#i was horrified but shut it off and i guess nobody saw or gave a shit. then i was going to the basketball court

[ellethesmallcell]

Stuck by Teddy

Beth didn’t mean to kill him.

It had been an accident.

A small flick of a fingertip…

That had led to this complicated spiderweb that she had created for herself.

But what could she do now? 

She was stuck.

Beth had been stuck in traffic when she received  the phone call, strangely with no caller id. She remembers always having all her contacts registered, so this was extra strange for her….

“Hello?” She speaks

There was no answer from the other line, just very heavy breathing.

“Hello?” She repeats

Thinking it was a prank call, she hung up, but what she didn’t know was that she hung up on the person who she had been searching for from years before.

Ten years prior

“Dad! Please don’t leave us, please Dad!” Nine-year-old Beth screamed, while her mother was holding her back “Papa, please I love you don’t-” The door cut her off. She questioned why he had left so suddenly; why he left her with her mother; and the question that burned: why he couldn’t love her like she did him.

She felt defeated.

But what could she do?

She was stuck.

Now, being older and more mature, she let go of the fact that her father wasn’t coming back.

She accepted the fact that she was alone.

And most of all…

She accepted the fact that she was stuck.

“Beth! I’m home!” A voice called. “Beth where are you?”

She slowly hulled herself up from the bed and opened the door.

“Brandon I was just in my room, take a chill pill.” She spoke

Walking over to her brother, she gave a small smile

“Bran flake, you have an enjoyable day at work?” She asked

“Yeah, I had a good day, Beth. I had too many files to put away, but don’t worry, I can handle it.” The boy mused

Taking his hand, Beth led him to the kitchen and guided him to sit on the beanbag in the corner. 

“What d’you want for dinner tonight, Bran flake?” She asked him

Brandon shrugged his shoulders, thinking that she would make the same thing she would always make: his favourite.

“I guess I’ll just have to make your favourite then…”

Smiling to himself, Brandon felt on cloud nine. He loved Beth’s cooking. Just before their mother died, she had taught her a few family tricks, and most importantly, his favourite.

Beth recited the ingredients to herself, counting how many hours it would take to make. Steak and pasta generally didn’t take long, but the way Beth made it, the hours it took to make were incredibly worth it. 

Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

The doorbell never rang.

Nobody knew where they lived.

Nobody even knew their real names.

Walking to the door carefully, Brandon sat there, petrified.

The doorbell rang again, making the two siblings flinch.

Hurrying herself to the door, Beth unlocked the several locks that were binding it shut. Slowly opening the door, she saw no one outside. 

The door now widely opened, she looked around outside. Deciding against staying inside, she ventured outside, in an attempt to see who rang the doorbell once more.

Nearly tripping over her two feet, she looked down to see what devil object had caused her near-fall, ready to cuss at the small object. Looking down, she saw a small brown package wrapped in string and stamps. Questioning what it was, she picked it up and ventured inside again.

“Bran flake, bring me the scissors, please.” She yelled from the corridor.

Hearing her and snapping out of his trance, Brandon hurried to bring his younger sister the scissors she needed. 

The sound of snipping and tearing was all you could hear in the small apartment of the siblings of misfortune. They were both on edge to see what was inside of the minute package, breathing speeding up in anticipation.

Finally, after hours wrapped in a minute, the package was opened, free for all and any to see what was inside. A gasp was let out of Beth’s mouth, terrified of what was inside the box.

The horrifying object that lay inside was none other than a severed limb; but there was one question remaining: who did the limb belong to?

They couldn’t test the DNA.

They didn’t trust the police.

So how to the find the limb?

Giggling could be heard all around the room, for it was young Beth who loved to giggle when she laughed. 

“Bethie, d’you think we’ll survive out here? Y’know, without parents?” young Brandon asked

Beth was silent for a moment. She was only 14, and her brother was 15. She wondered what would have happened, if it had all been different. Would they have had a perfect family? Would they be living in a nice house, living their best lives?

She knew they wouldn’t, but it was nice to think that they could have a different life sometimes; instead of this cruel reality that they were living.

Beth sighed, “Bran flake, we’ll be fine, I promise. we just have to wait until we’re both legal age and we can get jobs and be rich, don’t worry.”

Beth knew that in her head, they would never make it, but she had to stay positive for Brandon.

Brandon was everything.

There were gagging sounds coming from the other room, and this snapped Beth out of her trance. Looking around for Brandon to no avail, it slowly came to mind that it may be Brandon who was throwing up his lunch.

Sighing lowly, Beth made her way to the bathroom, readying herself with an even more terrifying sight.

Beth was currently 17, so this made her still in high school. Untrusting of the police, this made it very difficult  for her to complete here years in high school, but unsurprisingly, she found her way.

Beth went to Stone Vine Highschool, and she was not very….popular, per se. Beth was very smart, but every time she was offered a scholarship to anywhere else, she would politely refuse, saying she has to take care of her father and her brother.

Beth didn’t have lots of choices in her life, since her father left when she was 9, and her mother committed suicide the same year. Hey older brother had been out at a party with his friends when this happened, so he didn’t exactly know what went down that day until he arrived home at the time of 3am.

Beth had been crying in her bed until Brandon got home. She hid herself from him feverishly up until he burst in the door that had been bound shut by Beth’s weight.

She had cried in his arms that night. In fact. That had become quite a frequent thing, crying in Brandon’s arms. Up until the day her mother died, Beth had always been like an older sister, entirely switching the roles of the siblingship.

It had taken a few weeks for the fact that her mother had passed to sink in, but after it did, she slowly got back to the normal flow of how things used to be.

“Bran flake, come downstairs, I’m gonna cook breakfast then go, okay?” Beth yelled up the stairs

There was no answer from upstairs, so she called his name again, this time a little louder, “Bran flake?”

She was starting to get a little worried now.

Flashbacks of her past coming back to her; haunting her mind.

Overthinking and anxiety flooding her mind.

Making her way up the stairs, dropping her bag on the way, she felt a sharp pang of dread hit her harder every time she moved up a stair.

Painfully slowly opening the door, Beth took a deep breath before she opened it all the way.

“No.”

Her legs felt like jelly.

She felt like dying.

She didn’t want to live anymore.

Life was empty now.

Lay lifeless on the floor was Brandon, at peace.

Tears streamed down Beth’s face as she seemingly ran in slow motion to pick up Brandon, trying to shake him back to life. Beth couldn’t accept that he was gone.

She wouldn’t.

Shaking Brandon’s body vigorously, Beth was a visual mess. Tears streaming down her face, no end in sight while shaking her brother’s lifeless body with a look on her face mixed with disbelief and sadness. She was an emotional wreck. Her life had gone down the drain the minute her father had left them, then when their mother had been reported dead, but now this. This was unbelievable. How would she move on from this?

Looking around, she thought she would save some of his things, make sure he would always be remembered, but then she stopped. There was a small piece of paper on his desk, and she was tempted to pick it up. It almost seemed to call to her.

Picking up the small note, she opened it and read it in her mind.

Puppets and string

Magician and magic

Please give me a ring

Or the consequences will be tragic.

your mystery to solve

The feeling of dread hit her more than ever. Whoever this was had killed her everything. Killed what she lived for. The only thing she lived for. What would she do now? She couldn’t go on. Everything was gone. Her family was gone. Her rent was due this week. She wasn’t doing well in school.

The short answer was there was nothing she could do. She couldn’t cry about it. That wouldn’t solve anything at all. She couldn’t work, she was currently underage.

But wait.

The note.

It had said, “Please give me a ring or the consequences will be tragic.”

But there was no number.

There wasn’t any rational reason why she should trust this person, but there was nothing that she could really do, was there?

With a sigh, she hurried herself to go and get the letter, praying that what she was going to do was the right decision.

Beth sat down, closely examining the note, in a headspace where she was dead set on figuring out the letter, dissecting every word.

“Right, let’s see here.” She sighed

“Puppets and string”. What was this supposed to mean? That he had puppets? Or maybe that…they were his puppets, Beth, Brandon, her mother, her father. This was the start of a very complicated web; Beth wasn’t sure she wanted to continue anymore.

But she had to.

She couldn’t just let ‘her mystery to solve’ roam free out in the wild, when she knew what they had done.

Beth first had to question what they wanted. What drove them to kill her mother and brother. What did they have against her. What could she have done?

From her memory, she hadn’t really done anything to anyone; she was introverted. She didn’t like to interact with people, so who could she have set off?

The list of people she interacted with was quite small. It included,

Brandon

Her mother

Her father

The grocery cashiers

Her property owner

And that was it. She had never interacted with anyone else. After her father left, she had been terrified to interact with anyone else, for fear that she would get hurt badly, like her father had done to her.

But wait.

What if someone was watching her from afar? It wasn’t exactly impossible. She just had never thought of herself so incredibly interesting that someone would take that much of an interest to watch her.

It was an eerie and almost uncomfortable feeling for her to feel; being watched. She wasn’t used to it. It was indefinitely horrible.

She knew what she needed to do, though. She needed to make sure shw wasn’t being watched. And clean up the body that was currently laying on her floor. Swallowing her feelings and compartmentalizing was Beth’s specialty. She seemingly liked to swallow her feelings. It helped her cope with certain things, like death or loss. Swallowing it all helped her with the pain. It just made it all go away; at least for a while. She decided that’s what she would do just that. Swallow the pain. Make it all go away. But she knew it wouldn’t last.

#stuck #story #bedtime strories #teddy's library #books & libraries #writers

[strawberrymilkgeorge]

Part Six. Movies and Speedruns

warnings: swearing, many memes word count: 3.8k (not including pictures) (wow okay ash pop off!) 

behind the screen (irl!dream x f!reader) series masterlist ultimate masterlist

A/N: LETS ALL JUST AGREE TO NOT LOOK AT THE DATES ON TWEETS AND STUFF BC SOME CHAPTERS ARE SO SCUFFED WITH DATES!!!! JUST KNOW THIS STORY STARTS MID NOVEMBER!!!!!!!! (in a world where covid doesn’t exist btw)

**********

.

**********

Unknowingly and unintentionally, Y/n let out a big sigh as she poured a glass of water.

"What's wrong, Y/n?" Naomi asked gently, coming up behind her and hugging her tightly.

"Peter."

Naomi hummed, a sign that she was waiting for Y/n to lead the conversation so she could follow because if it were up to Naomi, she would immediately start trash-talking Peter and she wasn't sure if that was the vibe right now or not.

Y/n shook her head in disbelief as she jumped up to sit on the counter. "He got so mad when he found out I slept over at Karl's."

"I'm sorry, Y/n. I wish you would just cut him off completely."

"I don't know. I know I should but... part of me wonders if he could ever go back to how he was when I met him. I would probably date that guy again but not who he turned out to be."

Naomi looked horrified. "No. You sound like you're considering hearing him out. No, is that a joke? He's a bad person."

"I'm not," Y/n reassured. "I'm just thinking hypothetically. Probably because I miss having someone..."

"Y/n, you have a ton of thirsty people in your mentions. If you really want someone that bad, just scroll through, land on one and I bet they're a million times better than that sack of burned potatoes."

Y/n rolled her eyes but smiled lightly. "Most of those are jokes."

"Not all of them," she teased.

"I know you're going to tell me anyway so just say it. Who specifically do you think isn't joking?"

"Dream," Naomi sang.

"Okay, crazy." Y/n reached over, staying seated on the counter as she grabbed a bowl from a cabinet on her left. She then leaned all the way right, reaching as far as she could, but couldn't quite grab a cereal box from the top of the refrigerator.

Naomi rolled her eyes as she helped, handing Y/n the box. She even went the extra step to get Y/n a spoon and the milk because she was that nice. "I'm not joking. Neither is he. Karl and I have talked about it and we both agree."

Y/n paused at her friend's words, her hand hovering over the milk that Naomi held out for her. "You guys gossip about my love life?"

Naomi set the milk next to Y/n, tired of holding it out for her. "Of course? Like we don't do that about Karl? Or you and him about me?"

She couldn't argue there.

"Karl says there's a different vibe from Dream when you join calls and I believe it. I mean, I've seen it during streams myself so I can only imagine how much more obviously in love with you he is during private calls.

"That 'vibe' is Karl's delusional mind creating things. He's too scared to talk to cameragirl so he's projecting onto Dream and I."

"Yeah, okay," Naomi agreed sarcastically.

Y/n huffed. "Besides, he's in Florida. I'm in North Carolina, in case you weren't aware."

"So you're saying if you lived in the same state, you'd date him?"

"I didn't say that." She honestly had never thought of it. Sure she liked hanging out with Dream and her stomach got butterflies when he talked directly to her and he made her smile harder than anyone ever had and he—

And she didn't like him like that. She had only officially met the guy like a week and a half ago and she didn't know what he looked like. There was no way you could catch feelings for someone without seeing them.

Naomi's expression fell again. "Distance doesn't matter, anyway."

"I swear if you say something about George I will slap you," she threatened through a smile and Naomi gave her an innocent grin back.

"If you're lonely, get on Tinder, not Peter. Or get on Dream. I have no qualms with that."

"Peter isn't even an option, Naomi." Y/n sighed, ignoring the comment about Dream.  "Also," she swallowed the last of her cereal and set the bowl down with a clank. "I'm gonna tell Peter I don't want to be friends anymore. Dream and George can be added to the list of Peter haters."

"You talked to them about it?"

She nodded. "You know how I have little gossip sessions with George? Well, Dream was there too this time."

"Well, of course Dream would hate Peter. We've established that he likes you."

"No, no, you and Karl delusionally hypothesized that."

Naomi tapped the counter methodically, a sign Y/n knew to signal that she was thinking hard. "Somehow, one day, I'll prove he does."

"Good luck."

"Wanna watch a movie?"

"Yes," Y/n perked up. "Go pick something, I'll get blankets."

She went to her room, grabbing her favorite cuddling blankets. She started leaving her room when she heard a ding on her open desktop, signaling that she had a call incoming from Discord. Cool timing.

"I'll be just a second, Naomi!" she called across the house before dropping the blankets on her bed and sliding her headset on, answering the call from Dream. "Hi, Dream!" She sat on her chair and tucked her knees to her chest.

"Hi," he greeted sweetly. "How are you doing today?"

"Much better than when we last talked. How are you?"

"Great now that I'm talking to you," he said smoothly. Y/n rolled her eyes but smiled anyway. "Are you busy?"

"Unfortunately, yes. My roommate and I are about to watch a movie."

"Ooh, what movie?"

"Not sure yet. Any suggestions?"

"Dark Knight. Unless you wanted me to say, like, Tangled or something."

"Yeah, girls' night is exclusively princess movies. Do you know nothing?"

"Apparently," he said with a laugh.

"What's up?"

"Oh, well, I was just gonna see if you wanted to be on call later with me, George, and Sapnap while I stream speedruns, but you're hanging out with your roommate so nevermind."

"Oh," Y/n deflated. "That sounds fun."

"I can push it back if you want to be part of it. If not, that's fine. I just thought it would be cool."

"No, no, no I really do want to, but I don't want you to have to push it back. When were you planning on starting?"

"In about an hour."

"I'll just join later if you're still playing. If that's okay that I come late."

"No. You have to be on time or not at all," he joked. "Of course that's fine," he assured. "And if I'm not playing anymore, you can still join... we usually talk for forever after we play games and it's fun. I would, er, we would love for you to hang out with us."

Y/n couldn't help the large smile on her face from staying even after they hung up and she walked back into the living room with her pile of blankets. She couldn't help it even when Naomi pointed it out and asked why she was so happy.

"Oh, uh, I've been invited to join Dream and them later for a stream."

"That vague answer doesn't warrant the shit-eating grin you have."

Y/n shrugged and cuddled more into her blankets. "What movie did you pick?"

*****

As the end credits rolled across the screen, Y/n yawned and looked over to Naomi in the dark. She was out like a light. Y/n stood up and made sure Naomi was covered in the blanket and she had a pillow. She crept back to her room and slid her headphones on, pulling up Discord where she saw the three boys' names still in a voice call.

She pulled up Twitch on her second monitor and looked for Dream's stream. It was already about an hour in. She clicked on it and her headphones echoed with the sound of George and Sapnap laughing like they said the funniest thing in the world.

"Shut up," Dream muttered. "Guys, what were the coords for the portal? Seriously, come on."

"Nobody tell him," George joked.

"George!"

"Where's Bugsyyyy?" Sapnap whined. "I want her to make fun of you with us."

"Half the stuff we're making fun of him for is about his big fat crush on her so..."

"George!" Dream yelled again. "No, it's not!"

Y/n smiled as she heard that, knowing it was a joke but laughing at the way Dream laughed at the accusation. She knew it wasn't serious or else they wouldn't talk about it on stream. George and Sapnap teased a lot, but certainly, they wouldn't out someone's crush in front of a hundred thousand viewers live.

"Oh!" Sapnap spoke out loud as George laughed loudly, both reading the text at the same time. "Speaking of..."

Dream waited for either of the two boys to elaborate but neither of them offered one. "What happened?"

"Bugsy texted us," George said off-handedly, typing a response to her. "She's coming in a second."

"Oh."

"What do you mean 'oh'?" Sapnap laughed.

"You guys have a groupchat?"

"Aw, jealous?" George asked.

Y/n joined at that moment, the first sentence coming from her Discord instead of Twitch being from Sapnap saying, "Would it make you more jealous to know our group name is Bugsy's Boys?"

"No, Sapnap, that's the one with Karl," George corrected. "The one with just you, me, and her is Bugsy's Boyfriends."

"WhAT?"

"I still don't approve of that, by the way," Y/n commented.

"Bugsy!!" Sapnap giggled happily. "You're finally here!"

"BUGSY!" George cheered.

"Hi guys!" Y/n laughed at the enthusiasm she was greeted with. "Hi, Dream!"

There was a few seconds of silence before, "Dream!!" George yelled right before the death screen appeared on the Twitch tab still opened on Y/n's right screen. "You idiot, what are you doing?! Why did you throw that run??"

She covered her mouth with the hoodie collar and laughed. "Off to a great start, bud."

"NO!" Dream yelled, knocking something, or somethings, off his desk. "Noooo! I didn't throw it, George, I FELL! Oh, that was going to be such a good run."

"What happened? How did you miss that huge ravine?" George asked while laughing. "It was literally right in the open. You didn't even try to use your water bucket."

"I-I was... I was distracted."

"By what? The completely open field with nothing blocking your vision?" Sapnap criticized with a laugh as well.

Y/n giggled to herself before letting her eyes trail to his chat, which was filled with the same accusations and guesses.

user5: BUGSY!

user2: DISTRACTED BY BUGSYS VOICE

user4: imagine saying hi so cutely that you make a man fall into a ravine

user1: are they dumb? obviously bugsy saying hi made his brain short-circut

user6: guys stop it wasn't bc she said hi. it was the g i g g l e

user3: DISTRACTED BY BUGSY!!!!

user8: HI BUGSY

user10: how to kill a man: hire bugsy to giggle and say hi directly to him

Y/n immediately blushed and covered her face again. She really had a habit of hiding even when no one could see her.

"Oh my gosh," Dream groaned, leaving the world and starting a new one. "Oh. My. Gosh. That's so annoying. I was doing so good."

"Oh," Sapnap laughed. "I understand now."

"What? What did I miss?" George asked.

"Just read chat," Sapnap explained. "They have the answer. Dream, your chat is so smart. Thanks for solving the mystery, chat!"

"No, they aren't ri— that isn't true!" Dream defended. "Chat, shut up."

"You sure?" Y/n asked teasingly, watching as his character paused when she started talking. Was she really making him this flustered just by talking? Surely not. He was just playing into the joke. He continued playing without saying anything, which made George and Sapnap laugh more.

The subject eventually changed and the atmosphere quickly became more relaxed and chill. Tonight was not a feral night like George had texted in all caps.

"Hey George," Y/n started, biting on her hoodie string with a smile because she knew Naomi would hear this when she watched the VOD the next day. "My roommate says hello."

"Oh my gosh," he muttered, making her laugh. "Let it go."

"Wow, I guess that's one way to treat your fans..."

"Fine," he sighed. "Tell her I say hello."

"Well, not if you don't mean it," Y/n teased.

"Yeah, George, you sound so unenthusiastic?" Sapnap asked.

"He's just flustered," Dream commented. "It's okay George, you can have feelings."

"Dream, you fell into a ravine because Bugsy said hi."

"Oh, come on! That's not—I just— I missed the jump! That's it!"

"I'm not flustered or unenthusiastic, I'm just tired, okay?" George explained, ignoring Dream, a yawn spilling out of him to prove it.

Y/n smiled. "Well, you could always let me give her your number if you really want..."

"No. If she had Discord you could give her that but not my phone number."

"Wait, really?" Y/n gasped. "Seriously?"

George laughed lightly. "Yeah, sure, why not?"

"YES! Okay, a huge win for the girls. Well, a huge loss for the fangirls but a huge win for the girls of this apartment."

"Oh my gosh," he muttered and she could practically see him rubbing his face in embarrassment.

"I'll send you her hashtag when she makes one so you know who to add back."

"She's going to make an account just to talk to George?" Sapnap giggled.

"Yes, dude!" Y/n defended. "She at least wants to be his friend, let her shoot her shot!"

Dream ended the steam soon after, not being able to focus enough to beat the end on any of his runs. He had streamed for just under two hours so he seemed to be getting tired as well. George went to bed soon after and after 20 minutes of talking with Sapnap and Dream, Sapnap mysteriously disappeared.

Y/n was about to leave as well, not wanting Dream to feel obligated to stay on the call with her when he spoke up.

"Does Naomi actually like George?"

"Yeah, she does."

"Then I want him to accept her love."

Y/n laughed. "How is he with long-distance relationships?"

"Well, he and I do just fine..." Dream joked. "Oh, not what you meant. I don't know, you guys are the ones that talk about each other's love lives apparently."

"You're still bitter about that?"

"Yes!"

"Suck it up," she laughed. "Naomi would do probably anything to date him so I doubt distance is a problem for her."

"George's sleep schedule is completely messed up, so the time difference wouldn't matter too much. And when he comes to America they can meet in person."

"Wait, he's coming to America?" Y/n gasped happily. "When?"

"There's no set date, but yeah eventually. He'll probably just come to Florida but we've all talked about having a huge meetup with a lot of our friends."

"Oh... cool..."

"Bug? You know you'd be invited to that, right?"

"Oh, really?" she smiled.

"Of course. You're part of the group now."

"Sick," she muttered to herself, but he heard.

"Bug, you're one of my favorite people, do you know that?"

She blushed. "Really?"

"Really."

"You barely know me, Dream."

"Yeah, well, I know enough to know that I'm sorta attached to you."

"Attached to me? In what way?"

He suddenly sounded nervous as if his brain caught up with what his mouth was saying. "I don't know, nevermind."

"No, Dream, what do you mean?" her voice was soft and understanding and it made him feel safe.

"I just... I don't know. I care about you a lot. We met only, what, like a week or two ago, and I already worry about you a lot. Playing games doesn't feel the same anymore unless you're playing with us."

"To be fair, we have been tweeting at each other for much longer than a week or two."

"Yeah, that's true. But it's not the same as actually talking to you."

She smiled shyly. "I care about you a lot too, Clay." His name sounded strange as if it suddenly made everything much more serious. "Sorry, that just kinda slipped. I won't call you Clay if you don't want me to—"

"No, it's okay, it, uh, I like hearing you... say it. But, uh, you can call me whatever you want."

She smiled widely at the nervousness in his voice and the hard pounding of her heart. "I've heard from multiple people that you never stop talking about me."

He laughed timidly. "Maybe. Do you talk about me?"

"Ask Karl," she giggled. "My guess is yes." Her stomach felt tingly and her hands shook lightly. Why did she feel like this all of a sudden? It was late, she reasoned. That, or it was because Naomi had planted the seed of curiosity in her mind. Did Dream like her? No... right?

"I'm sorry if my chat was making you uncomfortable at the beginning when I died..."

"Don't worry, I wasn't uncomfortable."

"It was true, by the way," he paused, "what they were saying. Just... in case you were wondering."

Y/n couldn't wipe the smile off her face, which was growing painful at this point. "What, my voice makes your brain short-circut? That was one comment I saw."

Dream laughed. "More like your entire presence, but... yeah I guess so."

How is someone supposed to respond to something like that? The sweetness in his voice almost made her sick but in a good way.

And just like when he named her Minecraft flower something sweet knowing that no one would see it, why was he still playing up the joke when no one was around?

Not knowing what to say, she decided to let him in on a little secret. "If it matters, you're one of my favorite people too."

"It does."

There was a deathly moment of tense silence as if both of them were screaming to say something but neither did.

"Basically, if we do have a meet-up, I'll sue you if you don't come."

Y/n laughed. "My pockets are empty, sir, so... good luck."

He laughed and it was music to her ears.

"Are you not nervous to show everyone your face? Like, if or when we do all get together."

"Not really. Especially not if it's just to our friends. Are you?"

"Yeah," she admitted.

"Why?"

She sighed. "I'm sure people have me painted in a specific way in their heads and I've seen fanart of me that is way different and way more attractive than I am. I just don't want to let anyone down by not living up to their expectations."

"Bug," Dream said softly, "you couldn't let anyone down."

"You don't know that."

"You can't disappoint real friends or real fans with the way you look."

"To be clear, Dream," she laughed nervously, afraid she would sound conceited, "I don't think I'm ugly. I like the way I look. I'm happy with me. But that doesn't mean I can't still let people down."

"Different than expected doesn't mean disappointing."

His words smacked her in the gut. He was right. Reality and imagination are very different. Neither has to be better or worse than the other. She could look the complete opposite of how someone expects but that doesn't mean they will be either disappointed OR pleased. And why does it matter anyway? If she likes how she looks, who cares what other people think?

"It's also scary to think of getting recognized in public," she admitted. "Being recognized from the start is one thing because it starts off slowly with only a few people knowing your face but if the first time people see your face is when you have millions of fans, the recognition would be overwhelming."

"That's true. I don't think I would mind that much, though."

"Of course not, you're you."

"What does that mean?"

"You like the spotlight."

"I guess. Not all the time."

"Well, what about you?" she asked. "Are you afraid of people knowing what you look like?"

"No. I want to do a face reveal soon but I don't know how I would do it. I want to do it at some kind of event or something but I don't know."

"I need to schedule around when you do it because you'll break the internet. Give us content creators a warning so we can prepare to not get viewers for a week."

Dream laughed. "Oh come on."

"Twitter would just be full of the same picture of you in every single tweet."

"It won't be that big of a deal."

"Something tells me your millions and millions of subs say otherwise."

"Whatever," he said. "As if you wouldn't break the internet too."

"Maybe for a day or two. But you'd break everything for weeks."

"Sure." There was a long pause before Dream softly said, "Karl's lucky."

"How so?"

He didn't speak for a moment, almost like he wasn't prepared for that question because he didn't mean to be heard. "I wish I could know you the way he does."

"You could. He and I knew each other in person first so it's different. You and I could get there eventually."

"You think so?"

"I know so. I trust you a scary amount for someone I met weeks ago."

"I didn't mean to sound like I'm trying to pressure you into showing me your face or telling me your name. I didn't mean like he gets to know what you look like and I don't. I meant, like, I wish we could hang out in person because I prefer that over talking in Discord."

"I get it, Clay. I feel the same way," Y/n said softly. There were a few moments of silence before she spoke again.

"Oh, gosh, it's already four."

Y/n's head snapped to look at her clock, which read 3:57am. "Already?" she whispered. "Dang."

As if acknowledging the time changed the atmosphere, it suddenly felt like 4am. Her back ached from her shifting in her chair so much over the last few hours, never being able to find a good position. The house was eerily quiet and all she heard was the low hum of the heater. The house felt stale, not used to its occupants being so alert and awake at that hour.

"I should probably go to bed..."

"Yeah, me too," Dream agreed. His voice sounded tired. "Thanks for joining us, it was really fun with you."

"Thanks for inviting me. Sorry I made you die. Hopefully you'll still let me back again."

"You're always invited to barge into my streams. Actually."

Y/n giggled again and mentally slapped herself for sounding like a little kid. "Well, you too. You can interrupt my streams anytime."

"I'll hold you to that."

"Goodnight, Clay."

"Goodnight, Bug."

**********

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#rpf #real person fic #dream x reader #dreamwastaken x reader #dream x y/n #dreamwastaken x y/n #mcty x reader #mcyt x y/n #clay x reader #smau #dream smau #dreamwastaken smau #social media fic #social media au

[ratcatcher0325]

Nobody’s Fool (Chapter #2)

Hello! Here we are with Chapter 2! There's so much more to this story I can't wait to share!

