#i mean i need y'all to know that he is really just a dumb pathetic loser clown whose true strength lies in riding off others' coattails | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

thepaintedlady00 · 1 year

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Nightshade

Chapter 8 | Chapter 10

Chapter 9: The Peach Soiree

Dress Inspo for this chapter

TW: Simone's a bitch (we know this), and Olive's right up there with her (so surprising I know xD), mentions of smoking and drinking, mild mentions of nudity & allusions of sex, some mild descriptions of physical pain, mild panic attacks, dirty thoughts, the crew at 22West are THIRSTY! Quinn's running the show and she's wild, truth or dare, and a mild cliffhanger for y'all This chapter is almost 40 pages long so settle in and remember to drink water!

Jake didn’t know what to expect when he’d finally made his way home from the odd, relaxed day with Lena and her mob of family and friends. But he certainly wasn’t expecting Simone and Olive to be waiting at his door. “Fuck,” he cursed quietly.

Simone’s smile was utterly bitter as she looked him up and down. “Finally! So good of you to come home.”

“Relax, Simone, I just took a day.”

“Took a day?” She scoffed. “That’s not exactly what I’d call skipping work and getting fucked up on god knows what all night long.” Olive stayed quiet as she shifted out of the way of the two. Jake opened his apartment door, silently moving into the messed up space while Simone followed hot on his heels. She took one look around and shook her head. “This is just pathetic, Jake.”

He picked the clothes up off the floor before starting on the empty bottles and cans of beer. “Oh fuck off. I didn’t say shit when your apartment was covered in empty wine bottles.”

That made her lips press a tight line as she examined his things, most likely searching for clues about what had set him off. Her eyes went to the little green frog that lay abandoned by his bathroom door, and as she bent over the pick it up, Jake felt a twinge of fear and embarrassment fill his gut. She looked the little thing over momentarily before rolling her eyes and tossing it to the side by the garbage. “So, are you going to tell me why you skipped work?”

“It’s not a big deal,” he replied.

“Not a big deal?” She echoed. “Suddenly, you almost getting fired from the job I have fought so hard for you to keep is not a big deal?”

Jake sighed, quietly wishing he had a beer left to chug. “I’m sorry. It was dumb and reckless, and I shouldn’t have done it. Okay? I know it was stupid, Simone. I just…” He sighed, meeting her pale gaze laced with concern and frustration. “I just needed a day.”

Slowly the blonde woman nodded, though none of her anger or tension lifted. “Well, that’s good. At least you know how ridiculous it was. Where were you?”

“Here,” he replied tensely. “I drank what I had and then went to Home Bar.”

“Do not lie to me, Jake,” Simone seethed, nodding at Olive. “She saw you at Home Bar for thirty minutes before you just left.”

Jake looked the girl up and down, taking in her nervous posture and the slight flush to her cheeks when he looked at her. His memory was hazy at best, but he didn’t remember seeing her. "We fuck or something? That why you’re here?"

"No…” She stammered. “I mean, we kissed a bit..."

"Huh, must not have been very good,” he replied, rolling his eyes and turning his back to the wide-eyed woman.

He heard the soft noise of shock she made before he listened to Simone usher her out with a roaring applause of thanks and well wishes. His door closed behind her, and Simone sighed. "You just have to be unbearable, don't you?"

“It’s part of my charm,” he retorted, glancing at her as she moved to stand beside him.

“Where were you, Jake?” she asked again, softer this time, vulnerable.

Fucking… She wasn’t going to take this well. “I was safe. That’s what matters, right?”

Simone’s face curled into immediate anger as she shook her head. “You were with her, weren't you?"

"What if I was? Is that really so fuckin horrible?"

"YES, I've told you how I feel about her." She shoved herself away from him with a huff. “You just run around like a stupid dog yapping at her heels and begging her to fuck you!”

"Simone, it wasn't like that.”

"It is exactly like that," she hissed. "It is always like that with you. Because you don't hold anything sacred." She threw her hands up into the air with tears in her eyes. Then, she asked, “Is what we have SO unimportant to you that you can’t do just this ONE thing?”

For a second, he considered bringing up that it wasn’t just one thing… that it had been everything, anything she asked of him for years before now. For one tiny second, Jake considered telling Simone he was doing what he wanted for a change for one tiny second, but he held his tongue and shook his head. “I’m sorry, Simone. I know you don’t trust her and that you’re worried about me. But… Lena’s my friend.”

Simone didn’t like that word, not when Lena was involved. “She is not your friend, Jake. She doesn’t know you! Not like I do!”

“I never said she did,” Jake tried to argue.

“That girl doesn’t care about you. She’s only interested in using you to get what she wants so she can feel better about her sad little life.” Simone’s eyes were wide and tearful as she continued, “She is just going to use you and abandon you.”

This time, he didn’t hold his tongue as he said, “She could have already done all that.”

“What?” Simone asked a little bit, breathlessly.

There was no going back now. “Lena could have done whatever she wanted to me from the start Simone. She could’ve fucked me, stolen my money, got me fired… she could have done anything she wanted from the moment she got here. And… All she’s done is offer to be my friend.”

Simone bit her lip. “That doesn’t mean she’s a good person, Jake.”

“I’m not saying that it’s just…”

“I’ve read her file.”

“FUCK THE FILE SIMONE!” He yelled with an exasperated sigh. “Look, I get where you’re coming from. After all the shit Tess put both of us through… I know how you feel about her and her feelings about you, but please, just leave me out of it.”

“You would choose her over me?”

Jake’s whole face scrunched up as he shook his head. “You and I are… we’re us, Simone. We’re always together, and that’s not gonna change because I have other friends. It never has.”

After a minute of silence, Simone sighed, “I know you, Jake. No one will ever know you the way I do.”

“I know,” he replied softly. “I know that.”

“Good,” she said, composing herself. “Well, if you want to get your heart broken by some redheaded floozy, I clearly can’t stop you.”

“Thank you.” It was likely the best he’d get, so with the air still tense with everything both of them hadn’t said, Jake asked, “So, do I still have a job?”

She nodded. “Of course you do. Tomorrow and no more showing up late, Jake. I mean it.”

Jake nodded, setting his head against hers with a sigh. “Thanks, Simone.”

She only leaned into him for a moment before she pulled away and headed for the front door. “Get some sleep. You’re going to be in for a long few days.”

Bending down, Jake picked the stuffed frog up off the floor and collapsed onto his bed, shutting his eyes with relief. Work was going to suck the next few weeks, knowing Howard and his already strong dislike of the bartender. But Jake didn’t mind too much. He lifted his phone and snapped a picture of the dumb frog, sending it to Lena with a quippy message.

I think she’s happy to see me.

He waited in silence, taking in the nervous tingle of anticipation that filled his gut as he waited for her reply. Then, a moment later, his phone lit up with a shitty picture of her frog, a cigarette poorly taped to its mouth, and Patrick’s bare ass in the background.

He was looking grumpy, so I gave him a cigarette. P.S. I’m so sorry about my brother's ass blinding you. He strips when he gets too drunk. >:(

He chuckled, shifting to bury his head into his shitty pillows and slowly letting sleep take him.

I threw my head back into the mess of pillows as his lips skimmed down my body, tongue darting out to taste the tattoo that lined beneath my breast and down my ribs. His teeth grazed down my sides as he shifted further, burying his face between my thighs and connecting his lips to my throbbing core without a second thought.

My back arched off the bed as his tongue swirled my clit, and his fingers dug into the meat of my thighs, keeping them open for his feast. I moaned as the pressure began to build in my gut, quickly and with no signs of stopping. Then, as my vision blurred, my hands dug into his short hair, tugging at the roots until he was forced to pull away. Then, with a deep chuckle, his teeth bit into my inner thigh, drawing out a loud and uncontainable moan of his name. “Jake!”

His tongue smoothed over the angry mark he left with his teeth as he raised himself over me with shining lips and a smug grin. “Get comfy, 'cause I’m just getting started, princess.”

A loud bang echoed from the bathroom door, pulling my brain out of the hazy heat-filled dream as I sat upright in bed and groggily looked around my room. Patrick cracked my door to the bathroom open slightly and, still half asleep, grumbled. “Sorry, sis. That leprechaun bastard was givin’ me that look again.”

“No problem,” I answered, throwing myself back onto my pillows and staring at the ceiling. “No problem at all…” Fuck.

I didn’t sleep well after that, waking up every hour after from the same dream or one far more heated. When the sun finally rose and lit up my windows, I rolled out of bed and headed to the bathroom to prepare for a long, exhausting work day. Patrick and Peter groggily joined me shortly. All of us huddled around the sink to alternate brushing our teeth before they headed into the kitchen to make breakfast while I showered. Every time I closed my tired eyes, I could see dream Jake’s smug grin and feel the weight of his body settled over mine. It was infuriating.

Work tonight was going to be weird. You're not some lovesick schoolgirl! I scolded myself as I got dressed and pulled my hair back. Jake is still Jake. It was just a dumb dream. A dumb dream he doesn't even know about! I looked into the mirror and ran my hands down my tired-looking face. "Pull it together, Lena. It's not a big deal."

Patrick and Peter were well into the swing of their morning by the time I headed downstairs. "Feelin' okay, girly?" Pat asked, looking around a punching back to examine my face.

Peter, holding two cats in his arms, looked closer too. "You look like shit."

"I didn't sleep well, that's all," I answered.

"I thought I heard you last night," Patrick replied. "Bad dream?"

It was ridiculous how my heart instantly fluttered. "He was fine - IT… IT was fine."

Peter smiled, leaning back against the front counter with a lanky finger in my face. "I know that look!"

Patrick's bellowing laughter echoed off the walls as he grinned ear to ear. "Ohhh Lena had a sex dream!"

"Shut up," I grumbled, petting one of the cats as I approached the front door.

"Weird, I thought your little boyfriend would have been better than fine."

"Shut up!" I hollered at them again, hurrying out the door. "Nosey assholes."

The restaurant wasn’t too busy, judging by the normal-looking pace of the kitchen. Still, Will quickly informed me I’d be a server as Mr. Hiragana would be dining tonight. It was bittersweet. On the one hand, I looked forward to seeing an old friend; on the other, I had to be a server for the night. So, I went about my routine, stuffing Jake’s jacket back in his locker - after hunting down Sasha for the new combination - and getting changed to look presentable for the guests.

I set the tables and polished the salt shakers, somehow keeping my head down enough that the sassy bartender hadn't noticed me yet. Simone seemed to hover closer to the bar than usual, making small talk with Jake and instructing Olive in that tone that made a chill run down my spine. She sent me cold, unmasked glares every time I passed by, but I could glare too. There was no hiding between us now. I knew what she was, and she knew it. What was odd was how Olive seemed to hop on board with Simone's hatred of me.

The brown-haired girl kept Jake busy enough so no conversation could be had between us, and soon service was in full swing. Once the guests arrived, and no one was around to distract Jake, I could feel his eyes on me as I worked. On a typical night, I would've just brushed it off. But with the vivid dreams still lodged in my brain, every look he gave me made everything tingle and burn. It was pathetic.

Fifteen minutes before Mr. Hiragana's reservation, I was helping stock the bar as everyone else was tending to the guests. Jake watched me refill the ocean with a smirk. "You look tired."

I nervously laughed it off. "Yeah, Patrick's a handful when he drinks. Always thinks leprechauns are messing with him."

"That sounds like a very entertaining sight," he replied. "Mind going down to the cellar and grabbing some more champagne?"

"I've got a few minutes," I answered, moving around Nicky.

"Thanks, princess," he called out, continuing to mix the drink he was making. My heart hammered, and that stupid feeling, hot and needy and definitely NOT what I wanted to feel, swelled in my gut again. "Get comfy, 'cause I'm just getting started, princess." I could see the dream as if it had been real, as if I'd watched some movie centered around Sasha and Ari's deprived notions of Jake and me.

Thankfully the chilled wine cellar alleviated some of my discomfort. I grabbed the champagne and lingered for a minute before returning to the bar. Jake's smile didn't help, and the way his fingers brushed against mine as he took the bottle from me made things much harder to ignore. Jake had brought a blush to my cheeks with a cute tilt of his head and a crooked smile.

How did this happen? I asked myself as I watched him flip glasses in the air and twirl a knife or two between his fingers to give the guests seated in front of him a good show. I used to be battle-hardened. It took far more for pretty bartenders to make me blush than a damn smile. I wanted nothing more than to slam my head into the top of the bar because the answer was blatantly obvious.

Those other pretty bartenders weren't Jake. They weren't nearly as funny, caring, or pretty as he was.

"Lena," Roslyn - the hostess - called out, nodding to the door. "Your VIP is here."

"Thanks," I whispered, approaching Mr. Hiragana at the door. Then, with a deep bow, I greeted him fondly. "It's a pleasure to have you back so soon, Mr. Hiragana. Your table is right this way."

He bowed with a deep smile, gently taking hold of my arm as I led him through the commotion of the restaurant up to the second floor. "It is good to be back among familiar company."

Once he and his guests were seated, I took their wine order and recommended food Scott had added to their custom menus. He chose a Japanese wine and one of our more expensive bottles. Then, with a humble grin, he nodded to the woman beside him. "My wife has a taste for French vintages. A taste my daughter and son seem to have developed as well."

"The French vintages are quite flavorful. We have some of the best in our cellar."

"And, tell your chef to make us whatever he desires." Mr. Hiragana smiled. "I wish to see what one forged from this… Place has to offer."

As I slid through the kitchen doors, Scott sighed. "What's the order?"

I shrugged. "He says he wants you to cook whatever you want."

"Seriously?" Scott deadpanned. "Anything I want?"

"That's what he said," I replied. "Give 'em hell, Chef."

For the first time in a while, I saw Scott smile. "Alright, listen up!"

The wine cellar was quiet, the only place one could describe as peaceful during the insanity of service. I grabbed the two bottles of wine and headed back to Mr. Hiragana's table to find Olive talking next to them. If it hadn't been for the tight face of Mr. Hiragana's wife, I would have let it slide. But, instead, tapping her shoulder, I asked, "What are you doing?"

"I'm just ensuring our guests are cared for," she answered. "They didn't have any food or wine yet."

I held up the bottles, “I was getting them from the wine cellar.” I moved to pour them when Olive took one out of my hands and uncorked it quickly and clumsily, trying to pour some into one of the tall glasses. Mr. Hiragana beheld the lack of technique and lack of his traditions with a sad look. "Olive," I hissed. "The kitchen probably needs a follow."

She looked at me with a scoff, bumping the table softly and sloshing wine all over Mr. Hiragana's wife. Then, with a startled noise, she apologized, lifting a napkin to try and clean her off. I grabbed her wrist and pulled her away from the unhappy woman. Then, I held the rag out to her with a deep bow. "My most humble apologies. Our new trainee can get carried away." She took the rag with a quiet thanks. "There is a restroom just down this hall if you wish for privacy."

"Thank you," she whispered.

After showing her to the bathroom, I led Olive back to the kitchen, soaring Jake a frustrated look and shaking my head, and slammed the dirty tablecloth onto the counter. "What the hell was that?"

"I was just trying to help."

"Help who?" I demanded. "You made them uncomfortable and insulted them. And now you've embarrassed a soigne guest. Who does that help?"

She shifted on her feet, blinking rapidly as she tried to find a justification for her actions. "Simon says every guest is soigne and that the only way to learn is by doing."

I rolled my eyes. "You are not a server. You are a back waiter, and you are supposed to follow your trails and learn. You shouldn't be doing anything without supervision."

"What's going on?" Simone asked, regarding Olive with a gentle look.

"Your trail just royally fucked up on one of the VIP tables." So I grabbed new place settings.

Simone Questioned Olive gently before she shook her head. "Mistakes happen. I'm certain you are perfectly capable of placating your guests."

"Just as I'm certain you're capable of teaching your trail how to pour a glass of wine properly," I retorted, moving past them and quickly resetting their table. "Forgive me again for the blatant misjudgment of our new trainee. Please accept our humble apology for a complimentary bottle of wine to take home."

Mr. Hiragana bowed his head slightly. "Very generous of you. Please, relax, Ms. Harrow. We understand the intricate workings of this enterprise and thus understand there are bound to be some… Fuck ups."

I laughed at his abrupt switch to English and smiled. "I'll go check on your food."

Scott was hunched over the plating take when I returned to the kitchen. He didn't look up when asked, "The fuck was all that about?"

"Olive," I replied. "She decided my VIP table looked neglected and took it upon herself to badger them."

"Fuckin idiot." Straightening up, he tossed a rag over his shoulder and motioned to the plates. "Your VIP ticket."

"Thanks." I grabbed the plates and moved swiftly up the stairs, only to find Olive again looking over Mr. Hiragana's table. She was profusely apologizing as she set random plates in front of them.

Mr. Hiragana shook his head as he spotted me. "I do not believe this is for our table."

I set the correct plates in front of them without a word to Olive, explaining the custom dishes while now holding whoever's food this was and bowing. "Please enjoy your meal, and let me know if there's anything else we can do for you." Then, with a thin smile, I motioned Olive toward the stairs. "Follow me. Let's figure out where this food goes."

Jake shook his head and rolled his eyes from behind the bar as Olive and I started down the stairs. The slight bump against my back was enough of a shift to knock my feet out from under me. My vision blurred as the edges of the world flew past. It felt slower, as falling always did, dragging out the sheer adrenaline rush as the body prepared itself for the incoming pain the ground had to offer.

The plates shattered first, loud and attention-grabbing. I hit the ground only seconds later, my ankle twisting as I tried and failed to catch myself on the railing. Instead, my side slammed into the edge of the stairs, jagged and breath-stealing as I tumbled the rest of the way down, landing almost face-first in the mess of food, broken glass, and cutlery. Still, for a split second, the pain rattling through my bones was one of cold snow soaking through my clothes and the harsh sting of my skin skidding along the pavement.

"Lena!" His voice echoed in the quiet night, colder than the snow beneath me. I forced myself to my feet, ignoring the blinding pain to push myself toward the blurred images of burly men and shining metal. Behind me, I could hear his car door slam shut and practically feel his footsteps closing the distance between us. "Get back in the fucking car, or so help me god, I'll break every bone in your fucking body!"

Blood ran down my chest as I pushed myself to move quicker, swallowing the dry lump in my throat and using my pain to call out. "Dom!"

The hazed figures all moved, but my eyes were focused on one among them. The one I knew was going to put an end to this. The raw, animalistic growl that echoed behind me brought tears spilling from my eyes. "LENA!"

Once the ringing in my ears faded, I could make out the fake concern of the customers as they all rose from their seats to get a better view of me on the ground. The second sound I heard was the clattering of abandoned objects at the bar as Jake rushed to my side. I could make out my name on his lips, but I didn’t hear it the first time. He looked over my arms and hands, checking for blood before he turned with a deep scowl toward the brown-haired girl that stood frozen on the steps behind me. “What the fuck was that?”

“I-I…” She stammered. “I’m sorry I didn’t-”

“Watch where you’re going!” He yelled. I grabbed his arm, still breathless and dizzy, as he pulled me to my feet. I tried to shake it off, to smile at the guests, and play it cool like all these people didn’t just watch me fall on my ass, but the second I tried putting weight on my foot, pain shot up my leg and nearly took me to the ground again. “Put your weight on me.”

Ari brushed past us, smiling and waving off everyone's concern. “She’s alright, everyone. Please return to your meals, and your servers will bring by a bottle of champagne compliments of the house.”

Jake shoved the kitchen door open, towing me with him. Scott turned and looked at my hobbling self before tossing his knives. “What the fuck happened?”

“Dumbass new girl pushed her down the stairs,” Jake answered, stopping at the bottom of the stairs. He cursed quietly and shifted to bring an arm beneath my legs, swinging me up into his arms.

I winced, the aftershock of my side hitting the steps sending a jolt of pain up my ribs. “Fuck!”

“Sorry,” he said, moving quickly up the stairs and carefully toward the break room to set me on the couch. I forced myself to breathe evenly, forced the unpleasant memory of that night to fade back into the deep recesses of my mind. Jake's hands moved closer, and it took every ounce of control I had not to flinch.

He took hold of my face, and his blue eyes examined mine, probably trying to see if I’d hit my head. Once he seemed satisfied I wouldn’t pass out, he moved, propping my foot up on the coffee table and unlacing my shoe. “Anywhere else hurt?”

Fumbling slightly, I pressed a few fingers to my ribs, testing the bone beneath the very obviously bruised skin. “Just my ribs. Nothing’s broken, though.”

He carefully peeled my sock off and held my swelling ankle in his hand with an angry shake of his head. “Stupid fuckin bitch.”

“It was an accident,” I told him, trying to get him to calm down enough to avoid trouble the remainder of the night.

“Sure as fuck didn’t look like one from where I was standing.”

“Jake,” I said softly, tugging on his shirt to get him to look at me. “I’m okay. Just a few bumps and bruises. Nothing I can’t handle.”

Will walked briskly through the door with concern creasing his face and making him look older. “Anything broken? Any bleeding?”

“No, and no,” Jake replied tensely.

“I’m fine," I said again, though it was more to Jake than Will.

Will shook his head. “Howard’s dealing with Olive right now. Obviously, you’re cut for the night, so you can rest up here til the end of service, or we can call your brothers-”

“No.” I shook my head and chuckled. “They’d just blow this all out of proportion. I’m fine. Really. I’ll just hang out til after service, and we can all head to Ozzy’s and deal with it there.”

“Okay. I’ll grab you some ice.”

With a bitter laugh, I looked down at my clothes, thoroughly covered in food and sauce. “How do you like my outfit?”

Jake chuckled, still tense and very obviously angry. “It’s not the worst thing I’ve ever seen.”

