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crystalstar8 · 3 years

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Knights of the Night (ch 9)

Chapter 9

Ch 1, ch 2, ch 3, ch 4, ch 5, ch 6, ch 7, ch 8, ch 9

https://archiveofourown.org/works/29139240/chapters/71536491

pairing: Jungkook x oc

genre: vampire au, college au, twilight, romance

word count: 2,620

warnings: blood (obviously), kidnapping, child kidnapping, needles, France

notes: vampires, vampire au, college, college au, so many twilight references, blood, needles, kidnapping, children, homelessness, dance, ballet, flashbacks, romance, slow burn, probably no smut, idk yet tho, France, French things, attempted genocide, inaccurate French history, bisexual main character, @strawberriewithchocolate-blog @mozy-j @daechwitad-2 @zobadak

summary: Catalina starts college in a small town all the way across the country. She doesn’t know anyone and isn’t exactly looking for friends. She just wants to focus on dance. But when she meets fellow dance major, Jimin, and adventurous, fellow freshman, Jungkook, Catalina ends up discovering a whole new side to the small college town; one that is dangerous but oh so enticing…

The warm weather was fleeting; Catalina spent her days studying, working, and every chance she got, hanging out with her friends. The “baseball encounter”, as she’s been calling it, has been living in the back of her mind ever since, even though it seemed her friends had forgotten about it. She never brought it up, just focusing on her college life. Namjoon took her out to fancy bookstores and coffee shops, Jungkook tried and failed to teach her how to skateboard, and Jin tried and failed to help them in French. She was kept busy and she was having fun.

All was peaceful, until a college student was reported missing in St. Briggs. Jimin cornered Catalina in dance class about it one chilly, early winter day.

They were practicing their dance to “Body”, by Megan Thee Stallion.

“One, two, three, turn, five, six, step and hit,” the teacher called out. “One, two, ba, ba, jump, Steve! What song are you dancing to, ‘cause it’s not this! Find the goddamn beat! Alright, everyone except Steve, take five.”

Catalina’s final move in the dance was on the ground, so instead of getting up, she crawled over to her dance bag and pulled out her water bottle, collapsing against the wall. Jimin joined her and said, “Have you heard the news?”

Catalina shook her head between sips.

“A student went missing,” he said. “In St. Briggs. From our college.”

“Aren’t they the second person to go missing here?” Catalina asked. “I don’t like the sound of that.”

“Yeah, me neither,” said Jimin. “The first person was a little kid. My parents are freaking out about me walking to campus now.”

“And the police have no idea who the guy is?” asked Catalina. “I mean, they don’t know anything?”

“Not really,” said Jimin. “It’s like these people disappeared without a trace.”

“Hm,” Catalina thought about the disappearances and the mysterious “baseball encounter”. She wondered if they were connected. “You wanna do some investigating?”

“What are you-no, we’re not visiting those vampires,” said Jimin. “That’s a really bad idea. Namjoon told us to stay out of it and he definitely knows more about this stuff than we do.”

Catalina knew she wouldn’t get anywhere with Jimin. She would just have to wait until she saw Jungkook to bring it up again. She knew he’d have no qualms about going on a potentially life-threatening mission.

Her chance came that weekend when she and Jungkook worked their shift together at the souvenir shop. Business was starting to pick up since the first snow was expected to arrive any day now.

Tourists started stopping by more and more and Catalina got to see what Jungkook meant by “hot tourists”. The men and the women were beautiful, and her and Jungkook both had fun checking them out from behind the counter. But today was slow, so Catalina figured she’d take the opportunity to tell him about her plan.

“Jungkook, what do you think about stealing that business card and sneaking around a potential lair?” asked Catalina.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, but yes. I’m in,” he said. The two of them were straightening the ceramic bear and eagle figurines, killing time between customers.

“Remember those three vampires on baseball day?”

“Uh-huh.”

“The guy gave Namjoon a business card,” said Catalina.

“Oh right! Yeah, I remember,” said Jungkook.

“I was thinking maybe we could steal it and do our own investigating. I mean, what if those guys have something to do with the missing people?” Catalina said. Jungkook looked up at her with wide eyes.

“Oh shit! Ya know, you’re probably right!” he said. “They just moved here, and then all of a sudden, a kid goes missing in this town. It makes sense.”

“Exactly,” said Catalina.

“But how will we get the business card?” asked Jungkook. “Do we sneak into his room or his office or whatever?”

“That’s what I was thinking. One of us distracts him, while the other sneaks in and finds it,” said Catalina.

“I feel like you should distract him. A classic honey pot mission,” said Jungkook.

“Do you know what that means?” Catalina asked, snickering.

“Don’t you seduce someone to complete a mission?” asked Jungkook.

“You usually have to fuck someone in a honey pot mission,” said Catalina.

“Oh, well, how bad can it be? I mean, he’s hot as fuck,” he said with a wave of his hand. Catalina’s face turned bright red.

“I’m not- we’re…” she sighed. “Jungkook, casual sex isn’t really my thing and I don’t like him that way. I don’t think he likes me that way either.”

“Are you kidding? What about all those bookstores and coffee shops? Those weren’t dates?” asked Jungkook. “What were you guys doing?”

“Looking at books!” said Catalina. “He just really likes literature, and I really like coffee.”

“Did he pay for your coffee every time?”

“Yes.”

“Then that’s a date,” said Jungkook.

“We spot each other all the time. So, are you telling me it’s a date when you pay for my McDonalds or when I pay for your movie ticket?” asked Catalina.

“That’s different,” said Jungkook. Catalina threw her hands up.

“Okay, we’re getting off topic,” she said. “You distract him, I’ll get the card.”

“Casual sex also isn’t my thing though,” said Jungkook.

Catalina threw her head back laughing. “You don’t have to fuck him! Just keep him downstairs talking or something.”

“I can do that. Are we doing it tonight?” asked Jungkook.

“Sure.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

That evening, Catalina and Jungkook went to the mansion. Jungkook brought his French homework. Luckily, Namjoon was the one to answer the door.

“Oh, hey guys! Come on in,” he said. He led them to the lounge and Jungkook immediately got his homework out.

“I was wondering if you could help me with this,” said Jungkook.

“Sure, let’s see,” said Namjoon. Catalina wandered off. The upstairs was thankfully not as big as the main floor, but there were many halls and many rooms. Catalina went to Hoseok’s room, starting her search from there. The next door in the hallway was open. Catalina looked inside, flicking on the light switch. It looked like a basic, model bedroom. It didn’t look like it belonged to anyone, probably a guest room. The next room was enormous and absolutely trashed. The giant bed in the middle of the room had a mountain of blankets and clothes on it. Clothes, loose papers, and books littered the floor. Beat up, crooked antique paintings decorated the walls, along with torn calligraphy banners. The Asian style furniture looked ancient, worn and battered, but luxuriously wealthy.

Catalina moved on to the next room. This one was a bit more modern and, curiously, vaguely nautical themed. A huge window against the back wall let light shine in on the white painted wood of the furniture, the mess of easels and canvases in the corner, and the mix of paintings on the seashell wallpapered walls: realism, abstract, cubism, a few charcoal sketches of Hoseok, Yoongi, and Namjoon, and a single painting of a lighthouse looking out at a stormy sea. Catalina went to the next room.

This one was the most modern, with dark walls and mahogany furniture. It was sleek and rustic, with a twisted wood bed frame, alpaca rugs on the ground, smooth couches in the corner with a driftwood coffee table in the center, and along every free wall, bookshelves. The entire room was spotless. This must be Namjoon’s room. At least, Catalina hoped it was. She stepped inside and went to the desk tucked into one of the bookshelves. She rifled through the drawers until she found one filled with business cards.

“Shit,” she whispered. There were quite a few cards, but she got to work sorting through them. Most of them looked old and yellowed with age. She automatically set those ones aside. She couldn’t remember that vampire’s name, but she knew she’d remember it if she saw it. After sorting through what felt like hundreds of cards, she finally found one with the familiar name on it.

It was a new card, simple, with just a name, an address, and a phone number on it. The name on it was Makai La’ei. That sounded right. Catalina rearranged the rest of the cards back to how she found them and shoved this one in her pocket. She was definitely running out of time, Jungkook only had so much homework.

When she got downstairs, she went right to the lounge, but it was empty. Jungkook’s French textbook was laying open on the coffee table. Her heart skipped a beat. Namjoon wouldn’t hurt him, would he? She thought. She backed out of the lounge and looked up and down the hallway. Her heart was pounding, but before her thoughts could fully run away on her, she heard Jungkook’s voice approaching, saying, “And that’s how I went to senior prom with Dr. Dre’s daughter, Truly.”

Namjoon and Jungkook rounded the corner, both holding McDonalds bags and hot coffees in their hands.

“You guys went out?” Catalina asked.

“Yeah, we got hash browns,” said Namjoon, handing one of the bags to her.

“Isn’t this yours?” asked Catalina.

“Grease gives me a stomachache,” he said.

“I was just craving hash browns. I figured you’d want a few too,” said Jungkook. Catalina’s heart skipped a beat, but this time not out of fear.

“I love these,” she whispered, opening the greasy paper bag to see three hash browns inside. Something nudged her hand. She looked up to see Jungkook handing her his coffee as well. Namjoon wandered off, sipping at his own coffee. “What are you doing?”

“I don’t like coffee,” he said. “Take it.”

“Thank you,” she said. “Did you already finish your homework?”

“Yeah, turns out Namjoon is fluent in French,” said Jungkook. “And Korean, and Chinese, and Japanese, and German. And…what was that other one?”

“Swahili,” Namjoon said from inside the lounge.

“Why?” asked Catalina.

“I was bored,” he said with a shrug. Jungkook looked at Catalina with questioning eyes. Catalina nodded.

“Well, thank you for helping me with this,” said Jungkook, gathering his textbook and notes. “I hate this class, so any help is much appreciated. Anyway, we have to get going. We have some errands to run.”

“Sure, no problem,” said Namjoon as he walked them to the door. “We’re all fluent in French here, expect for Hoseok, so feel free to ask any of us any time.”

