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surveys-at-your-service · 3 years

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Survey #287

“keep him tied - it makes him well / he’s getting better, can’t you tell?”

What are you favorite things to watch on YouTube? I like a pretty big variety now. I’d say I’ve been mostly into pet YouTubers lately, especially reptile ones. Oh, and WoW stuff. Can you pick out any constellations in the sky without looking them up online? Besides the Little or Big Dipper (idk which is which), nope. Are you religious? If so, what influenced you to start believing God? If you’re not religious, what convinces you there is no God? I wouldn’t call myself religious, no. I do believe there’s some kind of ultimate power, but hell if I know what it is, and I don’t actually worship it. I don’t believe any “good” god would demand kissing its feet in order for you to end at peace, among a billion other reasons. I believe there is something though because the odds of life and everything is just… too perfect. Plus I believe in the paranormal, so to me, there is obviously something beyond the mortal form. Is there any animal out there that genuinely terrifies you? Is this an animal you’re worried about coming across in daily life? I am terrified of ticks and parasites in general. They’re fucking disgusting. Maggots will also make me scream. Oh, and then there’s whale sharks. In my daily life, I wouldn’t say there’s any that I actively worry about crossing paths with. When was the last time you wore make-up? Around Halloween when Summer, me, and another of her friends did a witch-themed photoshoot. It really fucking sucks that it was so dark by the time we were done that the pictures came out absolutely awful. You can’t see shit, and of course on camera, I look absolutely awful. Have you ever worn colored contacts? No, but I’m totally not opposed for a cool photoshoot. Have you seen any of the Disney re-makes (eg. Aladdin or The Lion King)? What do you think of them? I’ve seen a good number, and I really like them. I think The Jungle Book remake was the best of them. How long did it take you to pass your driving test once you started learning how to drive? Ha, I still haven’t tried. When was the last time you went out for a formal occasion or event? Do you remember what you wore? Uhhhh… I have zero clue. Well, does my last job interview count? I just wore black sweatpants and some kind of formal top. How often do you have the TV on? is it more background noise or are you actually watching things? Y’all know by now that I don’t watch TV. Do you like any songs by Elvis Presley? Well of course. “Devil In Disguise” is my favorite. Do you ever answer the phone to unknown numbers? Nope. Do you eat anything special for breakfast on Christmas Day? Nah. When you go to theme parks, what’s your favorite type of ride? I haven’t been to a theme park in beyond forever, so idk. Are you afraid of falling in love? Ohhhhh yes. Expecting something to change in the next month? No. e_e What is your biggest worry in life right now? That Mom’s cancer will come back. Well, it IS going to eventually flare somewhere else, but no one can estimate when. Could be tomorrow. Could be years. Do you give up easily? It depends. With a lot of things, honestly, yes, because I get upset with my incompetence. What are you listening to? "Going To Hell" by The Pretty Reckless just came on. Is anything bothering you right now? Always. Were you ever made fun of? Yes. Are you currently jealous? I’ve been having episodes of it. Do you find piercings attractive on the opposite sex? I find them attractive on almost all people. Who was the last person you yelled at? I don’t know. Probably Mom. What do you say a lot? “Mood,” “lmao,” “can’t relate,” “same,” “oof,” “yikes,” shit like that, haha. What is your favorite place you have traveled? Chicago. Do you like ice cream? Yeah, that’s my comfort food. Do you like bananas? Yeah, but I don’t dare to eat one if I haven’t had my heartburn medication, because otherwise I get it BADLY. Do you like Paramore? A handful of their songs, yeah. I don’t know a lot though, honestly. Do you plan on getting married? It’d be nice. Ever been given a promise ring? No. Sexual orientation? Bi. Who do you text the most? Definitely Sara. Do you still talk to the person who hurt you most in life? Why or why not? No, because he wants nothing to do with me. I don’t blame him. Have you ever given your number to a complete stranger? Um, no. Well, besides in like, job applications. What color is your keyboard? Black. Your mouse? Mostly black, but it does have this crackled pattern that can glow blue or red. Desktop or laptop? I prefer laptops for mobility’s sake. Do you like sweet tea? I hate tea. How much sugar do you put in your tea? ^ Have you ever called someone useless? Wow, no. Do you have a wood or glass dining room table? Wood. Do you tend to get attached easily? HOLY GOD OF FUCK, YES. Is Joe Jonas really hotter than Nick? I haven’t seen either in god knows how long, but I remember I thought Nick was very cute. Favorite flavor pudding? Chocolate is the only kind I’ve enjoyed. Not that I’ve tried a lot. What are three words used in your area/dialect that many other areas/dialects wouldn't be familiar with? Oh, there are most certainly some, but I can’t think of any right now. How do you feel when your partner is talking to an ex? This would depend on a lot of things. What is the most expensive gift you have ever given? Received? Given, I’m really unsure. I answer enough questions sharing that I don’t have my own source of income, so a lot of times, my mom lets me use her money, but there is obviously a ceiling to how much I can use. Received, definitely my Sager laptop Jason got me one year. Do children like you? I’m always surprised that kids seem to… I don’t know how the hell to interact with kids, but parents tend to tell me that they do like me. If you found your child's diary would you read it? What if you found the diary of one of your parents? Hell no would I read that shit. Both deserve privacy. Have you ever stalked or killed a wild animal? Fuck no. Name something you are now prepared to reveal about yourself that you weren't ready to talk about in the past? The state of my virginity. Name a talent someone has of which you are jealous: I am soooo envious of talented and actually successful photographers. What would you most likely complain about in a hotel? Probably if the bed sheets seemed dirty. Is it possible to be in love with more than one person at the same time? Probably. I’m monogamous though, so I really can’t say because I haven’t experienced this. Do you often feel pressured by others? Society, yes. Should couples live together before marriage? I feel that it’s the better decision, yes. You may not blend well actually sharing the same house. You learn things about your partner. How would you feel attending the wedding of an ex? It would depend on the person. Girt or Sara? I would love to. As a matter of fact, I better be invited lmao. Jason? I couldn’t in ten trillion years. Fiction or nonfiction. I strongly prefer fiction. Can you can lie with a straight face? Yes, if it’s something little. Name three things you have experienced that would shock your parents: Probably just sexual stuff. Do you believe in using the silent treatment? No. I’ve sure done it before, but I’d like to think I’ve grown out of this. Communication is where it’s at. Your most embarrassing thought: *shrug* Your most prejudiced thought: I don’t know. I don’t think I’m very prejudiced. A shameful moment for you: The situation w/ Joel. The biggest gamble of your life: Deciding to drop out of college the last time. Who knows if that was a good choice or not… It’s too early to tell. What is your greatest weakness as a friend? Idk off the top of my head, but I’m sure there’s something. Do you feel better when you have a tan? Nah, I like being pale. I did go through a period in HS of using tanning lotion on my legs though because I was self-conscious of JUST how pale they were. Do you sometimes enjoy being mean? ”I don’t think so. Maybe like... in certain contexts. Like being mean in video games can be really fun sometimes, haha. And being a little mean in a kink setting can be fun too.” <<<< This. Are you high maintenance? Definitely not. Has anybody ever told you that you’re too young to be in love? I think my dad has, just indirectly. Did you learn anything from the last BIG mistake you made? Yes. Do you have a favorite brand of shoes? Yeah, Converse. Do you like rollercoasters with big drops? I’m afraid of rollercoasters so have never been on one. Do you have any inside jokes with your parents? Not really. Have you ever thrown a surprise party for somebody? I don’t think so? Do you know who your mom’s favorite singer is? Oh, she’s totally obsessed with James Hetfield/Metallica. What year were you born in? 1996. What is your favorite card game? Magic: The Gathering, even though I was never great at it or totally understood all the rules. I just adore the artwork, and I like the detailed tactics behind it. Have you ever tried to surf? Nah. Do you want to learn? Nah. Have you ever had a song dedicated to you? What was it? Let’s not with this. What color eyes does your best friend have? Brown. Have you ever been on a blind date? Nah. Which one of your family members do you wish you could see more often? My brother and his son. I got really close to my nephew the last time they visited for a few days. What room in your house is the messiest? Right now, the extra bedroom that I want to make my dayroom. A lot of our “extra” stuff is just shoved into there. Have you ever requested a song on the radio? No. Are you proud of your parents? Yes. Have you ever (accidentally or not) set off a car alarm? I think I accidentally have before. Do you have dimples when you smile? Yes, way more prominently on my left cheek though. Do you find graveyards scary? No. They’re peaceful to me. Have you ever carved anything into a tree? I don’t think so. Do you read those celebrity gossip magazines? Ew, no. Celebs deserve privacy. Do you give or get advice more often? Well considering I’m in therapy, probably get. Did the last type of shoes you wore have laces? No. Do you like the picture on your license/I.D. card? FUCK no. When was the last time somebody hit on you? Idr. Which one of your friends do you feel most comfortable around? Sara. What’s your favorite Thanksgiving food? Just pass me the rolls lmao. Who did you last spoon with? My cat lmao. What was the last video game you played? I don’t recall the last console game I played, so does World of Warcraft count, even tho it’s a computer game? When you’re in trouble, do your parents ever “middle name” you? Ha, my mom will sometimes. Does getting sweaty or dirty bother you at all? If so, has it ever put you off doing exercise? Very much so. I suffer (and I DO mean “suffer”) from insane hyperhidrosis, so I sweat my ass off if I so much as twitch, if even that. I just hate feeling gross. Have you ever thought about how you want to spend your retirement? No, honestly. It’s hard for me to imagine even *getting* to retirement. Would you describe yourself as healthy? Why or why not? No. I’m physically and even more mentally not okay. Do you miss anything about being a teenager? If you are a teenager, what’s your favorite thing about it? Yeah, some things. Though I really don’t even want to think about it. I look back on me being a teen with both wistfulness as well as bitterness. I don’t know which is stronger.

#survey #surveys #quiz #questions #questionnaire #lyrics: ''welcome home (sanitarium)'' by metallica

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hide-in-imagination · 5 years

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“The Open Music of the New Millenium” - OneShot

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When Juliana proposed to make an Open Music in honor of the Jam & Roller’s 30th anniversary, everyone instantly agreed.

It had been some years since the last time they all gathered together in the place that meant so much to them. With Ámbar fired and Gary gone, VIDIA had left Juliana in charge of the Roller ever since. The group of friends, couples and family, had continued to meet there like always for some time, but when Matteo’s and The Roller Band’s music career began to rise, it became impossible to just casually go there like they used to. Fans started crowding the place, asking everyone questions about them, especially those who they knew by photos that were close to the musicians. So, eventually, even though it pained them, everyone stopped going to the Roller, except for a number of occasions where Juliana closed the place so only the old regulars could enter.

This Open Music would be one of those occasions and everyone was excited. Simón and Pedro even offered to work as waiters like in the old times, even though they had other people to do that and anyone would’ve thought that serving tables was beneath them now that they were famous musicians. For the guys, though, it was just a fun game, a way to remember and honor where they had started, and so Juliana allowed it with a roll of her eyes.

She had ideas of her own. Since it had been a while since everyone had been able to meet (life did that sometimes), Juliana thought it’d be fun to make the Open Music extra special adding a theme to it. Remembering the time Ámbar had been the manager, she decided to take an idea from her and make the Open about a special decade, or more exactly, about the change of an era. And so, the new Open Music was called ‘The Open of the new millennium’. The rule was simple: sing songs from either the end of the 90s or the beginning of the 2000s.

“After having to sing your original songs over and over again every day on tours, I think singing covers will be a nice break for you guys before you lose your minds,” she joked. The guys laughed; she was not wrong.

Everyone decided to make it a ‘Guys vs Girls’ just like in the Flash Open. That had been the last Open Music in teams they had had, and since there hadn’t been a clear winner that time, everyone took this one as their chance to break the tie.

“Seriously, you guys? You’re all pretty grown up, you’ll turn 30 in the blink of an eye, when are you gonna leave the silly competition behind?” Juliana asked, trying to look reproachful but her face totally betrayed her amusement.

“Never,” everyone replied at the same time, already divided with the girls on one side and the guys in the other.

“I love you, my love, but we’re gonna destroy you,” Ámbar vowed with her chin held high and her arms crossed in a power stance.

“Remember to think about how much you love me when we wipe the floor with you, love,” Simón replied with his own defiant smile. If there’s one thing he had gained from years of being with Ámbar Smith, it was fire.

“I don’t really care as long as we have fun,” Luna laughed, shaking her head next to Ámbar.

“Aw, me too, my love,” said Matteo before enveloping his girlfriend in a hug. From over her shoulder, he glared at the rest of the girls and mouthed ‘You’re going down.’

And so, after two weeks for rehearsals and preparations, the day of the Open of The New Millennium arrived.

Jim, Yam, Delfi, Jazmín, Luna, Ámbar, and even Emilia, were standing close or inside the dressing room wearing heavy black coats over what Simón could only imagine were killer outfits. Things had smoothed over with Emilia and Benicio over the years; he even was going to perform with the rest of the guys that day. Simón wouldn’t say he considered them friends, but they were very much nicer than they used to be. They still would never miss an opportunity to show off though, which was exactly why they had jumped at the idea of this Open. No one minded; their rivalry was a thing of the past.