“Grab my spare clothes out of my locker?”

He opened the locker and fished out the small bag of clothes I kept in case of an emergency like this one. Then, tossing me my shorts, he set the regular shoes and socks on the table next to my feet before he clicked his tongue. “Looks like you’re short a shirt.”

I grabbed the bag from him and dug through the extra socks with a frustrated sigh. “I must’ve taken it home to wash. Fuck!”

“Relax,” he urged, moving to his locker and pulling his shirt out. “You can just wear mine.”

“You only have one, though,” I said.

Jake smirked, raising his eyebrow at me. “Been rifling through my locker?”

I bit my bottom lip and shrugged. “I did kind of steal one of your cigarettes a while ago. Noticed then that you don’t keep a change of clothes lying around.”

“I live on the edge,” he replied, tossing me the shirt. “I’ll just wear this shirt home tonight.”

“Thanks.” I accepted his offer, not having other options besides walking around topless. His shirt was soft beneath my fingers. I took one quick moment to appreciate the gesture before realizing just how intimate it was. With that came the blushing and the slight uptick in my heartbeat. I extended my arms out to him, trying to push past the pure elated feeling that came when his eyes met mine. “Help me to the bathroom, please?”

He helped keep me on my feet until I reached the tiny bathroom off the side of the locker room, where the sink would suffice while I changed. Unfortunately, once I peeled the sticky shirt off and wiped the sauce splattered onto my skin, it became evident that my bra was fucked for the night. "Fucking…" I grumbled, unhooking the same thing and tossing it into my pile of clothes.

It felt good to finally change into a comfortable pair of shorts and Jake's even softer shirt. His cigarettes and spicy cologne almost smelled like citrus filled my senses as his shirt hung loosely on my frame. You're here, I told myself. You're safe. I looked at myself in the mirror for a minute, silently cursing how obvious his black shirt made my nipples look, but it'd have to do.

When I hobbled out of the bathroom, Jake moved off the wall and helped me back to the couch, where he drank in the sight of me in his shirt for a minute or two. His eyes narrowed slightly. "Before you say it, I'm not wearing a bra. Damn sauce soaked through my shirt and ruined it. So yes, those are my nipples, and no, we will not make any comments about it."

He bit his lip, clearly keeping the wide range of choice words to himself. "Alright." He sat down next to my foot and propped my leg up with the old cushions of the couch. “That feel any better?”

With a content sigh, I melted into the couch. “A little.”

“Ice,” Will announced, tossing the bag to Jake, who situated it on my ankle. Then, with a nervous look aimed at the bartender, Will cleared his throat. “We should get back to work.”

Jake looked up at him and scoffed. “You’re fuckin kidding, right? She just fell down the goddamn stairs, and we’re just gonna leave her up here for another two hours?”

“Hey,” I hissed at him, leaning over to shake his shoulder. “You, of all people, need to be worried about your own ass.” Jake rolled his eyes. “Please, Jake. I don’t want you to get fired because of me.”

We stared one another down for a minute before he finally nodded. “Fine. But if you feel like you’re gonna pass out or anything, fuckin yell to someone, okay?”

I smiled at him, squeezing his arm. “I’ll be sure to scream your name.”

That broke the tension. He chuckled, eyes flickering down to my chest and my obviously peaked nipples beneath his shirt. “You won’t hear me complaining.”

Being left to quietly rest in the still bustling and insane workplace felt weird. As I sat there, counting the scuff marks on the lockers, I couldn’t help but feel bad that I was forced to sit out because of some dumb accident. The ice slowly numbing the pain in my ankle was a nice distraction from that feeling. My eyes closed after a while, the smell of Jake’s cologne slowly easing me into a relaxed state while I waited out the rest of the service. Of course, my brothers were going to be pissed. Peter especially.

He never really got into why he held such a deep resentment of this place and Howard, but this wouldn't exactly make it better. I always assumed it was just the memory of the side of our family that didn't want him. When our parents divorced and custody came into discussion, my mother told my dad she only wanted me. Said she'd leave him everything else if he gave her majority custody over me, or she'd take everything he had, including my brother.

It was a decision my dad held a lot of guilt about. One I didn't know he'd even had to make until I was almost eighteen. But whatever the reason behind my brother's attitude toward it all, I just had to trust he'd tell me if or when I needed to know.

"How's the ankle?" Howard asked, startling my eyes open and up to the doorway he appeared in with hardly any noise. Slowly he stepped into the locker room with a tight smile and his hands clasped in front of him.

I sat up and offered him a shrug. "Nothing too bad. It should be fine by tomorrow if I'm careful with it."

Howard nodded, his eyes fixed on my leg propped up on the old coffee table and a bunch of cushions. Before they moved up, seemingly settling on my stomach or chest. "And the ribs?" His long fingers extended down, running lightly over my foot, down toward my ankle, moving the ice pack and applying light pressure as he tested the swelling. It sent an uncomfortable shiver up my spine. "Well," he said, pulling his eyes from my chest to my leg. "You've had worse."

"Yeah…" I replied stiffly. "Don't worry, I won't sue or anything."

"I wasn't worried about that."

I smiled a bit tensely. "I'm alright, Howard."

The commotion of the others clamoring up the stairs seemed to snap him out of his daze-like state. Howard made his way out the door, nodding to everyone as he passed them. Ari and Jake looked after him with deep-set frowns. Finally, Jake turned to me and gestured to Howard. "What'd he want?"

Shrugging, I replied. "Dunno. Probably wanted to check in to make sure I wasn't thinking about suing."

"Well, if he's ever bugging you, just say the word."

"Yeah, 'cause beating up the manager that didn't fire you is such a solid plan."

Jake rolled his eyes as a quick look filled them as if he'd just remembered something. "I've got you to thank for that. The asshole said it was you that changed his mind."

My eyes furrowed. "When was this?"

"This morning at my disciplinary meeting," Jake said, looking over his shoulder to smirk at me. "So, thanks for having my back, princess."

God damn, that fucking nickname. I smiled back, praying that I wasn't blushing too hard. "Well, it wouldn't exactly be fair if I didn't use my Glover reputation to pull some strings every now and then."

Everyone changed into their casual clothes quickly and started filtering downstairs for drinks. Ari plopped down on the couch next to me, shaking a bottle of pills. “Need something to take the edge off?”

“No thanks,” I answered. “Will’s ice pack helped with most of the pain.”

Will gave me an awkward finger-gun motion before he shook his head. “Why did I do that?”

Jake was the last to emerge from the bathroom, now dressed in his simple jeans, work shirt, and jacket. He grabbed his cigarettes from his locker and stuffed them into his pocket before standing beside me. I smiled and opened my arms wide. “Ready to carry me down the stairs?”

“Come on,” Jake replied, hoisting me up. “Let’s go get you a drink.”

Simone and Olive rose from the stairwell the second we walked through the doorway. The blonde woman regarded me in Jake's arms, wearing his shirt, with a tight face and fully clenched jaw. I could practically see the words I'd spoken swirling in her eyes. Jake stepped off to the side, mumbling something about being careful on the stairs to make Olive avoid eye contact with both of us. To my surprise Simone kept her mouth shut as she passed through to the locker room with Olive behind her. If Jake had been bothered by her cold attitude, he didn't express it.

The bar erupted with claps and sarcastic quips as soon as we entered the kitchen doors. I rolled my eyes and flipped everyone off as Jake set me in a chair before he joined Nicky behind the bar to make my drink. Sasha slid in next to me, throwing an arm over my shoulder. "How is your little baby ankle, Tiger Bitch?"

"I'm fine," I replied, pointing to everyone else, clearly being back more sarcastic quips at my expense. "You have fifteen seconds to get it out of your system before I start smacking people for bringing this up."

They all shouted their jokes over one another and let laughter fill the room. Roslyn tapped my shoulder and quietly gestured to a man, one I recognized as Mr. Hiragana's assistant. Bowing, I began with another apology, "Please offer my most sincere apologies to your employer."

"Mr. Hiragana does not fault you nor the establishment for the… Turn this evening took. He was more concerned with making certain you were alright."

I smiled at the enduring kindness of my old friend. "I am. Thank him for his concern for me."

"I will," the man said. "However, this is not the reason for my visit." He pulled a card out of his pocket and extended it to me with a deep bow. "My employer tasks me with delivering this to you."

The business card was simple and elegant, with a wild rainbow koi fish drawn on the back with a date, time, and address. "What's this?"

“Mr. Hiragana would like to speak with you when he visits next month,” the man said. “The date and time are on the back of this card. You may bring whomever you wish, but please ensure they know this is a meeting to discuss potential business.”

"Thank you," I said, bowing as the man turned and left.

Nicky watched him leave. "Everything good, Red?"

"Yeah," I answered, running my fingers along the edges of the card, my eyes flickering over to Scott, who drank with the kitchen staff at the end of the bar.

Jake slid a glass of vivid red liquid garnished with two cherries across the bar to me with a smirk. "Your drink."

I lifted the glass to my nose with a smile. "Is this a bourbon cherry old-fashioned?"

"Yep. But, I'm thinking of calling it a bourbon cherry Lena."

"That's really bad," I giggled, taking a sip. It was perfect. The flavors blended together to highlight the cherry without losing the classic aspects of an old-fashioned. With an appreciative hum, I pointed to my drink. "This is really good, though."

Jake bowed, sarcastic and over the top with that shit-eating grin. "Your persistent lack of confidence in my bartending skills is astounding."

"Well, someone's gotta keep you humble," I teased, relaxing in my seat with my drink in hand as Scott stood next to me, asking for a refill of his drink. I looked at him for a minute before nudging him. "Hey, have you ever thought about opening your own place?"

Scott's expression didn't change as he nodded. "Yeah. Almost did a few months ago," he looked back at Jake with a glare, "But someone pussied out last minute."

The bartender just shook his head and flipped Scott off over his shoulder. "Wow, so you two were actually gonna do it?"

"I thought we were," Scott replied, slowly turning to look at me. "Why?"

I flashed the business card. "I think I might have an opportunity coming up. If you're interested in joining me."

As Scott took the card, scrutinizing it, I watched Jake. He'd gotten stiff at mentioning the past would-be business venture and grew even more so when I'd mentioned my upcoming meeting. “I’ll come,” Scott answered after a long pause. “The worst thing that happens is I tell him I’m not interested.”

“Jake?” I asked, trying to gauge his thoughts beyond the tense, tight-faced look of skepticism.

He shrugged, that standard mask of uninterested boredom covering whatever he really felt. "I dunno."

“You have time to think about it, so chill out with the grumpy glare.”

He rolled his eyes, pouring another drink for someone else. “I'll think about it."

Scott rolled his eyes, quickly copying the information on the card onto a piece of paper. "Yeah, whatever."

I decided not to push it, hoping to change the subject to the drink he'd made until everyone was ready to head out for the night. Between Sasha and Jake getting out the front door and beginning the trek to Ozzy's was pretty simple. Waving at Howard as we passed by, I said, "See you tomorrow!"

The walk was challenging when my Russian crutch got distracted by arguing with Heather. After falling behind the group, Jake stopped to shrug his jacket off and help me into it. "Jake-"

"You're shivering," he said simply, leaving no room for arguments. Then he turned his back to me with a pat. "Hop up."

"What?" I asked with a breathless laugh.

Jake raised a brow and nodded to his back. "Hop on my back. I'll carry you."

Fighting against the smirk, I asked, "Are you offering to give me a piggyback ride? Isn't that a bit… Childish?"

"Fine, walk then," he said, straightening up and moving forward to catch up with the group.

"Wait, no!" I stumbled toward him. "I don't wanna walk."

"Now you gotta say please," he taunted.

Giving him my best pouty lip, I looked up into his eyes with a big watery look, hopping closer to him. "Please, Jake… Please gimme a piggyback ride."

He shook his head but turned back around. "Hop on, freak."

I was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was for me to climb onto Jake's back and for him to carry me. His long legs quickly caught us up with the group, and he never faltered or lost his breath. Then, without warning, Jake spun around, forcing me to tighten my hold on him. "Asshole!" I laughed, laying my head on his shoulder, my arms squeezing him tighter around his middle, and cherishing this rare moment of joyful childish fun that made him laugh.

Once we'd gotten to the bar, phase two of firm reassurance that I was, in fact, alright began. Quinn and Prue jumped into sisterly shit talking. Patrick vanished into the alley to recruit Dom's help. Peter and Ozzy examined my ankle and looked over my head in a dizzying mess of hands and questions.

"I'm fine," I insisted, grabbing and squeezing Ozzy's hands. "Seriously, Oz, it's not a big deal."

The old man wasn't convinced. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Two." I smiled. "Oz, breathe. It was just a little fall. I didn't even break anything. I'm okay."

He pressed a soft kiss to my head. "I'll get you more ice."

Peter carefully set my leg back into the booth. "I'll run upstairs and grab some pillows."

"That bitch is lucky she didn't follow you guys tonight." Quinn shook her head. "She woulda gone from moon eyes to missing an eye real quick."

I was glad Will had managed to distract Prue to keep the two of them from fueling Quinn's fire. "Breathe, please. You're getting that angry knot in your neck."

She kicked the booth seat with her foot. "Would you just get mad with me for once! You're never on my side with angry shit."

"Uh, the four months I slept missing my eyebrows after your little fire show begs to differ!"

Rolling her eyes, she slid out of her seat to get another drink just as Dom slid into the seat beside Jake. "Hear, you got pretty fucked up by some stairs."

I shrugged. "Or maybe the stairs got fucked up by me." He slid a little pill across the table. "Dom, I fell down a few steps. That's hardly relapse-worthy."

"You think I'm gonna waste the good shit on your sober ass?" He chuckled. "It's a mild painkiller. Stronger than the over-the-counter shit, but nothing addictive."

"You really are the best babysitter," I replied, taking the pill and chasing it with a chug of water.

Dom pressed his fingers to my pulse point, quietly taking note of my still irregular heartbeat. "Call it the Lena special. Holler if you need me." He nodded to Jake with a simple acknowledgment, "Tough guy."

After about thirty minutes of sitting, Jake noticed Lena relaxing next to him. Since her fall, she'd been tense with moments of far-off looks and a still, concerning silence. When Dom set the pill on the table, Jake was ready to toss him out of the booth. What kind of dick puts drugs in front of a corner addict? But, when the man explained it to the redhead, and she believed him, Jake dropped it.

Lena hadn't hesitated to trust the drug-dealing biker when he told her it was a simple painkiller. She'd taken the pill without any signs of worry and had thanked him with one of their inside jokes he didn't fully get. Whatever it was, it helped her relax, putting Jake at ease even just for a minute.

He'd been so angry watching Olive's wide eyes tear up when he yelled at her. Truth be told, Jake was still pretty damn angry. Lena might've believed it was an accident. Still, Jake had noticed Olive's seemingly determined targeting of all Lena's tables throughout the night. In fact, it seemed wherever Lena went during her shift, the "moon-eyed bitch" as her brothers had called her, wasn't far behind her. She had shitty people skills and even shitter serving experience the whole night. That bump that caused her to fall was intentional. He just knew it.

Lena shifted, laying back in the booth they shared and settling with her head on his thigh, looking up at him with a smile. "Comfy?"

"Very," she answered. "You have very luscious thighs."

"Thank you," he shook his head. "Most girls just focus on the raw sex appeal."

Her eyes sparkled at his teasing. "Lucky for you, I'm not like most girls."

Jake couldn't help but admire her looking up at him. His heart skipped a beat. "Yeah, lucky me."

"God, just fucking make out already," Quinn whined across the table.

Lena quickly lifted her hand and flipped her off as Sasha strolled in from the dance floor. "Tiger, come dance with me!"

"Uhh, ankle," she reminded him.

Sasha pulled the redhead up out of the booth with a wide smile. "Come, little cripple, daddy will carry you!"

As he skipped away with Lena tossed over his shoulder, Jake couldn't help but laugh at the Russian's insanity. But, of course, Lena played into it, having fun with Ari, Sasha, and Heather as they bounced around beneath the shifting lights. Her breasts bounced more noticeably in his shirt, free of her bra. She was mesmerizing, especially in his clothes.

“You’ve got it bad,” Quinn said, pulling his attention from Lena to her watching him over the table with knowing eyes.

Jake shrugged, trying to keep himself from looking back at the redhead and the Russian. “I don’t-”

“Oh, stop trying to deny it,” she begged with a groan. “You two are literally the biggest fucking liars!”

He appreciated the strippers' honest bluntness but hardly needed her to point out the obvious. Not when he’d remembered bits and pieces of his drunken night, or more specifically, how he’d thought of almost nothing but her the whole time. He remembered waking up in her bed with her soft, warm figure curled up beside him. Her arms draped over his waist, hands occasionally dipping beneath his pants to settle onto the warm skin of his hip when they apparently got too cold. That morning was the best of his life, and it only further cemented the truth he’d realized trying to entertain Olive. He wanted Lena. He wanted her more than he’d ever wanted anything.

It was a terrifying truth to come to terms with, but how could he deny it when she was always there? "Sorry."

"Just… Tell me something, honestly, for a change." Quinn nodded toward Lena. "What do you want from this friendship? Casual sex? Some heavy petting?"

"Nothing," he said, the words… The full realization slipped out without second thought. "I just want her. In whatever way she'll have me."

Quinn smiled. "I was wrong about you. When she first brought you up I thought, great, here comes another dick looking for some quick, easy pussy." She shook her head with a smile. "But Lena was right."

He tilted his head. "Right about what?"

"The night she got shit-faced and gushed about you," she clarified. "One of the things she said was that she was convinced you’d turn out to be a big old softie beneath that assholish exterior."

“I’m hardly a softie,” he grumbled.

She just shrugged. “Thanks for being honest. I’ll make sure it’s rewarded when the day of the peach comes.”

He shook his head at her odd phrasing but still muttered quietly, “Thanks.”

When everyone had drank their fill and slowly began filtering out of the bar for the night, Dom sat down next to Lena, who was half asleep at their table. He nodded to the door. “You can head out. I’ll make sure she gets home.” Though he had no reason not to trust Dom, Jake felt an uncomfortable, anxious feeling rise in his gut at the thought of leaving her alone.

As if Quinn noticed, she patted his shoulder, “Don’t worry, Prue, and I will make sure she survives the night.”

Jake brushed her hair out of her face and smiled down at her. “I’m heading out. Try not to fall down any stairs while I’m gone.”

Lena made a face but smiled at him and gave him a salute. “See you later, alligator.”

My ankle was perfectly fine after a few days of lightwork and a fancy seat by the bar with the ever-important task of polishing the glassware. Olive hadn’t attempted to talk to me, not even to apologize, and Simone, oddly enough, kept her distance as well. Jake seemed somewhat concerned, but he never said anything about it, and even though I was tempted to ask, I let it slide in favor of honoring our rule. No talking about Simone.

The day before Quinn’s big soiree, I woke up to a text message from her. Change of plans. Dress shopping today at 5. Meet at Nana’s for dinner and stay the night at your place?

I groaned from my living room with a coffee in one hand and my phone in the other. Dress shopping with Quinn, in particular, was always fun, but when her party was on the line, our dresses had to be perfect. Sounds good. See you two there.

I spent most of the day cleaning my apartment and pulling my extra pillows and blankets out from my closet to ensure my bed, which we’d all most definitely end up sharing, had plenty for everyone. My little grumpy green Jake sat on my bed while I moved in a flurry of cleaning sprays and dishrags before I eventually paused to dress him up in a little makeshift cleaning outfit and snap a picture to send to Jake.

He’s not very happy it’s cleaning day.

Dancing to my music, I barely heard my phone beeping as I vacuumed my living room carpet and dusted off my furniture. Jake was at work already - not wanting to get fired really did something for his sense of time - so there was no picture of his matching frog, but rather of Nicky, who looked at his phone with a deep quizzical look and his mouth half open in what I could only assume was gruff “what the fuck are you doing”. Nicky’s equally unhappy about cleaning day.

Texting at work? I’m so disappointed!

Shouldn’t you be cleaning, smartass?

Turning my phone around, I snapped a very shitty, too close, picture of me flipping off the camera with one of my cleaning gloves. I am cleaning, dumbass.

Lookin good in that ugly ass yellow.

Get to work, Jake.

You texted me. He reminded before sending another message. Have a good day off.

When it finally came time to meet Quinn and Prue, I hurried out my front door and started walking toward Nana’s. My apartment wasn’t too far from the old neighborhood. I enjoyed walking the crowded sidewalks and experiencing the city's life, which always made it feel so consuming. Everyone walked and talked to those with them or those on the other end of their phones. Businessmen and strippers and con artists, and regular-ass people all walked together in a way that made the city one of a kind.

The loud roaring of an engine nearly made me cover my ears as my peaceful walk quickly turned to panic. I kept walking forward, eyes now scanning the crowd and the street for both the car and the man I knew drove it, but I couldn’t make out much in the thick group. I hurried my pace until I made it through Nana’s door with a relieved sigh. Tony was bold, but even he wouldn’t risk coming for me at Nana’s, not when at least six of Dom’s guys were here twenty-four-seven. Just to make sure, I looked to his booth and smiled at Ryker and Fluffy before moving to my seat by the wall.

“My Habibi!” Nana cheered, setting glasses and a water pitcher down at my table. “Where are your counterparts?”

“On their way, I’d assume,” I answered, kissing her cheeks as she did mine. “How’s your day been?”

She sighed, wiping sweat from her covered forehead. “Busy! But, as we say, all business is good business!”

Abdul, the large, slightly balding cook with a huge mustache and eyebrows to match, came out from the back and spoke with Ryker for a minute before he stopped by my table with a pat to the head. “There’s the red one!”

“How’s the back, Abdul?” I asked.

