Tumgik
#so we didn’t have a band or any art classes anymore
thresholdbb · 8 months
Text
Is it me or does the TOS theme start with the same two notes as the bosun whistle?
3 notes · View notes
moon-lv3r · 1 year
Text
tutoring ~💎
🦋 category: fluff, one-shot, f!reader
🦋 characters: josuke
🦋 summary: your grades are slipping, exams are coming, and so you decided to ask someone as stupid as you to study together. makes sense since you aren’t the brightest tool in the shed
🦋 warnings: nil
🦋 notes: so how are we feeling about the ending of stone ocean? promise i will write something for stone ocean soon hehe. i got this idea to write a fic for josuke bc my mind started to drift into nowhere and a lot of idiotic stuff entered my brain and i suddenly felt inspired to write this fic with some elements of what happened to me. also i dyed my hair !!
Tumblr media
The amount of Ds flooding your report book was enough to send any parent into a state of shock. It was a nightmare coming straight out of a nightmare itself. Who would have known that you would be this stupid?
If only you could treat the warnings given to you by your teachers as a love letter. You’d have many admirers then.
“At least you’re not the lowest y/n,” said your best friend, a tall boy who went by the name Nakamura Naoki. “I heard that Okuyasu broke his own record once again. As if his grades weren’t already bad enough. But apparently that Josuke improved.”
A curved smile carved onto your face at the mention of Josuke. Would it be a surprise to know that you liked that idiot?
Naoki knew of it, and he was disappointed.
He took notice of your stupid little smile and sighed. “Seriously why do you like that idiot?” He asked.
“Naoki, you have a crush on Hirai Rei! She couldn’t do literature to save her life. Have you not read some of her poems she wrote for one of our projects last year?” You retorted back. Teasing each other about your crushes was a hobby, and a need, developed by the both of you. Partially because Naoki kept on liking funny kind of people while making fun of you for liking Josuke.
What was wrong with Josuke anyway?
“Rei is good at math and she can help me with it at least. What can Josuke help you with? Getting into trouble?” Naoki replied.
It was unfortunate that Rei just so happened to be the top student in the school for math while Josuke was known for getting into a bit of trouble. Resulting from too much games and a lack of homework being done. You had heard that his nephew was a well-accomplished young man with a wife and daughter.
“Josuke has a rich nephew,” you replied. But before you could say anymore, Naoki stopped you from producing words as stupid as Okuyasu.
“That man is married. I know you’re joking but seriously,” Naoki stared at you, straight into your eye. The seriousness of his eye contact filled with intensity froze you from the inside out. Never have you seen him so serious before.
You and Josuke were in the same class, he sat behind you. You could always feel his stupidity from where you sat but it was a trait that you had admired from him. You didn’t know how your crush on Josuke started out. it was out of the blue, you were just ranting to Naoki about how most of the guys in class were annoying pricks, a rant that even Naoki took part in. He was a boy in band and hated most of the boys. You were in the art club. Josuke just happened to be one of the more tolerable ones and you just started paying more and more attention to him then. It didn’t help that he always started conversations with you and most of it always went from school related to something stupid. But it was never enough to spark a friendship.
Until your weak little heart gave out and started to catch a kind of virus — feelings.
Naoki noticed it way before you did. You refused to believe that you had caught feelings for Josuke and denied it. But you knew it was as truthful as saying the Earth was flat.
Before you knew it, it had turned into something your mind was too weak to reverse. The worst part was that he sat behind you so you could always hear the stupid little shenanigans he was always up to. It got worse when Okuyasu joined the school. The level of stupid reached an all time high that made Naoki question your sanity for liking Josuke.
Months had passed by since then, you and him barely exchanged any words, only ever talking when he started it, but he had been talking to you less these days. Naoki ended up dating Rei and they were happy together. The stark contrast in achievements made you the laughing stock for him and Rei. But hey at least you befriended someone enough to tell her about your hopeless crush on that Josuke.
“Nao is right, Josuke is a stupid guy. Did love blind you to the point that even Josuke can catch your attention?” Rei commented after finding out about your crush on Josuke.
“I am not listening to anyone who’s dating Nakamura Naoki!” You replied.
What was worse was the fact that exams were arriving sooner than your love life finally having something interesting going on. Your grades standing at a failing rate was simply not allowed. Naoki and Rei were studying with each other and you did not want to interfere with their little date.
But you could really use a study buddy.
You even told your mother that you would be getting a tutor for your poor grades so there was nowhere out.
There were virtually nobody you could ask.
And so one day when you were in class glancing through your biology textbook, Josuke approached you.
The Josuke sitting right behind you.
The Josuke whose special talent was being an idiot.
The Josuke you liked.
“Biology is so hard to revise,” he mumbled as you looked up to see his face masked with a grin. He looked like a moron.
This was an opportunity in disguise.
You looked out of the class to see Rei winking and cheering you on with Naoki beside her, shaking his head in disapproval. Naoki must have been forced into it.
“We can study it together!” You replied with an innocent smile that you hoped would not expose your crazy heart going absolutely insane over the both of you finally having the opportunity to spend time together.
he seemed surprised. Your heart sank, heart beat gone. He was going to say no wasn't he?
At least you tried your best. It wasn’t like you never tried anything before. You could live with this.
“Sure!” Josuke surprisingly agreed, making you question if he was really the Josuke you know and love. “Just us or do you want me to invite Okuyasu?”
He was really an idiot.
“The choice is yours. But we will be studying at my house if that is alright with you. The library is really crowded these days,” you replied, trying to be as normal as you could possibly master.
Josuke went silent once again, deep in thoughts inside his empty brain. You really wanted to know what kind of things this boy thought of everyday. It seemed like it would be a never ending land of chaos, would you love it? Probably.
“I will not invite Okuyasu then,” he finally replied. “Today? I’ll see you after school.”
He left before you could even say anything.
What in tarnation had just happened.
You didn’t even have time to fully process everything because Rei barged into the classroom like a rabid creature and Naoki followed behind like he was a sick old man.
“Y/n is finally getting a boyfriend,” she grinned.
“I hate you,” you replied. “What just happened?”
“Ask Rei, she got me to ask Josuke to approach you because you apparently need friends,” Naoki replied.
“He couldn’t resist my charms,” Rei chimed in. “He is like a dog.”
Naoki froze in terror from the sentence and you laughed. Naoki being with Rei was the best thing ever.
You would never know the meaning of boring while hanging out with them.
It felt like eternity until the school bell finally rang, allowing you to run like there was a serial killer chasing you. Your final class for the day was different from Josuke’s so you would have to wait for him by the school gate and walk to your home. There Josuke was, standing by the metal gate like the dashing young teenager he was and oh you could not wait for the events to unfold.
The events would just be you and him talking.
He smiled when he saw you and waved. It made you feel like you were floating in heaven.
Maybe you should stop being so crazy.
Okuyasu went with Koichi to study. So you and Josuke were truly alone. Ain’t this fun?
“Your mum wouldn’t mind me around?” Josuke asked.
“She is used to me bringing guys over all the time,” you replied without thinking. Only realising how horrible your words meant after it escaped your mouth. “Wait no I only brought Naoki over and now he is always crashing at my place with Rei and making me sit on the floor of my own room like they are the ones living there!”
“So you only had Naoki and Rei over?” He asked, looking amused. “You got so flustered.”
You hated this.
“Sorry,” you apologised meekly as your doorstep finally greeted your face.
Quickly, you and Josuke entered and made the way to your room. It was filled with books and music, the sight of games were practically non-existent. Josuke was appalled by the different your room was compared to his. The thought of living without games was simply foreign to him, something impossible.
The both of you managed to find a comfortable spot on your room floor and sat down. He looked through his textbook like it was plotting his murder. “I don’t understand physics at all. What is the principal of energy conversion, whatever its called.”
“I think its that energy cannot be lost or destroyed, only converted from one form to another?” You replied, equally confused and began to look at your own textbook. “Oh I am right.”
Josuke was extremely weak when it came to his sciences so he spent most of his time on that. You couldn’t do math so that was your main area of focus.
“What is the difference between alkanes and alkenes again?” He asked.
“Hold on let me check…” You muttered, moving yourself so that you would be beside him. You took a glance at the textbook he was holding, unaware of the gap that would almost cease to exist between your cheeks. He was aware of that however, but remained frozen in his posture while your eyes scanned the words printed on his textbook.
“Oh alkanes have a single bond with carbon while alkenes have a double bond with… carbon as well,” you replied. “Why is chemistry so hard, the spelling of alkane and alkene is so similar!” You whined. “How would anyone tell it apart?”
Math got worse for you when you got to trigonometry and whatever the name was for the topic that needed you to find the volume of shapes. What the hell were your eyes registering into your brain?
“What is the hypotenuse of a triangle?” You asked in distress. Your mind in shambles from studying, too tired for anymore.
“The longest side?” Josuke shrugged. “I don’t know either.”
You glanced at your math notes once more, flipping through like a sane woman gone mad. He was… right?
“Why are you actually correct?” You answered in shock.
He looked just as surprised as you to learn the fact that he wasn’t that stupid. His grades only went from failing grades to barely passing. But an improvement was still an improvement.
Time ticked by as the both of you continued your mindless studying. The only dialogue exchanged were questions relating to subjects and the, sometimes insanely wrong, answers to them. Josuke once thought basic oxides were the same as acidic oxides. It was a funny one. It made a good laugh escape your lips.
The sun soon vanished from the sky, replaced by the moon and its’ dark shine over the Earth.
Your mother arrived home and cooked dinner for Josuke. She saw you bringing a guy that wasn’t Naoki back home and immediately started to do an interrogation. Swore it was for your future as well.
The aroma was sweet, filling every corner of your home. But the stare from your mother felt intense. Josuke could feel it too.
“So you’re the smart tutor y/n decided to bring home to save their grades?” She asked.
Josuke turned to look at you with a funny expression. You had no idea what it meant but he nodded his head with a smile before returning to face your mum. “Yup, top of our class.”
Oh he definitely was.
“What does your parents do for a living?”
“My dad is uh… overseas with my nephew, my mum is working at a bank,” Josuke asked. He seemed hesitant about his father but answered rather smoothly.
Dinner went by without anything weird coming from nowhere. The chicken your mother made was as amazing as usual and the curry she made tasted just as good, you loved the spice burning your tongue senseless. After all three of you finished your meal, your mother decided that it would be a good idea to have you walk Josuke home.
“So… what was that about me being smart?” Josuke asked, grinning in a smug manner.
“Nothing,” you tried to shrug it off.
“We both know the top of our class isn’t me. I am nowhere close,” Josuke explained. “So?”
You sighed, it wasn’t like any lie would make sense anyway.
“Told my mum that I would ask a smart one for help but I asked you instead,” you explained.
“Why though? Naoki only told me to talk to you…” his voice became softer, his mind turned heavier.
It could only mean one thing…
“Wait… do you like me?” He asked. Your mind stopped producing thoughts. Your heart kept making heart beats.
He looked at your reaction and that gave him all of the answers you needed. “So you do…”
“So?” You replied, trying to sound nonchalant as you could.
Josuke looked like a happy little idiot. “And I thought I was the only person who would like someone who barely talked to me. I thought you didn’t like me because you barely talked to me, only I started the conversations so I just stopped, until Naoki told me to approach you.”
Oh…
He mistook your shyness for a sign.
“I was just shy…” you explained. “But yeah I do like you…”
Josuke’s smile appeared brighter than the street lamps at that very moment when you admitted your feelings and you felt him suddenly holding your hand. “So can I be your boyfriend now?” He asked.
“After our exams,” you shot back.
For the rest of the walk, he would never stop complaining about how he has to wait.
The exams came and went. The results? Both you and Josuke had improved quite an amount, even Naoki was surprised.
What reward did you get for it?
Higashikata Josuke.
21 notes · View notes
torque-witch · 1 year
Text
Good morning and welcome to: juniors/seniors who were creepy as fuck while I was in 8th/9th grade - some of these people being legal adults - and I just didn’t really get it at the time.
First day of 8th grade I came in early to find out how to get into lockers bc I was homeschooled beforehand. Smacked hard on the ass by a senior guy passing by, so I just cried lol.
One senior unironically asked me to go to homecoming with them in 9th grade. They were my best friend’s older brother which is extra awkward.
One junior did the same, then also spent the next 2 years and MORE actively using my high school crush on them as an excuse to touch me - lots of piggy back rides in marching band practice. He kept coming back after he graduated. He tried sleeping with my best friend after we graduated, who was also my age. When I was in college years still later, he wanted me to drive 6 hours one way to have Netflix and chill in his own words. I truly didn’t realize until way later that he had been prepping me for that for like 6 years.
The senior lesbian who took me to a dance in 9th grade. Not super mad about this, but in retrospect it was weird. We got photos taken if I ever find them 😅 but she was just like also really adamant about it.
Worse tho was the older transfer student who dressed in Lolita and called me her “sex muffin” in 9th grade and also made any excuse to be next to me even tho we only had an art class together. Actively tried so many weird things, but I was just so clueless as to what was going on at the time.
And also I just remember one gym class especially where a bunch of seniors were talking about my butt and how they were mad I was so young.
Like? Now I realize that a lot of people’s actions toward me were performative - I was a new kid and these people had known each other for years and years. Everybody wanted to say they had some sort of ownership with me.
And hilariously, I looked like a 12 year old toe for a good part of it 😂 I wasn’t popular, just a prize. And that’s why, I only have maybe 2 actual friends from high school anymore.
Tumblr media
LMFAOOOO BE SO SERIOUS RN
Tumblr media Tumblr media
If they had just waited until I didn’t look like a toe, I might have excused it lmfao jk
11 notes · View notes
nadzhosny2 · 1 year
Text
The Rantings of an Old Soul
Tumblr media
Does anyone else feel as if they were born in the wrong era? I do. Constantly. My ways of viewing aspects of life are so categorically different from how society views them, that I feel as if I've been plucked from the past and slammed into the present with no recollection of how I got here. So being the nerd that I am, I decided to do some research into this and see if there is any coherent explanation for it.
Thankfully there was. The term for this feeling is ‘historical nostalgia or vicarious nostalgia’.
Whatever else you can change about your life, one thing you can’t do anything about is the time. If you don’t like where you live, you can move — if you don’t like when you live, well, tough shit.