Previous: Chapter #1

Next: Chapter #3

CW: Adult language, dehumanization, references to abuse, mild non-sexual nudity ________________________________________

NOBODY'S FOOL

Chapter #2: One Step at a Time

[Eveline's POV]

Stepping out of doors, I watched his whole body tense as he immediately quaked from the cold. I held him inside my jacket to try to keep him warm, before I walked around the corner and headed up the concrete stairs. As soon as we got to the top of the stairs and I started to guide my steps towards apartment 2B, he shot upwards, squeezing my pinky with a tiny white knuckle grip.

Please don’t make me feel guilty, little one, I’m doing the right thing….

I knocked on the door, the music practically blasting. I could see plenty of people still there, playing pool, shouting, doing shots through the window. I hated my neighbor. I heard the grind of a lock, the turning of the knob. Suddenly, there she was, in a ‘sexy Santa’ outfit. She stood in the doorway, drink in hand, reeking of tequila.

“Whadd you want???” She was trashed. The second the door opened, and the snarky blonde woman leaned outside, the little man in my palm trembled like he was facing down a lioness or a she-wolf. His quaking caught her eye, and she looked down at him. The second her gaze locked with his he whimpered and suddenly I felt something warm on my hand…the poor little thing was pissing himself he was so afraid.

“Mmm h-heyy lil dude! Th-Thought you broke your neck down there…. Ha! Guess yer stronger than you look!!” She jabbed a finger aimed at his chest, and he yelped like a frightened puppy. Instinctively, I stepped back so she didn’t touch him.

“You, you need to take better care of him, Claire. If I hadn’t found him who knows if he would have survived the night? He’s not being fed enough, and he was filthy. I cleaned him up and gave him something to eat…. You should really be more careful…”

She snorted, practically teetering in place. Would she even remember this tomorrow? “Are you giving him back to me? Cuz I don wann him. If you don’t either you can toss him off the balcony again, bonus points if he splatters on impact…” she grinned widely, finding this all very funny.“Nah, but I don’t—-I don’t give a fuck. Sell him or somethin’, I’m tired of dealin’ with his ass. He's way too fucking needy…. And ‘spensive…”

Most of the party goers were now staring at me through the open door, clearly pissed that I was dampening the mood. “You are seriously fucked up, Claire. All of you! It’s four in the goddamn morning!! Shut the fuck up and go the fuck home!” Claire was horrified! She gasped. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She stepped forward to give me a piece of her mind, before she tottered on shaky, high-heeled legs. I could tell it was happening a split second before she did. I stepped to the side, as she suddenly vomited all over her entryway.

“Have a good night…” I mumbled. I could still feel the tiny fingernails cutting into my flesh as the petrified little guy witnessed this insane scene in front of him. I darted off down those same concrete steps, back down the driveway, back to my door, back inside. Kicking the snow off my shoes, I took them off by the door, before turning my full attention to the tiny guy.

Poor little thing, those boxers were soaking wet. When I finally settled enough to truly take him in, I was surprised as what I saw. His face was knitted up in anger, hot tears rolling down his cheeks. Oh. Shit.

“Hey little fella…. Are you mad at me? For trying to return you? I only brought you back because I thought that’s what I was supposed to do…I, I’m sorry. I see now how abusive it was….” Instead of screaming at me or trying, (uselessly, of course) to get away, he instead curled up in a little ball and wept. This shattered my heart into a million pieces. Big, heaving sighs wracked his tiny body. I wanted so badly to rock him, hold him, stroke him, comfort him. But I knew he was angry with me. I’d almost sent him back to that nightmare. I caused him to relive that trauma and think he was doomed to repeat it.

Poor, sweet, precious little man. I hurt you….

I wrapped him up gently in that same hand towel, turned the heating pad on and sat on the opposite side of the room. I grabbed my pencil and sketch pad, and resumed the illustration work I had been trying to accomplish earlier in the night, giving him space to rage and grieve and hurt while still being close in case he needed anything. I knew right then and there that I would vow to take good care of him from this day forward. He was mine to look after and I’d make damn sure he was safe, happy and healthy. Even if he hated my guts forever for betraying him.

He cried for a long while. His sobs almost impossible to hear from this distance. I found myself, without even thinking, sketching that little bundle of towel and man. Suddenly I had dozens of little doodles of his raven hair and sad beautiful eyes.

Finally, when all the fight had been knocked out of him, he lay there, limply, his left shoulder and side, pressed against the arm of the couch, his bare feet just peeking out of the towel, he looked about himself. He searched around wildly, I supposed just now realizing he didn’t know where I was. It took him a moment to survey the room, vast as it was compared to his little frame, before his eyes landed on me in the corner. He quickly looked away. Pressing closer to the arm of the couch. It hurt that he was so scared of me, but I couldn’t blame him.

“Hi, little guy…” I waved sheepishly. He did not turn to look at me. Back to work then. I tried to focus my attention on my actual client work but my hand refused to not capture him, in what details I could see from this spot. Probably another half an hour went by in silence (well, minus the soundtrack of the party above) as he gazed inquisitively at the space around him, taking in the design on my pillows, the surface of my couch, my display of plants, my books, my paintings. Everything but me.

Finally, and so unexpectedly that I practically jumped, his cracked voice cut through the (relative) quiet, “Ma’am? May I ask…Why do you keep looking at me?” He stared straight ahead as he did so, as though the question alone might get him smacked across the head. I was surprised by how articulate, how adult he sounded. His voice was silky, deep. I mean, I knew he wouldn’t sound like a chipmunk but… still. Here I had been chirping at him like he was a little baby and now he was speaking to me like a fully articulate adult. It was surprising, unexpected. I’d never been around one of these guys before… I guess I had assumed they had limited linguistic capabilities, like a gorilla who knew sign language.

“I’m sorry…. Do you not want me to?” He turned to face me, but still avoided my eyes. “No ma’am, I just wondered what you were doing….” His voice trembled a bit. He was still scared. He was still just a little puppy in so many ways… a puppy with a beautiful voice. “Can I come closer? Can I show you?”

His spine stiffened. “It’s okay, little man….” I whispered. He softened slightly, nodding his head a bit mechanically. Slowly, I crossed the living room, sitting down on the floor again, I scooted as close as I thought I should at this point, and I opened my sketchbook to show him his likeness made in pencil. He leaned forward, staring at the pages with his bright, intelligent eyes. “…. That’s me?” He breathed. I nodded. “Is that what I look like? So small…” he seemed to shiver, but not from cold.

“Hey, it’s okay. I, I owe you an apology… for, for taking you back there… it was wrong… I’m so sorry for what she did to you….” He shook his head, eyes wet with tears again, as if to plead for me to stop. I shut up. He wiped his eyes with the edge of the towel.

“What’s your name?” He pulled his head out of the fabric for a second, confused. “Huh?” “What’s your name? What would you like me to call you? Or I can just keep calling you little guy if you like that better…” he paused for a moment.

“She…. She named me J-Joey, after some tv show character…” I placed a finger on his mess of curls, I knew he wouldn’t like me touching him, but I wanted him to know I was sincere, “No, what’s your real name?” My finger trailed from his hair down his jaw line and up to his chin. I tipped it up to see his eyes, to my surprise, he didn’t flinch away. “Penn… my name is Penn… ma’am” I smiled involuntarily, my heart beating faster.

Without thinking, I leaned forward, my lips angled toward the top of his head. He gasped, squirming away, terrified. “Shhh, relax… calm down, you’re okay…” I used one finger pressed against his chest, to press him into the wall of the couch, before planting a kiss on the crown of his head. “Hello, Penn. Nice to finally meet you…” I let go, leaning back on my heels. He breathed heavily, collapsing a little against the wall. “I’m Eveline. But mostly people I know call me Ev. You don’t have to keep calling me ma’am, just Ev will do... You okay? I didn’t scare you that badly did I?” He rubbed his face with his tiny hand, pinching the bridge of his nose as he shook his head. Poor little fellow, what a frightening world this was for one so tiny!

“Penn?” he looked up at his name, a little smile barely present on his lips, I bet it felt good to be called by his true name after all this time. “You, uh, wanna hand me those boxers so I can wash them?” His face flushed red and he tore his eyes away, “Hey, nothing to be embarrassed about. Its okay. It wasn’t your fault. I’m certainly not holding it against you, you poor abused little thing….” His face just seemed to get redder, but he begrudgingly did as he was asked. I took the soiled garment from him on just my finger, and carried it into the bathroom where I let it soak with soap and water.

When I returned he wasn’t so balled up in the corner, but had a more relaxed posture, sitting up with one leg kicked out. Good. He was warming up, slowly, both physically and mentally.“Tomorrow I’ll take you to pick out some clothes, how does that sound?” His ears perked up, there was that little light in his eye again.

“Thank you… thank you, ma’am.. er…” He looked mortified to have made a mistake. I chuckled softly, “It’s okay. It’ll be hard to get used to at first.” I rubbed between his shoulder blades, reassuringly. He seemed to be flinching less and less at my touch. Sweet little guy. “I’m so glad I found you tonight… You sure are a cute little fella…” I couldn’t help coddling him sometimes! He was absolutely precious! Those sweet eyes, that mop of hair, that soft voice…. How could anyone throw him out like trash? He was such a people pleaser and so well behaved.

“So…” he hesitated, brow furrowing. “Go ahead…” I encouraged. “So… you’re going to keep me?” He was worried I would sell him to someone else! Oh, poor dear, he had so much to be afraid of didn’t he? “Of course, little one. You got me to rescue you, now you’re stuck with me. You’re not going anywhere if that’s what you’re worried about.” His shoulders dropped a little bit. Good. Relax, little man, you’re safe now. He nodded his head, then I saw the cutest little yawn in the history of adorable yawns. Poor baby! He was wiped! Of course he was. Now the adrenaline was finally wearing off and he had been through so much.

“Oh! I saw that little yawn! Yeah, I think you’re right…. It’s sleepy time…. Poor little fella, poor, sleepy, little Penn… come here, come help me make your bed…” I pressed two fingers under his arm pits and lifted him up into my palm as I stood. I had forgotten that his bottom half was totally nude, but he seemed too exhausted right then to really notice so I tried not to pay it much mind either. He winced slightly. The bruises. “I’m sorry, little man! You okay?” He nodded, balancing on his hands and knees in my palm.

I walked over to the linen closet, and asked him to pick out which blanket and pillow he’d like. He tried not to show it, but I could tell he was delighted to pick them out for himself, one small way he got to have control in a world that 90% of the time sought to control him. We got ready for bed and then I placed the pillow and blanket on the couch, in the same corner that the heating pad had been.

The pillow served as an absolutely massive mattress for him and I pulled the blanket over so he would have plenty to cover himself without drowning in the mass of fabric. He carefully pulled off his ratty undershirt and handed it to me as I crouched before his bed. “Get some rest, little one. You’ve been through so much. Sleep in as long as you like. I promise you’re going to like being here so much more than… well, you know. Sweet dreams, Penn.” I kissed him on the head again. He flinched slightly less. I’d take that as progress.

He looked as though he wanted to speak but said nothing. Soon I turned out the lights and instinctively went to close my bedroom door. I stopped just a few inches shy of the door frame. Maybe I’d start leaving it open…. Just in case…. With that, I crawled into bed and after thinking again how lucky it was that I happened to discover him before the worst…. I drifted off to sleep.

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

I had a hard time sleeping, despite being completely drained of energy. I kept reliving the events of that night. Shooting upright in a cold sweat, my heart pounding, terrified I would wake back up half naked in the snow again. I couldn’t believe all that had happened in just the last few hours. Flashes of things rotating though my mind like a pinwheel…. The pool stick cracking against my spine. Being force fed and made to drink from a tube. Throwing up. The room spinning. Being shoved in mouths. Rubbed against breasts. Pressed to crotches. Posed in photos. Used as a drink accessory. Being almost stepped on. Sat on. Being flicked between the eyes. Smacked. Pushed. Dangled high in the air. Crushed between so many unfeeling fingers. Screaming, begging for air. The embers of a cigarette singeing my hair and eyelashes while smoke was blown in my face. Begging to be brought back inside. Falling. Falling. The crack of my own skull against concrete. Those faces so very very far away laughing, like some kind of unfeeling cosmic deities who found joy in the face of misery and destruction. Cold. Cold. Bone biting cold. I was going to die out here. Screaming at the top of lungs for someone, anyone. Until my throat was raw. Tears streaming down my face and practically freezing on impact.

Consciousness ebbing. Then a foot, looming overhead, sure to crush me into nothing. A voice, unfamiliar. Prodding painful fingers. Warmth. Food. Naked. Bath. Cold again. Her. Drunk. Evil. Laughing. So very very afraid. Then inside again. Warmth again. Anger too. Fear. Distrust. Small, so so small. Drawings. Penn. Eveline. And now here. What was a little pet, such as myself, supposed to make of all this? Was this even real? Or was my mind hallucinating some sort of illusion of safety as my cracked skull bled out on the snowy driveway? I had no idea what to think. But I knew what I felt. And I felt safe. Even though my mind told me to distrust. I felt like this owner was different. She was good. I hoped I was right.

#g/t related #g/t #g/t writing #giant/tiny #size difference #g/t au #g/t angst #g/t fluff #sfw g/t #g/t community #will he be okay? #just relax little dude

[topazy]

Silent bloom

Pairings: Finn Collins/ Reader Bellamy Blake/reader

Warnings: swearing, and character death

Chapter: 2.03

"They want you. If we want a truce, we have to give them Finn."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Raven asked, stepping forward.

Clarke avoided making eye contact with any of you, "That’s their offer."

"That’s not an offer," you snapped. "That’s a death sentence."

"It’s punishment," Finn squeezed your shoulder lightly as he brushed past you. "For what happened at the village. Blood for blood."

—

Murphy walked towards where Finn was standing with a complex look on his face. "Hey, man. Byrne actually gave me a gun. I guess we really are screwed, huh? Look, we kicked their asses last time. We’ll do it again."

Finn looked at him blankly and said, "A lot of people died last time."

You chewed on your bottom lip as Bellamy and Finn continued talking, completely zoning out. Would the grounders really take Finn as a trade? The thought made your stomach turn. Your biggest fear right now was that someone would betray Finn and turn him over.

Hearing Clarke’s voice, you looked up again, to see Finn and Bellamy walking in another direction.

"Hey," Murphy said, stepping forward. "Any orders for me, princess?"

The blonde glared at him, "stay away from me."

You were surprised at the look of hurt on his face. "Just trying to be helpful."

It was obviously by the venom in Clarke’s voice that she blamed Murphy for what happened in the village. "You were with him at the village."

"I tried to stop him."

"Not hard enough!"

"You know, you want to start blaming people, Clarke?" Murphy stepped closer to her. "He wasn’t out there looking for me, was he? It’s not my fault he went batshit crazy."

He was out there looking for you.

You stepped in between them, stopping this before it went any further. "Enough! Both of you. Clarke, go do whatever it is you need to do. Yelling, and arguing isn’t helping anyone."

You watched Clarke walk away before turning to face Murphy, who looked slightly guilty. "What?"

"I…I didn’t mean it was your fault."

You shrugged, pretending his words didn’t strike a nerve. "Whatever, we have more important things to think about. Like how the hell we are going to save Finn."

"He’s a dead man walking," Murphy raised his hands defensively when you raised your brows at him. "What? I’m only pointing out the obvious."

You looked back towards the fence, and slowly walked towards it as the chanting got louder. You felt a lump at the back of your throat, as tears threatened to spill from your eyes.

Murphy stood beside you, "jus drein jus daun, Jus drein jus daun."

"Blood must have blood."

You looked back around to face Abby, and Jaha who were talking to some guards. "You don’t trust them, do you?"

"Do you?"

Murphy scoffed at your comment. Of course he didn’t. Nobody who has been screwed over by them should.

"Well, angel eyes, if we leave it to them, we are definitely screwed."

"Yeah," you agreed. Besides Abby, none of them would care what happened to Finn. "We’re going to need a miracle to happen."

—

"What’s the plan?" You asked, stopping beside Finn.

"The dropship."

Clarke shook her head. "You know that this is the safest place for him right now.”

"It isn't if they're turning on him," Bellmay pointed out. "We can protect him at the dropship until we figure this thing out. Grab your gear and meet at Raven's gate in five minutes. She’s already working on cutting the power to the fence."

Bellmay was right. Going to the dropship would probably be the safest place for him right now. It would also give you time to try and figure something else out.

"Okay," Finn nodded. "But nobody's coming with me."

You frowned, "of course we are. This isn’t up for discussion."

Clarke pressed her lips together. She still didn’t seem convinced that it was a good idea. "We are surrounded by Grounders."

"It will be easier if we split up." Noticing others starting to shout at a Finn you gripped his arm as Bellamy knocked the boy called Gruff out. "We need to go, now."

—

You nervously gripped the gun tightly, praying you didn’t make too much noise as you walked through the forest.

"I know I’ve said it before, but-"

"Shh," you stared at Finn wide-eyed.

He has been mostly silent since you caught up with him, and now wasn’t the time to start talking. You knew by the look on his face that he wasn’t going to let whatever was on his mind go.

"I was scared... when you disappeared. I thought I’d never get the chance to say I’m sorry, and I needed you to know that I love you."

"Finn," you stopped walking and turned to face him. "We have talked about this. None of it matters now, all that matters is getting you through this. We find a way to save you, and then we rescue Monty and Jasper, along with everybody else who the mountain men took." You let out a small laugh, "Who would have thought it would be grounders that saved me from them? "Ironic, huh."

"What were they like, the grounders who took you?" He whispered.

"Eh…good as far as kidnappers go. They gave me clean clothes, food, and water." You let out a sigh, "I was afraid they were going to torture me like they did Murphy."

“You have a soft spot for him."

"No I don’t."

For the first time in a long time, you saw Finn smile, "Oh my God, you have a crush on him."

Him teasing you reminded you what life was like back on the ark before everything went to shit. It made you almost forget when you were in the forest in the first place.

You shoved Finn’s arm playfully, "shut up. I just feel bad for him."

"You do like Bellamy though."

You shot Finn a look, "let’s not."

"He’s a good guy, he’d keep you safe. I’m sure of it."

"And who’s going to keep you safe from me? Because once this is all over, I have no issue raising hell if you don’t stop teasing me, Collins."

"What do we do after the dropship? Where do we go? You think the Grounders will just leave when they find out I'm gone? Is this the best way to help our friends inside Mount Weather? "

You gave him a sympathetic smile, "will figure this out."

The last thing you remember seeing is the horrified look on Finn’s face as a loud yelling came from behind you.

—

You let out a loud groan as you sat up. Looking around, you were confused. The last thing you remember was walking in the forest.

"Y/N," Clarke knelt down beside you. "Take it easy when you sit up. You got knocked out."

Of course you did.

"How’s your head?" Finn asked as he helped you stand up.

"Never been better."

"It will be another neat scar to add to your collection," Murphy shrugged.

You ignored his comment as Finn spoke to you in a hushed voice. "When you went down... I thought you were dead. Because of me."

"Finn," you say softly. "I’m right here."

"I’ve killed so many people."

You shook your head, "things that we've done to survive... they don't define us."

"What if you're wrong? What if this is who we are now?"

Not knowing what to say to comfort Finn, you pulled him in for a hug at the same time that Bellamy rushed into the drop shop. "We got company!"

"Oh fuck. We’re surrounded."

As everyone made their way to the outside of the ship, Bellmay stopped to face you. "I’m glad you're okay. You had me worried for a moment."

"Thanks. But honestly, I’m still worried."

—

"They’re not moving any closer."

"Staying out of range. Probably waiting until it's dark."

Murphy looked up at him, "If we hit them now, at least we'd take them by surprise."

You wouldn’t admit it out loud, but Murphy's idea made sense. You didn’t like it, but he did have a point. "The problem is, we don't even know how many of them are out there."

Murphy rolled his eyes, "I’m not hearing any better ideas, Daisy."

Raven stepped forward. "We’ll give them something."

Bellamy looked at her, confused. "All they want is Finn."

Raven looked away from the rest of the group, as her eyes landed on Murphy. "Finn wasn't the only one at the village."

"You can’t be serious! We aren’t handing anyone over to the grounders."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Raven, I came here to protect him. You were the one who wanted me to come." A hurt expression crossed over Murphy’s face. "You... That’s why you asked me to come along."

The brunette glared at him. "Enough Grounders saw him at the village. They’d believe he was the shooter."

"Sick bitch!" Murphy spat.

Clarke tried to calm her down. "Raven, you don't mean this."

"You know what they do to people?" you said, stepping towards her. "They want Finn, nobody else. We can’t protect him if we are fighting among ourselves.

Raven ignored what you said and pointed her gun towards Murphy. "They want a murderer, we'll give them one."

Hell no.

You shared a knowing look with Finn, before moving to step in front of Murphy. "Raven, this is insane! Put it down."

"Daisy, move out the way, I don’t want to hurt you. Murphy drop your weapon!"

"Raven, stop this before somebody gets hurt!" You yelled back at her. You knew deep down she wouldn’t actually shoot you, but you weren’t so sure about Murphy.

Ravenstill refused to lower her weapon, "I said drop it."

"Stop! Stop!" Finn pushed her hand down so the gun was no longer pointed in your direction. "We're not doing this. They’ve got us surrounded. The only thing we can do is stay. And defend this place. Murphy?"

"Yeah?"

"Go upstairs with Daisy. You two watch the rear. I'll take the lower level. You three, take the front gate. That’s the plan. All right?"

As Murphy walked ahead, you hugged Finn again, saying, "We’ve got this."

"May we meet again."

"We will." You pulled back from him, "I better go make sure nobody else tries to kill him."

"Yeah. Be careful."

—

When you joined Murphy, he glared at you. "Are you insane?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You stepped out in front of me! Raven could have shot you!"

Taken aback by his yelling, you shuffled uncomfortably. "She wasn’t going to-"

Murphy cut you off, "you don’t know that. Don’t ever do something like that for me again. Ever!"

You turned and faced the other direction, to avoid looking at him. Why was he so upset? You were only trying to keep everyone safe.

Hearing yelling, you quickly made your way towards the other side of the ship. "What’s happened?"

Bellamy looked at you with fear in his eyes. "Finn’s handed himself in."

—

You stood on the edge of Camp Jaha by the gates, squinting. Grounders were putting a large post into the ground. "What is that?"

"It’s for Finn," Clarke confirmed. "They want us to watch."

As others talked about what to do next, you noticed Clarke getting ready to leave. "What are you doing?"

"I’m gonna talk to the commander."

"Okay," you stepped beside her. "I’m going with you."

Bellamy stared at you both. "What else do you have to say?"

You sighed. "I don't know, but we need to try."

Raven stepped in front of you. "Give me your hand. If she won't let him go, kill her. Things will go crazy, and we'll grab you and Finn. Daisy, you and Clarke have to help him. I owe him my life."

Before you had a chance to say anything, Raven slipped a small knife into your hand.

—

As you and Clarke walked into the commander's tent, a grounder stepped forward and pressed a spear up against your chest.

Clarke seemed to know who the grounder was. "We are here to talk to your commander. Let us through."

Looking down, you noticed small drops of blood appearing on your top. The grounder has cut you.

"Let them pass," the commander said before looking you up and down. "You bleed for nothing. You cannot stop this."

As Clarke pleaded with Lexa to spare Finn’s life, you noticed Ada standing guard. When she noticed you walking toward her, she frowned. "You are here to beg for the traitor's life?"

"Finn’s my friend. He did an awful thing, something he can’t undo, but torturing him won’t bring anybody else back."

"He killed Zelda."

"I’m sorry…" you whispered. "It’s all my fault. He killed all those people because he thought they had taken me."

"You can’t save him, blood must have blood." Ada said harshly. "If you try to save him, all of your people will die."

Tears spilled onto your cheek. You turned to face the commander, "can I say good-bye?"

The commander paused for a moment before nodding. You were surprised that she was allowing you to talk to him, but you didn’t have time to overthink it. It was probably because of Clarke anyway. You needed to help him. You couldn’t let Finn die by the death of 1000 cuts.

You rushed towards Finn, and kissed him. "I love you, Finn, I never stopped."

"I’m scared."

You wiped tears from his cheek. "You’re gonna be ok. I won’t let you suffer." You kissed him once again, before showing him mercy. "You’re ok."

"Thanks, Daisy."

Stepping back, the only sound you could hear was your own sobs, mixed with Raven's screams, as you stared at Finn’s limp body.

Season two

#the 100 #the 100 season two #Finn Collins x reader #Finn Collins x you #Bellamy Blake x reader #Bellamy Blake x you #slow romance #slow burn #John Murphy x you #John Murphy x reader #the 100 fanfiction #finn collins #Bellamy Blake #John Murphy #Raven Reyes #Clarke Griffin #bellamy the 100 #murphy the 100 #heda lexa #lexa the 100 #Bellamy Blake/reader #finn collins/reader #John Murphy/reader #Bellamy Blake/you #Finn Collins/you #John Murphy/you #grounders

[stupid-stew]

The Blame Game

me when I have an idea and have never written fan fiction before and then accidentally write 3,000 words about it OOPSIES anyways I was like what if Eda got mad at Luz after YBOS and um could not get that out of my head

EDA

Eda was tired

So tired

Too much had happened over the course of the last day, she hadn’t had any time to think, but now she had a moment to herself, thinking was all she could do. All the events of the last 24 hours, heck the last 30 years, they all came back to her at once.

Lilith had cursed her? Her own sister? And then betrayed the emperor for her? First she’d been hurt by Lilith and then saved by her, and now Lilith was living under her roof? They’d barely talked at all in the last several decades, and now Eda was expected to just be ok with it? Just like that? After the screaming match they’d had not even an hour ago, Eda wasn’t sure there would be much talking at all for the next few days, not like she wasn’t used to it. There was too much to unpack with her sister right now, she felt too hurt to give it any more of her attention. And Luz, poor Luz, oh that kid was going to be the death of her-

A quiet whisper of “Hey Eda?” interrupted her spiraling thoughts.

Eda sat up from her nest and saw the focus of her thoughts standing in her doorway, “What’s up kid?”

What was Luz still doing awake? It was too late, was she having issues sleeping too? It wouldn't be surprising, the kid was probably traumatized up the wall.

Luz moved her mouth, but Eda didn’t hear a word she said, still consumed by her own brain

Luz, her kid. Eda supposed that she might as well admit to herself she loved the kid at this point. But what was she thinking, breaking into the emperor’s castle like that? Didn’t she know she could have gotten herself hurt, others hurt. Eda got hurt, Eda got hurt beyond repair, she’d lost her powers. Her powers had been the only thing keeping her alive, keeping her sane. What was she going to do without her magic? She couldn't live without it, she was the most powerful witch on the boiling isles for titan’s sake, but what is a witch without her power? And if Luz hadn’t broken into the castle, regardless of her intentions, maybe Eda could have had a shot at keeping her powers longer, but no, Luz just had to play the hero didn’t she, everyone else be damned huh?

“Get out” Eda said flatly

“And th- what?” Luz said, startled and confused by the sudden interruption

“I said get out, I don’t want to see you right now” she replied sharply

“Eda I don’t understa-”

“Of course you don’t understand, why would you, why would you ever think about anyone else, you didn’t even think about the repercussions of breaking into the castle”

“Eda I promise I didn’t mean for any of this to happen I just wanted to…”

“No.” Eda cut her off abruptly “I know what you wanted, you wanted to play the hero, you wanted to be back in your imaginary fantasy world where nobody gets hurt and you can always save the day, you wanted to win, guess what kiddo, you won. You won and everyone else got to lose.”

“Eda, I don’t understand what you’re trying to say…” Luz trailed off with tears forming behind her eyes

Something in eda snapped.

“I’M SAYING IF IT WEREN’T FOR YOU I MIGHT STILL HAVE MY POWERS, I MIGHT STILL BE MYSELF. IT’S YOUR FAULT LUZ. IF YOU HAD TAKEN EVEN A MOMENT TO THINK BEYOND HAVING TO BE THE ONE TO SAVE ME, THEN YOU WOULDN’T HAVE NEEDED SAVING AND I COULD STILL BE LOOKING FOR A CURE. LUCKY YOU, I NO LONGER HAVE ANY MAGIC TO SAVE MYSELF SO MAYBE YOU CAN STILL BE THE HERO YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO BE AFTER ALL. I. DON’T. WANT. TO. SEE. YOU. RIGHT. NOW.”

There was a stunned silence after those last words, Eda slapped her hand over her mouth, shocked at her own outburst, and Luz doubly as hurt by the words. She didn’t know where that had come from, of course she knew that Luz hadn’t meant for any of this to happen, it wasn’t the kid’s fault Eda was cursed, much less her fault that Eda was a wanted criminal who had gotten herself caught. It was her choice to go save Luz from Lilith, even when the kid was being pressed into spikes she was more worried about the older witch than her own wellbeing.