“Not so good,” he answered with a deep chuckle. “But I’ll live a few years longer, don’t worry.”

"Sorry, it’s so last minute, but Moe just got in a whole peach-colored shipment that’s going to be to die for, and I couldn’t resist!” Quinn said, sliding into the chair across from me. She looked around for a minute before asking, “Where’s Prue?”

I shrugged. “I thought she’d be behind you.”

We both turned our heads just in time to catch her and Will through the window. Prue’s cheeks were flushed, and Will’s whole face was bright red. Both of them were smiling like idiots. When they parted with a sweet kiss and our little Prue slid through the door, Quinn and I hopped into signing comments to her. She just rolled her eyes and sat down next to us. “Hello, my lovelies!”

“Someone got laid!” Quinn signed, bumping Prue’s shoulder. “How was he?”

Prue smiled sheepishly, the blush on her face deepening. “He was very good.”

Quinn and I made cooing noises at one another as we giggled. “Very good or veerrrryyy good?”

“Veerrrryyyyy good,” she answered. “Let’s just say I was right about that massive snake in his pants!”

We caught one another up about how the rest of our week had been before Quinn smiled evilly. “Whose excited for tomorrow?”

Prue raised her hand. “Me!”

I shook my head, glaring at my friend. “I know you’re up to something. You’ve got that look in your eyes.”

“I always have that look in my eyes,” Quinn argued. “But, you’re right. I do have quite the event planned out. Dresses, dinner, a limo.” She noticed how I visibly stiffened at the mention of the long, hideous car and stopped everything. “Shit, I totally forgot.”

“It’s okay,” I assured her. “I haven’t freaked out over riding in cars for a while.”

She tilted her head to the side. “Yeah, but cars aren’t limos, and I know you’ve got a lot of bad memories in those. I can find another car.”

I smiled. “Quinn, don’t worry about it. I’ll be alright. You two will be right there with me.”

“And Jake will be there too,” Prue noted.

“Yeah, and- wait…” I looked at Prue and signed. “Why would Jake be there?” She bit her lip and looked at Quinn, who sipped her drink. “Quinn. Why would Jake be there?”

“Because I’m going to invite them,” she answered casually.

“Them?”

She nodded. “Yeah, all your coworkers are gonna come with us.”

“Oh my god,” I whined. “Why would they all come with us anywhere?”

“Coney Island is more fun with a big group!” She insisted. “Besides, don’t you want to spend time with your sweet little Jakey?”

I rolled my eyes. “Are we doing this again?”

“Oh, we’re always doing this. Especially since you’re so adamant about lying to my face about how badly you want him.”

“It’s pretty obvious, Lena,” Prue replied.

For a split second, I remembered the dream I’d had a week ago, a colossal mistake on my part as Quinn could sniff out a sex dream miles away. Then, she stopped everything and pointed at me. “Oh my god, you’ve been thinking about him in a not, so we’re just friends way, haven’t you?”

“No!” I lied.

“Give us the deets!”

“It was one sex dream.” I paused. “Okay, maybe like four, but it’s just a dream. It doesn’t mean anything.”

Quinn cackled. “Oh, sweet child, it means everything!

I glared at both of them. “Fine. Invite all my coworkers. It’s your day. What you say goes.”

“Damn right,” Quinn agreed with a grin. “Don’t worry, it’ll be fun.”

“That’s what I am worried about.”

After we ate a quick meal - quick by Nana’s standards - we walked a few blocks up the road toward Moe’s. It was a small dress shop meant to be cheaper than practically everywhere in the city, but most people didn’t glance at it. I’d be the first to admit Moe’s was run down. It had water damage and old dusty decor in the windows, not to mention the smell of old boxes and dust that Quinn liked to call “the mothy smell”. But, despite its run-down appearance, Moe’s was a hidden gem. Oddly enough, the mechanic that sold dresses on the side knew how to find upscale dresses for next to nothing. She was also oddly good at sewing.

Quinn frequented the small shop often as she was always on the lookout for decent finds she could use in her strip shows. The little bell dinged as we entered through the sticky front door. “Moe!” Quinn hollered into the thin rows of dresses.

“Bout time!” The woman replied, emerging from a sea of red gowns near the back. “I’ve been fending people off those boxes all day!”

Quinn smiled. “There that good then?”

“Of course they are,” she said with a dramatic roll of her eyes. “This is my stuff we’re talkin’ bout.”

“Let’s see them then!”

The woman with a slightly hunched back and long braided grey hair waved us to the back. “I’ve got 'em hanging up to get the wrinkles out.”

Past the multiple racks of dresses, both slim fitting and so poofy I could hardly push past them, was the tiny back room with four small changing areas. A multitude of peach-colored gowns were hanging up a rack shoved against the wall. Some were silk, others were satin, and some were soft materials I didn’t recognize. All of them were beautiful, though.

Quinn smiled widely and wrapped an arm around Moe. “You’re the best.”

“I know. Now hurry up and take your pick so I can get the others priced and out on the floor.”

Since it was Quinn’s day, she got to pick out each dress she wanted Prue and me to try on. It was a long-standing tradition we all enjoyed, but none more than Quinn. She handed a pile of dresses to Prue. “One of these is definitely for you.” She shoved one dress in my hands and winked. “And this one’s yours.”

Looking down at the gown, I could already tell it was going to be revealing, which I wouldn’t have minded much if it weren’t for that look. But she had something planned; I just knew it. We tried on the dresses, and Quinn and Prue gushed over my gown before Moe carted it off to be bagged up for me to take home. Prue’s gowns were flowy and elegant, but the one we both could tell she liked most was a long silky dress with two thin straps and a slightly low-hanging neckline. It accentuated her skin tone and drew attention to her shoulders and back, which we knew Prue liked about herself. Quinn’s was tight with a very chest-heavy corset top and hip-hugging satin material that drew attention to her ass, obviously a winner in her eyes, given the theme of her party.

We brought the dresses to my house and settled on my bed, eating deserts we’d picked up from Nana’s on the way back. Quinn lay in the middle, nearly swallowed by the thick pillows behind her head. Prue was already dozing off next to her, face down into the cushions with the blanket pulled up high over her head. I was lying on my side, facing Quinn, who’d occasionally feed me a bite of the decadent chocolate dessert she’d gotten. I was exhausted after a long day of cleaning and a night of dress shopping. Still, I felt relaxed and even excited about whatever Quinn had in store for us.

My phone beeped at me, another text message from Jake, who, if the picture little green frog leaning back with a too-large beer in its little hands meant anything, had just gotten home. Nothin better than a nice cold drink after a shit night dealing with rich assholes.

I smiled, the simple act drawing Quinn’s attention in an instant. She watched my face as I typed out some simple reply before I looked up at her and laughed. “What?”

“Nothing,” she replied. “Just thinking about how long it’s been since I’ve seen you smile like that over a boy.”

“It’s not over a boy.”

“Oh, so that’s not Jake, then?” She wiggled her eyebrows with a knowing smirk. “What is it with you and that pretty bartender that makes both of you so adverse to just admitting what’s obvious?”

I could have easily deflected, as I had been for months, but as I smiled down at the simple goodnight message from him on my phone, I sighed and decided to lean into the stupidity. Closing my eyes, I finally admitted, out loud to another living soul, “I want him.”

Quinn laughed and ran her hand through my hair. “No shit.”

“It’s different, though,” I said softly. “I don’t think I’ve ever wanted anything this much, and it’s… terrifying.”

“I know,” Quinn replied. “But it’s all gonna work out.”

Looking up into her bright eyes, I chuckled. “Is it now?”

“Yeah,” she whispered. “I, the Peach Queen, declare that you will have your bad boy bartender.”

I’d spent hours getting ready for yet another reservation at my workplace, but unlike the last time, I was actually nervous this time. The dress Quinn had picked for me was a lot. I wouldn’t be able to blend into the other outfits of black. I was sure to have eyes on me tonight. More than likely, those of my colleagues as well as the rich assholes dining tonight. I focused on my makeup, following the instructions Quinn gave me at breakfast before she left with Prue to get ready. I lined my eyes and smeared the soft shimmery pick over the lid, adding a few dots to my blush to achieve the glow Quinn insisted we needed. After fussing with my hair for an hour and a half, I settled on a simple half updo pinned into place with a peach clip Quinn gave me.

After I got into my dress and smoothed down a few wrinkles, I admired myself in the mirror as I fixed the simple necklaces I’d picked out the other night. It was truly a beautiful gown; the color was soft, the perfect peach tone, and while my whole chest and shoulders hung out, tits threatening to spill from the bodice of the corset top, it was weirdly perfect. Stupidly I found myself excited to see everyone’s reactions to it… mainly to see his reaction. The whole cab ride, I found myself fixing my hair and checking my makeup and everything in between with this giddy sense of anticipation building in my gut.

It was another busy night as I walked through the doors with a smile. Roslyn’s mouth dropped as she greeted me. “Heelllooo! I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone pull off this much tit in such a classy way.”

“I’ll take it as a compliment,” I answered, turning my head to greet Howard as he swiftly approached.

“Lena,” he said, eyes taking in my outfit momentarily before he smiled. “You look wonderful. I can show you to your table before the rest of your party arrives.”

My eyes flashed to the bar that was absent a dark-haired man. “That sounds lovely; thank you, Howard.”

He offered me his arm, and once I took it, he gracefully led me through the dining room. Every single one of my friends caught a look at me and nearly dropped their server masks. Sasha’s mouth hung wide open for a minute while Ari froze completely, eyes drinking in the sight of my chest. Howard gestured up the stairs, hand squeezing my arm as he whispered, “Careful not to fall.”

I laughed, shaking my head. “No one’s gonna let that go, are they?”

“It’ll die down soon,” he assured me with a chuckle. “Just not tonight.”

He showed me the table beside the railing, set with custom peach themed in color and in the literal sense. Candles were lit, illuminating the small basket of peaches and the pink flowers in the center of the table. It was far enough away from other tables that I knew the girls and I would be safe to talk freely about the company we were in. All while also having a perfect view of the bar, which wasn’t important at all. “It’s perfect, Howard. Thank you.”

One of his hands settled on my back as he smiled. “Only the best for our esteemed guests. You know that.”

“Still, thank you for letting me inconvenience you not just once but twice.”

“You’re welcome to inconvenience me whenever you’d like, Lena,” he replied.

I smiled again, ignoring the odd feeling that settled inside me. “I’m going to go wait for the rest of my party. Have a good service, Howard.”

From the top of the stairs, I could hear the hushed whispers of my coworkers around the bar, all talking about me. Ari groaned. “God, she’s so fucking hot.”

“What are we talking about?” Jake asked as he slid back behind the bar with a new bottle of wine.

“Lena,” Sahsa replied. I smirked, leaning against the wall for a minute to listen to their conversation before rudely interrupting.

“Caught a glimpse. She looks good.”

“Good?” Heather scoffed. “She looks fuckable in like the classiest way I’ve ever seen.”

Ari giggled. “When she looked at me, I thought I was gonna pass out.”

“Yes, it’s too bad our tiger bats for the other team.”

“And that she has a vagina.”

Jake’s voice cut above the rest, “Wow, you guys are really laying it on thick about Lena tonight.”

Perfect opportunity for a grand entrance.

“What about Lena?” Her voice carried down from the top of the stairs. Jake smirked at their coworkers, ready to spill all the filthy ways they’d expressed their feelings about her outfit tonight before he turned his head to look up at her. Even with their comments in mind, he still wasn’t ready to admit that they were right and bit his tongue to keep from saying the same things they had. Finally, standing at the top of the stairs beside the bar Lena descended, Jake’s mouth did with her.

It wouldn’t have surprised him if she’d grown wings right in front of him or if she was truly an angel in disguise. She always looked beautiful and sexy and everything in between, but here, now, in that dress… Jake couldn’t look away. He didn’t want to, not ever.

The peach-colored dress hugged her body in a way that left absolutely nothing to the imagination. Her shoulders were bare; the dress was held onto her by two drooping pieces of fabric that caressed her upper arms as she moved to take hold of the railing and the sheer will of god. The corset top was simple, though it wasn’t the top he was looking at, but rather the deep plunge of the neckline that lifted her breasts ever so slightly. It flowed behind her as her long legs moved down the steps, the fabric bunched at her waist, lifting it up to further accentuate the near hip-high slit.

Lena smiled at him as she stood in front of the bar and leaned on it, causing her half-down red hair to spill over her shoulder. She tilted her head. “What about me?”

Sasha came to his rescue with a grin that was far too smug. “We were just talking about how badly we wanted to fuck you tonight, Tiger Bitch.”

“Oh,” Lena laughed, the sound only tormenting him more. “Thank you… I think?”

Ari looked at her breasts and shook her head. “No, thank you.”

Nicky shooed the group away from the bar. Jake couldn’t bring himself to move… couldn’t look away from her for even one second. Lena’s eyes trailed down, fixating on his chest. He saw her lips move, but he didn’t hear her the first time. Blinking, he shook his head. “What?”

“Your tie’s loose,” she repeated.

“Oh,” he lifted his hands to try and move the stupid thing, but his mind was a blur. All he could think of was her in that dress, was that damn smell of cherries. God, pull it together. It’s just a dress. Just a damn smell. He scolded himself.

Her hands came up to stop him before he could ruin his tie anymore. He hadn’t even noticed her walk around the bar. She smiled up at him, sweet and absolutely too much right now. “Here, let me.”

“You’re a guest tonight,” he said, his voice wavering slightly. “You’ll get in trouble.”

“I’ll be quick then,” she replied with a wink. God… fuck!

She was right the other night. She could have him whenever she wanted; however she wanted. Jake swallowed thickly as her bright eyes flashed up to his. He'd take her here in front of all these guests… all their coworkers, if it's what she wanted. His whole body hummed at the very thought of what she’d look like, that dress hiked up to her hips, bent over the bar, or even better, sitting on top of it so he could see her face. All he wanted was to hear her say the words. He wanted her to want him just as badly as he wanted her.

After I fixed Jake’s tie, I ducked out from behind the bar before Howard could scold me. Quinn and Prue arrived shortly after, looking drop dead gorgeous in the dresses they’d picked. Prue’s hair was half down with the top portion braided into a bow, and Quinn’s was loosely braided down her back. They both slid beside me at the bar with big grins. Quinn smiled at Jake. “Having a good night, Jake?”

“Oh, just the best,” he answered.

“Well, let’s go. I’m starving.” She took hold of my arm and tugged me away from the bar and the lingering eyes of the bartender.

We sat down, receiving peach-themed drinks as compliments from the bar, or rather the entire staff that gathered around to bicker about who got to serve our table. Scott took it upon himself to make us an entirely new peach-themed menu that I was ecstatic to try. His talent, with any and every ingredient, no matter how random, never ceased to amaze me. The girls and I gossiped about the rich people around us, playing games centered around making up conversations between tables.

Even with my back to the bar, I could feel Jake’s eyes on me, lingering for a long minute before having to look away to make a drink or schmooze a customer before they were right back on me. It was thrilling, though I’d never admit it. Shifting in my seat, I felt the fabric of my dress dip lower, exposing more of my leg as I took a drink of the sweet peach cocktail and finished my food. “I’m kind of glad you decided to come here. This was amazing.”

Prue nodded, practically moaning with delight as she carefully wiped her mouth. “This was the best meal I’ve ever had.” Her eyes followed Will as he moved across the floor, sparing a wide-eyed, blushing look up at her. “And the staff is just adorable.”

Quinn nudged me. “Go sit at the bar.”

“What?” I asked. “Why?”

“Because I’m the Peach Queen, and I say so.”

Prue giggled. “You did finish your drink. Good thing you know a cute bartender that’d make you another one.”

I shook my head and settled further into my seat. “I’m not going to go harping Jake for drinks while he’s in the middle of service.”

Quinn rolled her eyes. “Fine, you forced my hand. I, Peach Queen, banish thee Cherry one to the bar!”

“Oh yeah?” I taunted. “What if I don’t go?’

“Then I’ll just have to make a fuss and embarrass you.”

She would do it too. She had plenty of times before. And so, I relented, standing up and offering her a mock bow. “As thy queen commands.”

I walked down the stairs carefully, not wanting to risk falling again, and made my way to an empty seat at the bar with a smile. “What are you doing down here?” Nicky asked.

“I’ve apparently been banished,” I answered, drawing Jake’s attention in a second.

“Banished?” he asked, switching places with Nicky. “That doesn’t sound too fun.

I shrugged. “It could be worse.”

He tilted his head. “Worse than banishment?”

“Quinn can be creative.”

“Well, what can I get you?” He leaned against the bar with a glass out, ready for my answer.

“Should I see how many free drinks I can get out of this dress?” I asked with a grin.

Jake’s eyes trailed away from my face, and his eyebrow quirked. “Not if you wanna be sober enough to enjoy the rest of the night.”

Leaning forward on the bar ever so slightly, I tilted my head to the side, only further enticing him. “Oh? You think I’d be that popular?”

“You already are that popular,” he answered, looking around at all the eyes focusing on me both around the bar and deeper into the maze of tables and wealthy people. “Have been since you walked in.”

“Well,” I said, setting my head in my hands. “You’ve got my full attention, grumpy Jake.”

“Do I?” He smirked, tilting his head.

“Yep. So, impress me, master bartender,” I teased.

Jake lived for the challenge as he pursed his lips slightly and leaned toward me. “Just clap when you’re impressed, princess.”

I rolled my eyes but kept them fixed on him as he gathered ingredients and mixed drinks for the guests lining the counter. Sitting on this end of the bar felt surreal, watching him mix drinks with that roguish smile and the flamboyant technique. For a minute, it almost felt like it was my first week again when Jake was fixed on trying to impress me enough to get me naked, only now he didn’t need to mix drinks, force contact, or even flirt with me. The truth, as much as I’d tried to avoid it, was Jake didn’t need to impress me, not when it only took one look… one stupid look to make me melt beneath his gaze. A week ago, I’d teased him about not having to be jealous… about how I could have him whenever I wanted, but only now did I realize that Jake held a similar power.

He could have me whenever he wanted.

As the guests slowly began to leave, the girls joined me at the bar, Prue taking up Will’s attention even when he had to go do manager things, and Quinn distracting Ari with nothing but her eyes. Isaac’s face pressed against the glass of the kitchen window as he held up Jake’s jacket and waved me inside. I smiled at my plan coming to life, quietly excusing myself to slide into the kitchen. Isaac held it out to me. “Dom just dropped it off. Remind me again why you’re smuggling jackets around?”

“It’s Jake’s,” I answered, heaving toward the stairs. “He keeps giving it to me, so I have to keep sneaking it back into his locker.”

Isaac rolled his eyes. “Or you could just fuck him and keep it.”

“Is the rest of it in my bag?” He nodded. “Thanks for your help,” I whispered down to him as I hurried up the stairs and sneakily made my way to Jake’s locker. I struggled for a minute running through the list of combinations he’d started rotating to try and deter me from sneaking his jacket into his locker.

"So," Jake's voice came from the doorway, so suddenly I jumped, dropping his leather jacket onto the floor.

"Shit!" I yelped, turning to glare at him. "Don't sneak up on me!"

He chuckled, eyes dragging down my body, fixing on my bare shoulders, the deep plunging neckline of the dress, and then finally on my leg, the one exposed by the high slit of the gown. When he finally took notice of his jacket on the floor, his head tilted. "Are you really taking time out of your dinner to sneak my jacket into my locker?"

I scoffed, kicking the jacket behind me with my heel. "No! That'd be crazy."

He laughed, nodding to the still, obvious fabric. "Well, go on, don't let me stop you."

Fucking… I bit my lip and bent over to retrieve it, fully aware of how he drank in the sight of my boobs threatening to spill out of the corseted top. I turned back to his locker and stuffed it inside, slamming the door shut with a grin. "Did you need something? A jacket, perhaps?"

"No, I'm good. Very toasty." He replied, taking a step forward, the wicked smug look in his eyes never fading. "So, the hip, right?"

"What?"

"Your mermaid tattoo," he clarified, taking far too much pleasure in how my face fell with the realization. "It's on your hip."

My hand slapped over the too-high slit that did indeed showcase the tail of my tattoo. "God damn dress!"

Jake leaned back against the locker nodding to my leg. "Show me."

"No!"

"You said you would if I guessed where it was," he argued.

I shook my head, laughing nervously. "I actually didn't. All I said was you didn't already know where it was."

Jake moved even closer. "Technicality. Show it to me."

"No!"

"Oh, come on, princess."

My face burned the closer he got until I finally cracked under the weight of those pretty blue eyes. "Fine, you get five seconds!"

I moved my hand and carefully lifted the slit of my gown to show the intricate mermaid that curved up my hip, tail curling a little over my thigh. Then, in my head, I began to count. One. Two. Th- Warm fingers grazed along the curve of my hip, and every thought stuttered to a halt. Jake was on his knees, eyes taking in the sight of my tattoo with an appreciative gleam. I could feel his breath fan along my thigh as his fingers moved to skim over the inked skin.

"Well, it does certainly look better than mine," he said, looking up at me through his thick eyelashes. I wonder what he’d look like looking up at me from between my- Fuck.

I cleared my throat and let my dress drop back down. "Yeah, I told you Prue's the best."

"Why a mermaid?" He asked, slowly rising to his feet.

"It's gonna sound stupid," I laughed nervously, scratching my head. "When my mom would… leave me to swim back to shore I... I used to pretend I was a mermaid." There was a soft look in Jake’s eyes, one that made my heart ache. "It made it feel less real... If that makes any sense."

"It makes sense," he assured me, his voice shockingly tender. "And it's not stupid."

“Thanks.” I spared him a quick glance before clearing my throat and asking, “So, is service officially over?”