There were some other people that Simón recognized as regular customers of the Roller back when he used to work there. With some he had spoken sometimes while others he hadn’t exchanged words out of the professional sphere, but either way, the more the merrier, he thought. After all, he doubted the Jam & Roller was only loved by the old Roller team.

Speaking about teams, the guys’ team hadn’t changed into their outfits yet, deciding to do so after the girls finished their performance; it had been decided that morning that it’d be ‘ladies first’. Ramiro and Pedro were talking in one corner, Benicio was exchanging teases with Emilia about who would win, and Matteo was chatting/flirting with Luna. Simón rolled his eyes, a habit that, as people loved to point out, he had gotten from his girlfriend; Matteo couldn’t stop flirting for five minutes.

To be fair, everyone tended to tease him about his constant PDA with Ámbar, but did you see him sucking face with her now? No, because he was actually focused.

(There’d be plenty of time for that later anyway.)

As if sensing his thoughts, Ámbar’s eyes found his from across the cafeteria. Her lips curled into a playful smile and he answered it with one of his own, adding a wink. Sure, they acted like they were at war, but they knew it was just a game.

Turning around, Simón was surprised to see Nina sitting next to Eric in one of the tables, wearing plain blue jeans and a burgundy top.

“Nina, you’re not participating?” He asked nearing them.

“Oh no, I couldn’t, it was too much for me,” she replied with a small laugh.

Simón frowned. “Too much?”

The girl just gave him a knowing look.

“You’ll see.”

Juliana started the event thanking everyone for coming and talking about how important the Jam & Roller was for everyone there present. She spoke about how special it was for her, how she had found a place to belong after she thought she had lost it all, how she had found people who made her see the beautiful things in life again, and for which she would always be profoundly thankful.

Everyone applauded and a cheer of ‘Juliana! Juliana!’ rose higher and higher. From on top of the stage, Juliana was smiling, her eyes shining and wet with emotion.

“Alright, alright, enough! This is no time for tears. This is a celebration, and so, I leave to you the first group that will delight us this afternoon. Give it up for the girls!”

Accompanied by the applause, the girls climbed up the stage, standing with their heads looking down. The lights dimmed.

As the music started playing, the girls raised their heads. One spotlight fell over each of them as they discarded their coats and threw them away, revealing their outfits.

Simón felt his heart stop in his chest.

Oh. god. He knew that song.

It was ‘Toxic’.

Just like in the music video, Ámbar wore a tight black spy suit. It reminded him of the outfit she had worn in the Flash Open, except this was more elaborated, with straps, a belt, a gun holder on her right thigh, and it showed a lot more cleavage.

Emilia and Yam wore different versions of the same concept. Luna, Delfi and Jim wore space dresses but in different colors and the skirt was longer. Jazmín, always the extravagant, was the only one who dared wear a version of the translucid suit.

Ámbar moved to the front and center and Simón stopped seeing anything else.

Baby, can’t you see? I’m calling A guy like you should wear a warning…

“Oh my god,” Simón couldn’t help but voice out as she pointed at him.

Luna moved to the front.

It’s dangerous, I’m falling…

Matteo was definitely drooling from the way she sexily lowered her body to the floor in front of him.

Next came Delfi and Jazmín, who leaned on the back of the other and sensually moved up and down.

There’s no escape, I can’t wait I need a hit, baby, give me it…

Emilia came in, separating them and walking between them to the front.

You’re dangerous. I’m loving it…

Jim and Yam moved with one hand raised as the other slowly descended over their bodies.

Too high, can’t come down… losing my head, spinning round and round…

Spinning, the girls separated to opposite sides of the stage, leaving Luna in the center.

Do you feel me now?

The chorus was sung by all as they danced sensually to the beat. Rolling their hips side to side, swinging their hair, bringing their hands to the floor while keeping their ass raised, and many more things that Simón had honestly trouble keeping up with.

With a taste of your lips

I'm on a ride

You're toxic, I'm slippin' under

With a taste of a poison paradise

I’m addicted to you

Don’t you know that you’re toxic?

And I love what you do

Don’t you know that you’re toxic?

All the guys were visibly mesmerized as they watched the girls on stage. Simón had his eyes so fixed on Ámbar that he almost dropped a juice he was bringing to a table. After that, he decided to give up the notion that he had a piece of mind to be working and sat on a table in front of the stage, watching in awe how his girlfriend danced in what must have been the sexiest moves he had ever seen.

Yep, there was definitely going to be some heavy kissing after it was over.

He found out a moment later that sitting had been a great decision, because as they reached the bridge of the song, the girls fell to the floor on their hands and knees and proceeded to advance to the front of the stage crawling, like a feline stalking its prey.

Intoxicate me now, with your love now I think I’m ready now (I think I’m ready now)

Swiftly, they flipped on to their backs, and their hips rolled up in a way that was pure sin.

Intoxicate me now, with your love now I think I’m ready now Ah ah aaah

As the song ended, the girls bent their left knee and rose their right hands to the sky. On cue, confetti exploded all around them, filling the air.

There was a second of silence, pure speechless silence, and then cheers rose to a deafening volume. People stood from their seats and clapped, some whistled in the back, and yet Simón was still stuck in the awestruck part.

The girls rose and thanked the audience with big smiles. Only when they started descending the stage did he finally manage to react. With his heart pounding inside his chest, he stood and went to his girlfriend.

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

As the girls walked down the stage, they were rapidly surrounded by their friends or other regulars telling them about how amazing they had been. Ámbar smiled proudly at the praises, her heart was still agitated from all the movement but it was starting to calm down as she felt satisfaction fill her. All their hard work had paid off; their performance had been perfect. She couldn’t ask for more.

As people dispersed and the girls started going to change into normal clothes, Simón came to her.

He congratulated her and gave her a hug, nothing out of the ordinary... Or so it’d seem for everyone else. But the moment his arms were around her, he whispered in her ear.

“Don’t you dare take that off, I wanna do it myself.”

A shiver ran down her spine.

Pulling away, he smiled innocently as if he hadn’t just rebooted the pounding of her heart to three times its normal speed and walked away with the rest of the guys, most probably to change.

God, she had created a monster.

(And she loved every second of it.)

Some minutes later, the girls were back to normal clothes but with their makeup and hair still intact. Taking it all out would’ve taken too long and they had to watch the guys. Also, it would’ve been a shame to discard it so soon.

Ámbar was the only one still wearing her black coat over the costume, but if anyone wondered about it, they didn’t say.

“I wonder what they’ll sing,” Ámbar said, sitting in one of the tables in the front of the stage. Over it, the lights were changing in preparations for the next performance. “Although it’s not like it matters, it can’t be better than us anyway.” She shared a smile with Luna that was sitting on the table next to hers with Nina, wearing a colorful top and shorts.

“I already know what their song is,” commented Delfi.

Ámbar turned to her friend that was sited on her left, wearing a green dress. “What? Simón didn’t tell me anything, he said the boys swore to secrecy.”

Delfi smiled smugly. “They did, but Pedro isn’t capable of keeping things from me. It was rather easy to get it out of him.”

Considering what she knew of Pedro, Ámbar guessed she shouldn’t be surprised. Simón, on the other hand, was as stubborn as her (a fact that sometimes brought them into a fight), so she doubted she could have made him tell her.

Well, there were ways. Very enjoyable ways. But she liked the idea of making it a surprise so she hadn’t insisted.

Just one minute later, the guys started filling the stage. At first glance, Ámbar had a strange sense of déjà vú. They were all wearing black shirts over light jeans, and she was instantly reminded of the Flash Open outfits, but she rapidly noted the differences. For one, the jeans were tighter, more fitting (deliciously so in Simón) and they were wearing an open black leather jacket over their shirts. While that time they all wore black Converse, those were now replaced by black boots. All in all, they looked older, more manly, and Ámbar was enjoying the view already.

They took position on the stage, backward to the public, and the lights dimmed.

One by one, the guys turned around to face the public as the music started playing, the spotlights falling on them. Ámbar didn’t recognize the song at first, but then it hit her and her eyes widened.

“Ay, no,” she voiced as her heart picked up.

It was ‘Torero’.

Matteo walked to the front first, his body moving with the energy of the song.

De lunes a domingo voy desesperado, el corazón prendido allí en el calendario…

Following her example, Simón pointed at her when he moved in front.

Buscándote y buscando como un mercenario, tú dime donde estás que yo no te he encontrado…

Ámbar knew at that moment that she wasn’t going to let him change back into his clothes either. Even when someone else was in the front, her eyes followed him, not taking him out of her sight for a second. It was fair to say she was eating him with her eyes.

Ramiro:

Las manecillas giran, yo voy al contrario…

Benicio:

Bebiéndome la vida a sorbos y a tragos…

Eric:

Me viste así de frente, que tremendo impacto…

Pedro:

Para unirme a tu mirada dime si hay que ser…

As the chorus started, the guys stood in two rows, one in the front and other in the back and moved in perfect synch.

Torero, poner el alma en el ruedo

No importa lo que se venga pa’ que sepas que te quiero

Como un buen torero…

“Ole!” The crowd chanted automatically, surprising the girls who had been so lost in their boyfriends they had forgotten there were other people around.

Me juego la vida por ti…

Maybe their choreography wasn’t as provocative as the girls’ (after all, they had created it specifically to make the guys crazy) but Ámbar couldn’t help but think that it was the hottest thing she had every witnessed in her life. She didn’t know if it was the confidence with which Simón moved, or the slight thrust of his hips every now and then, or that it reminded her of the little fantasy video she had created for ‘Solos’ in her mind, but Ámbar was enraptured.

Si hay que ser torero, poner el alma en el ruedo

No importa lo que se venga pa’ que sepas que te quiero

Como un buen torero…

“Ole!” The crowd chanted again, and this time the girls stood from their seats and joined as well. The excitement was already too much to remain seated and still.

Me juego la vida por ti…

Rapidly, the guys ditched their jackets, throwing them behind them. As the next verses came about, they all crouched down and just the one singing stood, the lights focusing on him.

Ramiro:

Y te cuentan que ya me vieron muy solitario en un callejón Que ya no duermo y desvarío, que el humor ya me cambió…

Benicio:

¿Y tú por dónde estás? Que mi presión ya no me da…

Eric:

Te buscaré, vuelve conmigo Y que tú no sabes…

Everyone stood then and started dancing on the back while Simón and Matteo moved forward. Both climbed down the stage and stood in front of their girlfriends, singing to them as their feet bounced on the floor at the beat.

Que yo te necesito como el perro al amo Que si tú no respondes aquí todo es caos…

As Matteo sang the next verse, Simón quickly held Ámbar in his arms and dipped her backward as he kissed her on the lips. Just as quickly, he pulled her up and went back on stage. Ámbar didn’t know if she was left dizzy from the rapid movement or the kiss.

Pedro stood in the center and pointed at Delfi.

Para unirme a tu mirada Dime si hay que ser...

Again, the guys danced the choreography, whistles and screams accompanying the movements of their hips.

On the last repeats of the chorus, they formed a circle and each guy moved to the center in turns, showing off some moves as the others and the audience cheered.

Finally, they all stood next to each other in a line and rose a hand, pointing to the sky.

Si hay que ser ¡torero!

The presentation ended and confetti flew around, much like it had in the performance of the girls.

There was something different though.

As the crowd cheered, applauded and whistled, a white banner fell hanging from the ceiling over their heads. As it unraveled, big black letters were revealed.

DELFI, WOULD YOU MARRY ME?

Loud gasps were heard around the room.

It was only then that Ámbar realized all the guys had lined up except Pedro, who had disappeared behind them. Now, the guys separated in two lines, forming a passage for Pedro to walk through from the back of the stage, where he appeared to have retrieved something from his discarded jacket. With the object in his hand, he walked to where Delfi was standing.

“Did you know that too?” Ámbar teased her under her breath.

It was rather obvious by her best friend’s face that she did not know that was coming.

Pedro arrived in front of them and Ámbar took a step aside to let them have their moment. Nervously, the guy lifted the navy-blue box and held it open in front of Delfi, revealing a beautiful silver ring with a solitary stone. Delfi’s hands were over her chest, looking at her boyfriend agape.

“I know we talked about after you finished your magister, but I just couldn’t wait,” Pedro said with a sheepish smile. “And Jazmín over there,” he pointed at the girl, who waved with one hand as the other held her tablet, “is recording everything in case you want it for the Fab & Chic. She promised the exclusive would be yours.”

Delfi let out a little choked sound, as if she wanted to laugh but her tight throat didn’t let her. Her eyes shone from tears, but it was clear they were happy ones.

Pedro got on one knee.

“I love you, Delfi. I know I say it a lot and that I write songs about it, but even if I wrote you a thousand songs, I feel like it’d still not be enough to express how important you are to me. But I’m willing to try, for the rest of my life.” Lovingly, he smiled up at her. “What do you say, Delfi? Would you marry me?”

Delfi had a smile of her own as tears finally escaped her eyes.

“My love… obviously yes. A million times yes.”

Cheers and claps erupted all around them as Pedro stood up, put the ring on Delfi’s finger and the happily engaged couple kissed between tears of joy.

As she watched it all, Simón came to stand next to Ámbar.

“Are you crying?” He teased her.

Ámbar wiped her cheek where a few tears had run down and shoved him playfully. “Oh, shut up.” She brought her eyes back to where her best friend was, surrounded by friends congratulating her and couldn’t help the tightening of her chest. “I’m so happy for them.”

