it.

"Demonbreun and John Lewis, headed towards the park."

"Give me 10, I'll pick you up." He paused. "Be careful, okay?"

"I'll stick with the hoards of your fans milling about, maybe ask some of them for the hot gossip on you while I wait."

"Don't believe anything they say," he said, and you could tell he was still smiling as he hung up.

He and his driver arrived shortly after, Harry's hair damp and covered with a baseball cap, dressed down in black pants and a simple loose white shirt, tattoos peeking out everywhere you looked. He exited the car and opened the back door for you, helping you balance as you stepped up into the large Suburban.

"We'll go to Pecker's," you said to his driver, laughing as Harry snorted next to you. "Shut up, it's just a bar. Take a right up here onto 24 and it'll take us all the way to Fairfield. It'll be on the right."

He looked at you and smiled before reaching out to hold your hand in the middle seat between you.

Taking Harry to Pecker's had just felt right. It was where you'd been discovered, where all of your adventures had started, and you weren't sure why but you wanted to share that small part of you with him after watching him up on stage that night.

"Won't people recognize you? I looked you up before the show, you're apparently a pretty big deal around here." He had asked, smirking, sipping on the locally-brewed beer that Clint, the regular bartender, was serving that night.

"Locals are pretty good about not interrupting our normal lives. Pecker's isn't as well known to tourists either, so it's a good hideout. This is where a lot of producers, executives and all the other professionals come to unwind." You ignored his comment on your fame and had taken a sip of your margarita instead. "Unless, of course, there's a drag show scheduled, then it's a bit of a madhouse."

Harry laughs into his drink and you grin. "So," he started after a pause, twiddling with the rings on his right hand. "What'd you think?"

"It was incredible," you said without hesitation. "Truly one of the best live shows I've seen in a long time, country acts included. You've got such a magnetism about you that people can't help but want to watch." You blushed a bit, alcohol and the quick comfort of him loosening your lips. "The whole water spraying trick was hot," you admit, making him blush. "And don't tell Stevie, but I think I might prefer your version of The Chain."

"Sacrilege! That's some incredibly high praise," he said, a small smile teasing at the corners of his mouth.

"Earned and deserved," you said, tilting your glass to his. "Honestly, Harry, you're an incredible musician. There aren't many out there that have the whole package like that."

"What about you? You seem like the whole package."

"I don't know if I'd say that. If you looked me up, you've likely seen what they say about me. 'My attitude won't get me far' and all. But I don't think it's my attitude, so much as it is my willingness to take the risks that others won't. I'm not out here to make music that's just there to be sold. Hell, I couldn't care less about the money. All I want is to create music that makes me feel fulfilled, and I think that honesty scares them." You twirled your finger in the condensation of the glass in front of you. You glanced up to his face finding his eyes already on yours, holding your gaze steadily. "It doesn't scare you, does it?"

"It's the most refreshing thing I've heard in a while. Not many people in the industry are fearless in the face of failure like that."

"I'm definitely not fearless; I just refuse to change who I am to make a buck."

"Who are you then?" Harry had asked, and telling him your story was easy. You couldn't understand how it was so natural, opening up to a stranger, but as the conversation wore on, you realized how similar you and Harry were in terms of the way you conducted your professional lives and that was without apology.

And you also realized, as the evening continued and you and Harry crept your bar stools closer and closer to one another, feet and knees bumping, his fingers tracing the ridges of your knuckles as you shared life stories like long lost friends, that you didn't want it to end.

///

"He's acting like a gentleman," you continue, changing up the lyrics slightly as you finish the first verse. The line always made you smile and you let yourself briefly flash back into your reminiscing about the night you'd met Harry, and how, even though he had acted gentlemanly upon dropping you off for the evening, you wanted to be anything but a gentlewoman.

///

After enjoying drinks late into the evening at Pecker's, Harry had insisted on having his driver take you home rather than allowing you to call an Uber.

"Such a gentleman," you commented as he opened the car door for you once again.

"Maybe my gentlemanly actions have motives," he said, sliding his hand along your lower back as you step past him and into the car. Your grin matched his smirk as he shut the door and you decided that he'd been right - not calling an Uber was the right thing to do.

The car ride back to your apartment building was too quick and before you knew it, he was at your door again, offering a hand for you to hold for balance as you exited the car. Neither of you let go as you walked through the lobby towards the elevators.

"You're uh— You're welcome to come up, if you'd like," you said, suddenly shy but not wanting to chicken out on asking for what you wanted, asking for some continuation of this sweet but likely brief meeting between you two. "For a drink, I mean, or to keep chatting, you know."

Harry smiled and glanced around the empty lobby. His hand in yours smoothed up the length of your arm, over your shoulder, and came to rest at your jaw. "I'd love to, believe me. You have no idea how much I want to." He leaned towards you, pressing a quick kiss to your forehead and your skin burned at the contact of his lips. "But I want to do this the right way. Don't want you to get the wrong idea of me."

"What if I want the wrong idea of you?"