He nodded. “Yeah, that last table finally decided to leave.”

I laughed. “The very obvious escort date?”

“No, they left just a little bit before the cut-off. The last table was a group of old people that had been complaining all night about every single detail of their service.”

“Damn,” I replied. “Glad I wasn’t working tonight, then.”

He held a quarter up in his hand. “Yeah, that’s the tip I got for the seven drinks I remade.”

I laughed. “It’s certainly a tough time being a pretty bartender.”

“So, what’s next for your little party?” He asked, moving to his locker to change.

I turned my back to him, offering him some privacy, though I knew he didn’t care if I looked. “That’s up to Quinn. But, from my understanding, we’re all going for a limo ride to Coney Island.”

“Sounds fun,” he replied. “You goin' in that, or were you planning on changing into something a bit more practical?”

“I had Dom drop us off some clothes,” I answered, looking over my shoulder to admire his bare back. “So, guess you get to keep your shirt this time.”

He smirked at me. “How relieving.”

After he was decent and putting on his shoes, I slipped into the bathroom with my bag and changed into a simple tank top and shorts with comfortable shoes. I left Quinn’s clothes in the bag and grabbed Prue to take downstairs to her, knowing full well that Quinn and Ari would likely try to fuck in the break room. We headed back downstairs together, Jake letting Nicky leave early. Slowly, everyone changed into regular clothes and gathered around the bar for drinks.

“Now that all of you don’t look so freaky, do you want to come with us to Coney Island?” Quinn asked, wiggling her brows. “The limo rides on me.”

The uproar of the group agreeing to a night of fun was louder than even I expected. Nodding toward the back, I addressed Quinn. “The bag with your extra clothes is upstairs in the locker room.”

“I’ll show you the way,” Ari said with a wink as she dragged Quinn toward the kitchen.

Will shook his head. “They’re definitely going to fuck in the break room, so,” turning to Prue, he signed. “I can show you to the manager's office so you can change if you want.”

She blushed and bit her lip, grabbing the clothes I’d brought down to her. “Maybe we can do a little more than change?”

I made a face and immediately turned my eyes elsewhere, which just so happened to be where Jake stood across the bar. “I’m guessing it’s gonna be a minute before we head out?”

“Oh yeah. No one go upstairs or in the office for a while,” I warned.

Twenty minutes later, both couples returned, readjusting their clothes and slightly more sweaty than they’d started the night out. We all clamored to Quinn’s limo, where I stayed close to Quinn and Jake to keep myself from giving into the nauseous and painful feelings that made my chest feel tight, and my body want to shake. Though I didn’t participate much in the conversations going around through the group, each one was a welcome distraction, as was Jake’s hand resting next to mine on the small space of seat between us.

The thirty-minute car ride was certainly not the worst I’d ever had to live through, but as the limo stopped and we all filed out of the car, I’d never been more relieved to breathe in the slightly salty air. All the anxiety and old memories faded away in the bright lights of Coney Island. We paid for our tickets, and all rushed inside to indulge in the obviously rigged booth games and stalls of delicious food. Will and Prue branched off toward a ball game with stuffed animal prizes, and to my surprise, Jake followed them.

I stayed with Sasha and Heather, laughing at the Russian’s poor attempts to participate in a shooting game. He cursed the stall attendant out in Russian before we pulled him away. Next thing we all knew, thirty minutes had blown by, and everyone was slowly reconvening at a small area of picnic tables. Sasha, Ari, and I bent over our photobooth picture, laughing at each other's dumb faces when Will and Prue found us, Will’s arms full of stuffed animals. “Look what we won!”

“Did you leave any prizes for the other kids, Prue?” I signed, dodging her attempt to slap my arm.

“Of course,” She replied.

Looking around, I asked, “Where’d Jake go?”

Sahsa smirked. “Knowing our Jakey, he probably found some dirty carnival hooker to fuck.”

I rolled my eyes as the bartender's familiar figure followed just after Prue and Will with a giant stuffed tiger in his arms. “I’m right here.”

“Holy shit,” Quinn laughed. “Where the hell did you find that?”

“One of those cheap-ass games,” he replied, setting it down on the table I sat on top of. “Figured it was only right to win it for our resident tiger.”

“How many tries did it take you to win this?” I asked, admiring the cute face of the animal. “Do we need to chip in on your rent?”

He shook his head and grabbed a cigarette from Sasha, moving to sit down at the table across from me. “It wasn’t that hard.”

When the group had settled down a bit, Heather asked, “Now what?”

Quinn’s smile quickly turned sinister. “We could always play a little truth or dare.”

“God, no!” I pleaded.

“Oh, come on, it’ll be fun,” she insisted.

Sasha blew a plum of smoke toward me. “Come on, Tiger Bitch, have fun with us!”

“Fine,” I huffed. “But don’t come crying to me when she’s daring you to strip for her.”

The first round was tame, most people opting to pick truth over dare, but after the third or fourth round, things quickly descended into Quinn’s madness. She smirked at Jake. “Truth or dare?”

“Dare,” he answered.

"I dare you to take this marker and give Lena a tattoo on her hip."

Rolling my eyes, I shook my head at her. "Seriously?"

Quinn giggled and grinned while sipping her drink. "What? It’s not like I told him to write whore across your forehead."

“That was one time, and we were sixteen!”

Jake pulled the marker from her fingers and motioned me forward. I lifted my shirt getting ready to pull the waistband of my pants down just enough for the tattoo. Jake tutted. "Other one."

"There's already a tattoo there," I replied.

"Just give me the other one," he insisted with a smile as he took off the lid of the marker with his teeth.

I complied, pulling my waistband down enough to reveal the top half of the mermaid. Jake wasted no time taking hold of my hip in his warm hand and pulling me closer. Quinn winked at me, and I had to fight the urge to throw something at her. The marker tickled against my skin as Jake focused. I shifted slightly, causing him to squeeze my hip. "Hold still."

"Hurry up," I insisted, forcing my voice to stay steady.

He smirked up at me, blue eyes shimmering with smug mischief. "Want it to look good or not?"

Rolling my eyes, I shook my head. "It's just marker, dumbass. It'll come off in like two days."

"Then I better make it good enough for you to savor, right?"

When he finished, I looked down at the heart drawn in the center of the mermaid's chest with the little J in the center. The sight made every inch of my body tingle as I looked up at him and smiled. "Really?"

He shrugged. "It's a classic."

“Your turn Jake,” Heather said with a smile.

“Sasha,” he called out. “Truth or-”

“Dare. Give me your best shot, Jakey!”

Jake smiled. “I dare you to kiss Isaac.”

Isaac’s cheeks flushed quickly as Sasha wasted no time turning and grabbing his face to press a kiss to his lips. He pulled away, wiping his mouth with pride and settling back into his seat beside Isaac with an arm around the blushing man's shoulders. “Easy! Tiger Bitch, truth or dare?”

“Dare,” I replied with a sigh.

He giggled. “I dare you to show us your dirtiest photo!”

“That’s not so bad,” I replied, pulling my phone out to find the old picture of me lying in bed in a lacey bra with a cherry between my lips. “I sent this to a guy I hooked up with years ago.”

Sahsa took the phone and purred in delight, passing it around the group. Quinn nodded. “That was a good picture.”

“The guy you sent it to sure liked it.”

Once it got back to Jake, he looked at it with an approving nod before handing me my phone. “Not bad, princess.”

“Okay, Ari. Truth or dare?”

“Truth,” she answered with a grin.

I hummed for a moment before asking. “Who here would you most like to sleep with?”

She tucked her hair behind her ear. “You, of course, beautiful.”

Quinn scoffed. “Excuse me!”

“I’ve already slept with you,” Ari replied, kissing Quinn’s lips. “And I’m gonna do it again later.”

“Fair point.”

The round continued for a while, eventually landing on Prue and then on me. “Have you ever fantasized about a coworker?”

Oh, you fucking bitch, I thought to myself. “Yes, I have.”

“Who?” Quinn egged on.

“Sasha, of course,” I deflected, pinching the Russian’s cheek. “Quinn, truth or dare.”

She bat her eyelashes. “Truth.”

“Describe your first kiss,” I said with a grin.

“You’re a cunt,” she replied before diving into the very awkward story of her first kiss. "Truth or dare," Quinn asked with a newfound gleam in her eyes I'd seen one too many times before. She was up to something big now. And if the wink she sent me meant anything, it was something I would have to kick her ass for.

Jake shrugged, blowing a plume of smoke out the side of his mouth. "Dare."

Leaning forward, my friend smiled even wider, wicked and deeply pleased with herself as she declared, "I dare you to kiss Lena."

My heart stopped beating for a moment, only kickstarted when the ocean blue of Jake's eyes slid to mine. "That's-"

"It's-" we stammered at the same time.

Sasha laughed. "I think the stripper wins."

"No," Jake told the Russian, eyes never leaving mine. "I'll do it. That is if it's alright with you, Red."

I swallowed and shrugged. "It's just a game. I don't mind."

He handed the cigarette to Scott and slowly approached me, moving to stand at the table's edge. His hands curled around my hips, pulling me closer until I was flush against his chest. A sharp gasp echoed between us as my dumb body arched into him. Rough fingers lifted my chin, forcing me to look deeper into his eyes.

"Don't get too excited, princess," he whispered. Oh fuck. On instinct, my legs moved, trying to press my thighs together and alleviate some of the burning pressure that shot right down to my core. Unfortunately, Jake's waist made that problematic.

My legs squeezed his hips, bringing that smug smile to his face as he stared me down. His fingers squeezed my chin as he leaned in close. Our lips nearly brushed one another as the smokey tint of his breath fanned across my face. At the last second, his grip on my chin tugged, and my head turned ever so slightly to the side as he kissed my cheek.

Sasha booed loudly as air finally filled my lungs again. Jake pulled away, his eyes looking me up and down for a moment, the dark, blown pupils drinking in the sight of me, blushing cheeks and still slightly arched back. God, this is just getting pathetic. He slid out from between my legs and smirked at Quinn. "You never specified where I had to kiss her."

"Cheeky boy." She shook her head.

Jake looked off toward the food stalls. “As much fun as this game is, I think we should indulge in some food before they close.”

Everyone but Ari and I jumped up to grab food. Isaac promised to bring me back food if I saved his seat, while Quinn offered to get Ari’s food for her with a loving look and a gentle kiss on her cheek. Once she turned away, I saw Ari’s face drop slightly. “Hey,” I called over to her. “Are you okay?”

She shook her head. “Yeah. I’m fine.”

“Ari,” I pressed gently, patting the table beside me.

With a sigh, she moved, sitting beside me and looking up at Quinn. “How long before she gets sick of me, realistically?”

My brows furrowed as I turned to her. “What do you mean?”

“Quinn is… She’s amazing. Beautiful and talented and smart and funny. She’s everything I’ve ever wanted.” She shook her head. “And I don’t have a lot more to offer her.”

“You don’t have to offer anyone anything to be important, Ari,” I said with a smile. “Quinn doesn’t give two shits what you can offer her. She likes you because you’re you.”

Ari shook her head, wiping the tears away from her eyes long before they could fall. “No one likes me because I’m me. Not even my own parents.”

“Fuck your parents.” She laughed, looking at me with sad eyes. “Sometimes our parents are the ones with the problem. My mom’s a cold, stuck-up, perfectionist bitch that didn’t give two shits about me no matter what I did. Back then, the best thing I ever did was let go of what she made me feel I lacked.”

“How do you do that, though?” Ari asked softly. “How do you let go of the years of pain and neglect and…”

I shrugged. “With a lot of reassurance from good friends. And, lucky for you, there’s an entire mob out there willing to reassure you every second of the day.”

Ari laid her head on my shoulder and smiled. “Thanks, Tiger Bitch.”

“You’re welcome.”

She and I sat there for a while, waiting until the rest of the group got back with their cotton candy. Quinn instantly took notice of Ari’s downtrodden mood and came to lift her spirits with a kiss and a bite of the sticky sweet sugar. Jake sat down next to me, holding a giant ball of cotton candy. He held it out to me. “Want some?”

I looked at the sheer size of his treat and laughed. “I guess. Did you pay extra for them to make it as big as Sasha’s head?”

“I heard that!” Sasha shouted.

“No,” Jake replied, taking a finger full of the fluffy candy. “They just really liked me.”

“Ah, so it was a group of women then?” I teased.

With a scoff, he said, “I’m attractive to every gender.”

We laughed together, sharing the shitty spun sugar until Prue pulled me from the table and quickly signed. “The girls are riding the Merry-Go-Round. Come on!”

“Okay, stop pulling!” I turned to look back at Jake. “Don’t let Sasha steal the tiger!”

He shook his head but pulled the giant stuffed thing closer to him anyway as he watched me get dragged off toward the enormous horses. Ari and Heather chose the ugliest horses they could find, while Quinn, Prue, and I gravitated to ones a few rows down. Prue’s was a unicorn with little rainbow flowers in its hair. Quinn’s was hot pink with giant eyelashes. And mine was a simple black horse with a little blue saddle. Prue sat beside me while Quinn’s was slightly in the front, forcing her to sit backward on it to look back at us.

I narrowed my eyes and looked between the two of them, saying and signing, “Why do I feel like this is an intervention?”

“Cause it is,” Quinn replied.

“It’s about Jake,” Prue continued giving me that look.

I sighed, slumping into the pole. “Guys, how many times do we have to do this?”

“You want him,” Quinn said, leaning over to grab my pole to steady herself as the ride began to move. “You told me you did. You know you do. So stop fucking around and go get him!”

“It’s not that simple,” I argued.

“Yes, it is,” Prue interjected. “You are always telling us to go after what we want in life, even if it’s hard or gets messy or doesn’t work out how we want it to. This is no different.”

Quinn grabbed my hand and squeezed it. “If you don’t give whatever this is with you and him a shot, you’re gonna regret it for the rest of your life. You know that.”

With a low groan, I shook my head and sighed. “I hate when you two use my own logic against me.”

They both shrugged, smug and self-assured, as we got off the ride and rejoined the bulk of the group. Sasha practically collapsed into Heather with a giggle. “Well, I think this amazing night of filth and fun is coming to an end.”

“Yeah,” Scott agreed. “We’ve got a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”

“Anything else anyone wanted to do before we head out?” Quinn asked, slightly elbowing me.

I looked up at the giant Ferris Wheel and shrugged my shoulders. “I’ve always wanted to go on the Ferris Wheel.”

“Never been on one before?” Jake asked, emerging from the group next to Will and Quinn, still holding the big stuffed tiger he’d given me that I’d shoved into his arms when I’d rushed to join the girls on the Merry-Go-Round.

“Nope,” I answered. “No one ever wanted to come with me.”

Quinn rolled her eyes. “Those things are death traps! I refuse to be a statistic!”

Tossing the tiger to Will, Jake headed toward the giant wheel. He looked over his shoulder and smirked. “You comin' or what?”

I ignored Quinn’s urging whispers and fell into step beside Jake, the two of us quietly getting in line and waiting our turn. It wasn’t a long wait, being so late into the night, and before I could change my mind, we were being strapped into the slightly too small seat and told a rush of basic rules before the jaunty music began to play, and the wheel started to turn. The lights and laughter echoed up to us as the wheel screeched to a halt with our cart near the top. This is so cliche, I told myself, quietly wondering if Quinn and Pure would go this far to get me to act. They would. I knew they would. What was irritating, though, was how well it worked.

From up here, everything and everyone seemed so small. The noise was distant enough that I could only focus on Jake sitting beside me, thigh pressed into mine. His blue eyes lit up so beautifully as he stared out at the sea of activity below. I cleared my throat before saying, "This turned out to be pretty fun, all things considered."

He nodded, eyes still taking in the sights below us. "Yeah, I think the most questionable part of the night was truth or dare." Then, chuckling, he shook his head. "I knew Sasha was deprived before, but wow, I severely underestimated him."

"Yeah," I agreed, laughing with him. I took a deep breath and just decided to commit. Fuck it. "You know, for a minute, it seemed like you were actually gonna kiss me."

Jake turned, and those gorgeous eyes met mine. Tilting his head, he shrugged a shoulder, trying to seem unphased. "For a minute, it seemed like you wanted me to."

"I did." Okay… There it is, I guess… My heart hammered in my chest as the casual look on his face shifted. My mind immediately started reeling, searching for a way to backpedal the conversation and take it back. Jake, however, seemed to have another course of action in mind.

He leaned forward, hand gliding against my jaw as he lifted my head ever so slightly and pressed his lips to mine. A surprised noise squeaked out of my throat, one I would have been embarrassed about had I been able to focus on anything but his damn lips. They were softer than they looked if that was possible, and firm against mine.

Both of us were tense for a moment, anxious at the sudden fulfillment of both our fantasies in a matter of seconds. After the initial shock wore off, we both eased into one another, our lips moving in harmony as we accepted that this was reality. The kiss was gentle and urgent while still holding back. Jake pulled away, allowing me a second to breathe.

His eyes were wide, pupils nearly drowning the blue as his chest heaved with quiet breaths. All I could do was look at him with equally wide eyes and equal breathlessness. All I could do was take hold of the collar of his shirt and, subsequently, the silver chain around his neck and pull him back into another, far needier kiss.

It was sloppy and messy in a way that only made us want more. He tasted like smoke, and the cotton candy he had earlier as his fingers on my jaw coaxed my mouth open so he could mingle the odd combination against my tongue with his own. One hand buried itself into my hair as he groaned into my mouth while the other ran down my back, his dull nails dragging against my skin. My hand wrapped around the silver chain and pulled, keeping him from moving away from me, and the other pressed into his thigh, my nails digging into his jeans like my life depended on it.

A groan echoed through the metal as the Ferris Wheel spurred to life again, shifting suddenly and breaking us out of the heated trance our lips had entangled us in. Our cart started moving, lowering us back to the ground. We stared at each other for a second before slowly detaching our hands from one another and straightening our clothes and hair.

The silence was almost as deafening as my heart pounding in my ears. Finally, Jake and I got off the ride quietly, walking side by side back to the group we’d left nearby. Will handed me the stuffed tiger Jake had given me, and my heart burned. Prue smiled at me from the crook of Will’s arm. “How was the Ferris Wheel?”

“Good,” I said, tucking my now loosened hair behind my ear. “It was good.”

The loudest among the group rushed into conversations, but all I could hear was the Ferris Wheel whirling to life again behind us. Looking over my shoulder at Jake, who’d put not a large distance but a noticeable one in between us, I realized just how fucked I was - we both were. That one kiss wasn’t enough, not even close. My heart throbbed, and my body tingled with a hum of pure desire. A want, no, need for more. Jake’s blue eyes were filled with the same thing as mine. That kiss wasn’t going to cut it. Shit.

Her eyes mirrored his. Swimming in a sea of black, blown-out pupils that made him want to close the distance he’d put between them the longer he looked. The want, no, the need that had been burning in his chest from the day he met her was now raging so hot and desperate that he knew he wouldn’t be able to ignore it any longer. That kiss wasn’t enough. Not for either of them. Fuck.

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fangan-channel-fever · 2 years

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Intros and that jazz

Hey, I’m Mod Lynx! My pronouns are they/them, and I own four- technically five if you count the main character- of the characters in Channel Fever. My art and posts will be tagged with “Mod Lynx” to signify that it’s me posting. - Lynx

hey hey hey!! i’m mod ghost!! my pronouns are he/it and i made eight characters for channel fever. my posts will be tagged with “mod ghost” to show that it’s me posting :] - ghost

Howdy! I'm mod Squid, my pronouns are he/they. About 5 of the characters in Channel Fever are mine :) My posts are tagged with "Mod Squid" so y'all know it's me. - Squid

And now for the fun funky characters!