Complaints about being born in the wrong era come up a lot online, often in the context of decrying modern culture and yearning for bygone days. Whether it’s memes about being misunderstood, lambasting other “kids of today” spending all their time on their phones or endless YouTube comments on Nirvana and Queen videos written by teenagers complaining that music today is bullshit, it’s a common yearning. Also if you don’t know who those two bands are, I am SERIOUSLY judging your music taste and you need to update your playlists IMMEDIATELY.
Tumblr media
It should go without saying that almost any one of us, transported back even a few decades, would find the past to be unimaginably awful. Living in the Swinging Sixties or the Roaring Twenties probably sounds awesome — hello flappers and tie-dye shirts! — but it mostly just means foregoing the benefits of a huge amount of life-improving technological and medical breakthroughs as well as civil and women’s rights. You don’t have to go back that far for things to become utterly dire: Life expectancy among the middle classes in Victorian Britain (i.e., the 19th century) was just 45!
Tumblr media
The sad thing about this though is that versions of a time period we didn’t live through are often idealised or romanticised, images of a simpler time, before tech dominated our lives, seem to show that people were happier then. Such periods are usually shown in film or other art forms in biased versions by avoiding the unpleasant, even painful, aspects.
But syphilis, tooth decay and dead-before-middle-age thing from the flu aren’t what people fantasise about, of course: It’s the dream of experiencing cultural milestones firsthand, even though the reality is that most people only become aware of the cultural significance of a moment many years later — just try asking the average Italian peasant how enlightened they felt while the Renaissance was actually happening. While Michelangelo, Donatello, Raphael and Leonardo were busy creating their masterpieces of art, they wouldn’t come to prominence or even be unveiled until several years later. Also if you thought these people were the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, you need to be hit on the head. With a chair. Shame on you.
Putting all of this aside though, there are some things that used to be so powerful in the past that have utterly lost meaning in today’s world: language, art, music, love, marriage, MANNERS.
As a massive lover of Shakespeare and Homer (no, not Homer Simpson, because sadly that’s the first thing that will pop into people’s minds *HUGE eyeroll*), I developed a love for the older English language; a language that wasn’t spoiled by slang or oversimplified ways of speaking, that spoke in ways that resonated with your soul, using words that perfectly described a situation or a feeling. The language people use now is mostly sullied with cuss words or smut.
Tumblr media
The language used to be dignified and elegant, Shakespeare’s sonnets are the prime example of this. The language flows beautifully and while it is drastically different from the way we speak today, the meaning behind the words is powerful. People just don’t talk this way anymore and it's a true loss. With all the trends and challenges that are flying around these days, is it too much to ask to have an Old English trend? Sigh.
Tumblr media
Instrumental and classical music is something else that is missing from today’s world that used to be revered in the past. The works of Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, and Chopin have been forgotten and shoved aside in vinyl records somewhere, collecting dust in favour of Ariana, Beyonce, Drake and Post Malone. I remember the first time I ever heard a piece of classical music; I was 13 years old and was visiting a friend at her house, her father had an enormous collection of vinyl records that he had been gathering for 30 years, which he kept in pristine condition in a shelf mounted on the living room wall. His record player, a large, old-fashioned brass gramophone (the man was committed) was in the corner of the room and the most exquisite violin music was playing. I remember just sitting down, right there in the middle of the room, facing the gramophone and listening as the music washed over me, giving me goosebumps as it vibrated through my body. I sat there, not moving a muscle, until the song ended and then dashed to the gramophone to pick up the record sleeve next to it to see which song it was. That was the first time I had ever heard ‘Concerto in Two Violins’ by Bach.
Tumblr media
After that day I was hooked, I went down the rabbit hole and started listening to all the classical composers I could find. Fortunately for me, YouTube had an abundance of videos of orchestras from all over the world that were playing the music. As I grew older I found Yanni, a Greek/American composer and pianist who was bringing instrumental music back to the modern world with his concerts all over the globe. His song ‘Nostalgia’ has such a haunting rhythm which is just breathtaking that I always listen to it with my eyes closed.
Just recently I found a duo called 2CELLOS who were doing instrumental versions of modern songs. The blending of the past and the present was so perfect that it was hard to believe and brought me such incomprehensible amounts of joy. Now don’t get me wrong, I'm not decrying today’s music, I'm an avid listener of all genres but there is just a magnificent beauty in the classics and the way it reverberates through the soul that is unmatched.
Finally, the aspect of life that has been butchered the most by modern society is love. “I love you” is a phrase many people tend to throw out into the world, without realising its full impact and repercussions associated with it. The society we live in today loves love, just for the sole idea of it. We lust for the idea of being head over heels in love, so maybe that is why it seems to slip through our tongues so easily. Media exploits love in the sense that it is used as a patch-up for when the going gets tough, used as a way to have someone finally commit fully to you, and has begun to underlie lies and most shamefully, it gets someone into bed. Maybe this is just my perception, but it seems to me that emotions are muted, and are shown through materialistic things rather than our faces. We would rather buy someone a bear over writing love letters or poems.
A love letter was the main way men and women expressed their romantic feelings for each other back in the 19th century. To put all their emotions down on paper, pouring their hearts out so that the others would understand how deeply they felt about them. Something to be cherished and reread over and over until it's dog-eared and ragged. A physical reminder of the love the other had for them.
Tumblr media
What happened to courtship? To developing a deep bond to ensure the relationship has a clearly defined direction and it’s going just the right way. When prioritising the mental connection over anything else by getting to know each other, thereby capitalising on emotions was the main reason people got together. How all of this has been twisted in today’s world.
Today’s world is infinitely better in significant ways than it was in the past, there can be no doubt about that. It just needs to remember. These are perils of being an old soul stuck in a modern time that baffles her.
1 note · View note
survey--s · 1 year
Text
408.
Tumblr media
Do you know anyone who went to a boarding school? Yeah, I went to one but as a day pupil. In what year did you turn 16? Right at the very end of 2004.
Have you ever befriended someone named Victoria? Do you still speak to that person? Yeah, we’re not friends anymore though.
Does anyone ever send you handwritten letters? Nope.
When you were in school, what subjects did you achieve the best grades in? History, English and foreign languages.
Do you own any band T-shirts? Nope.
When did you last share photos of yourself on social media? Was anyone else with you in those photos? It was a photo from a riding lesson a few weeks ago - the only other “person” there was Joe the horse, lol. I think my mum uploaded some photos of me last week though.
Did you have to wear a uniform in high school? What colours did it consist of? Yeah - dark blue, bottle green and white. Though judging from recent photos, they’ve relaxed the uniform policy quite a lot since I left. Did you ever eat school meals? Did you enjoy them or not? Yeah, we didn’t have a choice - my school didn’t offer packed lunches as an option. They were pretty good for school meals, though.
Have you ever liked someone that others thought was 'too old' for you? I suppose so.
What colour are the eyes of your significant other, or the person you're currently interested in? He has grey/green/blue eyes.
Do you remember the last occasion when you were required to use a torch? A few days ago when I was doing an evening walk with Copper - I’d forgotten how dark some of the paths get here, even with streetlights.
Outside of blood family, who was the last person you hugged? My husband.
^Any idea what that person is doing at this moment? He’s upstairs - either watching TV or taking a nap lol.
Do you live close to any woods or forests? Do you ever go walking there? Yeah, about a three minute drive. I go a lot in summer, but this time of year it’s just so muddy that it becomes miserable.
Do you know anyone named Helen? What colour is her hair? Yeah, several people - and they all have brown hair.
Has anyone ever done a sketch or painting of you? Yeah, in art class or whatever, but never just randomly (as far as I know).
Does your house have a fireplace? We have a woodburning stove but it doesn’t work at the moment.
Are your nails long or short currently? Are they painted? They are short and unpainted.
Have you ever been interviewed for a magazine or newspaper? No, I was interviewed for a local TV news station once though, lol.
Have you checked your emails today? Did you have any unread emails? Yes, and a couple, but they weren’t about anything important.
What was the topic of the last conversation you had with a close friend? Where to go for lunch in a couple of weeks, as the place we wanted to try is closed for refurbishments.
0 notes
dracossweetprincess · 3 years
Text
red lipstick on your neck | f.w
fredxfem.reader
Tumblr media
taglist || masterlist
request: yes/no
preview: y/n and fred have been going out for a while, fred feels like it’s time to take the next step, apparently y/n doesn’t feel the same way.
warnings: hogwarts au, fred is in a band! (band members: y/n, fred, george and dean thomas), mentions of sex, fred being heartbroken, overall angst. THERE WILL BE A PART TWO
part 2
everything seemed to be going great for you on your seventh year at hogwarts, you had recently joined a band with your best friend dean thomas. he recommended you to the other members of the band, who happened to be none other than fred and george weasley.
the band became a huge success in not only hogwarts, but also hogsmeade where you’d perfom multiple times a week.
undeniably, fred and yourself had some chemistry. you felt attracted to him, but feelings? meh. he feels the same way, or so you thought. you walked freely through the corridors, classes done. next you had quidditch practice, but since you still had some free time you decided to look for your friends.
you bumped into your girl best friend, hermione, or like you liked to call her, the cat lady. bookworm. mione. the list could go on. “y/n, hi! i haven’t seen you in a while, how are you and fred? i need updates.” you walked outside, sat on a bench to feel more comfortable to talk.
“well i don’t know, i don’t have any feelings for him.” hermione furrowed her eyebrows, she was confused. so all the hand holding, laughing at each others jokes, sleeping in the same dorm...meant nothing? “what do you mean you don’t have feelings for him? did i miss something?”
“mione, we both know fred and i would never work out. he’s just fun to be around.” little did you know, fred was walking by your bench and heard everything. what you said alarmed him, he didn’t mean to eavesdrop but.. he just couldn’t not do it. “i mean we’re completely different, we’ve just been sleeping together, you know.. just friends with benefits. it means nothing.”
just friends with benefits? fred could feel his heart shatter bit by bit. ‘it means nothing.’ those words echoed in his head for a while, and he could feel tears prickling his eyes. when he snapped out of it, he noticed you’d already left to go to quidditch practice.
fred was devastated, to say the least. he had everything planned. he was going to send you a note during defense against the dark arts class, asking you to meet him at the black lake, then he’d spill his heart out for you and ask you to be his. make it official.
he’d been daydreaming about it for weeks now, he’d even talked about it to his brother and dean and they were all very excited for him. he walked back to the castle, shoulders deflated and head hung low. he just wanted to cry, every second. he was running to his dorm when he ran into oliver wood, captain of the gryffindor quidditch team.
“hey mate! it’s time for quidditch practice, where do you think you’re going?” fred completely dismissed him, he just wanted to be alone. he locked himself inside his dorm, opening the drawer in his nightstand. there it was. the promise ring he’d gotten you.
fred had been carefully keeping it safe, waiting for the right time. “well, guess i won’t need this anymore.” he whispered to himself, forcing a chuckle and examining the ring in his hand. he felt like he’d lost his balance, his entire world. he looked at his mirror, still finding a little bit of your red lipstick smeared on his neck.
he then looked through the window, finding you on top of your broom, cute white butterfly clips holding your hair back, looking so happy, and so carefree. hermione on the bench cheering for you.
“well, i guess this is better than rejection.”
maybe you deserved better.
a/n: i actually really enjoyed writing this, if you enjoyed reading it pls reblog!! it helps so so much, ty and ily 🤍
taglist: @happymoony @leydileyla @l0vely-lupin @ilovejamespotter @harmqnia @dracoslittlesunflower @angel4you @kpostedsum @arcaneofdawn @gwlvr @daedreamss @alexismalfoy @velvetcloxds @616films @fairydxll @ameliasbitvh @eunoniaa @dlmmdl @ruby-serpent @simp-for-cedric-diggory @slythermuf @ildm4ev @wintermorninghaze @yiamalfoy @wrongilbert @havenchy @i-love-scott-mccall @haroldpotterson - pls do tell me if you ever change your user !! <33
253 notes · View notes
ladyartemesia · 4 years
Text
The Secret
Tumblr media
◐ PART IV of THE ALPHA ◐
◐ Part I ◐ Part II ◐ Part III ◐ Series Masterlist ◐
Tumblr media
Pairing: Alpha Werewolf Jimin x Omega Reader
Rating: Mature (for this installment)
Warnings: ABO sexual dynamics including discussion of scenting, marking, mating, and claiming. Violence and discussion of violence relating to ritual combat. Jin’s pheromones need their own warning. Yoonji and Yunli are not the same person.
Word Count: 3600
Author’s Note: This update literally made me sob because I edited it and formatted it and it just disappeared when I posted. I seriously felt my heart drop because it took so long to format... ANYWAYS I wonder if anyone guessed the secret.
Tumblr media
”You can’t do this, Luna ... Come back inside.”
Your hand tightened on the doorknob.
“I was just going out for some air-”
Jin shook his head, letting his lanky frame collapse onto the overstuffed chair by the fireplace. 
“And after the air... then what?”
Your terse silence was confirmation enough. 
He sighed heavily, hating himself a little for what he had to do. 
“You cannot go to him. They’ll smell you on his skin and it could cost him... dearly.”
Your eyes fluttered shut.
“I just wanted to see him...,” you whispered. “I wanted to talk to him just once before-”
A sob bubbled up in your throat and your hand flew up to cover it. 
The dawn would come in two hours. 
And then Park Jimin would be gone. 
Jin’s arms wrapped around your shoulders and you fell against him hopelessly. 
“They’re going to make me watch, Jin-ah. I-I have to watch him-”
Bitter tears overtook you, wracking your body with the violence of your despair. 
“I know...,” he murmured softly into your hair, “I know.” 
Tumblr media
“Do you think he’ll really show up?”
The chief elder glared fiercely at the young man who dared voice such a question. 
The entire pack had jammed themselves into the clearing where the challenge was taking place and despite the solemnity of the occasion, the atmosphere buzzed with barely contained speculation. 
“Park Jimin was chosen by the goddess herself to be her champion or to be the divine test of her champion. Have some respect,” he hissed. 
The young pup had the decency to look abashed, but the chief elder was already ignoring him in favor of the newest arrival... 
A Luna wore only three ceremonial colors at any given time. 
Green for celebration and harvest was worn in times of laughter and gaiety. 
Blue for mourning and peaceful resolve was worn in times of trial and hardship. 