“Luz-” Eda said, taking her hand away from her mouth to reach out towards the now shaking teen, not sure how to even begin to repair the damage she had just caused.

“No, it’s ok.” Luz cut her off, her voice breaking, “I’ll give you your space, I’m sorry.”

“Kid wait-”

The door shut with a quiet click, once again leaving Eda alone in the silence with her thoughts. She fell back into her nest.

Shit.

LUZ

Luz wasn’t sure what had just happened. She had never heard Eda yell at anyone like that before, well now with the exception of Lilith, and herself.

Was it something Luz had done? She was just telling Eda about how she had fought Belos, maybe if she replayed the events in her head…

*5 minutes earlier*

Luz stood outside the massive door to Eda’s room, not sure whether or not to enter. Eda was under a lot of stress, that had to be taking a toll on her, maybe she should just walk away and come back tomorrow…

No, this can’t wait, Eda needs to know

Luz sighed and reluctantly stepped into the doorway. Eda was laying down in her nest with her eyes closed, was she asleep?

“Hey Eda?” Luz asked in a whisper, not wanting to wake the witch if she was finally resting.

Much to Luz’s surprise, Eda sat up. “What’s up kid?”

Eda’s voice had sounded warm, which was a shock to Luz, she had half expected Eda to be mad at her, titan knew she blamed herself enough for the two of them already, but her voice also sounded empty. Maybe Luz was making a mistake, she should leave Eda alone for a little while longer. No, it was probably better to get it over with.

“Hey I’m sorry to bother you, but I need to tell you something.” Eda didn’t respond, so Luz took that as a sign to keep going. “Ok so you know how you gave me the portal key? When you and King and Lilith were up on the platform, Belos wanted to speak to me alone.” she paused, waiting for some kind of reaction, receiving none. “He wanted the portal, and I gave it to him, don’t worry, I set it on fire… which kind of means that I’m stuck here, and th-”

And then Eda had gotten mad, really mad. Was she mad about the portal? No of course it wasn’t about the portal, it was about Luz. Eda was mad at Luz. Eda hated her, maybe she should just leave, spare Eda the reminder of who made her lose her powers every time she saw Luz’s face. And the worst part is that Eda was right, she had gotten too caught up in trying to save Eda that she forgot that she could have gotten hurt. Maybe all those people back home were right, she was too caught up in her fantasy wor-

“OUCH”

Luz ran into something, more accurately, someone. She had been so caught up in her own thoughts that she hadn’t been looking in front of her and had run right into Lilith.

“Oh my titan, Luz I am so sorry are you ok?” Lilith fussed over her, seeming genuinely worried about Luz

“What do you care.” Luz scoffed, immediately regretting her words when she saw Lilith’s face drop at her words. “I’m sorry, I guess I should be asking if you’re ok as well seeing as I was the one that ran into you”

“Oh, I guess we are both at fault then, seeing as I wasn’t watching my step either, nonetheless I do apologize. What are you doing up so late? Does Edalyn not have a bedtime set for you?”

Luz took mild offense to the fact that Lilith thought of her as such a child, but most of the pain came from the fact that Lilith thought Eda still cared about her enough to make sure she got proper sleep. Instead of admitting that to Lilith, Luz settled to retort with “I was just coming back from her room, what are you even doing in the house? Didn’t eda strictly forbid you from coming in here until she says otherwise?”

Lilith chuckled slightly at that, which caught Luz off guard, but Lilith’s reply quickly caught her thoughts away from that “I suppose you’re right, but I heard screaming and wanted to make sure nobody was hurt, I guess if you were just in her room then you’re both probably fine, perhaps you could tell me what that was all about?”

And then Luz lost it.

LILITH

Lilith wasn’t sure what to do. Luz hated her, had every right to, but as she stood in the dark hallway with the teenager wrapped around her waist and sobbing, let’s just say she was more than a little bit confused. She expected a lot of emotions from Luz, anger, hatred, rage, was screaming an emotion? Maybe it should count as one. But this? This was very very far down on the list.

“Luz? What’s wrong?”

The girl mumbled something in between sobs into her dress, but it was completely inaudible.

Lilith continued to stand there with her arms out and away from Luz for another minute, not wanting to touch the girl and make her uncomfortable, and at an utter loss for how to comfort her. Not even a day ago they had been seated on the floor of a clearing in the human world while Lilith had shamefully explained herself, how had she ended up here?

Slowly, Lilith placed her hands on the younger girl’s shoulders and pushed her away enough to see her face, Lilith was horrified to see the girl had been really sobbing, hard, her face barely visible in the dark somehow still managed to show levels of pain she didn’t think were possible for someone so young.

“Luz, ” Lilith said as clearly as she could while keeping her voice soft “what’s wrong?”

She listened quietly as Luz tried to explain to her the conversation she had just had with Eda. Lilith was shocked. She had never expected Eda to yell like that at Luz, she had barely seen them interact, but she still knew that her sister cared deeply for the human, and had never expected that sort of outburst to happen, especially in Luz’s direction. Lilith knew that Eda didn’t mean it, but did Luz know that? Of course she didn’t. Lilith was used to Eda yelling at her, she took it and understood where she was coming from, but for her to snap at Luz like that? Something had to be wrong.

“Luz, look at me” Lilith looked down at the still crying girl wrapped around her waist, waiting for her to make eye contact before kneeling down on one knee to get eye level with her while still keeping her hands on Luz’s shoulders. “I need you to listen to me, ok?” Luz nodded, wiping her eyes. “Ok, this is absolutely not your fault. None of it. I don’t know why Edalyn has decided to place the blame on you, but she was wrong to do so.” Luz didn’t look convinced. Titan, Lilith thought, this girl must have really taken what Eda had said to heart. “The blame is on me, Edalyn, and Belos. Not. You. I am responsible for Eda’s curse and capturing you, for which I will never stop apologizing. Eda and I are responsible for the battle and any harm that came to you during it. I am responsible for capturing Eda, Belos is responsible for her losing her powers, even I played a part in that. None of that is on you. At all.”

Luz looked at her blankly, Lilith was unsure what to do, she had never been good with words, had she said something wrong?

“Promise?” Luz asked softly

Lilith looked at the girl in front of her, the girl who had put her life on the line for her sister, the girl who had fought the emperor and ultimately won, in all her years in the coven she had never seen Kikimora look that terrified, and Belos was a scary man, this kid was so strong, and here she was, asking the woman who had put her life in danger out of spite, for a promise.

Lilith raised her hand and drew a dim blue circle in the air, grabbed Luz’s wrist, and pulled her hand through it. “I promise none of this was your fault, and I will do everything in my power to make sure any part of it that was mine gets remedied in full.”

Their hands glowed faintly for a moment before the light went out.

“So,” Lilith began, “what do you say we get started on that promise?”

Luz, still holding onto Lilith’s hand, nodded and allowed the witch to walk her down the hallway, back to the doors where this had all begun.

EDA

Shit Shit Shit

Eda had spent the last half hour trying to think of any way to make up with Luz, she had never meant to say any of that at all, she didn’t blame Luz, not at all, she blamed herself, and Lilith, and Belos, but mostly herself

For the second time that night, Eda found her thoughts interrupted by someone in her doorframe, this time though there was no word of warning, just a silhouette.

“Lilith?” Eda asked, squinting to try and see her mystery visiter, splitting the curse must have split her night vision as well, add that to the list of awful things that had happened

“Yes.”

It was a simple reply, but enough to make Eda jump out of her nest, “What the hell Lily, I thought I told you so stay out of here, what if Luz saw you?”

“Actually…” Lilith started before tugging lightly on something out of the door frame, bringing luz out from behind the wall.

She’s been crying was all Eda thought.

“Lily I swear to titan if she has even a scratch on her-” Eda began to threaten, but then she remembered. “Oh”

“Yeah, I ran into her in the hall,” her sister replied, “can we come in? I think you have some explaining to do”

Eda nodded sadly, seeing Luz this upset, knowing that she was the one who had caused this, it was almost too much, and when Eda got upset, she had a tendency to run her mouth, so she just started talking as soon as Luz had gotten sat down and Lilith had left the room.

“Look kid, I’m sorry. I know that doesn't even begin to make up for what I said, but I mean it. None of this is your fault, I mean you could have been a little more careful, but the blame isn’t yours. I was having a rough time, which isn’t an excuse for the things I said, but I got mad and snapped at you. I wasn’t even mad at you, I was mad at myself, and I took it out on you and that was wrong of me. I was upset about the loss of my magic, it meant a lot to me, but you need to know that it’s not your fault it’s gone. I’m sorry. I was playing the blame game and you’re the one who lost, even though you weren’t the one playing. You didn’t deserve me yelling at you like that and I am so so so-”

“It’s ok.” Luz cut her off.

“-rry. What?”

“It’s ok Eda. I get it. I know you were mad, and I wish you hadn’t said those things, but I know it wasn’t my fault.” Luz said, looking the older witch right in the eyes.

Eda sighed a heavy sigh, “Good.” They looked at each other for a moment before Eda remembered. “What were you in the doorway for?”

“I had something to tell you, but I think it can wait until morning.”

“Luz, I think it is morning” Eda chuckled, looking out the window to see the sun on the horizon.

“Then it can wait until the afternoon!” the teenager exclaimed back.

Luz got up to leave, but Eda grabbed her by the wrist “and just where do you think you’re going?”

“Back to my room? Eda I have to sleep.”

Eda yanked her wrist, pulling her back into the nest “what a coincidence, I have to sleep too! Maybe we could have an apology nest party?”

Luz laughed, slightly taken aback by Eda’s sudden affection, but relieved to see that she was actually sorry and didn’t mean any harm. “Fine by me.”

“Love you, kiddo.”

“I love you too, Eda.”

They lay in silence for a moment before Eda startled Luz by yelling “LOVE YOU LILY!”

There is a sudden scrambling outside of the door and the sound of a witch’s footsteps could be heard retreating back down the stairs.

“How did you know she was still listening?” Luz asked between giggles

“She never was a quiet walker, it would have been hard for me to miss her walking away”

That was the first good sleep Eda had in years, no thoughts eating away at her, no nightmares, no curse dreams, just her and her kid.

read @novelist-becca’s alternate ending!!!!

#the owl house #eda the owl lady #luz noceda #lilith clawthorne #eda clawthorne #ybos

[veryreallyfuckinbad]

FIRE AND MOSS // Daryl Dixon X Reader// CHAPTER 4

TW: strong language

You tried your best to fall asleep, you were exhausted. Sleep didn’t come easy; especially not after being on your own for as long as you were. Any shut eye was interrupted by the smallest noise- leaves rustling, water dripping from trees, the gentle flapping of a bird’s wings. Every single noise made you jolt up, ready to pounce on anything that tried to come close to you. You were so used to being alone, with no backup, nobody to look out for you, nobody to care for you that spending the night at a safe place felt strange.

You rolled to your side with a heavy sigh. Your eyes hurt and you were sure you had some horrifying eyebags, too. The sleeping bag felt a little too soft, unlike the hard surface of your tent that you’ve grown so accustomed to, you haven’t laid in a sleeping bag since ‘the shit hit the fan’, as you called it. It seemed more appropriate than calling it ‘the apocalypse’, maybe because you never imagined the apocalypse to be so goddamn ugly, bloody and smelly.

You decided to sit up, knowing that you won’t fall asleep anytime soon. You knew that Jake was outside, but you didn’t know exactly what he was doing. You guessed he was running around camp or went to the forest to hang out- it was his first home, after all. He always came back to you by morning though, so you never worried. You suddenly heard the crackling of a fire and poked your head out your tent- it was Daryl. As soon as your head peeked out of the entrance of your tent, you felt Jake brush his snout against your cheek. He couldn’t sleep either, but didn’t leave to run around. He sat in front of your tent like a guardian, watching Daryl’s every move. You chuckled quietly, trying not to alert the man by the fire of your presence just yet. You studied him- his back was facing you, the wings on his leather vest were clearly visible. He was much bigger than you were- in every sense of the word. Taller, broader, heavier; in other words he was deadly to you, physically speaking. The man was like a puzzle, you couldn’t figure him out. He was watching you for God knows how long and you never even noticed, left you a gift, convinced Rick to take you in, yet he never spoke to you unless you were the one to engage conversation. He seemed rough around the edges but had a strange tenderness to him, and from what you’ve heard from the group, you were the only one to see it.

Deciding to stand up, you stretched a little and made your way over to him and decided to speak first, as not to startle him. “Hey”

His head whipped around to look at you and simply nodded in response, his dark hair falling over his icy eyes. He stared at you, waiting for you to say something else.

“Mind if I join? I can’t sleep” you kneeled next to Jake and gave the foxes’ head a small pat, awaiting Daryl’s response. He looked into your eyes but quickly shifted his gaze on something else and hummed in response. You smiled and took a seat on the opposite side of the small campfire, deciding it’s best to let him have his space. A few minutes of silence passed, you were sure Daryl didn’t mind it but sitting across from him and staring at the fire, occasionally looking up at him felt a bit uncomfortable to you. You cleared your throat and noticed his gaze shift from the fire to you.

“Not to seem ungrateful or anything” you began with a nervous chuckle, “but why did you help me out? Not just in the forest, yesterday too. You helped convince Rick to let me stay.” You grabbed a stick and poked the fire causing embers to fly up into the dark sky. Both you and Daryl took notice of Jake jumping up and trying to catch one in his mouth before it disappeared. Daryl let out a small snort that was gone before you could take it in- it was a completely new sound.

“Didn’t want him to go” he motioned to the fox with a tiny smirk, causing you to giggle. He cleared his throat and continued, which surprised you- this was your first real conversation, even if it was just about Jake. “He do any tricks?”

“Yeah, a couple actually. He can bite your face off if you keep treating him like a dog,” you gave him a playful smile, he returned the favor and mumbled something along the lines of ‘lil’ bastard’ and you went on “or my personal favorite. You got an empty can?” He looked at you with confusion, raising his eyebrows but didn’t say anything as he picked up an empty can of beans from the grass behind the log he was sitting on and threw it to you. You caught it and placed it on the damp grass near your foot, in front of Jake. He instantly put his snout inside, getting stuck.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you: Mother Nature’s perfect killing machine” you announced in between chuckles and heard Daryl snort again. He smiled and shook his head while you took the can off Jake’s face. “And before you ask, I have no idea why he does that” you added while ruffling his fur lovingly. Before long, silence fell between you once again, but it was more comfortable this time. You didn’t expect any more conversation from the man- you were surprised with how much you got already, anyway. He looked at you, his face illuminated by the warm glow of the flames. Daryl’s expression was unreadable, it frustrated you that you couldn’t figure out what was going on in his head. He leaned over, resting his elbows on his knees and spoke up.

“Who ‘ere you with before us?” his low voice now sounded more gravelly than usual, he didn’t look at you. Your breath caught in your throat- you have never spoken to anyone about your previous group. Just now, you realized how much you missed them. If it weren’t for Jake and the others, you wouldn’t be where you were right now. They were the ones who taught you to survive, the ones who took you in when all seemed hopeless, they were family. They were family and when you were attacked, you didn’t even fight, you just ran. You realized your eyes were tearing up and looked at the man with nothing but shame, guilt and despair. He couldn’t see you like this, you didn’t want him to pity you or look at you differently, so you stood up. His eyes followed you, he shook his head gently to get the hair out of his face. He glanced at you apologetically, thinking he must’ve done or said something wrong. He didn’t realize you weren’t ready to open up yet.

“Alright” you chuckled sadly, trying to lighten the mood and change the subject, “It’s late, you’d better go to sleep. Jake and I will take watch”

Daryl gently shook his head and eyed you, the pressure of his gaze being much for you in that moment. You turned your back to him and pretended to look up at the star-filled sky. In reality, you tried to hold back the tears forming in your eyes. You didn’t realize that opening up would be so difficult. Deciding its best to hide from the man for the time being, you stepped into your tent. Daryl saw you fumble and shuffle inside, he couldn’t believe that you actually complied. His attention turned back to the fire, he picked up a stick from the ground and began poking the burning wood with it before his head shot up when he heard you step out of the tent with something under your arm- it was too dark to make out what it was. You stepped towards Daryl and sat beside him, your eyes now red and puffy but dry. Wordlessly, you placed the item you were holding in his lap- your sleeping bag. Daryl furrowed his eyebrows and gently touched the soft makeshift mattress with his fingers.

“Can’t sleep on it, it’s too soft for me” you looked at him, hoping he would understand. You saw something change in his eyes when the words left your mouth, like the light he had while joking with you earlier died out completely. Your mouth turned into a thin line, trying your best to give him a smile but you were sure it came out more like a sad-puppy-look than a friendly grin. Enough was enough, you were just making him pity you more. You were an enigma to him- like a puzzle piece from a completely different box. Despite going through the unimaginable, things that you couldn’t even share with him, you never failed to give him that damn smile. The smile that made him wonder whether rescuing you was a good idea- you were dangerous. Not literally, Daryl knew you couldn’t and wouldn’t hurt him. The way you made him feel was dangerous but most of all, it was completely new and utterly confusing. You were like an elusive animal; afraid only when you absolutely needed to be, defensive yet so trusting, so warm and it frustrated him. He could usually read people like open books, but you were the only exception.

You stood up and didn’t miss the way Daryl’s eyes flickering between your face and the sleeping bag in his lap. Jake followed you to the tent, but you stilled before you entered.

“Goodnight, Daryl”

You woke up to Jake’s squeaks and growls coming from outside your tent, growling as you sat up and stretched. Your eyes landed on a small roll right outside of your tent- your sleeping bag. A heavy sigh left your mouth, but you couldn’t even pretend to be mad.

“Stubborn asshole”, you didn’t even notice the smile forming on your face while you cursed Daryl out. You crouched, trying to get out of the tent and almost falling over in the process. The damn thing was small. Once you managed to get out, Jake greeted you, jumping up and standing on his hind legs, his front paws resting on your stomach. You leaned down to press him into yourself gently. “Good morning to you, too. C’mon, let’s go say hi to everyone else.”

When you made your way to the group’s campground, Glenn, Dale, Carl and Maggie walked up to you to greet you while the rest said their hello’s from their seats. You were happy to see them, glad they didn’t disappear overnight. Shit. Last night’s conversation with Daryl hit you harder than you’d thought. The group was having breakfast around a campfire- theirs was much bigger than the one Daryl made. You stared at them, wondering whether you should join. Jake sniffed the air and made it clear he smelled the meat cooking over the fire.

“Are you going to stand there and stare at us or are you gonna join?” Glenn chuckled and bumped Maggie’s shoulder with his own, “Seriously, it’s kinda creepy.”

You apologized and offered them a sheepish smile while taking a seat in between Carl and Maggie. Everyone looked up at you from time to time, which you brushed off- they were probably just curious about Jake, who sat in the space between you and Carl. Maybe they were worried he would attack Carl?

“Alright, what’s up? Now you guys are the ones being creepy.” If you had to take one more weird look, you’d probably die. Or bury yourself underground.

“You’re uh…” Rick began and fumbled over his own words, “there’s a working shower in the house.” Great, Rick. He pointed it out in front of everyone. You were about to get mad but you took a look at yourself for the first time in forever, examining your clothes- they were covered in dirt and grime, not to mention that your face and arms had dried blood all over them.

“Patricia can wash your clothes!” Maggie chimed in, clearly uncomfortable with the silence that fell upon the group. “Eat something and go wash up, I’ll get you some of my clothes for the time being”

You were perfectly content with waiting for Patricia to wash your clothes, hell, you didn’t mind washing them yourself but decided to take the offer- it was a luxury, after all.

Dale cleared his throat and handed you a paper plate with two pieces of meat on it. You thanked him with a smile and gratefully took the food. Without thinking, you grabbed the larger piece and gave it to Jake, watching as he carefully took it from your hand with his teeth while you began chewing your own piece. The taste was familiar, you’ve eaten that meat before. Was it…

“Squirrel?” you asked and noticed Rick staring at you. Dale simply nodded and looked at you with nothing but confusion painted on his face. You were being stared at again. You couldn’t help but chuckle. “What did I do now?”

“I’m pretty sure both of those were for you” Rick smirked and you dipped your head. You couldn’t imagine eating and not sharing it with Jake.

“He’s hungrier than I am” you reassured him with a grin and pat the fox between his ears. Suddenly, something hit you. There’s only one person who can catch squirrels in this group and he wasn’t there.

“Where’s Daryl? There’s no squirrel without Daryl.” It was a joke, but you couldn’t help but worry about him. He was up all night and he went out, he must’ve been exhausted. Maggie smirked and tried to suppress a snort but didn’t manage to. You weren’t sure whether she was laughing at your joke or at how worried you were, but decided to believe it was the former.

“He’s out looking for Sophia, he should be back soon.” Lori tried to sound reassuring but it didn’t make you worry any less. You tried your best not to show your anxiety, the group probably didn’t know why you’d be worried about him. They were asleep while he took watch, making sure everyone was safe.

“I’m going on a run later today. You wanna join?” Maggie asked, kneeling in front of you. You felt Jake tense at how close she got. You didn’t expect it- they trusted you instantly, while they had no reason to. You couldn’t believe it, but you quickly accepted the offer.

Once you finished your meal, you headed to the house to take your fist shower since the apocalypse began. Of course there was the occasional bath in a river or lake but nothing could compete with a warm shower, with soap too. Maggie led you to the bathroom and smiled at you before you shut the door.

“New clothes will be right outside the door on the floor!” her voice was muffled through the closed door. You shouted back a quick ‘thank you!’ before you were about to step in the shower, but something stopped you. A mirror. You looked in the reflection and didn’t recognize the person staring back at you. Your once lively eyes were now sunken down. Your cheekbones were more visible and your hair was matted and tangled. You found a brush in one of the drawers and began combing it out as quickly as you could- the shower couldn’t come soon enough. Once you were done working on your hair, you stepped into the cold, ceramic bathtub and smiled as you turned the tap and felt warm water wash over you. It was an incredible feeling- the blood and gore washing off your skin, cleansing you of the horrors outside of the farm. You ran your hands along your once smooth skin- it was now bumpy and covered with scars. They were nothing but reminders of the battles you’ve won. The pleasant smell of raspberry-scented soap filled your lungs. It was sweet and reminded you of the world before everything fell apart; sweet and tender, but stung like hell if it got into your eyes.

You closed your eyes and simply enjoyed the moment. It felt purifying. All of the pain, sorrow and grief washing off you and disappearing in the drain. The only thing the warm water couldn’t wash off was the moss that grew on your heart, almost engulfing it whole. Love was a tricky thing, it always was, but in this world it was even worse. You were unable to bring yourself to open up to the group about who you were with before, even about your pitiful life before the ‘shit hit the fan’. You didn’t want to think about your disgusting past relationships, the men you were with being the reason as to why you flinched and ducked whenever someone raised their hand at you or touched you without announcing themselves first. You only allowed yourself to cry in moments like these- alone and comfortable, always afraid of people seeing you cry. Perhaps that’s why you and Jake bonded almost instantly- your hearts were covered in moss.

You quickly opened the bathroom door and dragged your new clothes in. It was a nice outfit; a black tank top and a pair of jeans that was cut with scissors to be knee-length, along with a well-fitted black leather jacket. A smile crept up on your face when you saw yourself in the foggy mirror- you at least resembled your old self now.

Maggie was already waiting for you on the porch, sitting on the steps and smiled at you when you emerged from the door.

“Ya ready to go?” her head swung toward you while she pushed herself up from the steps, standing up. You nodded in response but quickly stiffened, remembering something,

“Can he come along?” you motioned towards Jake, who was standing by your side. Maggie shifted, her eyes flickering between you and your fox companion. She was clearly unsure and she had every reason to be- it was a wild animal. But that wild animal was insistent on following you and making sure you were okay; you did the same for him.

“We’re gonna go on horses, though.” She looked at you sheepishly and awaited your response

“That’s perfect, actually! He could use a good run” you kneeled down next to Jake, who instantly began pacing around you, brushing his fiery fur against you. “Sure has a lot of pent up energy”

You couldn’t remember the last time you rode a horse- it was long before the apocalypse even began. The animal was big, if it decided to buck you off- it would. Thankfully, you were good with animals. The horse seemed calm as it walked beside Maggie’s. It was exceptionally quiet for a while. The only sounds echoing through the empty streets of the abandoned countryside town was the rhythmic hitting of hooves against the hard concrete. Jake trotted along, not needing to run as you weren’t going fast. He clearly enjoyed going out on runs, he was the most adventurous fox you’ve ever met. The only fox you’ve ever met, actually, but you were sure other foxes weren’t this energetic or upbeat. The only weapon you carried was a hunting knife that you borrowed from Rick, who refused to let you go without any way of protecting yourself. Your goal was a small grocery store that was boarded up, which meant it probably wasn’t looted yet. Maggie clearing her throat brought you back from your thoughts.

“So, what’s up with you and Daryl?” she chimed cheerfully. You almost fell off the horse, but quickly composed yourself . What in the hell did she mean? Instead of answering her question, you decided to retort,

“What’s up with you and Glenn, huh?” you sent her a wink and noticed her roll her eyes with a small smile. There definitely was something going on with the two- they came in a bundle. If Maggie was doing laundry, Glenn suddenly decided to help her out. If Glenn was taking watch, Maggie magically appeared near him within minutes.

“Oh, c’mon.” She dismissed your question. Fair, you did the same to her. “If any of us tried to set up camp near the one and only Dixon we’d probably get an arrow in the ass” she laughed and you smiled, but still didn’t understand. If what she was saying was true- why did he let you set your tent up next to his? “Not to mention, he watched you for how long? A week?”

You couldn’t help but let out a throaty chuckle. Daryl was one confusing man.

“Yeah, that one was creepy as shit” you said, giggling like a schoolgirl and looking down, suddenly unable to meet her gaze.

The store was mostly clear of walkers, say for a couple squished together in a bathroom. You and Maggie swiftly took care of them and began looting the store. It was quite intact, with the majority of supplies untouched. You swiped as many cans as you could off the shelves, letting them drop in your duffle bag. Once you packed as much food as you could, you decided to take a look around the remaining aisles. There wasn’t anything of interest- some long expired lotions, condoms and sunglasses. You were about to leave the store with Maggie when you saw something in the corner of your eye. A sketchbook. You smiled a toothy grin and looked at Jake who was busy sniffing every shelf he came across. Quickly shoving the sketchbook in your already-full bag, you bumped Maggie’s shoulder with your own to signal her that you’re ready to leave.

The ride home was pleasant and the scenery was quite beautiful. The sky was turning a pinkish-orange color, the setting sun began giving everything an incredible orange glow. Everything looked more alive, even the abandoned stores and houses. Jake’s fur, which usually looked fiery, now looked like it was ablaze- he looked like a living flame.

When you arrived at the farm, the sky still had that beautiful glow to it. The farm looked like something out of a fairytale. You hopped off your horse and gave it a pat, leading it to the stables with Maggie. Once the horses were in place, you turned to Maggie.

“What did you mean? Earlier, about Daryl?” you stuttered, unsure if you should be asking the question.

“What I mean, (Y/N),” she put a hand on your shoulder and smiled at you brightly. It wasn’t the same smile she gave you when she asked about Daryl on the way to the store- this one was warm, inviting, yet still playful. Quickly, it turned into a smirk, “Daryl isn’t exactly easy to seduce”

What? Seducing Daryl was the last thing on your mind- all you wanted was someone you could trust, someone who would understand you. That person just so happened to be him- maybe because he was the one to save you, maybe because you were both like wild animals, maybe because he liked Jake. You smirked at that last thought and shook your head.

“Maggie” you looked deep into her eyes, placing both of your hands on her shoulders, “Even if I wanted to, I’m about as seductive as a cabbage” Maggie let out an unflattering snort and playfully hit your arm with her fist. You were unsure what to make of the exchange- did you really seem like all you wanted was flirting with Daryl? Just because he let his walls down a little for you didn’t mean anything. He probably felt comfortable around you because he saw how you were in the forest and felt like he knew you already; you can tell a lot about a person solely by their actions, afterall.

“Do I really seem like I just want to get in his pants?” you sighed and looked down in genuine sadness. You just needed a friend. When Maggie noticed how serious you got, her eyes dropped and her voice suddenly became soft, just above a whisper.

“I was kidding, I’m sorry.” She smiled a sad, uncertain smile and went on, “He just acts different around you, that’s all.” Her words made you think. You didn’t know how exactly he acted around others. Of course, he respected Rick and could be an asshole to the group from time to time, but how different could he be around you? This man gave you a headache, no matter how much time you spent thinking about what he’s thinking, you could never guess.