Hiko Taeo, Ultimate Street Artist (he/they): Hiko is loud but kind. He occasionally comes off as rude or hotheaded when they don’t intend to. Hiko uses a cane to walk, as one of his legs is messed up. (Owned by Lynx)

Chikiko Ito, Ultimate Felinologist (they/them): Chikiko is basically if you just turned a cat into a person. They aren’t too talkative and they get distracted easily- unless they’re talking about cats. Chikiko dislikes sudden noises or movements. (Owned by Lynx)

Minato Li, Ultimate Child Prodigy (he/they): Minato is about 13 years old and is very quiet. He doesn’t like talking very much but loves talking about things he likes, like trees and birds. They’re also quite strategic and hate being treated like a dumb kid. (Owned by Lynx)

Hosei Goto, Ultimate Falconer (she/he): Hosei is a tough person who doesn’t beat around the bush. She’s blunt but not mean, and he’s generally the one calling other people out. She’s been a falconer for quite a while now, and his favorite birds to work with are ghostly gyrfalcons, ferruginous hawks, and harpy eagles. (Owned by Lynx)

Hotaru Akahoshi, Ultimate Engineer (he/they): Hotaru is impulsive and high-energy, often needing to be active and doing things with his hands. He is good-natured and well-meaning but can be overbearing and a bit annoying at times. His only dream is to design a rocket ship and leave earth behind. (Owned by Ghost)

Takemi Kikuchi, Ultimate Origami Artist (he/they): Takemi is quiet and skittish, and in all honestly, a complete pushover. He just wants everyone to be nice to each other… That’s not happening any time soon. (Owned by Ghost)

Tomari Fujikawa, Ultimate Skateboarder (he/him): Aloof and aggressive, Tomari found his niche of being the voice of (somewhat) reason amongst the group. While he can come off as a dick and a bit of an idiot, he’s really just a big softie. (Owned by Ghost)

Aimi Kishimoto, Ultimate Heartbreaker (she/her): Aimi earned her Ultimate through her stuck-up attitude and overall bitchy personality. But over the course of the killing game… will that change? (Owned by Ghost)

Makimi Jyn, Ultimate Escapist (she/her): Makimi is a living ray of sunshine! While she’s a bit of a ditz, her morals are sound and she won’t hesitate to stand up for what she believes in. (Owned by Ghost)

Kokuro Tsuji, Ultimate Violinist (she/her): Kokuro is a stoic and blank person. She is perceptive and can usually see through anyone’s bullcrap. While she’s not the most pleasant person to be around, Kokuro is a key part of any team. (Owned by Ghost)

Akari Hirata, Ultimate Medium (they/them): Said to have an uncanny connection to the dead, Akari is the person anyone would want in a killing game. They are sarcastic and pretty standoffish, but it’s not like they’re actively hurting anyone, so… (Owned by Ghost)

Olivia George (She/They): The Ultimate Seamstress with several of her own clothing lines. She Often acts irritable, sarcastic and egotistical with the three snakes she always has on her; named Lovey, Charleston and Bloodbath. They do bite, sometimes. (Owned by Squid)

Shepard Osokibi (He/Him): A big coward who copes with his pathetic personality by acting all big and scary as the Ultimate Scare Actor. Despite this whole issue, he typically acts friendly... when he's not trying to make you cry in fear. (Owned by Squid)

Aloe Vera (He/Him): It sometimes seems like he has some sort of "magical plant power", but In reality the Ultimate Gardener is just a planting genius. He's always honest, often to a brutal point and his opinions of people change like how a toddler would flip a light switch on and off. (Owned by Squid)

Zoi Takotto (It/They): Its often known for its extreme speed and durability dispute its tiny size. They often act with bold actions with almost no regard for its own safety. Yet somehow they're not dead. (Owned by Squid)

Toshiro Ito (He/They): a chill, Ultimate surfer dude who feels as if the gods themselves sent him down as some sort of joke. Refers to people as "Bro" and "Dude" regardless of gender and often acts more carefree and in the nicest way possible, stupid. (Owned by Squid)

Saki Yoshida, Ultimate Motivational Speaker (she/they): Determined and charismatic, Saki knows what’s right for the group and is always ready to lift anyone’s spirit. But will her own determination cause the students to be led down the wrong path in the search for truth?

----

Please note that this is still a work in progress so updates may be spotty!

#fanganronpa #danganronpa #fangan #danganronpa fangan #danganronpa ocs #fanganronpa ocs #fangan ocs

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emmawithtwoms · 3 months

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I'm gonna be fucking rude bc I'm fucking tired of ppl, so tw or whatever the fuck

OK SO, I truly hoped I didn't need to make a post like this, but people need to SHUT THE FUCK UP ON THE INTERNET.

I'm tired. If your goal is to be mean, don't go into the internet.

If your goal is to annoy people, don't go into the internet.

If you can't do a fucking mediocre job at a reading comprehension, DON'T GO INTO THE INTERNET.

I posted a funny video on TikTok some time ago, it was about my dad chating and gossipping with my friends while smoking, so nothing bad right? Nobody would think to comment something mean below that video right? I mean, it's just fun, people aren't that dumb right?

WRONG, FUCKING WRONG JESUS CHRIST

I've had people commenting on my dad's look. My dad, a 54yo medic who (along with other things) spends every day, oh, I don't know, SAVING LIVES???? that's not the point, ANYWAY: my father has a Hernia in his lower abdomen, that means his belly is VERY pronounced, like, he looks really fat (DON'T FUCKING COME AT ME FOR USING THE FAT WORD BECAUSE THAT'S NOT THE POINT AND Y'ALL KNOW IT), and people commented on that, saying that we were promoting a unhealty lifestyle, that it was not fit for being posted on social media, that he should go to the gym and shit.

now, babes, I think a moncellular bacteria could predict what I am about to say, and an ameba would have understood that these comments were useless, but still:

1- We don't give one (1) fuck about what u think.

2-If you don't wanna see that content, just fucking scroll.

3-Get a fucking life that's not so miserable that you feel the need to comment hurtful things under other people's videos just so you can feel a sparkle of power in your truly sad life.

I am fucking tired of people who do not know how to behave on the internet.

If you are a pathetic excuse of a man whose only joy comes from saying anonymous things on the internet againist strangers because you feel worthless and emasculated, then you should take you head out your ass, unplug you internet, read a book and start working a bit on yourself.

Hate is damaging, it impacts on your hormones productions, it creates more bile and that busies your liver, who can't substain that stress, overworks itslef and develop a tumor. You are killing yourselves by hating (And making my oncologyt dad richer, you fucking dicks)

ps: I offer grammar lessons for middle school kids, in case someone doesn't understans the meaning of this post and is going to hate in the comments

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iman2 · 5 months

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eyeroll

i'm the one who's going to eat nikki. i don't have to say onigga. you announced it last night, i was here. i really wish it was the kaIii girl though. if i only find out she's a normal ash eater...y'all will have a problem. i'm not scared of you. and i'm not scared of NOBODY. why am i jada? because i'm SWEET! you're just some cheap whore. this again? you should've left me alone last year when i accepted that shit. just some whore. got it. ... that soca song is about me! what soca song? "i'm sweet! i'm sweet! it's me!" 🪄🐍🐍😈 no, mas3go's songs are about you. i mean obviously NOT but here: 🎁 they're not talking about the same girl. chris, kelly and static are the only people singing about moi. what did it do? mike is not attracted to you! mike's, drakkard right? you NEED that? here: 🎁

what now weirdo? good as long as you know maliah was about me. oh yeah? paint her dark brown and try again. but he was obsessed with me. is that why you're eating onigga? you're so fucking pathetic. i wish people knew. why did you send this bathtub/jacuzzi shit? because that ISN'T you. are you dumb? everything about you is about me. you're starting to turn in carrot...or tyIa. who are you going your karma? don't worry about it. i'm n0bara. only n0bara is n0bara. sorry.

hey sel, heard they was calling your name in da cemetery. don't be late. what are you talking about? you're a MAN. not for much longer i guess. i hear that i'm just darkskinned you. wrong though, you're really "latina" ME. disney princess. i've grown up with really good christian values. i pray everyday god is so good to me! thanks. that's what's making me your evil version. i'm not a christian so i'm the necromancer by default. i'm gonna write that book. disney is evil. secret societies. none of YOU can do that. hmm...they're calling me arrancar three, again. this is last year, YOU stole that? yeah. i'm a saint. christian saint. joan. amen. steups. stop playing with demons "saint". you're from the mycull jackson cult. anyway, go die for your sky daddy. mine is anubis. this shit is boring. me: eating my curds and whey. you: i'm the real SOLANGE after all! i'm the victim! chr1sbr0wn is cloning justin! we belong together!

#i'm a misogynist

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zumpietoo · 8 months

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Okay, Again Debated....

Again am weeaaakkkk.....

Trollz iz pressed....(and illiterate)

From what I'M reading you didn't bother read 2/3rds of what I wrote. Soooo....nope. Also, can y'all explain why you're cool with PP scabbing and NOT supporting anything?

Cuz I've already fully detailed, multiple times.....not bothering to do so again.

(oh and, actually? Yes, it was posted about before he detailed it----also, who knew pointing out having ones free speech criminalized was a bad thing/self righteous? Gee, Silly/janASS, you really ARE a MAGAt, huh?)

Siiiighhhh.....that would be you. Also, I see you've failed to actually address or support your position, just lots of "you're so dumb" and finger pointing, then? Got it.

Ummm.....you mean two fully completed movies, PRIOR to filming Plaiderdale's final season and while Peepster was off doing nothing? And, by your express argument, isn't that precisely what she's doing now? Except for free and for something she claimed she'd never do again, but now is?

Oh, alsoooo?

Ooopsiesss!

Wow....I didn't know you could be "trash" and "privileged" simultaneously? Also....who knew having a bad parent made one trash by extension? How klasseee you are!

But it does piss you off knowing PP is, in fact, rust belt trash and her narrative has previously very much been that, huh? As is your cracker ass, deep white trash, Silly....

It's sad cuz it's painfully pathetic, desperate and living fully in the past? And, actually, I'd say they legit did just that....so, guess we watch a different show then? Got it.

Also, if you want to exist in delusion, just don't read what I post...and, again, dude, pathetic. Also, really "hope", you ARE aware it's a teevee show and it's done, right?

He didn't, you illiterate dullard, he called the love the fans have for ships that. I am truly sorry you're this fucking stupid.

OML.....if they really DO??? That's fucking hilarious and weirdly flattering....imagine devoting that much energy to a total stranger (you know, like you've done by sending me all this hate today), just for their attention, however negative it might be?

And here they keep saying how I don't matter, etc! It's as if I'm apparently godlike to them.....thank you for this, Silly/janASS, today really IS going fabulously!!!

Meanwhile, dude.....again, just no. I get this is a weird bedtime story that brings you comfort, but no, every day I'm reminded of how much better off Cole is without that loony harpie....

To your last part....

A) yes, Peepster does

B) sounds like you're verrryyyyy jelly Ari's with Cole now and not you PP. Which, OFC, remains why you're so pressed about everything....

And now I need a ciggie (and I don't even smoke). Thanks for the further ego boost, mah loooovveee

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spicytrashthe1st · 3 years

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Obey me boys reation to Mc "heavy petting" them in public

Lucifer

Gives u the look tm.

R u gonna grow meek under his gaze? Fuck no. Double down, ruin him, 10 points if u get him to lose his composure.

Just imagine, y'all r at a student council meetin when u smooth a hand over his thigh until ur hands over his (unfortunately) clothed cock. Give it a good squeeze before u start rubbin at it. Take ur time, the goal isnt to make him cum in his pants in the next 5mins, no, the goal is to lull him into such a relaxed state that he doesnt pay attention to the meetin. Instead his eyes flutter close, pen dropping from his grip as he sinks into his seat. Fuck n when he finally looks at u again only to give u those eyes, those pleadin eyes w such a soft expression that so very rarely graces his face.

*sighs* hes such a sweet thing, its a shame that hes gonna lecture u for 3 hours after this.

Mammon

Squeaks but denies it later.

If u can get him off discreetly u deserve a reward. Man is a mess under ur hands like fuckin always. But lets just say y'all have been doin this for a while so he's not so jumpy when u get handsy. So y'all r at the casino, Mam's is havin a lucky night n hes got that dumb happy look on his face that makes u go all mushy. So u come up behind his seat, wrap ur arms around him n nuzzle at his neck. Ur hands wander down his chest n torso until ur hands frame his cock. He tenses, bitin his lip as his mind whirls, wonderin how far ur gonna go this time. Will u be content w just holdin him like this? Maybe you'll jerk him off under the table, or maybe you'll throw him ontop of it n fuck the shit outta him. Who knows.

Leviathan

Well, thats one way to kill him.

Says he hates it but asks u to do it again. So u take it slow. Its movie night and everyone has long fallen asleep, everyone except u too. Y'all r cuddlin on the couch, hes little spoon cause how can u not want to hold this man in ur arms? The hands wrapped around his waist start to get that itch, the itch to touch, to caress, to feel the heat of his fleash under ur palm. So u slither a hand up his shirt, his cute nipples r just too inviting so u pinch n rub n twist them until theyre hard. Ur other hand dips under his waistband to wrap around his quickly hardenin cock. Hes holdin his breath, tryin so hard not to make any noise as pleasure shudders through his body.

Satan

Proceed w caution, this man is a cat after all.

Usually y'all r in his room w him lyin against ur chest as he reads to u n u thread ur fingers through his hair. But sometimes y'all go to the library, and today this fucker has the audacity to look so fuckin good. I mean sure hes just leanin there readin to his hearts content. But a strand of hair is out of place n he just looks so good. So u grab him by his lapels n drag him into one of the rows, shovin him against the bookshelf before shovin a hand down his pants.

Asmodeus

U think ppl bein around is gonna stop this man? Pft. It could be a regular ol tuesday when he gives that look, that look that has u burnin for him. How can u not shove him against the nearest surface?

Beelzebub

So, ur a good christian right? U can keep ur hands to urself right? U can watch this man workout for hours, gettin all sweaty w his titties out without goin to have a taste right?

Belphegor

We all agree that the cow bitch has a somnophilia kink yeah? Well considerin the fucker is asleep most of the time feel free to grop to ur hearts content. Pull out his chair durin class n show all the lesser demons what his pathetic cock can do.

Diavolo

Two words, touch, starved.

Would love to have ur hands on him 100% of the time, but he gotta work so that cant happen...unless? Unless u take advantage of his free time inbetween, or u could just walk into one of his meetings order him to get outta his seat so he can sit in ur lap. Do not do this in front of Lucifer, or do, ur funeral...again, anyway, play around w his titties. Rip open his fuckin shirt n let those puppies breath.

Barbatos

Dude doesnt show it but he really likes ur touch, like to the point where he seeks u out.

Ma'am this is a kitchen, u make food here...but u also eat food here to n Barb is lookin like a snac. U dont want to interupt his work but damn. Maybe pull his pants down just a little, maybe pull his hips back n eat his ass a little?

Simeon

I can be ur angel, i can be ur slut uwu.

Either hed be like "whatre u doin senpai?" Or is the one to put ur hands on him. So desperate for ur attention, he needs u to touch him, make his body sing. Doesnt want to get caught but also kinda does.

Solomon

He's too composed, mess him up. Is this hard to do? Yes, but its rewarding.

#obey me brain rot #obey me headcanons #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me satan #obey me asmodeus #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphegor #obey me diavolo #obey me barbatos #obey me simeon #obey me solomon #obey me #obey me swd

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noyasboxdye · 3 years

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***********************************

Notes: This is just a short lil thing I just came up with after reading a Hikaru fic- and I know no one is really active in this fandom but it needs to be revived. I also kinda want to start writing for them-

Character: Tamaki Suoh

WARNINGS: brat taming (?), Small Chocking, Mirror sex, Orgasm denial, Dry orgasms, piss kink, daddy kink, overstimulation (if you have on ur glasses and squint)

Title: Fucking brat

***********************************

Imagine Tamaki being a fucking brat all day. Like he's been flirting with random men and women on the street while you're on your way to a diner. And when y'all get there you think he's done being a whore and that he was just cranky or something but then he sees a friend from high school and they're talking.

Tamaki's being super unnecessarily touchy with this friend. And a waiter comes over and asks what you want to drink and Tamaki "forgot" you were there so the waiter takes your orders. Tamaki introduced you to Mori.

But then he goes back to being touchy. He's rubbing up on his arms saying how much more muscley he got from high school. And after they say bye to the both of you Tamaki just pretends like he wasn't damn near on top of him.

Then your waiters fliting with Tamaki and Tamaki gives him his number saying like suggestive shit to him. And it was to the point where you had to leave 100 on the table and just leave. Y'all get home and he's acting like he wasn't doing anything wrong

Fast forward like almost an hour later this mans crying, drooling, tongue out moaning loud asf. Like begging for you to let him cum. Ignoring him and wrapping your hand around his neck forcing him to look at himself in the mirror looking at the way his small pathetic little red swollen cock hits his stomach.

Having yet another dry orgasm. Sobbing as he feels you filling him with your cum once again. His eyes rolling around in his head.

After a while, you finally let him cum but he just ends up peeing himself and making a mess. Resulting in him getting fucked some more.

Just like full-on sobbing because you're being so mean to him and he can't handle it. "Fucking disgusting whore. Did you enjoy peeing on daddy's floor huh?" the blush on his face becoming even more prominent.

"I- 'm sor- aha mpf~ ry- I- just pleash." his words slurring together as his brain becomes mush not even being able to think straight anymore. "Please what? You gotta speak up fa' me" you say slapping his ass.

"I- ahm~ Ple-" he whimpers not being able to form a coherent sentence let alone thought. "Look at you fucked dumb like a stupid little whore should be," you say getting cut off by a groan forcing its way out of you as his ass sucks you back in squeezing.

"What you like it when I'm mean yeah? You like it when I treat you like a useless cock sleeve," you say bringing your hand up to form a tight firm grip in his hair.

You ended up going two more rounds in the bedroom and another in the bath.

"'M sorry daddy. I didn't mean to be a brat." he says whispering half asleep. "S' okay doll just don't do it again," you say massaging his back and thighs drifting off into a deep sleep.

#ouran high school host club #ohshc imagines #ohshc x reader #tamaki souh #tamaki suoh x reader #tamaki x male reader #tamaki x reader #tamaki x y/n #tamaki x you

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dracowars · 3 years

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forbidden | draco malfoy

pairing: draco x slytherin!reader

word count: 3,6k

summary: where y/n and draco have to endure a very special type of detention

a/n: welcome to my first ever one shot. i hope you enjoy it! please let me know if there are any mistakes.

warnings: none

universe: harry potter

Honestly you weren't really surprised that Professor Snape gave Draco, Harry and Ron detention for nearly blowing up the whole potions classroom when fighting over the ground unicorn horn, an important ingredient for The Antidote to Common Poisons.

But what you weren't expecting was that Snape gave you detention as well, just because you sat in the center of it. Any attempt to convince him otherwise was useless.

And now here you were, in front of Hagrid's hut, the moon shining bright, the only light coming from the hut and your dim lanterns. You'd rather be in any other place you can think of. Everywhere except here. The sooner it ends, the better.

Yet the three idiots next to you still yelled at each other for what already feels like hours. Not even Filch nor Mrs Norris, who escorted you here after curfew, could bear their stupidity any longer, so Mr Filch knocks against Hagrid's door and runs off with a malicious giggle, but not before wishing y'all good luck, of course. You, for your part, could really need it.

"Can't believe I have to spend detention with you again, Potter", Draco spat, his voice full of disgust. The whole day he'd told you about how Harry and him already had detention in their first year at Hogwarts. That time they were lead into the Forbidden Forest and since you are now at Hagrid's hut in the middle of the night, you can already imagine exactly what your detention consists of this time.

Goosebumps spread all over your skin when you only think of the Dark Forest. Yes, you were sorted into Slytherin but that doesn't mean that you can't be afraid. You were, in fact, scared of many things but going into the Forbidden Forest was definetely very high on that list.

Draco noticed your change of behavior while listening to his story of his 11 year old brave self and suddenly had fun frightening you. Not that you were already scared enough of only the thought to go into that damned forest.

Even though he promised to protect you all the way, you were sure that when they were in first year Draco was the first to run and leave the others for death. But he would never admit that and maybe, just maybe, he actually grew up a little bit since then.

You've actually known him since you can remember. Your families, both pureblood, are very close, they even went to Hogwarts together in their time, which let to you and Draco being childhood friends. So when you went to Hogwarts yourself, you were happy to have your best friend by your side and when you got sorted into the same house, Slytherin, you couldn't have been any happier.

Eventually these long years of friendship turned into something more in your fourth year. (Maybe already earlier, you weren't quite sure.) Neither of you wanted to admit it at first but you were meant to be. Anyone could see it from a far. Everyone shipped you since first year and now, in sixth year, you are a happy couple for nearly three years with just a few minor disagreements here and there.

"Ah. The usual suspects", Hagrid mumbles as soon as he spots you after opening the heavy door, Fang, his over-sized Boarhound dog, directly running in Harry's direction. "I don't know why I thought it would be someone else. Feels just like yesterday that we went into the Forbidden Forest, right?"

Hagrid's mention of the Forbidden Forest makes shivers run down your spine right away. This reaction of your body didn't go unnoticed though and you feel the warmth of Draco's body as he scoots closer to you.

Despite Draco's cold demeanor outward, he has a very pleasent warm body temperature. You found out about this feature when you started becoming 'more than just friends' over the years. And now it is hard to imagine life without this warmth.

"I thought getting into sixth year would finally safe us these kind of detentions", Ron whines which Hagrid only response to with a laugh. "No matter what year you are in, Ron, there is nothing more beautiful like an adventurous walk through the forest in the middle of the night. Trust me", Hagrid smiles proudly. "What do we have to do this time?", Harry asks, also not very fond of the idea to go into that forest again.

Even though you were friends with Draco for so long, you actually liked the golden trio. You don't have much to do with them, only a few courses together, but you don't hate them at all. In your opinion they are actually very kind, which Draco, obviously, doesn't approve of.

"Not much, in fact. A creature was hurt last night and I really don't know which one it is. All we have to do is to find the injured creature", Hagrid explains while taking a huge crossbow, leading you right to the entrance of the forest. "Not very challenging, is it?"

"But you do know that there are werwolves in there, don't you? Besides all the other.. dangerous animals that thirst for our blood", Ron complains, while Draco seems to have laid eyes on the crossbow.

"What weapon do we get to defend ourselves?", he interupts Ron's expressed thoughts and points to the weapon, which Hagrid answers to with a sigh.

"You're a wizard. I don't think you need any other weapon than your wand, Malfoy", Hagrid scoffs and goes past him. "Now. Since I'm able to learn from my mistakes, not like others..", he mumbles the last part. "Harry and Ron, you will go this way. Draco and Y/N take the other direction. Please make sure to not hurt anyone or anything."

"A-Anything?", is the last word you hear Ron mumble as you started walking in the different direction. Or more like Draco pulling you behind him into the Dark Forest.

You tighten your black cloak around yourself as you shiver. The Forbidden Forest seems to be even scarier in the night. Even scarier than you expected it to be in general. The only sounds you can hear are your footsteps on the mud, caused by the rainy weather these days, and here and there something that sounds like a very aggressive raven.

"Snape should have just deducted our houses points and not let us go into this dumb forest again", Draco mumbles in front of you while leading the way, not really knowing where to search either. The dim warm light of the lantern he holds up makes his hair shine bright and is the only thing that makes you feel at ease a little bit. Something familiar.