Simón wrapped an arm around her and she leaned her head on his shoulder as she continued to stare at the magical moment.

“After this, the next proposal would have to have fireworks to be better,” Simón joked. “Or would it be better a more private setting? What do you think?”

“I think I’d rather cry my eyes out in privacy,” she laughed, seeing how her long-life friend continued to cry. Wearing water-proof makeup had been the best decision, looking back.

Simón hugged her and kissed the top of her head.

“Okay.”

Ámbar frowned but Simón left her side to congratulate Pedro before she could ask what he meant with that ‘okay’.

She had a strong feeling that she knew though.

Once again, a winner wasn’t decided, but no one really cared.

…

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Surprise, everyone!!! I finally finished the OneShot I talked to you about! 💖

This idea has been spinning around my head for months now and I reaaally love it, I hope you do too 💙 💙 💙 It all started with me imagining Simón singing ‘Torero’ by Chayanne and then I was listening to ‘Toxic’ by Britney Spears one day and I started imagining a choreography in my head, and well, the rest is history.

If you don’t know any of these songs, I’ll leave here links so you can check them out with lyrics translated: Torero - Toxic | I also recommend watching the official music videos if you haven’t done so. (x) (x)

Describing dances with words is very hard, so feel free to imagine whichever moves you want to make it look awesome in your head 😎

Honestly tho, my favorite part is the ending because I’m a hopeless romantic. 🌹 🌹 🌹

See you next time! - ☾

#simbar fanfic #simbar fic #simbar #simbar fanfiction #pelfi #My Writing #short writings #this is totally self indulgance #I love this songs- sue me

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foxghost · 6 years

Text

hi here’s another instalment of “I stayed up too late reading 鎮魂, edition chapter 13 - 26

Zhu Hong spends maybe 3 days a month being half snake (anaconda?). She keeps raw sliced meat in the office freezer, thaws it out in the microwave and “eats them like potato chips”

She also has snake pupils and a snake tongue. /this novel has all your monster needs

Zhu Hong: if you’re willing to sleep with me one night, I’d work for free Zhao Yunlan (totally seriously): …really? Zhu Hong: … (can’t believe he’s actually considering it)

The “black cloak envoy” in the show is named one-who-slay-souls in the book, and is exponentially more terrifying

take what prisoners? Send whom to jail? kills all the things

Zhao Yunlan: he’s kind of nice actually, but talks like an academic, uses too many words to say one thing

A “hungry ghost” is a shadow that is thin all over except for the stomach, with a mouth that opens 180 degrees, with arms like a mantis

Shen Wei’s first reaction on seeing it is to pick up a chair and BASH IT UNTIL IT STOPS MOVING

Shen Wei: shocked face that the cat is talking Daqing: Yes right but you just broke the head of a hungry ghost with a chair so why are you even shocked

Guo (repeats in his head): I am a cop Guo: is crying uncontrollably * Guo (to Shen Wei): I haven’t even had my first month’s salary — can’t i even SEE the money I won’t live to spend before i die? Shen Wei says nothing to this because laughing at him is probably improper Guo: Does professor Shen have wishes that has not been fulfilled? Shen Wei: Yes Shen Wei: There is a person, we are mere acquaintances, we have no relationship at all, in his heart, I am but a stranger he has spoken to a couple of times. But I still want to see him once more.

with a hungry ghost scratching at the door and Daqing promising rescue by Yunlan Shen Wei: Don't we have ways to save ourselves? Daqing: this is us — a common person, a garbage person, a vegetative person, and me — a lucky charm. Oh, ‘save ourselves’ you say. Do you think if we go into a hot steam wok, it would be enough to fill the gaps between a hungry ghost’s teeth?

amidst all this chaos, Guo is climbing Shen Wei’s leg bc he’s terrified, and Shen Wei’s priority is to HOLD HIS PANTS UP.

Lin Jing is … a monk? (fake monk, according to Yunlan)

Lin Jing: there are two men and a cat in there Yunlan: no way, Shen Wei wouldn’t abandon his student Lin Jing: … who is this Shen Wei Yunlan: mumbles nobody important Lin Jing: You only ever do that when you meet a beauty — is this Shen Wei a man or a woman? Yunlan: buddhist chant

when the hungry ghost is sucking up all the air + souls in a room, guo screams: I’m going to be sucked up!

and then somehow has the wherewithal to make up metaphors: i’m going to be sucked up like jello from a vacuum bag!

Yunlan cuts the energy between hungry ghost and guo, and guo starts falling — onto Shen Wei. Naturally, Yunlan rushes forward and catches Shen Wei into his arms and let Guo fall on his face

AND HIS FIRST PRIORITY IN THAT SECOND IS TO LOOK COOL

Zhao Yunlan holds onto Shen Wei’s waist and takes a halfstep the the side, and the lighter’s flame illuminates his face — handsome, cool, his features as chiselled as with a blade, gazing from the darkest place yet his pupils reflect the flame He successfully keep this act up like a big bad wolf, lowering his voice and looking into Shen Wei’s eyes, and like a hero protagonist saving a beauty in a movie, he asks quietly: Professor Shen, are you alright? At the same time, he completely ignores the whining intern on the floor.

Yunlan can hypnotise people and change/erase their memories of supernatural events, kind of MiB like

He does this to Shen Wei, carries him (like a bride, bc just before that Shen Wei’s leaning on his shoulder) takes him to his student’s hospital room, make sure he’s comfortably sitting, says a protective spell and EATS HIS TOFU

which is the chinese way of saying he took advantage, kisses the back of Shen Wei’s right hand and says: good night, sleeping beauty

of course, SHEN WEI wasn’t ASLEEP

he ‘saves’ the protective spell and leaves by the second floor window

i guess Shen Wei forgets about being human sometimes, only ghosts come and go by the WINDOW

Guo Changcheng GLOWS to someone who can see (like someone with a third eye) between worlds.

Apparently he’s been using his allowance to do charitable work for YEARS. There is so much merit built up in his ‘books’ he’s practically a saint

Guo Changcheng IS SO PURE

When the slayer arrives, the temperature drops below zero and the windows frost over

he has a black claok, doesn’t wear a mask. His face is just BLACK MIST.

He smells like winter. (and it’s nice?)

… like freshly fallen snow in the morning when one opens the door to it for the first time, that first breath you take on a snowy day — like endless and eternal snow that never melts, clean, yet extremely cold, mixed in with the scent of flowers dying in the frost — far and away, a fragrance like walking to the end of the world. But it’s only for a moment, because after that one’s nose feels frozen and can’t tell any smells apart.

Guo’s explanation in his head for this is: he’s from the southern hemisphere and it’s winter there. (omg)

And then the moment the slayer goes off with YUnlan he starts asking after his health seriously

the slayer is a motherhen (when it comes to yunlan anyway)

he uses the same tone of voice to kill ghosts as he does asking after ppl’s health and Guo thinks this is terrifying (it is)

Li Qian killed her grandmother, none of that heartwarming retconned stuff in the show

the Slayer finds out where the Reincarnation-dial is from Qian and Yunlan follows because he’s curious and finds the place … covered in bodies … of monsters and ghosts that the slayer’s just slain / beheaded.

Yunlan: What’s going on? We’re all responsible for the environment, your honour was only coming here to find a thing, how did this battle happen. tries to step around the bodies but there’s no place to put his feet (what battle? it was a SLAUGHTER)

So it seems Yunlan meeting Shen Wei in this life time was planned by the villain

Chu (old Chu from Zhao, Brother Chu from Guo) is thin as a moving skeleton, about the same age as Lin Jing

And they all slack off in the office MOST OF THE TIME

Yunlan pursues Shen Wei for 3 months, Shen Wei keeps on giving him excuses, the cat makes fun of him mercilessly

Yunlan is eventually reduced to buying a box of old books and stalking Shen Wei with his car on campus until the students are all staring and he has no choice but to knock on the window and asks WHAT ARE YOU DOING

so in the show they made this all about Yunlan being suspicious of him, but there’s none of that in the book, at this point he’s just pursuing the professor shamelessly

Yunlan: this is for you Shen Wei: … opens box No, this is too valuable I can’t take it Yunlan: makes up a bunch of lies my friend’'s emigrating they leave their books behind you take them Shen Wei: I — Yunlan: I what, we’re so familiar already, it’d be unconscionable to say no to keeping the books, see you, let’s have dinner this weekend drives off Shen Wei: is conflicted while suddenly standing on campus holding a heavy box Shen Wei: is happy Yunlan is being so lovely Shen Wei: is jealous that he may be like this with other people

So, Yunlan is an introvert

Yunlan’s heart is a little lazy, hasn’t interest in anything, there’s nothing of import at work right now, and aside from one important networking, occasionally harassing Shen Wei, he spends all his remaining time alone at home.

Yunlan lives in a studio apartment, ‘like a dog’, or ‘neither pig nor dog.’ in other words, MESSY

it’s Yunlan, apparently, that turned his role as ‘guardian’ / command of sealing the spirits(?) into a police department.

Yunlan has ended relationships (or have it ended on him) because he just doesn’t want to talk when he’s home

the reasons are “lack of communication”, “no passion” “Our personalities do not match, we don’t speak the same language” and “You have never loved me”

so he finally gets a date with Shen Wei on Sunday, and on Saturday he gets up at noon, eats bread and water and plays video games until he gets a massive stomachache

he stumbles out the door in his pajamas, a coat, and no socks in his shoes, to get food, and overhears a robbery taking place, and it’s SHEN WEI

they end up getting dinner afterwards and he eats like a starving man until he basically collapses from stomachache

Shen Wei takes him home and they trip over an open umbrella, it hasn’t rained in more than half a month

Shen Wei: Take off your clothes and go to bed Yunlan: But if I do you’ll say i’m improper Shen Wei: What Yunlan: is wearing pajamas under his coat has no socks Shen Wei: blushes Yunlan: shows off his chest You told me to take off my clothes Shen Wei: ZHAO YUNLAN WHY ARE YOU NOT WEARING SOCKS Shen Wei: WHAT HAVE YOU EATEN ALL DAY Yunlan: points at garbage can Shen Wei: the whole day? What’d you eat yesterday Yunlan: dunno, drank too much Shen Wei: Do you live like this everyday??? Yunlan: um, yeah? Shen Wei: about to die of anger

Yunlan, way to impress future husband, high-five

meanwhile, Yunlan’s thinking: he’s never angry, but he’s angry because he’s fallen for me. Because i’m handsome (NO JOKE)

Shen Wei: You’re not so young, and you’re established in your career, this is about time for you to find a girlfriend and make a home, ti’s best to have someone take care of you Yunlan: Are you seriously telling me that you haven’t noticed I’ve been pursuing YOU (looks depressed) Then fine, thank you for today, i’m alright, you can go home (fully expecting Shen Wei to feel sorry enough to come closer, Yunlan has a speech prepared and everything)

BUT HE LEAVES

And comes back the next morning 7am with groceries (gosh i love this trope) and takes care of Yunlan

Yunlan’s kitchen is full of kitchenware with the pricetags still on

Shen Wei preps food and heats his hands over the heater before touching Yunlan

to be precise, he strokes Yunlan’s hair and then kisses his own fingers (excuse the blogger. screams)

He feels as if he is a moth that has realised its fate, holding himself from the flame is painful

Yunlan comes out of his bath (in the afternoon) to find that Shen Wei’s cleaned his apartment, folded away his clothes, aired out his room, and made food

So naturally, he figures now’s the time to PROPOSE because wow he’s found THE ONE

Yunlan: Seriously, if you would agree, I will sell this place tomorrow, and buy a big place near your campus. Yunlan: I never thought about buying a big house before, it seemed like such a burden, but now I understand: if I want a person as my wife, then I must build a gold house to hide them. Shen Wei (thinks he’s making fun of him): Eat your food it’s getting cold Yunlan touches the back of Shen Wei’s hand: Even though it may not seem that way, but I’m perfectly serious

- queue requisite “i’m a man” and “you should have children” talk

Yunlan: I’m not obligated to propagate the earth for the sake of mankind, Teacher Shen, are you an ALIEN???

- Yunlan literally tells him: if you really want children we can get a surrogate, it’s easy enough to have kids when you have money - Shen Wei then refuses to go to a movie with him the next week but it’s because he’ll be out of town for a week and Yunlan counts that as a WIN

back at the office: Zhu Hong: Xiaoguo is a good kid, fast learner, but he’s too cowardly, it took him this long to accept food from me Yunlan: That’s natural, he’s afraid of people Zhu Hong: … Yunlan: He’s not afraid of you, because he obvs doesn’t think you’re people

earthquake news play on television Yunlan: Why wasn’t it a bigger earthquake, I had no my arms open ready to comfort him and everything Zhu Hong: Who’d you seduce this time Yunlan: Don’t make it sound so terrible, spring must come to the world and flowers must bloom, its fragrance cannot be missing romance, you ppl must not insult other people’s pure love Lin Jing: buddhist chant Zhu Hong: HELP.

Wang Zheng suddenly appear in the office during the day (she is a ghost, they dissipate in the light) and everyone rushes to close the blinds and give her incense

Yunlan (takes out cigarette): YOU Wang Zheng (moves backwards): Don’t make me breathe your second-hand smoke. Yunlan: …you’re a ghost, madam Wang Zheng, you’re not going to get lung cancer. Wang Zheng: Ghosts can smell smoke and fire, if you keep doing that, you’re going to turn into a human shaped mosquito incense.