He laughed, the sound open and honest and it had given you hope. "You called me a gentleman earlier and I have to admit that I liked it, coming from you. Would like to keep up the facade that I am, even if it's just for a bit." His face searched yours, each of you trying to read the thoughts that were flying through one another's minds. "You have beautiful lips," he whispered suddenly, his accent thicker than it had been all night.

Your mouth quirked into a smile, unable to do anything but preen at his compliment. "You do too," you replied, just as softly.

"Can I kiss you?"

"Please, yes." Before the words had settled he was kissing you, slowly and with too much care, like you would break if he wasn't gentle enough. It was over much too quick but you knew you would remember every moment of it for the rest of your life.

"Christ, I'd wanted to do that all night." His thumb smoothed over your cheekbone, smiling when you leaned into the touch. He glanced up as the elevator doors swung open and gently nudged you towards them. "Thank you, truly, for a wonderful evening. I promise to give you a call soon."

"I'll send Kacey after you if you don't!" you laughed, stepping into the lift.

"Good night darling." He winked and the doors slid shut, leaving you alone with your thoughts and the delicious ghost of his lips on yours.

///

"Give me that adrenaline, that adrenaline, think I'm gonna stick with you," you finish the first verse as Ryann rips through the chords on her guitar. You loved that the song built slowly, and even though that meant a quieter beginning, it promised an explosive end.

Though the crowd had been hesitant at first, you can see that the first few rows of them are nodding along, countless phones out recording the performance. You know that somewhere out there at your request is a member of your press team, professionally filming the cover. You may only be doing it once, but you were determined to make sure you would never forget it.

///

You had enough time at home to check some of your social media accounts, shower and get comfortable in bed before your phone rang again. For the second time that day, your heart soared seeing Harry's name light up your screen.

"If you're going to say that you're downstairs because you've reconsidered my offer for that nightcap, I'll need a few moments to prepare as I'm currently in my pajamas," you said as a greeting and you were met with his warm laughter once again.

"No, no, I had to go back to the arena for a bit anyways, pack up and all of that," he said, still chuckling. "I just— I wanted to make sure you weren't offended by me declining your offer. Because I wanted to— I didn't want the night to end there. There's something about you that's… Transfixing. And I don't want to ruin that and make you think you're just a fling."

"That's quite a compliment," you said, a bit awed by his words.

"What was it you said earlier, "earned and deserved", yeah?" He said, quoting your toast to him at the bar, making you grin. "I want you to be more than that. I'd like to get to know you, the gentlemanly way."

"Okay. Will we have a chaperone at our next date then?" He laughed but didn't correct your referral to that evening as a date. You had snuggled a bit deeper into the sheets, still disbelieving that all of this had been the result of being dragged along to a concert.

"No chaperones," he chuckled, "but yes, I do want to take you out again, if you'd let me."

"Hmm," you jokingly pondered aloud, as if answering with anything other than a resounding "yes" was on your mind. "I suppose I could fit something into my schedule."

"I hope that's a yes."

"Of course it's a yes! I didn't want the night to end either. And don't you dare say that you just did another fist pump," you had laughed, hearing the familiar shuffling of the phone on his end of the line.

"Me? Never!"

"You're adorable," you had said, a smile stuck on your face.

"And you're beautiful. Two can play this game."

There had been a comforting silence between you for a moment before you had spoken up again. "Harry?"

"Yeah, love?"

You had blushed at the pet name but loved the way it sounded being directed your way. "Thank you," you had whispered.

"Should be me thanking you. Sleep well sweetheart." You'd fallen asleep with your phone in hand, hopeful that you wouldn't wake up the next morning to realize it had all been a dream.

///

It hadn't been a dream, and here you were, nearly two years later, performing one of the songs that Harry himself had sung the night that you'd begun falling for him.

The second verse continued quickly and you let the lyrics wash over you as you sang, loving the way the rock energy of the song sounded with a bit of your band's country influence.

"Here to take my medicine, take my medicine, rest it on your fingertips," you sang, holding your pointer finger in the air much like Harry did every time he performed the song before bringing it to your lips as you sang the next line. "Up to your mouth, feeling it out, feeling it out."

///

Beginning to date Harry - properly date him too, not just make FaceTime calls to one another from across the world and sending texts back and forth until the wee hours of the morning thanks to the differences in time zones, sharing everything and more with one another as best you could digitally - had been the most exhilarating experience of your life, and you had performed in front of sold out crowds and accepted awards on live television. His tour was due to stretch on for almost another month throughout North America and the next time you saw him was when you'd been invited as Harry's guest to his show in Chicago just a few weeks after you'd met.

While he had put on an incredible show for the United Center, there had been moments that felt like he was performing just for you, glancing over to where you stood in the Friends and Family area, meeting your eyes and grinning. By that point, you could sing along to every song of his and you knew he loved it, loved watching you dance along to the music that he had created and was performing.