A sudden crack behind you, sounding like a branch that has been stepped on, makes you stop in your tracks abruptly. "What was that, Draco?", you ask, the fear in your shaking voice clearly audible.

"Don't worry about it, love. I'm sure it was just a stupid animal. Let's go on", your boyfriend responds and takes your cold hand in his again.

As you kept going through the tall trees for a few minutes you realize that you've gotten very far into the Forbidden Forest already. All you can see now are trees and not even the moon shines through the dense leaves over your heads anymore. The thick layer of fog around you doesn't make the weird feeling in your stomach better either.

Draco keeps strolling around, searching for any evidence for an injured creature and you turn around, still feeling anxious of someone - or something - following you two.

Your heart stops as the lantern, that Draco held up seconds ago, falls to the ground with a loud crash. Your whole vision goes black and darkness surrounds you. A few bats, startled by the noise, fly away.

"Draco?!", you shout and don't dare to move a single muscle. Your breath is so slow, you don't even know if you're still breathing at all. Another sound is heard from your right and you turn around, only to face more darkness.

"Draco Lucius Malfoy! This is not funny at all! Do you hear me?!", you yell again while getting your wand out of your pocket. Pointing it forward, you quietly say: "Lumos."

As soon as the light erupts from the tip of your wand, blinding you for a brief moment, a white, light-lit face appears right in front of you.

"BOO!", the face shouts directly at you.

You let out a scream, stumble back a few steps in shock and rest your hand against your fast beating heart. The next thing you hear are the echoing laughters of your boyfriend.

"You should've seen your face!", Draco laughs and throws his head back. You swallow heavily and take a few moments to calm yourself down, a tear on the edge of falling. "I hate you so much!", you yell at him and hit his shoulder a few times as anger replaces your fear. "You know exactly how scared I am, dumbass!"

"I could not not take this opportunity, love", he giggles, making the blood in your veins boil. But before you can scold him any further, he stops laughing all of a sudden and his suddenly widend eyes are locked on a point directly behind you. "Y/N.. Don't turn around, okay? Don't move", he whispers and points behind you with a slight head movement.

"I'm not that pathetic, Draco. I'm not gonna fall for that again", you roll your eyes and cross your arms over your chest while turning around. As soon as you did, it feels like all life left your body at once.

Two round yellow eyes, emerging from the sinister undergrowth, are directly fixed on you. A small cone of moonlight falls through the rustling leaves as a slight breeze passes and the creature in front of you turns out to be a werewolf.

Your breath gets caught in your throat as the wild creature comes closer, snarling. "RUN, Y/N!", Draco's loud shout makes you flinch and he grabs your hand, knowing that it is too late to not make any noise, pulling you closely behind him. You nearly stumble over all the sticking out, large roots on the ground but the adrenaline that rushes through your body makes you run as fast as you can.

"Stupefy!", Draco casts the Stunning Spell and shoots it at the creature while running. A jet of red light emerges from his wand but misses the werewolf by a few centimeters. It is now catching up with you even faster than before. "Damn it!", Draco curses.

Your legs already start hurting from how fast you were running. You see a dim light between the trees in front of you and a glimmer of hope runs through you. As you get closer by every second you realize that it's not Hagrid, as you hoped, but none other than Ron and Harry. The confusion is clearly written on their faces.

"RUN!", you tell them, grabbing their hands as you pass them to pull both of them with you. It doesn't take them long to realize what you were running away from.

"Bloody hell!", Ron whimpers beside you and lets the lantern fall to the ground. By now the four of you lost every sense of direction and the only thing that keeps you from giving up is to not get torn into pieces.

Again you take a look back over your shoulder to see how close the wolf has come and in this exact moment of unwariness, you trip over and fall to the ground with a cry. Immediately you try to straighten up but a sharp pain runs through your body and leaves you whimpering in pain.

"Stupefy!", Harry now attacks the beast and actually hits it this time. The wolf falls back a few meters through the air and lands on the ground with a thump, motionless.

"Y/N! Stand up, come on!", Draco helps you up and notices your pained expression. From that moment on your fear is reflected in his eyes. He bends down and frantically picks you up in his arms. Unfortunately, the werewolf has recovered from the spell quickly and is running towards you again, growling and barking dangerously.

But before you can escape this time, another creature that you can't really make out because of the darkness at first, suddenly throws itself on the wolf, fighting a bitter fight with it. You can only stand there and watch in shock.

"Buckbeak!", you can hear Hagrid's voice from the distance and the majestic hippogriff lets go of the much smaller animal, which is now also winzing in pain and then finally leaves you alone.

"What did you do?! How did this happen?", Hagrid scolds you as soon as he arrives, his eyes fixed on Draco immediately. You bite your lower lip to hold back tears as you let yourself sink down from Draco's arms and onto the ground with his help.

"The werewolf attacked us out of nowhere", you explain with a quiet voice and touch your ankle, regretting it right away as you hiss in pain. "It was noone's fault, Hagrid."

"This is exactly the reason why students shouldn't go into the Forbidden Forest, you-", Draco aggressivly starts but you pull on his sleeve, making him look at you. His facial expression softens at your action.

Buckbeak stands close behind Hagrid and observes the situation curiously. Hagrid sighs loudly, his breath becoming visible in the cold air of the night, and pets Buckbeak gently.

"Fine. Let's get you out of here first and then we will look at the damage", Hagrid suggests and Draco and Harry help you stand up again. "I c-can't walk", you hiss after placing your injured foot on the ground, withdrawing it straight away.

"Come here, Y/N. Buckbeak will help", Hagrid waves you over to him and before any second thoughts could cross your mind, you were already seated on the hippogriff's back. While you're still busy with getting comfortable on the creature you unexpectedly feel a pair of hands sneak around your waist closly from behind. Draco had jumped onto Buckbeak as well, with Hagrid's permission of course, and whispers an apology in your ear.

Finally you are able to relax a little while you feel Draco's chest against your back. A cozy warmth emanates from him that has always made you feel at ease and the cold air surrounding you makes it even more comfortable.

With a whistle from Hagrid Buckbeak sets itself in motion and leads you out of the forest, directly back to Hagrid's hut. You had completely lost every sense of time while you were in there. While to you it seems like several hours have passed, it was probably just one.

Draco jumps off in front of the hut and helps you get down, his grip very strong on your hip. You gently stroke over the soft head of the hippogriff and smile weakly at it.

Draco doesn't waste any time and takes you to the warm hut, where he seats you down on one of the chairs and carefully places your leg on his thigh. While watching your boyfriend take care of you so caringly and gently - a side not everyone knows of him - you don't even notice that a few tears finally found their way over your cheeks, which you were able to hold back before. Everything that happened tonight hits you all at once in this moment.

Eventually, Draco's gaze meets yours and he immediately pulls you into a warm, firm and loving hug. "I am so so sorry, love. I shouldn't have scared you. If I hadn't been this stupid, then we wouldn-", he stumbles over his words but you place your index finger on his lips softly. "I'm okay, Draco", you smile at him, even though your ankle doesn't feel anywhere near okay.

"I told Madam Pomfrey what happened and she will be able to heal it quickly, and even though she wasn't very happy that I asked for her help at this hour, she would like to see you at the Hospital Wing", Hagrid tells you as he comes back into his hut, Ron and Harry curiously looking past Hagrid and at you. The guilt is clearly written on Hagrid's face.

"I'm sorry I couldn't help but somehow I just couldn't come up with the right spell!", Ron rants while he and Harry approach you. "How about we help you get into that hospital wing?", Harry offers their help with a smile, which you gladly agree to. Draco on the other hand throws a disapproving look at him, his protective boyfriend instincts very active after what happened today.

Still, he lets Harry help him get you out. Your arms are each wrapped around their shoulders so that you can at least hobble and not have to be carried.

"I will talk to Professor Dumbledore about getting rid of these kind of detentions", Hagrid utters, looking to the ground in shame. Buckbeak senses Hagrid's sadness and lays his head on his arm. Releasing your arm from Draco purposely to tap Hagrid's shoulder soothingly, Draco holds you tightly at your waist in an instant, still afraid that you could lose balance any second and fall again.

"Please don't worry, Hagrid. It's not your fault", you try to cheer him up. "Thank you and also you, Buckbeak." At the mention of his name, Buckbeak turns to you and it almost looks like he actually understood what you said, lowering his head a little as if he would bow.

"I hate to admit it but I guess I have to thank that.. chicken of yours as well, Hagrid", Draco clears his throat. "Thank you for rescuing us."

You know exactly how difficult it is for Draco to thank someone. He rarely does, only because he never really learned how. However, the few times he actually does, you can't help but feel warmer inside. This is what distinguishs him from the evil guys.

With these last words and a nod from Hagrid's side, Draco leads the way into the building and they help you to the first floor, Ron opening the doors for you. You arrive at the Hospital Wing, where Harry and Ron seperate from you and go back to their common room.

Madam Pomfrey treats your sprained ankle and only half an hour later you are dismissed from the Hospital Wing. It feels like you've never hurt yourself in the first place, but Madam Pomfrey still wants you to rest and take care of yourself. Your boyfriend clearly agreed to that and insisted on carrying you back to the Slytherin common room, where you arrived only seconds ago.

It is already so late in the night that not a single soul is in the faint green room, everyone fast asleep for hours in their comfortable beds. You feel exhausted after this eventful night and tiredness is slowly overcoming you.

"Where do you think you are going?", Draco's determining voice asks you with a hint of reproach when you were just about to make your way to the girls' dormitories. "To sleep?", you deadpenned.

"You won't go anywhere except my prefect room. Oh, and you will most certainly not go", he commands and before you know it, you're in his strong arms again and on the way to his room. If the way wasn't so short though, you could have fallen asleep right there in his arms, your cheek on his shoulder and one hand against his warm chest.

Despite telling him that you are fine for the tenth time now, he still insists on taking care of you. He borrows you your favorite sweater of his - although you don't quite understand how it found its way back into his closet because the last time you checked it has been in your room - and softly puts you to bed under the thick dark green covers out of silk.

What you don't know, however, is how much he actually blames himself for what happend tonight. He feels guilty because it should have hit him and not you. After all, he accidentally lured the werewolf into your direction by frightening you. He knew you were scared, you told him before. Nevertheless he thought it was funny to scare you. And now you got hurt because of him.

He climbs in beside you and pulls you closely to him, your arm wrapped over his waist and your head on his chest. He gently runs his fingertips over your delicate skin and through your hair. You feel his steady heartbeat beneath you, softly inhale his scent and close your eyes.

"I love you so much, Y/N. I'm sorry for everything", Draco whispers barely audible and places a kiss on your forehead, then another one on your temple. "I love you too, Draco", you absently smile and put your hand on his jaw, lift your head slightly and then give him a kiss on his chapped lips. "And please stop apologizing, alright? It was not your fault."

You can clearly see that he thinks about whether or not to reply but you beat him to it. "Listen. I don't blame you at all. It was a misfortune, nothing more and nothing less. All I need is your company right now. I need you by my side, Draco. Always", you explain and give him a genuine smile in hopes to make him feel better and to finally stop blaming himself.

He replies with an equally genuine smile and gives you one last kiss before he pulls you even closer, as if he's scared of losing you. Still, after your kind words, he actually feels better now and he smiles to himself when noticing your quiet snoring.

And that night Draco definetely made sure you wouldn't have any nightmares at all.

#draco malfoy imagines #draco malfoy one shot #draco malfoy x reader #draco x reader #draco malfoy #draco lucius malfoy #draco imagine #draco malfoy imagine #draco malfoy oneshots #draco malfoy headcanon #draco malfoy fluff #draco malfoy angst #draco malfoy fanfiction #harry potter imagine #harry potter imagines #harry potter x reader #hp imagine

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youmyjhope · 3 years

Text

about the recent bts / permission to dance slander

( its gonna be here too cuz its my blog and i dont care. its about the ppl who shit on bts because of their english songs. i got so mad after seeing everyone bitch on reddit. )

yall be fucking dramatic and really don't seem to like the boys very much if you doubt them, it's fucking cringe... the way y'all think y'all know better than hybe and bts themselves PLS. like i understand not liking the song, it's not their best work BUT IT WASN'T MEANT TO BE and bts themselves always say that their english songs are not deep. yall cross the line when yall PROJECT on the members and go like "ahh there's something wrong with them, bts sold out, they need a break, they don't like making music anymore". yall even say you wish them to enlist and other shit 🤢🤢

but bitch are you YOONGI to say that he's losing passion for music or that he should hate the musical direction bts is taking or whatever? you have this imaginary yoongi in your head and when the REAL yoongi doesnt meet your stupid expectations you SHIT ON HIM AND BTS. you act so fucking pathetic and ALL you need to do about it is simply be invested in bts enough, listen to THEIR OWN words and to all their music not only 3 english songs. YOUR BTS SELLING OUT / LOSING PASSION / BEING CLUELESS NARRATIVE IS BULLSHIT. you are not even a fan because it should be obvious for fans.

when you complain about lets say yoongi being proud about the billboard and talking about being first a lot cuz "ITS IS SO WRONG, HE ONLY CARES ABOUT NUMBERS NOW", are you seriously this dumb? MAYBE LEAVE HIM ALONE AND FUCKING LET HIM BE PROUD AND CONFIDENT?? Ofc he should talk about it and be proud CUZ DUH their achivements are amazing. bts are always greatful and work SO hard for them. they are having this huge success because they deserve it 100 % and they ALWAYS acknowledge that armys support them in return for everything they do for us. what you think he is supposed to do, cry and say that bts is shit and armys are shit for supporting bts cuz YOU think bts is shit and sold out?😐 bts members are very ambitious and goal-oriented, have always been this way, and they have the RIGHT to be. again, if there's anybody who deserves having records broken, it's THEM.

they said numerous times that they are aiming at the grammys with all these english releases. IT IS THEIR GOAL FOR NOW. they have reached more things than anyone could ever imagine so next they want a grammy and they will get it. idc if you think grammys are shit so bts shouldnt try to get the award, THEY ARE TRYING AND THIS IS THEIR WAY. they are doing everything they can to be acklowledged by this highly biased institution which is STILL CONSIDERED INFLUENTIAL worldwide. they make connections in america and make english songs that break records and actually give them recognition there (cuz apparently some americans dont know that english translations exist).

bts are phenomenal, very different from other artists, and so talented but ppl think they are not worthy of something called "the most important music award". they will actually give this award the meaning it is supposed to hold. cry if you disagree. you say bts are selling out and seek western validation but you miss the point. THE REAL ISSUE IS THAT WITHOUT THESE ENGLISH SONGS AND CONNECTIONS BTS WILL CONTINUE TO BE IGNORED BY THE RACIST AMERICAN MUSIC INDUSTRY.

and then if you say "they should make deeper english songs to win a grammy" consider

1) english is not their native language but even then they are doing great and make good happy pop songs

2) dynamite literally gave them the nomination??, making this type of song was a right move

3) pls they gave the bts's award to some lady gaga shit purely because WHITE AMERICAN and connections. like I literally would prefer bts putting out the most low-effort terrible song and getting a grammy because armys held the committees hostage than THIS CORRUPT NONSENSE.

hmm do some of yall really have the audacity to say that bts didnt deserve to win? they are authentic, talented, hard-working, worthy. THEY LITERALLY PAVED THEIR WAY TO THE GRAMMYS. THEY MADE WHAT NOBODY IN KOREA HAS DONE BEFORE. all that just to be fucking disrespected by old white men????

so in conclusion BTS ARE THE SAME. they changed ofc but for the better. they have goals and reach them. THEY ARE NOT SELLING OUT. they have too much at stake for yall to be throwing this phrase around. THEY WILL GET THE GRAMMY.

AND i didnt dislike ptd. in fact ptd is the SOTC. so just stay mad.

#bts #permission to dance #bts yoongi #hoseok

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boop-le-snoot · 4 years

Text

PARTY FAVOURS I CHAPTER 7

Rating: Explicit.

‼️TW: Reader is EIGHTEEN! Recreational drug use, smoking and alcohol consumption, deeply internalised self-loathing, very questionable moral standards. Daddy kink taken half-seriously. BDSM themes in later chapters - explicit content will come with it's own TWs. FIRST PERSON POV. There is violence in this chapter.

Summary: You're Peter's classmate, a child of rich and famous but uncaring parents. Getting paired up for a lengthy project with the boy was an interesting turn of events and you don't know whether to feel blessed or cursed when you develop, seemingly, a perfectly normal, harmless crush on Tony Stark. Fueled by feelings of inadequacy and boredom, your life spirals out of control - and you're lucky your newfound friends are there to pick up the pieces even if you cannot find it in yourself to believe these amazing human (and not so human) beings voluntarily give you more than a fleeting glance and an offhanded thought. And they brought cake!

A/N: *chants* BRUCE FLUFF BRUCE FLUFF BRUCE FLUFF. *sings* they're ain't no big thing just show them a little swing. Beneficial Cucumber. Author's notes are spoilers without context at this point... Y'all-

My beta, @miscmarvelwritings . We make the best duo. I am her dumb of ass and she is my gay. I love her.

Tony was elbow-deep in a robot when I came out of the elevator, Peter holding up the spare part needed, hovering next to the engineer. Without preamble, I was directed to help and dutifully fulfilled Tony's requests. Nothing indicated that my evening stunt ever happened besides Pete's faint blush; I might as well have written it off to the tank top hugging the upper part of my body in all the right places.

I was disappointed, I won't lie to myself - I expected Tony to tease me at least a little bit, snark something vaguely lewd and move on. But the engineer was quiet today, eerily so, almost to the point where it seemed he was ignoring me on purpose. My pride didn't let me begin any of our usual banter so I frowned in silence, making the appearance of a very focused person. Bolts and screws - most interesting things in the world!

As usual, I clocked out first around eleven thirty, leaving Pete and Tony some time to discuss their secret science stuff. Usually I would be exhausted by this point which left little to no room for jealousy but that night, emotions hit me like a freight train and it took me every ounce of my willpower to head out to Bruce's for the inevitable "I'm disappointed in you/Fuck safely" round of brainwashing.

My brain kept returning to the downwards tilt of Tony's mouth and the somber mood around him. I hated seeing him so...unhappy and tense.

The moment I set step in Bruce's lab, I saw the man's back hunched over a tube, I felt the same energy coming from him. What a fucking day! The sigh that left my mouth was resigned. "Bruce?"

A couple of seconds passed before he turned. He attempted a smile but it didn't reach his eyes at all. "Hi, Princess."

I cocked my head in defeat. "If this is the part where you lecture me, let's get over it. Or even better, you say nothing and we carry on," I pursed my lips, inspecting my nails in favour of actually facing the scientist.

I heard the click-clack of his instruments being placed on the table and the soft taps of his shoes against the tiled floor. His arms reached around my shoulders before I could even attempt to pull away, one of his broad palms tucking my face into the crook of his neck.

"I'm not mad, baby girl," He told me quietly.

I felt some of the tension dissipate, wrapped my arms around him, coming to a realization the man was all but melting into me.

"Just stay safe, alright? I don't want you to get hurt," With the same quiet tone, Bruce gently shushed my worries away. "If something is wrong, you can come to me. You know that, right?" He sounded painfully hopeful as he withdrew just enough to capture my face in his hands, forcing me to look him in the eye.

Something about the look in his eyes made my heart ache. I didn't have the heart to refuse, nor did I want to, so I nodded. Promptly, I was embraced yet again, his lips resting on the crown of my head, both of us swaying gently.

I've never wanted to cry so badly in my entire life.

"I'm a fuckin' mess, Bwucie, you haven't got a clue what you've gotten yourself into," I settled for a round of self-deprication instead. Bitter as it was, it was the barenaked truth.

"Then you're a beautiful mess," I could feel the smile tugging at the corners of his lips. So I smiled, too, obscured by his lab coat.

As much as I didn't want to leave the embrace, like, ever, I had to get home before one o'clock - before mother went to bed, zonked out on Valium and Ambien from the endless supply closet courtesy of my dad. "M'hafta go home," I mumbled.

Bruce sighed deeply. "I'll grab one of Tony's cars and drive you," He went over to remove his lab coat as I gaped. "I'm a forty-five year old man, I can drive." He chuckled humorlessly.

"Tony won't mind?" I asked the first question that popped into my mind to attempt dispelling the awkward moment.

"Trust me, he won't mind at all," Bruce mumbled darkly. I wondered what's up with that but the immediate future for me was already planned out: I was really looking forward to going home, crawling into bed with my clothes on and having a good old fashioned cry.

We made quick work of locating a set of keys and peeling out of the garage in Tony's shiny Audi R8, tires squealing on the wet pavement. It had stopped raining sometime during my robot building but the city was still filled with puddles. I could smell the moist, decaying leaves through the tiny gap of the window, the city was drowning in autumn like I was drowning in my own cluelessness.

The adrenaline rush, the weight of Tony's foul mood, the grief and pleading that radiated off Bruce mixed into a horrendous cocktail of misery and pain. Too much pain for my little, weak, dumb heart to handle. And all these people out in the streets, dressed to the nines despite the disgusting weather - laughing, hugging and drunkenly giggling, it was like salt on my wounds, rubbing it in how much of a good time they were having.

"This your house?" Bruce pointed at the black, high gate of the entrance to my garage.

"Yeah, it's a bit much," I nodded absentmindedly, seeing Bruce's eyes bulge at the sheer size of my estate. My mother wouldn't settle for any less than the best so having a monstrously huge (for NYC) home was what she got. Dad just signed the checks.

Bruce hummed.

I made a face, reaching for his warm hand and giving it a squeeze. "Thanks, Bwucie," Smiling at him, I used up the last of my good mood to show the gratitude he deserved.