Yunlan calls someone sister-in-law over the phone

Zhu Hong: How come director Song is his sister-in-law? He doesn’t even have a sister Daqing: Who knows, he goes out drinking and gains sister-in-laws (?)

- The ‘red’ threads connecting Yunlan and Shen Wei are myriad and golden (and Shen Wei can see them)

#fox text #fox reads 镇魂 #fox reads Guardian #at this rate i'll finish this book in another week

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flyswhumpcenter · 6 years

Text

Bad Things Happen Bingo! The event where you send me requests according to this marvelous card!

My friend and I7-suffering pal @nehamerchant123 (wow Tumblr thanks for sucking even more than a character in an André Gide novel) requested the Izumi brothers + “Big Brother Instinct” (the very reason why I picked it in my form, sorry not sorry)! Knowing me and my tendency to write Izumi bro angst, she went there and I went there lmao.

Content warnings: obsessive fan behaviour/stalking (inspired by Kpop stans and other fandoms) and spoilers up to IDOLiSH7 Part 2 Chapter 1. If you want to go unspoiled into the second season, I’d advise you not to read this one.

Edge of the Razor

Summary: All fans aren't nice people, and all breaks aren't nice to take. (Or: someone isn't happy about how her favorite idols are going, and decides to act upon it. With a weapon.)

Fandom: IDOLiSH7 Relationships: Iori & Mitsuki

Wordcount: 2.8K words

Event organized by @badthingshappenbingo

AO3 version available here.

Being the older sibling was sometimes tougher than single children would expect at first glance. It was a life filled with fears and anxiety: expectations, duties, goals and being a role model were all part of the course one couldn’t be responsible for being a part of.

Usually, it was mundane things: tell your little siblings not to let go off your hand when they’re very small when you’re in a crowd, speak to them about growing up and puberty, show them the ropes of the fun stuff your parents wouldn’t tell you about… and feel like a failure when you see them be better than you in every single field you’ve ever stepped a foot in.

Well, perhaps that last thing wasn’t every older sibling’s reality, but it sure had been Mitsuki’s ever since his little brother could do as much as talk.

A lot of people would have rather talked about Iori than about him. The former was everything a parent would want to raise: easily disciplined, wise beyond his years, good at everything school-related and outside of school too, mature and sharp. There was no way around it: Iori was simply a much, much better version of him.

That didn’t prevent Mitsuki from having a few issues with him. That kid would always meddle with his dream of becoming an idol or with, well, everything! Baking? Oh, it’d be better if you did that. Redecorating his room? It’d be handier if you placed the furniture that way instead. Practicing dancing and singing for the next audition he’d fail anyway? Perhaps you should watch that idol unit before, if you listened closer to the song, etc, etc. It was hard not to get fed up with this after a while.

However, that was all petty banter these days, right? He had achieved his dream: being an idol. He didn’t even have to throw Iori under the hype train as he did so: they had both gotten in, in the same unit. The world was finally smiling on him, didn’t it? About time! That meant the kid could stop meddling with his dream or, at least, it wouldn’t be as noticeable as it used to be.

In fact, they had bonded over being part of this unit again. Mitsuki had finally been able to be the big brother he had always sought to be, comforting his sibling when he forgot to sing and triggering one of their biggest group hugs to this day. It had been better for their relationship, but alas, being an idol was a risky occupation and he would rediscover that soon enough.

The centre switch had been… quite the event, to say the least. This had created a rift in the middle of their fanbase: there were centre Riku fans, centre Iori fans, fans who wanted to see other members be the centre instead… It seemed like their “Perfection Gimmick” setup truly hadn’t pleased everyone, as temporary as it was. Anxiety had settled among their ranks because of that, but they decided to stick together and get through the storm united.

However, that wasn’t the case for their fanbase, and it was made abundantly clear on forums and video comments alike. They could get violent at times against each other, but also against the members themselves. It was all verbal violence, of course.

Or was it just words spelt out in cold letters on phone and computer screens?

It had all seemed kind of surreal to them, for the first few days of this ongoing switch. It just felt like having some nasty comments about some of them, albeit there was already some discord between them because of it. It’d get better, right? They couldn’t disband from just some dissatisfied fans’ reactions to a sudden change. It’d be fine.

Perhaps Mitsuki had believed in their fans too much. He had always seen them as the nice middle school girls from the plaza or the young women having supported them since their very beginnings for some of them. They had to be nice people who would understand. Right? Well, he’d have to soon revise that judgement.

Going undercover in the streets wasn’t too uncommon for them. They’d wear paper-thin disguises, sure, and some fans would recognize them, but they usually didn’t get into much troubles when they did so. It was a way to remember they were still humans and that this adventure could, sadly, stop suddenly at any given moment if they weren’t careful enough. It was a tough life he was always ready to face.

Fame came with that price of being recognized in the streets, after all. It usually was a pleasant experience: exchanging quick words with fans, taking selfies, getting some precious (and direct) feedback was anything but bad for them. Alas, there were times where it wasn’t the case. Times Mitsuki honestly didn’t want to believe could happen to them.

It seemed to be a regular afternoon. He was out with Iori to buy the guys some drinks during a training session, nothing out of the ordinary. It was calm outside, not much going on even for a school-less day, everything was just fine, wasn’t it?

They had come across a couple fans, some of which hadn’t noticed them, when one of them seemed insistent in particular. That was displeasing to see: being followed around was an annoyance at first, then a chore, then turned into full-on creepy behaviour. Mitsuki had to say something: if Iori’s face indicated anything, it was that he felt uncomfortable, yet was determined to make it to the agency without causing a fuss. Too calm for his own good, huh.

“Hey, you!” Mitsuki bolted in that creep’s direction once and for all. “What’s your deal?! You’re being a creep!!”

“Big brother,” Iori put a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t scream like that. We’ll get in trouble.”

“We’re already in trouble,” the older sibling replied before looking back at the third wheel. “Stop following us around like that! We’re humans too, y’know!”

The chick, a black-haired and brown-eyed teenage girl around Iori’s age, simply stared at the latter in silence.

“If you don’t leave us alone, we’re gonna call the cops on you!”

Despite all the threats he’d make, Mitsuki had to admit something: it didn’t goddamn work! Why was she being such a creepo anyway?! Did she get off to that shit in secret or what? Words didn’t work: perhaps it was time to simply call anyone to act on her. Standing here speaking menacingly wouldn’t do anything.

Taking a glance at her showed she was a huge Riku fan: her phone’s charm, her keychains, her jacket’s pins and her purse’s zippers all were showing Riku’s face or a red double sharp. If she was a Riku fanatic like that, why was she following them? It had to do with Iori, sure, but was it any positive or negative? In such times…

It had very little chance to be any positive.

“I don’t want you to be the centre,” she said in a monotonous voice, staring right into the younger idol’s eyes.

“That’s an opinion shared by a lot of fans,” Iori tried to calm the game down. “I’m afraid this will last for a bit longer. I never intended and still don’t intend on replacing Nanase forever.”

“Too honest for his own kind” wasn’t an exact match, in this situation. Mitsuki could easily see Iori was speaking that way exactly because he was afraid and under pressure rather than because he wanted to apologize. The fact they were trapped by walls in a small street didn’t help.

“I don’t care about that! You should have never been centre in the first place! You’re nothing compared to my sweet Riku!! I don’t want to see you in his place!!”

That must had hit Iori somewhere, considering the distorted expression on his face. He’d have usually tried to remain calm in face of such a situation.

“Hey,” Mitsuki attempted to chime in, “c’mon now! That’s just mean! Iori’s trying his best you know!”

“Well, if he’s tried, then he’s fucked up,” she simply replied as she went to grab something in her bag. The older idol was this close to grab the pepper spray bottle he always had in his sweat’s pocket. That was becoming too dangerous.

The chick pulled out a fucking cutter from her bag and pointed it at Iori, holding it like it was the harmful weapon she intended to use it as on them.

“Are you fucking mad?!” Mitsuki let out in a scream, hoping people would hear him too.

“Sometimes, you gotta do what you have to do,” she simply replied as she got closer to his brother’s throat. “Some people just won’t go away.”

Okay, she was completely nuts. There was no way reasoning her. It wasn’t Mitsuki’s forte to be a third party anyway: his blood was boiling and he was retaining the urge to insult her because he was in public and in certain danger in this very situation. Iori didn’t seem like he wanted to be a mediator to such a situation: there were big drops of sweat pearling all over his temples.

“That’s enough! Get away from us, you fuckin’ psycho!!” Mitsuki attempted one last time to threaten her, using his deepest voice and harshest tone for this, but she still didn’t budge. She kept glaring at Iori with these menacing eyes.

She launched herself off her feet with the cutter clenched in her hand, heading straight for the throat, clutching her teeth. Despite her inhuman velocity, Mitsuki had managed to leap into the fight before she could, preventing the knife from reaching Iori’s throat. It was dangerous and reckless, but his self-survival instinct had shut down as soon as he saw his brother having a real chance to die here and there, in this dark corner of a street to a fucking psycho.

The cutter’s direction didn’t change much, though: when he slapped her hand out of that way, she instead opted for Iori’s broader chest area. In the confusion and heat of the moment, Mitsuki had fallen to the ground, taking her with him as he made her slip using his legs to sweep her off her feet. He would defend his brother to the very end and she needed to get that ingrained insider that little stalker brain of hers.

When he looked up, he noticed red dripping to the ground, right onto his hair and, soon, face. She had pulled the cutter out of a newfound wound. She had managed to cut his brother in the chest, deep enough for it to already be pouring out blood, right between his left arm and what he could assume to be his fucking heart. Iori’s breathing had heaved enough for it to be noticeable.

He wouldn’t forgive her for this.

Mitsuki got up quickly, jumping to his feet, telling his brother to please muster up his strength and call an ambulance and the police or something. They were in a fucking pinch and she was insane enough to remain there after stabbing someone like that. It was even worse than that, in fact: when he glared at her, trying to keep his punches to himself, he noticed she was clutching onto the blooded blade and had that… crazed expression in her bloodshot eyes. She was clearly enjoying this.

“What’s the fuck is wrong with you?!” he screamed again, needing to let all that steam getting to his head. “How can you be happy about doing that?!”

“You don’t get it! I’m making Ainana better!”

“It’s just about whatever Ainana you wanna see?! There’s something missing inside that head of yours!”

The psycho titled her head and stared at him as if he had been nonsensical all along.

“Stay out of my way.”

“Fuck no! I don’t tolerate killing people” around here!!”

His blood was boiling inside his veins.

“Why are you this angry? I’m just making things better. Ainana doesn’t need… that as their centre. Nor as a member.”

“Who are you calling that?! Iori?!”

Something snapped inside his skull.

“We’re not objects! You can’t just decide to one day attempt murdering one of us just because we made a centre switch! For fuck’s sake, do you think of us as just props to amuse people?! You’ve been treating Iori as a fucking item all that time!! You’ve injured someone just for some idol unit!”

As much as Mitsuki loved being an idol and was an avid fan of the idol universe, this was fucking bullshit and he wouldn’t stand for this. She needed to understand and fucking pay.

She clutched her cutter.

“You really don’t get it.”

“Why don’t I fucking get? You don’t make any sense!”

“He isn’t needed.”

“He is Iori, right?”

“Yes.”

Something snapped even harder, the anger becoming a pounding heart and boiling thoughts of wanting to see that chick taste the floor already. It had gone from fiery and burning to strangely calm.

“I don’t give a damn if you think Iori’s unneeded. Nobody does, in fact. Our parents don’t. Our friends don’t. Other fans don’t. His classmates don’t. We have a life and you can’t just decide to end my brother’s life end like that just because you don’t like him as a centre or something. I won’t let you kill my brother in the name of some bullshit principle.”

Tears started to appear.

“You don’t get it. You don’t get why a brother would defend his sibling. You’re that unsympathetic and awful? You want me to watch not only a comrade die in front of me, but also my little brother?! Go fuck yourself, that ain’t happening on my watch!!”

As psycho as she was, she was really fucking stupid: from the side of his view, he could see Iori had called the cops all along, his other hand resting on the cut he had taken to the chest, white shirt getting tinted in reds. His eyes were starting to get unfocused.

Fuck. This was turning into a disaster, and this bitch was still fucking ready to kill them both while she was at it.

Before he could even think about it, as soon as he saw her get a more forward glance, he leaped at her, making her slam the ground as he pinned her. That wasn’t before she had her chance at getting a hit on him: the pain of getting stabbed right under his ribs in his fall was late to arrive. He kept a scream inside, shaking her hand with his so she’d drop her goddamn weapon already.

When she did, he allowed himself to just grab and get up from her. She had been knocked out by the shock anyway, her head having slammed the ground just as hard as her back had. Stumbling on his own feet, Mitsuki fell to the floor, back against a wall, right next to Iori sitting next to him.

“Where… where are the cops…?” he asked, voice weakened.

“Near enough for me to hear some sirens,” Iori replied with what sounded like a cautious tone, before looking at him again. “Big brother, how are you?”