“Thank you,” Catalina said as she pulled her shoes on.

~~~~~~~~~~

“That was too easy,” said Jungkook as they were getting into his car.

“Not really!” said Catalina. “He had a whole drawer full of business cards. I had to sort through all of them.”

“I was talking about the homework,” said Jungkook. He pulled out of the driveway and began the drive down the mountain. “He gave me all the answers. But that explains why you were gone for so long.”

“Yeah, and I saw the other rooms,” said Catalina. “I think Tae’s room is nautical themed.”

“Why?” Jungkook asked. Catalina shrugged. “Well, whatever. Does that card have an address on it?”

“Yeah,” Catalina pulled the card out of her pocket and typed the address into her maps app. It gave her a route to a location in the middle of the town. She let Siri lead them as she plugged in her phone and looked up spy music on iTunes. She found a playlist and put it on shuffle, letting the groovy guitar of “Secret Agent Man” blast through the car.

By the time they arrived, they were well into “Hawaii Five-O”. The GPS had led them to what looked like an abandoned hospital. Jungkook drove a block past it so they could walk the rest of the way. As they walked, they reviewed the plan.

“So, we can’t get caught, obviously,” said Jungkook. “We’re just sneaking in, taking a quick look, maybe some pictures, then getting out.”

“Right,” said Catalina. “Quick and fast.”

They snuck in and found a basement stairwell, which they took. The rest of the hospital was empty. They could hear voices coming from the basement, so as quietly as they could, they snuck down the stairs, which led them to a cement tunnel with a metal grated floor. The tunnel gave Catalina a sense of Déjà vu, but she couldn’t figure out why. Faint voices echoed from the end of the tunnel. They reached the end and peaked around the corner. What they saw made their jaws drop. A huge, cavernous cement room with some furniture in the middle. Doors lined the walls, some open, some closed. Catalina could see from where she was that there were people in the rooms with open doors. People sitting or laying on the ground, tubes attached to their arms connecting to IV stands, blood bags hanging from the hooks.

Jungkook was snapping rapid fire pictures of as much of the room as they could see.

The voices, which were coming from a part of the room they couldn’t see, stopped talking.

“Bernard, go check the tunnel and stairs. I thought I heard something.”

Before Bernard even had a chance to move, Catalina and Jungkook booked it back down the tunnel and up the stairs. Jungkook led the way, and he was fast, so Catalina struggled to keep up with him. Once they were at the top of the stairs, they looked around for an open room. A bit down the hall, there was an open doorframe with a missing door. They darted for it, Jungkook pulling her inside and crowding her against the wall, hidden in the shadows.

Catalina was scared they’d be caught, but now she freaking out about something entirely different, namely, Jungkook’s chest and arms caging her against the wall. He was so close that Catalina could feel the heat coming off him. Her blush made its way down her neck into her chest, her breath quickening.

“He’s coming,” Jungkook whispered, his wide eyes glued to the doorway. Sure enough, Catalina could hear heavy boots crunching through the debris in the hallway, getting closer to where they were. “Do you trust me?”

“What?” Catalina asked.

“Do you trust me?” Jungkook asked again. “I saw this in a TV show. It works every time.”

Before Catalina could ask for clarification, several things happened at once: the man, presumably Bernard, began entering the room, Jungkook pressed even closer, a hand on her waist, the other finding its way to her hair, and his lips crashed against hers. She let out a squeak of surprise but quickly caught on, gripping his shirt and leaning into the kiss.

“Oh, for crying out loud,” a man’s voice said from the doorway. They broke apart and looked at him. “This is private property, guys. Get lost.”

“Sorry,” Jungkook said, flashing a sheepish smile. Bernard stepped aside to let them past, waving them in the direction of the exit. Even though her heart was still pounding out of her chest and her head was still spinning, Catalina made a point to check Bernard’s eyes. They were red.

On their way out, they heard the crackle of a walkie talkie and Bernard saying, “It was just some kids making out upstairs. This happens way too often, boss. We gotta start putting signs up or something.”

On their way to the car, Jungkook said, “That was a close one.”

“Was that just an excuse to kiss me?” Catalina joked, not sure she wanted to know the answer.

“It worked, didn’t it?” Jungkook said with a wink. Catalina blushed and shoved him.

“Shut up,” she said.

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ft-dads-au · 4 years

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Kiss Me

Fanart by @oryu404, do not repost without their permission. A collaboration by @mdelpin and @oryu404

Stingue Fall Equinox 2020 Prompt: Warmth Pairing: Sting x Rogue, Sting & Orga

AO3 | FF.Net

Summary: Sting has one thing on his mind when Rogue shows up at his dorm room unexpectedly: the kiss they'd shared at the end of a week spent studying together for midterms. He's dying to get Rogue alone again, but first he has to get past the embarrassment of his messy room, and his nosy roommate.

October 27, 2012

“Check this out,” Orga laughed as he showed Sting yet another silly TikTok on his phone. He had to raise his voice a little to surpass the sound of the music he’d put on- some kind of rock band Sting knew most songs from by now. “I’ve already seen that one, blockhead. You bombard me with so many of these that you can’t even remember which ones you’ve already sent me?” Sting groaned when his roommate shrugged at his comment and started singing along to the music, “Turn it down, people are still asleep! It’s barely past 10!” He had just finished speaking when they heard a loud banging against the wall. “See?” he flashed him a look that said I told you so, feeling rather victorious when Orga turned the volume down a little. Sadly enough, he didn’t stop singing. “Whoa-oa-oah, so hun-gry~” “The-eh-eh-en get fucking dre-essed~ We’re all out of...everything.” Sting checked the minifridge and the small cabinet they used for snacks, pouting in disappointment when all he found were empty wrappers and some leftovers from a salad that looked like it was ready to crawl out of its container. He pulled a face as he dumped it into the trash, “Nasty…”

“Or-” Orga swiped across the screen of his phone, “we could get some lunch delivered! What’re you up for? Pizza? Burgers? Ooh! You should try 8-Island!” The idea of getting delivery was very tempting, but they’d done that so many times already over the midterm week that Sting was almost looking forward to the crappy dorm food. He could hear his mother’s voice inside his head, giving him a lecture about the importance of healthy meals. Oh well, what she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her. “But-” he was cut off when Orga raised the volume again. “This is the best part!” “Normally, yes! Your caterwauling kind of ruins it for me, though!” Sting noticed Orga was busy singing into the TV-remote for an invisible audience, so he took his chance and dashed for the computer. He was able to lower the volume to a more acceptable level again, despite Orga’s sung protest, but a loud knock at the door told him the damage was probably already done. “Great, now we have pissed off people at the door, which I have to answer because you’re still not dressed.”

Plastering a smile on his face, he opened the door, ready to charm his way out of yet another noise complaint. His smile widened as he recognized the person standing on the other side. That was until Orga opened his mouth.

“Is that Dobengal whining again? Cause if it is, tell him he can suck my big fat -”

Sting waved at Rogue cheerfully and put his hand up in a wait-one-sec gesture, quickly closing the door before Orga had a chance to finish that statement.

“It’s not Dobengal,” Sting hissed, “and can you put some clothes on?”

“Fine, fine. What’s got your panties in a bunch?” Orga muttered, searching through the pile of clothes that lay at the foot of his bed for a pair of pants. “There, happy?”

While Orga got dressed, Sting grabbed all of his clothes and threw them into his wardrobe in a last-ditch effort to make the room look somewhat habitable.

“Are, like, your parents here for a surprise visit or something?” Orga asked.

“No, worse. Rogue,” Sting explained, continuing to throw the contents of his floor into his wardrobe. He pushed all his weight against the doors to force them to shut, and when that didn’t work, he hooked his desk chair with his leg and dragged it towards him in an attempt to lodge it under the handles.

“You mean the guy you’re always talking about?”

Sting didn’t like the gleam in Orga’s eyes at the news or the way he made kissy faces at him. “Oh, come on, don’t be an asshole for once. Please?”

“We have a guest, and you shouldn’t leave him waiting outside. You wouldn’t want Dobengal to have a go at him, would you?” Orga smiled sweetly, and with that, Sting hurried to the door. He could only hope the wardrobe would hold.

Giving himself a quick once over in the mirror that hung behind the door and deeming himself presentable, he opened the door again and leaned against it. “Hey there! Sorry about that, loud roommate, and all that.”

“Hey,” Rogue replied, looking slightly uncomfortable but happy to see him.

“Uhm, do you wanna come in?” Sting almost wished he’d say no so that they could get out of there, but he knew it would be rude not to ask, especially after nearly slamming the door in his face. “Actually, I was just wondering if-”

Sting was ungraciously shoved aside, nearly faceplanting on the floor when Orga joined, “Are you Rogue? Nice to meet you. I’m Orga!” He gave Rogue a handshake that had his whole arm moving up and down and flung the door wide open. “Come in, come in!” Sting watched with growing dread as his roommate pulled his crush inside their room and showed it off. He didn’t see why. There was nothing worth showing off. His efforts to get his clothes out of sight barely made a difference. “Take a seat!” Orga gestured from Sting’s bed to the chair that was cranked underneath the wardrobe door handles, offering both as viable options even though he could see Sting waving his arms and shaking his head. “So, Sting told me you were in a band. Are you guys still looking for members?” “Don’t-” Sting quickly blocked the chair before Rogue would sit on it, “uhm...invite him to your band! He’s basically tone-deaf!” He regretted his words the second he saw Orga’s challenging smirk. The gloves were off. He needed to get them out of there quickly before Orga had a chance to humiliate him further.

“We’re all set, actually,” Rogue replied, eyes drifting across the room and taking in the mess with obvious distaste.

“Too bad, you guys are really good.”

“Oh, have you seen us play?” Rogue asked curiously.

“Not seen exactly, as much as heard,” Orga grinned cheerfully, “Sting plays your music all the time.”

That bastard!

Rogue was gazing at him, a surprised expression on his face, but at least it didn’t look like he thought he was a weirdo. There was still a chance to get out of this without suffering too much ego damage. He just had to get them out of there before Orga could say anything else.

“Guilty,” he smiled, “I like to listen to it sometimes, helps me get in the groove to study.”

“Sometimes?” Orga chortled. “Anyway,” Sting coughed into his hand, “What are you up to?”

“Oh,” Rogue focused on him once again, “I was running some errands nearby and thought you might like to get some coffee.”

“That sounds great!” Sting agreed readily, “Just let me grab my stuff.”

He scrambled to grab his phone, keys, coat, and wallet from their various locations around the room, having no trouble finding them despite the mess.

“Oh, can I come too?” Orga asked in a tone that Sting immediately did not trust.

“No!” Sting answered, grabbing Rogue by the arm and pulling him towards the door.

“Oh, you’re right. You probably want some private time to suck face again, my bad.”

Sting stopped mid-step, not sure what to do with himself after his roommate blurted out that little tidbit, and not wanting to look at Rogue’s face either. It proved to be a mistake as the chair holding the wardrobe closed slid out of place and fell over, hitting the floor with a loud smack. The doors flew open, and an avalanche of dirty laundry cascaded out onto the floor.

Orga’s laughs echoed in the room, and Sting could feel his cheeks burning from mortification, but to his great relief, he could hear Rogue laughing along.

“Let’s-uh... go,” Sting managed to get out, still feeling like he’d like to find a hole to crawl into. He flipped Orga off and closed the door behind them, muffling the loud love song blasting from the computer speakers to accompany their departure.

“God, I’m so sorry for him, he’s-,” Sting gestured with his hands in frustration, not able to come up with a word to adequately describe his roommate and still flustered by what the idiot had said.

“That’s nothing, trust me, my older brother can be worse,” Rogue chuckled. “How did your midterms go?” “I’m not sure, but I think I did okay?” Sting threaded his fingers through his hair. In truth, there were a few he wasn’t so confident about, and he’d been somewhat on edge waiting for the professors to post the results, but he didn’t really want to talk about that.

There was only one thing that had been on his mind since they’d last parted ways, and it was the kiss they’d shared. He’d worried about it, relived it, and pretty much obsessed over it since it had happened, but there had been no time to talk about it during midterm week.

Now he had all the time in the world, but no idea how to bring it up casually. God, he wanted to do it again, and he had a feeling Rogue did as well. The fact that he'd shown up on his doorstep the day after midterms were over at least betrayed that he'd wanted to spend time together, didn't it? But of course, Sting had no way to be sure, so he decided he’d let Rogue lead the conversation. ”What about you?”

“I’m only worried about Bio. The rest were pretty easy.”

As they discussed the Biology test, they reached the dorm’s exit, and Sting hurried to hold the door open for Rogue, smiling slightly when he saw the other’s eye roll at the gesture. His smile disappeared completely when a gust of cold air blew past him, making him grab onto his open coat and fold it tightly closed over his chest. “C-c-cold!”

“I have no idea how you’re going to survive the winter, if you think this is cold,” Rogue teased.

“You mean it gets worse?!” Sting replied in mock horror.

“Maybe we can find you a wool crop top,” Rogue snorted, “Come on, let’s go get that coffee before you freeze to death.” After weeks of being cooped inside studying for midterms, many students were out enjoying what was a rather beautiful day for this time of year. The sun was out, and despite Sting’s complaints, it was relatively warm.

A short walk brought them to the campus coffee shop, a busy place called Heavenly Brews, which sadly did not live up to its name. It was convenient though, not to mention cheap, and as expected, it was full of other students who’d had the same idea. But the service was fast, and in less than ten minutes, they each had a large cup of piping hot coffee.

Sting insisted on paying, still wanting to make up for Orga’s...well, everything, and Rogue let him. Once back outside, they began walking in a random direction, moving away from the hustle and bustle around campus to more quiet places.

“Every damn time,” Rogue shook his head as he showed Sting his coffee cup, turning it around so it showed the name written on it. Rouge.

Sting giggled, receiving an elbow to his side for his response. “What? It’s funny! Besides, that’s nothing. Try growing up with a name like Sting.”

He wrapped both hands around his drink, feeling its warmth seeping through the double cup as they walked. He recognized the area they were in from his morning runs. There was a small park further down the street that he’d often visited with Orga to throw a frisbee around when they were getting stressed.

Sting took in their surroundings, swiftly realizing he’d been so busy studying the last few weeks that he’d barely noticed the telltale signs of fall. Even though the leaves were not as brightly colored as those he was used to seeing in Edolas, they were still quite beautiful, covering the ground in a blanket of browns, yellows, crimsons, and oranges.

They reached the park entrance, and Sting decided it would be a nice place to talk. They walked past a game of touch football, making their way towards the small duck pond. The sound of the leaves crunching under their feet was satisfying, and he was pleased to find that with the ducks having already left to migrate south, the benches facing the pond were unoccupied. He immediately claimed one that was slightly hidden behind the thick trunk of a large oak tree, and Rogue sat beside him.

The air might be cold and crisp, but the sun’s rays warming his skin through the barren branches made it still pleasant enough to be outside. Or maybe, he guessed as he looked to his side, eyes drawn to Rogue’s lips as they blew small white clouds into his coffee cup, it had nothing to do with the sun at all.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Rogue asked when he caught him staring, lowering his coffee until his hands were resting in his lap. Fuck it. Sting put his coffee down next to him on the bench, freeing his hands so he could cup Rogue's rosy cold cheeks. He leaned in and kissed him, all sense of cold disappearing when Rogue deepened the kiss.

"I was just thinking about how much I've wanted to do that again," he confessed, still close enough for their lips to brush against each other with every word he spoke.

Rogue smiled sheepishly and asked, "And you really thought I'd get up before noon on a Saturday just to get sub-par coffee?"

"Hmm… true, you’re not a morning person at all,” Sting chuckled, “so I guess I should make it worth your while, then.” He pressed his lips against Rogue’s again, soon forgetting the rest of the world around them. He had no idea how long they stayed lost in each other, but by the time they broke apart, their coffees had gone from scalding hot to barely warmer than the heat that was burning under his skin.

Sting was about to risk spoiling the moment by saying something possibly sappy or cliche when his stomach spoke up in his stead, unleashing a loud roar that made Rogue hack up a laugh. “Wanna go out for lunch with me?” he asked when he was done laughing, finding it hard not to start all over again when he saw Sting’s pouty face. "I think you already know the answer to that.” Sting got off the bench, pulling Rogue along with him, and despite feeling a bit nervous about it, he kept holding his hand as they passed other people enjoying the outdoors on their free Saturdays. As they walked back towards the park’s entrance, Sting noticed kids playing around in the leaves, gathering them into big piles and throwing them around, reminding him of afternoons spent with Yukino when they were younger.

“I used to do that with my best friend when we were about that age,” The corner of his mouth curved up at the memory. “Did you do stuff like that?”

Rogue laughed heartily, “Every year. My dad and his best friend were the biggest kids in my family. So his daughter, my brother, and I would help them make these huge leaf piles. We’d come up with some rather creative jumps. My poor mom would totally lose it when she saw what we were up to.”

Sting snorted, thinking of how childish his own dad could be at times. It was something he’d always loved about him. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” His eyes twinkled with mischief as he pointed at a large leaf pile that sat a ways from where the kids played.

He was pleased to feel Rogue squeeze his hand briefly before issuing him a challenge, “Last one in pays for lunch!”

Rogue had already started his approach as Sting watched mesmerized until the words sunk in, “Hey! That’s cheating!”

He chased after him, overtaking him easily and laughing at Rogue’s protests. In the end, Sting slowed down and grabbed Rogue’s hand, counting down to one so they could both jump in at the same time.

Leaves flew all around them in a swirl of colors before blowing away. Sting stretched his body, much like a cat searching for a sunny spot, while still holding on to Rogue’s hand. When he was satisfied, he rested his head on Rogue’s shoulder, content to just lay there snuggled together for the time being.

When he’d first gotten to Magnolia for his exchange year, Sting hadn’t been sure if he’d made the right decision. He hadn’t made many friends, the weather was uncomfortable, and everything had been more difficult than he was used to.

Meeting Rogue had made him feel a little bit more at home in a foreign place, and although he knew he'd be moving back to Edolas at the end of the school year, he refused to deny the feeling that was bursting inside of him whenever they were together. So even though falling in love had never been part of the plan, it was far too late for him to resist. Not that he really wanted to.

Sting turned over on his stomach, captivated by the warm fall tones reflected in Rogue’s eyes. “I missed you this week,” he admitted, nudging their faces closer together and running his fingers through Rogue’s hair, gently picking out some leaves.

They stared at each other until Rogue grabbed hold of Sting’s jacket, pulling him in for another kiss.

“Me too,” Rogue’s contented hum at their closeness warmed Sting’s heart, chasing away any lingering chill he’d felt.

#fairy tail #ftdadsau #stingue #fyeahstingue #ftlgbtales #Stingue Fall Equinox 2020 #fics #prompt: warmth #media

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sad-sweet-cowboah · 4 years

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Spooky Scary Special

Summary: It’s Arthur’s first Halloween!

“Spooky season! My favorite time of year!”

Arthur peered at you curiously from over his journal. “What?”

“It’s October! The month of spooks, and Halloween!” You exclaimed, twirling in excitement. “Time to get scary!”

Arthur placed his journal down, looking at you with a curious, yet amused expression. “It’s that big of a deal for ya?”

“Of course,” you responded. “Halloween is a cultural phenomenon nowadays. You ever celebrate it?”

Arthur shrugged. “Can’t say I have, darlin’.”

“Then you’re in for a treat. Spooky stories, Halloween movies, parties, costumes, and candy!” You giggled. “This neighborhood is full of children, it’s always great to see what they dress up as.”

The amused expression on Arthur’s face never changed as you continued to speak about Halloween, and the weeks leading up to it. He seemed interested, though slightly confused. He’d heard about similar traditions, though never got to experience it himself due to his lifestyle. You planned on making his first Halloween something special.

You first started by dragging out some décor that sat in storage. Fake cobwebs, styrofoam tombstones, skeletons to hang on the front door. You also had indoor things; witchy knickknacks and drinking glasses shaped like goblets and potion bottles. You’d packed up your summer sheets and switched them in favor for the colors of autumn. Arthur helped you with everything, though at first confused by some of the choices.

Over the next few weeks, you spent some nights showing him your favorite Halloween movies, from the scary to the cheesy. He’d grown accustomed to movies now, having gone through some of your DVD collection, although it didn’t stop him from jumping or flinching during a jumpscare, his hand always flying to his hip in an automatic reaction to grab a gun that no longer sat there.

It certainly took him a little bit to fully understand modern Halloween to its fullest extent. You took him to a local store to look for costumes, even though he mentioned that dressing up wasn’t his favorite thing in the world.

“Ain’t sure why you brought me, here, Y/N,” Arthur lightly grumbled as you both walked into the store. “I told ya, I ain’t a fan of dressin’ up.”

“Arthur, it’s for fun! It’s one night you get to be someone else for no reason other than to enjoy it.” You replied, coming up to a couple of animatronics in the middle of the store.

Arthur rolled his eyes, and peered up at the machines. The one directly in front of you was a creepy looking clown. “What’s the point of these fellers?”

Hiding a mischievous smile, you stepped back and said, “Step on the platform.”

Arthur gave you a look of slight confusion, yet did as he was told. Stepping forward to stand directly on the activation pad, you waited as the animatronic came to life, a loud cackle ripping through the air as its upper body leaned toward Arthur, throwing its clawed hands out.

He jumped back in surprise, expelling a small yelp as he did so, the shock on his face prominent. It soon changed to a hot glare when you howled in laughter.

After having to calm yourself down and soothing Arthur as well, you began to browse the costumes. Naturally Arthur’s interest was drawn toward the cowboy outfits, though scoffed at how tacky they were and mumbled something about glorifying the days of outlaws. His ranting made him sound like an old man, and you had to stifle your own amusement before pulling him along to look for others.

By the end of your shopping trip, you’d picked out a costume for yourself; a steampunk style outfit with a few accessories to match. After convincing Arthur, he begrudgingly bought himself a costume, or just bits and pieces. The steampunk accessories on your outfit intrigued him, and he finally bought a few accessories of his own.

The week before, you’d found out the local club would be open on the 31st for a costume party. It would take place later on in the night, after all the trick-or-treating was done. Upon learning this, your excitement grew.

Arthur was hesitant, although was soon swayed by the mention of booze. He didn’t want to have to be dressed up to get drunk, but went along with it knowing how happy it made you.

On Halloween day, you’d come home from work a little early that afternoon to prepare, breaking out your costume for the first time. It was a short dress; though somewhat frilly to keep the Victorian style to it. The back was longer, reaching down almost to your ankles whilst the front had stopped a halfway up your thighs. Burgundy, brown, and tan hues decorated the fabric. The pseudo corset was snug around your torso, and the sleeves were short and puffed. You’d completely the look with cute fishnet stockings and knee-high brown leather boots. A tiny tophat sat on your head, and velvet fingerless gloves adorned your hands.

As you were admiring yourself in the mirror, Arthur stepped up behind you. His eyes swept up and down your figure, and a small smile twitched at the corner of his mouth. “You look like you’re from my time.”

Giggling lightly, you turned to face him. “That is the point.”

He was wearing his outfit, the original outfit that he’d arrived with. In his hands were a faux leather long coat and a pair of goggles, the chosen accessories to compliment his look. He fumbled with them awkwardly.

“You gonna put those on?” you asked.

“Eh…don’t wanna look stupid.” He murmured sheepishly.

Giving him a soft smile, you stretched up and kissed his cheek. “You’ll be fine.” You assured him sweetly, taking the goggles in one hand, and removed his hat with the other. Carefully fitting the goggles to sit snugly on, you replaced his hat, and then gestured for him to put on the coat.

He did so, slowly, watching himself in the mirror. From his expression he didn’t seem convinced, eyeing himself with scrutiny.

“Handsome,” you cooed, placing your hands on his shoulders to kiss his cheek again. “These look great on you.”

He hummed in response, meeting your gaze in the mirror. “You still look better, I think.”

“We both look good,” you corrected, “Especially for when we go to that party later.”

He made a low noise in his throat, though didn’t respond outwardly. Entwining your fingers with his, you tugged him out of the bedroom. “Come on, the first few should be arriving soon.”

---

“Trick or treat!”

A gaggle of elementary schoolers gathered at your front door, all dressed as superheroes, holding up their bags expectantly and sporting toothy grins.

“Oh my! What adorable little heroes!” you giggled as you passed each one some candy. “Go on and save the neighborhood!”

With a simultaneous “thank you!” from them, they hurried away with their parents in tow. They were only the first group, however the street was already filling with costumed kids and adults. The next few had already made a beeline for your house.

Arthur had stepped up behind you, scanning the street with curiosity. “Sure are a lot of ‘em.” He murmured.

You nodded silently, turning your attention back to the new group that approached your doorstep. It was a singular parent with one kid this time, amusingly dressed as a horse. Their little boy was also dressed in a cowboy outfit. His eyes went directly to Arthur, widening in glee.

“Mister, your costume looks cool!” he exclaimed, pointing to Arthur.

You glanced Arthur, who blinked in surprise. His lips parted, though it took him a few seconds to finally say, “Thank you, kid. Yours is, uh, cool too.”

A smile stretched across your lips as you handed out some candy. “Go round ‘em up, cowboy!”

“Sure will! Yeehaw!” he shouted out, turning to gallop across the lawn. The parent followed close behind, telling him to slow down a little.

You chuckled at this, and turned to look at Arthur again. The smile he had on his face was genuine.