Red for passion and vengeance was worn in times of war and signified the sacred bonds that wove the pack together. 
Your mother laid out a blue cloak as it was the color chosen by every Luna who had ever faced down a provocatione ritual.
But you arrived in sumptuous Red. 
It was a stunning act of defiance, a wordless declaration of your fury. You were here to obey the goddess, but in a crimson cloak you would not embrace this challenge with peaceful resolve. 
An attack upon your mate, even under these circumstances, was an attack upon you. 
You had come dressed for war. 
Tumblr media
Jimin heard the gasps echo around his meditation cell.  
He and Namjoon arrived at the sacred circle a full hour before dawn and sequestered themselves in the small, free-standing hovels on opposing sides of the the site. 
The tiny pods were spaces for an individual to commune with the goddess and center themselves before engaging in the typically life-altering events that brought them there. 
Sometimes it was marriage or celebration, sometimes it was acceptance to one of the guilds or a promotion to a higher rank within your family’s clan...
Today it was life and death and the future of the pack that weighed upon the combatants’ shoulders. 
The sudden swell of movement and sound pulled Jimin from his meditative state. 
What happened? 
He got his answer soon after an elder came to escort him into the circle. 
It was you. 
Your hands and feet were bound to the ornately carved chair they had seated you in. This was a typical precaution because it was natural for a wolf to defend their mate if they were in danger and the restraints kept the Luna from doing so. 
The pain in your gaze was agonizing, but in red, flowing down from your shoulders with fiery obstinance, you were every inch the warrior queen. 
Yet it was not your rebellious cloak or even your incredible beauty that caused his heart to pound and stutter in glorious shock...
It was the familiar praesidium bracelet wrapped around your wrist; an intimate message of devotion that he and he alone would understand. 
Pride and possessiveness roared to life in Jimin’s chest. 
She’s mine.
Tumblr media
“You look... surprisingly calm.”
Taehyung jerked guiltily. 
“What? Me? I don’t know anything - I mean I’m not calm - I’m frantic. I - I don’t even understand the question.”
Yoongi’s eyebrows raised right up into his hairline. 
“Taehyung-ah? Did you put those special mushrooms in your broth this morning? You’re acting a bit strange-”
“No,” Taehyung’s voice cracked. “This is me - this is totally normal me. I’m not - there were no mushrooms-” He cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “So - uh - how’s Yoonji?”
“Oh my go- really?!” 
Tumblr media
The chief elder began to recite his speech, reminding the pack of the profound significance this moment carried...
But Yunli could barely hear his words over the ringing in her ears. Her gaze fixed on Namjoon from the moment the elder brought him forward... yet he had not glanced toward her once. 
He looked so strong and confident. 
So capable of victory. 
A faint whimper of abject sorrow worked its way passed her lips and Namjoon’s eyes flew to her instantly. 
As if he had always known exactly where she was. 
Longing split his features for a fraction of a second. 
Then his gaze shuttered again and Yunli’s wolf howled in silent, mournful agony. 
Tumblr media
Anticipation bore down upon the assembly as the chief elder uttered the last few sentences with reluctant finality. 
The moment had come.  
Both alphas stepped into the circle. 
You began to tug frantically - futilely - against the bonds. Jin’s hand gripped yours as a tear slipped heedlessly down his cheek. 
“I’m sorry,” Namjoon whispered - to you - to Yunli - to Jimin -
To himself. 
Then his claws lengthened to a deadly point and he tore forward with a chilling snarl. 
Jimin remained unnaturally still, watching his rival barrel towards him with almost calculated intent. 
Namjoon’s arm drew back to land the first strike and- 
———◐———
Last Night...
———◐———
“Wait - WHAT?!”
“It was... me. I broke the table.”
Taehyung drew back slowly. His eyebrows furrowed in profound confusion. 
“With what? A jackhammer!?”
Jimin tilted his head in amusement. 
“Hammerfist strike... actually.” He shrugged. “I lost my temper.”
“You - You lost your-“ Tae began shaking his head rapidly. “Is it a spell of some sort?! Goddess you know better than to get tangled up with witches! You let them give you a band aid and then they show up ten years later asking for your firstborn!”
Jimin rolled his eyes. 
“Of course not! No... it’s...” he bit his lip. “You remember that time I came to your house a little too early and... Yoonji had you tied to a bed...”
Tae paled. 
“We agreed never to speak of that.”
“And I haven’t - spoken of it - especially since Yoongi still thinks his precious baby cousin is unaware of big bad boy wolves and if he found out you were corrupting her-”
“Wait. You think I was corrupting her?!“
“The point is... it’s a secret. And I know you have your reasons for keeping it that way so... I hope you’ll understand what I’m about to tell you...”
———◐———
Fourteen Years Ago...
———◐———
Jimin’s hands fidgeted nervously over the flyer that the human boy offered him. 
“But I’m only in Seoul for the summer.”
Just long enough to miss Alpha Camp entirely. 
“That’s perfect because it’s only a summer program. Seriously, you were so fast catching that jar I knocked over. Your reflexes are amazing and it looks like you’ve got the perfect build for it too.” He tapped the flyer for emphasis. “Think about it.”
No one had ever told Park Jimin that he would be good at anything like this. In fact most people told him he needed to be better...
Bigger. 
Stronger. 
His eyes traveled over the large letters printed at the top of the brochure. 
“Taekwondo...”
——◐——
“...so thank you all again for signing up and attending the orientation. I will see you tomorrow for our first class.”
A strange sense of anticipation hummed through Jimin as he gathered his coat. He was finally doing something for himself; something that had nothing to do with being an alpha-
“You’re a wolf, aren’t you...”
The young instructor who gave the initial demonstration and spoke for most of the orientation stood behind him with his arms crossed.
Jimin’s eyes widened in shock. 
“How did you know?”
The stranger tapped his nose. 
“My grandfather had a human mate and his pack exiled him for it. I’m mostly human, but this nose can pick up another wolf’s scent just as well as yours.”
Modern packs didn’t exile wolves with human mates anymore, but fifty years ago the practice was still unfortunately common. 
“I’m sorry about your grandfather.”
The young man smiled. 
“He lived a long happy life with his mate and his family. There’s nothing to be sorry for.” He stretched out his hand. “Lee Taemin.”
“Park Jimin.”
They shook firmly, and Taemin continued to examine him with unconcealed interest. 
“Tell me, Park Jimin, what’s an alpha wolf doing all the way out in Seoul? The only pack around here married their last child into one of the mountain nations years ago.”
“That was my mother, actually... I’m here visiting my grandmother.”
Taemin tilted his head curiously. 
“I’ve never known wolves to be interested in human martial arts. You lot prefer to fight shifted... In fact, I doubt a mountain wolf could even throw a punch,” he snorted, “not that they’d need to with those fangs.”
Jimin’s shoulders fell a little. 
“So... you don’t think I’ll be good at it.”
“On the contrary, I think you could be incredible.”
The young wolf’s face brightened immediately. 
“Really?! Even if I’m not as strong as other wolves?”
“Taekwondo isn’t about strength. It’s about speed. Master the speed and the strength will follow.”
———◐———
“Relax your body. Focus your energy.”
Jimin drew in a deep breath as he moved  through the pattern Taemin taught him. 
“The power and speed of your wolf is constant, but most wolves do not bother channeling it in human form. Concentrate on your wolf and bring that power into your strike.” 
His hand came down on the thin press wood and-
It hurt. A lot. 
Taemin chuckled as Jimin cussed and swore, cradling his tender fist grouchily. 
“You’ll get it. Just keep practicing.”
“Are you sure I’ll be able to break the boards one day?”
The boy’s face was so round and adorably hopeful. Taemin nodded confidently and offered him some ice. 
“A human with training can break boards, but a wolf who harnessed his natural speed and strength could break much more than that.” 
———◐———
Twelve Years Ago...
———◐———
“You’ve improved a great deal since last summer. Were you finally able to find a teacher near your pack?”
“Yes - but... she’s not as good as you.”
Finding a local Taekwondo teacher had been the easy part. 
Constantly making up excuses to explain his habitual disappearances... 
That was trickier. 
His mother thought he was hunting with Taehyung, Taehyung thought he was sniffing around some human girl and needed a buddy to cover his tracks. 
Sneaking away to practice wasn’t too difficult, but he panicked when Yoongi caught him moving through forms in the woods once and pretended to be doing an interpretive dance. 
With no music.
Yoongi had looked at him a little funny since then. 
Taemin grinned. “Of course she’s not as good as me. I’m the best. Now take position and let’s see if you can finally land this kick.”
———◐———
Ten Years Ago...
———◐———
Jimin glared at the thick oak board Taemin sent him home with this year. 
“It’s a 4x6 solid oak plank. I want you to break it before the winter solstice.”
He snorted, positioning the board between the makeshift vices he fashioned to hold it in place. 
“Sure, I’ll just get right on that.”
“...Who are you talking to?”
Jimin groaned internally.
Of course. 
“Hey guys,” he turned to greet Jungkook and Hoseok brightly (while completely ignoring the question). “Where - where are you two headed today?”
Jungkook’s eyes sparkled with excitement. 
“One of the elders is going to teach us how to build traps! He invited all the unmated alphas to go with him past the boundary lines to test whatever we make!”
A familiar embarrassment settled heavily in Jimin stomach. 
“Oh... I uh... I didn’t hear that.”
“I’m sure it was just a mistake that they didn’t call for you,” Hoseok rushed to reassure him. “You could come with us. I don’t think the elder would mind.”
The older boy’s gaze was filled with discomfort... and pity. 
Jimin cleared his throat and forced up a sunny smile. 
“No that’s fine - I have work to do anyways so...”
Jungkook nodded quickly, desperate to escape the unexpectedly awkward conversation. 
“Have fun!” he shouted, already beginning to jog away. 
Jimin watched quietly as their figures grew smaller, waiting till their clumsy steps no longer disturbed the stillness around him. 
He should be used to it by now... 
The passive rejection. 
It shouldn’t bother him anymore. There was no malicious intent... just casual dismissal again and again and again-
An angry roar tore past his lips as he brought his hand down on the board. 
It cracked in half. 
———◐———
Eight Years Ago...
———◐———
“It’s strange but - I feel like the better I become at this, the stronger my wolf is.”
“That isn’t strange at all. You and your wolf are two halves of a whole. The more you balance your energy, the more your strengths can be shared. Now - stop stalling and get to it.”
Jimin eyed Taemin’s latest idea with a reluctant groan.
“None of the other students have to break cinder block.”
“None of the other students are wolves. Besides, it’s been 6 years, you’ve broken stacks of boards. It’s time for a real challenge.”
“I’m lucky I haven’t broken a bone,” Jimin mumbled irritably. 
He did that day, but it was healed in a week and he broke his first cinderblock a month later.
———◐———
Five Years Ago...
———◐———
“Remember, timing is everything. Never let your opponent see what you’re going to do.”
“How many times do you think I’ve heard that over the last ten years?”
“Not enough, clearly. You’re still telegraphing with that right foot.”
Jimin’s left hand shot out and connected with Taemin’s jaw.
“Am I?”
Taemin blinked up at him from the floor. 
“Ok. I admit. That was pretty impressive.”
———◐———
Three Years Ago...
———◐———
“Oh! I’m so sorry, I was looking for Jin.”
Jimin scrambled to his feet, dumping the pile of pebbles he collected (for his mother’s garden) noisily to the ground.
“Luna...”
He took a discreet step backward as your gaze scanned the area in frustration. 
“You haven’t seen my cousin, have you?”
Jimin gulped. 
He had seen Kim Seokjin - leading a curvy beta girl (nose first no doubt) in the direction of the old wading pool. It took every bit of self-restraint he possessed not to laugh out loud each time Jin bashfully declared that he was a ‘good boy’ and to ‘be gentle with him,’ - after all, he’d given the same speech to two other she-wolves last week. 
Best not to scar her for life. Some things cannot be unseen.
His mind darted briefly to the scene he’d walked into at Taehyung’s house yesterday.
“I have no idea where Seokjin is, Luna.”
You sighed, gnawing absently at your lip while you considered his words, and Jimin felt a familiar hint of futile longing whisper through him. 
He’d never been so close to you, and now that he was, his wolf was making all sorts of insane suggestions to keep you near. 
Do a backflip. Climb a tree. Build her a house. 
Jimin bent quickly to gather his scattered stones, ashamed at the direction of his thoughts. 
You were so incredibly beautiful...
It was almost enough to make him forget that he would only ever be Park Jimin.  
He couldn’t blame the others for fighting and fawning over your attention like they did. You were the moon and every man around you was drawn in like the tide. 
“Today is my seventeenth birthday, you know.”
Jimin looked up to discover that you had moved much closer and were now looking down at him expectantly. 
He blinked. Twice. 
“I - yes. I did know.”
The entire pack was celebrating. He’d have to be comatose not to know.
“Should I save you a dance, Park Jimin?”
Up until that exact second, Jimin would have bet his life savings that you did not know his name. 
Yet here you were - so very close to him - gazing down into his eyes almost shyly.
He nodded because he couldn’t think of a single reason not to give you anything you wanted. And when you smiled so brilliantly -  he almost believed that you truly wanted to dance with him...
Almost. 
He never went to your party. 
He never danced with you.
Not that day. Not ever.
Because deep down he suspected that if he held you in his arms - even once - he would never truly let go. 
He was sure you wouldn’t notice his absence...  You wouldn’t remember talking to him by the time the evening rolled around. 
He never saw you search the crowds for his face right up until the midnight bell. 
He never saw you turn down dance after dance hoping that the beautiful boy from the forest would finally come and take your hand. 
He was your only wish that birthday. 
But he never knew. 
———◐———
One Year Ago...
———◐———
“I’ve never seen anything like your skill. You’ve long since surpassed me. I’m not sure what more I can teach you,” Taemin smiled, bumping Jimin on the shoulder, “Perhaps you should find a woman and spend a little less time practicing.”
An unwelcome flash of silver eyes and a laugh like sunshine danced through his mind. 
“No. I’m... not really the type wolf girls go for.” 
Taemin snorted. 
“I don’t believe that. Aren’t you an alpha?”
“Yes, but it’s... complicated.”
“Isn’t everything?”
Jimin laughed. 
“Yes, I suppose it is.”