In a moment where you were thankful for the differences between the genres in which you two performed, you hadn't been recognized at all by his fans. You'd both talked about wanting to keep things quiet as you got to know one another, and you hadn't wanted a relationship with him, an already incredibly famous artist, to somehow influence the trajectory of yours. While it had been easy when you were apart, being together without seemingly being together was difficult. Especially in that moment, when all you wanted to do was curl up into him and soak in the post-show bliss with him. Instead, you sat on the couch with him, a cushion apart from one another, holding his hand tightly while you chatted about the concert.

"Someone is gonna notice that you looked to my side of the pit constantly all night," you said and he grinned guiltily.

"I like knowing you're in the crowd," he shrugged. "Besides," he scooted closer and threw his arm around you before dragging you in close, "you look incredible, how could I not want to stare at you all night?"

"Anyone could walk in," you pointed out, watching as his eyes followed your lips.

"Just want a little taste," he said, moving in closer, "Haven't I earned a kiss from my girlfriend after all of that work up on stage?"

Your eyebrows raised in surprise as you looked at him and he seemingly realized his slip-up.

"I mean— What I meant was— Shit," he scrubbed a hand over his face but you could tell he was hiding a grin. "Wasn't exactly how I wanted to ask you, but… Will you officially be my girlfriend?"

"Yes, H. I'm all yours."

"Love it when you call me H." He pulled you in for a kiss that you both lost yourselves in, finally able to experience the feeling of one another after being denied it for so long. When a knock at the dressing room door came, Harry had to all but drag himself away from you, hair disheveled and lips swollen, scowling at the door.

You threw your head back and laughed as he stalked over and pulled it open with a flourish.

"What?"

"The hell's your issue?" you heard Mitch ask before Harry widened the door so he could see you laughing on the couch. You raised a hand in greeting and Harry's scowl deepened as Mitch chuckled, taking in both of your disheveled appearances. "Oh, shit, hey, sorry. Uh, car's ready when you are. See you tomorrow bud."

"Harry!" you chided once he'd closed the door in Mitch's face, giggles still bubbling out of your mouth. "He was just being polite."

"Interrupting arse is what he is," Harry said, sitting down and pulling you into his lap. "Where were we?"

You threw your arms around his neck and pressed your body as close to his as possible, hoping that he'd thought to lock the door before returning to your embrace. "Right about here, I think." With a hand on your hip, sliding under your shirt to reach warm skin and one at the back of your neck, Harry kissed you until you were breathless and not only wanting more but very seriously needing it.

"Come back to the hotel with me," he murmured against your lips as you ground your body down on him, reveling in the way the action made him throw his head against the back of the couch and exhale sharply.

"You sure?" Your hands smoothed over the chest of his skin, tracing the dark swallows with your fingertips as you rolled your hips.

He shuddered at the light touch and gripped your hips tightly, pressing his up as you pressed yours down and the action made you sigh, the pressure a delicious tease of what was hopefully to come. "Absolutely," he said, his grin telling you he was pleased with the noises he was causing you to make. "Want you so bad, like I won't be able to breathe right until I properly have you."

You leaned in to kiss at his neck, his shower-damp curls tickling your cheek. "The feeling is mutual. Adored watching you up on stage tonight. Have I told you yet how much I love seeing you perform?" You nuzzle at his neck, urging him to tilt his head back farther, exposing more of his skin to you.

"Yeah, you have, but tell me again," he sighed, his hands running up and down your back.

"It's like when you get on stage no one else before or after you matters," you said honestly, letting your lips against his skin hide how truthful you were really being, spilling all of your thoughts about seeing Harry up on stage. It was scary, feeling so deeply for him already. But you wanted him to know, at least in part, what it meant to be able to watch him perform. "Something about your live voice just makes my breath catch in my throat, I can't get enough of it."

Harry breathed deeply for a moment, working to center himself while you nosed at the curls around his ear and heaped praise upon him.

"It's like you connect with every person out in the crowd, like you're singing just for them. You can tell that you're having fun and people want to join you in that. They know you love the attention," you whispered and he hummed in appreciation (or agreement), the sound low in his throat. "They'd stay out there all night for if they could, screaming about how much they love you."

"And you feed into it, playing it up for them. You know exactly what you're doing when you get to act a little bit naughty up there, driving them all mad," you said with a smile.

He chuckled and you could hear and feel the sound rumble through him. "Played it up for you tonight. Did it work?"

"You mean did it make me want to jump your bones the second you came off stage? Yeah, it worked."

"Fucking hell," he said, holding you close with his hands on your butt as he stood up. "Our first time is not going to be in a dressing room so we need to go now."

He let you slide down his body and held you steady as you balanced on your legs. "Would be pretty fitting though, don't you think, given how we met and what we do?"

"Yeah, but then I'd think about it every time I was in one. You wanna torture me relentlessly?" He pulled you tight against him, kissing you once more before separating to grab his bags.

"Yeah, relentless torture sounds like something I might be into."

He glanced up at your words, eyes dark and hungry, a smirk on his lips. "Careful what you wish for, love."