At this question, Mitsuki scoffed. “Isn’t the answer obvious…? I just got stabbed… That hurts like hell…”

“I had figured… I didn’t know the centre switch would upset people this badly…”

“Nah, it’s more than just some Riku-obsessed asshole… That girl was just psycho at that point… Don’t even try blaming this fiasco all on you, Iori…”

“Then on who?”

“Her, entirely her…”

Despite the utter pain and the discomforting feeling of having your blood drained by an injury, he still managed to speak. He needed to keep Iori and himself awake until help arrived.

“Y’know, you can let yourself speak like someone injured. I can tell you’re trying to sound solid, but you’re zoning out… Just speak to me for now, okay?”

His brother’s unfocused eyes turned to him again.

“Did you know she could injure you?”

“Who wouldn’t? She was armed and had already hit you…”

“So you jumped to…” His face distorted as he seemed to have realized something horrific, “…protect me? Why?”

“You’re still asking? Because I’m your big brother, that’s all… It’s my mission to protect my younger sibling, isn’t it…?”

Mitsuki gave his little brother a weak smile, yet the biggest he could make, which got met by tears and a sudden embrace. It was weak, kind of awkward in that regard, but the emotion was there and so was the intention.

“Heh, Iori… don’t cry… It’ll be fine…”

No direct response. Silence was enough. As long as neither of them would go cold, it’d be just fine.

Red and blue lights soon drowned the scene as people barged into the scene. Impossible to hear or see anything decently. Oh well, it was all over now.

It’d be fine.

#bad things happen bingo #i7 #izumi mitsuki #izumi iori #whump #brotp: bakery brothers #stabbing #stalking #i7 spoilers #bthb 1

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luci-in-trenchcoats · 6 years

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More Than You Bargained For (Part 2)

Summary: The reader isn’t too thrilled about all of the rules Jensen has for her...

Masterlist

Pairing: Bodyguard!Jensen x reader

Word Count: 2,000ish

Warnings: language, stalking

A/N: Such grrr Jensen...

You would have been shaking probably if you still weren’t pissed as hell.

“Why does someone want to hurt me?” you said, Jensen still looking like he did in the foyer, inspecting every detail of the room.

“It’s probably some crazy fan just trying to scare you,” said Alex, sitting down next to you on his couch.

“No. Someone wants to capture, torture and kill you, Ms. Y/L/N. Your life is in danger. Serious danger and the sooner you come to accept that, the smoother this goes,” said Jensen, looking out a window now, not even bothering to look at you as he spoke.

“Alright,” you said, standing up, running your hand through your damp hair. “I guess if I need a bodyguard for events until this whacko is caught, I’ll have to be okay with that.”

“Mr. Calvert, may I please speak to Ms. Y/L/N in private?” asked Jensen, Alex nodding before he stood and left, pulling the door shut behind him. “Ordinarily when I deal with spoiled princesses, they don’t have psychopaths after them. Just rich daddies watching out for their daughters or some pop queen that thinks the sun shines out her ass. It’s why I stopped working those details. Uncooperative clients are a danger to themselves and to me.”

“We need to work on your fucking people skills, Jensen,” you said, storming over to him, ready to spin him around when he side stepped out of the way before you ever touched him.

“This is not a game, Ms. Y/L/N. This is 24/7. I will be by your side at all times. You will limit your social engagements both inside and outside of your home. You will have a full time security team put in place to monitor these grounds. You will not go anywhere unfamiliar. You will not interact with anyone you do not already know. Most importantly, you will do exactly what I say without question. And my name is Mr. Ackles. Do you understand?” he asked, staring you down, obviously waiting for you to break down.

“Those might be your rules, Jensen, but they sure as shit aren’t mine,” you said, lifting your chin up, nothing showing on his face. “I will play along with this for my brother’s sake for now but I would highly advise you find this person and quickly.”

“Or what? Going to go crying to big brother?” asked Jensen, bending down to smirk at you.

“Fuck you,” you said.

“Now you’re acting like a real client.”

Jensen stupid face Ackles had moved into you house that afternoon. Normally everyone was gone at the end of the day, just you on your own on to enjoy the little bit of quiet time where you could ignore the phone calls and the texts and emails. You could be alone in your house and it was so amazingly nice. You could sneak down to the kitchen for some ice cream, whip up all the foods no one in this industry was supposed to eat, just be normal.

Except Jensen stupid face Ackles was sitting at your kitchen counter, sipping on a cup of tea on your favorite barstool, reading over a stack of files.

“Don’t you ever stop?” you asked, being as loud as possible as you trudged into the kitchen, flinging open the fridge to grab a pint of fudge chocolcate ice cream.

“No,” he said, jotting something down on a notepad.

“You know, I don’t really like strangers sleeping in my house,” you said.

“Well too bad I have a bedroom then, isn’t it?” he said, looking up with a squint, his eyes bloodshot.

“You’re actually making me look forward to going to work bright and early on a Monday morning,” you said. “You can have all the fun playing with blueprints you want.”

“I will be going with you to work,” he said, returning to his files, ignoring your scoff.

“I’m on a film lot. They have security there,” you said.

“Part of being a body guard means the person doing the guarding, me, needs to be near the body they’re guarding, you. Your new security team has already been made aware of security sweeps they’ll need to do of your trailer and sets daily,” he said.

“Security sweeps? What, someone going to kidnap me in front of a crew of 100 people? People I’ve worked with for four years?” you asked.

“Unlikely but they could. The person after you might decide to blow you up, shoot you, stab you. No craft service food either from now on. Only home cooked meals,” he said.

“You’re a wee bit paranoid, aren’t you?” you said.

“It’s what you pay me to do,” he said, cocking his head. “I would like you to cancel your appearance at your friend, Ellie’s birthday party tomorrow evening.”

“Uh, no,” you said, Jensen dropping his pen, glaring at you. “Cut the tough guy shit Jens, I’m not buying it.”

“There will be several hundred guests and-”

“And it’s my best friend’s birthday party. I’ve been helping her plan it for months. You know how many real friends I have? She’s about it so sorry bud but I’m going,” you said, stabbing into your ice cream more than eating it at this point.

“I will need to attend and stay by your side at all times. I’ll also need a floor plan and-”

“Whatever,” you said, tossing your spoon in the sink and the pint back in the freezer. “You’ll need a tux.”

“Of course I will. I’m going with a spoiled princess after all.”

“Oh my god, you did not say you were bringing freaking Adonis as your date,” said Ellie, wrapping you up in a big hug, giving Jensen a wave he ignored, eyes scanning the backyard where the partygoers were. “Where did you find him and does he have a brother?”

“He’s my bodyguard,” you said quietly, Ellie’s jaw dropping. “It’s fine. Just...someone’s playing a prank and Alex is being all paranoid. Tricked me into letting this guy follow me around all day.”

“Well if you don’t want that puppy, I’ll take him,” she said, eyeing Jensen up and down.

“Trust me. You don’t want this one,” you said, giving her a smile. “Come on, let’s get a drink.”

“Ms. Y/L/N,” said Jensen, growling when Ellie was handing you a glass of champagne. You cocked an eyebrow and downed the glass. “Ms. Y/L/N you are not supposed-”

“I’m pretty sure my best friend isn’t the one you’re after, Jensen,” you said, rolling your eyes, throwing your arm over her shoulder. “Come on, El. Let’s have some fun.”

“You know, for an asshole, you are really fucking hot in that tux,” you said, laughing as he helped you up the stairs to bed more than a few hours later.

“You have a knack for doing flaming tequilla shots at an alarming rate,” he said.

“Was that a joke Mr. Ackles?” you said with a grin, Jensen sitting you down on the bench at the end of your bed, watching him take off to check your bathroom and closet, already knowing both of them were empty.

“Good night Ms. Y/L/N,” he said, quickly leaving, his door opening and closing down the hall quietly.

You were humming happily the next morning, glad for the day off after wasting Sunday afternoon with your new bodyguard going over the gajillion rules he had for you and the people that worked for you. It wasn’t a large team of people but you hated how formal Jensen was towards them. Sure, they were technically hired help. But you still cared about them and how they were treated.

Maybe you could try to get him to lighten up some today. He had a very, very nice face after all and you were sure it’d look even better with a smile on it.

“Hey, Mr. Big Bad Bodyguard,” you called as you headed downstairs, spotting Jensen working at your kitchen table. He lifted his head up, watching you play with your phone as you tried to pull up what you thought was the funniest video of all time. But a text interrupted that and made your stomach turn.

Looked so good last night. Bet you look pretty on the inside too.

“I am working you know,” he said, taking only a second before you heard his chair screech on the floor, his body hovering over yours as he read the text. “Son of a bitch. I need a guest list of everyone at that party last night, every person working there,” said Jensen, his hand on his ear, your eyes flickering up to notice the little flesh colored piece sitting inside of it for the first time. “Ms. Y/L/N, do not delete that message. We might be able to track it if we’re lucky.”

“It’s just a prank dude,” you said, putting the phone in his hands, going back to making up a quick breakfast, Jensen talking on his radio with someone, typing away at his computer while he practically barked orders. He went quiet eventually, his body tense but no other signs that he was concerned.

“We need to be more careful,” he said.

“Okay then,” you said, standing up when you finished, changing out of your pajamas and into your work out gear. Jensen wasn’t in the kitchen when you got down there and you went out the back, starting your normal jog. You’d just started your second lap when you heard feet stomping behind you, your head turning to see him in shorts, a tee, sneakers, and a face that said he had half a mind to kill you.

“Do you want to fucking die? You get a message like that and then go outside by yourself?” he said, turning you around when you slowed, coming to a stop just before the tree line.

“It’s my fucking yard. It’s all good,” you said. Jensen growled and you felt his hand grip your shirt, tightening in it so hard it started pressing against your neck. “Let go of me.”

“I told you that you do not, under any circumstances, go running out here by yourself until security is completely installed and even then you check in with me before you do it,” he said. You shrugged but he held on tight. “If I wanted you, I already caught you.”

“I’m not a child, asshole,” you said, bringing your foot up and kicking him in the nuts, his hand still holding your shirt as you slipped out of it, panting as he forced himself to stand upright. “I told you, I’m capable of taking care of myself.”

“Prove it. I want you in your home gym in thirty minutes. You beat me, I’ll get off your back,” he said, tossing your shirt back at you, his eyes never once glancing down.

“You’re in way over your head Jensen.”

A/N: Read Part 3 here!

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#jensen x reader #spn #supernatural #jensen ackles #supernatural fanfiction #spn fanfic #dean winchester #supernatural reader insert #spn reader insert #au #winchester #series #bodyguard!au #bodyguard!jensen

554 notes · View notes

cooliogirl101 · 6 years

Note

If you're doing the commentary thing still: from 'To Love a Monster', "The fact that Shunsui likes to frequent the Rukongai every few months is a little known secret." to "“Originally, I wasn’t planning on it,” he admits, which is true. Recruiting events like these have a tendency of turning out dreadfully dull. Now, though… “But recent events have made me consider making an exception.”" That might be over 500, if so just cut if off when you feel like it.

(My comments are in bold)

The fact that Shunsui likes to frequent the Rukongai everyfew months is a little known secret. He keeps it that way because he’s foundthat hiding in the nearby districts is the best way to keep Lisa off his backabout his paperwork. (Lisa fighting a losing battle there)

(Plus, once he gets past district three or so, hardly anyonerecognizes him and it’s…nice to be looked at without the usual accompanying aweor adoration. To be treated like a normal person.) (like all the man wants is some people to chill with, he literally invites all his enemies to be his drinking buddies you can’t get much more chill than that)

He’s frequenting a local shogi club in the 4thDistrict of West Rukongai when he comes across one of the regulars grumblingabout “damn genius kids taking all of his money.” A quick glance at the gameshows that the man lost by an impressively large margin. (lol like Sousuke would have tolerated anything less, the proud little shit)

“Who was your opponent, if you don’t mind me asking?”Shunsui asks, interested. It isn’t often he comes across promising new players;it’d be nice to find someone who could offer him a challenge. (be careful what you wish for old man)

“Some random brat,” the man grunts. “Looked ‘bout nine,brown hair, brown eyes. He just left; if you want to catch up with him, you’dbetter hurry.”

After murmuring a word of thanks, Shunsui heads out of theclub and just manages to catch a glimpse of brown hair before it vanishesacross a corner. A quick shunpo brings him to a nearby rooftop, where he findsthat the kid looks…oddly familiar. It takes Shunsui a few minutes of followingthe boy around before he’s able to place him as the bold little thief from afew years back, and when he does Shunsui can’t help but feel faintly surprised.While souls aren’t exactly confined to the district they’re sent to after theirdeath, between a lack of funds and the risk of running into hollows in theforests separating the districts, he’s found that few are comfortable withtraveling around. Given that the last time he saw the boy, they were in the 37thdistrict of East Rukongai and they’re currently in the 4th districtof West Rukongai…well, it suggests a certain level of mobility that Shunsuihadn’t expected. (that’s because most kids don’t fight hollows for fun)

“So are you justgonna hide there and stare at me all day, or…?” The boy calls out abruptly.Shunsui considers his options, shrugs, and proceeds to jump down from therooftop, where he finds himself on the receiving end of a suspicious glare.

“Ah, so you noticed me. I was wondering if you would,” hesays, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. He isn’t exactly surprised—hewasn’t really trying to hide in the first place, and he’s discovered thatRukongai kids tend to have better instincts than most.