“See? Now you have a reason to enjoy being dressed up.” You pointed out.

He looked over at you, emitting a small chuckle of his own. “I ‘spose it ain’t so bad.”

As time passed and more children came for candy, Arthur seemed to become more comfortable. He had received some more compliments on his outfit, which heightened his mood even more.

After a while, you let him take over candy duty so you could take a short break. Upon returning from the kitchen with a drink, you found him having a conversation with a small group of teenagers, whose costumes seemed very familiar.

Upon closer inspection, the realization hit you. They were dressed like Van der Linde gang members.

“I think Charles is the coolest!” one spoke up, who was indeed dressed like Charles.

“Nah, Sadie is!” another called out. “She can really kick some tail!”

“But Dutch rules the whole gang, which makes him the most badass!”

Amongst the friendly bickering, you kept watch as Arthur laughed at their antics.

“Hey, I think I’M the most badass, since I’m obviously the main character!” one exclaimed, stepping forward to reveal himself as Arthur in his default outfit.

“Hey, settle down now,” Arthur spoke over them all, causing them to quiet down and turn to look at him. “I think you’re all badass!”

“I agree,” you announced, stepping up beside him to take full view of the mini gang. “Each and every one of you!”

“Yeah, but whose the most badass?” the Dutch one chimed in. “Someone’s gotta hold that title!”

Arthur laughed in response. “Everyone’s badass in their own way, cause y’all got your own skills.”

The group seemed to contemplate his words for a moment, and then responded in agreement. Arthur then gave them their candy, and they happily went on their way, chattering amongst themselves about their respective characters.

That wasn’t the first time you’d seen people dress up as characters from the game, although it must have been a little strange for Arthur. You turned your attention to him, noting the slight look of longing on his face as they headed further down the street.

“Arthur?”

He broke his gaze to look at you. “Hm?”

“You alright?” you asked softly.

He sighed heavily and nodded. “Seein’ them dressed like that, makes me miss the gang.”

Of course, you wouldn’t have guessed any different. You had to give him credit for interacting with them the way he did. “Must’ve been weird for you to see, huh?”

“A bit,” he gave a small shrug. “Surprised anyone would wanna dress up as me.”

“You’d be surprised,” you responded with a light tone, trying to keep it from turning negative. “That kid thought you were badass. I’d say that’s a pretty huge compliment.”

He snorted in response. “I guess.”

Another hour had passed before the street was mostly empty. Arthur had resumed candy duty, thoroughly enjoying every interaction with the kids that appeared. Knowing he was once a father, it probably brought him joy to do as such. You’d never seen him interact with any other children besides Jack in the game, but he was certainly good at it.

When the last of the candy had been handed out, and Arthur closed the door. He placed the now empty bowl down and took a seat on the couch. As you joined him, you glanced at the time to find it was 8 pm. Two hours had passed by so quickly, and you had another hour to kill before the party.

“So, what did you think?” you asked him.

“Of all that?” he gestured toward your door. “It’s interestin’ seein’ all them costumes. Kids were pretty cute too.”

“Aren’t they though?” you agreed with a giggle. “Sometimes I wish I had a kid just so I can dress them up and go trick-or-treating again.” You joked.

Arthur’s shoulders shuddered with a laugh of his own, smiling at your response. “That would be kinda fun.” He said thoughtfully.

“Loads of fun,” you continued. “I’d totally be that parent who still dresses up.”

His laugh deepened. “Ain’t surprised from the way you’ve been actin’ all month.”

You shrugged with shameless smile. “It’s my favorite holiday, naturally. Even if I have a kid one day, that’s not gonna stop.”

“I believe it,” Arthur’s respond, his voice trembling with amusement. “That’ll be a sight to see.”

I decided not to add the party in simply because I’d already covered him in the club setting, so that wasn’t necessary. The ending though is a hint to something that was brought up a few months back, so what’as Arthur starting to think? ;)

#Arthur Morgan #Arthur Morgan x reader

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what-if-i-imagine · 4 years

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Promises, Hugs, and Kisses

When he first moved to Hawkins, Indiana, Lucas Sinclair wanted nothing more than to go back to the city. That is, until he met Will Byers, a timid boy who was the only resident of the town to catch his six year old interest on the first day of kindergarten. As they grow up constantly showing each other affection through hugs and kisses, Lucas builds a list of promises in his head to try and protect Will from the very cruel world they live in.

In which Lucas and Will are casually in love with each other throughout their childhood but Lucas starts cracking down through the events of sessions one and two.

Lucas Sinclair had just recently moved to Hawkins, Indiana with his parents and eight month old sister, and he hated it. His parents told him over and over that this was for the best. They would be closer to his uncle Jack, and the small town life would be good for him and Erica’s development, whatever that meant. He still hated it though, and hated everyone in it. They were all boring cookiecutter husks of people that he had seen on the sitcoms and soap operas his mom watched, everyone of them just like the ones before. There was no one interesting for his six year old brain to latch onto, leaving him in a constant state of tired boredom

Lucas had met the Wheelers briefly during the barbecue they were invited to their first week in the cul-de-sac. The Wheelers were a perfect example of literally every boring family in town.They were okay enough people, but dull and plastic. Their son, Mike, was more interesting than most people he had met in the town, but he talked far too much for Lucas’s usual liking in conversations. He couldn't find it in himself to hold enough interest in the boy or his family or his town to last him more than five minutes.

The first day of kindergarten came, and of course, he didn't know anyone and made no attempts at knowing anyone. He had overheard his father the night before expressing the same feelings as him about the town. He knew that it was only a matter of time before his parents asked him if he wanted to go back home. Back to Indianapolis. So there was no point in talking to anyone he didn't have to.

Lucas got home from school to find his mom was already getting started on dinner and his dad was still at work. When he had nothing to report of the days events, his mother sent him outside to play in the front yard so she could have some quiet time while Erica napped. He went out and tried to entertain himself, for his mother’s sake, but ended up just laying on his back on the grass, staring at the sky as his brain tried to find something in the cloud for stimulus. Even the clouds were boring here, resembling the exact shape a kid would draw for them.

Then it happened. The Wheeler’s second car, the one he always saw Mrs. Wheeler driving, pulled into the next door driveway. Mike climbed out of the side facing the Sinclair yard, but another pair off feet could be seen under the car, tattered sneakers that Lucas didn't recognize. A boy, smaller than Mike by a lot, ran around the back of the car to grab onto his arm. He looked startled and out of his element, brown bowl cut fluttering around his head as he nervously took in his surroundings. He wore a colorful sweater- something lucas could only ever imagine a girl pulling off- under a pair of obviously second hand overalls. His bowl cut was home done, unlike most kids he had seen that day, the back of it cut slightly crooked like this was his parents first time doing it. For the first time since they got here last month, Lucas felt his interest peak.

“Micheal, help me with the groceries,” he could hear Mrs. Wheeler say as she went to unlock the trunk. When the small boy tried to reach for the bags and help too, Mrs. Wheeler shooed him away. “No William. Go ahead and wait out here, Mike will come out when all the groceries are away.”

She and Mike disappeared into the house with arms full of groceries, leaving the small boy alone in the driveway. His eyes were wide, staring at the front door as if looking away would make it disappear. Anytime a loud car on the busy road leading to the cul-de-sac would pass, the boy would flinch and dig the tip of his right shoe into the pavement ready to run. After a few minutes passed without Mike reamirging from the house, Lucas decided to make his move.

“Hey you!” he yelled, causing the boy to flinch harder than he had before. He looked over like a startled animal caught at the end of a hunter’s gun. Lucas stood from the grassy lawn and waved his hand, beaconing the boy to him.

When the boy didn't move, he tried again, “You know it’s rude to ignore people! Come here!”

The boy spared one last long glance at the Wheeler’s front door before timidly making his way into the Sinclair yard, stopping at the edge of the grass. Up close, Lucas took in just how small the boy was. He looked more the size of a three year old than a five year old, every proportion seemingly too small to be right. HIs hands were as small as the rest of him with delicate fingers that had the remains of crayon stuck under his nails. On his overalls Lucas could see where paint and dirt stains had been scrubbed at futally, causing the denim to wear out without the stains being removed completely. Up close he could tell just how ill fitting the overalls were, as a clothespin was hooked under both the boy’s arms. His shoes were going to fall apart any day now, either constantly used by him or second hand like his overalls, most likely both with chalk and scuffs covering the once vibrant red surface.

“My name is Lucas Sinclair,” Lucas introduced, holding out his hand. The boy glanced up for a moment, then back down. He shook his hand, but didn't give a name in return. Lucas noted how the boy barely grabbed his hand during the shake, and how his hand trembled ever so slightly in his grip.

“I live next door to Mike,” he explained as if it weren't obvious. “I’m in kindergarten too.”

The boy nodded.

“My dad was in the air force. We move around a lot. He works as a lawyer in town now. My mom is a lawyer too, but she's staying home to take care of my baby sister Erica for now.”

Another nod.

“Don't you talk at all?”

Another nod.

“Then talk.”

“William Byers,” the boy said quietly but loud enough to be heard. Lucas could tell the boy had a naturally quiet voice, like his auntie or the girl he knew from preschool that was still carrying around his first kiss.

“What?” he said anyways, in hopes the boy would talk more. As quiet as it was, his voice was nice for the two words he spoke.

“I’m-m William Byers,” the boy looked up at him now, up though his bangs and eyelashes. Now that he was having to say more than just his name, Lucas could hear how bad the boy’s stutter was. “Th-that’s my n-n-name. My family and M-M-Mike call m-me Will.”

“Anything else Will?”

Lucas grinned at the sight of the boy, of Will, thinking so hard about his next response. His nose crinkled a little and he looked down, but only with his eyes this time. It was like speech was some grand mystery to him that he was desperately grasping at straw to figure out. He thought for a long while, nipping at his lip every so often. When he looked up again, he only seemed more nervous than before.

“M-m-my mama works at M-Melvald’s General Store in town, and m-my daddy works somewhere...I-I think,” he said meekly, shoulder raising to his ears.

“You think?”

“M-my brother says he gets f-fired a lot.”

“You have a brother?” Lucas sat down on the grass, motioning for Will to follow. When he did sit with him, still not on the grass, he drew his knees to his chest to rest his chin on them, taking up as little space as possible.

“His n-name is Jonathan. He’s f-four years older than m-me,” Will was able to look straight at Lucas when they sat like this. Part of Lucas enjoyed not having to look down, the other part missed the sight of the shorter boy having to look up. “He likes taking pictures a lot. He’s really shy, so no one ever notices him doing it.”

“Is everyone in your family quiet?” Lucas asked, leaning forward a bit. His own family was always bursting with so much noise. Even his quiet and well mannered auntie could get loud and oozing with confidence like the rest of the Sinclairs if she was given enough drinks.

“No,” Will shook his head, pulling Lucas out of his thoughts. He was picking at the crayon shavings under his nails, no longer making eye contact. “M-Mama and Daddy are really loud people. Mama likes to yell at m-men who tell her what to do, and she really likes t-talking to-to-to people. Daddy likes t-talking to people to-too, but he never yells at p-people outside t-the house.”

“So then why are you and your brother shy?”

Will shrugged, “Ma-Mama says that her and Daddy m-must have used up all of our voices be-before we were born. Daddy says I’m dre-ad-ful at talking.”

“He’s right,” Will’s face went pink and he buried it in his knees, curling in tighter on himself. Lucas felt gilt rise up in his chest, and he wanted nothing more than to make him feel better at that moment.

“Sorry,” Lucas mumbled. “That sounded mean. I didn't mean for it to sound mean.”

He waited another moment before scooting forward and nudging at Will’s shoe with his own, “Keep talking, please? I like the sound of your voice.”

Will peaked up as if to make sure he wasn't joking before uncurling just a bit. He watched Lucas for any sign of sarcasm or humor before nodding.

“M-my brother likes m-music. It’s loud. M-Mama says that's where the rest of his loudn-ness must go.”

“Where does she think the rest of yours goes?” Lucas asked, encouraging him to keep going.

“She isn't sure yet,” he bit his lip.

“Where do you think it goes?”

Will bit the corner of his lip, “I-I don't think I ever had any.”

“I’m sure you do. It’s just hiding right now,” Lucas’s grin returned. Will smiled back fully, and if Lucas was honest with himself, that smile fuled him for the rest of the week.

The sound of the Wheeler’s front door bursting opened startled them both. As Mike ran outside, both boys sprang to their feet, and Lucas could feel a sowel pulling at the corner of his lips. Mike barely even noticed Lucas’s presence, and all of Will’s attention dragged to the Wheeler boy.

“My mom said we can play in the basement if we’re careful,” Mike said when Lucas tuned in after a moment to what he was saying.

“O-okay. I’ll m-meet you down there,” Will said with a wide smile. Mike ran off back to the house, and before following, turned back too Lucas with a shyer smile.

“Talk to you later?” Lucas asked, returning the smile.

Will nodded and when Lucas thought he was going to leave, he instead stepped forward and hugged him. He felt impossibly smaller when his arms were around the taller boy, and Lucas’s heart leapt as he hugged back. Then Will was disappearing into the Wheeler’s house, and Lucas was standing alone on his lawn.

It was another week before Lucas saw Will again, never able to catch him before he went into the Wheeler house with Mike. The night he saw him again it happened because he sat outside on his lawn until it was time for Will to leave the Wheeler house.

Will didn't notice him, too focused on getting down the dark driveway without tripping to get to his mom’s car. Lucas jumped up at the sight of him and quickly ran over before he could get in the car. He simply hugged and very shocked Will tightly before running back to his own house. He did this every night from then on until late November when a topic he had all but forgotten came up at the dinner table.

“Baby, what would you think about us moving back to Indianapolis?” Lucas dropped his fork in shock, his head snapping up to face his mother and father.

“Don't look so surprised,” his father laughed.

“We can't leave,” Lucas blurted, eyes wide.

“Why not? Baby, we know how much you don't like it here. You don't have any friends like you did back in the city, wouldn't you like to go back to them?” his mother asked.

“I have a friend,” Lucas protested. His parents exchanged skeptical glances.

“Why don't you invite your friend over this weekend then?” his father suggested.

So that was how Lucas ended up running around town asking every adult who would humor him about the Byers family. He learned they were fifth generation Hawkins residents on both sides and had lived on the same property on the edge of town for two generations on Will’s mom’s side. People’s opinions varied on the family, many negative and saying they were a disgrace to the town, others singing Lonnie Byers’s praises. He got their address from a store clerk who used to work with this Lonnie guy that Lucas assumed was Will’s dad and biked down the tree enclosed road until he got to the gravel driveway. There were no cars in the driveway, but the lights of the house were on.The house itself looked about exactly how he imagined. Small, old and unkempt on the outside. When he knocked on the door it was answered by a boy who must have been the same age as Mike’s sister who he quickly registered as Jonathan. Unlike Will, his older brother’s clothes were dark and lacking in color, but still too big for him and worn in.

“Hello,” Joanthan asked more than greated. He spoke quiet like Will, but Lucas could tell he wasn't really meant to be a quiet person. He reminded him more of his cousin, the son of his quiet auntie, who was hesitant and nervous but carried a much louder voice than his mother.

“I’m Lucas Sinclair,” he shook the older boy’s hand. A bit of recognition flashed across Jonathan’s face and he looked over his shoulder and a thud sound that came from inside. Lucas tired too look around him to see what had fallen, but couldn't see anything in the living room. “Is Will home?”

“Yeah, give me a second,” the older boy mumbled, still looking over his shoulder. He ducked into the house and shouted Will’s name a few times before the pitter patter of small feet came running to the door.

“I fell,” Lucas heard Will admit to his older brother as a fond smile creeped over Jonathan’s face. Will’s brother left the doorway and Will’s tiny frame replaced him, his hair being ruffled by Jonathan as he walked away. Lucas could definitely see the family resemblance. They were both smaller than most kids their age with similar faces and home done hair cuts. The only differences Lucas could see at the moment were their different hair and eye colors.

Without a word, Lucas leaned forward and placed a kiss on Will’s forehead, like he saw his father do in the mornings to his mother when she was still barely awake. Will turned pink again, but this time it fully reached his ears.

“Since you don't understand, I’m going to tell you now,” Lucas started. “You are officially my best friend. I don't care what Mike Wheeler says, you’re mine.”

Will rapidly blinked at him, his mind visibly working a mile a second to compute what had just happened.

“My parents want you to have a sleepover at my house this weekend. This is our number,” Lucas handed Will the note card his mother had given him before he left the house. “Have your mom call my mom to work out the details.”

After that weekend their families fell into tradition. On Saturdays, when Will’s dad wasn't home, the Byers and Sinclair families would eat dinner together, switching houses every other week. Whichever house they were at for dinner, the son of the opposite family would stay the night and be dropped off or picked up before the Sinclairs went to church on Sunday.

They became so accustomed to the rhythm of things that Lucas felt like something had hit him with the speed of a bus when it was interrupted. Mrs. Byers had called and tried to cancel dinner that weekend, telling his mother that their house wasn't fit to have people over and the boys weren't feeling so good. His mother insisted though and talked to Mrs. Byers until she cracked and agreed to come to their house insead for that weekend.

When they Byers got to the house, something different and odd hung in the air. Mrs. Byers’s voice was slightly hoarse, like she had been yelling or crying a lot, and all of them looked very very tired. Will and Jonathan were usually quiet, but that night they didn't speak at all during dinner, and refused to look up from their plates. Mrs. Byers and Jonathan left to head back home, but before she walked out Mrs. Byers hugged Will tighter than Lucas had ever seen a mom hug their child, her nose scrunching up like Will’s did when he was thinking as she told him to have fun.

Will still didn't speak when they went up to Lucas’s room and flinched away anytime Lucas tried to touch him or even moved close to him. The next morning Mrs. Byers picked Will up early, and Will didn't even hug him goodbye.

Lucas spent the whole week thinking he had done something wrong, but was proved to just be paranoid the next weekend when the Byers were suddenly back to normal and Will was being a bit more affectionate than usual. Weekends like these started to happen about once a month, but it wasn't until February that Lucas learned how to navigate them. All he had to do was pretend it wasn't happening and treat Will like normal. Will would warm up little by little through the night until Lucas was able to get a few words out of him and a hug goodbye in the morning.

On March 22nd, Lucas was invited to Will’s birthday party where he first met Will’s dad. Up front, his dad seemed like a nice man. He smiled a lot and talked to the Sinclairs and like they were old friends- it turned out the Wheelers were actually old friends of his and Mrs. Byers, so his warmness to them was no surprise. Mrs. Byers seemed more tense around her husband, but at the same time loser around Mrs. Wheeler and his mother.

During present opening time Mike sat on Will’s left with Lucas on his right. Will grinned big as he opened Mike’s present to him of a full box set of the The Lord of the Rings books. He was almost bouncing from his mother’s gift of crayons, his brother’s gift of chalk and Nancy Wheeler’s gift of a sketchbook. Then came the gift from his father, and the moment it was open,all of the Byers besides his dad seemed to catch their breath and hold it as if Will had been given a bomb. It was just a baseball bat though.

“I figured hes old enough to start learning now,” Mr. Byers said from his recliner chair where he was drinking a beer. “I was six when I started.”

Mrs. Byers nodded with a very tightlipped smile that Lucas saw his mother frown at. To relieve the tension, Lucas grabbed the box he had personally wrapped and sat it in front of Will.

“Open mine next,” he said, smiling to try and make Will’s smile come back. It worked, and Will melted back into his happy state, pushing the baseball bat aside.

Lucas had gotten him a rainbow sweater that he had seen in a box of clothes his auntie had sent of her daughter’s old clothes, and decided immediately that it was perfect for Will. Will hugged the sweater close with a big grin and sparkling hazel eyes. Lucas was soon trapped in a hug, and he almost laughed when he felt that Will was trying to hug him with all his nonexistent strength.

“Okay okay,” Lucas laughed, patting his back. “The sweater isn't the only thing I got you!”

Will pulled back to look back in the box, now seeing the brand new pair of yellow sneakers that sat in the bottom with “Lucas Sinclair” written on the white toes. This made Will practically launch back into his arms, almost knocking them both over in the process. He didn't stop hugging him until Mr. Byers cleared his throat, and even then Will held his hand for the rest of the party.

The Sinclairs were the last to leave the party, and when they did Lucas placed a kiss on Will’s cheek and pulled back with a grin.

“See you Saturday,” he said, then ran off down the driveways with his parents to their car.

He was shocked when that Saturday turned out to be one of those weeks. But even though Will was silent like he always was on weeks like this, he was almost doubly as affectionate with Lucas than usual. Almost all through the night he held his hand, and there were plenty of hugs and cuddles sprinkled in when they went up to his room. At first Lucas didn't understand, and even when he saw the reason, he was still confused. When Will must have thought Lucas was looking away so he could change, Lucas saw the bruises on Will’s arms and back, Some of them were fresh, but other looked like they were starting to fade, like they had been inflicted earlier in the week.

Lucas had no clue where the bruises came from, but they caused him to make a promise to Will, even though he didn't make it out loud. When it was time for bed, Lucas had Will sleep in the bed with him instead of on the floor in a sleeping bag. He kissed Will on the head and cheek before they fell asleep, the finle though of the night night being his promise.

As long as I live, no one will ever hurt William Byers again.

Of course, everyone always saw it as Mike and Will against the world. They had the same teachers for the first three years of school, and Lucas was always in a different class. Outside of class and the Wheeler’s house though, it was Lucas and Will. Their parents found Lucas’s blatant affection for the young Byers adorable, encouraging it even as they got older, even when both Boy’s finally understood what their affection really looked like on the outside.

Will stayed just about as quiet and shy as they grew up, and Lucas stayed just about as bold and blunt. They balanced each other out, even as fumbling children who didn't know their place in the world. Will taught Lucas a lot about boundaries, and respectfulness, and how to find joy in the silence. Lucas taught Will a lot about adventure, and joy, and how to live his life outside of his own head every so often.

By third grade, he finally got the same teacher as Will. So did Mike.

Both the boys’ parents discovered that year how hot headed and possessive they could be. A few scuffles here and there, barely hidden glares, name calling and passive aggressive comments grew between them that always took place behind Will’s back. At one point when they were bother waiting with Nancy and Jonathan at a playground for Will to finish in the bathroom, a fight got so bad that the two thirteen year olds had to rip them apart. That day was when their cover was broken, as Will came out of the bathroom to see the tail end of the fight. Long story short, Lucas and Mike had a crying Will on their hands and a very pissed off Jonathan. A new truce was made between them, monitored by Nancy, to play nice and try to be friends, for Will’s sake.

Lucas’s promise evolved into something knew: As long as I live, I will never hurt William Byers again.

The truce actually brought Lucas and MIke to realize just how much they had in common, and soon it wasn't just one of them and Will. It was Will, Mike and Lucas against the world.

Despite their happiness as a trio, it was that same year that Lucas learned just how bad Will and Jonathan had it at home. He learned what the baseball bat from Will’s sixth birthday really meant to them from Jonathan. He learned what the bruises that sometimes peaked out from Will’s collar meant from his parents when they sat him down after one of those weeks, the worst one yet when Will was acting off the entire week. He learned during a late night confession from Will what those weeks actually were.

“My parents have always fought a lot,” the combination of Will’s already soft voice and whispers in the dark made it almost impossible to hear him, but Lucas managed to. “Those Saturday’s we’re acting weird, its because none of us got sleep because Mom and Dad were fighting all night.”

“Why do they fight,” Lucas risked asking.

“Because of me,” Lucas almost cut in to tell Will that couldn't be true, but Will stopped hi,. “It’s true. Jonathan says they must have been in love at some point, but he never says they act like it even before I was born. It was only after I was born that they started fighting. Dad started drinking, Mom picked up more shifts at work to pay my hospital bills, and Jonathan tried not to get in their way.”

“Hospital bills?”

“I had to be in the hospital a long time after I was born. No one says it, but I know that's why we’re in so much debt. Even if we weren't already the poorest family in town, we would have become it after I was born. Jonathan said that when I was born, Dad was working three jobs and gambling a lot to try and make up for the bills, but the gambiling only lost us more money. That's why the fights started. We were in so much debt, and Mom wanted to leave him.”

“Why didn't she?”

“It was 1971,” Will said, like it was obvious. When he saw it wasn't, he explained, “The no-fault divorse laws were passed in 1969, but in Hawkins it was still really looked down upon for a woman to divorce her husband. No lawyer would defend Mom without a lot of money as payment upfront, so she just didn't do it.”

The next night at the dinner table, Lucas asked his parents all about the no-fault laws that Will had mentioned. Then he asked about why Will was in the hospital as a baby.

“Did Will tell you about that?” his father asked.

“He mentioned that they went into debt because of it,” Lucas said. “I don't get it though. Don't babies usually go home with their moms after they’re born.”

“Most of the time, yes,” his mother nodded. “But in Will’s case, he couldn't. He was born too early. Joyce was only five months pregnant when he was born.”