He pulled me into a tight hug right over the middle console. It wasn't comfortable by any means with the numerous buttons and switches poking at the soft of my stomach but there was nowhere else I'd rather be than in his arms during that moment. The breaths that left me felt like they were punched out of my chest cavity by steel-toed boots.

"Good night, Princess. Sweet dreams." He kissed my cheek, lingering just a tiny bit.

I did the same, rubbing softly against his stubble and giggling at the ticklish sensation. "Night night, Bwucie."

I waved at him again as I unlocked my front gates and watched him speed off from behind it, obscured by the shadows of the decorative trees growing right behind the fence.

Bruce's face had morphed into something akin to torment or suffering the moment I disappeared from his immediate eyesight and it baffled me to no extent. I ransacked my brain left and right, searching for a reason I might have inadvertently caused him to feel that way but found none. The only logical reason was that he was just lonely. He didn't have many friends from what I gathered and if judging by the proud tone in which he spoke of Will-Mr Davies today, he desperately needed some other company than his teammates. I wish I could have helped.

Mother was nowhere to be seen when I entered the house so a beeline for my bed was successful. The ugly, loud, dry-heaving sobs weren't in any shape or form attractive or acceptable to show to anybody but me so when they forced their way out of me, the pillow keeping me company. I cried as for everything that was happening to me as much as I sobbed because of the self-pity I was indulging in.

It was pathetic, really. My mother would scoff and my father... Well, he'd offer me to 'cheer up, throw a party, do normal teenager stuff'. The bottle of wine I kept in my closet was empty in no time: I justified that as a single lady in a big city, I was entitled to relax once in a while.

Who was I lying to? I downed a bottle in twenty minutes just so I could fall asleep and begone from all this bullshit for a while.

On Monday, I anonymously submitted the documents pertaining to Thompson's behaviour to the school board and to a local newspaper that was known to dabble in socialite gossip. Next day, an investigation was promptly launched and important-looking people started to appear in the hallways, going in and out of the principal's office. Flash was pulled out of class by two police officers: at this point, half the student population was unashamedly filming it on their smartphones, me included. With grim satisfaction, I sent the video directly to the group chat with an added message of "so long, fucker".

Steve didn't even remark on my profanity, just sent a thumbs up.

It really fuckin' blew up the next morning. The news was plastered across every paper, every social media site - "Midtown Principal's son arrested for grand theft auto and assault", "Midtown Principal Being Investigated for obstruction of education" and other ridiculous headlines that had me, Bucky and Natasha in shit-fits.

Flash returned to school on Wednesday accessorized with a pretty ankle monitor and a sullen frown. During lunch, he sat only with two of his closest minions instead of the chatty group he was usually seen with. Everybody avoided him like the bubonic plague, even teachers ignored him.

With the final bell, me and Pete went on to look for Happy outside the school territory.

I was spending nearly every evening at the tower either in Tony's or Bruce's lab or sandwiched between Wanda and Bucky on the couch, gossiping while TV shows mutely played in the background. I had found a second friend in the face of Winter Soldier who, much like me, spent a lot of his days occupied by the internet or in a general state of confusion. Bucky was charming, funny and very flamboyant. I enjoyed the no-nonsense attitude and zero fucks that he gave the world in general.

The moment I stepped on the other side of the gate, I immediately knew something was wrong. Peter squirmed uncomfortably beside me, looking frantically in every direction, trying to spot Happy's car in vain.

"Ay, Parker," The familiar obnoxious voice of Peter's bully reached our ears. "You wanna tell me how you got your grubby little hands on that file?"

Thompson had brought back up with him, the idiot that he was. He was standing off to the side, leaning against the fence while five older boys surrounded us in a tight circle.

"Leave us alone, Flash, you're already in trouble," Peter tried reasoning with the bully meanwhile I... I was searching for a cleaner, dryer spot to dump my $1500 bag onto in preparation for the inevitable. I was no stranger to swinging my arm - as a frequent house party guest, I've had to fend off enough unwelcome advances. I've been told I have a mean, mean right hook.

"Bold of you to assume Peter would actually steal something," I stated in a bored tone once my bag was out of the way and Pete was standing securely behind me. I wasn't afraid of Flash, mostly because I knew he'd step back for the fear of retaliation from my family was usually too much.

"Oh, look at that, the weirdo is talking," Thompson mocked, getting up and standing right in front of my face. "You know, I don't get why the likes of you have to go to school with us, normal people. See, Peter here might be a little wimp but at least he won't shoot up the whole school one day because his daddy didn't love him enough," Thompson decided to test his luck. To finish his epic tirade with a flourish, he spat on the ground next to me.

I snorted. "Wow, that's an awful lot of smart words for someone as dumb as a doorknob," I shook my head in disdain. "Look, either you go now or I'll sue you so far up your ass, you'll be sucking dick in prison just to get something to fill your stomach with." And wow, that comeback was really, really good. I was proud of myself.

I saw pure rage mar Thompson's already ugly face into something demonic and ducked at the last moment, feeling the blunt sting of his knuckles connect with my left cheekbone. Reflectively I swung, too, decking him straight in the nose with all the rage and despair that was burning deeply inside of me at that time.

I heard gasps all around me as the students whispered, shouted and cheered at Thompson's confused form hitting the ground. He held his face and his palms were stained a deep crimson; I felt something warm on my face, copper in my mouth.

"Does anybody want some of that, too?" My tone was icy. I shrugged off the hand that landed on my shoulder, glaring down one of the boys who came with Thompson.

"Shit, cops, RUN!" One of the students suddenly shouted and just like that, both me and Flash were surrounded only by a handful of students who had filmed the entire incident on camera. God bless technology!

"Uh, I think you're bleeding," Pete timidly remarked from behind me, hand still awkwardly outstretched towards me. He cast a guilty look to the side where Happy was running towards us, phone held to his ear, no doubt already on the line with Tony and the rest of the Avengers. Shit, fuck, SHIT. I didn't plan for this!

The police officers called an ambulance for Flash and took my statement while I was holding my bleeding nose up to the sky, much to the officer's dismay. Happy had passed the officer his mobile phone and I briefly heard Tony's voice saying that I will be taken care of in the tower's medical suite - and let's face it, no cop will go against Iron Man's charm and wit.

As an eighteen year old, I could refuse the on-site medical assistance that the city provided and my parents weren't required so I was let go after my statement was taken and my injuries photographed.

Not that the photoshoot really was required. Multiple people had the incident on video, from multiple angles. It was an open and close case. I called my mother in the elevator (she didn't answer) and left her a voice message with the bare facts of the situation and my current whereabouts.

Seeing the whole team assembled in the living room, some nervously twitching, some anxiously pacing, I couldn't help but let out a slightly hysterical giggle. "Oh my god, guys, I'm not in a coma, stop acting like I'm in a coma!"

Bucky was the first to approach me, carefully hugging me and steering me towards Bruce. He looked a bit rough, green-ish? I guess. But the first aid kit was already on the table and Stephen Strange was hovering nearby.

"You decked the sucker real good, doll," Bucky's Brooklyn accent made his speech less intelligible but he definitely got all the cookie points for the heat and the passion.

"Ditto. Should've kicked him in the balls, too," Natasha smirked and Steve mirrored her smirk with a darker twist.

"I'm going to sue him so darn far up his ass," Tony seethed, looking absolutely livid.

"Don't worry, mother's got it handled," I obediently laid down on the couch, staring up at Bruce's wide eyes and Stephen's focused face.

"You are fearless and fierce, dear lady," Thor boomed from somewhere.

All of this was making me... Emotional. I just punched a piece of human garbage, it was not a big deal, okay? He had it coming. I chuckled uncomfortably, wincing when Bruce began dabbing at the dried blood on my face with a piece of gauze soaked in alcohol. "Petey, you alright?" I asked, worried about the sudden onset of silence from the usually chatty boy. He mumbled something. "Speak up, I can't hear shit with all the ringing in my ears."

That earned me a worried look from doctor Strange and a frown from Bruce.

"I should've protected you-I mean-it's not that you can't do it yourself, or because you're a girl, it's just-I," he suddenly stopped.

"Go ahead, kid," Tony urged him with unmistakable kindness in his voice.

"You see, I'm-I'm actually Spider-Man and I'm afraid to accidentally kill someone, 'cause I'm really strong." Pete blurted out.

I had to replay his words several times in my head to get to the gist of what he was actually saying. Shy little Peter? Spider-Man? So that's why he was such a fucking pacifist? I mean, it made perfect sense if he really was strong enough to lift cars and hold together collapsing bridges like I'd seen on YouTube.

"Huh," I stated after a brief pause. "I guess I did double the work today, dumped out some trash and prevented a potential murder. I'm on a roll and I deserve chocolate cake," I rambled to distract myself from the incoming dull headache and the sting of the alcohol against the split skin of my cheek.

Strange chuckled, looking, possibly, the happiest I've ever seen him. Bruce giggled too. A tiny bit.

"Friday, order the biggest, most expensive chocolate cake that can be delivered in... Two hours," Tony immediately spoke up.

"Cake," I mumbled happily, a strange drowsiness overcoming me, making my eyelids droop. "Hey-mmm, doc?" I slurred, seeing Stephen's face fall. "M'think m'concussed, f'king 'ell!" The snort that left his mouth was absolutely hilarious; I started giggling, too, startling Banner into action.

He picked up his phone, saying something I didn't understand at all.

"Y'kno," I had this totally bright idea I absolutely NEEDED to share with everyone. "Y'kinda look like the guy... Wha's'is name... Bendy-snap Crum-ble-sticks? No, wait," Snorts and giggles began to resonate through the room as the amount of Doctor Stranges suddenly multiplied by two. He was a WIZARD, that was so cool! "I think... Mmm, yes... Benadryl-Claritin? No-no-no, 'das meds," Woah, a lot of people were there and they were suddenly all laughing. I wondered what was so funny. It was hard to think with so many people laughing; my temples were pulsating uncomfortably. "Wait, I know, I know!" There were wheezing noises now, noises that distinctively reminded me of Tony and Wanda and Bucky. "Bubble-butt Coitus-snack!" I triumphantly exclaimed, finally happy to have gotten it right.

The laughter turned into truly demonic cackling, surrounding me, they were so loud I almost managed to get fully afraid. And then, I passed the fuck out.

TAGLIST IS OPEN Y'ALL.

@another-stark-sub @mostly-marvel-musings @vozit @littlegasps @pilloclock @shereadsinquiet @downeyreads @hermione-grangers-wife @individualistfem

#tony stark x reader #tony stark x y/n #tony stark x you #bruce banner x y/n #bruce banner x reader #Bruce Banner fluff #stephen strange x reader #stephen strange x you #Stephen Strange x y/n #doctor strange x you #doctor strange x reader #bun writes #party favours #IN THIS HOUSE WE PROTECT PETER PARKER WITH OUR LIVES AND FACES

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shaolin-spin-doctor · 3 years

Text

a Very Heated Battle of The Realms review

No spoilers:

It was bad. Really bad.

Scorpion's Revenge wasn't a masterpiece by any means, but it was good enough to get me hyped for this movie. Eye-catching style, outstanding animation and an interesting enough story to get you hooked despite its overall lack of depth - if the first installment could have all these things, surely the sequel would improve on them and be even better, right? Right????

Wrong.

This movie sucks. Sure, the first few minutes are entertaining, if pretty uninspired, CageBlade is cute, and the Subzero / Scorpion subplot in and of itself is actually pretty decent, but it fails in pretty much every other aspect - most of the characters are barely even... well, characters, the plot feels all over the place, the fights are short and uninteresting, the animation is lackluster... And the ending. Oh my god, the ending. I want to know who in their right mind looked at that and said "yep, seems about right!". The rest of the movie had been whatever-ish, but it completely lost me at that point. Some Annihilation level bullshit, I'm telling you.

All in all... Only watch this movie if you want some background noise, are drunk with a couple of friends, want to see some mindless violence for an hour and 20 minutes, or are a subscorp shipper and can ignore everything else in favor of their scenes. If you aren't in any of those categories, please spare yourself the headache and don't even look at it. Forget it exists. It's not worth it, not one bit.

As a side note that has nothing to do with the base movie itself, if you're a Spanish speaker and are thinking of watching the Latin American dub... Don't. Please don't. The audio mixing is disgusting and whoever directed the voice actors didn't even try, so everyone's bored and unenthusiastic all the time and it really just makes an already unimpressive experience worse. If you really need to watch this, do it in English for your own sake.

Spoilers:

LISTEN. I swear this has nothing to do with Lao getting murdered. Y'all know I was fully prepared for it to happen, and was not surprised at all when his was the most brutal death in the entire movie. In fact, I was actually kind of excited (sad, too. but still excited), since the whole thing up until that point had been a complete drag and I was sincerely hoping we'd get some actual action from it. Sadly, it was not the case, and instead Liu Kang got a Dragon Ball Super level powerup... and whatever the FUCK the ending was. Legitimately, I screamed when he turned into a dragon - I wanted it to happen, but in a BADASS way, like the games, y'know? Instead we got... that, and I think my father said it best when he described his presence as a "dying asthmatic shrimp". aND SHINNOK?? WHAT THE FUCK?? I fully believed his appearance was gonna be setup for a subsequent movie, ESPECIALLY when Shao Kahn grabbed Kitana - i thought he was gonna kill her at first, and then we'd have the main group of revenants (sans Liu Kang) for Shinnok to call upon, and I was kind of hopeful that perhaps they would explore them better in the future and give us the Legends version of mkx or something like that - but he ended up just. being a Big Evil Monster. His defeat was so stupid, too?? Idek man I can't even begin to describe how dumb and nonsensical and pathetic the whole ending was. Legitimately one of the worst endings for any movie I've ever seen in my entire life, not even kidding.

L/iutana came out of NOWHERE. I adore this ship with my life, but it was so poorly set up i was left absolutely flabbergasted when they kissed. What the fuck? Cageblade was okay because of the setup in the previous movie and the little development the two had in this one, but L/iutana was just. God. Legitimately. If you aren't even going to bother writing a romance in a slightly believable way or give it any development, why bother writing it at all????

Speaking of Liu, I don't know about you, but I didn't connect with him at all here???? See, he's supposed to be the protagonist, but he gets barely any development and his spotlight is constantly being stolen by Scorpion and Subzero. Yes, I know he's just as flat in the original games and he's only began developing his own personality fairly recently, but you had so much potential for him, both as a person and with the potential lore attached to him. Why did the Tarkatans kill his family? Why did he get a random powerup and managed to lift Shang Tsung's "curse" (which, by the way, was completely pointless), which only Raiden was supposed to be able to heal? The only thing I liked about him was his chemistry with Raiden, who is also one of the only few highlights of this movie for me, and everything else... Nothing, really. Hell, he doesn't even talk to Kung Lao ONCE. For a man he's supposed to consider his brother, you'd think they'd have at least a single scene of them together - at least as a way to display their bond, if the writers really didn't want to give them any real character traits aside from "good guys with pure hearts" - but no. That's partly why Lao's death didn't carry any weight - yes, it didn't lead to anything, but it hadn't been set up at all, either. Same with Stryker. He was just a guy who happened to get involved, said two lines, and then died. He had no real relationship with anyone in the group, so his death was completely unimportant, and really, if he had just vanished, just like those rain clouds that appeared to soak Liu after Raiden's death for like 2 seconds before going away without a trace right in the next sequence, I probably wouldn't have even noticed.

Really, he, Lao and Smoke might as well have been cut, and it wouldn't have made any difference. It's sad.

All in all... I didn't like this movie at all, except for a very few things here and there. I know it's supposed to be Mortal Kombat, and people are always gonna defend it by saying the story doesn't matter, but... Why shouldn't it? Why can't we have a good Mortal Kombat story with better thought out plotlines and characters? And if we can't have that, why can't we at least have coherent fights? This movie had a lot of potential, and it was just tossed out the window. I'll be salty about this for a while.

#i could go on and on about it but it's getting late so I'll just leave it at that #Mortal Kombat #chat in the hat #If you liked it. I'm happy for you!! It's great to hear that you were able to find enjoyment in it #but personally. nah man

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yee-fxcking-haw · 4 years

Text

What Happens Next?

A/N: Here’s part four y'all! Please please tell me what you think. I’ve been very excited for the reactions to this chapter! A million thank yous to anybody who has been reading, asked to be tagged, commented, liked, reblogged, any of it. Thank you so so so much!!

Summary: We finally find out what the hell Bucky did.

Warnings: The big angst. Language.

Part one | Part two | Part three

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Part Four

At The Dance Hall.

You take one deep breath before turning around to face him again. He’s still sitting on the curb, posture crumbled and pathetic.

“I’ll catch a ride home with Shelly, take your time and call me when you’re home” Molly says, you turn to argue but she’s already walking back to the building. You want to call after her but you honestly don’t have the energy. Molly can take care of herself, you don’t have to worry about her making it home ok.

You walk over to James quietly, your heart is already racing and you feel your stomach twisting into knots.

“James?” You say with a small voice.

He jumps a little but keeps his head down, he wipes his eyes quickly like that will somehow keep the fact that he’s crying a secret. He jumps to his feet and straightens out the blue dress shirt he’s wearing. Of course he’s wearing blue, it wouldn’t make sense for him to wear something that doesn’t make his eyes stand out. Why would the universe do you a favor and have him wear something that doesn’t accentuate your biggest weakness? The universe apparently hates you, that’s why.

“I’m ready to talk.” You say, steadying yourself slightly.

His eyebrows raise and you see a glimmer of hope flash across his face. Even after crying and being punched in the jaw, he’s beautiful. The puffy lips and red cheeks honestly only make him prettier. Fuck him for that.

“-but I have rules.” You continue. You don’t have any rules, but you want to make it sound like you mean business. His face falls back into a slightly more anxious look.

“We’re going to Annie’s, you’re buying me dinner, and we’re driving separately.” You say, making them up as you go. He owes you dinner at the very least, considering how much he took from you. Annie’s is a little diner down the road. It’s usually busy enough to have a private conversation without being overheard, and you hope by keeping it in public you’ll feel compelled to not cause another scene.

He nods carefully, “I uh- I don’t have the bike. I got a ride with a friend.”

“Get in the damn truck then.” You say, turning on your heels. You don’t want to give yourself any time to rethink this. The only goal you have is to get this done as quickly as possible without putting your heart on the line again. He scurries after you, not saying a word. You swing open the door with a huff and jump into the driver’s seat. He quietly slides into the passenger seat like the truck is made of glass.

“Do you want me to drive?” He asks softly.

Your face immediately pinches into a disgusted look. You slowly turn to him, sticking the key in the ignition as you do. You sit there for a second, staring daggers at him, daring him to ask some other dumb ass question. His eyes shoot to the floor and he buckles his seat belt to make himself look busy.

“Sorry. Stupid question.” He mutters, shaking his head a little.

You don’t answer him, you can’t without yelling again. You know James doesn’t mean anything overtly sexist by offering to drive, he’s just trying to be a gentleman. He also doesn’t know about the truck being your father’s, so you keep your mouth shut. However, he knows that if you can do something, there’s no way in hell you’re going to let a man do it for you, so he should have known better than to ask. You roughly shift the gear and whip out of the parking spot. You see James turn to you out of the side of your eye, you shift to drive with the same harshness and nearly peel out of the parking lot. You hear him try to choke down a laugh. Irritation rises in your gut and you take a sharp breath in.

“What?” You snap. Whipping your head to look at him, you quickly realize the mistake in doing so. He’s got that gorgeous smile on his face, even with a welt on his jaw, he’s absolutely stunning. That bastard.

“Nothin’… Sorry.” He says quickly, pulling his smile back down to a straight line.

Sickening regret fills your gut, you’re supposed to be making him smile, not making him feel guilty for doing so. You remind yourself of why things are this way now, it’s not your regret to feel, it’s all on him. You find your way to the diner easily, it’s really just a streat and a right turn away. You pull into the diner, the parking lot relatively empty. The lights on the sign make your heart ache, your dad used to take you and your mom here for breakfast once a month. You adored coming here with them, making the diner an extremely special place for you. Is it a good idea to give James the ability to tie a negative memory to it? For a split second you consider changing locations, but you’re combated by how truly exhausted you are with running from this conversation.

“Let’s fucking get this over with.” You throw your seatbelt off and swing your door open. Your stupid dress gets caught on the seat on your way out and you fall flat on your ass. Your tail bone aches and you’ve definitely scraped your elbow. You sit up on the ground and brush your hair out of your face. James comes around the front of the truck quickly, obviously concerned about your dramatic fall. He doesn’t look concerned though, his lips are pulled into his mouth and his eyebrows are pinched together like he’s trying his darndest not to laugh. Despite everything, the confusion, the hurt feelings and the anger. You just can’t help it, watching James try so hard to keep it together tickles you. A laugh bubbles out of you, trying to kill it by covering your mouth. Then James finally cracks and it’s all over. You squeeze your eyes shut and it sputters out of you, your hand falls to join your other around your stomach.

You throw your head back and let yourself laugh as hard as you can, James lets his deep laugh mix with yours. You have to be drawing attention, but oh fucking well, you two should be used to it by now.

“First day with the new feet?” He jokes. You place your hands on the ground beside you and look up at him, trying to give him your best bitch face. It doesn’t last a second, he’s still giggling like he’s in grade school and it’s contagious. You fall back onto the pavement, letting the laughter take over your body. What the hell is wrong with you? Has it just been too long since you’ve laughed like this? Is your body just making up for lost time?

“She’s fine, I promise, just got tickled is all.” You hear James say and you don’t bother to look up. You don’t want to face the poor strangers that have just spotted some loon laying on her back in the parking lot while she’s laughing hysterically.