“You’ve been following me. Why?” The boy cuts in, expressiongiving no indication as to whether or not he recognizes him. After a moment ofconsideration, Shunsui decides to go with the truth. (Smart choice, Shunsui. I mean, they still won’t trust you but at least you haven’t given them a reason to actively distrust you)

“Saw that game you just played and was pretty impressed,” hesays with an easy smile. “Don’t suppose you’d indulge me in a match?”

“I’d love to, I really would, but nee-chan says I’m notallowed to go off with lonely old men,” the boy answers without missing a beat.Shunsui chokes, feeling more than a little indignant at the implication, andproceeds to revise his opinion of the boy from ‘brat’ to ‘impertinent littleshit.’

“Hey now, watch yourself! I’m not lonely! I happen to havemany friends, thank you very much. And I’m not old either!” He adds grumpily.“I’ll have you know that I’m in the prime of my life.”

“Mmm, if you say so,” the boy says, tilting his head to theside with an innocent smile. “Is that why you were stalking a prepubescent boy?Nee-chan did say something about menin their mid-life crises having weird habits.”

“And where is yoursister, by the way? Seems a bit careless of her to just let you wander off byyourself, doesn’t it?” Shunsui asks, deciding to change the subject tosomething a little less awkward. The boy’s eyes flash in response but whatsurprises Shunsui is the briefest upsurge in reiatsu that accompanies it.

“Nee-chan knows that I can take care of myself,” he saysdefensively, voice just a little too tight to be casual. (The implication that he can’t take care of himself and needs his big sister to protect him is a surefire way to piss him off. Especially since he takes quite a lot of pride in his ability to protect Sayuri).

“I have no doubt that you can, but nonetheless I admit Ifind myself a little surprised that she’d leave you on your own,” Shunsuimurmurs, extending his reiatsu. He hadn’t noticed it before, hadn’t beenlooking for it, but now he can tell that there are small fluctuations in theboy’s energy—telltale signs that it’s being suppressed. “Unless, of course…”

As if on cue, a small figure slips out from the shadowsbehind him as the other half of the duo goes to stand beside her brother. Looking at them, Shunsui is once again taken aback by just how alike theylook—the girl’s features are a touch more delicate while the boy’s eyes are ashade lighter, but aside from that they look eerily similar. (yeah the omnitsukudo would literally kill to get her. Hasn’t even reached puberty yet and already has enough control over her reiatsu to hide from a captain? Granted, said captain wasn’t trying very hard to find her, but still)

“Otouto,” the girl greets her brother, although she doesn’ttake her eyes off him. It also doesn’t escape his notice that neither of themhave referred to each other by name so far. “I thought I told you not to speakto suspicious characters.”

Oh, come on, Shunsuithinks in exasperation. First implied pedophile, and now ‘suspiciouscharacter’? At this rate, these kids are going to give him a complex. (and yet, in some weird way, he finds them charming.)

“Maa, maa, I mean no harm,” Shunsui says, holding his handsup. He isn’t surprised to note the same fluctuations in the girl’s reiatsu,although hers are far more subtle. It does bring up the question though ofexactly how much reiatsu these kids have,for them to feel the need to suppress it. Hiding his reiatsu is all butsecond nature to him as a captain—it has to be, since the slightest loss ofcontrol over it tends to send grown men sprawling to their knees—but for two kids to do so? Who are these children,exactly? (Kyouraku: “You mean to tell me you’ve developed better reiatsu control than most seated officers on your own?” Twins: “What, like it’s hard?”)

“Would it help if I introduced myself? Kyouraku Shunsui, Captain ofthe Gotei 13’s Eighth Division, at your service.”

This time, the surge in the boy’s reiatsu is far morepronounced but interestingly enough, the girl’s doesn’t waver. A testament toher control, perhaps…?

“And what business does a captain have with two kids fromthe Rukongai?” The girl asks skeptically, not bothering to offer her own name.

“Well, as someone who visits these areas relativelyfrequently, I figured it was my duty to inform you of some of the localattractions. See, in two weeks, district three of North Rukongai will beholding its annual dango festival,” he says, studying them closely. “It’s alsowhere a few members from the Gotei 13’s First Division will be holding aninformation session for those who might be interested in becoming shinigami.”

“Don’t you need high spiritual energy levels in order tobecome shinigami, though?” The girl questions, expression unreadable.

“Of course, but I don’t think that’s something either of youneed to worry about, am I right?” He asks with a smile. The boy stiffens andthe girl’s eyes narrow minutely, but to their credit, neither of them botherdenying it. “You don’t need to come; I’m not forcing you to. Just…consider it,okay?” (In which the twins meet their match in the ‘seeing through bullshit’ department. Kyouraku isn’t buying their act of ‘harmless impertinent children who don’t know any better’ any more than they’re buying his act of ‘harmless old man’)

With that, he turns around and begins to head back in thedirection of the Seireitei, whistling to himself as he goes. He gets about tenfeet before the boy—and he really needs to learn their names, he can’t justkeep referring to them as ‘the girl’ and ‘the boy’—calls out.

“Will you be there? At the information session, I mean,” heasks. Shunsui pauses, but doesn’t turn around.

“Originally, I wasn’t planning on it,” he admits, which istrue. Recruiting events like these have a tendency of turning out dreadfully dull. Now, though… “Butrecent events have made me consider making an exception.”

(because despite everything...he’s taken a liking to them)

#to love a monster #meri47

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ultrakeystotheheartblog · 7 years

Text

The Trees Have Eyes: Prologue

Chapter 1

A/N: Alright, alright. So, here’s the first part of the very long Teen Wolf fanfic I’ll be working on for a large chunk of the foreseeable future :D I’m up to like 54 outlined chapters at this point, that I hope to post on a 1-2 week basis. There are a few minor characters that appear in this part, the start of many that will be returning. And features one of the new characters that I’ve created for this fic.

You can see a glimpse of what I imagined them to kind of look like here. Also, a quick translation for a few words:

Mera dost = my friend

Aaraam = relax

Kutsit narak = bloody hell

The reader’s story starts around the time Season 3a begins, and then after the events of this part, they ‘wake up’ (it’ll make sense just go with me) around the events that take place during Season 6b (where Scott and the others have graduated, and the ‘puppy pack’ as they’ve been adorably deemed by most of the fandom, are all in their Junior year). The next part will pick up 3 months after 6b ends, with Liam and his friends starting their Senior year.

I hope you all enjoy! Let me know how you’re liking it :)

Warning: Violence, blood, slight gore, and a bit of swearing.

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

It's not that you hated cats.

You just hated this particular cat.

You don't know exactly why your friend thought it'd be a great idea for you babysit his pride and joy, when on more than one occasion you'd complained about how much the two of you detested each other. The cat wouldn't even do the polite thing and at least pretend like you could both play nice. Instead, she couldn't muster any effort to stay in the same room for any longer than two minutes most times you visited--you had timed it to make a point--but he hadn't listened in the slightest. And now his child has slipped out into the night, darting past you and through the open door when you went to take out the garbage. You figured she saw her chance to escape you once and for all.

You were also rapidly regretting the fact that you'd dared him to live on the edge of the city, next to creepiest area of forest you had ever seen in your young life. He always took things too seriously in your opinion. Which is why, in the dead of night, you were now searching with your phone's flashlight through the those god awful woods, trying to catch sight of a flash of white against the darkness. You clamber up a small hill and pull your sweater tighter around you, stumbling through the mulch and roots in the ground.

"Come on, Snowball, here kitty. Thomas is going to kill me, but you'd like that wouldn't you, you little asshole."

You bend over to shine the light into the recess of a rotting log, muttering to yourself when there's nothing but the scuttle of little spiders. A few make the jump to your phone and you shake it frantically to knock them off. You lean back, straining to hear a meow in the distance, but there's only the sound of howling that cuts through the silence. It drags a creeping shiver down your spine when other sounds become more prominent; branches cracking around you, a woman's throaty laugh that echoes from far too close.

You jump to your feet and turn with the circling sounds in a panic, heartbeat so loud you could hear it thumping in your own ears, phone flashlight dancing across the dark shapes of creaking trees and low hanging branches. You gulp around the fear closing your throat and demand rather loudly.

"Hey, cut it out! This isn't funny! Whoever the hell you are."

Out of the darkness her face is suddenly very close, dark hair hanging loose and wild around her face, nose crinkled as her mouth twists in a ferocious snarl. Her lips pull back over gleaming fangs, red glowing eyes hypnotic, terrifying, as they stare so deep and intense you feel as though those eyes would be forever burned into your vision.

Your first thought very briefly touches on the fact that her eyes are the colour of blood, something your fear muddled mind hopes will not be leaving your body tonight. You find you can't move from the paralyzing shock of it all, limbs and eyes locked in this nightmarish staring contest. The woman's voice has strange underlying sub vocals to it, deep and almost predatory as she growls, lips drawing up slowly into a warped, perverse looking smile around her sharp teeth.

"Hell is right." She purrs.

"Shi--" You react, jerking your head back, and dropping your phone as you back up too fast and too clumsily, falling backwards into the dirt.

She laughs, stalking towards you with sure and measured steps, as though she were getting ready to go for the kill now that she's cornered a defenceless animal. Which seemed exactly right at this moment. The woman watches you crawl backwards, staring up at her with wide, panicked eyes. She leans down to your level, eyes flickering over your features for a moment before practically cooing. "Well, aren't you a cutie?"

She's smiling again, carefully running the tip of a clawed finger over the vulnerable skin of your neck, a simple, calculated line grazing downwards from under your chin. The hairline cut stings in the open air, and then she's putting more pressure over your pulse point, pricking the skin so a large drop of blood wells to the surface. She inhales shamelessly, nostrils flaring. "Weak though...scared. Just like a human." She adds, just as the palm of your hand brushes against a heavy rock within reach behind you. Your fingers close around it.

She dips her head instantly, before you can really do anything, and sinks her fangs into the flesh between your neck and shoulder. The sudden sharp pain rips a fearful scream from you and then the burning sets in within seconds, lines of fire ricocheting through your muscles. There's a lot of blood, you can smell the metallic tinge of it as it permeates the air as warm volleys of liquid seeps out from the around the woman's mouth. She pulls back with red smeared lips, and with as much strength as you can muster you wind up and crack the rock down on the side of her head.

The force is enough to snap her head to the side and she laughs, seeming surprised as she turns back to look at you. You watch the open gash across the side of her forehead close on its own, the skin sewing together quickly until there's nothing left but a smudge of blood. The woman's clawed fingers tangle in the front of your sweater as she drags you up to your feet easily, your body sore from the burning sensation still racking your body and weak from the blood loss. She regards you more thoughtfully now. Your eye lids feel heavy.

"Maybe there's some fire in you after all."

"Kali." The new voice has an accent, deep and commanding and obviously male, he says the woman's name harshly, as if he were reprimanding her for her behaviour. The echo swirls around you until you feel dizzy. You weakly lift your head and look around you in earnest, hoping that this was your saviour--a thought that gives you an immediate burst of adrenaline--but you can't seem to find where the voice is exactly coming from. The woman--Kali--freezes and tilts her head to the left, eyes darting from your face to the side, listening raptly to your surroundings but refuses to let her grip on you relax. The strong voice carries through the trees again and drawls, "That's enough. You can have your fun when we reach our destination."

Kali rolls her glowing eyes, and finally--unceremoniously--drops you in a heap at her feet. She faces away from you with a huff and stares somewhere out into the darkness, seeing things that your human eyes couldn't ever make out.

"Beacon Hills will get just as much enthusiasm, don't you worry." She assures her mysterious companion. You take her distraction as an opportunity and scramble to your feet in agony, wincing as you clamp a hand to the wound on your neck. You slip away down the hill into the narrow paths of crowded trees below. By the time you'd ducked out of sight, you very clearly hear Kali growl, her tone sounding excited, "Oh, now it's a game!"

But the voice returns more forceful than before, the reverberation following you into the dense foliage that surrounds an empty, muddy river bed.

"Leave it."

You sludge across it, not daring to slow down in case she doesn't listen to the voice. It takes longer than you would like, and you eventually make it a far ways farther, but feel lost and lightheaded from the continued blood loss. Your body is wobbly as you gasp air into your aching lungs. Your legs give out within the next few minutes and you drop heavy to your knees in the slick muck, the impact on your kneecaps sending shooting pains up into your legs.

You flinch at the sound of footsteps approaching you from the front. You see boots enter your vision as you stare at the ground, woman's boots you think, and your gaze trails slowly up to her face. She was very pretty and tall, her dark hair primly styled and curled. There was a sweet, concerned expression dawning on her face as she takes in your appearance, gaze flitting to the mix of new and dried blood dripping down your shoulder.

"Are you alright?" She asks softly as if she's talking to a child, stepping closer as she offers you her hand. You can't help but react, slapping away her hand as a flash of panic surges through you and you struggle to get back to your feet. She furrows her eyebrows in concentration and steps back again, holding up her hands to show she meant no harm before continuing calmly, "It's okay, you don't have to be afraid."

"Who are you?" You ask quietly, shaking body drained of any strength as you drop back to the dirt, shifting back to a sitting position. You stare up at her.

"Jennifer." She responds. Her eyes seem to glitter in the dark. "Let me help you."