“Do you know what a miscarage is?” his father asked. Lucas said he did. “Will was almost a miscarage. They had to keep him in the hospital for a few months to make sure he could live on his own before they sent him home.”

“That's scary,” Lucas said.

“It is,” his mother agreed. “But Will is healthy now, and that’s all that matters.”

Lucas agreed then went to bed.

For the next few weeks Lucas would notice Will tugging on his sleeves, and with great pain, he realized that just because he hadn't seen the bruises in a while on his best friend’s skin, didn't mean they weren't there. He took it upon himself to always make Will feel better for at least the hours he saw him, but always had to restart the process of making him feel better the next day.

His promise that he had lived by grew into a list of promises that year.

As long as I live, I will never hurt William Byers again.

As long as I live, I will never turn my back on him.

As long as I live, he will always have a friend.

As long as I live, I will always listen to him.

As long as I live, we will always be together.

As long as I live, I will always hug him at least once a day.

That last one was added when they were nine. The rain from the day before had carried into the next morning, but Lucas could care less. They Byers had missed their Saturday dinner, and every time they called Mrs. Byers said she couldn't talk right now and hung up. Lucas refused to sit and wait for Mrs. Byers to tell them what was going on, and his parents didn't stop him when he hoped onto his bike right after dinner. In fact, his mom prepared him with a backpack for the evening if he ended up staying, a letter from her to Mrs. Byers and A pan of cinnamon rolls. She pulled a rain coat onto him and had him put on a pair of rain boots, and he was on his way to the Byers’s house.

When he got there, Mrs. Byers answered the door. She had darker bags than usual under her eyes, her hair an unkept mess in a bun on the top of her head. She tried to tell him now wasn't a good time, but he wouldn't listen. He stubbornly stood there on the doorstep in the rain until she let him inside and accepted the letter and cinnamon rolls.

“He’s sick right now,” she tried to tell him. He ignored her and ran back to Will’s room, only to find she hadn't been lying to him.

Will was tucked tightly into his bed with a wet washcloth other his forehead, his nose bright red from congestion. Lucas threw caution to the wind and kicked off his shoes, laying down on the bed by his friend’s side. The movement woke him, but he made no protest against his presence.

After getting Mrs. Byers’s reluctant permission to spend the night, Lucas curled up underneath the covers with Will, wrapping him in his arms to supply body heat.

Lucas stayed with the Byers for two rainy July weeks to take care of Will so that Mrs. Byers could focus on Jonathan- who was also sick- and her job. His parents came over every few nights with their brief cases, and he started to piece together why Mr. Byers was nowhere to be seen for the full two weeks.

“My dad left,” was the first coherent thing that Will said to Lucas, confirming his suspicions. It was early in the morning, and he had just woken up, but he jumped into comforting mode right away. The day it happened, Jonathan and Will had spent the entire day building a fort in the forest that they called Castle Byers, and the rain made them sick.

That was the day Lucas Sinclair decided to add the last promise on his list, and by far the one that seemed the silliest at first glance but really meant the most. Every day, he decided, he had to give Will at least one hug. He had to give his friend some sort of comfort, some stability, some constant in the hurricane his life had become. Will took notice, and returned the gesture, hugging Lucas even when he had forgotten. It wasn't much different from how they used to be, but the hugs, the small acts of physical affection meant something very different now.

They were promises.

Promises from Lucas to always be there. Promises from Will that he would always want Lucas there, and would be there for him when he needed it.

It was them and Mike against the world. The cruel cruel world that they needed each other to survive in.

In fifth grade the three became four, happily adding the new kid, Dustin Henderson, to their party. They played D&D on weekends in the Wheeler’s basement, and made up their own adventures in the edge of the forest between the end of the school day and dinner. They were all best friends, as improbable as that seemed. They were always together.

They built their rules of the party, Dustin’s addition being the first blood rule when he witnessed one too many fights between Mike and Lucas, the “friends don't lie” rule unsurprisingly made by Will. They lived by their rules, with Lucas living also by his promises to Will. Mike acted as a sort of leader, even though they liked to say they were a democracy.

They all relied on each other, and cared deeply for one another. All of their parents were quickly becoming friends too with how much they had to see each other because of their children. They were inseparable.

Things were still bad at school though. They loved their classes, and most of their teachers, and the AV club was their sanctuary, but their party was frequently bullied. Will was bullied the heaviest, the only one the bullies dared to get physical with. The boy that had brought the group together was a constant target, even on days when the others were left alone. He never told them how bad things got with the bullies, but every time one of them did, Mike and Lucas would both end up in the principal's office.

They were still happy though. They were a team.

And then November 6th, 1983 rolled around. They said goodbye for the evening after a ten hour long campaign. His mom was standing on the porch of their house, impatiently tapping her foot as he talked to his friends outside the Wheeler’s house. He hugged Will tightly for the third time that night, an odd feeling in his gut trying to tell him something bad was coming. When they pulled back, Lucas debated kissing Will’s cheek. He hadn't done it in a few years, now knowing the real implications of a kiss, but with Will’s tired, life filled hazel eyes staring up at him like that, it was hard not to. Especially knowing the real implications of a kiss.

He didn't do it though. He just waved goodbye and watched from his bedroom window as Dustin and Will peddled down the road.

He realized the next day that he should have done it.

The search started to find Will, everyone believing he had just gotten lost, but by the third day a body was fished out of the quarry right before his eyes and all hope was lost.

He didn't let himself react in front of his two remaining friends and the weird girl they had let in, but as soon as he was home, he fell into his mother and father’s arms and cried for an hour. They were crying too, and his mother had full intentions of going to see Ms. Joyce before seeing the wreck her son was over it. He didn't actually stop crying the entire night, but after the first hour, he did manage to stop the sobs and head to his bedroom. Erica was eight at the time, but she was still young enough in her own mind to be showing him how much she cared. She hugged him and fell asleep in the same bed, not minding her hair being wet by his tears as he cried himself to sleep.

Then Will was alive. He heard his voice over the radio in the AV club with the others, and Will was alive.

“Mom, Mom! --- It’s like home but it’s so dark- it’s so dark and empty and it’s cold---”

He had never heard Will so scared before in their lives, he had never heard him screaming and crying like that, even after all the things Lonnie Byers had done to him. Hearing it made something in his chest snap, and right away he got on a mission where nothing could distract him. He had to find Will and bring him home, even if he lost his other friends in the process.

Seeing Chief Hopper and Ms. Joyce walking into the hospital was the only relife he got from the terror of that night’s events. Will was in Hop’s arms, still wet and covered in the slime of the Upside Down, his skin just as pale as that of the body pulled out of the quarry. Despite how awful he looked, the irregular rise and fall of his chest through choking coughs was the most beautiful sight in the world to Lucas, because Will was breathing. Unconscious, and broken, but still breathing.

When Will woke up, Lucas ran into the hospital room with Mike and Dustin. For a moment, he forgot they were in a hospital all together. He threw his arms around his friend’s neck at the same time the Mike latched onto him. The feeling of Will being under his arms again almost sent him back into the same crying fit from a few nights before, but Dustin pushing him away to get his own hug in grounded him.

It was impossible to get a moment alone with Will for a long time after that, even when his mother hesitantly let him go back to school. He was constantly surrounded by people, be it his mom, Jonathan and Hop or the party or other adults. They couldn't have their sleepovers on Saturdays anymore. Lucas didn't care though, in fact it made him feel much more secure to know Will was never out of someone’s sight, even if it meant giving up seeing Will after dark. Whenever possible, Will never left his sight, and that made up for something.

Dr. Owens took over Hawkins Lab, and became Will’s doctor for the next year. Every other week, Will would go quiet for a whole day like he used to after his mom and dad got in a fight, and his mom would pick him up early from school to take him to his appointment. He never told them about the visits to the lab, and he very rarely let that week in November slip into conversation. During the times when people would insist talking about it, Will’s eyes would glaze over and Lucas would feel his heart break a little from the expression.

They thought things were getting better. Will had episodes here and there, and would sometimes have to talk to Lucas over the Super-Coms all night when the nightmares got too bad, but they thought he was starting to get better. He was smiling like his old self again, back to his normal amount of quietness instead of the trauma induced silence. When school started up again in September, they realized the exact opposite was happening. The episodes started to happen more and more often, and Lucas found himself drinking a little too much coffee every week to keep himself awake after those long nights up. But Will wasn't acting different on the surface, he was acting like he was getting better when they could now all see he wasn't. As soon as he realized how tired Lucas was, he stopped calling after nightmares, and he played off episodes as him spacing out.

Then Mad Max showed up, and Lucas finally had something, someone, to get his mind off of the whole situation. He felt guilty, and he knew Dustin did too, but they both desperately needed a break and found it in the interesting new girl from California. But even this new possible friend couldn't distract him completely, Mike made sure of that. Even with Mike’s annoyance though, Will seemed to be amused by Lucas and Dustin’s fascination with the red head and somewhat relieved they weren't fussing over him anymore.

“He’s quiet today,” Mike commented as they peaked around the corner of the school building at Will being lead to his mom’s car.

“He’s always quiet,” Lucas sighed. Whatever was said in response, he tuned it out, because he knew whatever Mike had to say, he had already thought.

Before Will could get in the car, Lucas ran over and pushed through the crowd. He grabbed his wrist to stop him from getting in the car. Will didn't even have to look up to know who it was. Lucas knew Will could recognize his touch quicker than he could recognize his own name. Just like Luas could recognize his touch quicker than he could recognize his own name.

“You’d tell me if it got worse, right?” Lucas asked in a careful whisper.

Will looked up at him, eyes as gentle and kind as ever. He didn't smile, but that was to be expected on an appointment day. He did, however, pull his arms up a bit so that Lucas was now holding his hand. Will squeezed the tips of his fingers, and in the blink of an eye, pushed himself onto his toes to kiss Lucas’s cheek.

“Go have fun, okay?” Will whispered. Giving his hand one last squeeze before letting go and getting into his mom’s car. Lucas watched them pull out of the parking lot, his heart beating in his ears.

So this was how Will felt when Lucas did that.

If he thought seeing Will’s fake dead body, and his real dying body were scary experiences, then this sight of his best friend was absolutely terrifying.

It had only been two days since he last saw Will in a temporary catatonic state on the field outside their school. Max finally believed him about the events of the years prior, Steve had become their babysitter, and Jonathan and Nancy had reappeared from their missing state. Things should have been easier now, they had help now. But the moment they pulled into the Byers’s driveway, Mike made them all aware of what exactly had transpired since Will’s last episode in the field, and now nothing was easy at all.

At first, Lucas felt just how Max must have when he sat her down in the back room of the arcade. The information made sense, it fit, but he couldn't believe it. Will Byers, his Will Byers, had been burned alive twice, had a seizure, gradually forgot everything he knew and led dozens of men to their deaths. Mike explained how Will’s behavior changed over the two nights, how at first they thought this could be a good thing they could use to their advantage, but they soon realized it had infected and taken over Will completely. The Mind Flayer was what Dustin named it.

Lucas listened in a disbelieving shock as Mike described in detail how they figured out Will was gone. How the Mind Flayer had to guess who Joyce was, proving that Mike was right and Will wasn't there anymore. How Will thrashed against Mike and the hospital bed, screaming over and over again that he was lying while Joyce administered the same tranquilizer they used when Will was burned alive. He tried to push the images out of his mind, but the scene forcibly danced behind his eyelids in something more horrific than any scary movie he had ever seen.

He waited outside the room with everyone else while they woke Will up. His stomach lurched when the screaming and thrashing came through the walls, and his brain refused to register it as Will’s voice. When the screaming went quiet, he peeked through the peephole at the makeshift room.

Will was tied to the chair, slumped forward slightly. The bright lights that shone directly onto his face bleached out his skin. His eyes were wide, and even from the distance, Lucas could see how the irises were a dark reddish brown instead of the hazel he always found so endearing. He could sense it, just as Ms. Joyce, Jonathan, Mike and Hop must, that Will wasn't completely gone. He was still in there, and Lucas had to cover his mouth at the thought that Will was trapped in his own mind, seeing, hearing and feeling everything without being able to do anything about it.

“Let me go,” the Mind Flayer croaked out with Will’s voice after the stories that were trying to jog his memories came to a stop.

Lucas couldn't stand it anymore. He gently knocked on the door to the makeshift room, and Hop carefully let him in. Will didn't look up when he walked close, eyes that weren't his own fixed in the distance on nothing in particular. With a hand on his friend’s shoulder, Lucas took Mike’s place crouched beside Will. He was told by Hopper not to touch him, to keep a distance, but it was so hard when Will was right there. Jonathan gave a small nod, eyes deep in that now signature Byers’s Exhaustion, and Lucas took a deep breath.

“I should have stayed with you and let Max check my wing of the school,” Lucas said in a breath. “Maybe if I did, it wouldn't have gotten you. If I had you spend the night with me last year, maybe the Demogorgon wouldn't have got you. But I’m staying with you now. You’re staying with me, and nothing else is getting you. I don't have a memory to share like everyone else, there are too many to pick from and none of them would be good enough right now. All I have is being here”

Will didn't react in any way, but Ms. Joyce’s pat on his shoulder reassured him to continue.

What Lucas did next almost sent the other in the room into a panic. Hop and Jonathan reached for him. Joyce yelped his name. Mike flinched back. None of their actions stopped him though as he leaned forward and placed his hand on the back of the chair to steady himself.

Hugging had always been Will’s “love language”, as his mother called it. He expressed so many emotions and thoughts through every hug, every pressing of chests together and arms tucked around each other’s backs. While he participated in the love language and made one of his promises based around it, Lucas’s personal love language he had gotten from his parents. Kisses. Kisses to the head, or temple, or cheek, or top of the head. Sometimes kisses were peppered into hugs by being placed on shoulders, ears and the nape of the neck. He had sprinkled in these kisses over the years, and now seemed to be the perfect time for one.

His lips lingered on Will’s cheek longer than they ever had before. The kiss moved to between the smaller boy’s cheek bone and eye, then to his temple, then back to his cheek. He reached up and placed a hand on Will’s other cheek to hold him closer. His skin was so cold under Lucas’s palm and lips, but he took it in stride and continued the kiss. He pushed everything that had been growing in him over the years into the kiss, wishing for a flash of a moment that he could kiss Will on the lips. That would be wrong at the moment, he knew, so the thought left just as fast as it had come. When he went in for that kiss, that special one, he wanted Will to be able to stop him, or return it, or take it at his own pace.

Lucas finally pulled back and he was astonished at his self control when he didn't jump back. Will turned his head and stared Lucas in the eyes like he was truly seeing him, truly knowing him. At some point his other hand had cupped the cheek he had just kissed so that he was holding Will’s face completely in his hands, allowing him to stare right back.

The tapping started, and Lucas couldn't help but smile. He had gotten through. Together, they had all broken down the barriers the Mind Flayer put up and got though, and his kiss had been what sealed the deal.

Before leaving to help with translating the message Will was tapping out to them, Lucas placed another long kiss on Will’s forehead. As he walked out the others continued telling stories to keep Will there as long as they could. In the end, before the phone rang and gave away their location, they got two full words scribbled on the paper.

“Close gate.”

The plan was risky and terrifying, even with El back and Will’s instruction of how to put an end to it all. They all knew that one second of miscalculation and all of Hawkins would be dead, or Will would be dead with the Demodogs.

Lucas refused to think about the pain Will was in at that very moment and focused on the mission in front of him. They were going to win, they had to. And when they did, they would have El back, and Max and Steve as their new, real friends. The best part he kept tucked away in his heart, right under his shirt like a secret of his own. As they burned the heart of the underground system, surely only causing Will more pain, Lucas revised his promises.

As long as we live, no one and nothing will hurt William Byers again without my avenging it. (I'm not a kid anymore, I know I can't stop things from hurting him, but I can make sure they think twice before doing it again).

As long as we live, I will never turn my back on him.

As long as we live, he will always have me. (I think I count as more than a friend now. Plus “a friend” is too vague).

As long as we live, I will always be there for him. (He’s never been good with words, so there might not always be something to listen to, but I will always be there in any way he needs me just like he's always done for me).

As long as we live, we will always be together.

As long as we live, I will always kiss him at least once a day (with his permission of course).

They got back to the Byers’s house after Ms. Joyce but before Hop, so they considered that somewhat of a win. The second they were through the door though, Ms. Joyce, Jonathan and Nancy were bombarding them with questions on Billy’s unconscious body on the floor and the Demodog in the freezer.

Ms. Joyce paused her lecturing of the others to tell Lucas Will was in the bath at the moment and would be sleeping in her room -the only room untouched by the mess. Lucas nodded and paused for a moment to hug her tightly. He waited outside the bathroom, leaning on the wall and listening for any possible sounds of distress from inside. None came, and by the end of the hour he could hear as the bath started to drain. Sounds of Will’s stumbling and grabbing onto different surfaces for support came. The after effects of heat exhaustion, the thrashing and the tranquilizers was sure to be the cause of the stumbing, but Lucas still stayed on guard just in case.

The lock to the bathroom clicked, and the door opened with a creak, queuing Lucas to look up from where he had been picking dirt from under his nails. At first Will didn't look up, not noticing that there was someone else in the hallway with him. He was holding himself up successfully, but it required him pressing his entire body weight on the handle of the bathroom door, and his head was dipped like he was still struggling to find balance. Slowly, Lucas took hold of Will’s shoulder to help him stand fully, and Will looked up.

Lucas’s breath caught in joy when he realized he was looking into hazel eyes and a timid expression. Then his breath caught in fear when Will swayed and fell forward into his arms. Lucas caught him, wrapping his arms tightly around his chest. Jonathan had warned him of the spot where a hot poker was jabbed into Will’s left side, and he was extra careful not to touch it as he lifted him up.

“I can walk,” Will tried to protest, voice scratchy, hoarse and quiet.

“Not without falling over,” Lucas mumbled back. “You’re too skinny, you know that? I shouldn't be able to pick you up so easily.”

“Maybe you’re just strong,” Will shrugged then clenched his teeth. The movement had tugged at the gauze wrapped over his burn, but besides the tightness of his jaw he didn't show any other signs of how the movement had hurt.

Lucas gave him a disbelieving glance and carried him to his mom’s bedroom as if it were routine, which it wasn't. Lucas crawled under the fluffy comforter with Will still in his arms. He didn't let go, not for a second.

“Thank you,” Will whistered against his shoulder after a few minutes of silence. Lucas pulled him impossibly closer as a response, running his fingers through the hair at the back of his neck.

“I’m sorry,” Will’s voice came out a croak that Lucas quickly hushed. He shook his head against Lucas’s shoulder but made no attempts at apologizing again. His hands were gripping the front of Lucas’s shirt so tightly that the fabric pulled slightly at his back, and his forehead was pressed tightly into the crook of his neck. They fit together so easily like this, making Lucas more sure than ever that this was how it was meant to be. It was meant to be them.

“Can I tell you a secret?” Lucas asked. Will nodded. “I need you so much, and it scares me.”

Will tried to look up at him, but Lucas gently kept him in place by curling his fingers in his hair. He took a deep breath, waiting a few heart beats before continuing, “I think I’ve known from the start that I need you, but it only started to scare me last year. When you were there, in that place, I realized how badly I need you and it was terrifying because we thought you were dead, then when we knew you were alive we also knew you could die at any moment. I promised myself a long time ago that I would be with you as long as I lived, because it never occured to me that I could lose you like that. Then today, when I saw you in that chair, I almost lost it. You were right in front of me, and you were right there, but you were gone too.”

“You helped get me back,” Will whispered, pressing his head closer.

“Because I couldn't stand the idea of losing you again,” Lucas almost laughed. “I can't lose you again. I need you here with me.”

“I need you too,” all of Lucas’s tensed muscles relaxed at the affirmation that he wasn't the only one. He kissed the top of Will’s head, and finally let Will look up at him. Hazel filled his vision, and he wanted nothing more than to see only that hazel for the rest of his life.

Lucas leaned forward, stopping just a centimeter from Will’s lips to allow Will to close the gap or pull back. Will closed the gap.

This kiss was short and chaste, and before he could take in WIll’s reaction his head was back on his shoulder, but a phantom warmth lingered. He hugged Will just a bit tighter and closed his eyes, letting himself drift off the moment Will’s breathing evened into the pattern of sleep.

#byclair #will byers #lucas sinclair #stranger things #stranger things 2

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espship18 · 4 years

Text

Kpop ship for littleflan

Hello my sweets! I’m back with another ship, it feels so good to be getting back in groove of things too! I have a ship for @littleflan who has been so patient with me, bless your heart! I’m gonna stop the chatting, and let’s get to shipping!

Based off your request, I learned these things about you:

You’re 5′8 with lightly tanned skin sounds gorgeous if you ask me

You love to dye your hair!

Loves to make the people she loves happy

Likes taking on different activities, but can take on too much and can get frustrated

Favs: documentaries, Disney, and horror movies

The sassy and playful friend

And I think this is cute, you’re the fun aunt

And in your request, you asked to be shipped with Monsta X, NCT 127, and Seventeen! Shall we? :3

Monsta X: Jooheon

Okay so, since you’re playful and you seem like an absolute doll, I could NOT pass up this opportunity. I honestly think you and Jooheon are so perfect together, because you’re both so playful and lovable, that you two are just adorable and I stan. I get vibes that you and Jooeheon are the type of couple that is care-free and since you’re young, the world is your oyster! You’re also both smitten kittens for each other, so there’s not much that you wouldn’t do together. There’s no doubt in my mind that you would keep Joo company when he would be working. We all know Jooeheon is a very talented artist, and the appreciation for what he does is only amplified when you get to see him work. You would have so much admiration and adoration for Jooheon while he works, so you’d love to watch him work. You’re also like the head cheerleader for Jooheon stans so like, you’d be tight with Monbebe too! Also, since you’re such an active couple, I can see you two taking on projects and activities together for fun, you like to learn together and bond as a couple. Which thanks to Joo, you two pace yourself so you don’t get overwhelmed and have fun. Speaking of which, this boy is a freaking king at taking care of you. He’s so freaking considerate and thinking of you, and he’s not ashamed to be vocal about it either. He makes it his job to make sure that you have the best stress free and happy life. I’m also wanting to screech about PDA so bad, but I’ll hold back for a minute. PS, you’ll always know that boy loves you because he will always pour his heart out to you! Moving around, imma call it, you’re the fun aunt of Monsta X, and you’ll help out Shownu if he isn’t around. However, since you are so soft for the boys, you aren’t super parent-ey on them, so you let their crack-head energy shine through and you guys have fun sorry Shownu it’s hard to say no to them, ya know? I think it would be super cute if you two took turns having date night, which always somehow ends up being movie night, lol. It’s also fun to see how many documentaries you’ve watched and how many topics you’ve covered. Finally, I can screech about PDA! Again a fucking k i n g. He does this thing where he loves to hold your hand and admire it. Like, he loves the way your hands connect together, how soft your skin is, he’ll legit sit there in a trance by just your hands. He would highkey love there wouldn’t be much of a height difference between you two, so like, he loves to cup your cheeks and give you kisses all over, I STAN SO FREAKING HARD.

NCT 127: Taeyong

Okay so I feel like you two would have that soft puppy love type of love. You’re like always gushing over one another and you can never get enough of each other, it’s so cute I’m gagging on my muffin! Your aunt style of love would change to a motherly type of love bc ya know.. Taeyong has so many children, but you love all of his children so much. Compared to Jooehon, I don’t think you two wouldn’t be as spontaneous, you just go with the flow and prefer to be together with your boys because they’re every ounce of entertainment that you need, and you can also get some time alone if you need it. You two very much put one another first. You much rather prefer to take care of each other, which is good, since you two always have each others backs, but you can’t forget to take care of yourself for you. You also have a bunch of children to take care off too, don’t forget, lol! Overall, I think you two are so content with each other, you don’t mind to be with each other all the time. We all know Tae has so much stress on his shoulders, he would need you to help bring him tranquility and to heal. Then sometimes when you two really spend time together, your wild sides come out and you two can be so random. Like, you two can be having a normal conversation, Tae makes a weird noise, then after some giggles and more weird noises, you two start making your own robot language. Which it actually comes in handy to have your own language because your plans always gets busted because there are just so many people around you lol. I also really really love the idea of you two dying each others hair. We all know Tae’s poor scalp is always dyed, so why not do your hair together! Like, imagine nights together just dying each others hair, some nights there are successes, and sometimes there are fails, hehe. And like, OMG IMAGINE YOU MATCHING YOUR HAIR COLOR WITH HIS FOR HIS COMEBACKS LKFJG!! OR, you’ll like, dye your hair a lighter or darker color to contrast Tae, but also to be a supportive girlfriend! TELL ME THAT’S NOT ADORABLE! You’re the queen of date night, especially when it’s comeback season because the bub is stressed, and he needs some nights in every now and then. Date nights are super simple too, just you two spending time together with some snacks and a crime show. PDA is SO SWEET omg. Simple gestures that promote relaxation and happiness. This includes: soft hand holding(sometimes unexpected), cheek pecks, and hair playing~ :3