You nodded at Maggie and made your way out of the barn- you needed some fresh air. Deciding it was best to stay away from others to think, you headed to the only place you could think of- the very campfire you were sitting by with Daryl last night. Once you took a seat on a log, you stared into space, your hand stroking Jake’s fur from time to time. Maggie’s words echoed in your head, like someone shouted inside a tunnel, the echo repeating itself constantly. Maybe you should give the man space, maybe you shouldn’t get too close. Last time you did that, people died. All you wanted to know was what was behind those steel-blue eyes. You also decided to apologize to him for last night; he probably didn’t care much but you still felt guilty for brushing him off like that. Suddenly, Jake shot up and turned around, standing still and not moving an inch. Your head whipped back to see what spooked him so bad and saw the very man that you were thinking about. He was covered in small cuts and bruises, probably from running through thorn-covered bushes. His gaze was soft, friendly. Exactly like the one you saw last night when you so casually conversed with him. You stood up, about to say hello, about to apologize. You had to hold yourself back from hugging him- you were glad he made it back in one piece. You opened your mouth to speak but closed it when he kneeled and began shuffling around in his backpack, clearly looking for something. He wasn’t sure whether he should say something or not, maybe he should apologize for prying yesterday. He was definitely not a people person. Deciding it’s best to just let his action speak for him, he pulled out a familiar item out his backpack. Was it-

“Found yer knife. Apology for yesterday” He looked at you with that undecipherable look he had. You were baffled- what was he apologizing for?

“What the hell? Thank you so much!” you took the knife from his hands, “I was about to apologize myself. Sorry for brushing you off like that.” You smiled at him and, deciding to be brave, hit his arm with your fist gently. “Did you cut yourself so bad with my knife?” you gestured towards the many cuts on his face and the ones on his hands and arms, “Thought you were good with blades” You smirked at him. He scoffed and hopped over the log you were previously sat on and took a seat.

“Ya can bet ‘m better than ya"

----

taglist <3

@writers-adversary @kimchiwen @mileysnavely @srhxpci

#daryl x oc #daryl imagines #the walking dead daryl #daryl dixion imagine #daryl x reader #the walking dead #twd daryl #daryl x y/n #daryl dixon fanfiction #daryl dixon x reader #fireandmoss

[mochegato]

Pixie Spy

Chapter 8

Chapter 1     Chapter 7

Ladybug swung through the streets as long as she could before the wind became too powerful for her to keep her trajectory. She only managed to make it about halfway to where the team was waiting before the wind became too strong.  She landed on the street with a roll, deciding running would be more effective after the fifth crash into a balcony. She looked down at her yoyo as she ran looking for the dots indicating her team.  Chat, Carapace, and Rena were already together under a bridge along the Seine.  Bee was quickly approaching from the opposite direction.  

Ladybug felt her progress slow as the wind suddenly picked up significantly.  She blinked a few times when she saw a tornado barreling toward her.  She gave a surprised squeak and jumped into an alley to get out of the tornado’s path.  She breathed a sigh of relief, leaning against the bricks of the alley wall until she started sliding toward the alley entrance.  Her eyes widened in surprise as she fell back and was sucked toward the tornado.  She threw out her yoyo, capturing a pipe on the other end of the alley and held on as the tornado sucked the dumpsters out of the alley and flung them out into the street, demolishing cars.  She stared at the pipe nervously when it started to bend under the pressure of the tornado’s pull on her.

She felt her body slowly lower as the tornado passed by and the winds died down.  She took a few seconds to catch her breath before walking out to see the devastation. It looked like a bulldozer carved a diagonal path through the neighborhood.  There were buildings destroyed next to buildings that looked completely untouched.  There was wreckage everywhere.  She could see at least one leg just barely sticking out of one of the wrecked buildings.

She scrunched her eyes shut and took a deep breath to focus herself.  He hoped that was the only tornado they had to deal with, but with the way things had been going lately, it was unlikely.  If it was following the regular pattern, the akuma would be flashy and devastating.  While devastating, one tornado was hardly flashy.  What she wouldn’t give for the early days of Mr. Pigeon or even Guitar Villain.  That one was kind of fun actually.  Even as a dragon, Fang was just a big puppy.

“Waiting on you, LB.” She heard over her com.  She looked down and saw Bee had joined the others.   She shook her head and started running again.

“Sorry, got caught up in something.  Weather is crazy today, don’t you think?”  She responded with a fake casualness.

“No idea what you mean, Dudette.” Carapace responded in the same tone.  “I’ve just been chillin’ here watching the trees break in the breeze.”

“Screw you both!” Bee seethed.  “That fucking wind absolutely destroyed my hair.  That bitch is going down.”

“Is it Stormy?”  Ladybug asked.  It seemed like her MO, but it made no sense.  She could do a lot worse.  She had done a lot worse years ago.

“Can confirm, it is Stormy.  I saw the butterfly land.  One guess where.”  Rena added. They knew all knew where it was. With Aurora, it was always her umbrella. “One guess who caused it too.” She added bitterly, her eyes darkened with anger.

Ladybug groaned.  Most of the people at school had figured out to avoid or laugh at Lila, but Aurora still took everything to heart.  She had grown a tougher skin, but criticisms still hurt.  The insinuations still hurt.  The judgement still hurt.  And Lila knew just how to phrase her words to maximize the hurt and capitalize on insecurities.  “Fucking bitch.”  Ladybug muttered under her breath.

“That’s what I said.” Bee bit out.  “And as soon as this is done, I’m killing her.”

Ladybug sighed heavily.  “We don’t kill, Bee.”  Fuck, now she sounded like Batman.  She needed to say something to rid herself of this feeling.

“It won’t be permanent.  I’ll do it before the miraculous ladybug.” Bee dismissed her.

Ladybug opened her mouth to reprimand her but that would be what Batman would do.  What wouldn’t batman do…  “That is very creative thinking, Bee.  I love your creativity and passion.” She said focusing on the positives instead.

She jumped down next to the group just in time to see Bee’s face scrunch up in confusion and disgust.  She turned on Ladybug and shook her finger in her face. “You… you… Don’t do that.  You’re supposed to be our voice of reason.” She slapped Ladybug’s arm.  “It’s creepy when you’re all supportive of my bad ideas.”

“If I wasn’t supportive of your bad ideas, I’d never be supportive.” Ladybug quipped before she thought about it.  As soon as the words were out of her mouth she cringed. Damn, she was moving closer to Batman again.  

Bee gasped dramatically and opened her mouth to respond but was cut off by Chat.  “Yeah, yeah we’ll all just imagine the cutting response.  Can we focus please?”

She sighed and turned to Rena, “So how bad is it?”

“At least twenty smaller tornadoes around the city. And by ‘smaller’ I mean just terrifying and destructive instead of horrifying and catastrophic like the one over there.” She motioned vaguely behind them.  Ladybug looked warily at the rapidly swirling clouds in the sky. “News estimates that one is above an F-5, which is the highest known level.”  She looked up with a haunted look.  “If that thing were to start moving, nothing in the city would be standing. Nothing.”

“So why isn’t it moving?” Carapace asked keeping his eyes on the clouds in the sky.  “Stormy has never held back before.  We know she can do worse.  So why isn’t she?”

“You think there’s something more going on?” Chat asked, furrowing his brow.

“Amok?” Ladybug asked looking at him.

Carapace shrugged.  “Not sure what is going on.  I’m just saying Stormy created a super volcano that almost destroyed us.  A few tornadoes is stepping back a bit.”

Ladybug nodded and returned her gaze to the clouds. She ducked quickly when something came flying over the embankment and almost hit her.  “We aren’t going to be able to get close to her with this wind. We need a way to neutralize the wind if we want to do anything.”  She mused more for herself than the team.  Her eyes darted around to her teammates and up at the sky.  Her mind started running through potential plans and likely outcomes, backups, workarounds, collateral damage, risk assessment.

“We’re going to have to do it without talking too.” Chat noted.  “Once we get up there, nobody is going to be able to hear anything even if we yell.” He turned to them with a small grin. “But, that means we’ll be able to sneak up on her without having to try to be quiet because she won’t be able to hear either.”

Ladybug made a note of his comment, adding it as a potential puzzle piece.  She pursed her lips as the pieces started fitting together.  It would take all of them working together, acting at the right moments, but lean more heavily on Bee than she wanted to.  Not that she didn’t completely trust Bee.  She knew Bee could do it, she just hated putting any of her team on the front lines while she watched from a safe distance.

She was putting the last pieces in place when she heard an eerily sweet voice floating towards them.  “Come out, come out wherever you are, Ladybug and Chat Noir. I want to play.” Stormy’s voice took on a hard edge.  “We can fly a kite.”  There was a short pause before her voice returned to the eerily sweet tone.  “I’ve already provided the wind and everything.”

Rena gave Chat a deadpan look.  “So, not affected by the tornado’s noise and able to make her voice heard over it are part of her powers.”

Chat shrugged sheepishly.  “That’s okay.  We won’t need it to get the akuma.” Ladybug said confidently.  All of the eyes turned to her, ready to take her orders. “Carapace, you’re going to create a shelter for us to hide in on a roof close enough to observe, but not so close the building might collapse under us.  Then create a tunnel through the tornado to the eye, but you’re going to need to create it from higher up.  Bee, you’re going to need the flying power up so you can fly through the tunnel into the eye. You’re going to drop down on her from above and use Venom to incapacitate her.  Rena, on Bee’s mark, you’re going to create an illusion that the tornadoes are gone.  The devastation will still be there, but her tornadoes will be gone.  Bee will take advantage of her confusion to deliver the venom.  Chat and I will keep an eye out for the amok, but this plan is mostly on your shoulders, Bee.”

“If she can talk through the wind then I imagine she can see through it too.”  Chat commented somberly, looking around at the buildings near them and trying to remember the buildings around the Champ de Mars or the Trocadero.  “We’ll want to pick a rooftop that gives us a view but that won’t allow her to see us.”  He pulled up a map on his baton and examined it for a few seconds.  “This one should work.” He turned and showed them the building he had in mind.  He stared at Rena a few second and cocked his head to the side.  “Or, we just have Rena hide us.  Can you make that part of your illusion?  Hiding us as well?”

“It will get a bit complicated getting the different layers and timing and complexities to work together, but I should be able to do it.” Rena nodded slowly, staring at nothing while she fit the pieces together in her head.

Ladybug nodded.  “Good idea, Chat.  Rena, can you give us some cover while we get there, too?”

“On it, LB.” Rena jerked out of her thoughts and nodded at her before playing her flute.  “Mirage.” They looked around but nothing looked different.

“Uh… Babe?” Carapace started, looking around in confusion.

Rena gasped dramatically.  “You doubt me?”  Carapace rolled his eyes at her.  Rena laughed at him.  “It’s like a screen around this area, a screen showing a picture.  Anyone on the other side won’t see any changes.  We can move as much as we want and they won’t see it.”

“So are we moving or are we just going to hang out here until Stormy gets bored with us and moves on?”  Bee asked annoyed with the lack of movement.  

“Come on guys, we’re going to make her late for her spa appointment if we don’t move and Lord knows we wouldn’t want to be responsible for that kind of travesty.”  Rena snickered.

“No, you wouldn’t.” Bee snapped.  “Those spa appointments are the one thing that keep me from killing you all.”

“On that sweet, teambuilding comment, let’s get started.  The sooner we stop this the better.” Ladybug grumbled.

They made their way to the rooftop, occasionally dodging random objects flying.  “That was a…” Carapace’s eyes followed the object as it flew out of view.  He whipped his head around to Rena, looking at her apprehensively.  “There wasn’t a baby in that stroller, right?  It was empty?”

“No Babe, there was no baby in the stroller.” Rena assured him.  “It’s okay. The baby is safe.  It was empty.”

Carapace nodded at her words. “Okay, good.  Good.  Good.” Rena looked over at Chat and grimaced. Chat gave her a sympathetic look and patted her on the back.

As soon as they landed on the roof Carapace called for shelter and Rena called for a new mirage.  They huddled together under the camouflaged green dome and assessed the situation.  From their new perch, the scene looked more horrific.  The tornado was even more massive than before.  Ladybug expected the buildings surrounding the area to start crumbling any second now.  If the tornado moved even a few feet in either direction, they definitely would.

“Everyone knows their job.  Everyone ready?”  Ladybug looked at all of them seriously, looking for any signs of uncertainty before they started, especially from Bee.  She was the one taking all the risks.  She was the one they needed permission to start from.

Bee looked at her confidently.  “I’m ready to go.” She said with conviction.  She detransformed, pulled a power up out of her purse, and handed it to Pollen.  As soon as Pollen was done, she called on her transformation again and looked back at Ladybug with a smile.  “Let’s do this.  I’ve got an appointment to get to.”

Ladybug nodded to her.  “We don’t want to make her late for that.” Ladybug smiled slightly. “Rena, Carapace, you’re up.”

Rena called for Mirage again, camouflaging the area where the tunnel was going with just a few notes from her flute. Carapace moved forward and called out, “Tunnel.”  A green tunnel only they could see formed in the sky linking the shelter and running through the side of the tornado.  As soon as he nodded to Bee, she extended her wings and started beating them.  She rose slowly off the ground.  Thank God they had practiced with the power ups before. Otherwise she would be a jerky, uncontrolled mess right now, plus it was just extremely cool practice, much more fun than the fire resistance training.  She gave them one last look before flying into the tunnel.  After a few seconds, they heard a beep on their coms indicating Bee was in position.  “Rena,” Ladybug cued her quietly.  

“Mirage,” Rena called out again.  This time, they all saw the change.  The scene looked completely different.  Not only was the tornado gone, but the trees appeared to have stopped blowing, standing tall and unbroken.  They could almost believe what they were seeing if they couldn’t hear the wind against the outside of the shelter and on Bee’s coms.  “She should be able to see what’s in the eye but nothing outside of it.  That goes for both of them.” Rena reported.  “Nothing except what I want them to see.”

They waited with baited breath for something to change, for the wind to stop or Bee to say something.  They stared so hard at the spot where the tornado had been that it was amazing none of them broke any blood vessels in their eyes.  Ladybug let out a loud yelp when she felt something touch her.  She looked over and saw Chat give her a sheepish look and continue to pat her hand comfortingly a few more times.  She let out a strangled sigh and turned back to the spot

The sound of the wind was starting to drive Ladybug crazy.  It was a constant reminder that things had not changed.  That Bee was still in danger.  That she was out there by herself, with no backup.  If anything happened to her, they would be too late to help.  She was alone and Ladybug had sent her there.

After a few minutes they finally heard a break in the white noise the wind had become.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t the easing of the wind as they had hoped.  They all jumped and Rena’s illusion disappeared as Bee’s screaming rang in their ears.

“Bee, report!” Ladybug screamed.  “Carapace, kill the tunnel.  Bee, report.  Are you okay? Bee!”  Ladybug was getting more and more frantic with each word.  She checked her yoyo for Bee’s beacon.  It started blinking a few blocks away.  “Damn it!  I should have sent backup with her.  Rena, Carapace please go check on her.”

“I’m fine.  I’ll…” she cut off her sentence with a groan.  “Yeah, these bricks are definitely hard.” She reported as she slid down the side of the building she had been thrown into.  “There’s definitely an amok, by the way.  The little bastard can ride the tornadoes and jumped me while I was focused on Stormy.” Bee groaned rolling onto her hands and knees.

“Bee, do you think you can get back here on your own or do you need a bit of assistance?”  Ladybug asked gently.

“While I appreciate the offer of my own personal sedia gestatoria, and it is much deserved, I think I can make it myself.” She answered proudly but her voice was ragged.

Ladybug turned her com off and turned to Rena and Carapace.  “Can you two go escort her anyway?  She’s already weak after what I’m sure was a hell of a hit.  If she gets caught in one of those random tornadoes, she might not be able to get out of the way in time.”

“Will do, LB.” Rena saluted her.  “Come on Carapace.  I’ll race you.”  Rena took off running.  Carapace gave them a weak smile and followed after her.

“Sending your underlings instead of dealing with me yourself, Ladybug?  I’m hurt. I thought we meant more to each other. I just wanted to play.  My little pet wanted to play, too.  Unfortunately, your little pet Bee just wasn’t strong enough to handle him.”  Stormy taunted, laughing eerily.  “What do I need to do to get your attention?  Should I send my pet after all of your little pets?”

“Right,” Chat grimaced at the thought of the pain he could hear in Bee’s voice.  “I think we could use a bit of Luck right about now.  What do you think, m’lady?”

Ladybug nodded still looking at the growing tornado. “I think you’re right, Chaton. Lucky Charm!” Ladybug called out throwing her yoyo into the air.  She stared in bewilderment at the object that dropped into her hands.  “Seriously?  What am I supposed to do with this?”

She continued staring at the very distinctive red, full face mask now adorned with black dots that had dropped into her hands. Her mind raced through the possibilities.  Was she supposed to wear it?  Was Chat? Someone else?  Was she supposed to throw it at someone?  Did it have a voice changer she was supposed to use?  Some kind of analytical software she could use? She could throw it into the tornado and it would become a deadly weapon as the force of the wind launched it. With her luck, it might hit Stormy… but that didn’t feel right.  What did Tikki intend?

Chat cocked his head to the side staring at it with doubt as well.  “Do you think it means he is supposed to help us with Stormy?”

Ladybug shook her head.  “I doubt it.  It is never that straight forward for me.  If it was you, I would say that was what it meant, but Tikki always makes it more difficult than that.” She huffed in frustration.  She looked around them seeing if anything jumped out at her.

“Maybe he has something you need then.  Like when Tikki used to give you Lucky Charms to let you know you needed to go see Master Fu?” Chat offered uncertainly.

Ladybug’s eyes lit up.  “Yes!  That’s it. Great idea, Chat!  That is exactly what it means.” She stood up to find Jason. “Hold down the fort.  I’ll be back as soon as I can.  Let me know if anything changes I need to know about.” He nodded to her, his eyes turning hard as he watched the swirling clouds above her as she swung away.

<><><><><> 

Ladybug ran until she was out of Stormy’s tornado’s range then switched to swinging back toward where she had left Jason. She really needed to get his phone number.  It would be a lot easier finding him if she could just call him.  As it was, she was going to have to hope he stayed near where she left him and ignored his own self-interests to find a safe place to hide.  If he was already hunkered down somewhere safe, she would never find him.  Of course if he wasn’t hiding somewhere safe, she was going to kill him.

She reached the alley she had left him and pushed down a blush as memories of what had happened, what almost happened, came flooding back.  She turned away instead and started jumping from rooftop to rooftop, keeping a keen eye on the alleys and any place that looked like it could be used as a hiding place.  She finally found him walking a few blocks away, keeping close to the buildings. She dropped down into an alley just in front of him and reached out to pull him in with her as soon as he passed by.

He whipped his head around in shock, tensing his body ready to fight whoever had grabbed him.  He immediately lowered his fist when she saw Ladybug’s raised eyebrow, giving her a dashing grin instead.  “Ladybug, Paris’ hero.” He looked her up and down, his smile turning into a smug smirk. “You're quite a bit shorter than I expected.”

She narrowed her eyes at him.  “Red Hood, vigilante of Gotham.  You're quite a bit assholier than I expected.”  

His grin grew larger.  “I haven’t even gotten into my rhythm yet.”  She rolled her eyes at him and punched him hard in the shoulder.  He winced in pain.  “What was that for?”

“You couldn’t find a better place to hide than on the street?  Out in the open?  Where you have absolutely no cover or protection?”  A bit of concerned annoyance coming through in her voice.

“I don’t know what I’m hiding from and I wanted to see you in action.” He shrugged, wincing only slightly at the movement, his grin firmly in place.

“Tornadoes.  Lots of them. Some stronger than others.” She huffed, looking to the alley entrance with apprehension.   “Speaking of which, what do you have on you?”

He frowned at her in confusion at the seeming change of topic.  “What do you mean?”

“I mean, what do you have on you.  What equipment do you have on you?” She prompted him.

“Why do you need to know that?” He asked as he started reaching into his pockets and pulling out weapons.  He lined them up on top of the dumpster lid as he pulled them out.

“My Lucky Charm gives me clues or tools to help me defeat an akuma.  My Lucky Charm today was this.” She held up the black spotted mask Tikki had provided earlier.

“That’s… that’s my mask.  Wouldn’t that mean you need me?  It’s telling you to let me help.”  He looked at her seriously as he pulled a knife out of his sleeve and placed it on the lid.

She shook her head at him. “No, it is never that straightforward, at least not for me.  It is always a windy path to get to the real significance.  And whenever it points me to a particular person, it means they have something I need to use; a tool, a weapon, information, something.  I just need to figure it out.  I’ll know it when I see it.”  She watched in surprise and a bit of shock, as he pulled more weapons and tools out of his coat pockets, around his ankles, belt.  “That’s… What the fuck?  Seriously?”

He shrugged at her.  “I travelled light today.”

She stared at him blank faced for a second.  “I can’t tell if you’re joking or not and I don’t think I want to know.” He gave her a dashing grin as he pulled out the last few items from a hidden pocket.  She looked down to assess the items he had laid out.  The last few items turned red with black spots. “There!” She pointed to them. “What are those?”

“These?  Trackers. You plant them on someone or something and you can follow them if you have the frequency.”  She nodded as he spoke.  The pieces of the plan started forming in her mind.  “It’s accurate to about 3 feet.”  

She suddenly looked up at him with a calculated grin.  “That is very helpful to know.  Can I borrow these?”  She asked as she grabbed them and dropped them into her yoyo.

“Uh… I guess.  What are you going to do?”

“Track someone.”  He huffed at her but didn’t challenge her.  “You might want to put those away before another tornado comes through and starts flinging them around too.  Find somewhere safe to hide and stay out of trouble.” She pointed her finger at him.

He moved a step closer to her and gave her another dashing smile as he started tucking weapons away.  “Not my strong suit, either part, not going to lie.”

She raised an eyebrow at him and gave him an amused smile even as she groaned mentally at herself.  He really shouldn’t look that sexy just putting weapons away.  What did it say about her that him tucking a gun into a holster made it hard for her to breathe?  “And what is your strong suit?”

He took another step closer.  “Being handsome and charming.” He smiled wider as she rolled her eyes at him. “And causing equal and opposite trouble.”

“Well, I have enough trouble to deal with right now, so if you could contain your chaotic good for a bit, I’d greatly appreciate it.”  She gave him a wry smile.

His eyes turned hard.  “I can help. I can plant the tracker.  I have years of experience doing it and massive amounts of training sneaking up on people.”

She gave him a pained look.  “You don’t have any protection.  Even with magically protective suits one of the team already got hurt.  So unless you’re going to tell me you’re invulnerable, I don’t know that it’s a good idea.  And we haven’t had the chance to figure out how you’re going to fit into all this and with the team.  We haven’t even gotten the team to agree that you are allowed to fit in here.  We don’t have time to figure this out now.”  Her eyes softened a bit as her expression turned more solemn.  “Seriously, there are at least 20 random tornadoes tearing through town destroying buildings and throwing cars, among other things.  The one she has shielding herself is worse. Please, find some place safe to hide until we take care of this.”

He looked up ready to assure her that he has fought worse but instead, caught her eyes, which was a fatal mistake.  She eyes were saturated with worry and fear for him.  He’d seen that look before.  He had that look when he was still Robin and Dick would do something stupid, more stupid and self-sacrificing than usual.  

He gave out a deep sigh and dropped his head.  He looked back up to her, his eyes took on a concerned look.  He stepped closer to her again, close enough now to pull her close, to lean down and kiss her if they wanted.  He reached to caress her face instead.  He nodded slowly.  “Alright.  I’ll hide. But you need to promise to be careful. I didn’t finally find you just for you to die on me.”

She stared into his eyes and leaned into his hand.  She opened her mouth to respond when something from the corner of her eye caught her attention.  “Look out!” She screamed tackling him to the ground.  They landed just as a table shattered against the wall they had been standing in front of.  She stared at the table in dismay and back out to the street, searching for the tornado that had caused the table to fly at them.  She inched closer to the opening to look around, but the tornado had already passed.  “I really have to go.  Get somewhere safe!  That table means there is a tornado in the area.  And these are magical tornadoes so they don’t follow normal tornado rules. Just because it passed already doesn’t mean it won’t come back.”  He nodded to her just before she swung away.

He stood there for a few minutes looking in the direction she had swung. He looked out to the street in front of him assessing the potential danger and trying to figure out the best place to hunker down for the storms, ideally some place that would still allow him to watch the fight.  The alley was fairly safe but exposed and he didn’t know how much longer it would be safe, especially if Marinette was right about a tornado coming.  Plus, there was no way to see the fight and he was dying to see her in action.

He considered his options for a few seconds before realizing he didn’t know where she would be fighting.  He gave a disappointed curse realizing he would have to wait to see her actually fight. He might as well follow her instructions and find a better place to hide.  He walked a few blocks before he saw signs of a tornado.

Whereas the street he had been on looked pristine, when he turned the corner, there was carnage.  Cars had been thrown on their sides, bikes were thrown through windows, balcony tables and chairs were laying broken against buildings, and more than a few bodies were laying under some of the wreckage.  He walked near the bodies, searching for signs of life.  He sighed as none of them moved.  He started walking again when he heard crying and scratching.  He followed the source to a mailbox in the side of a building.

He ripped the mailbox door and was met with wide, terrified green eyes, familiar green eyes.  “You’re the kid from the bakery.” He said in English before he could catch himself.  The kid’s eyes got impossibly bigger and started babbling to him in French.  Damn it! Jason cursed to himself.  This was going to be a crash course in French.  He was fluent at some point, years ago, but disuse had dulled his memory. He thought about it for a few seconds, mentally switching to French.  He just had to think of this like a mission and access those parts of his brain… quickly.

“I saw you in the bakery.  I’m Marinette’s friend Jason.  We need to go somewhere safe.  Are you okay? What is your name?”  He tried to give the kid a soft smile, making himself look as unthreatening as possible for a 6 foot, 225 pound man could seem.  Kids in Gotham knew he was dangerous but only against the bad guys, not kids.  He didn’t think this kid would be able to differentiate.  

The terrified look lightened only slightly as he responded.  “You know Marinette?” Jason smiled bigger as he nodded in response.  The assurance seemed to work as the kid relaxed a bit and looked around.  “My name is August.  Have you seen my father?  He put me in here when the wind came.”

Jason looked away and tried to hide his grimace.  He had seen a few men on the street, none of them alive.  “You know, I’m sure he found a place to hide from the big wind.  I’m sure he’s safe somewhere.  We can find him after Ladybug fixes everything.  We can have Marinette call him to let him know where you are, but now that we have a chance, we should find someplace safer.  Is it okay if I get you out?”

He waited until August nodded at him before lifting him out of the box.  He set him down on the ground but August clung to his arms.  Jason smiled comfortingly at him and settled him on his hip instead.  “Okay, August.  Let’s find a place to hide, yeah?”  August gave him a watery smile.

He started walking, holding the little boy close to his chest, shielding his head so he couldn’t see what was happening around him.  He just needed a safe place for them to hide, a building with a basement ideally.  Like he would know that from here he grumbled to himself, and he didn’t have the time to get it wrong.  Fuck! He should have done better reconnaissance, or any, before he came.  They had walked another block and still hadn’t seen anything that looked promising. Pretty soon he was going to have to take what he could get.  The wind was starting to pick up again, giving him the terrifying feeling that another tornado was headed their way.

He growled in frustration and looked around him again concentrating on the buildings.  Surely there was a metro somewhere, right?  He hadn’t seen a sign for blocks.  They passed by a pile of cars and paused hearing pounding and screaming from under the cars.  He searched for the source of the sound.  His eyes widened in horror as he realized where it was coming from.  A young girl had gotten trapped between a building wall and the pile of cars and was beating the cars trying to get free.  He set August down with a reassuring smile and pushed the car on top out of the way.  He reached down and grabbed the girl.  She looked up at him with wide eyes and screamed.

He flinched at the scream and sighed in acceptance.  “Yeah, I guess I deserved that.  I’m here to help not take you.  It isn’t safe out here and it’s about to get much less safe.”

She looked at him suspiciously, ready to say no to the giant of a man with scars who had grabbed her, until a head popped out from behind him.  “Manon!”

“August!”  She reached out to hug him but Jason grabbed her instead.  