She reaches down to grip your arms and help you stagger to your feet. You stumble against her and she steadies you, turning carefully to veer you in a certain direction. She helps you to sit on a sturdy fallen tree trunk. It rests in the midst of a grove of old looking trees, growing in a way that creates a misshapen circle. Their branches are twisted and gnarled, like hands and long fingers that seemed to reach out for you.

Jennifer is on her knees in front of you, face swimming in and out of your vision as you blink rapidly to stay awake. She deftly peels down the fabric of your sweater to peer at the bite Kali had given you. Some of the blood has crusted over by now but there is still new blood welling at the puncture points. She doesn't look at you as she hums in thought.

"Hmm that's a deep bite. What happened?"

"There was a woman--"

"Red eyes? Fangs? Claws extending from her feet?" She questions in a rush. Your jumbled mind is still able to notice the sudden edge to her voice, the trace of kindness you heard before hardening into something almost bitter. You wince as she presses down around the wound a little too hard and her fingers quickly disappear from your neck.

"How did you know?"

Jennifer rocks back, glancing around at the trees around you. "She's a werewolf--an Alpha. And part of a very dangerous pack. You're lucky to have gotten away alive."

"How do you--"

"I've been tracking them."

"Why?"

Jennifer is looking directly at you now--a scary intensity that makes you anxious--and leans forward, hands squeezing your knees tightly. The pressure hurts the already sore skin there and you yelp. She loosens her hold slightly, voice low and just the slightest bit hostile. You're unsure if it has anything to do with you or not.

"It's a long story." She says, taking a deep breath to compose herself. She smiles at you in a way that you think might resemble something like reassurance, but it looks wrong, all tight-lipped, chilling and greedy. You swallow hard and find yourself sitting very still.

"It doesn't sound like it would be a good one."

"It's not."

You glance down at the fingers still resting on your knees and take in the wet smudges of blood across the tips. You poise a hand near your bite but don't make contact with any of the surrounding skin, afraid of making the flaring pain worse somehow by merely brushing against it. Jennifer follows your movement with her piercing eyes.

"I'm..am I going to--" You start, clearly sounding on the verge of hysteria. Jennifer's hand shoots out to grip your hanging wrist, and her next reaction is to laugh as though she's the one about to have a breakdown instead. It’s cruel and insensitive, sounding sharp in your ears. You gape at her, feeling a chaotic mess of hurt and bewilderment.

"Usually when you're bitten by an Alpha, yes. But you won't." She lowers your hand back to your lap, sighing as she releases your wrist. "It's nothing personal."

You can't help but retort, "It sounds pretty personal."

"Regarding them. You, on the other hand, are just in the wrong place at the wrong time." Jennifer stands and walks towards one of the largest trees in the grove, eyes elated as she hungrily stares up at its highest branches. She runs her fingers reverently across the bark. An awful feeling smolders in the pit of your stomach as you watch her, and the realization of her intent is a slap to the face. Your back straightens, mind clearing as a rush of fear slices through the haze. Everything about her seems horrifyingly dangerous now and tears begin to prick at the inner corners of your eyes.

"What are you gonna do to me?"

She presses the flat of her palm harder against the tree, "I'm a Druid. And this tree is one of many. A sacred place where we practice, draw our energy from. But I'm weak. The spark that kept me alive only lasts so long. And if I'm ever going to get.." She pauses, trying to find the right word, "...closure...I need more power." She moves fast once the words leave her mouth. Suddenly your ripped to your feet and slammed against the tree she had just been standing by. Her hand closes around your throat and squeezes until colourful spots flash in your vision like shimmering eyes, ones reminiscent of the Alpha. Your lifted up, feet kicking uselessly in the air as she leans in too close, her breath--the scent of decay, something rotten--washing over you.

"And you're going to give it to me." She tells you evenly, no hint of physical strain or regret for what she was about to do. The corneas and pupils of her eyes have been consumed by a bright white glow, looking eerily dead.

"I...please..I don't...understand." You manage to gasp out.

The beauty of her face is molting away in clumps of flesh, the skin beneath wrinkled and marred with red gashes like claws. It's ghostly pale looking and her eyes seem sunken, a chunk of flesh gone from one side of her mouth, leaving her teeth and gums exposed in a permanent grin. You gag, hands scrambling for purchase at the ones around your throat. Jennifer's voice is rough and sounds gurgled when she whispers, as if she's choking on something herself.

"You're my sacrifice."

"No...no..please--don't!"

She presses closer against you, the remnants of what was once her nose brushing yours. "I'll make it fast." She promises.

There's a painful drag of something cold across your throat, a burst of white light filling your vision, and then darkness.

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

When you wake again you're on your back surrounded by nothing but dirt. It's dark, a constant pressure against your limbs and chest, clumps of moist soil lodging in your nose and mouth as you panic. You struggle to push through the packed dirt towards the surface. Your hands burst through the ground first and you force your body to follow, fingers clutching at the soil to drag yourself out into the open air.

You crawl out onto browning grass and roll over onto your back, staring up at the pieces of sky you can see through the forest canopy. It's clear and the moon is out, a crescent of light turned up like a smile against the blue-black of the night sky. You take gasping breaths, blinking away dirt from your eyes as you try to calm your shaking body.

You feel disoriented and....different. Off. Like you're floating in water, having trouble remembering exactly why you just had to crawl out of a hole in the ground. You felt as though you knew, but it was just out of reach, like when you have words on the tip of your tongue. And it was so hard to focus with that buzzing in your ears and there was an awful squeak--You feel the urge to tip your head back slightly, to look up at the tree you were buried beneath. The groaning knotted branches were hypnotic as you closed your eyes to listen. It isn't so bad actually, you think, a strangely peaceful moment blanketing over everything and you revealed in it, feeling as though you could stay here forever. And there it was again...a tugging to look back at the tree.

It was a pull at the back of your consciousness that felt hesitant, almost kind. You tentively push back against it, prodding it gently as it continues to tug at you in return, trying to draw you deeper into that constant buzzing that hadn't left your head yet, seeming as if it was examining you. It gives you harsh mental jab after a few minutes and then there's a rush of...everything. A confusing range of emotion that slam the breath from your lungs.

There's a flash of searing yellow light, warmth and this tingling pure energy that hums through your nerve endings like liquid fire. It's a good burn, like that rush of affection you sometimes get in your chest for your family and friends. There's the image of ghostly white eyes that flicker like embers on the back of your eye lids, and then there's a burst of sounds from all around you.

You bolt upright wincing at the volume, and urgently begin turning your head from left to right as you clamber to your knees. Your eyes dart around the trees, ears still burning as the sounds taper off just a bit and mingle with a gale of strong smells. Wings...a bird? No an owl. Something earthy, musty, like after a rainstorm or stepping into a really old room. A heavy, smokier scent of wood, like it was being burned for a campfire. The rush of a stream--hadn't that been drained? The sweetness of grass. Engines. Cars. The sickening stench of rotten eggs....car exhaust. The squeak of a bus' brakes and--

Voices.

So many voices.

A mosaic of pitches and tones--laughing, angry, desperate. They flared in volume and you slapped hands over your ears, willing them to quiet. They taper off again and you think that you should follow them. The sounds.

You focus more on the cars in the distance and eventually come across a road, which you follow back into a more suburban part of the city. There's barely anyone on the dim lighted streets, or on the road itself, and you see an old man sitting in a bus shelter. His legs are crossed, newspaper spread open across his lap as his eyes fly over sentence after sentence, large horn rimmed glasses sliding down his nose.

You walk towards him and clear your throat as you get closer, hoping he might have a phone on him as you can't seem to remember why you can't find yours. When the man catches sight of you he makes a surprised sound, eyes widening comically behind his glasses before he shoves the newspaper aside and, faster than you've ever seen an old man move, he makes a beeline out of the tiny shelter. A tangy smell reaches your nose as he whips around the side farthest away from you, and is fast walking down the street without looking back. You step forward and call out to him.

"Oh, wait! Don't go--shit."

You look down at the newspaper he had left behind and pick up the wrinkled spread, folding it up to find the date. The pungent smell of newsprint makes your nose crinkle. When you find it in the top corner you feel your stomach drop, the date wildly different than you last remember.

"I don't know whether to comment on the dirt or the blood first." The lilting tone is muddled with a light British accent, and you squeak, spinning in the direction of the voice.

It's a girl on the outside the bus shelter, leaning against one of its windows as she peers in at you. You're surprised that you hadn't noticed her until now. She's about your age, tall and lanky, dressed in biker boots, lace and jeans, and has a bob of colourful turquoise hair. Her brown leather jacket is hanging open, a leather choker looped around her neck, and a nose ring glints in the street lights. Her eyes are dark and deep, framed with thin wire glasses, and filled with a playfulness that you not seen in a long while. Her grin is lopsided but wide, tiny crinkles forming in the corners of her eyes.

Your surprised you can her so well in the dark, details looking just as clear as they would in daylight. You glance down at your tattered sweater, catching your reflection in a window of the bus shelter, as a passing car's headlights dances briefly across the glass. The image of splattered, crusted blood gives you an itch of something familiar in the back of your mind and it all rushes back. Your fingers immediately shoot up to touch the smooth skin of your neck, and you furrow your eyebrows, wondering where the perforated fang marks had gone. You look back at the beautiful, smiling girl, at a loss for a response.

"I, uh..."

"Bad day?"

Your eyes trail down to the newspaper in your hand, "I think it's been longer than that." You mutter, but she seems to hear you, raising an eyebrow. You lightly rustle the paper in her direction, voice sounding strained even to you as you try to make a joking observation. "Did you know people still read newspapers?"

The girl goes to say something but stops herself, electing to ignore your last remark. Instead, she shakes her head and steps into the shelter with you, arms crossed over her chest as she gives you a pointed look. She gently takes the newspaper from your hands, flipping it around so can easily find the date and she purses her lips, expression questioning when her eyes return to your face. "How long do you think it's been?" She asks curiously. You helplessly shrug, but answer her in a small voice. "Months."

The girl snickers at you, dropping the newspaper back onto the bus shelter's bench. It flutters down as she runs a hand through her hair. 'The people in this city sure know how to have fun."

You catch the double meaning laced in her words when she winks at you, and your mind flicks through what she could possibly be referring too. The only thing you can come up with makes your face heat up with embarrassment. You'd heard of people going on 'fender-benders' before, long stretches of time filled with drugs, alcohol, and sex. But she seriously wasn't suggesting--NO.

"What? No!" You sputter in protest, eyes darting anywhere but her face. "It wasn't--I..."

"You..." She counters.

"I woke up in the ground, underneath some tree. I...I think I...died."

The girl goes quiet, grin drooping a little, her eyebrows raised as she waits for you to elaborate. When you don't and just stare at her in utter terror, shocked that you actually just blurted that out to a total stranger, she regards you with a more interested look. "Well, that's unpleasant." She finally says to break the awkward silence. You laugh nervously.

"Very."

She seems to decide something then and throws an arm over your shoulder. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up." You tense, but she smiles at you gently, steering you out of the bus shelter and up the street. Her arms slides away from your body as you both turn a corner and onto another street, and she glances at you sideways. "I'm Noori by the way, Noori Singh." She adds. You peek at her, feeling as if you should reciprocate.

"(Y/N)."

"You're very trusting, (Y/N)."

"Are you giving me a reason not to be?"

Noori chuckles at the defensive tone, "No, it's just rare nowadays. Don't let go of that quite yet."

"It's been more like a curse lately." You tell her quietly. There's a young couple crossing your path and they stare at you, expressions at least seeming concerned, as you pass them. You flinch and self-consciously pull at the hem of your rather disgusting sweater.

"Hmmm it can be." Noori agrees. You look at her again, staring at the side of her face as she hums and keeps her gaze trained on the end of the street.

"That doesn't make me feel any better." You deadpan.

"It wasn't meant too."

You huff at her simple answer, glancing around you to find that things on this side of the city seemed different--changed. It had evidently been a while since you'd been here. The tea place had shut down, replaced by a thrifty clothing store. The construction had all but cleared up around the parkette, shiny new metal slides and pits of woodchips making it look more friendly than you remembered. There was a line of newly constructed houses. You had a fleeting thought of your family, and gripped Noori's arm. She stopped walking and turned to you without a word. You gestured in your current, general direction.

"Where are we going?"

Noori started to walk again, waiting for you to catch up before speaking. "Be patient." She says, like it's the simplest thing in the world. You sigh.

"What?"

"You'll see."

Noori leads you down a few more twisting streets until you come across a newly constructed recreation centre, which you can see backs a smaller neighbourhood court, through tiny slits between the houses. The centre itself is pretty small, a dome like building splashed with colours of blue and yellow, the brightness of them clear to you even in the dark. The darkened windows tell you it's completely empty. She hops the metal fence separating the court and the centre, between two houses with enough room to maneuver her body with little effort, pushing off the brick to give her enough momentum to flip over the top.

You follow her, curling your fingers through the metal chain links and hoisting yourself up and over in a fluid motion that surprises you. You land on your feet on the other side, and look up to see that Noori is already strutting up to a side entrance facing away from the houses. When you meet her at the double door, she stares at you expectantly. You raise an eyebrow and she motions to the looping chain lock keeping the doors closed. You realize that she wants you to break it, and you turn to her with a puzzled expression.