Seventeen: Wonwoo

Totally your chill lover boy, and I’m here for it! To say the least, Wonwoo would be very whipped for you, and he would adore every part about you, inside and out! I also really love the visuals here, I personally have a guilty pleasure for tall couples as a 5′6 gal, lol. Also, Wonwoo being a blunt and honest type of guy can REALLY come in handy from time to time. Reason being, Wonwoo is an observant type of person, so I wouldn’t have any doubts that he would be able to pick up on your mannerisms and the way you move very quickly. Wonwoo is a protective type of boyfriend, especially since he’s whipped for you, he wants to take care of you! When you’re starting to get stressed, he can sense it from a mile away. Wonwoo is also very logical, so he knows how to sit you down and talk to you about being stressed. He will never let you get overwhelmed, because he wouldn’t want you to have any unesseccary stress. He has this nice “need v. want” and an “one at a time approach to taking on new activities or hobbies. He also wants you to do what you love more first compared to something you don’t love first. He wants you to shine and do your best work, so Wonwoo is your saving grace! I also think this is really cute, listen up. You two would play tag. Starting out, it would be an inside joke that you would tag one another and say, “you’re it.” After a few times of leaving it at “you’re it”, you each would want to raise the stakes. Sometimes you would poke him back, but then it would escalate to you two starting to chase each other, and it would be a continuing game. Legit, you two would chase each other around the apartment/studio and would jump over furniture and wrestle each other to determine who is and isn’t it. It’s honestly such a fun time and you two would get extremely competitive, hehe. Date nights would be very traditional, upon Wonwoo’s request. You two will dres up and go out for a nice dinner. I also don’t wanna cause issues with people, so you both split the bill as even as you can. Then after dinner, you two will either go on walks, see a movie, or simply just go home to snuggle in bed together. PDA is Wonwoo is a bit more lovey dovey than you give him credit for. He much prefers to have your hand in his, and keeping a hand on yours as much as possible. He also loves to lift your head by your chin to give you kisses. Where he’s protective over you, he wants to keep you close to him so you won’t get lost, which sounds a little childish, but it’s actually super sweet! I don’t make the rules hehe~

~STA

#littleflan x idol ship #kpop #kpop writing #kpop ships #kpop ship blog #shipping blog #kpop reactions #Monsta X #NCT #NCT 127 #Seventeen #monsta x ships #nct ships #seventeen ships #jooheon #taeyong #wonwoo

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thehoodsweetheart · 5 years

Text

Sandcastles | Part. II

A/N: You guys asked for Part 2 so here we are! I could create a whole playlist for the songs that inspired this. I hope you guys enjoy it. There may be a few errors. I’ve been trying to push this out for a while.

Warnings: Fuckboy!Erik (cont.), Some Angst, Mentions of Smut

Summary: If you have not read Sandcastles Part 1, please do so before reading this. Although, it may not be totally necessary to do so but it helps. The reader is a Black Woman, always has been always will be.

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You dragged the half-full black Nike duffle bag along the edge of Iman’s closet. Your hands worked diligently taking the various dresses, onesies, sweaters, and pants off of their hangers. You worked strategically folding them to maximize the amount that could fit into the duffle. Thus far, all of drawers in Iman’s dresser were cleared and you were half way through the closet. You never realized your baby had so many clothes. Maybe you shouldn’t take everything? Nah, scratch that. Pack it all.

Where were you going? The last place most people would think to find you and you found solace in that, your twin brother’s house. In his words, he had a big ass house that he was barely at. Yes, you are a twin but when your parents divorced they thought the arrangement of your brother staying with your father and you your mother was a logical idea. They were wrong. On you guy’s seventh birthday, your dad moved and took JR with him to Louisiana and somewhere between holidays and summer visits, your very own twin became like a stranger. That is until you guys matured enough to forage your own relationship, which has innately gotten better since he started playing for the Los Angeles Rams.

You glanced at the white digital clock that sat atop of Iman’s changing table. You inhaled deeply wiping the few droplets of sweat away from your brow. Your eyes shifted to the sleeping Iman in her crib. She was taking her morning nap right on schedule. It was hell trying to get her to go to sleep because apparently during your time away, Iman had grown used to sleeping on her father’s chest. You hadn’t realized it but for a moment you had been holding your breath. Exhaling slowly, you felt the familiar churning of your stomach. Fuck, not again. You had to work faster. You needed to work faster. Time was of the essence and this morning sickness was only slowing you down.

If we’re being honest, the term morning sickness wasn’t even applicable. You had all day sickness. You couldn’t keep a single thing down, not even water, which was a concern. You dropped the onesie that you had in hand and rushed to the nearest bathroom. You toppled over spilling whatever contents were left in your stomach into the toilet; at this point it was nothing but bile. You dry heaved as a stray tear escaped your eye. You weren’t even this sick when you were pregnant with Iman. Pregnancy with her was relatively easy. You didn’t have many aches and pains, nor excessive sickness, or extreme cravings. You biggest challenge with her was heartburn and you loved spicy food. Erik would argue that your mood swings were the biggest challenge. Fuck Erik. Your chest tightened with just the thought of him.

Your phone pinged alerting you of a new text. You pulled yourself together brushing your teeth trying not to gag and end hunched over the toilet once again. You returned to Iman’s nursery picking up your phone. It was a text from JR.

Wazzam sis? Where you at? You good? You need me to come over there?

I’m still packing. I’m good, just a little sick. It’s slowing me down.

Just get what you can. I’ll send some movers to get the rest of your stuff if you need me to. I know you’re trying to get out of there before your boy gets back.

You stared blankly at your brother’s last text. Your lips pressed together in a thin line as your heart rate increase. You needed to be out before Erik got back.

I’ll be on my way within the next 30 minutes. Maybe less.

You quickly texted back. At least you hoped to be out within that timeframe.

Erik finally returned to work today so it was your golden opportunity. It had been three days since you returned home. The first two days were filled with avoidance on your part. You slept in one of the guestrooms with the door locked. Tiptoed through the house as if it weren’t your house too. A soon as Erik entered one of the common areas you were in you were quick on your toes to make an exit. This couldn’t last long though. You couldn’t avoid him while occupying the same home. The more you avoided him, the longer you knew he would stay home from work.

Erik was trying to apologize in the best ways he knew how. There we gifts that he strategically placed in Iman’s nursery because he knew you had to go in there. It only earned him a scoff and an eye roll. You couldn’t be bought. He tried ordering food from your favorite Mexican restaurant. Erik even cooked which he hasn’t done in over a month. You gladly accepted the food but opted to eat alone. The food would’ve been a nice sentiment if you could make it through a meal without vomiting. Then came the flowers, the obnoxious amount of flowers that practically covered the entire house. Each bouquet had a hand written apology that you didn’t give him the gratification of reading in front of him. He had been walking on eggshells knowing you would make good on your promise to leave, but you pulled a “him” to appease his worries.

Making your way to bedroom to grab some of your essentials, you could only wonder if somehow what you were doing or did could in anyway backfire. You cringed at the thought. You were honestly repulsed at your actions from last night and this morning. If you knew anything about your husband, you knew he was smart. Scratch that, he’s a genius. But would he catch on?

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You peaked into the in-home gym watching intently as Erik lifted weights. He laid back bench-pressing an obscene amount of weights. Jaw clinched, eyebrows knitted close together, eyes intently fixed on the metal bar above him Erik had to be deep in thought. The sweat that dripped down his chest drenched his shirt causing it to cling to his body. Based on his usual nightly routine, you knew his workout would be done within the next 10 to 15 minutes before he was done. You shook your clammy hands in front of you before clasping them together. You still needed to work up the courage to follow through with your plan but that would have to be enough time.

You jogged upstairs to get your head start. Cracking the bedroom door, you peaked inside of nursery to ensure Iman was in a deep sleep. Turning on your toes you took quick strides to the master bedroom. You made your way around you and Erik’s bedroom to the adjoining bathroom. You leaned against your vanity staring at your reflection in the mirror. Your coffin shaped nails tapped against the marble top. You had wasted enough time.

You turned on the shower adjusting the temperature. You stripped out of your clothes, put on a shower cap, and stepped into the steaming hot shower. You closed your eyes allowing your mind to roam as the water hit your body. There were still so many unanswered questions. Some questions that Erik refused to answer and plenty of questions you dared not ask, because honestly did you really need those answers. Would you feel better if you knew how long the affair lasted? If it was only a few times or did they fuck all the time? Who fucks better? Is that even a determining factor in if you could forgive him? Did he know her prior to the internship or was his attraction to her why he hired her?

You clenched and unclenched your fist ignoring the burning sensation of water temperature being a bit too hot. The more you thought about it, the angrier you could feel yourself become. How dare he betray your trust for the second time? Your grandma always said fool me once shame one you, fool me twice shame on me, and if you get fooled three times you are a goddamn fool. You began to scrub at your skin increasing the burning sensation. It was too bad you couldn’t wash away the disgust. You wanted to him to hurt like he made hurt. Not even physical pain, but the mental and emotional pain you endured leading up to this very moment. That’s exactly why you couldn’t stay there much longer, but leaving is always harder than it seems.

The sound of the bathroom door opening caught you off guard causing you to jump out of your thoughts. Your eyes snapped open to see Erik entering the bathroom with his wireless Beats by Dre headphones on. He stopped dead in his tracks taking in the view of you. A mixture of emotions flashed through his eyes the most prominent being uncertainty. You scrambled to cover yourself with your arms as if this wasn’t your husband who’d seen you naked plenty of times.

“I’ll be out soon.” You called out. This was the most you had spoken to him in two days.

Erik took off the headphones dragging his tongue across his bottom lip the glint from his gold fangs flashed. He pulled the sweat- drenched tee over his head facing you the entire time not breaking eye contact. His eyes were filled with remorse, a flash of that lost puppy look washing over his face. He nodded in appreciation of your voice holding on to every sound of every syllable. As short of a sentence it may have been, it was better than your silence. Shit, even being cussed out was better than silence. Silence just made the situation marinate. It straight up made him feel like shit.

“Nah…you don’t gotta rush.” Erik swaggered back into their room.

Letting out an uneasy sigh, a devious smirk formed on your lips. It was show time. You quickly rinsed off before grabbing your towel wrapping it tightly around your body and snatching off the shower cap. You picked up your lotion from your vanity then strutted into your room. You completely ignored Erik’s presence as you proceeded to dry off in front of the floor length mirror in your room. You could feel his gaze piercing into you. It made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. You glanced up through the mirror to see him watching you as if you were prey. He sat on the edge of the bed, legs spread, as he hunched forward with a more predatory look in his eyes dreads falling into his face.

You broke the gaze maintaining a stoic, unbothered expression. This was all a game and you were about to have fun with it. You proceeded to point your foot placing it on the edge of the bed as you rubbed in your lotion at an agonizingly slow pace. It would only be a matter of a few moments before you would get the reaction you were seeking, the reaction that you were taunting out of Erik. You knew he had the audacity.

Erik stood up rounding the bed acting as though he was searching for something within your proximity. You rolled your eyes at his obviousness. By now you had switched legs, beginning to moisturize the other. As you leaned forward, arching your back some you began to work the Shea Butter starting from your ankle, leading to your calf, then your thigh. Your hands inched closer to the apex of your thigh when Erik’s hand got a firm hold of your wrist, the front of his body being pressed against the back of yours. You cut your eyes at him.

“Aren’t you supposed to be in the shower?” Your words laced with attitude.

“Yea but not yet” He mumbled huskily against your ear. “Let me help you with this…It’s the least I could do.” Erik nibbled at the rim of your ear. “…The least I could do to show you how sorry I really am.”

You tried to suppress a moan as he flicked his tongue across the flesh just below your ear as his calloused hand kneaded at the apex of your thighs. Your back arched more pressing your ass firmer against him. Blame it on the pregnancy hormones, but as angry as you still were with him, your body was betraying you. The pulse, that’s right an actual heartbeat, you felt at your center let you know the tough ‘act’ was over. The glaze on your lower lips that was beginning to drip onto your inner thighs just solidified it. His nose rubbed along the side of your neck as he leaned more into you.

“N’Jadaka…” You whined in protest only to receive a dark chuckle in response.

“See princess…all you gotta do is give Daddy permission.”

Erik stuffed one hand into the mess of your thick curls gripping them in his fist. You sucked air through clenched teeth from his sudden roughness. He forced you to look in his eyes, something you refused to do for extended periods of time of the last few days, before capturing you in an intoxicated kiss.

You hated how you craved him. How your body craved him. How lust could supersede hurt and anger. How your flesh burned and yearned for salacious acts only he could provide. At least that’s what you tried to tell yourself, right? It all happened in a blur. You tried to rationalize through every kiss, lick, bite, and tug at flesh, that this is what you needed to do. You needed him open and what better way to breakdown his wall of paranoia. Or were you the one open? How could you not be repulsed by stooping this low in an act of manipulation? You knew he would leap at the opportunity to fuck you into submission and forgiveness if possible. He’d better enjoy it because it would be the last time he would get to. Little did Erik know, he was far from forgiven. Did he honestly think you would give in after being home for three days? Wrong. You only confronted him about his escapades eight days prior.

But now here you were, in control as your hips rose and fell, your aching core gripping his entire length thoroughly stretched to accommodate his girth. Your head thrown back eyes shut tightly. Erik delivered a powerful smack on your ass that only served as encouragement and motivation. You peered down at him through hooded eyes biting down on your bottom lip. You dragged your nailed down his studded chest and abs. It was time to pick up the pace. You bounced faster being sure to tighten you walls each time you reached the tip. The tip hitting your spot at just the right angle every time encouraged your cream to both of your thighs. The room was filled with sounds of flesh slapping and the sloshing of your sex. When Erik reached to grip your hips you slapped his hands away. You knew he wanted to gain control but this was a revenge fuck. He let out a growl as his abs flexed. Despite reforming over the years, your husband still thrived on power. A lack of power would only frustrate him. You were on the verge of cumming so he power trip would have to wait. A slue of curse words followed letting you know you had him just where you wanted him. It was also only a matter of time before he would take over…and that he did.

You passed out cumming and woke up the next morning on the verge of cumming. One leg raised in the air cuffed in his brolic arm, he was buried so deep in you from the side that you felt winded. You didn’t know if you wanted to curse him out or sing praises, so you did both. The overwhelming sensation brought tears to your eyes that Erik gladly kissed away while whispering yet another apology. If you weren’t already pregnant, you would’ve surely ended pregnant after this escapade.

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You blinked a few times at your reflection in the mirror. Purplish bruises cover your neck and the tops of your breast. You zipped up your hoodie to the top in efforts to hide them. You didn’t even want anyone to have a clue that you had sex with Erik after he cheated on you. Imagine being embarrassed of sleeping with your own husband. A heavy sigh escaped your lips as your broke away from your trance. You had to move on and move fast. You sped walked into your walk-in closet grabbing a tote immediately grabbing some essentials like under garments, a track suit, sundresses, and sandals. You grabbed enough clothes to last you until you called a moving company to pick up the rest of your things the next day. Next on your to do list was the bathroom to pack your hygienic products. Your eyes darted around the room. Was there anything important you were forgetting? You surely hoped not.

You waltzed over to the stand pulling out a notepad you used to keep in there. You pulled out the pen that was wedged into the spirals. The devil on your shoulder was back at it again as the pen glided across the page. Your pettiness was getting the best of you.

Erik,

If you’re reading this, then you should know that we’re gone. Don’t come looking for us. Fuck marriage counseling. This marriage was over when you decided to have a second affair. I won’t keep Iman away from you, but I never want to see your sorry ass ever again. I’ll have my mom or somebody bring her to you for visits. As far as baby #2, I’ll have you informed when I’m in labor.

P.S. I hope you enjoyed last night and this morning. Now you know how it feels to be fucked into thinking everything is okay.

Love, Y/n Udaku-Stevens

You ripped off the page setting it on top of the nightstand. You twisted your wedding ring and bands off in one motion setting them on top of the note before grabbing your tote and heading back to Iman’s nursery. You made sure to slip off her Kimoyo beads leaving them in her crib. You had taken yours off the first time you left eight days ago. You swiftly situated Iman into her car seat. You would have to carry her and you guys’ bags, but this wasn’t something you were unaccustomed to. You carried her with plenty of grocery bags whenever Erik was out of town or just simply not around.

As you finished loading your truck, you paused. This was it. How would Erik react coming home to two being gone…for good. You knew he suffered from issues of abandonment. Were you adding to his problems of being alone? It could definitely trigger it. You groaned resting your forehead on the car’s door. You couldn’t pity him. He clearly didn’t care about how you felt anymore.

You hopped into the driver’s seat and proceeded to drive off. You drove away from the house that was supposed to be a home to build your family. You didn’t want to stay there though. It wasn’t home anymore. Just being there gave your chest a heavy feeling. If you did stay, making Erik leave would be another fight that you just didn’t have the energy for. In so many ways you found home in Erik, yet that was gone too. Your very concept of home washed away like sandcastles to a tide.

You didn’t even bother to turn on the radio. You were too deep into your thoughts. You opted to start over. This was your decision. You could go back to work and find a new place to call home. You could figure out how to create a new normal for you and Iman. But how you would deal with two kids under two years old alone? What if you were pregnant with twins? That would be like God playing some type of sick joke on you. You bit your bottom lip using your thumb to hastily wipe way a single stray tear, before refocusing on the road. Whatever the future circumstance would be you couldn’t worry about it. You had to deal with your problems in the right now.

Tag List: @yoyolovesbucky @beaut1fulone-blog @sarcastic-sunshines

If I forgot to tag you and you asked, I’m soo sorry!

#erik killmonger x reader #erik killmonger x oc #erik killmonger imagine #erik killmonger #black panther #erik killmonger x black!reader #black panther imagine #black panther rec #sandcastles #sandcastles part 2

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cheemerthelizard · 4 years

Text

Crusader of Life 2: Chapter 2

Oh, one more thing I should clear up: this story isn’t finished yet, meaning updates might take a while if I’m having writer’s block. Anyway, enjoy!

“Jotaro! Hey, Jotaro!” Lily called. The man turned to her voice, and waved at her as she ran across the street to catch up with him.

“Where’s Kakyoin?” he asked.

“Keeping watch over Emily,” Lily answered. “Did you sort everything out with Josuke?”

“I did,” Jotaro nodded. “Strangely, he started apologizing for causing chaos in the family. I was prepared to take a hit intended for the old man. I also told him about Angelo.”

“And how did he take that information?”

“Pretty well, actually. He didn’t freak out, but he also didn’t just brush it off like nothing.”

“Did you figure anything out about him? Like, his personality?”

“He’s a pretty passive guy, except for when you insult his hair. Then he goes berserk.”

“Huh.”

“Well, I’m going to check into the hotel. I’ll see you around.”

“You too.”

And with that, the two went their separate ways.

***

“Come on, Emily,” Kakyoin cooed. “It’s time for a nap.”

“I don’t wanna!” she screamed. “I don’t! I don’t!” Walking on Sunshine started to materialize behind her.

“Emily,” Kakyoin said sternly, grabbing onto Sunshine’s wrist with Hierophant, “it’s time for a nap.”

“Yessir,” Emily said quickly, crawling into bed.

“Goodnight, sweetie,” Kakyoin kissed the little girl’s forehead.

“Night night, Daddy,” Emily yawned, drifting off to sleep. When she was completely out, Kakyoin sighed.

“This girl is wearing me out,” he mumbled to himself. “Maybe I should’ve let Lily take care of her.”

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door. “It’s Jotaro.”

“I got it!” Kakyoin said. He unlocked the door and let Jotaro in. “Lily was looking for you, actually.”

“I passed by her on the way here,” Jotaro replied.

“Ah, I see. Any luck as to where Angelo is?”

“Nothing, so far, but we just got here.”

“True, true.”

“Well, good luck with the kid. I’ve got to get back to Stand user hunting. I just wanted to check in with you before I went out again.”

“Thank you, and good luck with that, too.”

As soon as Jotaro left the room, Emily asked her dad, “Who was that?”

“That’s Jotaro,” Kakyoin answered her. “He’s a friend of mine. Now, you’ve gotta get some sleep, or your naptime will be longer today.”

“Okay,” Emily said, “but can you tell me a story first? The one about Egypt?”

“Okay,” Kakyoin chuckled. “But only if you promise to go right to sleep afterward.”

***

Koichi was walking home when he saw Lily strolling along the sidewalk. Apparently, she saw him, too, and called his name.

“Koichi! Hey!”

“Hi, Mrs. Kakyoin,” Koichi replied.

“Please, just Lily,” she laughed. “How was your first day of high school?”

“It was pretty good,” he said. “Apparently Josuke and I are in the same class. He actually introduced himself to me.”

“Yo! Koichi!” Josuke came running down the streets.

“Speak of the Devil,” Lily muttered.

“Hey, Josuke!” Koichi called. “Have you met Lily yet? She’s a friend of Jotaro’s.”

“Jotaro’s friend, huh?” Josuke asked, and held out his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you!”

“You too,” Lily greeted. “I’ve been told that you already know what’s happening with Angelo.”

“I do,” Josuke answered. “To be honest, it’s a little scary. A murderer, in my hometown?” He shivered. “I don’t like thinking about that.”

“Well, don’t worry about a thing,” Lily told him. “Jotaro, Noriaki, and I have got it covered.”

Suddenly, police sirens blared from behind them, and headed in their direction, whizzing past.

“Looks like there’s trouble,” Koichi said. “Do you want to follow the cars and see it?”

“Sure,” Josuke replied. “What about you, Lily?”

“Well, my Stand could probably take care of any victims,” she answered. “Sure! Let’s go!”

And with that, the three chased after the police cars.

“Wait, your Stand?” Josuke finally processed what Lily had said.

“Yes,” Lily laughed. “It’s called Ace of Pentacles, and it can duplicate anything that has life. That means I can stitch together open wounds in a person’s body if they get injured.”

“What a coincidence!” Josuke said. “Mine can heal people, too!”

What? Lily thought. This kid just nullified half of my usefulness! But maybe it’s not as quick as mine. “How long does the pain last?”

“Doesn’t last that long at all, actually,” Josuke answered.

“How easy is it to fix someone?”

“Usually just a simple touch from Crazy Diamond. Why?”

“Oh, no reason.” This guy just replaced me! I’m no longer the healer of the group! “Oh, would you look at the time! Little Emily must be waking up! I should be on my way!”

“See ya, Lily!” Koichi called out.

“You, too! Bye!”

When Lily was out of sight, she started groaning. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” she said to herself.

“What’s the matter?” Jotaro asked. Lily hadn’t noticed him there.

“Josuke’s Stand has healing properties, and they work faster and more efficiently than mine.”

“Jealous?”

“Of course I am!”

“Don’t be. You can make two of him. That’s something he can’t do.”

“I guess you’re right,” Lily sighed. “Still, all I mostly did was heal others back in our glory days.”

“You also saved multiple innocent people on many different occasions from enemies.”

“Yeah. Well, I’m going back to the hotel. Time for Noriaki and I to switch out. Bye!”

“Bye,” Jotaro repeated.

***

“You won’t believe it, Noriaki, you just won’t believe it,” Lily came into the hotel room already ranting.

“What will I not believe?” Kakyoin asked.

“Josuke has a Stand with healing powers,” Lily groaned.

“Are they better than yours?”

“Much better.”

“Mommy!” Emily ran to her mom.

“Hey, Emily!” Lily bent down and let the small girl run straight into her arms. “How was your day?”

“It was great!” Emily said. “Me and Daddy had a contest to see who could go higher!”

Lily looked at Kakyoin. “What does she mean?”

“I held her up with Hierophant, and she lifted me up with Walking on Sunshine.”

“I see,” Lily nodded.

“So, this Josuke kid?”

“It’s unbelievable! Just unbelievable!” At this point, Lily was joking around. “I can’t believe HIS Stand had the audacity to copy MY power!”

“Don’t be jealous, Lily,” Kakyoin laughed. “After all, the healing was your creativity. If we ever have a problem with a possession-type Stand, you’ll be the one to save us.”

“That’s what Jotaro told me,” Lily chuckled. “At this point, that’s all I’ll be good for.”

“Mommy,” Emily looked up into Lily’s eyes, “what are we having for dinner?”