///

The bass line increased behind the riff of Ryann's guitar and you leaned into the mic stand, eyes closing as you continued singing the first bridge. "I had a few, got drunk on you and now I'm wasted, and when I sleep I'm gonna dream of how you…"

There were a few fans of yours and Harry's who apparently knew the words as they helped you out, screaming the unwritten word that finished the sentence: "tasted."

///

Harry was quick to say goodbye to everyone on the team before pulling you quickly through back hallways and down quiet staircases, sneaking quick kisses when he was sure there was no one around. You were both out of breath when you finally climbed into the car, grinning like kids getting away with sneaking around.

The hotel ride was quick, mercifully, but Harry had been anything but patient, his hand at your knee creeping up slowly, closer and closer to the hem of your dress, toying with the hem while he chatted with the driver.

"I'm gonna head in first with Martin and Eric will loop around and drop you off at the side entrance. I would wait in the lobby for you but this hotel hasn't been the best in the past with uh— containing sensitive information, we'll say, so Martin will meet you on your floor to get your stuff, then bring you up. Is that okay?"

"You sound like you've done this before, Styles," you said with a wink, using humor to cover the nerves that had settled in the pit of your stomach.

He blushed and you loved knowing you got under his skin so easily. "The band used to stay here when we toured… and I was young and dumb once, yes."

"Just giving you a hard time, H."

His grin stretched as he leaned over to peck your lips once more. "See you in a minute, love."

Harry climbed out and the driver took off once again, slowly circling the block. "He's quite taken with you, you know," he said, glancing up in the rear view mirror as he parked the car at the curb. He got out and opened the door for you in the empty street then used his keycard to unlock the heavy side door of the hotel.

"Thank you," you said, both for his actions and his omission about Harry. Sure, you had talked to him as often as possible over the last weeks and had yourself been on the receiving end of his attention, but it felt validating to hear that Harry's feelings for you may have gone a bit farther than just a small crush if people around him had also noticed his behavior.

Harry's bodyguard was waiting by the elevators and escorted you to your room to gather your luggage, then led you to Harry's door.

"Car'll be around about 9 tomorrow morning, H. Flight's at 10:30." He turned to you. "I understand you have business to continue here in Chicago?"

"Yes, meetings tomorrow and then I fly back to Nashville in the evening."

"There'll be a driver ready for you tomorrow as well. He's been instructed to take you wherever you need to go and he'll stay until you depart. Have a nice evening," he nodded at Harry, who was smiling in the doorway, before departing.

"You didn't have to do that for me, I could've managed by getting an Uber," you said, stepping into the room past Harry to set your bags down and kick your shoes off.

"I didn't, was Martin's idea; says he doesn't want anything to happen to the one thing that's made me so happy these last few weeks."

"Oh yeah? I'm the one thing, huh?"

"You're everything, honestly," he replied a bit sheepishly, taking your hands in his. "Think I might like you a bit more than I already should. Lettin' my heart get a bit ahead of my head, I suppose."

"Yeah, I know the feeling," you said softly and he beamed.

He moved his hands up to cup your face, pulling you close for a sweet kiss that quickly turned insistent, heat rising between the two of you. Harry slid his hands under the hem of your shirt to rest where your spin ended and yours wrapped around his neck, dragging him down to you as you stepped behind you towards the bed. His long legs tangled with yours and you tumbled backwards, laughing as you hit the plush bed and Harry collapsed on top of you.

He propped himself up on his elbows and looked down at you with a smile, pushing the hair that had fallen into your face aside. "Hi baby," he said softly.

"Hi."

"Missed you," he said, leaning down for another sweet kiss.

"We were apart for like, eight minutes," you giggled between his kisses, your laughter giving way to a sigh as he moved to press a kiss to your nose, your cheek, your chin.

"Doesn't matter," he breathed into the crook of your neck, pressing small open mouth kisses to the soft skin there, "Any time apart is too long."

"The two weeks left of the tour will fly by. You should enjoy them while you can."

"Wish you could come with me, love performing for you." He kissed his way across the base of your neck, collarbone to collarbone as his fingers trailed to the small straps on your shoulders. "Would you like to take this off?"

"Please," you sighed, desperate and aching for the feeling of his skin against yours.

Your first time sleeping with Harry had been exactly what you'd wanted and expected - hot and fast, admittedly over a bit more quickly than either of you had wanted, but worth the weeks of wait.

Harry's skill set hadn't ended at singing and playing instruments. If anything, his vast experience using his hands and mouth only helped him excel in other pastimes that also utilized those parts of his body. To both of your delights, he had proven his adeptness in all areas multiple times that night, and once again in the morning before he had to rush into the shower, dragging you along with him simply to get more time together before you were forced apart once again.

///

You had spent the next two months away from one another, Harry having wrapped his tour and immediately beginning work on his next album. You'd spent your own time mixed between writing and recording an upcoming single. You had already written a handful of songs that were inspired by him and you'd wondered, albeit a bit nervously, if the sentiment was shared. When he stopped in Nashville on a long layover, pushing his flight back even longer to stay with you for another night, you'd tried to pry the information out of him. Unfortunately, no amount of sexual teasing or denial had convinced him — he, however, had you singing like a canary almost immediately, teasing you in the best way about how easily you opened up for him, telling him all about the music that he had already inspired.