Silence settled comfortably between them as they nursed several bottles of soju on his grandmother’s porch. Taemin had charmed the old hellion quite thoroughly and he would often drop by for a visit even when Jimin was back home with his pack.
“So what will you do now?” he asked. “You can’t compete. I can barely withstand sparring with you, and you’d kill a human - even if you landed a blow at half strength.”
Jimin ran his fingers absently through his hair while he pondered his mentor’s words. 
“I learned to fight because I was searching for something that would help me sort out who I was.” He scoffed. “I don’t know that I’m any closer to that goal.”
Taemin shook his head. 
“No. I think you’ve got it all wrong, Park Jimin. No one achieves what you have without knowing who they are. You’ve always been a fighter and some part of you realizes that.” He sighed heavily and finished off the rest of his drink. “Now I think you’re just... waiting.”
“For what?” Jimin chuckled playfully. 
Taemin pulled out another bottle and met his gaze with a knowing grin. 
“Something worth fighting for.”
———◐———
Now...
———◐———
Jimin remained unnaturally still, watching his rival barrel towards him with almost calculated intent. 
Namjoon’s arm drew back to land the first strike and- 
It was fast. 
So fast it almost seemed like magic. 
One moment the Kim alpha was the barest breath away from a swift and decisive victory-
Then he was crashing backwards onto the dirt. 
Those who watched carefully saw Park Jimin spin into a vicious kick, one that connected solidly with the middle of his opponent’s chest. 
Stunned silence pressed in from every side as Namjoon scrambled back to his feet, his expression wavering wildly between excruciating pain and monumental shock. 
Jimin smiled, letting his razor sharp canines lengthen menacingly as he flowed back into a perfect combat stance. 
“You didn’t think I’d just let you have her, did you?”
Tumblr media
Please comment if you would like to be added to the taglist! If you have already asked, you will be tagged automatically in every update. 
Please please please let me know what you thought of this chapter! (*insert puppy face here*) I am so excited to hear what you think of everything that went down in this update and I savor each word of feedback like fine wine. Your theories and commentary have been such a gift. It truly keeps me writing. 
2K notes · View notes
anashins · 3 years
Text
Why Don't You Stay? || Jaehyun
Tumblr media
“So, that means we have more time than just to talk?”
Tumblr media
After a one night stand, you don’t know who’s lying next to you. Certainly, you haven't expected it to be your long term crush.
Warning: Mentions of smut
________
Stretching yourself in bed, you slowly fluttered your lids open, immediately having happiness wash over you as you felt the first rays of sunshine warming your cheek. Today was going to be a good day it seemed, and you could relax all morning before you had to go to class by midday.
Seating yourself up, you tilted your head in confusion as you looked at the unfamiliar band posters on the wall in front of you. Had your roommate decided to spice things up or why was the wall not decorated with your own paintings anymore? And since when was the window located on the right side of the room and not on the left?
As you felt goose bumps on your skin, you instantly pulled the blanket closer around your chest. That was until you realized that you were completely naked - and that a male figure was lying right next to you. Suppressing a scream, you threw your hands in front of your mouth to keep yourself from making any noise, and you looked at the guy to your right with much distress.
He was lying on his stomach, his back turned at you, and even though the blanket was covering him up to his hips, you could tell that he was naked just like you. As your heart started to beat faster with each passing moment in which your panic only increased, you tried to remember what the hell had happened the night before.
“Okay, calm down…” you whispered to yourself.
You had never been the type for one night stands at all, only having had one boyfriend in high school so far. You had always dreamt of finding the man of your dreams in college, and by the second year now, you had nearly lost hope as you had been pining after one specific guy only all this time.
Jung Jaehyun, the sporty student every girl was head over heels for.
But being a lone wolf, he had never struck up a conversation with one let alone let someone hit on him. So you hadn’t even brought your hopes up in the first place, but had never let go of his sight as well, watching him whenever possible during basketball matches in college.
How come, a girl so head over heels for a guy she could never have, had landed in bed with another one so randomly?!
“Have you lost your mind?” you cursed yourself. “Have you turned so desperate already?!”
When your roommate had talked you into accompanying her to the next bar, you hadn’t expected her to be the target of a group of frat boys, leaving you all to yourself at the bar for the rest of the night. You had been mad as hell, and you were sure you remembered it right that you had left the bar right after, but looking at your bed neighbor, it apparently hadn’t been like that. Slowly and without making a sound, you turned to the edge of the bed and placed your feet on the floor to leave before the guy would wake up.
Then, you noticed a polaroid on the ground that seemed very familiar to you. Picking it up while still seated onto the mattress, you looked at it and realized the photo showing your art project that had won the first prize during the college’s recent annual exhibition - a painting of the night sky.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
You flinched and didn’t dare to look behind you as you realized that your one night stand had apparently woken up as well, the mattress behind you giving in as he leaned in to you. You didn’t want to face him yet, but his voice sounded so familiar, and it immediately brought you back the night before right after your roommate had left you.
You remembered leaving the bar rather drunk and having seated yourself on the campus’ front yard, angry at your friend for dumping you and angry at the world for not having played out your life like you had imagined, especially in the field of love. There had been a guy approaching you and you clicked well, which had probably resulted in you two landing in bed together.
“It’s my work,” you answered dryly in hitches.
“I know. That’s why I photographed it.”
No, this couldn’t be. You knew this voice, even though he had never directed it to you.
As you abruptly turned around, you looked into the face of Jaehyun - the guy you had always admired from afar but had never brought up enough courage to ever talk to him.
He was grinning brightly, having his upper body supported by his left arm propped against the mattress. His dark hair was a mess, and you had certainly never seen him that revealed before, which was probably why you were flushed red right now.
If this was a dream, then this was the right time to wake up as the memories came back moment by moment.
It had started with a nonchalant talk after he had shown you the picture you were now holding in your hands. Your tipsy attitude had quickly led your lips to boldly press against his after not even one minute of talking, yet he hadn’t pushed you away. As his dorm was closer to the campus, you had crossed the yard hand in hand, accompanied by light-hearted giggles, until you were in his room.
From then on, everything was a blur, but you still felt his sweaty skin on yours as he moved on top of you. You could also still feel his tight grip on your breasts as you bounced up and down on him, your loose hair grazing his chest, and his fingers playing with the strands in the aftermath as you felt his heartbeat against your palm after he had pulled you into an embrace and drifting off to sleep together.
You stared at him in disbelief, the color on your cheeks probably rosier than before. “I-”
“Remember now?” he teased.
“I don’t understand,” you admitted. “This picture…”
“When I saw it at the exhibition… I was so drawn to it that I desperately had to get to know the person behind it. But I’m not the best with words, so all this time, I wasn’t sure how to properly approach you.”
You couldn’t believe it. The Jung Jaehyun who girls could never approach, actually had the hots for you because he admired your art?
“What is it that you admire about this picture so much?” you asked him.
“Do you still have time?” he questioned back with a grin.
With a chuckle, you answered, “ I don’t have classes in the morning.”
“So, that means we have more time than just to talk?”
You didn’t miss the innuendo in his voice, and nodded willingly, but shyly.
“Why don’t you stay?” He reached out his hand and brushed over your cheek.
It sounded absolutely promising and you had no intention to leave this joining as a one night stand, one bland name among many others. You wanted to be more for him if you got the chance. You wanted to look behind the guy everyone saw and get to know the person that was interested in the same things as you, that you shared a mutual understanding with.
So you placed the polaroid on the nightstand and crawled back to the middle of the bed where he lifted up the blanket to let you hide under it. Settling yourself on top of him, he embraced you with warm arms as you placed your legs on either side of his thighs, feeling his hard-on pulse against your groin.
“The first time I noticed you as the artist was at the basketball match two months ago… And what I thought back then was how beautiful you were. Just as beautiful as your art. Even more, if possible.”
You wanted to hear more of these stories as you slowly sank onto his length, the bed starting to quietly creak under you as you repeated the actions from last night, but this time, fully conscious, your eyes never leaving his that looked back at you with a gaze filled with admiration.
And something gave you the feeling that this was the exact same gaze that he had been wearing the night before as well.
386 notes · View notes
sturchling · 3 years
Note
Hey, can you do a MLB oneshot
So this will contain Marinette sugar and alya and Lila and class sugar and Adrien salt/bashing And can this focus on Luka/Nath
So basically Luka and Nathaniel had been dating now and this starts to make Adrien jealous since he had a crush on Luka and he got very angry when he saw Nath and Luka kiss, he was very angry and later on he had a plan, after school he was gonna sneak on Marc and then push him hard down the stairs and then he runs away by the way Marinette saw the whole thing and she recorded the whole thing , then Nath was sent to the hospital and he stayed there for two weeks and his body was hurt and Nath was crying while Luka was comforting him, Meanwhile Marinette confronted Adrien and recorded the whole confrontation secretly on her phone and after Adrien punched marinette and then threatened her later on Marinette makes a Group chat and adds his friends except Adrien and she tells everyone what Adrien did and show proof, so then they showed the proof to Miss Bustier and the principal and Adrien got suspended for a month for doing a cruel thing and was grounded until for a month, and later on Adrien apologies to Luka and Marc but then they said that it would take a week for them to forgive and then they left leaving Adrien to cry while feeling guilt in himself
Sorry about the wait, here you go. Hope you like it.
Luka and Nathaniel were the talk of Mrs. Bustier's class. Everyone thought the couple were adorable together. Everyone, that is, except for Adrien. Adrien was filled with jealousy. He had liked Luka for a long time now, ever since he invited Adrien to join the band. Adrien tried flirting, but Luka never seemed to notice or care. But he always stared at Nathaniel. Adrien didn't get it. He was handsome, famous, and was always nice to Luka, so why didn't Luka like him back? It didn't make any sense. Adrien watched as Luka and Nathaniel went on cute dates, got Andre's ice cream together, and grew closer and closer. As he watched, the jealousy and anger consumed him, until he took drastic measures.
One day after school, Adrien had stayed late for fencing. After the fencing lesson ended, and everyone had left, he went upstairs to get something he forgot in the classroom, and when he came back out he saw Nathaniel leaving the art room and approaching the stairs. Adrien's rage and jealousy consumed him and he snuck up behind Nathaniel. Just as Nathaniel approached the first step on the stairs, Adrien shoved him hard. Nathaniel went flying, falling down the stairs and hitting every step on the way down. Adrien ran from the top of the stairs before he was spotted by anyone. Some of the staff who were still in the building heard the crash and came out of their rooms to see Nathaniel lying in a heap on the floor and no one else around. They rushed to Nathaniel, who clearly had several broken bones, and sent him straight to the hospital. Adrien watched from an empty classroom, feeling satisfied in getting revenge on Nathaniel for taking Luka from him. And he hadn't been caught. No one had seen him, not even Nathaniel. Or so Adrien thought.
What Adrien hadn't seen was Marinette standing downstairs, on the other side of the courtyard, with a perfect view of what happened. She had noticed how Adrien had been glaring at Nathaniel lately. Adrien looked like he wanted to kill Nathaniel most days, and so when Marinette saw him approaching Nathaniel from behind, she grabbed her phone and started to record, just in case. And it was a good thing she did too, because she caught Adrien pushing Nathaniel down the stairs on video. No one else saw what had happened, and Marinette was the only one with any proof. She wouldn't let Adrien get away with this.
Nathaniel ended up breaking one of his legs and one of his arms. He also had a concussion and a fractured rib from the fall. Everything hurt and all he felt like doing was cry. Luka was there every step of the way, and stayed with Nathaniel in the hospital while he recovered. Luka would play the guitar, play games, help him come up with new ideas for his comic book, anything to distract Nathaniel from the pain. Nathaniel would spend two weeks in the hospital before he was released, and the entire time he was there, he was doted on by Luka.
Marinette waited a day after what happened, to see if maybe Adrien would come to his senses and confess to what happened. But he didn't. The school didn't have any proof that Nathaniel was pushed so they just called it an accident. And Adrien was fine with letting them. So, Marinette went to confront him after school one day. She waited until he was done with fencing and they could be alone. She wanted to confront him, but also try to get him to come clean, not wanting to give up hope on her friend and think the worst of him. Before she went into the locker room, she started recording video on her phone, and made sure to hold it so it wouldn't look like she was recording. Then she opened the door and approached Adrien.
"Adrien, we need to talk. I saw what you did to Nathaniel." Adrien froze for a second, before giving Marinette a dazzling smile. "What are you talking about? I didn't do anything to him?" Marinette shook her head, "Yes, you did. I saw you push him down the stairs. You walked behind him and shoved him down the stairs. And I got the whole thing on video. Why did you do it Adrien? You need to come clean and tell Mr. Damocles what happened. If you don't I will." Adrien face darkened considerably. Gone was the kind boy she knew, and he was now giving her a very threatening look. Before Marinette knew what hit her, Adrien punched her in the face, knocking her to the floor. "You want to know why? He got in my way. He took away any chance I had with Luka, so I hurt him like he hurt me. And if you get in my way, I will do the same thing to you. Don't you dare tell anyone about what happened, or this either!"
Adrien stormed out of the locker room, leaving Marinette on the floor. He didn't know that she had recorded the whole conversation. Marinette, stunned by what had just happened, sat on the floor for a moment. When she collected herself, she went straight home where she knew she was safe. She then set up a group chat with the whole class, except for Adrien, and made sure to include Luka as well. She told them everything about what she saw and what had just happened. She also sent them the two videos as proof. The group chat was filled with angry messages when they saw everything Adrien had done. Pushing Nathaniel down the stairs, punching Marinette, and threatening her too. The class and Luka especially were ready to go to the Agreste Mansion and beat some sense into Adrien. But Marinette talked them out of committing a felony and instead they planned to go to the school.
They all got there early and asked to speak to Mrs. Bustier and Mr. Damocles in Mr. Damocles office. They showed them both the videos and told them everything. They were horrified to see what Adrien had said and done. As soon as Adrien arrived at school, he was pulled into Mr. Damocles office and was shown the evidence. Mr. Agreste was also present through a video call and saw the two videos taken of his son. Adrien was suspended for a month, the maximum amount of time Mr. Damocles could suspend him with out approval from the school board. When he was back at the mansion, he was informed that he was grounded for that same amount of time, at the least.