“Hugs after we are safe.  It is getting worse by the second.”  He looked around for a good place to hide with the two kids.  Nothing much around them, a few shops, a few restaurants, a wine shop, a bookstore…  Wait! He instantly started moving.  When he finally reached the door, it was locked. “Who the fuc… why would you bother locking your doors during this?” he exclaimed loudly.  “Okay, move over here for a second… and don’t do this yourself.” He rammed his elbow through the door’s glass, shattering the glass panel near the handle.  He reached in to open the door, scratching his arm as he did. He hissed in pain but hid it from the kids.

“Why here?” Manon called loudly to be heard over the wind.

“Because wine shops have wine cellars.” Jason explained calmly.  “Now in you go.” He pushed her through the door, following with August close behind.

<><><><><> 

Ladybug landed inelegantly next to the team, taking a few seconds to steady herself against the sudden lack of wind.  “I have a plan.”  She smiled at them.

“Well then let’s hear it.” Rena encouraged her.

“Something better than the last one would be appreciated.” Bee grumbled.

“Sucks for you.  Exactly the same plan as last time… kind of.” Ladybug smirked at them.

The sound of four people groaning at the same time made Ladybug smile even wider.  “Dudette, maybe you missed how it turned out last time, but we lost.”

“I have faith this time will be luckier.” She smiled cheerily.  “And we’re going to build failure into the plan… or at least the appearance of failure.” She looked over at Bee with a conspiratorial smile.  “You’re going to lead them into a false sense of security thinking we are trying the same thing again, but the real goal…” she leaned in closer as she pulled the trackers out of her yoyo, “… is to plant one of these.”

“And what the fuck are those?” Bee demanded unceremoniously.  “And just how the fuck are they supposed to change anything?”

“These my lovely pain in the ass, are tracking beacons.  Carapace, you will do the exact same thing as before.  You will create a tunnel from above through her tornado.  Rena, you will create the camouflage illusion on the tunnel, Bee, and yourself this time.  And you will need to use your flying power up.”  Rena gave her a skeptical look.

“Bee, you’ll have to use my or Chat’s flying power up.  Apologize to Pollen that it isn’t in her flavor.  I suggest using mine.  I don’t think Pollen will appreciate the cheese power up.” Bee huffed out a loud breath at the thought of that.  Pollen would not react well to the disrespect.  Chloe was going to have to lavish her with praise for days to make up for it.

“I hope you know what you are doing.  Pollen will not appreciate this.” Chloe grumbled as she crossed her arms over her chest and turned her head away.

“I understand and please explain how eternally grateful we are for how magnanimous she is in agreeing to this.” Ladybug rolled her eyes as she said it.  “You’re going to pretend to try to take her out with venom again but it is a cover for Rena to plant this on her.” She said holding up the tracker before tossing it over to Rena. “And for you to actually get the amok with the venom instead.

“Rena, you stay camouflaged and try to plant that on her.  If anything happens to Rena while she is planting it, Bee, you take advantage of her distraction to plant yours on her.”  Ladybug tossed another tracker to her.  “Once you have them planted, notify me and Chat.  We will take her from there from below.  Your sole focus will be the amok.  We need you to restrain it until we can find the possessed item and free the feather.  Hopefully, when we deakumatize Aurora, she’ll know where the item is or at least what it is.”

Chat eyed Ladybug suspiciously, slowly nodding as he picked out the key words he needed to figure out her plan, all the pieces quickly falling into place.  “We’ll have to act quickly,” he warned her.

Ladybug nodded at him, “Getting the umbrella will be the top priority.  Whichever of us sees an opening, we take it.”

“Hey Wonder Twins, care to let the rest of us mere mortals in on your part of the plan?” Rena asked unamused.  Honestly, it was freaky how they could read each other’s minds sometimes.  One of them would say one part of an idea and the other would act on it before anyone else had even comprehended what they had said in the first place.  She understood that they had been partners for years now but if she didn’t know better, she would swear there was more to it than that.  And that asshole cat better not be trying to replace her as Marinette’s best friend. She could and would skin a cat.

“We’re going to go into the sewers.  We’ll use the trackers to know exactly where she is…” Chat started to explain.

“Within three feet.” Ladybug corrected.  Chat gave her a questioning look.  “He said there is a three foot uncertainty radius.”

Chat nodded, “…approximately where she is and get right under her.  I’ll use Black Hole to create a hole under her, dropping her into the sewers with us.” Chat finished with a smile.

Carapace nodded at the explanation.  “Removing her from the tornadoes.  As long as you act quickly, her biggest asset is gone.  Good thinking, Dudette.”  

Ladybug smiled at him.  “Thanks Carapace.  We’ll need you to get as close as you feel is safe as well.  We’ll follow you on our maps so we can get close to where we will need to be.”  She turned to the rest of the team, her face turning serious.  “Okay, we have the plan, everyone knows their parts.  Let’s get out there.  Good luck guys.  Keep us updated.”

<><><><><> 

“Why are we down here?” Manon asked annoyed.

“That’s what you do in a…” Jason started but quickly realized he never learned the French word for tornado.  Honestly, why would he.  It wasn’t something they experienced.  “…tornado.” He finished in English.

Manon let out a critical huff and provided the French word for him.  “Thanks” he grumbled.

“Why?” August scrunched his nose.

“I know you guys aren’t familiar with them, but tornados destroy things, like buildings.  So you go underground.  It’s safe underground.”

“Like the sewers?” August asked.

Jason cocked his head to the side to consider that.  “That also would have worked.” He nodded slowly.  “But we’re going to stay here.  We’re not going to risk moving.  We will be safe here.”

“Not worth getting dirty.  It’s just Stormy Weather.”  Manon showed them her phone which was playing the news.  “They’ve fought against her before.  They know what to do.”  She continued flippantly.  Jason stared at her trying to figure out if it was an act or not.  He’d seen enough kids acting tough so they didn’t seem vulnerable and comfort the kids around them, to know it when he saw it.  It was a constant for the older kids on the street when he was growing up.  The older kids did it for the younger kids.  It was a rite of passage.

She was more scared than she was letting on but Jason couldn’t tell how scared she was.  August’s reaction to her was immediate though.  He started nodding at her, thinking over what she was saying.  The concern in his expression lessening with each nod. Manon continued to watch the news program as Jason took a seat, pulling out his phone as well.  

After a few minutes, Manon sat near him and sighed.  “Poor Aurora.  She’s such a nice person, too.  I wonder what happened this time.”

“Trying to destroy an entire city isn’t what I’d call nice.” Jason scoffed.

Manon shrugged, keeping her focus on her phone. “It’s not really her though. It’s the akuma.  It makes you do things you would never have wanted to do. It takes over.”  She paused for a few seconds seeming to stare past her phone. “And you don’t remember what you’ve done after.  You have to watch it later.  It’s like you’re watching a stranger, but it’s you.  It’s so wrong.”

She said it with such conviction, so much confidence, like she was speaking from personal experience.  Jason felt his stomach sink with the realization.  “Have you ever become an akuma?”  He hated saying the words but he hated the look that crossed her face when he asked even worse.  The look of guilt and horror, the same look he saw in the mirror when he would get a flash of something he had done immediately after getting out of the pit.

“Yeah… more than once.”  She said it quietly, still looking at her phone in an unseeing stare.

“Not as much as me,” August said sadly, taking a seat between the two of them.

“You’ve been an akuma too?  Christ, you’re still a baby!” Jason exclaimed loudly.

“I’m not a baby!” August cried out.

“You were when you were first akumatized.” Manon pointed out.

August shrunk in on himself.  “It’s okay August.” Manon reassured him, pulling him into a side hug.  “I swear there are more people who have been akumatized than haven’t been and it’s not like you’ve been akumatized that many times.”

“More than you.” He said sadly.

“Well yeah, but not like M. Pigeon numbers.” She rolled her eyes at him. “Or is it M. Rat now?”

“Rat for a while before he stopped getting akumatized.” August confirmed.  “I liked him.  He was fun to watch.”

“Wait, wait, wait.  Just hold up a second.  There’s a guy that turns into a pigeon or rat that has been turned into an akuma dozens of times?”  Jason asked shaking his head.  What the hell kind of demented Disney movie was going on here?

“No, he controls the pigeons or rats.  He is a big animal lover and anytime he thinks someone is abusing the animals, he gets upset.  Like really upset.  Akumatization level upset.  Really nice guy normally.”  Manon explained calmly.

Jason nodded thinking over what she had said, so more Steven King than Disney. “How many kids have become akumas?” Jason asked a bit scared of the answer.

“How young are you looking for?  August was the youngest, he was like what 6 months old when you first got akumatized?” She looked over to him for confirmation. August shrugged.  “I was about his age when I first got akumatized.  He doesn’t go for kids as often as adults, but he doesn’t avoid us.  I don’t think.  Maybe this is holding back.  How would we know?”  As she spoke her eyes got darker and darker, anger starting to show through her detached façade.

“Holy fu…” he looked down at August and immediately clamped his mouth shut.  “Uh… that sounds… traumatic.”

Manon let out a loud scoff.  “Not nearly as traumatic as living through the other side of it.”  Jason looked at her curiously, encouraging her to say more. “Most kids I know have died at least once.  They’ve lost a parent right in front of them, some while they were holding them. They’ve lost friends, watched them die or get hurt.  Most have experienced all three.”  

Jason watched her eyes take on a haunted look as she spoke.  “And if you’ve been akumatized more than once it’s like people are just waiting for you to get akumatized again.  Put them through that again.”

“Yeah.”  August agreed quietly.  His whole body seemed to collapse in on itself in guilt.  Just looking at him hurt Jason.  All he wanted was to bring his mood back up.

“Not everyone though, right?  Marinette seems to like you.” Jason reassured him.

“Yeah, she likes me.  But that’s Marinette she likes everyone.”  August waved him off.

“Pft, not everyone.” Manon scoffed quietly.  Jason raised his eyebrow at that.  He’d have to ask Marinette about it later.  She didn’t seem the type to dislike people enough that a random kid would know about who she liked or didn’t.  He knew she had an issue with Constantine… and apparently Batman, who didn’t though, and the rest of the Gotham vigilantes… and the entire Justice League… okay, maybe it made sense that the kid would pick up on some things.

Instead, he turned back to August.  “Maybe, but she seems to like you.  She must really think you’re a good kid.  I mean she was sneaking you treats at the counter.  I’m sure she doesn’t do that for just anyone.”

Manon whipped her head to August.  August almost jumped when she yelled at him, “She gives you treats?”

<><><><><> 

“How do we always end up down here?”  Chat whined eyeing a patch of slick green something oozing down the sewer walls.

“Lucky I guess.  It’s where we do our best work after all.  We have a pretty good track record down here.” Ladybug quipped without looking up from the map display on her yoyo.  “We need to take a left up here.  We’re getting close.”

“You think it’s going to work this time?” Chat breathed out.  He had faith in their teammates but he knew Bee was not working on full capacity. She took the failure hard.  She would fight hard, but when Chloe doubted herself, it took a while to build her confidence back up.  And he couldn’t help.  He was stuck down in the sewers only able to hear their reports.  If anything happened, he and Ladybug wouldn’t be able to do anything or even know what happened.

“I have faith.  Our team can do this and they will.  Bee always rises to the challenge.” She assured him as though she could read his true concern.  

“Mirage.” They heard Rena say over the coms.

“Tunnel is up.” Carapace reported.

“Rena and I are going in.  You guys close or are we going to have to buy time for you slowpokes?” Bee asked.

Ladybug rolled her eyes at Chat but smiled along with him.  Bee was snarking at them.  That was a good sign.  “We’re close. Don’t wait on us.  We’d hate to hold you guys back.”

“We’re good enough to pick up your slack.” Bee quipped, the accompanying hair flip evident in her tone.

“Right behind you on 3.” Rena paused before counting down.  “3, 2, 1, and go.”

Chat shook his head and took a deep breath. It would be fine.  They would get the job done.  Alya and Chloe might fight like sisters but they defended each other like sisters too.  They would have each other’s backs and together they were a force to be reckoned with. His anxiety would lessen significantly if he could just see what was happening.  It was the being in the dark that made it all so much worse.

Chat and Ladybug made their way toward Carapace’s tracker in a tense silence, hands flinching towards their coms every time a grunt or groan or squawk came over the coms.  Their footsteps hesitated when they heard Chloe whisper venom.  Ladybug glanced back to him.  They both took another deep breath and nodded to each other. Things were about to happen and they needed to be prepared.  They were close to Carapace’s tracker already but moved with more urgency to close the gap.

“We’re here.” Ladybug reported over the coms.

“Working on it.” Bee grunted.

“Behind you!” Rena screamed.  They heard some more grunting and the second tracker appear on the yoyo and baton screens.

“We got her, Rena.  Go help Bee.” Ladybug ordered.  “Ready, Chat?”  She braced herself and settled into a battle ready position when Chat nodded at her and moved closer to the spot on his screen.

“Black hole,” he whispered.  Speaking at full voice seemed irreverent in the quiet darkness of the sewer.  He took a deep breath and took a running start.  He planted his baton, extending it as he rose in the air.  The highest point of the arc hit exactly where the tracker marked.  He touched the ceiling as he sailed by, allowing his magic to create a large hole that went through to the street above.  He landed with a roll.  He pivoted as soon as he came to a stop, holding his own battle ready position, ready to pounce the moment he caught sight of Stormy.

He didn’t have to wait.  Before he had even pivoted Stormy was already in sight, falling toward the sewer water.  Chat jumped at her reaching to grab her umbrella before she could start another tornado down there.  In their confined area, a tornado would be too strong and there would be no place to hide.

Stormy pulled her umbrella out of his reach just as he was about to lay his fingers on it.  She held it above her head, giving him an irate look.  “Stupid cat!  Did you think that is all it would take to defeat me?” She sneered.

She jerked back in shock as a yoyo wrapped around the umbrella and yanked it from her hands.  “Yes, yes we did.” Ladybug responded with a self-satisfied smirk as the umbrella landed in her hands.

“NO,” Stormy screeched.  She reached out for the umbrella but fell to the floor instead when Ladybug broke the umbrella and a little purple and black akuma fluttered out of it.

“No more evil doing for you little akuma. Time to de-evilize.” Ladybug twirled her yoyo around in a circle a few times and threw it up to capture the akuma. Ladybug pulled the yoyo back to her and opened it again, allowing the now white butterfly to flutter out harmlessly. “Bye, bye little butterfly.”  She waved peacefully at the butterfly.

While Ladybug was purifying the akuma, Chat ran over to Aurora.  “Hey, Aurora. How are you doing?  Are you okay?” He asked looking at her with concern. Aurora was a good person to begin with and had a fairly good temperament.  She had been taking classes on how to control her temper on top of that, so whatever happened it must have been pretty bad.

Aurora looked around in a daze and held her head for a few seconds before she could respond.  “Chat Noir?” She examined his face for a few moments to confirm it was him. She looked around until she saw Ladybug releasing the purified akuma.  Her shoulders slumped and her face fell.  “Oh no,” she whispered to the ground.  “I did it again didn’t I?” She looked up at Chat with pained eyes.  Chat gave her a sympathetic smile and rubbed her back.  “How bad this time?” she looked back to the ground again trying to brace for the answer.

“I’m not sure.  It was a few tornadoes but it could have been a lot worse.” He gave her a side hug when he saw some tears fall down her cheeks.  

“We got the amok tied up, Ladybug.” Rena reported. “And you might want to hurry and find the item, Bee got hit this time and worse than I did.”

Chat looked up at Ladybug.  She looked at him questioningly.  He looked over Aurora, trying to find anything that stood out. When he didn’t see anything, he looked through her bag.  His eyes lit up when he saw what he was looking for.  He grabbed the kite and threw it over to Ladybug.

Ladybug looked at Chat questioningly.  He nodded to her letting her know he would handle Aurora for now and meet her up top.  She made a motion with the kite, letting him know she would purify it topside, so Aurora didn’t have to see it.

Once Chat nodded in silent understanding, Ladybug nodded back and spoke into the coms. “Got it.  We’ll be right there.”

Chat leaned in closer to Aurora and lowered his voice conspiratorially, “Personally, I think you might have been holding back. We both know you could have done far, far worse but you didn’t.  That takes a lot of strength.”

She looked up at him with wide eyes.  “You really think so?”  Hope permeated her voice and expression.

Chat smiled at her.  “Yeah, I do.  I think you were trying to give us a clue about where the amok was as well.”  She looked up at him with wide eyes.  

“There was an amok too, huh?”  She gave him a weak, guilt laden smile.  “Guess I should have expected that by now.”  

“Yeah, but we took care of it.  Now, ready to get back topside?”  She gave him a weak smile and nodded.  “Okay, hold on.”  He grabbed her into a princess hold and jumped through the hole, using his baton to give him more height.

As soon as they landed, they heard Ladybug call out “Miraculous Ladybug.”  He let out a relieved breath and turned back to Aurora who was watching the miraculous ladybugs swarming throughout the city fixing all the damage with an apologetic look.

Rena joined them with a sympathetic smile for Aurora.  “Hey, Aurora. Sorry this happened to you.  You are a good person.  We know you would never have wanted this.  You didn’t deserve this.  You are a victim too.”  She gave Aurora a hug.

Aurora pulled back and looked at both of them with a smile that was a little stronger than the last one.  “Thank you and thank you for saving me.”

Rena gave her a smile.  The rest of the team came up behind Rena, all smiling at Aurora, except Bee who leaned against a recently returned car and examined her nails. “We done here or what?”

Ladybug scowled at her and turned back to Aurora. “Do you need a ride to your next destination?”

Aurora shook her head.  “No, I’ll walk.  Thank you though.  I think I need the space to process.”

The team smiled at her and nodded in understanding. Aurora waved to them and walked toward her office.

Chat looked at Ladybug with a grin on his face.  “Hey m’lady, ask me how I think we did today.”

Ladybug groaned.  She knew that look.  That was never a good look.  She knew she was going to regret it but she couldn’t deny him this simple pleasure, something to bring his mood back up.  “Okay Chat, how do you think we did today?”

His grin grew even wider and his eyes lit up with excitement that she was willing to play along.  “I was blown away by our performance.”  He started laughing at his own joke.  Ladybug groaned even louder and hid her face in her hands, but Bee smacked him upside the head hard enough for his head to jerk forward making him laugh even harder.

“Thank you!” Rena groaned.

“What are you guys doing now?”  Ladybug asked suddenly nervous.

“Meeting at the hotel?” Bee shrugged.

“Meeting at the office in… crap 12 minutes.” Chat groaned.  “I need to go.”

“Homework,” Rena and Carapace said at the same time.

“Okay, are you guys free tonight to talk?” Ladybug asked.

They looked at each other uneasily.  “About what?” Rena asked suspiciously.  

Ladybug grimaced and clasped her hands together, swinging them in front of her a few times.  “I have to go, LB.  Spit it out.” Chat urged her.

“Red Hood found me today.  Me, me.”  They turned suddenly serious, all straightening their stances.  

“How bad is it?” Carapace asked.

“Not bad, I don’t think.  We can discuss it tonight when you have more time.  I don’t think the rest of the family knows, just him. But we have things to discuss.” Ladybug confirmed.

“I need to leave now or I won’t be able to get out tonight.  See you guys at 9.”  Chat called over his shoulder as he vaulted away.

“You heard the cat, we’ll talk at 9.” Carapace declared.  “See you then.”  He and Rena jumped away together.

Bee looked at her and shook her head. “Unbe-fucking-lievable.  Only you.”

Ladybug sighed and gave her a guilty look, “Sorry.”

“Sorry my exquisite ass.  Knowing you this is going to be exactly what we need and it will be over in a few months like some kind of cosmic Lucky Charm and all because you got one of the most eligible bachelors in the world tottering after you like a lovesick puppy.”  Ladybug’s jaw dropped as she watched Bee jump away.

“He is not tottering after me!  But you are right, it is exquisite.”  Ladybug yelled after her.  

Bee turned her head to yell over her shoulder. “Of course I’m right… about both parts. Now go give him a kiss and ask him if he has any hot, rich, kinky friends for me.”

Chapter 9

  Tags:

@loveswifi @mystery-5-5 @dreamykitty25 @ira-sairain @wannajointhecrabcult @susiej1118 @casual-darkness @mandy984 @darkthunder1589 @chez-pezeater @emilytopaz @elements1999 @mermaidreject @dramatic-squirrel @thenillabean @alysrose-starchild @phoenixperegrinebitch @nickristus-dreamer @goblinwhoships @valeks-princess @redscarlet95 @inarachi02 @unrepentantgeek @theymakeupfairies @smolplantmum @moongoddesskiana @thehufflepuffranger-blog @fusser90 @spyofthenightcourt @jayverca @animegirlweeb @queen-of-the-trash-planet-tm @consumeconstantly @lozzybowe @novicevoice @random-fandoms7 @acoolspacegirl @laurcad123 @dast218 @frieddonutsweets @maribat-is-lifeblood @g-arya @fantasiame @lilkymilky @corabeth11 @roselynfey @babylovebug18 @pepelachanel @atramentias @jalaluvsu @nathleigh @iloontjeboontje @spicybelladonna @kokotaru @zalladane @zebrabaker @bee-wrecker @too0bsessedformyowngood @demonicbusiness   @our-preciousss @ertyzeta  @nik-nak-3 @i-wanna-be-a-ninja @no-username2544 @2confused-2doanything @maybe-nonsense @icebluedolphin2365 @fc-studios

#maribat #jasonette #Pixie Spy

[thevoidfishsminstrel]

“Okay so is everyone clear on the plan?” Alex looked around the DEO mission briefing table, hands flat on the surface in her most commanding and authoritative stance.

Nia and Brainy nodded, Nia with her arms crossed and Brainy with his hands steepled in front of him in a serious manner. Kelly rolled her eyes but nodded too.

“Good.” Alex gave a curt nod and pushed away from the table. “We will meet back here at 19:00 hours for the debriefing.”

“Um… babe?” Kelly put a hand on Alex’s forearm and leaned towards her and Alex softened, smiling dopily at her. “Our dinner reservation is for 6:30.”

“Yeah and Brainy and I have a date too.” Nia looped her arm through Brainy’s, grinning.

“Yes.” Brainy looked pleased with himself and subconsciously leaned further into Nia’s side. “We are going paintballing.”

Alex hummed. “Okay well everyone just keep the group chat updated and we’ll meet up tomorrow.”

They dispersed and the plan was set into motion.

Phase 1 - Alex

Alex strode through the halls of the DEO with purpose, rubber soles of her boots not making much sound. Part of her envied the intimidating click of Lena’s heels but J’onn had shut down her suggestion of adding studs to the bottom of her boots, claiming it would undermine the stealth aspect of the design.

She entered her little office and flopped down in the chair, propping her feet up on the desk. She dialed Kara’s number, chewing on a jolly rancher from the secret stash in the drawer that Kara thought held boring paperwork as it rang.

“Hey Alex. What’s up?”

“Hey Kara. I - … where are you? Shouldn’t you be at CatCo?” The faint sound of traffic and the wind crackled through the phone speaker and Alex frowned.

“I’m just on my lunch break.”

“Oh.” Alex glanced at her watch. There was still an hour before phase 2 so Kara would probably be back at CatCo by then. “Ok. So what are you doing tonight? Sorry again that I can’t spend tonight with you.”

“No it’s fine - you have fun with Kelly. Lena and I were just going to have a movie night together.”

“Really?” Her eyebrows rose. That was easier than expected.

“Yeah, well neither of us was going to spend Valentine’s Day with anyone else so…”

Hm. That was going to be Alex’s argument. At least Kara was unknowingly cooperating with the secret plan.

She and Lena were getting insufferable with their heart eyes and yearning and so Alex had decided to take matters into her own hands with the help of their friends. (Kelly had been somewhat reluctant but Alex promised they wouldn’t push Kara or Lena to do anything, they would just… gently direct them in the direction they all knew they were heading anyway.) And so Mission: Get The Idiots Together was born. … Along with the group chat where they complained about the two idiots in question.

“Well ok then. Have a good day.”

“You too. Bye, Alex. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

Alex hung up and leaned back in her chair, steepling her fingers together and feeling like a Bond villain. Ah yes, it was all coming together now.

Phase 2 - Nia

Nia: Guys it’s all falling apart already

Nia glanced around the CatCo bullpen again, leg nervously bouncing. Her phone buzzed in her hand and she looked back at it, totally-not-suspiciously under her desk. It was a reply from Alex.

Alex: What?? What’s going on?

Nia: Kara’s not here

Alex: She told me she was at lunch over an hour ago! She must be back by now

Nia: Well she’s not! What do I do???

Brainy: Do not worry - I have just just seen her exiting L-corp and she informed me she was heading back to CatCo.

Alex: Ok great. Nobody panic.

Kelly: You guys are taking this way too seriously

Nia: Ok I’ll just do it when she gets back

Alex: Oh btw Kara said they’ve already planned to have a movie night together tonight so that makes our job easier

Brainy: Wait - if they’re already meeting tonight then what is the purpose of my visit to L-corp?

Phase 3 - Brainy

Brainy frowned down at his phone but at that moment the elevator dinged and the doors slid open on Lena’s floor. He stepped out, putting his phone away and nervously smoothing his shirt. Improvisation. He could do that. This plan definitely wasn’t going to end in disaster.

He nodded politely to Jess and she smiled. “Hello. I am here to see Lena Luthor.”

Jess bit back an amused smile and picked up the phone on her desk. “Miss Luthor? Querl Dox is here to see you.” She put it down after a moment and gestured to the large double doors. “You can go right in.”

Brainy nodded again in thanks and moved towards the office. Perhaps they should have drafted Jess into the plan.

Lena stood up and rounded her desk with a slightly confused yet genuine smile as he entered. “Brainy. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

He cleared his throat, standing awkwardly in the middle of her office. “I just came to see you. As friends do. Which we are.”

Lena’s eyebrows climbed almost imperceptibly. “Right. Drink?”

Brainy shook his head and she moved over to the side of her office to pour herself a glass of water. “So… I hear you and Kara are having a movie night tonight.”

A little bit of water sloshed over the side of the glass as Lena was pouring it. She had a faint blush on her cheeks when she turned back around which was odd because the AC in her office seemed to be working fine.

“Yes. Well we assumed you would all be too busy to join us. Are you and Nia doing anything tonight?” She sipped her water and moved back to lean against her desk.

Brainy lit up at the mention of Nia. “Yes! We are going paintballing.”

He spent the next half an hour talking about his date with Nia and Nia in general until they both had to get back to work.

Phase 2 (attempt 2) - Nia

“Kara!” Nia slid up to walk along beside her as she stepped from the elevator into the bullpen.

Kara smiled and started walking towards her desk. “Hey, Nia. What’s up?”

“Nothing! I mean… lots of things. The sky, the ceiling, …clouds.”

Kara looked at her a bit weirdly and she laughed awkwardly.

“Anyway… just came to see how you are, mentor.” She lightly punched Kara in the arm.

Kara raised an eyebrow, looking down at where Nia had punched her before slowly sitting down at her desk. “I’m good. Thank you.”

“Great! Oh by the way,” Nia smoothly segued into her part of the mission with complete subtlety and absolutely no suspiciousness, “I accidentally double ordered flowers and chocolates for Brainy. I figured I’d give one lot to you and maybe you could do something with them.”

She rushed over to her desk and grabbed the bouquet of flowers and heart-shaped box of chocolates waiting there, depositing them in front of Kara.

“Oh wow. Thanks Nia.” Kara grinned up at her before picking up the box of chocolates and peeling off the sellotape.

Nia’s eyes widened and she tried not to scream in panic as Kara opened the box and just started eating the chocolates. Kara offered one to her with a smile and she managed to croak out a “no thanks” before she ran off back to her desk to inform the group chat of the latest development.

Phase 4 - Kelly

Kelly sighed as her phone blew up with notifications of her panicking group of friends. How this had ended up being her life was a mystery.

The elevator slowed and opened to the bustling CatCo bullpen just as she saw Kara disappear through the emergency exit at the back. She sighed again and got straight back into the elevator, unlocking her phone.

Kelly: I’m guessing Kara just got called away for a Supergirl emergency?

Alex: Sorry

Kelly: Phase 4 failed

Alex: Shit. Brainy, I need you to take over phase 4 when Kara gets back to the DEO. Kelly, you just get to L-corp.

Nia: Wait but if I’m now going to L-corp to give Lena chocolates instead won’t it be a little suspicious that we’ve all suddenly decided to to go visit her on the same day?

Alex: Shit you’re right. Ok, Nia, you take over phase 6 while you’re at L-corp and Kelly, you come by Kara’s later for phase 4.

Phase 4b - Brainy

Brainy stared at his phone, unsure whether he was still supposed to be attempting phase 4. Before he could ask, Kara strode up beside him and sat on the desk he was sitting at.

“Did you see how hard I hit that guy?” Kara grinned, swinging her legs.