You had been FaceTiming him late one night weeks later, both tired from long days spent in the studio. He had suddenly gotten shy, biting at the skin around his fingernails.

"Hey, stop that. What's the matter H?"

"Wanna ask you something," he mumbled, but a smile was peeking through where his fingers were still at his lips. "Jus' don't know how to."

"Baby," you sighed, "you can ask me anything. Y'know that."

"I know, I know." He paused and took a deep breath before a wide smile stretched across his face. "Would you maybe want to come home with me this Christmas? To London? Wouldn't be for long, maybe just a couple nights, I just wanna introduce you to my mum already, she's been pestering me nonstop lately 'bout meetin' you and Gem's joined in on it now too, so it's two against one when they call and I've told them that—"

"Harry," you said chucking, trying to interrupt his nervous rambling.

"—and she actually called me Harold last time she told me to bring you 'round and that got me a bit worried so I—"

"Harry! Of course I'll come with you. I'd absolutely love to."

You met him at the airport weeks later, desperate to pull him close and kiss him silly in the confines of his darkly tinted car, but you refrained, knowing how seriously Harry took the protection of your relationship from the press. You may not have been able to see anyone straining to capture pictures of you two, but you knew there was always the chance.

It was an entirely different story, however, when he'd finally pulled the car past the mechanical gate and into his private drive. You both reached for each other immediately, arms tangled and shifter knob pressed uncomfortably against your side, but perfectly content so long as his lips were against yours.

"Fuck— I missed you— so much," he muttered between kisses. He pulled away, forehead resting against yours, sly smirk pulling at his lips. "Mum won't expect us for a few hours at least."

"What is it that you're insinuating, Mr. Styles?"

"That there's plenty of time to give you a tour around the house, that's all," he said innocently. He gave you a sweet smile before hopping out of the car and coming to the passenger side where he helped you out and picked up your bags.

You were eager to be given a house tour, more than keen to learn all of the things you could about his London life. The house was decorated in a way that made you smile - eclectic but with a definitive air of cohesive taste. It suited Harry to an absolute tee. From the artwork that decorated the walls to the mismatched but homey furniture, you could tell immediately that this was Harry's sanctuary - every inch of the home screamed his name.

"It's incredible," you said as he led you into the largest room, the master. He walked over to the dresser that sat under the window and pulled open the top two drawers.

"I know we won't be here long, this time around, but I cleaned out a few drawers for you here, if you want to unpack some things. And there's space in the closet for you too," he nodded towards the door on the other side of the room, dragging a hand through his hair as he talked, "I had too much in there anyways and some of it needed to go and I wanted you to be able to leave some things, if you felt comfortable, of if Mum drags us out shopping and you don't want to take it all home now you can leave it here and-"

"You- you cleared out a drawer for me?"

"Well, yeah," he said, resting his hand on the back of his neck. "Made some space for you in the bathroom too, though I doubt it'll be enough, with all that you bring along to fix yourself up." He paused and thought for a moment. "I know how our lives are. I just wanted you to have some of your own space here; want you to feel as comfortable in my home as I do. Is that too much?"

"H," you said with a sigh, your lips curling into a smile, "it's perfect, and so thoughtful. I'm sorry I haven't done the same for you in Nashville yet."

"'s alright, love. I've already got a toothbrush there at least. I can take some time when we fly back to come and help if you'd like me to. As long as you don't end up wearing all the clothes that I leave there," he chuckled.

"You know me too well," you said, reaching for his hand. He lifted your entwined fingers to his lips to brush a kiss over your knuckles.

"You do look good in my clothes," he confessed, pulling you close to face him. "Look good in my house. But you always look good anyways."

"Said the pot to the kettle," you said with a smile. "I like being here already," you shrug, hands resting on his shoulders. "It feels like you, like home. Thank you for inviting me," you add, as though the measly voicing of your appreciation is enough to convey what you truly feel.

"You're welcome anytime, if I'm here or not."

"You trust me that much?"

"Yeah, I do. I'll get you a key and everything." He leaned down to kiss you slowly, relearning the map of your lips and mouth, before pulling away. He laughed when you made a noise of protest.

"The bathroom's over here if you'd like to freshen up." He had pulled at your hand, stepping towards the other open door in the room. "Figured a shower might sound nice after a long day in an airplane. Besides, I've gotta clean up before we go to Mum's anyways."

"Gonna join me?"

"Yeah, thought I might, if that's okay." His smirk had been wicked as he pushed you the rest of the way into the bathroom. He dropped your hand to reach for the hem of his shirt, pulling it over his head quickly. As he reached for the buckle of his pants, he had met your staring eyes. "See something you like, love?"