After his suspension was lifted, Adrien was still grounded, his father having decided to extend his punishment a while longer. He was only allowed to go to school and come home, nothing else. Even his fencing lessons were conducted at home. Adrien had began feeling guilty for what he had done, so one day, he hung back after school for just a minute. Nathaniel was never alone anymore, especially if Adrien was around. Luka would always come walk him home after school now. So when they heard someone call Nathaniel's name and they turned, seeing Adrien walk up to them after school, Luka looked ready to hit him, not that Adrien would blame him. Adrien apologized for what he did, and made it very clear that he was truly sorry for what he had done. "Can you ever forgive me Nathaniel?" Nathaniel just stared for a moment, before turning his back on Adrien, facing the exit again. "I'm not sure Adrien. And if I do, it will take a long time. A simple apology doesn't fix this. I am not sure I will ever fully forgive you for this." With that said, Luka and Nathaniel walked out of the school, leaving Adrien crying in the courtyard, wondering how he could have been such a monster.
156 notes · View notes
eliemo · 3 years
Text
Math Problems
Summary: Logan gets frustrated when he doesn’t understand or get things right, and Patton always knows just what he needs.
Notes: This is a fic for the band au by @underdog-arts based on this post! I'm also gonna tag their other blog, @tsbandau
Thank you so much for letting me turn your idea into a fic, I really loved writing for your characters <3
TWs: panic attack/meltdown
Logan frowned down at his notebook, glancing once more at the screen of their laptop to the answer key for the problems before turning back to his own writing. Their answer didn’t match. It wasn’t even close, despite how he’d been certain he was doing the equation right.
That was fine- the homework assignment was to help him understand the material before the test next week- and he wasn’t in any rush to get it done. He’d try again, fix the mistake, and move on to the next one.
He took a breath to ease his frustration, the tension fading almost immediately when he glanced up at Patton seated right across the table, nails clicking against the keyboard as he focused on the paper Logan had encouraged them to work on while he did his math.
It was incredible how fast Patton could calm them down without even trying. Logan had never felt this safe with anyone else.
Logan erased his work, the equation taking up over half the page, brushing off the paper and flexing their hand before starting again.
He took it slow this time, checking and double checking each step as he progressed. It felt right, just like it had the first time he’d tried. He had this, they’d done countless problems like this in class, and he’d been fine in then, fine when taking notes, fine with the other problems, so obviously he’d just made a silly mistake the first time without noticing, and they’d get it right on their second attempt.
They had it this time. They just had to keep going, carry the numbers, check their math and then—
It was wrong. Again.
What? It wasn’t supposed to be wrong, he’d done everything right. It was the same as all the other ones and he knew how to do those, so why?
The logical part of Logan’s brain told them that they should just skip it and move on, it was one tricky problem and he wasn’t nearly done with the worksheet. He could come back to it when he was ready.
They immediately ignored their own logic, frustration rising all over again as they erased their work, the faded image of both failed attempts now staining the notebook paper staring back at him.
He did the problem again, leg bouncing incessantly against his will as they worked. His pencil scratched furiously against the paper as they glanced between their work and their notes.
He knew how to do this. He did. He’d done countless problems just like this one all week long. It was easy.
So why was he suddenly so stupid?
They finished the equation, hand shaking as he gripped his pencil, his leg bouncing fast enough to make the table tremble. He’d gotten a different answer this time, but it was still wrong and he didn’t understand why.
He tried again, but the hand holding the pencil was starting to tremble. The paper ripped slightly when they erased their work again, and Logan grit his teeth when his vision blurred with hot tears.
This was stupid.
His leg bouncing was definitely bothering Patton by now, the table shaking with each movement, Logan’s free hand tapping furiously against the wood as he studied the problem again.
They didn’t get it. He didn’t know what he was doing wrong.
He tried again, squinting at the screen and back at their paper, but it was like all the words and numbers were jumbled, blurring together into one indecipherable puddle of math homework.
He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t do this, he couldn’t-
“Logan?” Patton was staring at them now, their voice full of honest concern, but Logan couldn’t even look up, eyes still flying from his screen to his notes. “What’s wrong?”
Logan couldn’t even read the material now. He couldn’t understand what was wrong, he couldn’t fix it. He couldn’t...even remember where to start. It had been so simple in class and now he couldn’t even get one problem right.
“Logan,” Patton said again, and Logan tightened his hold on the pencil, nails digging into his palm. “Are you ok?”
Logan’s vision was swimming, and the hand that wasn’t gripping the pencil like his life depended on it reached up to shakily wipe at the stupid tears pooling in his eyes.
They tried to respond, tried to tell Patton that everything was fine, but all that came out was a choked, “I can’t do this.”
“Do you want to take a break?”
“I can’t do this,” they said again, the stream of words falling from his mouth without his permission. “I can’t do this, I can’t do this, I can’t do this, I can’t—”
The answer key was suddenly gone, Patton’s worried face replacing the screen, her hand on top of the now closed laptop.
“You’re ok,” they assured, and Logan could only watch as she reached over to close the notebook too. “We’re gonna take a break, ok?”
Logan’s breath hitched and he shook his head, hands tightening into fists. “I can’t, I—”
“You can take a break.” Patton smiled, gentle and warm, carefully taking Logan’s hands in theirs. “You’re ok. I promise, you’re ok. We can step away for a minute.”
Logan couldn’t breathe, and with Patton holding his hands he couldn’t even wipe away the tears steadily escaping, streaming down his cheeks. “I- I don’t know what I’m doing wrong.”
“That’s ok,” Patton said, squeezing Logan’s hands. “You can take a break and come back to it later. I’ll help you with whatever you’re stuck on.”
Logan didn’t even get a chance to argue, their brain too muddled and frantic to form anymore words right now, before Patton was guiding him out of the chair and across the room.
He settled them both down on the couch, shushing Logan gently as his breathing got quicker, their brain still stuck on that one stupid math problem—
“You’re ok,” Patton said, gently pulling Logan forward until his head was rested on his partner’s chest. “Focus on your breathing, baby. I’m right here.”
“I’m...I can’t—”
“Copy mine,” Patton said, arms wrapped around Logan’s middle, her heart beating in his ears. Logan’s breath hitched again, and he clutched desperately at the material of Patton’s shirt. “Nice and slow, Logan. It’s okay.”
Logan squeezed his eyes shut and buried their face in Patton’s chest, desperately trying to do what he was told- to do one thing right today.
He felt lightheaded and dizzy, his body out of his control, but after a few attempts he was able to take a slow- albeit shaky- breath. And then another, and another, gently encouraged by Patton to keep going.
“I’m sorry,” Logan said once they found their voice again. “I’m—”
“It’s okay,” Patton said, never loosening their hold. Fingers started carding through Logan’s hair, and they let out another shaky breath. “English was giving me a headache, anyway.”
Logan wanted to push himself up and let go of Patton, his brain screaming at him to hurry up and finish, to figure out what he did wrong before it drove him crazy.
But he couldn’t move, bones like lead and head heavy with a thick fog. They made a pathetic noise in the back of their throat, holding onto Patton tighter.
“I have to finish.”
“You can finish later,” Patton said, planting a kiss to Logan’s hair. “I’ll help you with whatever you’re stuck on, and you can look over my paper. Deal?”
Logan hesitated, still stuck on that problem, running the numbers through his head over and over again, desperately wanting to go back and try again.
But Patton’s hold was stronger, her steady heartbeat loud in Logan’s ear, warm and safe. It felt like home.
“Deal,” he muttered, barely audible with the way his face was still buried in Patton’s shirt. Another kiss was placed on his head, and Logan practically melted into their embrace. “Thank you.”
“Of course,” Patton said, gently guiding them both back until they were laying down on the couch, Logan sprawled out comfortably on top. “Anytime, Logan. I’m here.”
Logan let out another breath, their desperate hold on Patton loosening just a little as they started absently playing with his hair.
His eyes slipped shut, finally letting himself relax as Patton’s quiet breathing lulled them to sleep.
168 notes · View notes
mirrorforevers · 3 years
Text
here, there, and everywhere • graham coxon/reader
this fic is based on two prompts y'all sent me:
Tumblr media
and
Tumblr media
this fic really tested all of my blur knowledge holy Fuck. blur as talking heads au i guess. how cool would it be if they
1. had a girl bassist instead of the cheese tory dude
2. werent as unhappy as they were in the mid 90s (just a bit)
3. were just a little 🤏🏻 bit more female friendly lets just pretend this is a universe where the blurjob passes didnt exist heh
it took me everything i had to make this sound as realistic as it could be. u know these girls who think they could fix patrick bateman or don draper? perhaps y’all could fix blur
consider this a gift n not only me writing for your prompt, @nottuned! thank u so much for all your support n encouragement n for always bein so sweet 🥺 i hope u enjoy reading it as much as i enjoyed writing it!
let’s see how many references to unfortunate britpop moments y’all can find in this
also i hope i captured the silliness of the gossip and drama in that era well. if you enjoyed it, please leave an ask telling me more! ur feedback is rly important to me 😔✊🏻
tw (?) reader has shitty parents
word count: 7.938 (this one's quite long!)
smut. set in the 90s. au.
Tumblr media
You were unlocking your door when you heard your house phone ring. The shrill sound echoed through the empty corridors as you hurriedly unwrapped your scarf, tossing your keys and backpack on nearby furniture as you ran to answer the call.
“Hello?” You answer, panting.
“Y/N?”
“Dave?” You smile, that call was a very welcome surprise. Your friend owed you an answer.
-
A few weeks ago, Dave Rowntree, your music classmate who became a close friend, told you that he had teamed up with two other proficient musicians to form a band. Dave was ecstatic, and every day he had new stories about his new friends to tell you between breakfasts and lunches that you shared between the countless hours of rehearsals. Even though you weren't part of the group, you already felt that you knew Damon and Graham like the back of your hand. Yin and Yang. One was expansive, ambitious, vain, impulsive. The other, shy, introspective, anxious and careful.
Damon Albarn wanted to be an actor, Graham Coxon had a firm foot in the visual arts. One was a fan of grand classical compositions, the other was a Beatles fan. They had been friends since they were children, in a seemingly unbreakable bond. Damon dropped out of his theater class not only because out of a sudden he had found a bigger calling in music instead of acting, but also because he couldn't stand being away from his best friend for so long. You found yourself often imagining their faces and voices while trying to make all of the wild and endearingly funny stories Dave told you more tangible in your head.
It was not long before Dave started dropping little hints that they needed someone else for their project. “It’s not that Graham isn’t good at bass,” he’d say, “but we could do better.” It wasn't at the top of your plans to be part of a band right now, especially as you were preparing intensely to join the Royal Academy of Music, and he knew it. When you mentioned the conversations you had with Dave about the boys on your family dinner, in quiet wonder and timid want of being part of something really exciting, your parents wrinkled their noses. Focus on the greater things, they’d say. Don’t let these boys distract you from your goal.
Our goal, they meant to say. Since you were born, you never knew if the things you wanted were really your will or theirs.
But anyway.
That dynamic went on for a while, until the day Dave invited you to audition for them while you shared a Diet Coke in the tube home.
“Will it take too much of my time?” You asked, coyly.
“Bold of you to assume we’ll let you in that quickly.” He chuckles, amused by your confidence. You playfully elbow him in return. He knew how good you were at what you did, though, and there’s lightness in his tone when he continues, “But no, unless you let it. You’ll probably have to stand up to Damon every once in a while.” He sips the drink, handing it over to you.
“What about Graham? How much is he determined to make it big?”
“Damon’s the one who wants it the most. Graham’s studying Fine Arts at Goldsmiths, so. There’s still cautiousness in him.”
“Huh. Okay then.” You reply, thoughts running wild. “Do we have a time and date?”
“Is tomorrow ok to you?”
“Sure. After our class?”
“Perfect.” The train reaches his station. He ruffles your hair: “See you tomorrow then.”
“See you.”
You don’t tell anything about it to your parents, you just warn them that you’ll arrive a bit later than usual. Dave’s intel was crucial to your choice of songs: knowing Graham was the beatlemaniac and also the rational brake to Damon’s tireless ambition, you knew who to please and have as an ally, so you build an innovative and fresh mashup of Paul McCartney’s greatest basslines to play for them. Of course it could backfire, but you didn’t care. You had a hell of a good ear anyway and if Damon wanted you to play anything out of the blue, you would improvise beautifully over it.
The day comes. You didn’t know why you were that nervous for an amateur audition. You weren’t even sure if it was the right path to follow, given that, depending on how focused Damon really was and how contagious his aspiration was, being part of a band could really take you out of your predestinated course. The reason why you were so nervous, now thinking a little more about it, may be because deep inside, you want your path to be a little less predictable. You didn’t want to fill your heart with hopes that you might make it big and travel all over the world because you didn’t even know them. But… what if it clicks? You knew some people in the scene whose work was getting seriously recognized out there.
Meeting them for the first time was an enigmatic experience. Damon was incredibly brash and cocky - not the first theater kid you’ve met in your life. Graham was way more approachable, though also a bit conceited when pushed just right. You wondered if you’d fit in that boys’ club, and decided you wouldn’t be an easy target for discredit or any kind of shit they might give you. “Took me a while to fully get their trust. You’ll do just fine”, Dave said, out of their earshot.
That gave you more fuel to play amazingly well. Damon definitely wasn’t one to be impressed quickly, but he was, when you finished your set. So was Graham - Graham was starry eyed with your performance, actually. Albarn showed you a song and asked you if you could improvise to it, just as you imagined. Of course you could, on the first play. You even suggested some adjustments to its structure. Your feedback was welcomed and noted.
-
Even though everything went surprisingly well, you still weren't sure if you would be a member of “Seymour”, as they called themselves. (You knew it wasn’t the best name, but you didn’t have a better suggestion at the time so you’ve kept your opinion to yourself.) Graham became eerily quiet out of a sudden and wouldn’t cross eyes with you the entire time you were there. Damon, well, was Damon. Perhaps he thought you were too ordinary and mainstream for deciding to play Beatles when he’s trying to be the new avant-garde Jesus.
But Dave's news was different than you expected. “They really, really enjoyed your audition. As I thought they would.” You can hear the smile in his voice. "When can you rehearse with us?"
-
Months after, on your first gig as a fully formed and integrated band, Damon was hit in the face by a guy twice his size, Graham vomited onstage and you and Dave had to take care of both. A beautiful way to close the already exquisite day you had, after you fought with your parents, got kicked out of your childhood home and gave up on entering the Royal Academy of Music two days after you received your acceptance letter featuring rave reviews of your entrance exam.