“I think we should go out,” Kakyoin patted the little girl’s head. “What do you think?”

“That sounds like a wonderful idea,” Lily picked Emily up, and started carrying her out the door. “We’re going out to eat tonight!”

“Yay!” Emily could barely contain her excitement, which is never good for a young Stand user who barely has control over their powers. The two parents started flying up in the air, and Kakyoin had to grab onto the vases and paintings decorating the hallway with Hierophant.

“Emily,” Lily urged, “you have to calm down, baby.”

Emily quickly realized everything around her was floating around, and let Sunshine’s grasp go, sending everything straight down. It was a good thing Kakyoin had caught them, or they’d have some big bills to pay.

“Sorry,” she mumbled.

“It’s okay, sweetheart,” Lily consoled. “That’s what we’re here for. To help you control your Stand. Now, how about we go get that dinner?”

***

Lily’s eyes were slowly cracking open, expecting a bright morning sun. Instead, she was greeted with a full moon. She checked the time on her alarm. 3:30. What could have possibly woken me up this early? she wondered.

“Mommy!” Emily’s wails were heard from the other room. “Daddy! Help me!”

Oh.

“Noriaki,” Lily said groggily, nudging him awake. “Noriaki.”

“What is it?” Kakyoin yawned.

“Emily’s crying in the other room. Very hard.”

Kakyoin sighed. “I’ll get Hierophant ready.”

The two opened the door, and saw everything flying all over the place, almost tornado-like. Little by little, Hierophant Green grabbed the floating debris, and made a walkway for Lily to get to the fretting girl. She was lifted up, too, but she made her way to Emily thanks to a tentacle from Kakyoin.

“Oh, baby,” Lily cooed, hugging the little girl tightly. “What’s the matter, Emily?”

“I, I, I, I had a bad dre-e-eam,” Emily bawled.

“Oh, poor girl,” Lily comforted her, stroking her hair and letting the storm roll on around her. “I promise nothing will happen to you. The dream wasn’t real. You’re safe here, I promise you. You’re okay, you’re okay.”

Slowly but surely, the tornado of objects wasn’t whirling around the room as fast, and the objects were getting closer and closer to the ground until everything was either completely still or being put back in its place by Kakyoin.

“There we go,” Lily set the girl back down on her bed, and handed her her favorite stuffed animal. “Want Mister Bear to make you feel better?”

“Yes, please,” Emily sniffled, grabbing the teddy bear from her mother’s grasp.

“Crisis solved,” Kakyoin whispered as the two closed the door to Emily’s room. Now for their good night’s sleep.

***

“Lily,” Jotaro’s voice seemed to be coming from a dream. “Lily!”

“I’m fine, Jotaro, just focus on Dio.”

“Lily, wake up!”

The woman jerked up, breathing heavily, then looked to her side.

“Ah! How did you get in here?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll have Josuke fix the door later.”

“That kid can fix inanimate objects, too?” Lily groaned. “Why’d you wake me up, anyway?”

“Because there’s one thing that you can do that Josuke can’t, and that’s deal with possession type Stands.”

Lily stared in awe at Jotaro. “You’re serious?”

“Am I ever not serious? Now, if you don't want anyone dying, I suggest you get dressed and get in the car right away! We’ve got a murderer to catch!”

#oc #crusader of life #diamond is unbreakable #jojo's bizarre adventure #fanfiction #my fanfiction

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tinalbion · 5 years

Text

Michael Myers One Shot - Somebody’s Watching Me

This is a Michael Myers gift fic for my cool pal @whiskehorange just because I love and appreciate them. I wanted to practice writing for the silent boi, and I know it’s short and simple, but I do hope you enjoy it regardless <3

I hope to do more stuff for you in the future!! Maybe I’ll add on to this, who knows ~

Words: 3,187

Warnings: Cursing

The cool autumn breeze was always a relief from the harsh heat of summer, but it was edging ever closer to winters sting. Haddonfield had pushed the thought of winter aside and focused on its main priority: Halloween. It was a highly celebrated holiday around those parts, and it was popular for the ghost stories that seemed to always haunt the cozy neighborhood. The Jack-o-lanterns were carved up and placed on each front porch or sitting comfortably on walkways, lighting the way of the small trick or treaters that would fill the streets in just a few hours. There was one house though that sat bare, but had been full of moving boxes. You had just moved into the neighborhood on one of the most eventful days of the year, but that wasn't an issue, considering you wanted a piece of the action. Looking for a new start on life, your friend, Karyn, who had lived in Haddonfield convinced you to start fresh and live with her, which you were hesitant to do at first, but quickly warmed up to the idea. It wasn't every day you could declare your independence from your parents and move out, so you had something to prove. With a smile, you looked up at the house and placed a hand on your side, admiring the new beginnings. You felt a hand rest on your shoulder, snapping you out of your daydreaming. "Hey, we gonna unpack your stuff or what?" Your friend smiled and nodded toward the house. "Come on!" She was almost more excited than you were, but maintaining a long distance friendship was a challenge for anyone, so it had been an exciting part in both of your lives. "Yeah, coming," you replied calmly with your smile still wide. You walked up to the porch and peeked over at the neighbors; you noticed the lack of decorations. You walked up to your friend and gave her a quizzical glance. "What's up with your place? There's nothing hung up for Halloween." She shrugged as she continued to carry one of your larger boxes toward the stairs. "What can I say? If my mom came to visit and saw the decorations, she'd shit herself." "Why?" "I guess you could say she's superstitious," your friend answered plainly. Without thinking much about it at the moment, you continued to haul up your stuff into your new room, quickly making yourself at home as you sat in the middle of the floor, surrounded by your things. Within a few hours, you had everything placed exactly where you wanted, give or take the several items of clothing you had thrown about the floor. Your phone went off and played the loud text tone, and it had been Karyn, asking you about dinner plans and what you wanted to eat. You typed away and set the phone back down beside you, humming along to the radio that had blasted in your room as you mindlessly cleaned up your mess. You finished with placing the last book on your shelf that stood next to one of the windows, and you had no idea that there had been a towering figure that watched you from within the bushes. A sense of urgency went off in your brain, causing you to peek out the window, but there was nothing there. You shook it off as cold feet. Of course, you'd be nervous in a new neighborhood without knowing an extensive amount of people, you only knew Karyn. Her voice had pulled you back as she shouted about the food, so you calmly walked from your room, thankful that the growling in your stomach would soon be satisfied. *** Trick or treating was finally starting to kick off, and of course, Karyn wanted to dress up and walk around, even though it was a rather last minute to find any costumes. "Oh girl, I got you," Karyn chirped happily. "I still got a handful of costumes from the past couple of years." "Wow, you're really into Halloween, huh?" "I'd never lie about that," she replied coolly as she dug through her closet, shifting over all of her clothes. "It's not like I get candy out of it, I like dressing up for fun. You don't?" You shrugged and looked at the many options that she had displayed. There was a pirate, a sexy cat, an angel, and a zombie. All of them seemed quite a cliche, but you liked the way the zombie costume looked; it was really well made. "Ooh, good pick," Karyn smirked, "that's the one I took from my class's acting wardrobe. They get all of those for free so it wouldn't hurt if I got something out of it." "Didn't you drop that class?" You looked over at her with a raised brow. She chuckled. "Moving on! Go and get ready! I'll do your makeup." She gathered her costume and began to lay everything out, grabbing her makeup gear from her dresser. You stood in the bathroom and looked down at the costume in your hands, unsure if you should even dress up at all, but knew very well you'd be scolded if you returned without it being worn. With a defeated sigh, you undressed and slipped into the costume. After making a few adjustments, you looked into the mirror and gave your reflection a surprised hmm. It wasn't so bad, after all, and the makeup would definitely bring it to life, so you emerged from the bathroom with a hesitant grin. "How do I look?" you asked the blonde with a twirl. She looked over and her eyes went wide. "Oh my God, you are gonna rock that! Wait till the makeup is finished, it's gonna look straight out of a movie." "Good to know you're confident in your skills," you mused. She smiled at you triumphantly and walked into the bathroom, leaving you in her room alone. You looked around and smiled as you saw all of the pictures plastered on the walls, mainly of you two whenever you had the chance to visit. You could only imagine how many more would be taken now that you lived with her. You glanced out the window to admire the beautiful colors in the trees, but it happened again; that weird twisting feeling in your stomach alerting you that someone was watching you. Again, your eyes swept over the environment as you peeked your head through the window, but there was nothing out of the ordinary in your view. Kids were running around as their parents readied the last of the decorations outside or raking their walkways from the fallen leaves. Some children were in costume already and some weren't, but there was a tall figure that was suddenly standing close to a tall shrub, and you definitely know he wasn't there a second ago. His mask was an off-white with fake brown hair swept back, and the clothing was a simple pair of navy blue coveralls. It wasn't the most intriguing costume, but it gave you an uneasy feeling regardless. The eye holes in the mask looked hollow and were completely blackened, and you weren't sure if that was more unsettling or not. You backed away from the window even though you were almost in a trance just by his presence, and you debated whether or not to tell Karyn about it. She'd probably think you were mental. She burst into the room and showed off her costume as she smiled and waved like a knock-off pageant queen. "I figured I'd do your makeup first, Y/N," she sung playfully, but she stopped as she noticed your odd behavior. You stood close to the window, but couldn't bring yourself to look out of it, afraid that whoever it was staring up was still there. "Oh yeah, sure," you replied blankly as you hesitated to walk forward. You turned your head to look down toward the street again, but now he wasn't there. Karyn tilted her head slightly in confusion, but she ignored it and pulled you by your hand to guide you into the bathroom, yet you hesitated. "What's wrong?" she asked. You shook your head and gave her a haft hearted smile. "Sorry, just kinda tired from the trip. Let's go and make me look undead." Within the hour, she had you looking absolutely fantastic, and she had even offered you a pair of contacts to complete the look, but declined. As you waited for her as she began her makeup, you walked around your new room, still feeling strange to the idea of not living with your parents anymore. Once Karyn returned to your room in her full costume, she smiled and gestured for you to follow her. "So, the plan tonight is to hang out with Alice and Rhys," she began to explain, but you let out a groan and shook your head. "Rhys is a dick," you huffed in reply, "he's just so egotistical." "Well yeah, that's how he's always been." "Doesn't mean he should be," you grumbled. "Fine, I'll be nice for tonight." "Good, because I was going to say before I was rudely interrupted," she said playfully as she shot you a sly glance, "is that there's a party right down the street. You and I were invited, so I thought it would be a good idea to get you to be social!" The thought of it seemed like a good idea, but then again, being around so many drunk people didn't seem all that enticing. "I guess so, but I'm not gonna drink too much." "Your loss, girl. Oh, before I forget." She dug into her pants pocket and handed you a new key. "Welcome home, officially." Her smile was genuine as she looked at you, hoping that in a short while, you would feel the same way. "Now come on, let's go enjoy the vibes of the neighborhood on Halloween. You're gonna love it!" Karyn looped her arm through yours and you both had readied yourselves for the brisk wind that met your skin once the door was opened. *** The sunset was beautiful as you watched only a few moments of it, but the sun was gone now, and the neighborhood was suddenly bursting with children everywhere. So many different costumes had filled the streets that you could barely keep track. It was always something you liked to do; scouring the sidewalks to see which child had the coolest costume of the night, and so far, there was a pretty cool Predator one, the kid using his own dreaded hair to complete the look. You pointed it out to Karyn, who was too preoccupied chatting with the group of people that had just joined them. You still felt a little too stuck in your shell to be too social, but you nodded and smiled when necessary, but you mainly kept to yourself. You were too into the scenery of it all because everyone knew that even though Haddonfield wasn't anything special, it gave you a feeling of peace. The Halloween decorations blew you away with how intricate and extravagant they were, you knew they took this holiday seriously around here. What you didn't notice was that you were left behind in the crowded street with Karyn nowhere around you. Between all of the laughing and yelling, you couldn't shout loud enough to find her, so you stood in the middle of a sidewalk and texted her, but after several minutes, there was nothing. "Guess I'll just go home, it's for the best anyway..." you mumbled to yourself. You figured it would be best, even though something in your mind was pulling you in the opposite direction. You looked down the road, and standing directly in the middle of it was that strange man in the coveralls. He cocked his head to the side as he stared you down, and you just knew he was staring at you. With the way you were raised, you should want to run and possibly call the police for suspicious activity, report a stalker, anything to keep you from harm's way. But did you do any of that? Hell no. The real question was: who was he? He had been there ever since this morning as if he were checking up on you, or hell, even casing the place to rob you later, you may never know. But the problem was you wanted to know, you wanted to confront the man who freaked you out on the first night in your new place. So at that moment, you swallowed any fear you held and made your way down the street to meet him, but once you got there, he was nowhere in sight. With a confused look all over your face, your eyes widened slightly as they had noticed him again, over in someone's yard, somewhat behind a small area of trees. He was guiding you somewhere or luring depending how you looked at it. No hesitation, you followed him until he had led you far enough away to where you hadn't recognized much of the surrounding area. You looked around to find him, wondering where he had gone. "Hey man, I don't know what your game is, but-" You turned around to see him towering before you, just a couple of feet away. He didn't seem to be threatening you in any way, but the man sure didn't scream the word 'safe' very much either. Now that he was right there, you wanted to ask all sorts of questions, but the fact that this behemoth was just standing there silently made you question whether or not you should try to outrun him. But there was something about him that struck you, so instead of running, you walked up to him, just a few inches at a time, your eyes never leaving his mask. "What's your name?" you asked in a calm tone. He stood there and tilted his head ever so slightly at your voice, and he placed his hand up against his mask, making a gesture. You looked at him in confusion as you lifted your own hand and placed it on your cheek. "My face?" He nodded. "Oh, wait, the makeup," you chuckled, "you like it?" He nodded again. "Thanks. Well, my name is Y/N, I just moved here. I saw you outside of my place a few times, I uh, I like your costume. Were you watching me?" The man remained silent and looked away for a moment until he nodded once. He moved his fingers as his arms hung at his sides, and you could tell he had wanted to say something, but it was if he couldn't. He looked at you, and you swore you could see the gleam of his eye from the street lights. "Can you tell me your name?" you asked again, stepping closer once again, and he took notice. The tall man looked up and his body tensed up, which caused you to look behind you, and it had been Karyn with Rhys and Alice, who were acting like a couple of loud teenagers. Karyn noticed you first, but as soon as she had seen the stranger standing near you, she let out a blood-curdling scream and stumbled backward. "Y/N! Get away from him, now!!" she yelled as she tried to keep her balance while bumping into the other two, who were just as scared as she was. You looked at your friend and cocked your head a bit. "What are you talking about, he's fine, we were just talking," you groaned, thinking she was just overreacting. "N-No, that's Michael Myers! He fucking killed his own sister and a bunch of others! Get away from him, Y/N!" She wanted to run from her friend, but she couldn't leave her to be killed on the same night she had moved in, but Karyn looked at you in complete confusion as you refused to move away from him. You scoffed and shook your head. "Leave him alone, Karyn," you warned, "we were just talking." "Don't you understand?! He'll kill you!" He took a large step forward and quickly revealed a large kitchen knife, stained with blood, probably from a recent kill. He was poised and ready to strike down the loudmouthed girl before him, but you turned around and held your hands up toward him, your face in shock, but you somehow remained calm. You let out the breath you'd been holding and offered him a smile. "Hey, Michael..." He responded to his name, looking down at you with the knife still raised. "Ignore her, leave her alone, she's my friend. Please," your voice was almost quiet, just for him to hear, and he couldn't help but hesitate now. Michael's natural reaction was to silence the screaming young woman, to feel the warmth of her blood spray on him as he stuck her flesh with the metal blade, but your voice had done something to him, something he couldn't help but find rather curious. He lowered the blade while still keeping a tight grip around the handle, but he eased his stance, and you let out a relieved laugh. You turned back to face your friend again. "Get out of here before he decides against it." you demanded, and Karyn wouldn't sit there and argue with you. She bolted down the street, her friends already out of sight. Your eyes returned to meet his gaze, and you could see his eyes clearer now, a smile played on your lips. "Well," you huffed and lowered your hands, "that could have ended differently." All Michael could do was stare at you in disbelief, wondering why you hadn't run off with the rest of them. You seemed to hold little to no fear for the slasher, all he was used to was hearing screams and obscenities being thrown at him, but you were different. He let out a low grunt as he slid the knife back into his pocket while keeping eye contact with you, but you broke that first. You looked down at your feet with a small smiled and blushed, you actually blushed, what was wrong with you? For a moment, you were afraid to look at him again, knowing that he had murdered his own flesh and blood, that he was a known killer, what would you do now, if you could do anything at all? But when he looked down at you, there was a feeling that washed over you and made you feel tingly all over. "Thank you, Michael," you said softly, "I appreciate it..." You brought your head up to look at him again but he was already gone, leaving you alone in the middle of the street, safely under the dim streetlamp. Your eyes looked everywhere, but he had left so quickly, you had no idea where he could have gone. You knew his name though, so you knew he was the local legend, and that's when a smile spread on your face; you'd see him again really soon.

#Michael Myers #michael myers x reader #gift fic #slashers x reader #slasher #tinalbion writings #halloween #halloween movie #fanfic #slasher fanfic

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ongoingaccident-deleted · 5 years

Note

🖊️ gimme dat oc talk, fam

-for… for all of them??? y’know what i’m just gonna write down fun facts about whatever characters come to mind, i hope that’s okay!

also many many apologies for taking so long! speaking of long, this is, so i’m sticking it under the cut

Aellai:

-She actually has really long hair for most of her story, and it only gets short when Naryu lops most of it off to prevent Veya from holding her in place while trying to take off her head

-If she’s in a very good mood and around Emeric you might catch her making sarcastic remarks instead of just being serious all the time (gasp!!!)

-She and Ashur get along surprisingly well and were mutually pleased to see one another in Hakoshae

-Occasionally she’ll say things completely seriously but that are jokes and you have to know her really well to understand the difference

-”The light inside is broken but I still work”

-Smiling is for losers

-Should be smarter than to make deals with hostile daedra but too desperate to give a shit

Raewyn:

-Has really long hair… like really long… that braid she wraps around her head is like… down to her butt (same lmao)

-10/10 would use an army of daedra to clean her house

-Why do anything magic can do for you (that’s largely an exaggeration but she is very good at using magic to do things she doesn’t want to to)

-Usually very practical and dresses very plainly but likes having opportunities to dress up and do her hair and wear dresses and w/e

-DoneTM

Larandel:

-Dres (surprise!) and would gut the rest of her family with a fork if she ever got the chance

-Actual blood mage (I like the idea that nightblade powers are based on blood magic anyway)

-Will not deal with anyone wanting to/who does keep slaves and will in fact free those slaves and probably gut you

-For someone whose job very often involves reading people to get close to her target she is very bad at reading Naryu and doesn’t realize she’s flirting with her until she actually just says ‘fuck it’ and kisses her

Tamera:

-Disrespecting Meridia is literally the only thing that makes her angry at all, she will never get upset with you insulting anyone else including herself

-Should probably be more concerned with the occasionally militant voice in her head than she actually is

-Grows up with no talent for magic, but very strong and very good with a maul, develops a talent for healing after Meridia starts possessing her every once in a while

Lyra:

-Way too enthusiastic about fighting creatures that are way older and more powerful than she is but somehow always wins

-Were her teeth always that sharp? who knows

-For some reason, thinks “Maybe you should stop sheathing your greatsword up your ass” is a good pickup line… for some even stranger reason, it worked (???)

-Burns everything she tries to cook

-Sometime after absorbing the souls of like 50+ dragons her use of the voice got obscenely powerful and that was the only reason she was a match for alduin (that and sheer stubbornness)

-Has replaced her parents with Paarthurnax and spends a lot of time on the throat of the world

Mizuki:

-Most people are convinced that she’s actually mute, this includes about half of the guild

-Her two best friends are Brynjolf and Zanthe, and she spends a lot of time at the latter’s shop

-Altaire makes her super uncomfortable, but Altaire also doesn’t realize she’s there for like the first month that she’s in the guild

-She never buys food, she either swipes something (much more out of habit now than necessity) or when she’s on the road she hunts and eats whatever she kills raw

-Borderline feral but good at pretending not to be

Alvena:

-Prefers to just stare at people until they become uncomfortable instead of, idk, talking to them

-Still feels guilty about revering Talos because of growing up in the Dominion even though she knows she shouldn’t

-Knows the absolute most random bullshit about religions and is kind of a walking encyclopedia on the topic

-Beanpole

-Could electrocute you on the spot by just kind of thinking about it

Altaire:

-Copes with her really bad childhood by flirting with anything that has a pulse

-Her sister may or may not have tried to drown her several times as a child

-Sometimes people don’t realize that she’s blind, which she finds endlessly amusing

-Mercer has threatened to murder her repeatedly, which just means she goes even farther out of her way to annoy him. the rest of the guild tries to keep them apart forcibly

Zanthe:

-Her eventual shop /cough laundering scheme cough/ is called “The Fox’s Finds”, no she’s not subtle

-Her natural hair color is light brown, but it’s dyed red for most of the time she’s a Grey Fox

-Continually makes allusions to being a Grey Fox to Mercer but never tells him definitively because she loves fucking with him and knows he generally disapproves of her but she’s too valuable for him to get rid of

-Made her slingshot herself and does wood carvings as a hobby

Aralyn:

-Has an older sister who ran away from their pretty evil parents and she kind of resents for not taking her with her

-Almost too nervous to function

-Lucien found her sleeping next to her parents’ corpses covered in blood so that’s fun i guess

-I have a lot of characters who are really quiet and she’s one of them

-Feral and not good at hiding it

-Absolutely should not be released into civilized society

Jaede:

-???

-??????

-More seriously she puts in two new dukes of mania/dementia and then has the one from dementia replaced cause she doesn’t like him

-Way too fond of breaking skulls with a giant warhammer than she should be

-A walking collection of all of the different items collected during the shivering isles (most notably: charity of madness, regalia, nerveshatter, diadem of euphoria)

Asenath:

-Small and ANGRY

-Will fight you and will almost certainly win

-Has been having weird dreams about people she’s never met since she was young but always shrugged it off as, you know, normal dreams

-Hint: they were not normal dreams

-Initially opposed to having a ghost sharing her head but she came around and they’re best friends now

-Will just start making snarky comments to her ghost friend which is really awkward when other people can’t see him

i’m sorry again that this took so long and was so long but i hope you enjoyed and thank you for the ask! i had a lot of fun with this!!! :D

#ask #thewriteroflucifenia #aellai darrell #raewyn corvanne #larandel #tamera #lyra darrell #mizuki #alvena #altaire #zanthe #aralyn #jaede #asenath darrell #thank you again! this was a lot of fun #it got away from me a little #oops #i spend too much time thinking about my characters WHOOPS #cat says things

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rjfaqs · 5 years

Text

Brian Michael Bendis is the Eminem of Comics

”I created a monster, cuz nobody wants to see Peter no more, they want Miles, I’m chopped liver.”

Hey, Guys, it’s R.J. “Smooth” and I don’t have a slogan but let’s get into it.

It’s Black History Month and today I wanted to talk about one of comic’s most beloved characters, Miles Morales. Since the release of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Miles Morales’ popularity skyrocketed and, after seeing it, could you blame it?

Everything about that film just oozed with love for the character. Everything from the setting, the animation to the very soundtrack, an insurmountable amount of credit goes to every single member of the crew that worked on that film. Just recently, the film even wound up earning a Golden Globe for “BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM” and went home to snag seven Annie Awards. The Annie Awards, for those of you who don’t know, [like I didn’t until recently] is a prestigious ceremony celebrating the works of animated films. Films like Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Kung Fu Panda and even Shrek won Annie Awards for BEST ANIMATED FEATURE.

For better reference, Frozen, one of Disney’s best films both critically and commercially, took home five of these awards. Spider-Man went on to take seven. SEVEN ANNIE AWARDS! That’s almost unheard of and even I, someone who has a love-hate relationship with Miles Morales, gotta say it deserved every one.

In spite of it not doing so well financially, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is easily one of Spider-Man’s best films and possibly even best superhero movies of all time. However, none of this would’ve been possible without the help of one man, his creator:

Brian Michael Bendis.