You definitely had, though you didn't think your attraction — physically or emotionally — for Harry had stopped at something that was as weak as "like." Getting to know him over the last six months had made you worry that there wasn't ever going to be anyone else like him, anyone that made you feel like he did. You had fallen for him, desperately hard, and the realization of it as you stood in front of his half-naked self almost embarrassed you.

"Babe? You alright?" he asked as he stripped down to his boxers.

"Yeah, you just got me all distracted," you had grinned, pulling your sweatshirt and remaining clothes off quickly before joining Harry under the warm spray of the water.

Meeting Harry's mom that evening went better than you could've ever dreamt it would. The two of you got on like old friends, and Harry had stared, almost in wonder, at how easily you seemed to bond with her. And then he had stared in horror as Anne offered to pull out the photo albums filled with pictures from Harry's childhood, particularly when Anne offered up the album filled with photos from Harry's and Gemma's emo phases.

As the evening wore on, you caught Harry on more than one occasion glancing your way, cheeks bright from the red wine he was sipping on and eyes warmly reflecting the bright Christmas lights. He always looked like he was a split second away from saying something, only to shake his head and look away with a small smile.

Later, in bed, Harry pulled you close to him. He was laying on his back, you on your side, and you threw a leg over his waist, soaking in all of the cuddles you could get on this short trip together. The room was only illuminated by the ambient light coming in through the blinds.

"Mum liked you a lot," he murmured, gently stroking the skin at the base of your spine, "said I should hang onto you".

You returned the gesture, running your fingertips along the lines of ink that make up his many tattoos. "I liked her too. She's wonderful, I see where you get it from now."

"Hey now, 'm wonderful all on my own!" He tickled your side and you couldn"t help but arch towards him, shrieking and laughing at the touch.

"Stop that! You are an absolute pest, you know that?" you said, grinning up at him.

"Ah, you love me," he whispered, and his joking tone made you smile but the way he pulled you tighter as he said it made you brave.

You let the weight what you were about to say wash over you, aware that things were going to change forever with just a few words. "I do love you, Harry," you whispered, moving up his body to press a kiss to his lips.

"Thank God," he had said, wrapping his arms back around you and pulling you on top of him. "Cause I love you too."

Leaving Harry after that had been even more difficult. All you wanted to do was be with him, but you had too much coming up with the future release of your album and Harry was still in the midst of doing his own writing and recording.

It was your professions, along with the desire to keep your relationship private, that kept you apart. You weren't sure how you did it, but your relationship had withstood the distance and odd-hours. The only step now would be deciding if, when, and how to confirm the suspicions to tabloids and fans alike that you were an item.

The wait was killing you. All you wanted was to show off to the world that Harry was yours.

///

The bridge of the song was followed quickly by the chorus and the heavy guitar and pounding drums had you rocking on your feet, body swaying into the mic stand as you let yourself get lost in the lyrics. "If you go out tonight, I'm going out 'cause I know you're persuasive."

The crowd was even more into the song now, many picking up on the words quickly and screaming them along with your singing. The rock and roll vibe of the song was coursing through you and the crowd, the arena electric with energy already.

"You got that something, I got me an appetite, now I can taste it."

You remove the mic from the stand and dance towards one end of the stage, singing as you move to the beat. "We're getting dizzy, oh, we're getting dizzy, oh! La da da da da! You get me dizzy, oh, you get me dizzy, oh!"

///

You had been on the phone with Harry one day in July, nearly five months after the release of your album, having him help you decide what the setlist of your tour would be when it began in November.

"I wish I could cover one of your songs."

He had laughed and slurped his tea, the sounds comforting to you, even over the phone. "That'd be a bit obvious, wouldn't it love?"

"I don't mean cover Golden or Kiwi," you said, tapping your pen against the pad of paper in front of you. "What about one you wrote for 1D? What about Perfect? Or Stockholm Syndrome! That was always one of my favorites."

"Getting permission on those might be a bit more difficult, s'not just me that's gotta sign off on it. Besides, do you really wanna be the artist that covers a One Direction song on her own headlining tour?"

"Guess I'll stick with singing along to them in the shower then."

You were both quiet for a moment, lost in your own thoughts.

"What if I covered Medicine?" you asked suddenly, realizing it was the perfect compromise, not to mention your favorite song that Harry himself performed oh his own tour. The rock sound wasn't a far cry from the roots that country music had and you knew it would sound great. "Even if it was just for one stop!"

"Hmm," Harry mused. "It would sound great with the band, I'll give you that. But videos will go around, people will know it's my song you're singing and they'll connect the dots about us."

"H, I'm ready for that if you are. I love you, and I'm ready to be able to share that love that I have for you with the world. Sneaking around has been fun but I want people to know how proud of you I am and how much you're loved and appreciated. Half of our fans know already, it's just a matter of us confirming it. I think that we could really-"

Harry was laughing at your rambling on the other end of the line. "Alright, alright, you drive a hard bargain, love. I think you're right, maybe it is time we stopped sneaking around. I'll try, but Jax and everyone else still have to agree to it too. It might be easier to convince everyone if it's just a one time thing. Pick another cover, something you'd normally do, in case it takes some time to work things out."