Dealing with these boys - no, grown-ass men - was hard, but not completely unpleasant. If it were totally unpleasant, you wouldn’t give up on your entire life to embark on such an adventure.
You - plural you - were so gifted and Damon’s compositions were so good. You could see that artsy pretentious mess of an act going somewhere. Of course, you were a bit lost in your life, but so were they, as you ran from city to city meeting new people and trying new things in your journey to fame.
Loneliness, once a close friend, became a distant acquaintance. One you didn’t know anymore.
You confess you were getting worried, though, with how much money you had left on your savings and how much you were spending lately now that your parents weren’t an active part of your life. Wanting to eat something you cannot dream of buying without that money being really useful in a much more critical situation, not having nearly enough money to replace something important that broke or got torn off was frustrating. Some basic things became luxuries out of a sudden.
One day in particular, you very briefly mentioned that you were dying to eat a slice of chocolate cake, but your voice was so small and everyone was so immersed in their duties you thought no one gave two shits to what you said. Two days later, Graham arrived late at rehearsal with a small chocolate cake in his hands, handing it over to you like it was a completely ordinary act. Nothing in the way he acted told you he expected a reward, it was so natural and… gentle. You knew no one in your band could buy a chocolate cake without it being apocalyptic to their personal finances during that time.
That day, you were assured by fate that feeling lost together was better than feeling guided alone.
-
The band finally got on track - strictly musically speaking. Personally speaking, many contemporaries who followed you at parties and other events described you as an ever-growing odd, annoying and intermittently disarming bunch - and Blur and its members became household names, at least in the UK. It became harder and harder everyday to impose yourself as an entire industry and its target public aimed to tear you down. Men couldn’t understand.
(Graham Coxon was the one who tried the hardest to.)
It was four in the morning. You’ve got used to following your bandmates to hospitals, running away from trouble or knowing when to relish in it. But it was the first time you offered yourself to clean up dried blood from one’s face, given how much you hated seeing the fluid and even fainted when younger whenever exposed to it.
You, so delicately, wipe the saline solution-soaked cotton across Graham’s face, who flinches at the cold sensation on his still sensitive skin. He stares at you with the eyes of a child, and you couldn’t help but give him a slight, warm smile in return, which he retributes. Your face conveyed gratitude and affection towards the one you were taking care of. Your hands still struggled to stay completely still after the surge of adrenaline your body received a few hours ago.
Being the only girl in a massive band, and one the music magazines and mainstream media loved sexualizing, meant having paparazzis in your window in odd hours (not that that’s acceptable in any hour, but you had to lower your standards even more these days), meant having different photographers trying to pressure you to get into all kinds of uncomfortable angles with skimpy-ass dresses and just count on the intervention of your fellow bandmates so they would stop, also having invasive male fans who would try to harass you in any way they could.
Of course the day where one of your bandmates would get into a fist fight with one of these men inserted into these categories would come. And even though they were all protective of you, each in their own peculiar, increasingly contradictory way, Graham’s dedication to it was sometimes commendable.
You were making your way through a small corridor of people on your way to the stage when a random guy cupped one of your breasts. It’s not like the venue was incredibly tight, it could not have been on accident and it made your blood boil. You turned around to scream at him, and Graham, who was just behind you, threw a punch directly towards the man’s face, without thinking twice.
And oh boy, took a lot of people and a sweet amount of time to separate the two after that.
After all was said and done, Graham had a few scratches, a black eye and a cut brow. He kept dodging your many “sorrys”, “you didn’t have to do this” and other expressions of guilt. “You have nothing to be sorry about, he deserved it”, he kept assuring you, like a mantra, just giving in to your pleas when you supplicated to take care of his wounds during intermission and after the show.
“I get why you did what you did, Gra. I hate that you took such a risk because of me, but I understand.” you say, voice cracking from not using it for a while after spending some good minutes in complete silence taking care of him. “However,” you soak another cotton ball in the saline solution a roadie got you, punctuating the word with a squeeze to the cotton to remove excess liquid. “I was worried sick about you. What if he… had a knife or something? You could’ve got seriously injured. Or killed.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’m perfectly able to have a good fight,” after wincing from the contact of the cold wet cotton with his dried blood, he purses his lips in a forced, shy smile, trying to light up the mood. He notices your hands are still shaking from the adrenaline, and takes one of them in his bigger ones, trying to calm you down. The fact that he did this for you, coupled with the fear and how tired you felt of having to go through that kind of situation once again, made you cry-laugh from how overwhelmed you felt.
His expression changes to one of pure compassion in an instant. “Hey, don’t--oh my,” he gets up from his chair to embrace you as you pour your frustrations through fat tears running down his shoulder.
“It’s so exhausting,” you mumble, through sobs. “Now I’m putting you in danger too. I feel like I did and I’m still doing everything wrong. I should be the one giving you a shoulder to cry on.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong! Anything at all, I promise you,” he says, tenderly, running his hands through your hair, still holding you tight. “It was his fault! I decided it was the right thing to do. You’re worth the risk. What people have been putting you through is unacceptable.”
“I’m not worth the risk!” You break apart from his arms, trying to get your point across. “What would I do without you if someone killed you? You need to be more careful!”
The silence hangs heavy between you two thanks to the weight of your words.
“You should’ve asked me before you lunged at him, at least. I don’t know.” You wipe your many tears as you move towards the nearest bottle of water to try to calm yourself down. “It’ll never end. I’m so afraid that these situations will get even worse. That,” you motion at his wounds and dirty clothes, “is a bloody tragedy. It’s a tragedy things escalated to this point. You can’t do that forever.”
“This is just a consequence. And something I would do for you in a heartbeat whenever necessary.”
“Graham, I don’t want you to get hurt because--”
“They hurt you. I won’t let you go through that alone. Besides,” he comes closer to you again. “As I already told you, I can take care of myself, most of the time.” He takes your face in his hands, his fingers so delicately running across your cheeks to dry your tears. You knew that gesture wasn’t his way of asking you for anything you weren’t ready to give him yet. He just wanted you to feel safe. “And I want to take care of you.”
“I’m the one cleaning your wounds.”
“A great partnership, I think.” Coxon chuckles softly, and finally gets a smile out of you. As he always does. “And they make me look cool, don’t you think?”
“Shut up.” You giggle, still feeling too emotional to return to the stage. You sigh: “Thank you for being there for me. You know I’m still not very used to it. Just please be safe.”
The roadie returns, a little flustered by interrupting your little moment together. “5 minutes and you’re back, guys.”
“Okay!” You both turn to answer her.
“I’ll be. No need to thank me for anything, Y/N.” He answers, giving your forehead a little kiss. “Let’s go.”
“Give me two minutes. I’ll be right behind you.”
-
“What’s it like, being the only woman in the band?”
Four eyerolls at once don’t seem to faze the interviewer. She waits for your response.
Apparently the thousand invasive questions regarding Damon’s love life and the same bullshit treatment of women as either rare specimen or sex dolls is what pleases the audience of music TV shows these days.
“What do you think?” is what you say.
“Must be a thrill to have these beautiful boys around you all the time. And we’ve heard you never even took advantage of it!”
You don’t like where this is heading. “Is that… a bad thing? I don’t know what you mean.”
“Perhaps some of our lady viewers might think it is. No judgement though!” She raises her hands. “You do you, it’s just that it’s quite unexpected to see prudes in non-Christian bands. I mean… from what we’ve heard.”
“I’m sorry? What are you trying to say? What did you hear?”
Her tongue clicks while she stares at you with defiance and mischief on her eyes, as she goes a little further and raises her voice so it can overlay yours. “Oh love. You do know what I’m talking about. There’s no need to be ashamed of being a virgin.”
Your cheek burns intensely and the only thing you wished for was for the ground to swallow you whole. Dave and Graham are especially uncomfortable. Damon’s a bit amused. The three knew almost everything there was to know about you. The one topic that surprisingly they didn’t know about is that you’re still a virgin.
They know you’ve been single for a long time. They know that’s part of what draws so much attention and twisted lore regarding you and your past, but that’s not something they felt they needed to know about you at all, and you truly never felt the need to comment about that with any of them, and they haven’t asked. Not even Mr. “the way to be successful in this game is to make all the boys wanna be you and all the girls wanna sleep with you. In your case that’d work in reverse” Damon Albarn.
“Is that even something that should be discussed in an interview about our music? Is that what your boss told you to ask her about?” Dave answers, his tone venomous.
“Musicians are way more than just music. You’re entertainment in every sense of the word.”
“Who told you that about me?” You asked, not sure if you want to know the answer.
“A lovely elderly lady who lives in Elgin Crescent. She knows you so well.”
That’s your mum. That’s how far low your relationship has degraded. You’re not surprised. That doesn’t feel less like a punch on your gut, but you don’t feel like tumbling again. Not today.
“I know who you’re talking about. Tell her I asked her to go fuck herself and burn in hell. In that order.”
“But that’s your--”
“Yes, she is my mum!” If people are going to expose you anyway, then why don’t you do it on your terms? “We’re truly entertainment in every sense of the word, aren’t we. Not everyone’s mum’s a cunt. Some of us aren’t that lucky.”
“You want to be the next Gallagher sister with the spicy remarks?”
“Not sure. But I do want to be the last person you ever get to interview.”
-
The management of the band wasn’t at all surprised your interview became UK’s topic of the week. People were heavily divided between family is family and we shouldn’t hate our relatives and blood isn’t everything, family can be shitty too. Your bandmates were proud of you. The management was angry but tried to understand, and didn’t press you for further explanations. They suggested a two-week break from everything so Blur could rest their image and start a fresh cycle after that, and you gracefully accepted it.
The whole thing seemed so ridiculous the more you thought about it. Did your mum tell the reporter about that gratuitously? What was their conversation like? How did that even happen?
You became the butt of jokes in some places. You saw other famous people doing challenges between them, countdowns, all sorts of crude remarks. What a pathetic, sad chapter of your career.
You dial Graham, and you feel like your heart was about to burst out of your chest.
“Hey, Gra. It’s me.”
“Hey, Y/N.” He sounds pleasantly surprised. “How's it going?”
“Better, I guess. I have to take my mind off all that chaos though. Are you available right now?”
“Yeah.”
“You’ve been owing me a movie night for quite a while now and I miss spending time with you. Wanna come over?”
“Aww. Sure, I--um. Do you want me to bring anything?”
“I’m pretty sure I got everything we need here--ah… I think I don’t have any more beers.”
“I’ll buy some then. See ya in a few minutes.”
Actually, you couldn’t take all that chaos off your mind because that was the only thing in it. You’re feeling so nervous.
The main reasons sex wasn’t a priority for you until now were:
You didn’t have any real opportunities of losing your virginity in your teens. You were impossibly introspective until, like, 3, 4 years ago, and the way your family worked hasn’t really allowed you to get really close to people. Be it boyfriends, girlfriends or just friends. Anything that threatened to take time off the various tasks and classes your parents assigned to you just couldn’t be part of your life. To be honest, you still struggled a bit to form meaningful connections with people thanks to how you grew up.
The moment you stopped being shy, you noticed it was a real man’s world out there, especially in music, classical or not. You didn’t want anyone to think you fucked your way up to the top, you didn’t want any messy affairs. Also, you had yourself, and you didn’t get all of the hype regarding the concept of screwing someone. But apparently there’s a lot you’ve been missing, given the importance people seem to give to it. After that incident, even though you swore to yourself you wouldn’t give in to any kind of misogynistic pressure, that was one that really got under your skin.
You never really found someone who you felt 100% safe with in that sense until the one who’s about to arrive at your house appeared in your life. Bloody hell, and you don’t even have anything romantic going on. By the time you were a Blur member, you’ve fooled around a bit, but not all the way. You knew how to kiss, knew how to touch yourself and even brought manual satisfaction to some random fool you thought you were into one time. But perhaps this is the time to go all the way. Why not? Everyone knew how close you two were. He made you feel special. He was so kind. And gorgeous. And--
You hear a knock on your door. It’s him. Beers in hand, hair somewhat in place, twitchy as ever.
He comes inside and you feel like your legs will give up anytime. It was not the first time he visited you. It was one of many, actually, and he noticed you were acting… different.
“Y/N, are you okay?” He asks after a brief dialogue between you two, after plating some snacks for both of you.
“Graham...” You sigh, being really careful with your words. “What is your perception of me?”
“My perception of you?” He smiles. “I… think you’re great. You’re fun to be around. You’re one of the best musicians I know, if not the best. Why are you asking me that?”
“N-nothing. It’s nothing. Also, I asked the wrong question. What was your first perception of me?”
“Uh… the day of your audition?”
“Exactly. You barely talked to me that day.”
His eyes lower to his own feet. “I was really timid, actually. I wasn’t used to being near any girl, especially one who… w-would spend so much time around me if everything went well.”
You giggle. “I thought you hated me.”
“Never!” his smile turns into a full blown laughter. You melt at his confession. “Also because it seemed like you were trying to read my mind or something.”
“Of course! Because I thought you hated me!” Now that was a laughter you two shared. You do a voice: “‘Why is that pesky girl trying to get in my band?’”
“My goodness, no! I don’t even sound like that - you know what, I changed my mind. You suck. Because, besides the fact you don’t even know what I sound like, you still haven’t told me why you are asking me that in the first place.”
You couldn’t help but notice how he slightly cornered you physically in one of the kitchen corridors. Graham could be really persuasive when he wanted to.
“Okay. Right. Um. I’ve been thinking about some stuff.”
“What, exactly?”
“Everything that happened this month. The great virginity debacle,” you roll your eyes, and he scoffs.
“You don’t own anyone any information about what you do or don't do with your life. Everyone’s being so invasive. That was incredibly childish of the reporter to do, and we talked about that hundreds of times.”
“Yeah, but… you know what, forget it.”
“Tell me, Y/N. I just said that because I want you to know you were not in the wrong.”
“I know. It’s just… I’ve been thinking that maybe it’s silly for me to… keep closing myself for affection. Any kind of affection.”
“What are you talking about?” His brows furrowed in curiosity.
“I’m not sure if it’s the pressure that finally got under my skin, but… I’m willing to learn what all the fuss is about. Maybe it’s silly that I’m still a virgin.”