Brainy gulped, quickly turning off his phone and sliding it back into his pocket. “Yes. Very impressive. Is Alex back yet?”

Kara shook her head. “She and the backup team are just on their way back with the bad guy.”

He nodded. Right. Motivate Kara to tell Lena about her feelings. He could do this.

“Did you know that the mortality rate of unmarried people is much higher than that of married people?”

Kara’s head snapped over to him with a mildly horrified expression. “What?”

Perhaps that was not the right starting point. “Well… maybe that means one could keep someone they care about from dying so much by… marrying them?”

Kara chuckled. “Unfortunately I’m not sure marriage is a cure for death.”

There was a sadness creeping in behind her eyes and Brainy began to panic even further. Making Kara upset was definitely not part of the plan. He blurted out the first thing that came to mind to try to cheer her up again.

“Do you want to see a video of baby pandas that Nia sent me?”

Alex gave them a bit of an odd look when she got back to see them laughing at videos of pandas rolling around but Brainy would say improvised phase 4 had been a success.

Phase 2.5/ 6 - Kelly Nia

Nia strode into Lena’s office with her most friendly and least suspicious smile.

“Nia. What a surprise. You and Brainy in one day.” Lena stood and gave Nia a brief but warm hug.

She was wearing a jade sheath dress that brought out the green in her eyes, with sleeves that came down to just above her elbows. Her usual deep red lipstick was missing, replaced with a natural colour (or it may have just been lip balm). Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and had been left slightly wavy rather than perfectly straightened. At least they didn’t have to worry about making sure Lena looked good for tonight.

“Hey Lena. I just came by because I ordered too many chocolates for Brainy and I thought maybe you could have one to give to someone or something.” She sat casually in front of Lena’s desk, pulling another box of chocolates she had bought on the way over out her back and setting them on the desk.

Lena sat back down with an amused smile. “How thoughtful of you. Thank you.”

“You know,” Nia relaxed back into the chair, looking off into the distance in a completely normal and not at all overly dramatic gesture. “I’m so glad Brainy and I talked about how we felt. We’re so happy together and I can’t imagine how much I would have regretted not saying anything. You know… because we’re so happy together now and we wouldn’t be if neither of us had said anything”

Lena nodded slowly. “I’m glad you’re both so happy together.”

“And you know, we should always speak our minds.” She adopted the persona of a motivational speaker, channeling her inner Kelly. “Because we can’t let ourselves be silenced, Lena. You are a powerful woman with a great mind, great hair, and a jawline that could cut glass.”

“... thank you?”

Nia placed her hand over Lena’s on the desk, nodding seriously. “You’re welcome.”

And with that she stood and strutted out of the room.

Nailed it.

Phase 7 - Alex

Alex turned up at Kara’s just after she got home. Kara opened the door, looking very confused at the sight of her sister.

“Alex? What are you doing here? Don’t you have to get ready for your date?”

Alex pushed into the apartment, patting Kara’s arm on the way past. “I just came to see my little sister beforehand. Make sure you’re doing okay.”

Kara closed the door with a raised eyebrow. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Alex shrugged, dropping her bag onto the kitchen island with a clunk. “Well I just wanted to see you since I can’t spend the evening with you. I didn’t want you to feel alone.”

Kara glanced at her watch. “Oh. Ok. Well Lena’s going to be here soon so you don’t have to worry.”

Alex waved her off and moved into her bedroom, flicking through the clothes on the rack.

“... what are you doing?”

Alex ignored her, picking out a neat navy blue button down. “Hey, why don’t you wear this? I haven’t seen you in it before.”

Kara frowned. “I’ve definitely worn that around you before.”

“Well I don’t remember.” She shoved the shirt into Kara’s arms and directed her towards the bathroom. “Put it on for me.” She decided Kara’s beige slacks were good enough, not wanting to push too far. Her hair was already perfectly curled in a half up half down look as though she had only just done it so that was fine.

Kara appeared again a moment later in the new shirt looking confused. Alex interrupted her before she could say anything.

“Brrrr. It’s cold in here.”

Kara frowned. “Is it?”

“Yes. Us humans get cold, you know.” She moved into the kitchen, not taking any questions. “You should light some candles.”

“Candles? To warm my apartment?”

Alex ignored her, rifling through cupboards for matches. She found them with a bunch of Kara’s own candles. A rather large number of candles actually that all looked new and smelled nice. Looks like she hauled all those candles over in her handbag for nothing.

Kara helped her set up the candles nicely around her apartment, continuously glancing over at her as though worried Alex had sustained some kind of head injury.

Alex was saved from having to come up with a more plausible explanation by a knock on the door.

Phase 4 (attempt ?) - Kelly

“Kelly? What are you doing here?”

Kelly hugged Kara and made her way into the now softly glowing and smelling faintly of sandalwood apartment. “I came to see you. I know how hard it can be for some people on Valentine’s day if they don’t have a romantic partner. But it’s completely normal and we shouldn’t be made to feel any less for it - in fact there are plenty of people who never have a relationship and lead very happy and fulfilled lives.”

Alex elbowed her in the side, smiling innocently.

Kelly cleared her throat, pushing back at Alex a little. “Although we also shouldn’t be afraid to look for a relationship. It’s important to be honest with ourselves and others, and sometimes things that seem scary can actually be okay and very rewarding.”

Alex nodded along beside her and Kara looked between the two of them.

She nodded slowly. “Right.”

Another knock at the door drew Kara’s attention away and Alex sighed in relief, holding her hand up to Kelly for a sneaky high five which she returned with an eye roll.

Kara’s voice took on a breathy awed quality that only ever appeared around Lena as she opened the door. “Lena. Hi.”

Lena smiled shyly, ducking her head. “Hi.”

Kara stepped aside to let her in, taking her coat.

“Hey Lena.” Alex waved at her.

Lena’s eyebrows rose slightly. “Alex. Kelly. I thought you two had a date?”

Alex nodded excessively, taking Kelly’s hand. “Yes we do. And we should really be going so that we’re not late.”

They awkwardly sidled between Kara and Lena out of the apartment, looking one last time between them before smiling and walking off down the hall.

Alex grinned as she heard the door close behind them. “Do you think it worked?”

Phase …???

They were just leaving Kara’s building when Nia and Brainy came running up to them.

“Alex! Kelly!” Nia doubled over, hands on her knees and breathing hard as she reached them. She thrust her hand out towards them, bouquet of roses clutched in her fist. “Kara forgot the flowers at CatCo.”

Alex gasped and snatched them from her hand, turning to rush back inside. Everyone else ran after her, taking the stairs two at a time. They stomped down the hall to Kara’s door and Alex pushed it open, all four of them bursting in.

Kara and Lena were locked in an open mouthed kiss in the kitchen, Lena pressed up against the island as Kara gripped her hips, thumb slipping under her shirt. Lena’s hands were tangled in Kara’s hair, pulling her closer in a decidedly non-platonic way. A bouquet of plumerias sat on the island behind them and the dining table was laid romantically with a meal that looked to be from France.

The pair sprang apart at the loud bang of Kara’s door against the wall, Lena ducking her head and pulling her lips into her mouth as Kara moved slightly in front of her as though attempting to hide that they had just been thoroughly making out.

The four in the doorway gaped at the scene before them.

“Well. I guess the plan worked.”

#supercorp #I may or may not have completely forgotten valentines day was a thing until I opened tumblr this morning #so have a hastily written oneshot #a ‘lotl writing

[blackcherrykiss]

BLOOD BOUNDARIES - Enhypen OT7 Fanfic (ch.10)

[CH.1] [CH.2] [CH.3] [CH.4] [CH.5] [CH.6] [CH.7][CH.8][CH.9] previous chapters [CH.11] next chapter (unavailable on tumblr but avaliable on wattpad!)

"You'll give me your blood in exchange for theirs."

You could feel his earnest breath against the left side of your neck when he spoke. The proximity was causing you to hold your breath tightly. "Sunghoon please..." You just barely breathed out,  fearing anything you said would be the death of you.

"Afraid my love? I'm not going to hurt you unless you let me in." You felt Sunghoon's soft lower lip stroke up your neck until it met your ear, "I'll give you time to think." He pulled away to caress your face with a feathery touch as the sky grew darker and darker.

...

You rested the following day with no intentions of going to classes. You got your dormmates to tell the office about the severe headache you had; too weak to attend that day. To your surprise, one of the nurses at the school had knocked at your dorm to do a brief check-up and ensure you weren't lying.

"You must be Y/N! Sweetie, how are you feeling?" A slim young woman came in with a medium briefcase of supplies.

"It's nothing too serious right now, it's just a slight headache, I think you brought a bit much..." You held your pounding head while staring at the excessive equipment she had in hand.

"Oh, all of this? It's a standard to bring it just in case." The nurse said with a Southern Irish accent, "Now sit down, I'll take your temperature first."

You sat down on your own bed and watched as she took out a pink thermometer and put it under your arm. You yawned while waiting, getting a closer look at the woman. She had naturally fawn-blonde hair that flowed down in delicate curls. Healthy skin that was rosy at the cheekbones.

"Hun, your temperature is just slightly over normal. Is it just today you've been having headaches?" The nurse said while waving around the stick that read 38.1°C.

"I get them from time... Rarely though, I think I've been stressed lately that's all..."

"Perhaps you have low iron? Are you sure no other symptoms and potential causes?"

"Lack of sleep." You admitted, "And probably low iron... My mom has so I must too..."

"I see hun... Many girls call in sick and it's usually related to their menstrual cycles. But recently I find there is some sort of common cold going around. Yesterday this young boy fainted and when I took his temperature he had a seriously high fever." The nurse said while beginning to sterilize the thermometer with some rubbing alcohol.

"He did?!" You blurted out unintentionally, your voice making an embarrassing crack, "Sorry... He's just my friend, I was there when he fainted. Do you mind me asking how Jungwon is doing?"

"Not too well... He seems very sick but... Whenever I try phoning his parents regarding a checkup with a doctor or a record of his medical history, nobody ever picks up." The nurse looked upset and frustrated that she couldn't do much for him.

Little did the nurse know Jungwon didn't even have parents... 'Heeseung would be his guardian at best' you thought. "Oh, that's terrible..."  You felt yourself tense up knowing the reason for Jungwon's illness.

"Well, if you have no other questions I guess I will be on my way. Your name was y/n right?" She said while scratching a couple of words on a small pad of paper.

"That's correct."

"y/n... That name sounds familiar... Perhaps you are friends with Kyungeun?" The nurse put her pen and paper down on your nightstand.

"You know Kyungeun?" You rubbed the back of your neck.

"Of course! I visit her often. She's mentioned your name from time to time." She gave a healthy smile before getting up to leave, "She loves you to bits!"

You were touched Kyungeun would mention that to the nurse, it made you feel a little better knowing that.

"I'll get going now then, hun!" The nurse grabbed her case and exited your dorm after you thanked her.

When you went back to your bed you noticed the nurse had left her pad of paper. Taking the paper to go and run after her, you squint to read what was actually written on it. The paper just had blue ink notes in some wavy font about your condition and personal information. When you lifted the notepad up, you noticed a paper fell from the stack. Bending down with just your back, you saw Kyungeun's medical information swirled on the front.

"Anemia?" You read aloud before a  semi-aggressive knock was heard from behind your dorm door. You quickly stuffed the paper where it was originally attached, feeling guilty you saw what you should not have. "I was just about to chase you down!" You began speaking before the door was even completely open.

You saw the young nurse once again with a troubled face, "I'm so sorry, I'm so disorganized! Thanks, darling!" She looked relieved as you handed over the stuff she had left behind. You smiled to cover up the actual shock that shot through your veins after seeing Kyungeun's records.

Anaemia is a low blood condition and knowing Kyungeun had it still surprised you. Were you really trying to deny that Sunghoon drinks Kyungeun's blood?

...

You napped the rest of the day, catching up on the sleep you had missed over the past week. The throbbing in your head gladly helped you fall asleep in an instant, but your wishes of having a quiet sleep would not come true.

-

You found yourself in a fever dream, scenes flickering in your mind at the speed of light. You saw Jungwon's complexion glitter against a deep velvet as he drove his fangs deep into a prominent vein. The vein however on his own wrist; drinking his own blood. The amber-red liquid began streaming down his chin and into an empty wine glass in large opaque droplets. The imagery of the blood in a wine glass was one you had never thought you would see, especially in a dream. The blood was much thicker in consistency compared to alcohol and it made your stomach churn with absolute sickness as Sunoo picked up the glass to swish it around as the adults do with classic red wine. Sunoo then bit down on the heel of his palm, planting a deep bite mark. He began squeezing his hand tightly to release more blood into the glass. When the glass had filled midway, Sunoo chugged it down.  

-

"Y/N?!" You felt Nana shake both of your shoulders, waking you back conscious. You twitched while sitting up from your bed, "You're sweating like crazy. I got scared seeing your distressed face..."

"Fever dream... It's whatever..."  Surprisingly your headache hurt a lot less even after the vividly strange dream had seemingly interrupted your off day. The problem was now your stomach that felt awful over the constant blood being displayed in your head, "I think I'll be fine to go to school tomorrow after I sleep on it tonight, my headache has become a mild stomach"

"More rest? You probably just need to get up and out of your bed, it's too warm and stuffy plus you've barely moved the entire day." Nana nagged. To which you agreed, you were getting unbearably hot which might've been the trigger to the fever dream.

"Yeah, I'll go for a walk..." You stared down at your sheets while thinking about what the strange dream meant. Why did Sunoo drink Jungwon's blood? And can vampires drink each other's blood? You immediately thought of the book you had left in the woods the previous night, perhaps there were answers in it. You were just too horrified that day to pick up the book and take it with you. But it seemed it might be of use to you now.

"Have you eaten yet? Hyesun and Dahee are at the dining hall right now and I just came to check up on you."

"No, I haven't eaten the whole day... But I think I might vomit if I eat..." You fastened your eyes shut at the recollection of what you had seen, "Just go without me, I'll go for a walk in the meantime." You said with the means to go off into the forest and find that damned book.

...

You feel refreshed, with the clean autumn breeze gusting your hair back, and out of your face. It was around the time most people ate an early meal, so you weren't surprised to see few pairs of people in the courtyards. Students seemed to be taking it nice and slow under the calm weather, one on one conversations and cloud watching on the wood benches.

You strut along the same path you had gone down the other day, your mary jane shoes getting wet from a puddle on the way. The woods had looked a lot less intimidating during the early evening compared to after sunset. You just had to ensure you were taking the path Sunghoon had led you down and you'd find the book, right? It would be a quick and simple job.

But after taking the seemingly correct path, you found yourself getting more unfamiliar with where you walked. Regardless of where you ended up, the place was a lot more peaceful and pretty than your first impression of it. You skipped along, turning your journey into a leisurely hike now. The sun heavily coated one particular part of the forest, creating a mystic olive glow onto the dried grass. The section of forest, in particular, had fewer trees with a giant rock in the centre of it.  As you approached the area, you noticed someone far in the distance laying on the rock, basking in the sunlight with skin so white it looked teal under the reflection of the trees. The young boy didn't have your school's uniform but instead, a rust coloured flannel and some tatteredly torn jeans with cuts all over them. You were willing to just leave the delinquent alone, turn back and give up. That is until you noticed the boy reading.

As you came into a four-metre radius to get a better look at if the book he possessed was the one you were searching for, the boy sat up to gaze dead on at you. You probably looked worse than a deer in the headlights, surprised at his alertness. "Who are you?" The ash haired boy asked before you could.

"I'm looking for a book I dropped around here the other day." You bore your eyes at his hands.

"This wouldn't be it, would it?" The young stranger stood up to scoop the book off the rock so you could see it clearly. He was a lot taller than how he appeared while lying on his back.

"I'm pretty sure it is my book... May I have it back?" You asked politely after noticing the colour of the backing was identical to the one you picked up from the library.

"What's it to you?" He raised a brow while swirling his tongue around the inside of his cheek.

"It might answer some questions I have..." You bit your tongue as to whether or not the boy in front of you was among the vampire pack. It seemed his hesitation to give the book back was telling you undermining something.

"Ahh, so it's you who they talk about?" He nodded to himself, "Heard you were some clever girl who would eventually figure out our little secret." He dozed off into the distance at some withering pine trees. It was clear he was associated with the bunch by now, no surprises there.

"Sunghoon t-told me the other day you were all vampires... He was the one who took the book in the first place and used it to bait me here."

"Then why did you leave the book?"

"Got too shocked and sick, just wanted to escape the place after he told me you were all vampires. Thought I was going to die." You began to sweat. Recalling the situation made you realize you were in the same position once again; alone with a vampire in the woods far away from people.

"Alright? So you have questions about us that you think this silly book will answer? Why ask a book when you could ask the vampire right in front of you." He faced his palms up on either side of him.

You stood astonished by his response. Instead of forcibly taking your blood he was offering some useful information to you, "You mean you're not going to kill me?"

"I considered it... Until I found out who you were." He commented with a hint of disappointment. "Luckily you've caught me at the right time, so ask away."

"Found out who I was? What do you mean?"

"Who knows what kind of shit I'll hear from the guys if they found out I got a lick of your blood." He shut down your further questions about the matter, "Now ask the questions."

Looking around as if you were about to tell a secret, you dived right into the ideas you were given from your dreams, "Can vampires drink their own blood?" You gulped remembering Jungwon drawing blood from himself.

"They can... It helps with blood cravings but it tastes very bitter. Next." He said, treating the conversation as some speed round questionnaire.

"Okay...? Can vampires drink each other's blood?" The last scene of your dream coming to mind of Sunoo taking a swig of the wine glass filled with his blood mixed with Jungwon's.

"Who have you seen doing that? Sunoo? Jaeyun?"

"No one, it was just a dream!? Sunoo and Jaeyun actually do that?" It seemed weird hearing Sunoo's name being directly suggested. It was as if your dream was a potential reflection of reality. How could that be?

"Drinking other vampires blood tastes better than drinking your own blood but it's not often we do that." The boy tapped his head to think.

"So then what occasion would you drink each other's blood?"

"Usually when we can't get ahold of human blood. Survival purposes in short. Put it this way, drinking your own blood won't make you stronger because you're not getting any new nutrients. Drinking other vampire's blood will fulfil that it's just not as vital as half-humans or better yet, full human blood."

"Half-humans?! They exist?"

"Yeah, their blood tastes a lot better than full vampire blood but it's definitely not better than full human blood. Pretty sure Sunghoon feeds off some half-blooded girl, not that I can remember her name."

#yang jungwon fic #jungwon fanfic #lee heeseung fic #heeseung fanfic #park jongseong fic #jay enhypen fanfic #jay enhypen #enhypen jay #park sunghoon fic #sunghoon fanfic #enhypen x reader #enhypen au #enhypen fanfic #enhypen fic #enhypen #sim jaeyun fic #enhypen jake fanfic #enhypen jake #kim sunoo fic #sunoo fanfic #nishimura riki fic #enhypen niki fic #enhypen niki fanfic #enhypen vampire au #enhypen vampire

[blueskiesandstarrynights]

Whatever Happens I'ma Stand Tall- Jatp time loop au, Chapter 2: Loop 2, Didn't We Already Do This?

And here's chapter 2! I'm glad to get this one done, it's been bugging me for a bit.

Word Count: 2120

Tag list: @enby-chaos-fox @lagoonaaa

If anyone else wants to be added, just let me know!

Masterpost of chapters (x)

Looks like today is gonna be another sunny day, with temperatures in the low to mid eighties.

Julie awoke with a gasp and scrambled to shut off her alarm and wipe away her damp cheeks from her tears, trying to figure out what had just happened. She nearly knocked her phone off her nightstand trying to grab it, but once she got it she checked the date on her phone and nearly started crying with relief when she saw the date: Saturday, March 7, 2020.

It wasn’t real.

It wasn’t real.

Whatever she thought she had just experienced was just a dream. A nightmare created from her fears that today’s plan didn’t work. It was ok. They’re going to play the Orpheum and her band is going to crossover. She’d still lose them, but she had already accepted that.

But she had to be sure. Had to be sure it really was just a nightmare and her boys are still here. She quickly got dressed and dashed down to the studio only to find the guys a few seconds from poofing away.

Reggie noticed her first and called out, “Oh hey Julie! We were just about to-”

He cut himself off once he saw that Julie’s eyes had filled with tears and asked, “Whoa, Julie are you okay?”

She wiped her tears with a soft smile before saying, “Yeah, yeah I’m okay. I just had this really vivid dream that you guys were jolted out of existence and I couldn’t save you.”

“Well you don’t have to worry, it was just a nightmare, we’re right here and not going to go down without a fight.” Luke smiled at her.

Julie nodded and wiped the final tear tracks from her face before smirking and saying, “Don’t you guys have a gig to secure? You’re not crossing over without it.”

“We were just about to go and check on Wil- the gig,” Alex replied, looking anxious to leave and check on someone who she assumed to be Willie, Alex’s ghost friend who was going to be helping them get the gig for tonight. Julie wondered if he was more than just a “ghost friend” and filed that piece of information for later as Luke gave her a salute and a “See ya later boss,” before poofing away with Alex and Reggie in tow.

Julie took a deep breath to steady herself and push down the anxious thoughts and worries that had pushed their way to the front of her mind since the guys had left.

But every second that passed meant they were one second closer to being jolted out of existence. Every second that passed brought them closer and closer to their doom. Every second brought them closer and closer to that horrifying nightmare she had.

But it was just a nightmare, she tried to remind herself. It wasn’t real and she was going to help the guys peacefully cross over tonight. But then why was her dream so vivid and detailed? Was it-

No. She steadied her breathing and made her way back inside the studio, worrying about this wasn’t going to do anything, anything good at least. She decided to spend the morning in song writing in the studio, but when the guys came back with info about the Orpheum, the events of the day started unfolding in an eerily familiar pattern. A pattern suspiciously like her vivid nightmare from the night before. By the time she was at the Orpheum and the guys were once again running late, she brought up her concerns to Flynn.

“Have you ever had deja vu? Or had an oddly vivid dream that came true in real life?” Julie asked abruptly, causing Flynn to pause munching on the snacks that had been left in the room.

She gave Julie an odd look before replying, “Closest thing I can think of is a vague sense of deja vu when I was younger, but nothing vivid. Any particular reason you’re asking me this?”

Julie sighed. “Kinda. Last night I had this super vivid dream of today that ended with the guys being jolted out of existence. I failed and they experienced pain up until the moment they were just erased from all existence. And normally that wouldn’t scare me, because it was just a dream, but every single thing that happened in the dream has happened, and I’m terrified I’m going to have to watch them die all over again!”

Flynn placed the snacks on the table so she could move closer to Julie and give her a hug.

“C’mon that’s not going to happen. It’s not going to play out, it’s just a dream. And even if it did, they’re going to cross over, this is their unfinished business. My guess is the part in the dream where they die was simply your brain creating what you fear is going to happen. As for the rest of the day...well I can’t really comment on that, I’m neither a psychic nor a psychologist.”

There was a knock on the door followed by the stage manager calling out, “Hey Julie! It’s time!”

“Just a second!” she called back.

“Look, not to sound weird for using a dream of all things as a source of valid information, but what happened in the dream at this point? Did they come?” Flynn inquired.

Julie looked like she was holding back tears as she shook her head and said, “Yeah, they come in partway through the performance, that’s not even my main worry right now. I just-” she rests her forehead against Flynn’s. “I don’t know if I can-”

The stage manager once again knocks on the door and announces, “Hey Julie! You’re on!”

With too many emotions swirling around, Julie pushed her way out the door and into the alley at the side of the Orpheum, ignoring her best friend's shouts behind her. As she takes a breath of the stink of Hollywood Boulevard, she finally lets out the tears she had been holding in.

“I don’t know if you can hear me mom, but I don’t think I can do this. If I was supposed to help the guys, I don’t think I can. They’re not here, and I’m scared that even if they do come, it won’t matter. I’m worried they’re not going to come, but I’m terrified that I’ll have to watch them die; I don’t know if I can do that a second time. I just-” she gives a soft sniffle before saying, “I miss you so much. Every day. And it hurts every day that you’re not with us. The guys have helped, playing music with them makes me feel closer to you. Every time I look into the audience, I can see you smiling and cheering me on.

I miss you Mom. More than you can ever know. I miss being held in your arms and being told everything’s going to be okay, because even when all the odds say it’s not, you still made me believe it anyway.” She’s trying to wipe her tears from her eyes when she notices a woman next to her offering her a flower. It’s a dahlia. A red dahlia, like the ones Mom used to love. She hugs the flower to her chest and she feels like she can feel everything that made her mom who she was. She can hear her mothers laugh ringing in her ears, right next to the beautiful melody that is her voice, and she can feel the warmth of her hugs, can smell the flowery perfume she always used, and she can almost see her mom’s signature dark curls.

With the dahlia in hand, Julie barrels back through the Orpheum side door, heading straight for the stage, stopping only to show Flynn the dahlia and declare, “Signs,” before rushing onto the stage, not even thinking about what she was doing. Seeing the dahlia had reminded Julie of Flynn’s theory that her mom was behind everything, and took the flower as a sign to go up on stage. To keep going. To stand tall.

And she did. She performed the Orpheum, and her boys came and being up on that stage gave her a ridiculous amount of euphoria. After the guys disappeared and she was hounded by her family and Flynn backstage, the adrenaline from the night almost caused her to forget about the guys. Almost.

Once they get back home, Julie wants nothing more than to go to the studio, but is stopped when Carlos asks her, “Hey Julie, can I talk to you for a sec?”

“Uh, sure just give me a minute.”

“Ok, I’ll wait up. Don’t ghost me,” he responded, adding a completely unsubtle wink at the end, causing Julie’s eyes to grow wide in shock. Had he figured it out? If so, how? Or was this just another one of his theories that didn’t hold any merit?

She shook her head, deciding to deal with that later, before turning to her dad and saying, “Just a minute,” and headed for the studio.

She opened the doors and stared inside the darkened room, taking a large shuddery breath, scared of what she’d find if she turned on the light. Scared that the guys’ didn’t cross over, but instead are here, collapsed on the floor, moments away from dying a second time. Not wanting to prolong this any further, she reached over to the switch on the wall and turned the light on, and lo and behold, there they were piled on top of each other just as she feared, and seeing them like this caused her breathing to grow more ragged, which wasn’t helped by a jolt that simultaneously racked the boys bodies.

They coughed and moaned from the jolt but forced themselves up once they saw Julie and all tried to put on brave faces for her.

“Julie what are you doing here, why didn’t you just go straight to bed?” Reggie asked.

“I said she’d come out here, but nobody ever listens to me,” Alex complains.

Julie sniffled and pointlessly tried to wipe her eyes before saying, “I, uh, wanted to say goodbye and to thank you guys.”

Watching them now feels so much worse than the dream. She knew playing the Orpheum wasn’t going to work, yet she still performed there anyway. Now there was nothing she could do. They were being forced to relive the pain of dying over and over again, until they were wiped from existence entirely. There were so many things she wanted to do with them, and things they wanted to do. In fact, there was something they needed to do, considering they were ghosts in the first place and therefore had unfinished business. They had so much ahead of them, yet their time was being cut short too early, just like their lives in ‘95.

She collapses onto the floor and tries to get as close to them as she can without passing through them; doing so would just be another painful reminder of the separation between her and them, and how much they’re about to be separated permanently.

She numbly listens to them as they list off their final requests just as they did last time, before they’re finally killed and she is left in an empty studio, left with nothing but instruments that won’t be used again and her tears. Oddly enough, just like in her dream she finds the world being taken over by a blinding white light accompanied with still quiet before-

Looks like today is gonna be another sunny day, with temperatures in the low to mid eighties.

Julie’s eyes shoot open and quickly shuts off the alarm trying to make sense of what just happened. Why was she back in her room? What was that white light? Her theory about a dream turned out to be garbage since you can’t have a dream within a dream right? Confused, Julie reached over to her nightstand to grab her phone to check the date and what she saw nearly made her choke on air.

Saturday, March 7, 2020

Saturday, March 7, 2020

That was yesterday’s date. And now that she thought about it, it was the date for the day before as well. Panicking now, Julie goes straight for Flynn’s contact and texts her:

Julie: 911

Julie: Flynn

Julie: Get here asap

Julie: Somethings wrong

Flynn: What

Flynn: Jules whats wrong

Julie: Idk

Julie: Its weird

Julie: Just come here itll be easier to explain in person

Flynn: Alright be there in 5

Julie closed her phone, sighed, fell back into her pillows and groaned. This was going to be a long day. Again.