"I'll ask him right now! Thank you Harry!"

"I just have one condition," he said, and you could hear the grin that was surely pulling at the corners of his lips.

"What's that?"

"I get to perform it with you," he had said, and the smile already on your face widened exponentially. "If we're finally gonna make "us" public, may as well do it with a bang."

///

In the moment after the chorus, an 8 count beat is carried by the drummer and guitarist. For this performance, and the only performance you'd put on of this song, you had rehearsed the 8 count repeating once between the chorus and the next verse, as you needed a bit of extra time to announce your guest performer.

"Ladies and gentlemen," you shout into the mic, grin wide and face beaming already at what was about to take place. "To help me finish this performance, please help me welcome my very good friend, Harry Styles!"

Harry emerges from behind the stage holding his own wireless mic as much of the crowd screams - he may not be a country artist, but he was absolutely known worldwide. You step back with a wave of your arm, smiling as he begins the next chorus. His performance is for the crowd but he's singing the words directly to you.

"Tingle running through my bones, fingers to my toes, tingle running through my bones," he sings, voice smooth like whiskey, and the crowd adores him, eating out of the palm of his hand. "The boys and the girls are in, I mess around with them, and I'm OK with it."

You can't help but dance as he sings, his voice and the energy of the crowd propelling you to move. He watches you, eyes no longer on the crowd, as he sings the next lines. Immediately, heat pools low in your belly at his glance and the words.

"I'm coming down, I figured out I kinda like it. And when I sleep I'm gonna dream of how you…"

You gyrate your hips at the unsung line of "ride it", listening with a sly grin as some in the crowd scream the two words that go unsung.

///

After giving him a key, Harry had moved some of his clothes to your apartment in Nashville some time while you were away on the first leg of your tour. He had found the city to be incredibly welcoming and inspirational for his upcoming album and had decided to stay there for a spell while you continued to tour around the country.

You had scheduled a short break between your concerts over New Years, wanting to be able to grab at least one or two nights at home with him to celebrate the holiday before you were back on the road again.

"So fucking glad you're home," Harry panted, pulling your shirt over your head before attaching his lips to yours once again. "Missed you like crazy."

"Missed you too," you moaned as his lips moved downwards, across your neck and over your collarbones, down the valley between your breasts. Before he could reach around to unhook your bra, you reached for his shirt, as desperate as he was to see and touch what you'd been missing.

As he pulled the half-unbuttoned blouse over his head, you pulled your leggings off and reached for him, pushing him back onto the bed behind him. He unbuttoned his pants as he scooted up towards the middle of the bed, shoving them and his boxers off in one swoop.

You climbed on top of him, hurriedly reaching to kiss him as you rubbed your clothed center along the length of his hard cock.

"Fuck," he hissed, throwing his head back to allow you room to kiss his neck. "Desperate aren't you, darling?"

"Want you so bad it hurts," you whispered, sucking a bright hickey right where it would absolutely be seen by anyone.

You moved to continue kissing down his chest but he stopped you with a hand under your arm. "Not gonna last long, love. Wanna be inside you."

His cheeks and chest were flushed bright red, lips puffy and pupils blown wide. This was when you loved him most, being able to have him like no one else did. The same feeling always hit you at certain moments, particularly ones of domesticity, like when you watched him back the car out of the driveway or when he stood in the kitchen in the morning in nothing but socks, boxers, and his ratty old robe, singing along to old big band jazz as he waited for the coffee to brew. There was Harry Styles the musician, Harry Styles the actor, and Harry Styles the performer, but then there was your Harry.

"Yeah, okay," you sighed, moving off of him quickly to remove your bra and panties. You climbed back onto the bed and threw your leg over his hips, straddling him. He immediately reached for you and pulled you flush against his chest, his lips capturing yours in a bruising kiss.

You rocked your hips against him as he held you, your slick arousal gliding along his length, drawing a moan from both of you.

"Baby, please," he panted, and you could only mod in agreement, lost already to the sweeping feeling of your close release.

His hands rested on your hips as you positioned him at the entrance between your legs. You groaned in harmony as you worked down him slowly, the only sound in the room was your shared heavy breathing and gasps.

"Fuck me," he sighed as you set a slow pace, rocking on top of him to reach each spot that you know will get you there.

"Workin' on it," you grin. A quick swivel of your hips hit at just the right angle and you tossed your head back, repeating the movement over and over again until you shuddered with a final snap of tension, your orgasm rolling over you as Harry helped you move, hands tight on your hips, to wring all you could from the release.

"You look so beautiful right now, like a fuckin' angel," Harry said, voice low and gravely, accent thick with need.

"How's that line go?" you said as you slowed down, smirking when a harsh rock of your hips caused Harry to moan. "'Turns out she's a devil in between the sheets'?"

"Fuck," he groaned again, eyes closed tightly. "Can't just go reciting my own lyrics to me while I"m buried in ya like this, love."