He bites his lips, still processing what you just said, expression unreadable. Perhaps you’ve treaded a ground you shouldn’t. You step back both literally and figuratively. “I’m sorry I even brought that up--”
“No, no, don’t be.” He assures you. “I’m just… surprised, that’s all. I swear.”
“And...” You know what. You already went too far, so why not go all the way. You’ve already gone way past the point of no return. “I was wondering if… you would… popmycherry?”
His eyes widen, yours still closed. When you finally open them, he’s closer to you again.
If his head was a machine, you’re sure it would be releasing lots of steam and shaking due to overprocessing. You felt like you just ruined everything.
“Y/N, you don’t need to do it if you don’t really want to.”
“But I want it! At first I thought I didn’t, but then I thought...”
“I don’t want to be part of that if you’re just doing it to fulfill weird expectations.”
“But it’s not that. Not just... that. I asked about your perception of me because I really like you, Gra. I think we should be more than friends and I wanted to know what you think about me. And I want to know what the fuss is about, yes, but I’m not telling you that just so I can lose my virginity to prove some point. I’m telling you that because I like you, I want to kiss you, and I think it would be a great idea if you showed me what it’s like. Y-you know, sex.”
“I-I can’t believe it. Did you even have any movie in mind?” His smile’s back, but you’re still not confident about what his answer will be.
“I didn’t. I’m sorry. You don’t have to--”
He sighs. “I was in love with you the moment I first saw you, actually.” He says it like he’s releasing a huge load out of his back, his arms crossed. Now your eyes widen, and you hold your breath without even noticing. “I didn’t want you to feel pressured. I know how you feel, or, felt about relationships, so… there wasn’t any reason for me to tell you that. And what I said about being timid was just half of the truth.”
“Huh?”
“I also was really intimidated by how pretty you looked. You can’t imagine how.”
“No way.”
“It’s true. I felt like I wasn’t even worthy of looking at you, really.”
“You’re joking. That’s mean, Gra.”
“I’m not. I’m really not.” He doesn’t look like he is joking. He looks relieved. “I’m really not. That’s why I’m so surprised by your request.”
“I’m nothing special.”
“You are everything to me. But I can’t accept your offer, not now.”
“Are you… seeing someone? Am I too late?”
“No. Definitely not. I just want you to be sure you’re not doing it because people are saying you should.”
“Graham, I’m a grown woman.”
“I know.”
Graham carefully presses his slightly chapped lips to yours, kissing you for a few precious, heart stopping seconds before pulling away; his voice is impossibly silky when he suggests, “Let’s watch a movie. How about The Godfather? I heard it’s airing tonight. Then, if in two weeks you don’t change your mind, tell me and I’ll be glad to help you with what you want. Do we have a deal?”
“That’s so unfair. I want you so bad.” You whisper.
“Tell me if you still do in two weeks.”
You sigh, defeated. “...Deal.”
-
You definitely notice the subtle shift in Graham’s personality and actions after that fateful night. If you were already close, both figuratively and literally, it now seemed like he would use any excuse to always touch you, be near you, sometimes tease you. The shift was subtle, though, don’t forget it’s still Graham Coxon we’re talking about - the constant “is it okay if”s or “is it alright if I”s were still there, as careful as ever. You don’t even talk about your deal that entire time, or even kiss again - sometimes you wondered if it was even real or just a fabrication of your mind.
The way he now caressed your hand discreetly when you listened to Damon’s ramblings, the way his hands now went directly to your waist when your games became too handsy, the way he seemed to be madly in love with everything you were and still are from the start - made you realize you were ready for this man to be a consistent part of your life.
The dust of the controversy was settled, and your own intentions were 100% clear to you now. The societal pressure has waned. The need for Graham to be your first persisted. After exactly 2 weeks have passed, you call him again, yearning to share the answer with him.
One beep.
Two beeps.
Three beeps.
Four beeps. “Hello?”
You release a sigh hidden deep inside of your lungs. “Graham, it’s Y/N.”
“Oh. It’s been two weeks.” You could hear the contemplative tone of his voice.
“...Yeah. That’s precisely the reason I’m calling you.”
“Do you still want to…?”
“...Desperately.”
“Ok.” He chuckles, flustered as hell on the other side of the phone, probably one of the prettiest sounds you’ve ever heard. “Right. Ok. Your place or mine?”
“I think there’ll be an element of mystery if I go to your place this time.” You lose some of the constraints this silly shyness has been tying you on. “Do you have everything we might need there?”
“We don’t need a dungeon, you know.”
“The basics.” You make your smile heard.
“I do have… I do have the basics.”
“See you in a few minutes then.”
“Will you want to… ease into it? Or just go straight to it?”
“God, don’t make it awkward!” Your cheeks burn, your smile turning into contagious laughter. “Maybe… I don’t know. Ease into it, I guess? A movie night… but with s-something else?”
“Okay. Sounds good.”
“Alright then. See you.”
“See you.”
-
You don’t choose any particularly fancy or sexy clothes, instead settling for a slightly oversized yellow striped shirt he gave you as a birthday present some months ago and some skirt that fit you well. He wasn’t one to lavish his loved ones with gifts all the time, but few things were as precious as the look on his face whenever he saw you wearing something he gave you or, hell, even eating something he paid for you. You’re thrilled to see it again when he opens the door for you, it easing some of your deepest doubts.
2001: A Space Odyssey is already playing on the TV when you arrive. Despite it being one of your favorite movies of all time, and his, you’re not mad it was already halfway through when you arrived. It wasn’t your main priority to rewatch it for the 17th time tonight.
He offers you some wine, which you accept to ease the nerves. You sit on his couch, and he shares the cozy space with you, now mindlessly throwing one of his arms around your shoulders. You cuddle up to him, and everything seems peaceful in the world for a while.
The tip of his fingers softly caress your lifted knee, absentmindedly. You couldn’t help but notice how well his body fits with yours, how your skin was apparently made for him to touch, and the anxiety rumbles in your stomach like a storm in a wild wavy sea. After some minutes, you raise your head, his big brown eyes meeting yours as if asking you a silent question. You leaned up a bit more to press your lips to his, in a silent answer. The sweetness in him makes this moment as precious as every other moment you ever shared with him. His hands enter your hair, making you shiver a bit from the unfamiliarity and the electricity of it all - but it doesn’t sway you from deepening the kiss, wanting more of his taste, more of this, more of him.
“Do you wanna take this to the bed?” He whispers, after noticing your moans were becoming more frequent and needy. You nod, and you are taken by surprise when he carries you bridal style to it, hiding your excited giggles in his broad shoulders.
Graham wasn’t exactly the most organized man in the world - so the fact that his bedroom was now impossibly tidy was something that positively caught your attention. He put some planning into this. He lays you down and you part your legs, beckoning him to meet you between them. He does, and you go back to the breathtaking makeout session. You notice he’s holding himself back a bit, taking his time, his warm tongue moving smoothly, not hurriedly, against yours. His self control falters a bit though, given how he can’t stop grinding against you. You follow the rhythm of his hips a bit timidly and not nearly as in sync as you’d really like, though the pressure his covered cock is creating against your core can already be felt and some particular thrusts are able to fill at least partially the aching, wet need growing within you.
“How do you feel about oral?” He asks, breath warm near your ear, his voice raspy and spent by his desire for you.
“Um… It would be my first time receiving or doing it.”
“Would you like me to go down on you?”
“Wow. I never thought I would hear you saying something like that.” You smile, still assimilating the situation you’re in, trying not to show how badly his voice is affecting you. “Sure.”
“I never thought I would get to propose this to you. Aren’t we full of surprises lately.” He smiles back, warmly. He notices your hands trembling a bit from how anxious you are while you’re taking off your underwear with his help, and as he lowers himself to where you need him most, he takes your hands in his as an act of reassurance. “Tell me what you like. Tell me if what I’m doing works for you. I want this to be a great experience.”
“You want me to get addicted to you, that’s what you want,” He chuckles, lovingly kissing your thigh as a reply. “Okay, Gra. Guess I’ll find out along the way.”
You quickly take a peak below you to see the lower half of his face disappear in the middle of your thighs. The sight alone sets your fire ablaze, as he hooks his arms around your thighs and lifts you closer to his mouth, his lips ghosting over the curls between your legs tantalizingly and his breath catching when your hips jerk forward.
As he begins his ministrations, you immediately notice it’s unlike anything you’ve ever felt. That feeling was completely alien to you. It was even wetter than you expected, and weird, but powerfully pleasant. Before this exact moment, you had a firm belief that hardly anyone else would make you feel the same way, or better, than you do yourself, but apparently you were very wrong. Thankfully you were wrong. “My god,” you gasp as the flat of his tongue drags over your folds, too much and not enough, and you jerk at the contact. “This is great. So weird, but-- great.”
He moans at your response, his movements carefully enthusiastic. He works his tongue between your folds and traces up to curl the tip of it around your clit, and it’s quite endearing and madly arousing to see how he eats out you like you’re the sweetest and tastier dessert he has ever tasted. You involuntarily buck against him with a desperate sound the moment he moves his tongue and lips in a particularly wicked way, something that definitely doesn’t go unnoticed by him, but you still feel the need to highlight in case it didn’t - “That. Keep doing that, please,”
And he does. The building of this climax is also different than the ones you already had by your own hands, and is more coy. As he sees the drops of sweat sliding along your soft skin and the expressions on your face as you get lost in this new but enchanting sensations, his hesitation and self-control fades away; there’s nothing uncertain in the way he buries his face in your cunt now, nothing restrained in the groan he lets out as he devours you and drinks you down as if you’re the first stream of water he has seen in days.
His tongue glides deeper in your folds again and again, swirling up through the wetness you’re coated with to tease at your clit while he grunts and strains closer, squeezing your thighs with both hands tight. The wave of heat inside of you is cresting so fast, you don't even know how to tell him, how to signal that you’re nearly done for and, in the end, it happens too fast to even try. He sucks at your clit, circling it with his tongue, once, twice, and then you’re crying out, shaking underneath him, trying to keep your thighs from clenching too hard around his head as he laps you through it with with urgent whimpers and moans, as if he cannot have enough of you.
You’re still trembling when he rises, the look on his face revealing to you how proud he feels by making you feel this way. It looks so good on him.
You fail miserably at the simple task of connecting words together after that, choosing instead to collect your remaining strength, prop yourself up and beckon him again to keep kissing him and learn, through his talented tongue, how you taste. He kisses the thin fabric of the shirt at your chest that covers you from view, your throat, your jaw, and before he reaches your impatient lips, he notes, sinfully, “Seems like you enjoyed yourself, love.”
“That was… unbelievable. Stars, I want to make you feel good too. Please show me how.”
“Keep kissing me,” he begs, voice still strained from how aroused he is. “I want to be inside you so bad. Let’s get you prepared.” You’re still so sensitive, you tread on overstimulation when his fingers lightly touch your clit, making you break the kiss in a hiss. He traces a line on your folds, inspecting the impact his mouth had on you. “So wet for me.”
“Bit slower, Gra,” He complies to your breathy plea, his fingers now more tame as he slowly spreads your wetness throughout your pussy. He stretches towards the nightstand to grab a bottle of lube, interrupting his contact to spread some on his fingers before unhurriedly slipping his middle finger inside of you. The coldness of the gel makes you shiver in surprise, the easiness brought by it very welcomed. Again - the sensation is odd. Completely unfamiliar. The feeling of having something inside of you for the first time, going further than you ever dared to try, probing, exploring; the coldness of the lube clashing against your burning hot cunt. But it also felt nice. The focused look on his face was adorable, he looked like he was a scientist in the middle of very complex research.
Despite the panting, the messy hair and the fire in his eyes.
Your body already has a lot of new sensations to process simultaneously, so when he asks you to take off your bra and shirt so his tongue can work on your nipples - which you gladly accept, you feel like you’re on sensual overload. His tongue, again, so talented, takes your mind off the slight burning you feel when he introduces his ring finger to your soaked, throbbing core, his focused, carefully overpowering and constant stimulation driving you insane.
“Does it feel good?” He asks, voice muffled by your breast. You nod, carried by the wave of pleasure sweeping you.
“Yes. God, yes.” You pant, tangling your fingers tightly on his thick hair as an encouragement, a desperate sound escaping from your lips the moment he reaches a certain point within you you didn’t even know existed, hot mouth continuing to lick and suck your nipple. Even though you were spent by your last orgasm, he was indeed getting you addicted to those new feelings, and even though this was heavenly, truly heavenly, you needed more. “Gra, I’m ready, I think.”
“You sure?”
“Yes. Please.”
Releasing your nipple from his lips with a sounding pop, he eagerly frees himself from his trousers - hard as a brick - and puts protection and lubrication on, swiftly positioning himself between your thighs while stroking himself to the sight in front of him. You motion to take off your skirt, and he holds your hand, not letting you. “Don’t. It’ll be really hot to fuck you in this.” He confesses, giving your forehead a kiss in a very different context than before. He aligns his forehead with yours, each of your lips just barely touching while you breathe each other’s air. He looks deep into your eyes, slowly running the tip of his cock between the slick folds of your pussy, coating himself in the remnants of your pleasure. “Do you trust me?”
You trust me to know your limits? Not to go any further if you don’t really want me to?
“Absolutely.”
The only response you get from him is a shuddering, helpless moan into your mouth and you hold him tighter to you, grinding your still sensitive cunt up against his cock while he pulls hard at the soft fur next to your head. You feel your soaking pussy lips part around the solid curve of his length and gradually coat the underside of him in slick with every gentle circle and roll your hips make, as he finally pulls away from your mouth to drop his forehead to your neck. He then, very slowly, penetrates you, stopping when he hears the noises you make indicating you’re struggling to adjust to his presence. Out of everything you’ve felt in the last minutes, this was by far the most painful sensation. “This-- is new,” you note, your face completely incapable of hiding the discomfort. He also notices that.
“Are you okay? Do you want me to stop?”
“It’s okay. I’ll get used to it.”
“It’s not supposed to be about endurance, you know.” He says, a bit breathless and worried, caressing your hair. “Tell me when it’s okay to move. Or if you feel too much pain.”
After some long seconds and some deep breaths, you say: “Okay. Go on.”
“As you wish.”