You hear him shift so he can sit down next to you, still laughing as he does so. You let your eyes open and take a deep breath in, using your hands to still your stomach, praying you can compose yourself even a little bit. You sit up and sigh, giggles still pouring out of you slowly. You lose yourself in the laughter and let your head fall to his shoulder.

“You ready for that dinner I owe you?” He asks with a teasing voice, “-or do I need to call the paddy wagon for you?”

You both let yourselves laugh again, the feeling so familiar and safe. Just then, as you’re both settling down from your laughter, your heart is absolutely crushed by a ton of bricks. You feel your face crumple, your throat tighten and your chest start to ache. You could have had this all along. You could have had this at prom, and every day after. Nauseating paranoia creeps into you. It’s so easy to get lost in him again, so easy to forget that he’s the asshole that ruined highschool for you.

Tears threaten to fall now, your heart aches at the thought of all the time lost between you and this boy you were once falling in love with.

“Why’d you have to ruin this?” You ask with a broken voice, tears making hot trails down your cheeks.

He takes in a slow, shaking breath.

“I’ve hated myself for it every day since.” He nearly whispers.

You don’t answer, just wipe your tears and cross your arms over yourself.

“There hasn’t been anyone else. I don’t think there ever will be.” You can’t help but look at him after he says those words.

His bright eyes burn into you, you want to trust him. You even feel yourself doing it for a second. You can’t, not again… right? He can’t have the chance to hurt you again, but dammit you want to throw your arms around him and kiss him like you did on the rooftop. You look back at the ground and hold on tight to yourself, wishing you could squeeze yourself out of existence.

“What the hell happened James?” You ask, tears falling again.

Prom

You had snuck into the house very late last night, your mom fast asleep, she was gone for work by the time you woke up this morning. At least you were able to avoid her being nosey about your whereabouts. You’re driving yourself to Prom, much to James’ dismay. He argued when you first proposed the idea, but quickly understood that riding on a motorcycle in a dress was not reasonable. You plan to bring a change of clothes with you for any after prom activities. Though, you don’t know if you’ll even make it to Prom in the first place at this rate. You huff around your room, throwing clothes everywhere, searching desperately for your one good dress.

Shit, fucking shit. Everything has gone to shit. Molly isn’t coming with your dress. As soon as you got home last night you called and told her everything about yesterday, absolutely thrilled to share the events of the day with your best friend. She promised to bring you a blue dress to wear to match James’ eyes, but Molly just called to tell you that she lost track of time and can’t bring you the dress. So what the hell are you supposed to do? Of course she lost track of time, why would she fucking be here for you? Your anger at Molly is growing exponentially the longer you go without finding your dress. How could she? How could she be so self centered after she promised to be here? The only dress you have is a gingham one that your mom picked out for you at Macy’s. It’s a simple black and white checkered pattern, not flashy at all, but neither are you. Tonight is supposed to be special though, tonight you’re supposed to feel pretty. You try to convince yourself that it’s your fault for being so last minute, that Molly isn’t really to blame. The last thing you need is to show up all flustered and pissed off. James deserves better than that.

Your heart stills for a moment at the thought of him. That’s what this is about, once you get there and see him, once you laugh with him, it’ll all be ok. The dress won’t matter, Molly flaking on you won’t matter, the only thing that will matter is you and him. Your shoulders fall slightly, tension oozing out of you.

“Ok.” You sigh out loud to yourself.

Then you see it, the damn dress. The corner of it is peaking out of your dresser. You dive for it like it’s capable of running away from you. You snatch it out of the drawer and shake it out. Shit. It’s so damn wrinkly. Your mom has an ironing board somewhere, but you don’t have fucking time. God, why did you wait so long to start getting ready. You’re bad at this stuff, that’s why. Twenty minutes left, you’re supposed to be there at six. You can do it. You throw the dress on, then face yourself in the mirror. The pinched waist of the dress really is flattering, and gingham suits you quite nicely honestly, offering you slight relief.

Your hair and makeup, shit. Brush your hair, mascara, lipstick. That’s it right? Molly told you one time that there’s three critical pieces to looking put together, you’re certain it’s those three. Your mom has to have the mascara and the lipstick, you at least have a hair brush. You hike up your dress and sprint to your mom’s room. You do your very best to put on the mascara and the lipstick, mostly just dabbing it on your lips to give you a little color like Molly taught you. It really does make a big difference, it’s obviously not really prom worthy, but again, it’s not your thing. You give yourself a shrug that says “good enough” and run back to your room.

Shoes. Oh shit. The only clean pair of shoes you have are a pair of cowboy boots that you’ve been saving for a special occasion. They’re not really a step up from your regular boots, but at least they’re clean. That has to count for something. You snatch them from the closet and stick your feet in them roughly. You flatten your skirt, pull your hair over your shoulders and stand in front of the mirror once again. The dress and the boots actually don’t look too bad, and the light makeup goes well with the look. You’re certain Molly would be throwing the fit of the century but that’s too damn bad. You could be wearing a real prom dress that matches your date’s eyes, but somebody got busy.

You did it, sort of. You’re not in overalls, you have makeup on, and you’re actually on schedule. The nerves eat up your insides slowly, wondering if James will think you look alright. You find comfort in his words from last night. You’re the most incredible thing he’s ever seen, and that was when you were wearing men’s clothes. That’s what he wants, something different. You’re jolted out of your daydream by the sound of a car door shutting. Shit. It’s your mom.

You quickly grab your keys, doing a hastey double check in the mirror before tearing into the kitchen and out the front door. It’s already getting dark, which makes you feel like you’re more behind on time than you actually are. Your mom is getting out of her car and her jaw drops as soon as she sees you.

“What in the hell is going on?” She asks, absolutely shocked by your appearance.

“Don’t have time to explain! Going to prom!” You holler back at her.

“Will Molly be there!?”

“Yeah I’ll be home eventually!” You hop into the truck, starting her up immediately, taking a deep breath. A pang of sorrow hits you as soon as you hear the engine rumble. Your dad should be here, telling you that no guys deserves a dance with you, telling you to be home by ten, to be safe, that he loves you.

“Have fun baby!” She shouts, confusion laced in her voice.

You swallow the tears to smile and wave at her. He wouldn’t want you sad tonight, and something tells you he would like James a lot. You cling to that thought as you pull out of the driveway. For your mother’s sake you don’t start speeding until you’re around the corner, but once you’re there you floor it. James told you to meet him right out front, which should be easy enough. He’s always easy to spot and you’ll probably be one of the last people there so it won’t be too packed outside.

Now that you’re in the truck by yourself you have time to really grasp what you’re about to do. You’re going to prom, this is about as likely as Molly going hunting. Like always, the nerves start raging inside you. Every bone in your body is begging you to turn around and go home, but you push it down. You can’t keep living like that, you have to be able to come out of hiding at some point. If anybody is going to help you through it, it’s James.

Your mind wanders back to last night when he dropped you off. Your goodbye had been long and dreadfully romantic. You had kept your arms around his neck for as long as you could, you had kissed goodnight several times before actually tearing yourselves away from each other. He had walked his bike to the end of the street to start it to avoid waking your mom up. Before he did so, he placed one last kiss on your forehead and told you that he’d be dreaming about you.

Incredible would be an understatement for the way he makes you feel. You can tell he’s changing the way you think, he’s slowly chipping at your walls after just one afternoon. It’s terrifying, but you want him to do it. You want to feel alive like you did yesterday, you want to cling to him and the way he makes you feel.

Soon you’re turning into the school parking lot. All the pastel dresses and hand-me-down suits crowding the door, filing into the gym so they can enjoy the pinnicale of their highschool careers. You can’t help but roll your eyes at all the girls hanging all over their dates. You scan the groups of people for Molly or James, you feel your stomach tighten with anxiety. Big groups of people aren’t your thing, especially when they’re all so well dressed.

The front door, he said to meet him at the front door. You drive around to the front of the gym and park your truck. You run your hands over the wheel nervously and bite your lip. They’re just people, they won’t notice you. Once you get to James it will all be fine. You take a deep breath and close your eyes, swallowing your fear to open the truck door and hop out. You walk towards the door with your head down, occasionally glancing up to try to find James. You can’t see him by the front door so you start to panic a little.

Then you hear it, his laugh. That deep, wonderful sound echoing behind you. Relief floods your body, your shoulders drop and you turn your head to find him. When you see him you swear you could faint. He’s so damn handsome, now in a dark blue suit with a matching tie, sharp looking white dress shirt underneath. His hair is slicked back perfectly and his smile is as bright as the sun. He’s walking with two other guys, neither of them Steve. You should have known Steve wouldn’t come, if he’s as much like you as you think he is he’s avoiding this event like the plague.

“James!” You try to yell over the people between you two, but your small voice is obviously drowned out because he doesn’t even look.

You open your mouth to say his name again but your voice catches when three other people come up to James and his friends. Three very pretty girls, to be exact. It almost happens in slow motion, one of the girls throws her arms around his neck and gives him a big kiss on the cheek. He keeps smiling the whole time. You feel your heart crumble in your chest, a horrible sick feeling settles in your gut.

She’s stunning, blonde hair and long legs. She’s thin and elegant, make-up so skillfully done it looks like she’s glowing. Her dress is a beautiful light blue… like his eyes. Your stomach flips, you feel like you can’t breathe. He places his arm around her waist as they walk towards the building. She’s his date, it’s obvious. He was never meant to take you, he probably assumed you just wouldn’t show up. Well, here you are, watching the boy that said he’s falling in love with you walk another girl into prom. If there weren’t so many people around, you would be crying.

“Bucky!” You yell again, not even meaning to. Your body is desperate for his attention, you hope by using his nickname he’ll realize it’s you. Your heart aches at the memory of him telling you to call him by his nickname, how he said he liked it when you said it.

His head finally snaps towards you. The look in his eyes only makes you feel worse, he just looks confused. He doesn’t look happy to see you, he does not look at you the way a man should when he’s said he would dream of you. You draw closer to him, anxiously glancing at his friends and his beautiful date. Are you just misunderstanding? Are they just friends? Did he just intend to hide this part from you? What the hell is going on?

“I’m sorry I’m a little late, I couldn’t find a dress in time, this is all I have.” You say, gesturing down at your dress, becoming very embarrassed of your boots.

He just stands there with the same confused look on his face. His friends look just as confused, the three girls turn away to giggle together. Heat rises to your cheeks and you ball your fists as the other two guys turn to join the girls. They awkwardly shuffle away, obviously trying to put space between you and them.

“You’ve got the wrong guy sweetheart.” He says with a cold voice.

Sweetheart?

You study his face, waiting for the laugh, for any sign that this is some horrible joke.

“Wh-what?” You ask, voice breaking.

For a split second you see a flash of sadness in his eyes, so brief you almost miss it. Does he pity you? Was your whole afternoon together just because he felt sorry for you? It couldn’t be. It was all so real. The laughter, the understanding, feeling his skin against yours. Just hours ago you were both lying naked with each other on a rooftop, pressed against each other without any desire to ever part. Where did that electricity go?

“Bucky, what are you doing?” You ask, desperate to understand what’s going on.

“James come on, they’re starting the music and I want to dance.” The gorgeous blonde says over his shoulder, walking around to place her hand on his chest, the other coming up to smooth his hair.

“Are you lost honey?” She asks, looking down her perfect nose at you.

You’re definitely going to be sick.

You shake your head no, stuttering incoherent sounds.

“I just- I thought I was um- I thought I was meeting somebody here.” The words tumble out, your voice small.

“Do you and James know each other?” She asks, voice condescending.

You try to say yes, but James cuts you off.

“No, I don’t think so, she’s just confused.” He says the last part like he’s trying to convince you of it too. He gives you one last confusing look then turns away, placing his hand on his lovely date’s waist.

“Come on, doll.” You hear him say to her.

That’s what does it. Hearing him call her the name you’ve grown to love. That sends you over the edge and pushes the tears out of your eyes. You feel your heart crack and all you want to do is run after him. You want to sob, fall down on the concrete and let yourself cry until your voice is gone. You watch him walk away from you, your place filled by a girl better suited for him. It was all a fucking joke, it had to be. He’s probably going to tell all of his friends about it once they’re inside. How he took the poor little hick girl out to Coney Island, made her think she was special, then played her like a fiddle. Would he tell them you’d slept together?

You want to run to the truck, but the most your body is capable of is a tired walk. Your chest is being eaten alive by a burning heartache. Your head is swimming with confusion and a horrible, painful thought keeps screaming at you. You’re not special, you’re not different, he was just bored. He needed the thrill of having somebody hopelessly want him the way you did last night, somebody he could string along with no resistance. Of course, he can’t be seen at prom with you. A boy like James needs a girl like the one he’s with right now, it’s just the way things are. You are not a girl like that.

You reach the truck, letting all the people around you blow past you in a blur. You climb into the cabin pathetically, slumping into the seat. You close the door and don’t spare any time before letting a sob rattle your chest. How could you be such an idiot? It was always going to end like this. He will always want a girl like her and you won’t ever be one. Even if you brush your hair and put on a dress. That only begs the question, what about yesterday? What about when he kissed you the first time? Both of you bathed in that ethereal evening light, unable to keep your lips off of each other. Before he kissed you he’d said you were the most incredible thing he’d ever seen. What the hell happened?

A knock on the passenger window jolts you out of your pity party.

“Open the door.” It’s Molly.

Silently you reach over and pop the lock. She throws the door open and gets in quickly, slamming it closed behind her.

“What happened?” She asks, trying to keep her voice calm but failing.

You look at her with a loud sniffle, rubbing your eyes with your hands. Your make-up is all melting off with the tears, but it doesn’t matter.

“Well, first my best friend flaked on me after she promised me a blue prom dress. Then, I didn’t have anybody to do my hair and makeup so I did a shit job of course and I had to wear this stupid dress and these hideous boots.” You say, voice breaking. You hadn’t thought so little of your appearance when you left the house, but seeing James’ real date has changed your mind

She starts to talk but you cut her off.

“Oh just wait, it gets so much better. As soon as I got here, I couldn’t find you or James. I found James soon enough though, with some gorgeous girl all over him. She’s got on a perfect blue prom dress and he seemed so thrilled to have somebody like her on his arm. So it was all a joke! It was all a fucking joke Molly. He didn’t mean what he said yesterday. He asked me to prom just so I could show up and be comedic relief for him and his perfect friends! I sure can’t wait for the whole school to catch wind of this.” You finish your rant with another deep sob. Your fist involuntarily flies at the dash, landing with a loud crack.

“I’m so sorry, I should have been with you.” She says gently, probably scared to say anything else.

Your chest tightens, yes she should have, but now is not the time to bring Molly down with you.

“Where’s Eddie?” You ask, inquiring about her date.

“With his friends. He’s not that cute anyway.” She says, brushing it off.

“Molly don’t let me ruin prom for you. Yeah it’s a heartless prank, but I’ll be alright. I’ve seen worse.” You say, wiping more tears.

She sighs deeply and moves her hand to tuck some hair behind your ear. You want to slap her hand away, but you welcome the kind gesture reluctantly.

“I’m not going back in there without you, and I know you’re not going back in there, so let’s go get some ice cream and go to my house. My parents are gone for the weekend, so the record player is all ours.” She says, trying desperately to win you over.

You look out at the streetlights that are blurred by your tears. You glance over at Molly, realizing how beautiful she looks. Her dress is a light lavender color and soft brown hair is curled flawlessly. You can’t take this from her, she gets to go to prom.

“No, I’m going to drive you to the door, you’re going to go in and have a good time. I’m going to go home, I want to be with my mom.” You say. You hope playing the mom card will get Molly to stop arguing.

“Is that what you want?” She asks with caution.

“Yes, you’ll regret it if you don’t go in. I know you will.” You sigh, “I’ll be fine, really.”

You shift the truck into drive and slowly bring Molly to the door. You realize how tired you feel, body drained from feeling so much all at once.

“Are you sure about this?” Molly asks.

“Molly please just go. I’ll see you Monday.” You don’t even look at her when you say it. Your eyes are glued to the pavement.

“I’m so sorry…” She barely whispers it, then gets out of the car. You watch her walk away, her chocolate curls bouncing behind her.

You feel somewhat guilty for lying to her, you don’t want to be with your mom, you just want to be alone. You let the tears fall again now that you’re alone. The parking lot is dark and empty now that everyone is inside, having the time of their lives no doubt. Your attention is grabbed by two bodies tumbling out of the gym.

Of fucking course, it’s James and his wonder woman. You sit frozen in place as you watch her cling to him. Sick, festering jealousy fills your stomach making you want to floor it and run them over. You never turned the headlights on so they don’t even notice you sitting in the truck. They walk with their backs turned to you, James has his hands in his pockets and he’s looking down. You hear her let out a high, squeaky laugh. Thank God her laugh sucks.

Then her hands are on his shoulders and you absolutely want to scream at her. Tell her to back off, that he’s yours, but you can’t, because he isn’t. Then her lips are on his. All feeling leaves your body, and all you can do is watch in horror as she kisses him. His hands stay in his pockets but he still kisses her back. He doesn’t look thrilled to be kissing her but he doesn’t exactly push her off of him. Then again, why would he? Something snaps inside you and you and you become entirely fed up with all of this bullshit. You throw the truck in reverse and tear out of the parking lot. They can have their fucking moment, she’ll eventually learn who James really is.

The Following Monday

People ignore you, people sometimes stare at you, they laugh at your boots and your overalls. You evoke those reactions from people, it’s a fact of life. Today though, today it’s like you have leprosy. This is what you need on top of everything else. After the shitshow of prom, you went straight home and stormed upstairs. You promptly cried yourself to sleep, then spent the entirety of Sunday holed up in your room. Your mom had brought you tomato soup for dinner, asked if you wanted to talk, then left you alone when you gave her a short “no”. She doesn’t ever like to pry, she always gives you room to come to her when you’re ready. After your dad passed you both found that to be the easiest way to be there for each other.

You woke up this morning with no motivation to even come to school. James has well and truly broken your heart. All you can do is think about that afternoon. Everything that happened with him felt so natural and easy. Being with him felt so safe. When he kissed you, you felt it in your entire body. You even let him know your entire body. You gave him so much of yourself, you gave him things you’ll never get back. Just to have him pretend he never knew you in front of his pin up girlfriend. It makes your chest ache in a deep and hollow way. You know you can’t go on forever like this, just longing to relive that afternoon. You want nothing more than for him to run up to you, hold you in his arms in front of everyone and tell you how sorry he is. You want him to explain that he was just being stupid, you want him to tell you that he does love you, that you are special. You want to know that he meant every word he said that day, but you know you’ll never have that.

You haven’t spoken to Molly yet, you haven’t even seen her. She isn’t in any of your morning classes with you, but next is lunch and you always sit together, so you’ll have to endure that pitiful interaction. All around, it’s hell. Any accidental eye contact you’ve made has been met with the other person almost urgently looking away. In history everyone around you had placed a desk between you and them, nobody sitting directly next to you. It all leaves you to wonder once again, what the hell is going on? Surely it can’t be what happened at prom, people would tease you for it, but not ostracize you.

You walk to lunch with your eyes glued to the ground, trying your best to keep your head ducked to avoid any more stares.

You hear your name whispered harshly and jerk your head towards the voice. It’s Molly, she’s standing in an empty classroom motioning for you to join her. You roll your eyes. You stomp into the room and she shuts the door behind you.

“Has anyone said anything to you yet?” She asks urgently.

“Uh, no, people are hardly looking at me actually.” You say, “Why?”

She sighs while giving you a very troubled look.

“It’s bad.” She whispers.

“What’s bad?” You ask, panic rising in your chest.

“Everybody thinks you’re nuts.” She says bluntly.

“I’m sorry, what?” You ask her, disbelief evident in your voice.

“James told his friends that you’re a stalker. That you’re obsessed with him and that’s why you showed up at prom acting like he was supposed to be your date. He even told them he was scared to go to school with you, especially after he caught you driving by his house one time…” She stops when she sees you start crying.

So this is it. He’s graduated from spit balls and whoopie cushions to ruining somebody’s life completely. James had stolen his friends clothes from the locker rooms, told people it was pajama day when it wasn’t, all harmless fun. This time, you suppose he needed more of a thrill. You just happened to be the perfect victim.

They all think you’re crazy, not just odd, they think you’re insane, now only Molly and James know the truth. What is the fucking point? Is he really that sick? The confusion crushes you. How the hell did let this happen? He was in love with you, he adored you. He littered kisses on your body and promised you a romance you’ve only dreamed of. Now he’s out to destroy your reputation and humiliate you completely.

“How- how could he?” You ask Molly, begging her for an answer she can’t give you.

“Molly it doesn’t make any sense, he was so amazing, he was everything I’ve ever wanted.” You let out a sob and sit on the table behind you.

All Molly can say is that she’s sorry, she’s so sorry.

“The guidance counselor is going to ask to talk to you, I guess news reached the principal. I overheard him say to the vice that stalking can’t be tolerated. I’ll go with you, I’ll help you explain everything, I can-”

“No Molly. This is mine to deal with.” You say, gathering yourself up to take a deep breath.

You’re going to take this one on the chin. There’s only two months of school left anyway. Fuck everyone, especially that asshole James Barnes. Of course you’ll tell the principal and the guidance counselor the truth, but you know you don’t stand a chance at them believing you, not when James is on the other side. He’ll get out of this, just like everything else. You’ll be left to deal with the looks, pointing fingers and the whispers. All you have left of James now is the memory of falling in love with him, contrasting harshly with how much you hate his guts now.

@b-o-n-e-daddy @lillsrecs @all-art-is-quite-useless @brownlee-22 @peace-love-hobbitness @pinknerdpanda @supernaturalwintersoldier @can-i-sin-right-now

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