"And there's nothing you can do about it," you continued, singing the line of his song this time, and his hips buck up into yours harshly.

"You're gonna pay for that," he had said, quoting another of his songs, before he had flipped you over onto your back and set his own brutal pace.

///

Like he can read your thoughts, Harry beams and wags a finger in your direction and the crowd screams at your chemistry together. You grab your mic from its stand and take a step towards Harry to sing the chorus together.

"If you go out tonight, I'm going out 'cause I know you're persuasive." Harry dances off to the side of the stage, performing once again for the crowd.

You dance at center stage with your wireless mic, too excited about performing with Harry that you can't stand in one spot. The music and Harry's energy make you want to move. "You got that something, I got me an appetite, now I can taste it."

"We're getting dizzy, oh, we're getting dizzy, oh! La da da da da!" Harry throws his head back, singing along in his own world and you can't look away from him. He really was a rockstar and getting to share the stage with him like this was an experience you'd never forget.

"You get me dizzy, oh, you get me dizzy, oh!"

There's a great pause in the lyrics where the guitar, keyboard, and drums play together, increasing the tension of the song. You and Harry take off towards opposite ends of the stage, both reveling in the performance for the crowd as you dance and stomp to the beat. Eventually, with a slide down the keys of the keyboard, the instrumental quiets into just the steady beat of the bass line joined by the hi-hats.

You and Harry urge the crowd to clap along as you both return to the middle of the stage to sing together once again. He always said that this portion of the song was one of his favorites to perform, the repeated line from the bridge ending abruptly with the lights going out before flashing back on, the added theatrics of the performance elevating the climax of the song completely. Having rehearsed that Harry would sing the following chorus alone, you let yourself get lost in his gaze as it settles on you.

You stand facing one another behind the mic stand, once again singing more to one another rather than to the crowd. You step closer towards him as the lyrics progress, nearly chest to chest now with your voices sharing one another's mics. "I had a few, got drunk on you and now I'm—"

Before you can sing the last word of the line and the lights can blink out as rehearsed, Harry leans forwards and captures your mouth in a hungry kiss. The crowd erupts with screams as the lights above the stage go dark.

You can feel rather than hear him say the words "I love you" against your lips and you have just enough time to repeat them back to him before the drums and guitar pick the beat up once again, the lights flashing back on brightly. He moves away and continues to sing the chorus that follows as if nothing had happened. You're a bit stunned, not having prepared for his relationship-revealing public display of affection to happen during your performance of his song but it was perfect and he knows it. Your smile is wide and you can't help but stand rooted where you are and laugh at what has just finally happened.

"If you go out tonight, I'm going out 'cause I know you're persuasive," he sings, smirking at you while you blush across from him.

You join him in singing the last lines, your right hand joining his left hand where everyone can see your fingers entwine.

"You got that something, I got me an appetite, now I can taste it. We're getting dizzy, oh, we're getting dizzy, oh!"

You urge the crowd with a waving hand to join in and they do, singing along with you and Harry. "La da da da da! You get me dizzy, oh, you get me dizzy, oh!"

The drums and guitar end the song on five quick beats and the crowd erupts once again in screams. You immediately jump towards Harry, throwing your arms around his neck in a close embrace. His hands wrap around your waist to hold you close, and you can feel him smile where his face is pressed close to your jaw.

"How was that?" he asks, chuckling against you.

"It was perfect, you're perfect. Thank you, H. For everything."

"Can take you on a proper date now, yeah? Wanna show my girl off to the world."

"Yes, please!" You can't wipe the smile from your face as he sets you down and Harry continues to beam at you as the crowd continues screaming, reeling from your shared performance.

Harry nudges you gently before turning back to them, lifting his and your arms high in the air and leading you in bending for a bow. He steps away from you and turns, opening his arms wide to you for the crowd to praise and you laugh, tearing up at his gesture and the overwhelming emotions of the performance while you take another bow just for yourself.

He pulls you into another hug and you can't help but angle your face up towards him, wordlessly asking for another very quick, very public kiss.

He glances down at you, smiling. "You're gonna love this now, aren't you?"

"Course I am. love showing them you're mine."

He leans down to peck your forehead, your nose, and finally, your lips, as the crowd goes wild. "Love showing them you're mine. You've got a show to finish, love. Go kill it."

///

Ahh! So much fun! This has been such a joy to write and I appreciate you taking the time to give it a chance! It’s my first (of hopefully many) Harry fics - reading all of the stories here has been immensely inspiring, and I’m so looking forward to writing more!

Tagging my love @morganlatte who is a wonderful hype woman and beta reader. Thanks buddy!

Anyways! Thank you for reading! My love language is words of affirmation (aka I have a praise kink) so leave me a comment here if you feel so inclined!

#harry styles #harry styles fic #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles story #harry styles smut #harry styles one shot #harry styles fluff #one direction fanfiction #harry styles x you #reader insert fic #my writing #wow!#that was so much fun #i'm so in love with it

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