"This feels very illegal." You inform her. She scoffs.

"It might be....but there's running water and vending machines. You like food right?"

"Okay, I get it."

Noori takes your hands, her skin cold against yours, and draws them slowly to the hanging lock. You shoot her a sceptical look, trying to silently communicate that you wouldn't be able to get the door open with just your bare hands, but she just watches you and waits patiently. You take a deep breath and try to do what she wants, giving the lock a harsh tug. The metal creaks and the lock breaks off into your hands. You stare down at it as the chain looped around the double door's handles rattles and clinks to the pavement below your feet. Noori whoops in delight and playfully pushes your shoulder to get your attention, waving a hand at the door as if she were welcoming you into her home.

"After you, mera dost"

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

The shower is warm and calming, and you allow yourself a few moments to just let the water cascade over you, hands bracing your body as you lean forward against one of the shower walls. You dip your head low under the steady stream, letting the rush of water drown out all the elevated sounds. Then with a sigh, you lean back to scrub at your skin vigorously, watching with satisfaction as the water runs a disgusting brownish-red before its drained beneath your feet.

You let your fingers drift up to graze the wet, unbroken skin where the bite should still be, and you press harder against the skin there in frustration. When you feel you're clean enough, you switch off the shower and snatch the folded towel you had left on a bench in the changing room. You run the fluffy material over your arms and legs before reaching for the clothes Noori had helped you pluck from the 'Lost and Found' bin by the front desk. The t-shirt is white and simple, and is at least three sizes too big for you, but its soft and doesn't smell too bad, just a bit musty. The black and red stripped track pants fit you a little better, and as you pull them up around your hips you notice with amusement that Noori had made sure they matched with a pair of red sneakers.

Once you were fully dressed, you sling the towel up over the shower wall and walk back towards the large pair of mirrors to the left of the showers stalls, amazed at the difference the shower had made. You looked a little less dead than before.

"Looking good."

You whirl around at her voice and place a hand on your hammering heart. You've come to find that she's very light on her feet, as you didn't even hear her come in. She smiles at you in the darkness of the room, as you had both elected to keep the lights off so no one would come to investigate, and you regard her with surprise.

"Oh--you're still here."

Noori rolls her eyes, "You told me you crawled out of the ground after dying, there is no way I'm missing this story." She leans up against the side of a locker and looks positively giddy, curiosity evident in her voice. "So, what happened?"

"It's going to sound crazy."

"I'm sure I've heard crazier."

You take a deep breath and decide to just tell her the truth, as she had yet to run away screaming when you so bluntly told her you'd actually, well, died. You choose to stare at a spot on the wall behind her, a laminated poster by the changing room entrance. It has blocky printed lines of text outlining the 'Do's' and 'Don'ts' of a public swimming pool, and you will your voice to stop shaking as you think back to what you last remember. "There was a...werewolf. An Alpha. She bit me and then...This woman found me in some sacred tree place? She...called herself a Druid and then killed me and--I don't know." Noori doesn't say anything and you brave a fleeting look at her face. She's nodding as if she completely understands, and you find your fingers once again drawn back to touch the space between your neck and shoulder.

You dare to utter the few words you'd been relentlessly shoving to the back of your mind, too horrified to know the answer. Your chest constricts in fear and you feel a bit light headed, the tiniest prickles of panic creeping up your spine.

"Am I..."

Noori cocks her head to the side and speaks softly, "I think you know. Though you seem to be a little different."

"What?"

"Your eyes."

You press your fingers against the skin underneath your eyes and turn quickly to face the mirror, breath catching in your throat as you take in the haunting purple glow. They're bright and luminous, like you were wearing little neon violet contacts, and the small prickle of panic you had just felt earlier spreads into a swirling wildfire of terror. You feel like you're about to have a heart attack; there's a tingling sensation rushing into your fingers, the pulsing of blood in your ears, heartbeat in your throat, breaths coming in short, pained gasps.

Noori is there, turning you gently. Her cold hands raise goosebumps along your skin as she cups your face and speaks clearly, calmly, and you close your eyes as you listen to her through the alarm. "It's okay, just breathe. Slowly....slower. With me. Aaraam--You're going be okay, just breathe." She sounds maternal and composed, as if she's done this a hundreds of times, and it's infinitely soothing as you regulate your breaths with her guidance.

Her hands slowly drop from your face and drag lightly in feather light touches down your arms, before pulling away totally after a few moments. You blink at her, not completely calm but more in control of your body now. You turn to look in the mirror again and are relieved to see the purple glow is gone for now. You look up at Noori through the mirror.

"My eyes just looked like glow sticks. To be honest, I don't feel very calm."

"It's normal." She tells you. When you look at her in disbelief she softly laughs, hands on her hips as she explains. "There are different colours that mean a different status. Red is Alpha, yellow...well, normal, like for a Beta or an Omega. Blue means you've killed an innocent."

"And purple?"

"That's...something to figure out."

You furrow your eyebrows at her hesitation, feeling lost at the strange glint of indecision in her eyes. "You'd tell me if you knew right?" You ask warily. Noori immediately nods, smiling at you again, and the glint is gone.

"Of course."

You break the following silence, stepping away from the mirror. "How do you know so much about werewolves? Are you..." She seems to understand your unspoken question well enough, raising her eyebrows.

"What? Oh...no. I don't think I could handle all that pack business. I am like you though." She adds coolly, motioning to herself and then you. "A supernatural being."

"Which is?" You prompt her.

"Shepashiphtar. A Shapeshifter. I can change my shape however I want." Noori blinks at you and suddenly her eyes are glowing pink, a rosy colour that reminds you of cotton candy . You stare in awe as she lifts her hands and runs them through her hair, the turquoise strands turning purple in their wake. She then raises a hand in front of her, turning it from side to side so you can get a good look at it as tiny grey feathers prick through her skin, covering the back of her hand up to the tips of her fingers as she flexes them. They sink back after a few seconds, her eyes fading back to their normal colour, and she grins excitedly at you, looking proud of her little demonstration. You reach out to take her hand, peering closely at the newly featherless skin.

"That's really cool. Does it hurt?"

"No, just feels...it itches mostly."

You let go of her hand, remembering the changes you'd most likely be going through soon. "Is it going to be painful?" You ask her. She follows the new direction of thought easily.

"The change? The first few times it can, but once you get the hang of everything it's not so bad. Or so I've been told."

"Told?"

"I've been around--all over the world. I've had the opportunity to meet some werewolves here and there. I was even friends with some once upon a time." Noori gets a faraway look in her eyes, adoration clear in her expression as she continues. "There's was this one...had trouble with her emotions a lot of the time. Anger, mostly. I taught her some tricks I picked up in my travels, to balance herself. Meditation, mantras."

Noori's gaze finds yours.

"And I can teach you." She promises. You take a moment to think about it, but are already sure about your answer.

"Alright, I don't really have much else to go on. What's lesson one?"

"Question often. Pay attention to your surroundings." She smiles, "Sometimes we forget to look beyond what we see."

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

It had been a little less than six months since you'd been back.

Within the first week, you discovered that after months of painstaking searches, your family had moved away from the city with broken hearts and lost hope, believing you to be truly gone--dead. You had to admit to yourself--somewhat bitterly--that they hadn't been wrong. You also hadn't had the heart or the energy to track them down yet. You were afraid of their reactions, or hurting them in some way with your new life. Terrified that they had just simply moved on.

You decided to stay with Noori, the both of you moving out to another Californian city an hour away, hoping to leave everything in the past for now. Among the traveling and the settling, she tells you that you're still part werewolf, because you definitely smell like one. She laughs when you get defensive, clarifying that it wasn't meant to be an insult. She reasons that you need to learn to control yourself and teaches you a Buddhist mantra you can use in to manage your primal urges and more violent nature, your heightened senses and intense emotions, to learn to hide yourself away from the general public and their curious eyes.

And on each full moon that passes, she takes you to an abandoned bomb shelter she'd found on the edge of the woods, making sure you've locked yourself inside for the night, and stays to speak to you through the door. But the mantra only works for so long before the change becomes too much.

All things considered, it doesn't necessarily go well.

You see other things now too, though at first you thought you were just loosing your mind. But you learned quickly that they were very real. They wandered, dipped in and out of reality, and didn't talk much, and almost always they'd watch you from a far. Some with bruised under eyes and inquisitive expressions. Others with grotesque injuries on display, if that's how they died. It's like they knew you could see them, but you pretended not to.

The braver spirits even followed you sometimes, looking as though they expected you to say or do something. And when you didn't--or couldn't--they'd seem desperate and infinitely sad. They made you anxious and jittery, and your mind heavy with static until there were nights when you couldn't fall asleep. You tried talking to one once. He was angry and irrational, one of ones that actually did a fair bit of talking--yelling, really--to people who couldn't even hear him out on the streets. He was obviously in great emotional pain even in death, and you could feel it like smoke, tangible in between your fingers and against your skin, the taste and smell something so terribly spicy it burned the back of your throat. So you wanted to help. And he made it apparent that he didn't want you too.

The commotion drew others nearby and they crowded you in excitement. Their voices churned about you, flashes of images ringing in your head , until you blacked out from the pressure of them and woke up in the back of an ambulance an hour later.

You tried to block them all out after that.

You spent a lot of time looking for work during the day and slept in a city shelter at night, but it was hard to appear normal when you're crowded into small spaces with little room, where people give you strange looks and seem to sense you're different from them. Noori disappeared during the day sometimes, but always returned at night. You didn't really want to question her, afraid you wouldn't like what you find. You spend a few months like this, until one day you come across a boy your age, in the parking lot of the local music hall. He's struggling with loading cases of musical equipment into the back of a moving van, and he's impressed with your strength when you help him with the large amps.

You find you like him when you start talking to get to know each other because he's very friendly, and he explains how he'd graduated early from a high school in a different city and moved when things got too crazy in his life. He was now taking some time off to decide what he wanted to do at college. You tell him about your job dilemma, and the next day he helps you get hired as a clerical assistant for the hospital that he volunteers at. When you thank him profusely he waves you off and jokes that he's a natural born charmer, so it wasn't really a big deal. And although you agree with the first part, you find out from a few co-workers that he had insistently put in a good word for you with the staff, and you think that you could never fully express how much you appreciated his kindness.

He becomes your friend from then on, and you hang out every day if there's a chance. Soon, you get monthly pay checks and spend what little money you make on food and clothes, a rented car and gas for it, bathroom essentials and blankets, but don't make enough to rent a place in the city. Both you and Noori sleep in the car, until one night things change for the better.

You're woken out of a dream. It's filled with that blinding yellow light that's haunted you constantly and chattering voices, the pull to that strange old tree feeling weaker than it had in months. And then with a snap, a throbbing just in behind your eyes, the constant buzzing since waking back up all goes away. You're jolted awake at the sudden quiet, at the same time a knock sounds at the car window. The figure outside raps on the window again and then opens the back door to look in, his expression hard as he shines the light of his cell phone into the car.

"This doesn't seem comfortable." He points out.

You squint up at him drowsily, kicking the blanket down your legs and pulling back the hood of your hoodie as you sit up, voice thick with sleep.

"Danny?"

Noori groans from her place curled up in the front seat, lifting her head to better see what was going on, before rolling her eyes and turning over to face away from the open door. "Kutsit narak." She mutters under her breath. Her tone is sour and you sigh, dropping your head into the palm of your hands.

Danny slips his phone back into the deep pocket of his jacket, leaning against the open door as he takes in the mess of the backseat: sprawled blankets and clothes, plastic bags full of cheap convince store food and bottles of shampoo and liquid soap, a small backpack at your feet. The bag is open and he draws it towards him before you can protest, nudging it open a little farther to see what was inside--a few weathered books, your own cell phone, and a new pair of white running shoes for work. He looks up to glare around the interior of the car, his eyes softening when they return to you.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I...I didn't think..."

"This isn't your car is it?" Danny asks, though he sounds as if he already knows the answer. You slide towards him across the backseat until your legs can dangle outside the open door, and he steps back. You feel your face heat up, picking at the end of your fraying sleeve to avoid the intensity of his concern.

"It's rented." You offer lamely.

Danny glances at the obvious dents along the front bumper, smaller ones lining the door trim under the driver's side. He cocks an eyebrow.

"I can see that."

Noori flops around again, brushing hair out of her eyes as she reaches for her glasses on the dashboard, and sits up with a dejected sigh. "Is this conversation going to go anywhere?" She inquires. Her attitude is sharp and unfriendly, and Danny ducks further into the car, shifting to peek into the front seat when you cut Noori a warning look. He narrows his eyes to see through the dark, before finally staring back down at you . His voice is more gentle when he speaks now.

"Come on, let's get out of here. Up. Get up, come on."

"What? Where are we going?"

He helps to pull you to your feet, ducking back into the car to hand you your backpack. You take it from him, clutching it to your chest as you stare. He drapes an arm around your shoulders and smiles, gesturing to his car which you realized was parked just down the street.

"Your my friend, I'm helping." He says simply. "I have a spare room in my apartment and you're going to take it. Grab anything else you want to take with you."

You can already hear Noori muttering in Hindi as she stretches and rustles around in the front seat. You feel overcome with adoration, warmth flourishing in your chest, and you surge forward to loop your arms around Danny's neck, squeezing him in a delighted hug.

"Thank you."

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