Brian Michael Bendis is one of the best in the comics industry, having written for practically every major publisher: Marvel, DC, Image, Oni and Caliber. With titles such as: “House of M”, “Ultimate Spider-Man”, “Daredevil” and, currently, “Superman”, it’s no safe to say that Bendis knows has a genuine love for comics and doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. Bendis has a legacy spanning over a decade and has face some contraversy in his career, as well. Nevertheless, he still manages to pull himself together and continue to make great content and is loved by many. Not to discredit other comic writers, but you just know, whether it be good, bad, or somewhere in between, you know you’re in for some shit when Bendis is the one behind the pen.

Wait… Why does this sound familiar…?

Eminem had a similar career path, as well. Ranging from okay, to garbage to untouchably good, Eminem is very much the same. So, the question is:

Is Brian Michael Bendis the Eminem of Comics?

While not nearly as dramatic, it could be right in front of our faces this whole time. What makes this more interesting is that Eminem is no stranger to comics himself, often reciting lyrics, or “bars”, in his raps that directly relate to them.

“They call me Superman, leap tall hoes in a single bound

I’m single now - I’ll never let another chick bring me down”

-Superman

“Knife in hand, says their relationship’s hanging by a strand

So she’s been on the web lately

Says maybe she’ll be my Gwen Stacy

To Spite her man (Spider-Man)”

-River

“Parasite, and I probably ruined your parents' life

And your childhood too

'Cause if I'm the music that y'all grew up on

I'm responsible for you retarded fools

I'm the supervillain dad and mom was losin' their marbles to

You marvel that? Eddie Brock is you

And I'm the suit, so call me

Venom”

-Venom

Hell, probably the most overt callout to comics was when he was featured in a one-shot with Marvel titled: “Eminem/Punisher”.

Okay, okay, it’s one thing to callout comics in raps as something you may like but what makes Bendis the Eminem of his craft? Well, it’s a bit easier than one may think.

Starting out, Eminem was relatively unknown. He was known for being the white guy who battle raps and was often shunned because of it. The culture of Rap is black music and Em, in spite of his skills, wasn’t welcomed at the time. Even after the release of his first album “Infinite”, he still found no fame or no home to truly say he belonged in hip-hop. That was until his fateful loss at the Rap Olympics in ’97 got the attention of his future manager Jimmy Iovine and producer/mentor Dr. Dre.

Bendis, turns out, kind of had a similar path. Like most artists in the media/entertainment business, he’d seen little success as an artist for caricatures, but soon found his footing in writing, doing small bits in the 90’s for both IMAGE and ONI Comics. It wasn’t until he was hired by MARVEL Comics to write a new line of comics with the titular one being “ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN” in 2000. Coincidentally, it was just a bit after Eminem released “The Slim Shady LP” in 1999.

From there, both Bendis and Shady seemed to be on an unstoppable course for success. Eminem went on to release both “The Marshall Mathers LP” and “The Eminem Show” while Bendis continued to write for Marvel and continued “Ultimate Spider-Man” and other titles like “Ultimate Fantastic Four”, & “Ultimate X-Men”. The two were truly at the top of their games and nothing seemed to slow them down.

That is, until they kept going.

Eminem had his own torment in his life with the passing of his best friend and rapper, Proof, and nearly overdosed on sleep medication. It was a struggle to get back, but it seemed his drive for music got him back on his feet. Releasing works such as “Encore” and “Relapse”, the latter being after his near-death experience, but audiences weren’t nearly as enthused with his work. Eminem even mentioned it on his single “Not Afraid”, going so far to refer to his last CD [Relapse] as “ehhhhh”.

However, yet again, around the same time, the two hit another surge. Bendis released “Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man” (2011) and debuted to the world Miles Morales, only a year after Eminem released his newest, at-the-time, album “Recovery”. Again, the two were back to making solid content. Bendis, admittedly, wasn’t exactly on a slow streak like Shady was, but with such a new character and a drastic change to the status quo, he was met with a fair amount of controversy. (Something Eminem is no stranger to.)

However, he persevered and Miles Morales quickly became a household name.

Now, I could go on, and trust me there are plenty more parallels to go off of, but I feel the point is made. Both men are massive legends in their respective lanes and hard to be competed with in their craft. And, with Bendis now working over at DC Comics spearheading “Superman”, “Action Comics” & “Young Justice” and Eminem recently releasing “Kamikaze”, it seems that neither artist with stay down for long and will deal with an issues that come their way.

But I don’t know tho…

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itsadrizzit · 5 years

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Happy Birthday to the man who probably saved my life (an ode to Bright Eyes)

14 February on this blog is Christian Eriksen day, but on 15 February we turn to another hugely important figure in my life. Someone who I feel like I’ve known on a deep spiritual level for close to half my life, just via his music, Someone who always knows the right thing to say and exactly what I need to hear.

Do you ever think sometimes that there’s someone out there in the world who you’ve maybe never met (or maybe you have, but not until you were well along your journeys) but somehow they seem to be living a parallel life? They bring the deepest parts of themselves out in their art and it’s exactly the art you would be creating if you knew how to create that art, because those are also the deepest, most raw parts of your soul?

Because I do. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t. I’d say that’s not real or you’re projecting or, in my younger days, that you were speaking twelve kinds of bullshit. EXCEPT! that I have had this person in my life. Different lives and different experiences and different places and different cultures, but at the same time I have never felt so understood by another human being, be it a friend or a complete stranger, than I have by Conor Oberst. And I will always love him for that.

So. Happy Conor Oberst day, friends. As is the tradition, I spent the day working my way through his music catalogue from early days onward. He’s so prolific that I didn’t even include side projects like Desaparecidos or Mystic Valley Band or Monsters of Folk and I didn’t even make it to any of his solo work, so this is Bright Eyes focused, which is fine, because Bright Eyes is the way I love Conor Best.

Behind the cut... a walk through life (mine and Conor’s running in parallel), time, and sound featuring my favourite songs from each album (arbitrarily selected by what felt right at this moment). Now that I am creating my own art, I can see Conor’s influence everywhere in the way I shape my thoughts, my imaginings, and my worldview, and I think that’s the best gift anyone could ever have given me.

First. A Collection of Songs Written and Recorded 1995–1997.

This is just... when I think about what I was doing from 1995 - 1997 it just... doesn’t even come close to this. Conor was age 15 - 17 at this point. This was all recorded on hi-fi equipment and a four track in his parents’ basement and it’s just... LEVELS above anything 99% of people produce at that age under those conditions. It blows me away. It blows me away and, as we’ve established, when I think about my life at that time, at ages 15 - 17 it just... it’s this. I didn’t know Conor yet, but I wish I had because the idea of someone else GETTING IT the way that he gets it would have made a world of difference to me at that age.

I mean... we have to go with this one. There’s another version of this on a different album, but.... this is the original and the best.

Feb 15 (Happy Birthday to Me) - Links to YouTube

If I had to pick a favourite lyric, I guess it’s this:

I'm sorry about the phone call / And waking you / I know that it's late / But thank you for talking / Cause I needed to / Yeah, some things just can't wait

Second... Letting Off the Happiness

This is the first Bright Eyes album to be produced by Mike Mogis (a man Conor likes to refer to as the Dr, Dre of indie rock, because he has become known as THE producer among certain circles). It’s not a studio album, still having largely been recorded in people’s basements, but this is really the first time we hear Bright Eyes becoming Bright Eyes. And also just... the FEELINGS being conveyed on this album. Once again, I wish I’d had this when it came out in 1998 because damn didn’t I need it.

Musically, this isn’t my favourite song, but lyrically... like... damn if that wasn’t my whole entire life in 1998, seriously.

If Winter Ends - Links to YouTube

Favourite lyrics like... damn if it isn’t the whole song. But as I think back on 1998 me and what she was working through and working with and everything new and trying to fit in and figure out what the fuck was even going on in life and what she needed to do to please everyone or even just SOMEONE just one time... this line rises to the top:

Just get me out of here / But you get six months to adapt / And you get two more to leave town / In the event that you do adapt / We still might not want you around

Third... we finally get into the studio albums. The albums I love. The time when I found Bright Eyes or Bright Eyes found me or whatever. I love them so much that in 2015 as a gift to myself, despite owning all these albums digitally, on CD, and some of them on vinyl, I bought this:

That, friends, is ELEVEN OF THE MOST DEFINING YEARS OF MY LIFE commemorated on fancy, coloured vinyl.

We begin with... Fevers and Mirrors

Of all the studio albums, this has slowly grown to be one of my least favourites. That said... there are still moments when I listen to this that I get chills. There are these moments of pure, raw, powerful emotion that I just can’t help but stop what I’m doing and sing along and feel and live and love. My c.a. 2000 self was figuring a lot of things out. She was learning who SHE was versus who she thought everyone else wanted her to be. She was turning into the give no fucks girl she would be in a few years and still is now and Conor helped her do that and I love her and I love him for it.

Hands down my favourite song is this one:

Arienette - Links to YouTube

As for lyrics... ooooffff I will randomly select some for you, I guess.

So don't leave me here with only mirrors watching me / This house, it holds nothing but the memories / And the moon, it leaves silver but never sleep

Fourth... Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground

My favourite Bright Eyes album. Out of all of them. My favourite. 2002 and I was angry at everything and Conor was angry at everything. I was a mess, and so was he. 2002 - 2005 were... important years on my journey. I miss them. I miss that girl. I sometimes think I want her back, but no. I don’t. She had fun, but it was all artificially created, chemically created fun. Without it... without it everything was darkness and anger and sadness and crippling feelings of ABJECT FAILURE. At everything. That girl, she had friends and they loved her, but she didn’t understand that. She had lovers and partners and none of them loved her, but she didn’t understand that. She lived and breathed music, every moment of every day. She made choices (good and bad... mostly bad) that made me who I am today. I wouldn’t be me without her, but because of her I sometimes wondered if I would ever be here. And I wonder what she would think of us now. Would she love this life of stability and security and contentment, or would she hate me for “selling out”, for being boring and old and “too settled”? I think she would hate the idea, but as that girl 17 years later, I can tell you that yeah, sometimes she still hates it, but also whenever she tries to live her old life, she retreats back into her boring life of stability and solitude. I love that girl, and I’m glad she’s still in her me with her defiance and her fire and her passions and her constant quest for something beautiful in the world. I’m not sure if she ever found the one she was looking for, but she sure can see more of it in more places now than she could back then.

Anyway, I love this whole album, but there has never been a question as to which was my favourite:

Let’s Not Shit Ourselves (To Love And To Be Loved) - Links to YouTube

I mean, even the title basically sums up where I was in life in 2002. Aside from the fact that the scathing political commentary at the end of this song is STILL HORRIFYINGLY ACCURATE, there’s just so much in here that once again I’m like... Conor are we living the same life? Are we?

Particularly resonant lyrics both now and back then:

And so I've learned to retreat at the first sign of danger / I mean, why wait around, if it's just to surrender? / An ambition, I've found, can lead only to failure / I do not read the reviews, no, I am not singin' for you

FIFTH (I skipped the Christmas Album). I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning

The album that was always my second favourite, and maybe still is. I think it’s the most popular one. The one that sort of launched Bright Eyes full force into the sphere of the indie rock scenesters. It’s their first trend towards a more mature sound. His calmest sounding album. Introspective and thoughtful, but still angry. Bringing in really big name people to collaborate. The production values higher and the budget bigger. Conor having moved from Omaha to New York and bringing with him all those big city sounds and ideas and feelings. This is honestly a GREAT album front to back. Absolutely fantastic. It gets political, it goes deep, it doesn’t pull back. Everything poignant and resonant and tinged with that particular Conor Oberst melancholy that I, too, carried with me throughout life.

This is the album with the most lyrics that at the time, and still do to this day, made me stand up and yell YES, CONOR, THAT!

A sampling, before we get to my favourite:

“We must memorise nine numbers and deny we have a soul.”

“We might die from medication, but we sure killed all the pain.”

“What seems so simple in the moonlight by the morning never is.”

“If I don’t come back, I mean if I get sidetracked, it’s only ‘cause I wanted to.”

“I’ll fight like hell to hide that I’ve given up.”

“The world’s got me dizzy again. You’d think after 22 years I’d be used to the spin.”

“The sound of loneliness makes me happier.”

Honestly...there is a solid TIE for my favourite song on this album so I will give you one and then another.

First Day of My Life - Links to YouTube

Honestly like... it’s just a beautiful song. And honestly the sentiments like... damn Conor this is basically what it was like to try to date me at this time in life. And sometimes Jonas and I (even though we knew one another by this time) will still say “I’m glad I didn’t die before I met you” because, honestly, it’s the truth, and it’s something that could easily have happened in our lives, but didn’t.

And then... the song I loved from the opening note and will always love for all time. Because I related to it, and because it’s angry, and because WE’RE STILL THAT ANGRY, honestly.

Road to Joy - Links to YouTube live version with an interview with Conor

Favourite lyrics:

No one ever plans to sleep out in the gutter / Sometimes that’s just the most comfortable place

AND

So when you’re asked to fight a war that’s over nothing / It’s best to join the side that’s gonna win / And no one’s sure how all of this got started / But we’re gonna make ‘em goddamn certain how it’s gonna end

Bless, boy. Bless.

SIXTH... Digital Ash in a Digital Urn

So this album and I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning dropped on the same day and they COULD NOT BE MORE DIFFERENT. That is intentional. This is the point where the hardcore Bright Eyes fans divided themselves into factions... and some hated both. This album was a place for Conor to explore and Mike Mogis to SHINE. I... hated it. For a long time. Like, I didn’t even own it. I thought it was TERRIBLE. And... fun fact that will come up a bit later, little beknownst to me, one of Jonas’s friends LOVED this album and would play it non-stop, so THIS (the least “Bright Eyes” album of them all) was the album Jonas associated with Bright Eyes. So whenever I would speak about the band he would make these faces like... I hate that band, OMG why are you obsessed with them, they are TERRIBLE. (More on this in the next album discussion)

At one point, I caved and bought this on a used CD for ridiculously cheap because I needed to be a completist about my Bright Eyes collection. Then I listened to it again. This was probably around 2011 or 2012 or so. And.. I DID NOT HATE IT. I mean, it’s not my favourite, but also like... I understand it. I feel like I really missed out at the time because there are some great songs here and some great things that my 2005-self would really have related to had she given it a chance.

I’m still not sure if lyrically I have a favourite song, so here’s the catchiest song on the album. One of the bigger singles, and probably the only one anyone who wasn’t super into the album paid attention to.

Take it Easy (Love Nothing) - Links to YouTube (live from SXSW)

Even that title speaks to the me of 2005. Like... if this wasn’t her life at that time I have no idea what was. She was WRONG about this album.

Lyric... like, damn how can you not love this?

Don't take it so bad it is nothing you did. / It's just once something dies you can't make it live.

SEVENTH - Cassadaga

Cassa-fucking-daga. Story time.

It’s two years since we’d heard from Bright Eyes. I’m working a real job and in grad school and living away from downtown and starting to settle. I’m at a weird place in life, really, because it’s like I’m trying to grow up and get over my shit and my mis-spent youth and my mistakes, but I’m still in the same city so it’s hard not to fall back into that life. For the first time ever, though, I have a circle of friends who ACTUALLY FUCKING CARE about me and I like them for them and no one is pretentious or fake, we’re just giant fucking nerds, mostly. I did this thing where I stopped being in relationships for a full year because I needed to know I could exist without it. I needed to find ME again. And I did, and it was great, and I wasn’t HAPPY, per se, but I wasn’t the hottest mess in the universe anymore either, so things were looking up. Jonas had gotten back from his time in South Korea and he’d also mostly figured his shit out and he was sometimes living with me after my roommate moved out and I had a rather nice 2BR apartment to myself and sometimes living elsewhere because of his commitments. We were maybe dating and maybe not, because we haven’t ever really defined our relationship like that. I mean, this was after the point in life that I called him and said “It turns out I hate everyone who isn’t you” so I think we define that as the start of our “relationship” AKA elevated friendship/sibling/weird roommate situation.

Also, I had my radio show at this point. Part of our tasks at the radio station were that we had to review CDs that came in (people would send us demos and full albums to pitch their stuff to us and see if we’d play it and all that and we all had to do a certain number of reviews per 6 months or something like that). Usually it wasn’t anything I’d ever heard of before, because when known entities came out the full-time staff would pull it and review because they knew we’d want to play it, so here’s unsuspecting me in late March like ehhhhh I need something to listen to at work, I guess... and what is there on that shelf? BRIGHT EYES - CASSADAGA. Like... how no one else had grabbed it is beyond me, but it was a FULL TWO WEEKS BEFORE THE RELEASE DATE, so I grabbed that thing and held it close to my chest like it was the fucking One Ring and took it with me. I didn’t listen to it at work, because I wanted the full experience in the privacy of my own home (and also to copy it to my computer so I had it to listen to until I could buy it outright).

This weekend, Jonas happened to be in town. So... unapologetically I told him “I know you hate Bright Eyes for some COMPLETELY MYSTERIOUS REASON, but this isn’t even out yet and I’m going to listen to it very loudly and I don’t care about your life.”

Two songs in, he LOVED this album and honestly kept saying “Wait this is Bright Eyes? No it’s not.” and this is when I learned he’d only ever heard Digital Ash in a Digital Urn. So I like to make fun of him for that whenever we listen to Cassadaga. It’s his favourite Bright Eyes album now.

I like it because the sound matured and the content matured, just like I had. This was an album about feeling unsettled and wanderlust and trying to find your place in the world, which is exactly what I was doing. Just today, in fact, when I was listening to this, I caught the line “ Better find yourself a place to level out “ and once again yelled out “YES, CONOR!” followed by “I NEEDED THAT THEN AND I NEED IT NOW!”

It’s a different sound, a mature sound, less angry, less ambiance, less driving beat, more... song. A little alt-country. I can hear the Mike Mogis influence and the Nate Walcott influence, and it’s really just a lovely album that I can’t explain WHY I like, but I think it has something to do with it once again being exactly what I needed at the time, while still managing to be something different than all the Bright Eyes that had gone before, just like I was still me while still managing to be something different than before. We’d all done some growing in those two years.

Again, I have two favourite songs (more really) and I refuse to choose right now, so you get both:

If the Brakeman Turns my Way - links to YouTube

I never thought of running / My feet just led the way

I Must Belong Somewhere - links to YouTube

Everything - it must belong somewhere. / And you know it's true - I wish you'd leave me here. / You know it's true - why don't you leave me here?

FINALLY - The People's Key

2011.. We’d had Mystic Valley Band and Monsters of Folk and solo work and I thought... fine, Bright Eyes is wrapped and done. Everyone has moved on. And that’s fine. Cassadaga was a good send off. Move out of your youth and into adulthood with a bit of wanderlust and feeling unsettled. That quarter-life crisis thing. I certainly got it.

By this time I’m married. I’m living here in Minneapolis. I’m working. I’m settled and re-settled and have more or less become the me that I am today. We’ve gone from the wildness of youth to fondly remembering it as we try to figure out the next steps.

And then Bright Eyes releases an album. On Conor’s birthday. At the time I’m coming up on the next junction of life... moving from my 20s to my 30s and figuring out WTF that means anyway and trying not to feel like I’m old and past it and have wasted my life.

Conor comes along and says something like, we felt like we owed it to all of you to close down that chapter in our lives. Because Conor is a brilliant genius who obviously lives the same life I do.

They put out an album, and it is weird, and it is dancey, and it is poppy, and it is synthy and I dance down the streets of Minneapolis with a giant grin on my face and I don’t care how ridiculous I look. And I go see Bright Eyes live in concert one last time. And I cry... because I am so happy. Because Conor is so happy. He’s an adult and he’s mostly settled and he’s like, hey, everyone, I’m going to be okay and so are you.

Everyone’s favourite song on this album is the track before this one, but this, for whatever reason, is the one I love.

Jejune Stars - links to YouTube official video

Every new day is a gift, it's a song of redemption / Any expression of love is the way to return / To that place that I think of so often, but now never mention / The one the voice in the back of my head says that I don't deserve

AND

Sure I have my doubts / But I know it now / We are Jejune stars / So it starts again / At our childhood's end / I'll die young at heart

And so we leave it there. There’s been much more from Conor since, all of it hitting exactly the right notes in my life as we journey on our parallel paths, but if that’s where Bright Eyes leaves me, then what an optimistic and hopeful place to move forward from.

My life, my love, my heart.

#drizzit life #if any of you read this whole thing you're my new best friend #because I fully anticipate no one cares #did I spend like three hours on this #instead of doing anything useful #yes

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averymessyxmas · 5 years

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Chapter 12: Christmas Eve Eve Dinner Explosion! 2 days till Christmas!

(No Pov’s)

It was the day before Christmas Eve. Sharice had hired a photographer to take family pictures. She was nervous about the dinner. It was going to be a big dinner, Sharice just felt that shit might pop off but she pushed it away. “Okay yall let’s get these pics out the way” She said. Danielle had come earlier that morning with the kids and everyone got in their matching Pajamas. Each family took a separate photo. Janessa and Dylan with Chase. Michael and Vada did Christmas Engagement pictures. Andre and Norielle took the time to do a Maternity Shoot together. Narkim had Denisha and him wear the same outfit and took pictures. Although Nylah and Damien were rocky with their friendship, they took playful pictures in the snow. Sharice took some with Stephan. MJ and Danielle and Leiana and Christian. Christian Leiana took pics with Chase as well. Then the whole family took pictures in their pajamas. Sharic hired a video camera staff as well to shoot every moment with the family. It was going on Dinner time when Malcom Sr. And Kristen had showed up. Malcom Sr. had drunk half a bottle of Jack before coming into his old house. Sharice had the whole family take Pics with him and her. Norielle went back to hiding her pregnancy, fearing her dad would cause a Scene. “Daddy this is Andre my boyfriend” Norielle said to Malcom Sr. He looked Andre up and down and shook his hand firmly. “Nice to meet you young man, we will talk more at dinner”. Norielle sighed and Andre rubbed her back. Sharice had purposely placed everyone in a certain seat based on family and to avoid arguments. She put Janessa and Dylan near Andre and Norielle, to avoid Malcom Sr. Everyone sat down and Sharice and Malcom Sr. stood up to say their speech as Luther Vandross “Have yourself a little Christmas” played in the background. “Im so happy we are all together with new faces, and some families of your own” Sharice said smiling. Everyone lifted their glass. “Let’s have an amazing night and share new memories”. She said. Malcom Sr. began to speak. “I would like to say thank yall for coming and would like to Thank some of you for never disappointing me” He said. Everyone sighed and some groaned and roll their eyes. Malcom Sr came to start shit. The food was placed on the table and everyone talked amongst themselves. Malcom Sr had Kristen fix his plate as he looked around the table to see who he should call out first. “Well Daddy, Michael and I are getting married” Vada said happily. Malcom Sr. smiled at Michael. “I’m very happy to hear that but he didn’t get my approval and yall can’t get married till he does” Vada smile faded, and she rolled her eyes. “Well maybe if you were here instead of with this little girlfriend of yours he could have asked” Vada snapped having a little liquor courage. Michael covered his face. “Baby, please” He said to Vada. Malcom Sr. looked at Vada, giving her a look, he would give his children back in their younger days. “Narkim, Your school called me the other day asking me, If you were planning to enroll back soon, they miss you and think you have a bright future”. Malcom Sr. said looking at Sharice. Sharice looked at Narkim. “Why would the school call your father about going back to school aren’t you in school?” She asked him. Denisha grabbed Narkims hand under the table. “Umm school just isn’t for me” He stated. Sharice chuckled, downing her wine. “It’s this girl that has your head fucked up, I knew it” She said looking at Denisha. “You are a no-good hoe ass girl, trying to get my soon to give up on his life like you did” She snapped. “Mama chill, it wasn’t Nisha” Narkim said. Malcom Sr. put his finger up at Narkim. “Don’t back talk your mama she is right, she got you fucked up, how are you going to make a living?” He said to him. Narkim pulled a band out and out it on the table. “I make more money than anybody in this house, I don’t need school!” He yelled. MJ shook his head. Sharice looked at Denisha. “You got my son selling drugs?” She yelled at her. Denisha stood up. “I been trying to get your son back into school and off the streets, he been doing this before he met me!” She snapped. Denisha realized that she snitched on Narkim. “Shit” She said with her face in her hands. Dre started to think. “You were the one who put that brick in my car wasn’t?” Andre asked. Norielle sighed. “You set me up Narkim?” He asked. Narkim shook his head. “It was an accident. “An accident, you made me take the fall for shit I aint do then make me miss half of my girl’s pregnancy?” He asked. “I was bout to go down for 5 years! 5 years without seeing my son!” Sharice looked at Norielle. “Jail?” She said looking them. Malcom Sr. looked at Norielle. “Son?” Malcom Sr. said looking at Norielle who was trying to calm down Dre’. Her bump was starting to show through her sweater. “You got my daughter pregnant?” He said. “Daddy, Mama it’s not what it seems” She said to her parents. Sharice shook her head. “You said his family was rich and did Ministry work?” She said. Norielle nodded. “They do, he went to jail for something he didn’t do!” She stressed. Andre looked at Norielle. “You knew?” He asked. Nori shook her head. “I just found out a couple of days I go I promise” He sucked his teeth in “You foul as fuck, I can’t believe you or you scum ass brother, I don’t want shit to do with you! Is the baby even mine? You being keeping a lot of shit from me!” He snapped. Narkim balled up his fist. “You can talk shit to me and hate me but you not bout to dog my sister out” He snapped. Damien stood up. “For real” He said. Andre shook his head and grabbed his jacket and left. Norielle started crying and got up. “Im not done with your ass Norielle” Malcom Sr. snapped. Norielle ran upstairs. Sharice looked at Narkim. “Get the hell out of my house!” She yelled. “Man fuck yall” He snapped. Sharice gasped, Malcom Sr. got up. Narkim grabbed Nisha and walked out. Everyone was silent looking around and taking in everything. Malcom Sr. looked around at everyone and looked at Janessa. “All my kids are a disappointment” He said. Vada looked at him. “Excuse me?” She said. “Nobody in this house is disappointing, Janessa married a white man soo what? He loves her and thats all that matters, Get over it, you cheated on my mother mutiple times, Norielle is pregnant but shit happens, Narkim will learn shit the hard way and being a stripper is not so bad mom” Vada stressed. Kristen shook her head. “Yall need to have more respect for your father” She said. Nylah sighed “Shut up Ms. Madison” She said. “You need to check your little friend” Kristen said to Damien. “She good” Damien said. Malcom Sr. looked at Damien. “Don’t disrespect her like that” He said. Damien started laughing. “I been fucking her the whole time, I think she been disrespecting you” Damien snapped. The emotions “What do the lonely’s do at Christmas” was playing. Malcom Sr. stood up. “What did you say to me boy?” He said. Damien stood up. “Ms. Madison has been coming on to me, making me do things I don’t want to do, she been sending me nudes” He stated. Kristen shook her head. “That’s not true” She said. Nylah nooded and pulled out her phone with the pictures and the text. “It is true” Sharice gasped looking at the messages and pictures. “He raped me!” Kristen yelled out. Damien laughed. “Nah you been raping me, having me bend you over and give it to you the long way, making me come over against my will fucking me on your couch, I feel ashamed and like my man hood was stolen!” Damien yelled pretending to be traumatized. Sharice was trying to get up to fight but Stephan held her back. Malcom Sr. looked at Kristen and them Damien. “You been fucking my baby boy?” He said. She shook her head. “No he’s lying we had consensual sex” She stated. “Man shut up, you been riding me this whole time you was with my dad!” Damien yelled. “You told me you can’t live without my D and everything” He stressed. Malcom Sr. turned around to try to strangle Damien. MJ fought his dad off. Vada punched the shit out of Kristen. “We will be pressing charges you pedophile” She said. Kristen tried to leave but Nylah grabbed her mase. “I will blind you if you move bitch”. “Get him out of my house! And get the police here” Sharice yelled. Kristen started crying. “Im sorry” She said. Malcom Sr. was still holding on to Damien. Grandma Rudy was trying to calm everyone down when she fell out on the floor. “Get off him Dad!” MJ stressed, Michael ran to Grandma Rudy. Dylan helped MJ. Malcom Sr. looked at Dylan and punched him in the face. Janessa ran over to him. “Dad you need to leave now!” She said. Malcom Sr. looked around and started to calm down. “Get out!” Vada yelled at him. He walked out. Sharice and Michael tried to wake Grandma Rudy.