#jatp time loop au #jatp #julie molina #my writing #flynn taylor #julie and the phantoms #mine #reggie peters #luke patterson #alex mercer

[cheeseburgersstuff]

Don’t Leave Me

I wrote this when I was supposed to be studying 😂😂 This is the longest shit I've ever written!! 💃 I'm improving, l guess 😁😂

Ransom Drysdale x Reader

Warnings: ansgt, sadness(a lil bit), language, (you guessed right, my shitty writing) 💕

.

.

.

y/n was the only reason Ransom was there, at his grandfather’s birthday. He didn’t even want to see his family’s faces. They always find something to annoy him. It’s not like he doesn’t say anything back to them, Man he comes back with more rude and sarcastic answers than them. But still, for him, they are the vile ones. 

And that’s why he was sitting at the corner away from everyone with a drink in his hand watching his wife laughing with Meg and Marta. He was sitting peacefully until his grandfather took him to his office to talk about something important. That’s when everything went wrong. His calm behavior, his mood, everything spoiled.

y/n surely did notice him going with his grandfather with annoyed expressions. She chuckled and shook her head knowing that after some time all of them would be hearing both granddad’s and grandson's yelling at each other.

This is their love-hate relationship, Harlan would always tell Ransom that, how ransom should have to be responsible especially now that he is married and Ransom would get angry how you can’t tell him what to do, you can’t tell him nothing.

But that doesn’t mean they hate each other. Harlan would always talk about Ransom with Marta, how he worried about that boy and see the younger him in Ransom. On the other hand, Ransom surely doesn’t share his feelings with anyone but with his wife, he made an exception. She knew that whenever they had a fight Ransom couldn’t sleep that night, he would feel guilty because of his harsh words towards Harlan cuz he got carried away with their fight.

And that’s what happening right now, after a few moments the family heard their yelling and then ransom getting out of the house without even looking at his wife leaving her there. She didn’t go out after him, thinking he just got out to clear his mind but when she heard his beamer started and gone, she knew this time that shit was serious. 

Everyone was looking at her as if wanting to know what she would do now. She inhaled and straight went to Harlan’s office shutting the door behind her. 

“What happened now Harlan,” she asked in an irritated tone. “Nothing, just the old shit you know” “Harlan I know this is not just about him being careless or something. Please tell me the truth, he just left me here. I know this is something serious.” please tell me before he does something stupid, you know him Harlan.” y/n begged.

Harlan just stared at y/n then said “I Just cut him off my will.””not just him everyone else too.” he said calmly. “You what!? You cut everyone off” 

“This has to be done y/n. It’s gonna make them grow on their own. It’s gonna make him respon..” 

“You know I don't care about that, I just know my husband is out there roaming around in madness, you know his anger and madness, you shouldn’t just tell him everything like that. I just hope he won’t do anything stupid.” y/n sighed and went out of the house needing fresh air. 

After some time she heard something from the entrance, it was just dark so I couldn't see what it was. But then again she heard a sound like someone was out there. She went that way and saw someone’s back. When that person went towards the wall of the house and started to climb it, she gasped knowing it was her husband climbing the wall as he was some sort of thief or some criminal. She watched him going inside the house through the window which looks like some sort of secretive door or something.

She knew how he acts stupid during his anger seasons but seeing him like this, entering his grand father’s house as a thief shocked her. 

She quickly got inside the house too, everyone was busy bickering about something so nobody noticed her. She went upstairs, towards Harlan's room and then there she saw her husband.

He was in Harlan's room, doing something with his medical bag. A syringe and in his hand.

“Ransom what are you doing here” he got startled and dropped the medicine inside the bag. 

He turned towards her, he was scared but somehow managed to keep his expressions calm.

“What are you doing here?” he said like he was angry. She raised her eyebrow “really!? I should be the one asking you that, why are you here, you left about 20 minutes ago remember?” “what brings you here again, in Harlan's bedroom and by climbing the wall?” she questioned. 

He sighed “nothing that concerns you, just go downstairs and don’t” “what the fuck Ransom, you sound like it’s normal? You climb the wall to enter the house, going into your grandfather's room doing something with his medicines, I know you are mad at him for cutting you out but what the hell is all of this?” she spat.

“You know?” “of course I know, I asked him after you left me there because you were so angry that you just forgot your wife” she taunted. “Oh c'mon, I didn't forget you” he scoffed. “I just had to do this before coming back to you” “and what is this? What are you doing here Ransom?” she went near him looking at the bag in front of him. When he didn’t answer she took both injection bottles and then looked at him with horrified expressions. 

“Were you switching them both?” she whispered like she was scared of the answer. Ransom didn’t say anything she made her angrier “tell me, Ransom, were you switching these.” she yelled, showing him morphine and the other bottle.

“Yes, I...I had to be this sweetheart for us. That is our money. He is giving everything to her. I can’t let that happen” she was just staring at him listening to his rambling, she couldn’t believe this was her husband, she was living with him for 3 years. No matter how much of an asshole he is but this is beyond the limit, killing his grandfather just cuz he is giving his nurse, not his so-called vile family. 

“We are going home right now,” she said, wiping her tears and fixing Harlan's bag like before. Then taking out the syringe from ransom’s hand. “No! I won’t go home until I finish this. I have to do the..” he was cut off by her slap on his face. “Wake up ransom!! This is not you, get out of the house just like you came in. then go to your car. I’ll meet you there. And if you try to do this again Ransom, I can assure you I can be more aggressive than you.” with that she just stormed out the room without glancing towards her husband.

~ 

After saying goodbye to everyone y/n sat in the car. She didn’t acknowledge him, the whole ride towards home went in silence. Ransom tried to talk to her but just got ignored. 

When they both reached their house she just went straight to her room. 

After some time she came downstairs seeing ransom sitting on the couch, his face in his hands. She didn’t want to talk to him but knew she had to.she just couldn't control herself and went towards him and placed a hand on his shoulder, he looked up with his red eyes due to crying. And that just broke her heart more. She sat beside him and he suddenly hugged her body, his face in her chest and arms around her waist. But she didn’t hug him back.

“I’m so sorry baby, I know what I was doing, was horrific. I didn’t even know I was planning to murder my grandfather. I know I’m not a good person and I don’t deserve you or any happiness in the world but please baby, don’t leave me. I can’t live without you.” 

She started to cry at his words, he was thinking she was going to leave him, didn’t he know that just like him she also can’t live without him. And no matter how much bad person he can be, she’ll always arrive to spoil his evil plans just like today, she’ll always slap that madness inside of him until it vanishes forever. 

She felt him shaking in her arms, crying again. “Hey hey! Look at me.” she took his face in her hands. “I’m not going to leave you OK… what you did was indeed horrible and you did break my heart but that doesn’t mean I’m gonna leave you. I’ll always be with you and we are gonna deal with your shit together. Just like you, I can't live without you too.” “I don't need Harlan's money, I don’t need the expensive gift you give me. Ransom for me you are enough. What I need is your promise that you’ll help me, help me to help you, to make this madness, these horrific thoughts go away, will you?” 

He looked at him like she was some sort of blessing towards him, he couldn’t believe she wasn’t leaving her “whatever you’ll say, I’ll do it, sweetheart, just forgive and give me another chance.” he said happily and gave her another hug. And with that she knew the first step to help him, taking him to a therapist….

#chris evans #captain america #chris evans x reader #marvel #steve rogers #steve rogers imagine #steve rogers x reader #captain america x reader #hugh ransom drysdale #ransom thrombey fanfic #ransom drysdale x reader #ransom drysdale #ransom thrombey x reader #ransom x reader #knives out

[marybethsjournal]

Always

Summary: Molly has hit a wall with Dutch and doesn’t know what to do; she feels completely lost. Not to mention that she has started to have complicated feeling towards another gang member.

Pairing(s): Dutch Van Der Linde x Molly O’Shea, Molly O’Shea x Sadie Adler (strongly implied)

Word Count: 1903

A03 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29265912

It was barely noon and the girls were day drinking yet again. This didn’t impress Molly much, but she had come to realize that nobody, not even Dutch cared about what she thought. Molly pushed the thought away. If she thought about how Dutch had been shutting her out and treating her badly in general, she would be driven to drink just like these harlots. And then she would be no better than them, which seemed to be the most humiliating thought possible at the time.

Molly was not surprised that Karen was leading the drinking charge of the day. That’s all the wench knew how to do, that and seduce men. She tried not to blame Karen too hard for that, though, because everyone knew Dutch was strongly encouraging her to put herself out there and if Molly verbalized her bias against working women, she’d have to implicate Dutch in the whole thing and she didn’t feel like doing that. Anything to exonerate her man from wrongdoing. What did surprise Molly was that that girl, Sadie, had joined the women for once. And not in the way Abigail had, coming over to get one drink and then gone back to her business (Molly didn’t blame her, she deserved a drink, especially since Jack had asked about 50 questions today already and the Marston man had tried to pants Bill and got a fist in his face in return). Sadie was downing the drinks faster than anyone else; she seemed to have no shame. Molly supposed that maybe she shouldn’t have been so surprised. Sadie had gone through a significant transformation over the past few months. When Sadie had been brought in by Dutch, Micah, and Arthur, she seemed weak and quiet. She had worn dresses and otherwise modest garments, although nothing too fancy. Now, she had the audacity to yell at the men and one day, when out on the town with Arthur, she had bought a shirt and pants and she hadn’t taken them off since. Quite offensive, in Molly’s opinion, but Sadie objectively pulled it off quite well. Molly had noticed herself staring at Sadie quite often, observing the woman. She couldn’t pinpoint quite why, but she assumed it was normal. Sadie was pushing boundaries and was overall quite an interesting woman, more interesting than herself. Not to mention, Sadie was very beautiful. Anyone could see that, it wasn’t an odd thing for her to think.

Molly found herself in the same situation yet again. She was staring at Sadie, who was downing another drink and laughing at some joke Tilly (or maybe it was Karen??? Molly wasn’t doing a very good job focusing on anything other than Sadie at the moment) made. Molly smiled, seeing Sadie throw her head back in laughter. Her smile was so huge and genuine. It was only recently that she had started smiling again. Sadie had taken it rough, just like any woman would, when her husband died. Molly knew the pain hadn’t gone away, but Sadie seemed to finally be letting herself enjoy life with little guilt. She thought about Sadie’s smile a little longer than she probably should have and her mind ended up drifting to a few nights ago when she and Sadie had danced. The whole camp was ambient with laughter and music, coming both from the gramophone and Javier’s guitar. Everyone seemed to have found a partner and was dancing: Mary Beth with Arthur, Jack with Uncle (their form of dancing was far different than everyone else’s slow dancing, the pair were waving their arms wildly and running in circles together), Karen with Sean, Tilly with Lenny. Hell, even Abigail and that fool John had put aside their differences for the night and were dancing up on each other, a bit too provocatively for Molly’s liking. Molly had actually been really excited about the spontaneous party that night. She felt the distance growing between her and Dutch the past few weeks and she was convinced that that night could make it all better. She had put on her finest dress, fixed her hair, and perfected before asking him. But to her surprise, he told her that he was too tired and maybe they could try another time. Her surprise had turned to horror when she later saw Dutch dancing with Susan. The worst part was, Dutch didn’t even seem to care when Molly noticed. It was like he didn’t even care about her feelings.

Molly had run into the nearby forest to cry. She knew her makeup would smudge and usually she would refrain from crying to the best of her ability, but she didn’t care anymore. It only took a few minutes before Sadie had snuck up behind her and asked her what was wrong. She had been sitting on a rock nearby, not in a party mood, when she had heard Molly crying, she explained. How embarrassing.

“So, are you going to tell me what happened so I can fight a bitch?” 

Molly, despite her sadness, laughed. “It’s not really a bitch. It’s Dutch. Wouldn’t dance with me but he sure is dancing with Susan right now.”

“That old fart? Ah you can do better than him.” Sadie seemed to get an idea and clapped her hands together. “In fact, let’s show him what he’s missing. I’ll dance with ya.”

Molly was taken aback by Sadie’s proposal. 

“I’m not too sure that’ll make him jealous. Maybe if I danced with Charles or something…”

“Oh come on! Sorry I’m not Charles.” Sadie grabbed Molly’s hand and drug her back into camp

Molly was confused as to why Sadie seemed so insistent to dance with her, but she was certainly pleased by the attention. She rarely got attention from this gang.

The dance went wonderfully; Molly almost felt something resembling butterflies in her stomach, which she dismissed as simple indigestion. It was perfect until Molly apparently got too close to Sadie and she asked, “Miss O’Shea, do you expect me to kiss you or what?”

Molly was horrified. She gave some phony excuse and ran away from the situation as fast as she could, ignoring Sadie calling after her. Things had been pretty awkward between them since then.

Molly was startled out her daydreaming when Karen yelled at her, “Hey Molly, what are you looking at? You wanna drink or something?” Oh great, Molly thought after realizing she had been staring this entire time.

Molly walked over to where Karen was and for just a brief moment, allowed herself to look at Sadie again. Unfortunately, Sadie seemed to have the same idea. Their eyes locked and Sadie subsequently excused herself to go talk to Abigail. 

“What the Hell is her problem? Anyway, wanna drink? I’ll share mine. It’s the good kind of whiskey.” Karen offered some strong whiskey to Molly. There’s nothing Molly wanted less than to drink after Karen.

“I try not to drink outside of social settings.” Molly informed Karen, politely declining.

“Then WHY were you looking at me earlier?”

“I wasn’t.” Molly responded curtly.

“Then you were looking at Sadie. Cause I know you weren’t looking at these here two fools.” Karen made rude gestures at Mary Beth and Tilly. 

“I wasn’t looking at anything, Karen. Just thinking.” Molly couldn’t find it within herself to look anywhere besides her feet.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to offend you. You two, get out of here. I need to talk to Miss O’Shea alone.” Molly tried desperately to get the other two girls to stay but Karen insisted they leave. Apparently, Karen had much more pull among the other women than Molly did. That wasn’t one bit surprising, but it still seemed wrong.

“Wow, you really don’t wanna talk to me. My feelings are so hurt.” Karen took another swig of her drink before continuing. “Listen Molly, you know just as well as everyone else that I think you’re lazy and entitled. Just all around a nasty person.”

Molly nodded. Karen generally was straightforward and rude when she wanted to me, but it still seemed the drink must be doing a number on her for her to be able to say what she just had said.

“But for some reason my the dumb bitch in me has started to care. I didn’t think I had an angel on my shoulder, but here she is, annoying as ever, telling me, ‘Karen, you have to warn Molly. You don’t wanna see her get hurt.’ And then I tell them back that I don’t care if you get hurt but I still feel like I do care afterwards.”

It didn’t take much of an intellectual to make the observation that Karen had had too much to drink. Molly honestly couldn’t understand what she was saying: it sounded like a whole bunch of incoherent rambling in which she said a whole bunch, yet nothing at all at the same time.

“I’m not sure I follow.”

“Of course you wouldn’t. You don’t have a heart of gold like myself. But at least you do have a heart. Listen, I just wanted to let you know Dutch don't care about you.”

‘“Leave me alone, Karen. You’re drunk and I won’t hear anymore.”

“See, you know it’s true! He sees you as a toy more than anything. You’re gonna end up hurt and he’s not going to care one bit.”

“If you think he’s so bad, why are you still running with him?”

“A lot of us don’t have a choice, miss society lady. Besides, I know better to get involved with him.”

“Sure, Karen. Thanks, I guess.”

Molly had walked away and pretended like she hadn’t cared but even days later, the short conversation haunted her at every turn. Even late at night, lying in bed next to Dutch, she replayed the whole ordeal over and over again in her mind. She hated to admit it, but Karen was right. The man lying next to her didn’t feel much for her anymore, if he ever had in the first place. It was just cold lying next to him. Like sleeping with a complete stranger.

She had spent several consecutive nights not being able to sleep out of worry. Late into the night, she would search Dutch’s face for any sort of sign that maybe he cared about something, maybe not even her. She always came up with nothing.

It had become all too much for Molly. She found herself crying yet again. She had never known herself to be this emotional. Part of her wanted Dutch to wake up and see her in pain, but she knew in her heart that he wouldn’t care. He would just be irritated that someone interrupted his beauty sleep.

One night when Molly couldn’t control her crying any longer, she left their tent so as not to disturb Dutch. She walked towards the rock that she usually sat on while she read a book during the day. On her way, she noticed that Sadie was sitting on another rock on the other side of camp. What was she doing out this late. She supposed she would have to find out. Now was her chance to finally talk to Sadie and apologize for whatever had happened between them.

“Can I sit here with you?” Molly asked Sadie when she approached her.

“Always.” Sadie smiled at her.

“That would be nice.”

#red dead fanfic #rdr #rdr2 #red dead redemption #molly o'shea #karen jones #sadie adler #dutch x molly #sadie x molly #o'shadie

[theexecutionerssong]

I want to ask you as spn expert hdbfbdj i heard that destiel made creators/actors uncomfortable and they banned mention of it at the cons? And made anlotbof writing decision to keep dean and cas characters from each other in the show? So how do you think what changed and why the decided to make deancas canon (bad as it is but canon) in almost last episode when they could just not do it jrbfkf

Hi! Oh damn I hope you’re ready for a long ass answer because I have 13 years worth of memories to answer this question dfghjklm

So, your first question, when you say creators, you have to keep in mind that the original showrunner stepped down years ago and since then, there’s been several showrunners who each had a different view on where they wanted to take the story, which explains the disparities in writing quality from one season to another, in my opinion. Of course the orginal showrunner is still around and would chime in from time to time but he went on on working on other shows (which flopped, besides The Boys, tbh), and we definitely didn’t see it that way in 2005.

Then comes the writers team, that has also seen many changes over the years. I truly believe some left because they wouldn’t make Destiel happen, among other things like the treatment/lack of representation of female and POC characters. Robbie Thompson definitely left because they killed Charlie in the most horrifying way, and Charlie was his baby, and he got better opportunities elsewhere. I remember over 7 years ago when Bo Berens (the writer of last night episode) joined the team, my whole dash was full of people screaming because holy shit the new SPN writer is gay!!! and wouldn’t that change things??? Well it did. He wrote, along with Robbie Thompson, some of the most explicit Destiel episodes that they could get away with. I don’t believe this was ever queerbaiting, not from them, and I think they took advatange of the other writers just not seeing it, or not wanting to see it.

For a very long time, the showrunners and writers were kind of oblivious to the shipping, they didn’t take it seriously because it wasn’t how they had thought it could be interpreted. As time went on and the shipping only grew and as the cast and crew actually started to see what we were seeing in their own damn writing and acting, they started to be more aware and careful around it. Some were downward enjoying putting down fans, like fucking Guy Norman Bee gloating on Twitter and engaging with fans over it. A mess. He left 5 years ago that one, good riddance. It was also the time when actual canon queer ships would appear on TV - keep in mind that in 2010-12, Destiel was as explicit as it could get. We had nothing else, so of course we would latch onto that. But we started getting more and more actual explicit representation with Shameless, Shadowhunters, Eyewitness, Skam, HTGAWM, Orphan Black, etc around 2013, and shipping Destiel got very frustrating. 

The actors have always been another story, and I saw a lot of comments being made today towards Jensen so I’m gonna copy paste my answer to an ask I got last year : “I think he was just extremely “protective” of Dean and would get actually mad and shut down every conversation about Destiel because that’s not how he sees his character. Like, proper pissed off. He would get uncomfortable about pride flags during photo ops. It came to the point where people would walk on eggshells at cons. 2012-13 was hard on the fandom on this point. He would never speak up about lgbtq related topics in politics either. Liking a tweet like Chris’s 10 or even 5 years ago? Never. He used to say that people in highschool would bully him for “looking too gay” because of his pouty lips and big eyes. I think he didn’t want to care about it but bullying leaves scars. Getting married to Danneel, meeting Misha, who are both very outspoken about lgbtq matters, opened him up, and he’s said himself that having his first daughter changed him deeply. He had a whole new perspective on unconditional love. Now, he’s enthusiastic about posing with pride flags, to sign fanart, he’s always so supportive of lgbtq fans at cons, hugs them, gives them words of encouragement, etc. Years ago he said “my father told me that there’s no manly way to drink out of a straw” and now he’s out there being crowned King at the Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans, posting rainbows on his social media, having makeup sessions wit his daughter, etc. He was very outspoken about his support for Beto in Texas last year, he goes to rallies, posts about it on social media, etc. And yeah maybe that’s the bare minimum but he wouldn’t have done it years ago but now he does and that’s worth something. He’s not a Destiel supporter but now the topic isn’t banned at cons anymore. He jokes about it, he understands better where people who see Dean as bi are coming from, even if it’s not his take on the character. He’s much more comfortable with himself and has come a long way. I’m happy for him.” That was my reply last year to somebody asking if Jensen was homophobic and while I obviously don’t know him, it’s what I gathered over the past 17 years or so. I was already a fan of him beofre Supernatural soooo, I’ve been around a while. Yes there was this moment, over 7 years ago at a con, where he let fans boo other fans for asking a question about Destiel, and he shut down the question, then the questions about Destiel were banned. That’s not the case anymore and it hasn’t been that way for years. Misha on the other hand as always been supportive of the ship, his “You’re not crazy” tweet from 2013 fueled us for years, and the fact that he went back to like it and bring attention to it today is the biggest I Told You So he could have given us.

About your question, making decision to keep them away from each other, yes, that has been a pattern for years, something would go in the script, and then they would change their minds - “the only thing we have left, Dean and I, is each other” in 5x04, the “A part of me always believed you would come back” in 7x17, the “I love you” in 8x17, Castiel’s heaven being just pictures of Dean everywhere, etc. The decision would come from either the actors or the writers and they gave tons of reasons but I won’t get into that. And every time we would have a Destiel heavy episode, it would be no Cas for weeks. Their reason for that is that if Cas was always around, what with how powerful he is, then there would be no plot for monster-of-the-week episodes, because he’d be able to fix the situation with a snap of his fingers. So they gave him storylines that would weaken him and/or keep him away from the Winchesters. But I also think they would give us crumbs to keep us hooked and then backtrack because it wasn’t the end yet.

Destiel is the only ship I’ve really invested in that wasn’t canon. Yet. Because, to me, it’s been canon for years. And I am absolutely convinced that had Supernatural ended with season 10 as planned, it would have been canon then. There were tropes and parallels that nobody could ignore. The whole of season 10, with the Cain/Dean and Colette/Castiel thing was so obvious even my Dad picked up on it. But the series got renewed again and again and they pushed it back, because The Powers That Be at the CW didn’t want to lose their homophobic fanbase, I guess. Isn’t that great :)))) Now that it’s ending for real, who cares? They don’t have anything to lose anymore. It must be quite an unpopular opinion but I think making Deancas canon at the end of the series has been the plan for a while, but it got pushed back with every renewal. 

To me they have been canon since season 8 thanks to a few selected writers, and as infuriating and sometimes hurtful as it was to keep watching for all these years when it could have been so much better, I’m still ecstatic they finally did it. Maybe for the wrong reasons, definitely not in the right way, but 1. the show isn’t over, and 2. this was my first real big ship when I had nothing else, and to be able, after over a decade, to hear that I love you, with no room for doubt that it was meant romantically, is making me happy., 

#gaelle parle #spn #you asked for it sdfghjkl #honesly the way i could talk SPN for hours and hours and hours... #sigh #Anonymous

[multifandomfanficss]

My Babysitter’s a Vampire

Benny x Reader Oneshot

Love Positions Don’t Work On Me

Prompt: The Reader has a crush on Benny. When Benny cooks up a love potion for him and Ethan to get girlfriends he doesn’t understand why it doesn’t work on the reader.

Tick tock tick tock tick tock the loud clock droned on as you waited for your class to end. It was almost your favorite time of day. Lunch. Lunch was the time when you got to hang out with your friends and talk to the boy you liked. He was in your friend group, but you could never tell him you liked him. You were afraid to ruin what you had and plus that crap destroys friend groups. You just had to keep it a secret. It wasn’t a very well kept secret. It seemed like everyone knew you had a crush on Benny except for Benny. I guess it was kinda like Ethan’s whole thing with Sarah. He was always so incredibly obvious, but she didn’t notice or maybe she just didn’t care. No matter how hard you try you feel like you’re being too obvious. At least that’s what Erica and Sarah tell you. RING the ring of the bell ripped you from your thoughts as you grabbed your books and headed to your locker to see Benny. Your lockers were right next to each other. You stopped dead in your tracks when you got close enough to see Benny and Ethan at Benny’s locker with Sarah and Erica. Sarah was strangely hanging off of Ethan and to make things even stranger Erica was kissing Benny. You were furious. How could she do this to you?! She was supposed to be one of your best friends. You ran to the bathroom and proceeded to lock yourself in a stall and try to hold in the sobs. You knew you weren’t Benny’s type and that he could never possibly like you back, but you were furious at Erica for hurting you like that. She knew how much you liked him. Plus she could have any guy in school. She always goes for the jocks and the populars. What was she doing kissing this idiot? My idiot. Then the confusion set in. Why was she kissing Benny? Why was she even talking to him in public. Then the realization set in. That idiot! He used magic to get Sarah and Erica to date him and Ethan. You were pissed. You had to find them. You rushed out of the bathroom and ran into Rory. “Hey (Y/N)! How’s it hanging?” He asked. “I’m sorry Rory I don’t have time to talk right now” You apologize. “Do you know what Benny and Ethan did to get all of those bodacious babes to follow them around school? I tried to ask them, but Benny just said they had mad skills and-“ “Wait what do you ALL THOSE bodacious babes?! Are you saying it’s more girls than just Erica and Sarah?!” You ask. “Yeah! I didn’t believe it either. I saw them in the cafeteria. They had girls swarming them” He said in surprise. The anger bubbled inside of you. “I’m going to kill him” You say rather calmly as you walked away from Rory and head into the direction of Benny’s next class. Lunch was over now so you had to find him in the middle of English class. “So I’ll catch you later?!” Rory yelled down the hall at you with a voice crack. You didn’t respond. You were too angry. Dating somebody else? That would be one thing. But using magic to take away the free will of every girl in school to get them all to fall in love with you? He was so dead. They were both dead. I have no doubt that Ethan was part of this idiot scheme too.

When you got to his class you saw Erica making kissy face through the window on the door. She was obviously trying to get Benny out of class so they could fool around in the bathroom. When he didn’t come out she gave a pouty face and walked away. That was surprising. You walked up to the window next. You sent him a text saying CODE BLUE: Meet me outside now! “I really need to go to the bathroom. It’s kind of an emergency.” Benny said to his teacher who obviously didn’t want him leaving class. She sighed. “Fine. Hurry” His teacher said in an aggravated tone. Benny left the classroom to meet you in the hallway and you pulled him to the side. “What’s wrong is everything oka-“ You cut him off by punching him in the arm. “Ow! Hey! What did I do to deserve that?!” He yelled in a sort of hushed tone. “You’re such an idiot.” You say in a stern voice. “I thought you were in trouble. You said ‘code blue” He questioned you. “Yeah. Code red is trouble. Code blue is for BENNY IS A DUMBASS.” You yell at him. “I can’t believe you used your magic to get every single girl in school to fall in love with you! How could you do that?! How could you be that ridiculously irresponsible and rude?! Think about what you did to all of those girls!” You lecture him. “HeyHey Hey- I was just trying to help Ethan okay. You know he’s liked Sarah for-like-ever” He tries to reason. “First of all I love Ethan, but Sarah should have her own free will to decide on her own who she wants to date and secondly that doesn’t mean you should have forced every girl in school to fall in love with both of you!” You continue to lecture. “I dropped the bottle I didn’t mean to-“ He stopped talking and you could see the wheels turning. “Wait a second. If every girl in school is in love with me, why aren’t you? It even worked on Erica, but you’re just mad at me” He asked. The wheels were turning and sooner or later he was going to figure it out. “(Y/N)....are you...” he trailed off for a second. Oh no. He knows I like him. “A lesbian?” He asked. That is not what I was expecting. “I mean it would explain a lot considering you’ve never had a boyfriend and-“ You cut him off again. “Will you shut up! I’m not a lesbian and even if I was that shouldn’t even matter” You say not knowing what else to say. You weren’t a lesbian, although you were an ally. “You can tell me. It’s okay. I’m your best friend” Benny said sincerely as he put his hand on your shoulder. You could feel your heartbeat in your throat as you looked up at him with his perfect smile and his stupid brown hair. “You have to get back to class. I have to go...” You trailed off as you turned away from Benny and walked down the hall. “(Y/N)! Wait!” He started after you. “I just can’t do this right now” you said quietly as you walked away. A single tear slipped down your face, but he couldn’t see it because your back was to him.