25mins later. An ambulance and the police showed up taking Kristen into custody and taking Grandma Rudy to the hospital the EMT team had said she had a heart attack. Everyone including Norielle went to the hospital.

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crazedattractionff-blog · 6 years

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Chapter 10

Mayleen Janae Carter

My back against the seat, lighting up my fifth blunt of the night, just thinking about life and Dre...he's always been solid about his feelings towards me, but the way he acts at school is just something different. Why act brand new in front of everyone else, but behind closed doors he shows affection? I don't get it, and I don't think I ever will. I'm not bout to wait on him either, so maybe letting him go will just have to be best. That's what it comes down to.

"Why you don't wanna be together?" Dre asked, looking over at me.

After we parted ways with the crew, we decided to hang out, but now it's getting deep...I didn't think he would be the one to bring it up, but I knew it had to be talked about one way or another...just not tonight, this can go two ways between us.

"Cause Dre, you already have females...I don't wanna be added to that list, aight?" I said truthfully. I'm more than that, and discovered my worth a while ago, I will not be anybody's second choice, rebound, none of that!

"Who said I got females? Cause I don't." Dre paused, licking his bottom lip, scratching under his chin. "Listen, ion want any of em cause they ain't genuine, never really took the time to get to know me, like you did...I ain't comparing em to you, cause you're different, Mayleen. You've always been true, and ion know what took me so long to realize that." He confessed, I had to fight the urge of rolling my eyes.

"Dre..you been smoking, so why couldn't you say this before we were five blunts deep?"

He just shrugged, dropping the conversation.

India Jade Williams

Silence.

That's what consumed the house. Blake is over at one of his friends' houses, a couple other boys on his team spent the night over there; I didn't have a problem with it because we know the family, they've been over here a few times due to parties. As Blake was gone, it was just me and Chris, I'm staying in my room because I don't want to have a run in with Chris...never mind there was only so much silence I can take, so I put my pride to the side and made my way to Chris' room.

Bunny slippers and all.

Blowing out a breath, I raised my hand to knock on his door, soon creaking the door open and walked in slowly. "I'm not disturbing you, am I?" I questioned, as I looked at him, holding a tiny smile.

He shook his head, waving me over. "Nah you good, wassup?" He licked the corner of his lip, eyeing my petite frame. I looked down at what I was wearing, leggings and a tank top.

"Nothing, I'm bored...and I guess we could have some bonding time?" I added in quickly, taking a seat on the edge of his bed. I meant it as like friendly bonding, nothing sexual...but if it happens, it happens.

He raised his brow, shaking his head, "What you tryna bond over?" I just shrugged, his voice was in that relaxed state, had a slight rasp to it, and that shit was a weakness for me.

"We could watch a movie...then eat something?" I suggested. The way he was looking at me had me ready to jump on him, but I had to keep my cool. Getting up from his bed, I clapped my hands and made my way towards the door, "I'll meet you downstairs, we can order a pizza too."

"Aight, I'll be down in a bit." Chris sat up on his bed, going to a box on the side of his dresser. I'm guessing that's where he keeps his stash, cause I have one myself. Nodding, I turned on the heels of my feet and walked out of his room.

Letting out a hum as I sat on the couch, I turned the tv on and settled on old reruns of Wild N Out, it's mad corny now but they got some good guests. Feeling the couch shift, I looked over at Chris, then back at the tv. Out the corner of my eye I saw him split the backwood, pouring the guts into an empty water bottle, and filling the wrap with green.

"Dominos or Pizza Hut?" I asked, as a commercial came on.

"Pizza Hut. The fuck kinda question is that, India?" He chuckled loosely, tucking and folding as he sealed the backwood. I distracted myself by dialing the number for Pizza Hut.

"Hey, I was just asking. Most don't like them." I shrugged, the dial tone ending as someone answered.

"Thanks for calling Pizza Hut, this is Emily, how may I assist you?" Emily spoke, sounding too cheery. Must be her first day, or she just loves her job.

"Hi Emily, what kind of deals are you guys offering?" I asked. You have to ask those type of questions, cause you'll be saving money. Thank me later!

"There's a 2 Medium 2-topping pizzas for $5.99, a Dinner Box with your choice of 1 topping medium pizza your choice of a side with cinnasticks, and then there's our Big Dinner Box, 2 medium pizzas and 1 topping and a choice of two sides." I put her on speaker so Chris can hear too, he mouthed the last option. Of course with his fat ass.

"The last option is sounding great, so for the first Pizza just pepperoni and the second sausage. For the sides, let's do that chicken pasta and buffalo wings." I let her know, Chris smirking. I don't know what for, and I'm not asking.

"Okay, will this be delivery or carryout?"

"Delivery. 14825 Figueroa Court."

"Your total will be $23.50 for the night, will that be on a card or with cash?" I let her know cash, "Great, it should be there within the next 45 minutes."

"Thanks, have a great night." I smiled, soon hanging up and placing my phone onto the arm of the couch.

3 slices of pizza, 4 wings and a scoop of pasta, and I was done for. The itis was kicking in, and I could fall asleep at any given moment, but the movie that was displayed had my interest. The Lion King. My all time favorite, and Chris couldn't say nothing about it.

"I get you love this movie, but com'on let's switch it up." Chris groaned, leaning into the couch, as he lifted up one of his legs, laying it atop of the coffee table.

"Take your foot down." I chuckled, "It's almost over, so chill. You got dibs on the next movie."

"I'm good." He licked his lips, soon standing up and letting out a loud burp, it stank so bad so I covered my nose with my crew neck that I had got before the pizza arrived. "Hmm, Freddie vs Jason, Harold and Kumar, Barbershop 1 and 2. Damn y'all got the good shit." He chortled, looking through the collection against the wall.

"Hey!" I called out, seeing that the screen went to the blue, he really took my movie out.

"You'll be fine, you can watch it anytime you want." Chris put in the dvd he had selected, soon coming back to the couch, and laying down. Barely giving me any space, he ain't slick. "C'mere."

Panties soaked? Check!

His voice was in that husky state. Shaking my head, I stayed put, I'm gonna try and not give in. "I'm good where I'm at."

"Stop being difficult and com'on." A low laugh parted his lips, as he patted his lap. I mentally rolled my eyes, before sitting on him, my legs on the side of his waist, just above his dick. "Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" He taunted, placing one of his hands on top of my butt, and giving it a light squeeze, soon rubbing it.

I bit the corner of my lip, shaking my head. "Cut it out." I said lowly, diverting my eyes to the screen. "What movie did you put in?"

He continued to rub my butt, it was relaxing. "Scary movie." He chuckled, sliding his hand down my thigh, leaving it in a relaxed state.

I just nodded, seeing as the first scene came into play. I needed this. Alone time with no parents, or little brother around. I shifted on top of Chris, placing one of my hands onto his chest, as I nestled my head into his neck, gently pecking his skin. This was perfect, and I don't know what I was doing, or why I even bothered to do that, but for some reason it felt right...our parents aren't married, so there's no harm in us doing this, right?

Feeling his hand contact my skin, caused goosebumps to form against my body. He had slid his hand into my leggings, tracing the material of my thong. My breath got caught in my throat as his fingers reached my entrance, I bit down softly on his neck causing his fingers to slip inside my wetness. Moving my hips to the rhythm of his fingers, I felt his member hardened beneath me. He was wearing basketball shorts.

"Damn." He muttered, licking his lips. "Take these off." He referred to my leggings, removing his fingers from my lovebox. I sat up, soon getting off him and slid my leggings off, leaving me in my black thong and tank top. He reached for me, turning me over to where my ass was directly sitting on his hard-on, "You think you can handle this?" He questioned.

"Yes." I licked over my lips, as he moved my thong to the side and inserting himself into me. I moved my hips slowly as I rode him from the back, the sounds of my wetness surrounding the living room as he brought his hand to the front of my entrance and fingered me as I put in my work. "Shittttt." I moaned out, placing my hands onto his knees as I did a slow bounce on him.

"Fuck." I heard Chris grunt, swiftly turning us over as he was now on top, my face in the cushion of the couch. "This my pussy?" He questioned, tapping his dick at my entrance.

I smirked. "No." I looked over my shoulder at him.

He chuckled, "Aight, keep playin." He slid his big length into me slowly, pulled out halfway, then slammed into me causing me to shriek and moan at the same time.

#chris brown ff #india love ff #india westbrooks ff #highschool theme ff

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wonderlustandlost · 3 years

Text

we are the daredevil

️we are the daredevil.

ARGALE AND RASHIN.

️ㅤLanguage: English.

️ㅤRating: Explicit

️ㅤArchive Warning:

️ㅤHarsh words, Violence, Bloods.

Have you ever thought that some things in this life is already decided? Although you can run your life all you want and walk on your own path, there's things that will stay. For this matter, Dre believe that his life will end up on this way no matter how many times he is reincarned. There's also one thing he believe that in each life, he will always be Caesar's friend.

When he was young, he doesn't really get along with kids in his age because he's a weird with a powerful family. Kids on his age always try to stay away from him because they're too scared. Their parents also warn them to not get along with Dre. Dre doesn't mind, it's a good thing that they leave him alone. Beside, he likes being alone. He doesn't need friend.

But there's time that he do need friend. If people are too scared to even stay around him then who gonna help him? Can Dre save himself?

He can't help feel worried because he know he's weak and he's alone. But no matter what happened he couldn't show his weakness to anyone. He can't show fear or worries because he need to be strong even when he's not.

The amount of stress the Young Dre feels about his own existence send him to his very first panic attack. At was when Dre on his 5th grade of elementary school. Dre was beaten by his father at home and beaten by his own ego outside the house.

Dre body suddenly went sniff. He can't move and he couldn't breathe. The cold sweat start running on his skin and made his uniform wet from it. His pupils went blown, shaken of fear that he doesn't know where it came from.

He feel like he will pass out or even losing his life as he couldn't do at all. His heart beating too fast, he couldn't stop it and it was hammering like it will come out from his chest.

Then a hand land on his own. He didn't realized that he was gripping his table to hard that his fingers start to bleed. A soft voice wake him up and the warmth of the latter hold on his hand bring him back to reality.

He look up to see the person and it was the first time he notice this guy in his class. He's a new student and if Dre remember, his name is Caesar Rudaya.

----

Caesar Rudaya is a simple kid. He do what he want to do and life freely even when it cause himself trouble. Caesar think it's okay as long as he feel happy and he doesn't hurt anyone on purpose. Later on, he will only gonna get scolded by his teacher and also his parents.

Beside it's one of a way people gonna remember him right? Caesar the naughty kid, it doesn't sounds that bad for him.

Caesar and his family moves a lot. It was because his father need to take care of whatever his job is. He know that his father own a lot of restaurants all over the country that Caesar as his son have no choice but went along. That's the reason why Caesar never stick to one school, he always moves school one by one in each city.

Sometimes it pissed Caesar off because how he supposed to get a friend and life if things keep on changing. In the other side, he doesn't want to stuck with home schooling because Caesar find it no fun.

Caesar is hapy when his father declared that they gonna stay in Jakarta as their very last destination because he will start building his empire in that city. That means he will finally stay in one place and he will actually have a school now.

Caesar know that the city is different from any other city and that's means the people are also different. Caesar is good with getting used the environment around him and he know he will be fine.

The first day of school, Caesar already get a lot of friends and he get along just fine with everybody in the class except one scary looking kid who seems to be always alone. The other kids in the class told Caesar that it's better to not talk to the guy but when Caesar ask for the reason of it there's not really actual reason of it. People only put distance because the guy ooze scary aura.

He learned that the guy is Aldrean Lee, he's son of one of the famous family in the city. Caesar doesn't think a valid reason for the other kids to not be friend with the guy. Each day, Caesar only get curious because he's really doing all his business alone and it makes Caesar want to get to know the guy.

One day when it was break time and the class is empty, Caesar decided to talk to the guy but he looks completely different than he usually looks. He looks pale and sick, sweating so much and he doesn't even move inch when Caesar call his name, it seems like he doesn't hear him instead of ignoring him. When Caesar got closer he can see fear in the guy eyes, he touch his hand.

"Hey, Aldrean. Are you okay?"

The guy finally look up at him, Caesar feel his heart break because Aldrean Lee definetely look messy. He need help.

---

when dre's feel likd his brain start working again, he quickly moves his gaze to his own table. dre tries to breathe again, he can slowly breathing again and he hold caesar hand's tight like his life depends on it. He doesn't even realized that he grip caesar hand like that but his mind went auto pilot.

"i'm fine. i'm fine. hold on." dre muttered under his breathe, he sounds exhausted and he know that the guy notice it too. dre still trying to gathet his mind and look around the class, it's a good thing that there's no one. dre trying to make himself relax, it feels so long when truthfully it's only a few minutes pass.

when he feel more relaxed and he think that he finally get himself back, he let go of caesar's hand and look up to him, he with a frowny face. it might scare the guy but dre couldn't really control his own expression now.

"w-what?" dre ask caesar, he try to make his voice less shaky but when he talk he can't help himself. he still trying to recover from his panic attack.

"do you need help, caesar, right?" dre ask him again. a rush of embarrassment suddenly comes to him as he finally moves to look at caesar again and when he see caesar, the guy staring at him really deep and it feels like dre is completely exposed now.

this guy, he probably wont let it pass and leave him alone.

"hey, stop staring." dre look away again and he staring at his hand again and he moves, picking tissue in his bag to wipe the blood on his fingers. dre curses under his breathe.

---

Caesar do feel confused with what just happened. He watch how Aldrean struggling like he's trying to keep alive. Aldrean keep on holding his hand and Caesad have no idea what he should do because Caesar doesn't have the power to push the hand away from holding him because Aldrean seems really need it.

He let the guy keep on doing so until Caesar sure that he feek better. But even when Aldrean seems to be already fine and gathering his ownself, Caesar doesn't leave him alone. When Aldrean ask him if Caesar need his help, Caesar doesn't even remember what his business again by coming to Aldrean's table that day.

"Huh? Shouldn't i the one who ask you that way?" Caesar ask Aldrean and he sounds really confused because Aldrean seems to be pissed. He act like he wasn't holding Caesar hand earlier.

"You look like you're about to die, how can i stop staring?" Caesar make a frowny face and he move closer to Aldrean and staring at the guy hand as it was blending, "See? You're even blending from gripping your own table."

Caesar shakes his head and he feel like he need to tell this to the teacher because Aldrean is sick and he's sure of it.

"I will tell the teacher." Caesar announced but Aldrean stop him and told Caesar that he's fine even when Caesar doesn't understand which side of Aldrean is fine. But the guy insisted and told Caesar that he should shut his mouth and keep everything as secret that Caesar just witnesses the Aldrean Lee about to die by a panic attack.

"Why? Are you really fine now?" Caesar take a seat infront of Dre's desk and staring at the guy like he's the weirdest thing on Earth. The bell rang and Caesar couldn't ask more and Dre doesn't response.

For the rest of the day, Caesar keep his eyes on Dre.

Or maybe, for the rest of his life.

---

that's how caesar and him being friend. caesar never tell anyone about what happened that day but instead the dude keep on sticking to him all the time. dre isn't sure if caesar only being friendly to him or there's something behind it. caesar is different from him, he's a good kid and he always help people. so dre think that caesar doing that to him is only an act of kindness.

he doesn't care about that.

dre still continue his life but there's only additional which is caesar.

dre learned that caesar family own the pillar signature. it's a high class restaurant. caesar is a rich kid but he doesn't show it and he act like a naughty kid just like everybody else. dre isn't sure how caesar was able to make him also do the same.

the time passes and they become a really close friend.

they went into the same school for years and somehow end up in the same classes. it's almost like a fate for both of them but he doesn't really care about it because he do feel comfortable having the other guy next to him. he feel that there's power radites from caesar that made him start to do what he want in his life.

people might think that caesar bring bad influence for him but he don't really think so because there's nothing bad about caesar. he's a good person and that's why he stick to him. he only know that if there's no caesar, he might do something terrible because that time only caesar could stop him.

senior high school was a mess. there's always some kids being bullies and joining gang. the senior are dicks who think highly of themselves and dre seriously doesn't give a fuck about it. because of his face and his nature, he often get into troubles because they think dre is being disrespectful to the hierarchy in that school.

for some reason, dre was set up being their bully target. that time he wasn't in the same class as caesar so they don't really spend time together. dre is good at ignore things or using his words to make people scared of him but he sure isn't good at fighting. when he was dragged and hit by school's bully. he know things won't be good.

once again, caesar come like he's in charge of saving his life.

he didn't know that the guy is good at fighting because they never really get into that kind of fights. they go home with bruises but somehow it makes dre's heart warm. maybe, he could let caesar get deeper into his life.

"i used to that. it doesn't hurt. i can handle it, don't be over." dre stop caesar from losing his mind. it wasn't even that bad why caesar seems so mad?

"also, i didn't completely stay still! i hit him with blocks but you stopped me." dre muttered trying to justify himself.

"you know, my dad's punches are more painful than this. this, doesn't matter." dre laughs it off. he glance at caesar and pats his back. he doesn't know that those word from him could make caesar feel much.

---

Caesar always wonder why Dre never really fight back. Why Dre only ignore things and swallow everything that comes to him, good or bad. It's frustrating because the dude think that he will be good. But Caesar isn't that kind of person. He always fight for things, he never let talking bullshit about him. If anyone deserves a punch for their words, then Caesar will gave them that.

But Dre, Caesar always observe him. The guy doesn't really change although now he know more about him after few years being friend. Caesar isn't even sure Dre know his own capabilities and what he want in his life.

"What the fuck, Dre? Don't let those jerk just beat your ass like that!" Caesar told him that day, the guy let other kids bully him for no reason and it's pissed him off. Caesar lightly punches the guy chest.

"You can't always ignore those bastard. You will only get yourself killed if you're being that way." Caesar frowned but Dre doesn't really gave him proper answer to his question. Dre do seems to be a smart person but he really doesn't know how to put his life together. How can he don't even know how to fight and throwing punches?

"Hit them, but don't kill him, that's gonna be trouble!" Caesar finally stop talking after whining about how annoying Dre could be about this matter. But then, Dre start to open up about his family. How he only know how to receive hit and punches because that's all what he have done all his life.

Caesar only get angrier about it. He broke into tears for Dre that day. He want to help Dre but he really don't know how because how beaten Dre inside is just too painful to hear.

"Dre. From now on, you only allowed to receive good things. I promise."

---

dre truly not sure what caesar means by 'good things'. but since that day, he open up more to the guy and they get more closer. dre getting more brave and knowing what he want in his life, he grow up into someone who start to fight for what he want because he know that his life is his own.

he have a lot of fun trying new things with caesar, even illegal things that they do secretly. they're become well known by everyone in the school for both their well being and troubles they do.

it's somehow bring his family into anger. hiram was mad because dre sometimes makes trouble at school and having his teacher calling his parents. but it's also funny because each time he mention about he do things with caesar, hiram only blame with for the bad things. hiram probably know about caesar's family so the guy never told him to stop be friend with caesar like what he do to other friend dre used to have.

on the day he leave the house of lee and disappear for a week, caesar is the only person he missed. dre couldn't contact him because he didn't bring anything from the house except for himself and when he finally return, caesar is the only one who doesn't think that his decision to run from home was wrong. although the guy does joking about how he should plan things before executed it.

days changes and they graduated and went to the same university. they're in different major but still stick together if there's time. it was the time when he finally meet their other bestfriend, dean maverick. they are in the same organization and get close in no time. beside caesar said that it's a benefit to be friend with dean because dean is good looking. dre know that it wasn't true his intention because dean is just match easily with them.

they grow up more and somehow dre find his way to start learning about how black market works. at first he was only interested because the subject in his major about this was fun. in the end of the day, dre trying to look for more and he learn things very fast just by that. he hide things from his friends for years.

one day, when they're drunk in one of dean's family hotel. three of them accidentally spill each other secret they never told to anyone. caesar with his family's drug business, dean with his family trafficking business and dre with his growing black market works. they only laugh and thought all of them were just joking around.

"if i do crimes, you two are the very first person i will tell." dre said, because he know that his best friends are the only person he could belive.

---

It's start from all joking which is not completely a joke. From a secret to be an open secret.

"I never know that someone like you will do this." Caesar said in amusement. He sit on top of the car while having Dre next to him. They're somewhere in the middle of farm. Caesar's people digging a hole deep infront of them and someone with his hands tied and his eyes blindfolded was on his knees trying to fight.

"I've been looking for this bastard for months and thanks to you that i finally able to caught him." Caesar said to Dre with a smile. Dre smiles back at him. That's what friends for right? But he never know that they will also help each other on this matter.

Apparently this bastard they caught been giving their business a little trouble, They didn't know that they look for the same person but well here they are. Caesar glance at Dre and give him the gun as if he let Dre to do the job.

"Have you ever?" Caesar ask him and Dre replying that he's not the weak guy Caesar know. Caesar lift up his brow and he laughs at his words. Dre is very adorable, he know the guy for a long time already but Caesar never know that Dre really did change. To him, he's still the same.

"Prove it then." Caesar told his friend with a smile on his lips and without much thoughts Caesar watch Dre pull the gun trigger, taking the life of a living. The time moves so slow, the death body hardly kicked by the guy and fell to the hole right away. Caesar never smile that wide.

A new era has begun.

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