RING the last bell of the day rang and you were out for the day. You just wanted to go home and forget anything ever happened. You stood at your locker packing up your things when you heard your name being called “Hey, (Y/N)! Wait up!” You heard Ethan’s voice through the crowd of students. “What do you want Ethan?” You were still mad, but you were angrier with Benny considering he was the one who actually created the spell. It was probably his idea too. “I just wanted to say that I totally respect you and whatever you’re going through. Ya know I have a cousin who’s gay” He said trying to be supportive. “For the last time I’m not a lesbian!” You exclaim, shutting your locker and walking out of the school. This had all gone way too far. You knew what you had to do. It was time to pull out the big guns.

You stood in front of Benny’s front door. You pressed the button and heard the doorbell. The door opened to see the sweet face of Benny’s grandmother, a sweet old woman with magic powers, totally capable of kicking anyone and everyone’s ass. “(Y/N)? What are you doing here? Benny is supposed to be at Ethan’s. I thought you three would be hanging out there” She questioned me. “Benny is at Ethan’s, but Benny is also being an idiot so that’s why I’m here” You explain. “When isn’t he my dear?” She joked. You laugh a little. “Come on in. I’ll make you a snack” She offered. You gladly accept and sit down in the living room. She brings you a sandwich and a glass of lemonade. “Thanks Grandma” You smile. You loved Benny’s grandmother. Your own grandparents lived out of state so you were never close with them. “So what have the boys gotten themselves into this time?” She asked, obviously a little tired of their bullshit. “Benny made a love potion and now every girl in school is in love with them” You sigh. She gave me a sad look. She knew. Grandmas always do. “Don’t worry my dear. They’ll get their’s” She smiled. “What do you mean?” You ask. “The Earth must stay in balance. When you knock it out of balance, it will knock back. As much as those girls loved them, they’ll hate them just as much” She laughs. “Oh my god” You grow to have a horrified look on your face. “What’s wrong my dear? Don’t you want them to pay for what they did?” She asks. “Erica kissed Benny! Like she KISSED HIM! She barely even likes him on a normal day! She’s gonna kill him” You explain with worry. “I gotta go!” You say rushing out of the house and over to Ethan’s.

When you arrived at Ethan’s house you saw angry girls all over his lawn. The martial arts club had baseball bats and hockey sticks. You start to fight some of them off. “I am so sorry that I told Ethan you were a lesbian! Please don’t kill me!” You hear Benny scream. “I’m not a lesbian!” You exclaim putting your fist out, punching and successfully knocking out the president of the martial arts club. That’s when Erica and Sarah drop down. “You’ve gotta be kidding me! You two just had to magically seduce the two strongest beings at our high school, didn’t you?!” You yell at them. “Nobody is killing Benny, but me!” Erica argues. “And nobody is killing Ethan, but me!” Sarah adds. “Well too bad because neither of you will be killing anyone” You inform them. You then pull out the UV lightsaber the boys made to fend off the girls. They won’t go anywhere near the light and as long as they stay away nobody gets hurt. It’s like a bug zapper for vampires. Sarah and Erica started hissing and you knew you needed a plan quickly. “I have an idea!” Ethan says almost on que. “Well I’d love to hear it!” You and Benny both yell at the same time. You get a little blushy, but the boys can’t see because they’re standing behind you. Next thing you know you’re being pulled into some cage that Ethan bought online from some movie or something. “Are you sure this will work?” You ask. “The eternity cage is impenetrable!” Ethan exclaims. “And so is the prop...I hope...” Benny adds. The three of you migrate to the center of the cage where Sarah and Erica won’t be able to touch you and you decide to wait it out in close quarters. Benny and Ethan were pretty close, but Benny was on top of you. He had one arm wrapped around you. You don’t even think he noticed. It seemed like second nature to him, but you didn’t mind. “How long do you think this is gonna last?” You ask. “Well they loved us for 6 hours so I’m guessing they’ll hate us for about 5 more” Ethan guesses. “Awesome” You state as more girls flock to the cage. You press close into Benny as you leave one arm extended with the UV lightsaber. He wraps his arm tighter around you. “I’m sorry” He says quietly. “For what? Telling Ethan I’m a lesbian? Even when I’m not even a lesbian?” You ask him. “Well no, but I’m sorry for that too” He apologies. “What I meant was I’m sorry for getting you into this” He adds. “It’s okay. You didn’t mean to drop the bottle” You acknowledge. “Why are you in this?” Ethan asks. “What do you mean? I care about you guys” You tell him. “No, I mean why are you in THIS? Why weren’t you loving us in school and now hating us on the other side of these bars?” Ethan asks. You know the answer, but you just don’t feel like explaining. You’ve gone through all of this with Benny. You can’t lose him now. “I don’t know. Maybe I just spend so much time with you guys that Benny’s magic just doesn’t effect me like that” You spill out some stupid answer that you know isn’t true. Thankfully the boys believe it. Eventually you dose off in the cage in Benny’s arms while Ethan mans the UV lightsaber.

You wake up the next morning to see Sarah and Erica in front of the cage with Benny’s Grandmother a key...the key to the cage. You forgot you were locked in. You watched the boys beg to get out and eventually the girls let them out on one condition.

You were sitting on Benny’s front porch with Sarah and Erica while Benny’s Grandma was in the front yard with a lawn chair. You were drinking lemonade as the boys washed Benny’s Grandma’s car. The four of you were taking full advantage of the boys as payback and it was kinda funny although you did feel a little bad for them. They spent the night in a cage with girls wanting to tear them limb from limb surrounding them. You thought they’d had enough. “Hey, Benny I think we’re out of lemonade. Why don’t you come inside and help me make some more” I offer. “Yeah, sure” He puts down the sponge and heads inside with you. The kitchen is a little quiet until Benny breaks the silence. “So why didn’t my spell work on you?” He asks. “And don’t say you’re immune to my magic because that’s not how it works” He adds. You knew you had to tell him. No lie in the world could get you out of this. “Benny...” He looked at you with interest. “Love potions don’t work on me...because you can’t make somebody fall for you...who already likes you...” You tell him. You start to sweat and your blush becomes uncontrollable. “Wait you-“ “Yeah” You cut him off. “How long?” He asks. “Since like forever...” You tell him. “Since we met in middle school...” You add. He begins to smile. “Why didn’t you say anything?” He asks. “Well you were always all over other prettier girls and-“ He cuts me off. “(Y/N), no one is prettier than you” He tells me. “What?” You ask. “(Y/N) you are the funniest, smartest, bravest, most beautiful girl I have ever met” He confesses. “Really?” You ask. “Yes” He smiles and leans down to kiss you. You smile into the kiss. You pull away. “Benny! Where’s my lemonade with extra plasma?!” We hear Erica yell. We separate and laugh. We then get back to making the lemonade.

#benny weir #benny weir x reader #mbav #mbav benny #my babysitters a vampire #benny weir oneshot #benny weir imagine #benny weir fanfic #benny weir fanfiction

[cicici03]

Who You Goin To Choose- Chapter 3

Warning: Your Emotions are about to endure a roller coaster!!!!

Please read my other book: Conform or Change

Chapter 1     Chapter 2       Chapter 3

Hope you enjoy!!!

Chapter 1 

Chapter 2

——————————————-

“ I can’t believe you told him that Kia!” Asia yelled at her friend that was in her chair.

Kia just started to sobbed as Asia was pressing her hair out. 

“ Now stop all that damn crying Kia. It is your fault also.” Asia said as tilted Kia head to the side. 

“ I told you years ago that your daddy is not helping you love, but he is hurting you in the worst way possible.” Asia sighed as she turned the chair so Kia would be facing her.

Asia and Kia been best friends since childhood. Asia was different than Kia. Kia had a life full of wealth and a comfortable life. While Asia was raise in the deepest part of the projects. However, Asia was smart and was very passionate about school. That she got into the private school that usually only people with money, money get into.

Asia got a scholarship there due to her high I.Q. With there only being two black people, Kia and Asia, they naturally became best friends. However, of course, Ernest did not like her. Asia showed Kia the world from out of her bubble of wealth and good living. To showing her to have a backbone and standing up for herself.

Asia knew that Ernest was very controlling of his daughter and Kia listen. 

“ Asia, I have to take care of him. That is what my mother said before she died! Before I watched her died Asia. She died!” Kia shouted while in hysterical tears looking at her friend.

The bloody sound of tears that was made of so much hurt went through Asia’s hair salon suite.

Asia looked at her friend and turn the chair back around. When Kia get like this, she really didn’t want nobody to talk to her.

Asia went back to her friend’s hair holding back the tears in her eyes. Asia knew her friend was hurting not only because of present decisions she need to make, but the past decisions she didn’t make.

As Kia, her brothers, and father got to the hospital after the accident. They went back there one at a time. When Kia went back there.

She was horrified.

Her mother’s face look ible. From her whole face swelled up due to the airbag hitting her badly. To the many cuts all over her face. With Kia eyes going straight to her eyes.

The beautiful brown eyes.

Those eyes were red from one her blood vessels that pop.

The one thing that the doctors didn’t look at that led to her death.

As Kia held her mother’s hand, Kia’s mother eyes turn to the person. 

Kia mother saw her daughter, whom was 13, scared at the figure she was looking at.

“ Baby, it’s okay,” Kia’s mother croak, “ I am okay.” Kia’s mother coughed after finishing her sentence.

Kia looked at her mother’s eyes.

They wasn’t her mother’s.

“ Your eyes momma. They didn’t check your eyes. Something is wrong with your eyes!” Kia cried as she was letting go of her mother’s hand to go to the nurse’s station.

However, her mother caught her arm just in time.

Kia’s mother didn’t want her to get the doctor. She was ready to die.

Kia turned her head and looked at her mother.

Her eyes were not looking at her.

Kia followed them and she was staring at her father talking to one of her mother’s daughter. She looked back at her mother.

Her face was wet from the tears coming out of her eyes.

“ Take care of everybody . Especially your dad,” Kia’s mother voice croak out “ I love you all. I love you Kia. My eyes really hurt and they feel better when I close them.” Kia’s mother closed her eyes.

The beeping sound of the ventilator started to go crazy that set the alarm in the room off.

Nurses and Doctors came running in trying to revive her. 

Kia watched it all.

She saw the faces change when they gave up. 

As they all left, Kia was left in there.

Kia went to  her mother. She saw her eyes.

They were back to them beautiful brown eyes. 

All Kia did was stare at her.

As her father and brothers walked in. Ernest broke down.

The kids were shocked at Ernest because he never broke down.

At the funeral, while everybody mourn. Ernest mourn the loudest.

Kia watch her mother casket get push down six feet under.

She saw her dad just sill and quiet.

She hugged her dad.

“ Daddy, I will always take care of you,” Kia said quietly, “ I will do what momma told me and as her beautiful brown eyes watch me.”

Ernest broked down.

Ever since then, Kia took care of her dad.

“Kia, Kia!” Asia shouted at her while waving her hand in her face. Kia snapped out of her thoughts and looked at Asia.

The chair was turn to the mirror at the finish process of her hair. 

Kia always got her hair straighten whenever Florian has a big fight. It seems whenever Kia got her hair straighten; it seems like Florian won his fight.

“ Thanks girl.” Kia spoke in a mellow way.

“ You are going to leave your car here and I am driving.” Asia replied back sharply while looking at her friend.

Kia looked at Asia, where both of there eyes met. Kia didn’t even try to fight knowing Asia was not going to have no for an answer.

Kia and Asia both walked out of the salon and to her car. With that, Kia and Asia decided that where going to go to a sushi restaurant.

As Asia started the car, Kia went back about thinking about her mom.

Those beautiful brown eyes saw her daughter hurting from heaven. She knew in two days that her daughter was going make a decision that would change her.

For better and worst.

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

“ Two California rolls and one spicy tuna sushi roll!” the chippy, server brought the food to Asia and Kia. The server skip away from the table after putting down her food.

“ Girl, was that women a leprechaun or something. Over there skipping away.” Asia said bewildered by the woman very over happy attiude.

Kia laughed for the first time today.

“ What for real. That is the ones that you watch out for. Those would be the people that would killed you while smiling.” Asia mumbled while still looking at the server.

“ Girl, you need to stop watching the investigation network channel!” Kia laughed while put some soy sauce in the one of the bowl.

Asia turn back to the table and laughed along with Kia.

“ Well are you going back to the house?” Asia asked Kia as she dip her Califorina roll into the soy sauce.

Kia tense up as they move the topic about Florian.

“ Can we not.” Kia rebuke back to Asia as she ate her spicy tune roll.

Asia rolled her eyes knowing that Masias would not like that answer about that. Masias and Asia was dating for about two years now. With that, Masias was one of Florian coaches and he could see that Florian was off his game after eating dinner. 

Momma Florian told Masias about what happen and to see if he could get in touch with me. 

“ Please, cause you know this is one of Florian biggest matches and he needs you girl to be his support. I know y’all going through something, but he needs his wife in his corner for this fight.” Asia explained to Kia as she trying to get to go home.

As Kia was listening to Asia, she saw Dominque, his cousin, and Brooks Jones.

“ Oh no.” Kia mumbled out as she was looking at them ask for a table. Asia followed her eyes and saw them.

As Kia and Asia was looking, Dominque look that way. Kia quickly turn her head the other way. However, Dominque walked over to them.

“Kia. Asia.” Dominque said while looking at the two women, but his eyes focus on Kia.

“Well look a here. It is the man that told my friend to abort there baby. What else,” Asia questioned, “ The same person that also verbal abuse her. Oh hello.” Asia gave him a sarcastic smile.

Dominque sighed and gulped.

Kia looked at Asia and sighed.

“ Dominque.” Kia said while looking at him.

“ I love my husband. With that, I don’t want you. I never want you again. Just please leave me alone and my family.” Kia spat out while looking at Dominque.

Kia saw Dominque face change to anger. The same face anger that she seen before. However he did something unexpectedly:

He laughed.

“ Well, you are the same bitch I left. You know, I didn’t want to see your ass. However, your dad called me and said that Kia was sorry for ever breaking up with me. With that, she is so sorry for spreading those lies about your temper,” Dominque snapped, “ I know that you going to coward to your daddy per usual and listen to him. Even when he does you wrong! Guess what, you are the main reason that you and Florian can’t be happy!”

As he finish saying that, Kia got up and slapped him.

This cause attention to move onto them.

“ You shut up! My dad would never do that! I fucking hate you!” Kia shouted and slapped him again and again. While she was slapping him, Dominque just laugh and laugh and laugh.

All a sudden she felt somebody pulled her away. She knew it couldn’t be Asia because she was five months pregnant and this person had huge muscles.

The person put her back down on the ground. She looked up and saw Brooks Jones.

“ Why the hell would you touch me!” Kia yelled at Brooks.

Brooks tall stature, 6 feet 1, and bulging muscles didn’t scared Kia one bit.

“ Well you was beating up on my cousin- in law.” Brooks laughed at the Kia.

“ Kia let’s go!” Asia said while trying to pull her away.

Brooks realized the name and smirk at her.

“ Oh so you are the woman, who writes my checks and about to have a beat up husband,” Brooks booming laugh, “ Tell your husband that he is a bitch just like his wife!”

Kia anger by his comment, grab somebodies water and threw on him. With that, she also threw the glass.

As she finish, Asia got enough grip and pulled Kia out of the restaurant. As Asia was pulling, Kia saw all the phones in the air capturing the exchange.

Asia got Kia in the car and then went to get in her side too.

“ Kia what the hell was that! This about to be every where!” Asia sighed while trying to catch her breath.

Kia  drunk a lot of Soju, a Korean beer, and she was a lightweight. 

Kia just shook her head with her leg shaking. 

“ You are too drunk Kia. Damn plus it is late.” Asia hissed as she read the clock, 12:45 a.m. 

Asia cranked the car and went to take Kia home. 

While back inside of the restaurant, Dominque was explain what is happening to his cousin and Brooks.

As he was talking and Brooks was listening.

The wheels started to turn.

Brooks knew that Florian wasn’t going to be easy. However, he don’t like when people talk about his family.

Brooks smirk as he devious plan was stirring in his head which was going to help him win against Florian.

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

As Asia pulled into the driveway, she called Florian. Asia knowing that she can’t help her friend in the house due to her bulging belly.

She had to call someone. 

The phone rang and rang.

“ Hello.” Florian groggily said into the phone.

“ Hey Florian. I need you come and get Kia out of the car for me.” Asia whispered as Kia was knocked out in the passenger seat.

Asia heard Florian sighed and the bed rustling.

“ I’m coming.” Florian hissed out as he walk downstairs to get Kia.

Asia hung up the phone and turn to her friend.

Kia and Asia agreed that Kia was going to tell Florian about what happen, but she knew Kia was going to try and figure a way to not tell him. 

She fell asleep.

Asia wanted to tell Florian about what happen, but she knew that this was something her friend needed to tell him.

As Asia was thinking to herself. She saw the door opening.

Florian walked out the door and saw Asia’s car. 

As Florian walked over he could see that Kia was drunk by how she was sleeping.

Florian walked over to the passenger side and open the door. He bent down and spoke to Asia.

“ Masias is in the guest house.” Florian smiled to Asia. He looked at Asia’s belly and sighed as he looked back to his wife.

As he picked her up, Kia woke up. She looked around as Florian brought her out the car.

While carrying her like a bride on her wedding night, Florian made sure Asia got in the house first. With that, they walked in the door with Asia shutting it behind them.

“ Goodnight.” Asia whispered as she tip toe around people on the floor, sleeping, to get to the guest house.

Florian walked up the stairs with Kia in his arms. He walked through their room door and gently put Kia in the bed.

Kia looked up at him as he went back to close the door. 

When Florian turn back around, he saw Kia looking at him.

He just shook his head.

“What?” Kia spat out while looking at her husband. 

Her drunkenness' was coming through.

“ You are what is wrong with me Kia. Why the hell would you get drunk. You know what tomorrow!” Florian hissed quietly so he would not disrupt anybody sleeping.

Kia scoffed and got up to change out her clothes.

“ Trust me I tried not to come back here!” Kia rebuked back to him.

Florian watched as she stumble all over the place to get to one of the dressers.

“ You make me sick sometimes!” Florian snapped at his wife while watching her put her pajamas on which she fell after she got her pants on.

Kia finish putting her pajamas and turn her head.

“ You make me sick Florian. Not only sometimes but all the time. You and my dad make me sick all the time!” Kia yelled back while getting into the bed.

Kia looked up at Florian looking at her.

“ You are not the woman that I fell in love with. The woman that wanted kids. The woman who had dreams and ambitions to start something of her own. However, you letting one person destroy that. The same person that is destroying this marriage.” Florian said furiously while looking at his wife.

Florian walked over to his side of the bed and took his shirt back off. He got under the covers and turn his face away from Kia.

Kia looked at Florian for a while.

“ Well Florian if you want a divorce get one. Leave just like my mom left me! Just leave!” Kia yelled with tears coming down her eyes.

She snatched the covers over her body and turn face the other way. 

Kia sniffled and sniffled from the tears coming down.

Florian listen.

Even though Kia didn’t hear.

Florian had tears coming down his face too.

The couple’s back looking at each other.

Both hurting.

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

Well that is... wow.

So we have learn something about Kia. Cause y’all been dogging my girl.

So Kia’s mother death.

Does she feel like it her fought?

Does she feel like her mother didn’t fight hard enough?

The Resturant

Kia and Asia relationship?

Kia, Dominque, and Brooks fight?

What is Brooks plan?

Home.

Florian and Kia’s relationship?

Please Comment, Like,And Reblog

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@absentmindeddreamer @19jammmy @twistedcharismaaa @designerwriterchic @queen-zelieonna @amethyst09 @champagnesugamama @natashacoco @cocobutterqwueen @bvssmob

#florian big nasty munteanu #florian munteanu x black reader #florian munteanu

[arsonistslut]

Chapter 15: A false truth

Meanwhile, Jeff lay awake in his hospital bed. He didn't even properly feel angry anymore, or sad, or..anything. He just felt numb. He was getting a hair transplant, but the doctors wouldn't be able to perform proper plastic surgery until a good year or so, so natural healing of his wounds was the only viable option. His parents hadn't visited once, so he had only the staff to keep him company. Whenever one of the nurses came to change his bandages, as was procedure, he could see the look of pity in her eyes. His burns were horrific to look at, he assumed, but not once did he ask to see his own face.

When they put him under for his hair transplant, the demon, apparently calling itself "Zalgo" when asked, had returned to that space they'd talked in before. The same dark corner, red swelling around Zalgo's presence like a plague. Last time Jeff was here with the demon, he took it's hand and pledged bloodshed upon the world..but now he was second-guessing his decision.

"...How do you know Liu hates me, Zal? I mean..he could be in therapy, for all I know! He doesn't hate me, he can't..I'm his brother.."

"He sure is getting therapy.."

Zalgo reached toward one of the walls and swiped over it, opening a sort of..one way window to the sight of Liu and Natalie, gazing at the stars together, Nat running her fingers through Liu's hair as he curled up in her arms like a cat.

"He's forgotten about you, Jeff..remarkably quickly. Another thing.."

Jeff then saw into earlier in the day. Liu was talking to Randy, the kid that set him on fire, and apologized to him. Did it all mean nothing to him...? Did all the times they helped each other, the bond they had, the fact that his brother was rotting in a hospital and was going to be for a year mean nothing to him?

"A reminder, Jeffrey..he's doing this on purpose. They all do, all the couples at school that see a lonesome soul like you with nobody to go to prom with, your family that irrationally hates everything you do and paints you as a monster, the police who arrested you, mocked you for your disorder, they think it's funny. This world hates people like you, and it won't stop beating you down until you're dead."

Chapter 16: Fresh meat

Keith smirked as he saw the new girl with the black-and-red stockings pass him by in the locker. Nina Hopkins, another transfer from 9th grade. She was what you would call the "alt-girl", and if the rumors were true, had similar issues that Jeff kid had. Keith taps his friend Troy's shoulder, and the two follow her as she heads outside to eat her lunch.

"Hey! Where ya goin', anorexic?"

Nina turned to look at the boys who followed her outside, sighing as she ignored them and muttered to herself.

"Same shit as before.."

"What is it, Jeff? You finally got that sex change?"

"Jeff? who's Jeff?"

"Oh, right, that's your 'dead name'. Sorry, nInA!"

Randy saw the two outside, approaching and looking at the situation. At this point, Troy and Keith were hardly people he wanted to associate with anymore. He didn't want to bully people anymore, to hurt anyone else with these two dopes.

"C'mon, you two. We've got bigger fish to fry."

"What? We're just..introducing her to the neighborhood."

"We're going."

"You her boyfriend or something?"

Randy approached Keith, looming over the ginger with a subdued anger in his eyes.

"Maybe I should beat your fucking ass, Keith. Teach you your fair share of respect."

When his "friend" stepped back in surprise and fear, Ellsworth couldn't help but feel just a little bit satisfied with himself. Damn, that felt good.

"Alright, I'm coming..Jesus."

When the three left, Nina, who was just..caught up in all of this, looked on in confusion as she took a bite out of her sandwich.

"Sheesh..who is this Jeff kid, anyway? Heh, maybe I could buy some drugs or something off of him."

She joked to herself, the rest of school carrying on without incident.

Chapter 17: Breaking away

It was the same walk home as usual. The same cool air, the same autumn leaves flowing through the wind, the same desolate suburbia that New Orleans had become. Liu passed the Wallace Street sign that signaled the closeness of his house, his hands interlocked with Natalie's. He was about to cross the train tracks, but then he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"Liu fuckin' Woods. How the hell've you been, little man?"

Keith Winchester. Alone. With a baseball bat.

"This is the same street your brother attacked me on. Poetic, ain't it?"

Liu felt that he wasn't gonna get out of this without violence, but he didn't expect this kid, who from what he remembered hearing, had a pretty cushy life, was going to try and attack him and Nat, of all people with a baseball bat. It was metal, too, so he had to have gotten it from his dad or something. Natalie was more annoyed than frightened, however, and began walking toward the bully.

"Oh, you think you're-"

What came next horrified Liu; the awful sound of aluminum striking flesh full force rang out as Keith bashed her upside the head with his weapon. Liu's conscious quickly gave way to let Sully in, and he charged at Keith, who raised the bat above his head to strike Liu down as well, but a hard punch to the gut quickly doubled the boy over. Sully quickly followed up by grabbing Keith's ears and headbutting him, knocking him to thee ground in a daze. Liu felt like he was outside of his own body, just..watching it all unfold. Sully grabbed the baseball bat and struck Keith in the ribs, then again in the shoulder, again to his ribs. A strike to his ankle came next, causing Keith to cry out in pain louder than before. Sully then heard the loud bells of a train arriving and grabbed Keith's leg, grabbing him and then throwing him down against the tracks, placing a foot against his back so he couldn't escape. The train grew closer and closer, the panic of the situation began slowly rushing back to Liu, as Natalie's voice called out to him;

"LIU, NO!!"

Suddenly, Liu regained control, and before the train could kill Keith, he pulled him out of the way of the speeding train, the shock on his face mirroring his. Keith limped away as Natalie rushed over to Liu's side.

"Liu, what the hell was that?! You nearly killed him!"

"I-I don't know, I just..s-snapped!"

"...I've never seen you that..angry, before..that scared me, Liu. It's like..you were a different person."

"I...I guess it was.."

"C'mon, I'll be fine. He hits hard, goddamn it..you got an ice pack or something?"

Liu grabbed an ice pack from his backpack and gently pressed it up to his girlfriend's face, half of him internally cursing himself for not killing that Keith motherfucker for hitting Natalie, and the other just happy that this whole event was over and done with.

3 days passed, and Keith hadn't gotten any better. He could tell Randy was about to split, and Troy..Troy was as dopey as he usually was, that relentless apathy toward all the cruelty and the violence, it was disturbing at times. Still, Keith had agreed to drive the three out to this junkyard he frequented, helped him separate from the outside world. They'd decided that a couple of good-for-nothing cars in an abandoned junkyard would be the perfect tourniquets for their frustrations, and Keith's father played lots of baseball, so they had weapons to use in such..venting. Troy and Randy were having a fair bit of fun there, making crude jokes and smashing old cars to pieces, but Keith was busy letting out all of the frustration, the anger he had for the Woods brothers and what they'd done to him. The car he was smashing apart was nearly about to collapse on it's own as Winchester screamed curse word after curse word, striking the derelict with hit after hit. Once he was finished, he noticed the two other teenagers looking at him. Troy looked amazed at what his friend did, whilst Randy just seemed...concerned.

"Are..are you alright, dude?"

"No, I'm not alright!! Jeff, Liu, those two fucks have been on my mind ever since the shit with the forest happened! Everybody thinks I'm a fucking weakling, thanks to those two! Well, news flash, I am NOT a weakling!!"

"Keith, we'll get those two eventually, alright? They've hurt you, and that means they hurt all of us. Nobody hurts us."

"Right..they're the bigger fish you mentioned when you pussied out over that Nina girl, right?"

"I didn't pussy out, Keith! We need to get after those shitters and not after some weird 17 year old!"

"You..You lie through your teeth, don't you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You left your journal in my car, Randall. I decided to pore through it, and what do I find? Page after page of you whining about us, saying you want me and Troy gone from your life! We were friends!"

"People change, Keith, and I changed. A-After that fire, I realized that it was wrong..all of it was wrong! This bullying shit, it isn't okay! We're making other people feel like shit for our own enjoyment, that's sick!"

Randy let out an exasperated sigh as he sat on the roof of a car, clasping his hands together as he searched for the sort of words he thought could properly express how he's changed. Maybe his story would..resonate with Keith. Troy let out a small chuckle as he laid on a car hood and watched the drama unfold.

"I've never been the best with expressing myself, Keith. People would get mad at me when I said some shit that pissed them off, I didn't have a goddamn clue as to how I was supposed to talk to people. That's why I started all of this, why I started bullying people. People didn't really like me, but it was for a reason I could understand for once! But, now..after I lit Jeff on fire, it just doesn't seem worth it anymore."

"Oh, that's why?! You can't fucking talk right?! Randy, I've gotten arrested for you, you know that?! I took the fall for you for those vandalism charges when we set that old shed on fire, and was because you apparently had a fucking speech impediment."

"Keith, calm down-"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!"

Randy just shook his head as Keith stormed away, snatching his baseball bat out of Randy's hands. Troy soon got up and followed, looking Ellsworth dead in the eyes as he passed him.

"You suck some off, y'know that?"

"And you swallow, prick."

Once Keith and Troy left, Randy smiled to himself, something he hadn't done ever since the incident. It was like a giant weight had been lifted from his chest, so after taking in the bliss of being free of those two, he stood up and began heading home. He'd finally broken away from those two.

#creepypasta #liu woods #jeffery woods #jeff the killer #sully #tw so much bad shit happens that i cant even list it