He moves inside you at a very slow pace, the lubrication clearly making it easier for you to handle it. It still hurts, significantly, but the sensation of being filled is also surprisingly arousing.
His hand moves to your sensitive clit again in small, measured circles, your little moans being a mixture of the pain of penetration and the sheer ecstasy of seeing him falling apart because of you. The way his chest heaves while the drops of sweat start pearling his fair skin, the furrowed brows and broken groans, the thickness of him as he rests heavy up against your entrance, the way his voice presses deliciously tight in his throat as he gasps out into the quiet room - everything’s making your chest burst in love and satisfaction. You tighten your grip around him and roll your hips up into his cock, letting it break you open nice and slow; it stretches you wide with a deliciously sharp fullness and pleasure rips through you, and Graham becomes even more vocal as he picks up a steady and gradually faster pace. He turned all of your keys, it’s about time you turn some of his.
“Graham, deeper,” you whimper, continuing to tighten your legs and hoist yourself up, lifting your hips to take his cock deeper inside you. His name rips itself from your throat while Coxon clenches his jaw and starts to lose himself in the pleasure, holding you down into the bed while he allows your desperation to guide him to the perfect angle and speed to sate you. He found denying you to be impossible.
He snarls and curses as he holds you down and rails you, determined to make you sing again before he finishes, and to his delight, your heightened sensitivity gives him what he wants. And this time, he couldn't hold on.
Graham kisses you one last time as he groans and gives in, head dropping to your neck again. You didn’t reach a second climax, but stars, what an experience you just had.
When he comes back to himself enough to realise he still had you practically folded in half, he carefully pulls his softening cock free, taking the condom off and taking the strands of hair out of your face as you struggle to catch your breath. You suggest a shared bath, a suggestion he gladly accepts.
Too tired and too sore for pillow talk, comfortable silence falls as your hand finds his, and you lay, listening to each other’s breathing slowly settle.
I could get used to his little snore on my chest, is the last thought that twinkles on your mind before you fall asleep snuggled with him.
218 notes · View notes
cherriesradio · 3 years
Text
Class 1-A relationship headcanons
Part 2 - https://cherry-cake-pies.tumblr.com/post/640893672076001280/class-1-a-relationship-headcanons
Part 1 - https://cherry-cake-pies.tumblr.com/post/640877154337538048/mha-relationship-headcanons-class-1-a
Fluff
Mezou Shouji
Best hugs ever
I mean what else is he gonna do with all those arms? Fight villains?
Y/n is the only one who can call him by his first name
Shouji is super tall and y/n just calls him “Mezou McTallMan”
He has like 5 million IQ and plays chess with y/n and they just sit their feelin stupid cause they keep losing
Shouji and Tokoyami are best friends and then when him and y/n get together all three of them are best friends and it’s adorable
Y/n never really cared about the mask but was like “hey you don’t need to take it off if you don’t wanna”
And it melted Shouji’s heart that they were fine with it
Thier hair is always ruffled because of how much he messes with it
They just don’t bother anymore
He doesn’t like getting to much attention so for events they have little at home/ in the dorm party’s with just a few other kids
He 100% takes advantage of how scary he can look
If someone is trying to get at y/n he will look at them with the most haunting glare in the world
(*cough* Mineta *cough* *cough*)
Kyouka Jirou
Rockin out to rock but also crappy 2000’s pop music at three am
Jirou will just be sitting beside y/n as they mess with her lobes
Y/n is as much as a crackhead as the rest of the Bakusquad so they all get along great
Bakugo has almost stabbed both of them for kissing in public and being affectionate in public
Coming back to the dorms all sweaty from going to a concert and jumping around for four hours straight
Has the hardest time trying to teach y/n how to play everything because it hurt their ~delicate fingers~
Leaning on each other’s backs and listening to music sharing ear buds 😫
Getting records and hanging them on each other’s walls and painting them if they don’t like the songs 💜
She has a ton of vintage art/ band hoodies and they just share them at some point because they keep stealing them from each other
Going to the arcade with Denki and Kirishima and whoever else wants to come
Y/n always says Jirou has a “out shine the stars smile” and she becomes a blushing mess every time
She’s not very good at comforting :(
She tries tho
She’s great honestly
Hanta Sero
He asks y/n if he annoys them and y/n legit feels so bad like “I love u so much don’t you dare think that>:(“
He likes saving up for dates and going to fancy restaurants and stuff but he’s fine with small inexpensive dates
They’ve gone to sixflags at least ten times and they have definitely broke a whole ride from messing around with his tape
That couple where even before they were dating they were dating
Jokingly kissing each others hand/ cheeks, cuddling up to each other, always asking if the other was going somewhere too, that kinda stuff
Hammock cuddles
I think you understand
Prank war in the whole dorm and y/n and Sero are the kings (or queens) (or non-binary royalty) of it
Bakugo has declared war on them multiple times but never goes on it because of how hard they go
Everyone has said it, you know it
Spider man kisses
He has almost passes out from the blood rushing to his head before
if Mineta walks up to y/n from behind he will tape him up and they can’t have a normal conversation without Sero glaring at him
So many inside jokes
Once y/n put his hair in a bun or something and he was like :0 “oh my god there’s a world without hair in ur face”
Sometimes either of them will sneak in the others dorm in the morning before they wake up and put sunglass on them or draw on their face
“This reminds me of u” insert simp meme
This boy will make sure y/n is always holding his werid long lanky hands
They teach Todoroki what “Yeet” means and now they all use it all the time unironically
Fumikage Tokoyami
👏head 👏scratchys 👏
Y/n has to get him a nightlight so Dark Shadow doesn’t go wild in the middle of the night
Huge edge lord y/n is his only soft spot
Watch dumb vampire movies
They binged all the Twilight movies in one night and everyone makes fun of them for kinda unironiclly liking it
I know Halloween is only really a american thing but they 100% have Halloween party’s at the dorms
They’d set up the whole thing
Y/n gets him black nail polish and skull rings and edgy everything
He has a box that takes up like half his closet of just gifts from y/n
He doesn’t do gifts as much as just spending time with y/n
He does love the gifts tho
Give each other plenty of space
Just say “hey I wanna be alone for a bit” and he’ll be gone in a second
He’s always the little spoons cause he’s scared of peaking their eyes out accidentally
They didn’t keep the relationship a secret they just aren’t very physically affectionate to each other
So one day Shouji is like “oh are you crushing on y/n? Like you are really nice to them and they give you stuff”
And he sits there like “dude we’ve been together for months how do you not know”
And then they are like maybe we should announce it just to make sure? So they do that and the whole class is in shock that they were together for so long and no one noticed
Jokingly calls Tokoyami “Emo Peacock” 
You can’t tell me they try to do the Waltz as a joke but get really into it and do it whenever they hear any music now
Jirou could literally be playing hard core rock or heavy metal and they’ll be doing the waltz to it
Dark Shadow low key feels like a third wheel sometimes but then y/n give him a tight hug and he feels appreciated
Shouto Todoroki
Feeding the simps
So ya know that thing in the notes app where you can share notes? Yeah they share one of those where they list things they hate about Endeavor and after a month they are already on a thousand
Just sit in the same room
Could be doing anything not even envolving the other but it’s nice just to have the other there
Protecting the girls from Mineta together ❤���👏👏
at first it honestly just seemed like they were really good friends because they kept it a secret (mostly cause if it got out to the public Endeavor would find out and probably try to break them up)
Even in private they would just kiss the others cheek or forehead and hold hands and that’s the only difference
He talks to his mother about y/n a lot and she is so excited to meet y/n
She has really high expectations just because of how good they sound but does take in that Shouto is literally in love with them, he’s gonna have slight rose tinted glasses
Yeah their just as good as Todoroki made them out to be
When he told y/n about his childhood (endeavor, his mom, his scar, Dabi…) y/n cried because they felt so bad and cuddled him all day trying to help any way they could
They totally made him go to therapy 😌
Has a written down list of thing they said they like so he can get them one if they feel down
He has literally bought them a cat when they were feeling really down and y/n had to explain that he can’t just go and buy a cat when their feeling bad
They keep it tho don’t worry
He’ll turn off the air conditioning when he wants y/n’s affection
They’ll just come running at him and tackle him so he can warm them up/ cool them down
Expect goodnight texts
Make custom memes about how bad of a parent Endearvor is
Legit the start of Todoroki crushing on them overhearing them tell a friend that they don’t think Endearvor is a good hero/ deserves to be number 1
Once asked All Might to adopt Todoroki (I mean he thought about it for a second before Aizawa told him no)
Todoroki let’s y/n cook stuff on his left side
Deku will just wake up in the morning smelling eggs and think someone’s cooking but find y/n cracking eggs onto Todoroki’s left side
295 notes · View notes
sarahjtv · 3 years
Text
BNHA Chapter 327 Spoiler Analysis: Home Sweet Home
OH MY GOD, GUYS!!!  DEKU GETS A BATH!!!! 🎉🛁 🧼   My broccoli boy finally gets squeaky clean, gets some sleep, and we finally get some R&R time with the Class 1-A kids.  It’s not close to the happy-go-lucky days of old, but it’s some time with the kids nonetheless.  I’m glad Horikoshi put some heart and humor in this chapter because god knows we needed it.  But, let’s be real, this is the calm before the storm:
The chapter starts off with what everyone and Horikoshi has been wanting for Deku since he went on his mission: A motherfuckin’ bath 🛀 🧼🛁!   Kaminiari and Kirishima lead the Class 1-A boys to carry Deku into their side of the UA Alliance bathhouse (looks real nice btw) and give him a good power-wash.  The whole sequence is very comical!  The boys are rushing in and poor Deku has this O_O face on him like “what is happening?” 😂 We also see some of the boys butt naked 😳  It’s clear that Horikoshi had fun drawing this thing and it was fun to read 💚
Bakugo is with them of course and you can actually see his scars from when Shigaraki stabbed him.  He’s not bleeding, but you can see those scar patches on his skin.  I’m curious of how fan artist are going to draw him from now on.  I would like to see that fan art 👀
There’s also some bubble sfx coving Bakugo’s crotch and a translator said it might say dick or penis.  I’m curious what the officials will say.
But, Bakugo being Bakugo is still aggressive towards his classmates.  More playfully than before, but still.  He reminds everyone that he still intends on being the best there is and that everyone is still his rivals (also friends, Bakugo).  HE EVEN MAKES AN ATTEMPT TO CALL DEKU IZUKU!  LIKE HE ALMOST SAID “DEKU” BUT HE CHANGED IT TO IZUKU AT THE LAST MINUTE!  AND DEKU SAYS THAT CALLING HIM DEKU IS JUST FINE LIKE THAT ANGER THAT ORIGINATED FROM THE NICKNAME ISN’T THERE ANYMORE AND IT’S A FREINDLY NICKNAME BKDK FRIENDSHIP GROWTH YOU LOVE TO SEE IT 🧡💚  
After Deku’s bath, he’s sitting in the commons talking to the rest of Class 1-A.  Well, most of them.  Mina tells Deku that Ochako and a few other students went to bed after everything became ok again.  So, I definitely didn’t see Tsuyu, and it looks like Shoji, Aoyama, and Hagakare weren’t in this chapter either.  Ochako I understand; her speech must’ve been emotionally taxing.  Aoyama and Hagakare are the top suspects for being the traitor in the fandom and this isn’t helping their cases.  I don’t know about Tsuyu and Shoji though.  They’re both mutant-types, but characters like Ojiro or mutant-like people like Jiro, Mina or Tokoyami didn’t get outcasted.  Horikoshi did hint that Shoji would be getting something soon.  But, I really am just speculating here.
Now that Deku’s back, everyone has questions for him.  Though I understand why, this has gotta be overwhelming for Deku.  At least they’re not mad at him for hiding OFA.  They seem very understanding actually.
Then my ❄️🔥 boy, Shoto Todoroki, comes in all handsome right out of the baths 💙  He’s drying his right side while you can see a steam cloud on his left.  So, it is canon that Shoto drys himself naturally with his heat. His entrance is so pretty that even Mineta’s questioning it (shut up, Mineta, you’ll never be as beautiful as him).  And yes, I might be a Shoto simp, don’t judge me I see y’all too 👀
Anyway, Shoto asks everyone to let Deku sleep since that was pretty much the whole reason they brought him back.  Problem is, Deku can’t because he really needs to apologize to All Might for abandoning him.  AND AFTER HE SAYS THAT THERE’S A DETAILED PANEL OF SHOTO POINTING TO ALL MIGHT LIKE “UH, MIDORIYA? HE’S RIGHT THERE” AND ALL MIGHT LOOKING FROM THE WINDOW LIKE A HORROR VILLAIN WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE 😭
All Might comes in and apologizes to Deku for not being able to support him when he needed it, but Deku says that All Might support him more than enough.  Mina also scolds All Might for not saying anything when he left.  She wants All Might to apologize to everyone for that.  Though I’m glad Deku and All Might have reconciled (I honestly thought that last convo between them was going to be THE LAST for a hot minute), Mina has a point.  All Might did bail on all of them without any warning.  Kinda messed up in general.
All Might apologizes and he is going to fight with everyone regardless of his physical state so that he can see that flame continue to shine.  However, he warns the kids that they got info on the villains and that the final decisive battle is coming soon.  If the whole “Final Arc” thing hasn’t been hammered into your head, there you go.  I’m also glad that Stain’s speech did end up motivating All Might further.  Who knew?
So, All Might is off to help Endeavor since he’s got unfinished business to take care of.  But, the kids are wondering why Endeavor (and probably Hawks) isn’t entering UA entirely yet.  Shot reminds them that Endeavor is still connected to Dabi and that his presence alone would cause more discourse.  People’s minds can’t change that easily.  Shoto of all people would know.  
As Deku FINALLY SLEEPS 💤 and Shoto puts a blanket over him (possibly warmed by his left side 🔥) 💙💚 Shoto acknowledges how his presence might be making people anxious too even though it’s not his fault at all (thank you, Kirishima for doubling down on this btw ❤️🪨).  But, things are different and Shoto’s going to show that so that everyone can be at ease like he wants as a hero.  There’s even this sweet small smile on his beautiful face as he says this.  He’s grown so much and he’s pretty to boot I love him so much *HANDS IN FACE* 💙❄️🔥 
EVEN KIRISHIMA’S CRYING FROM HOW MANLY SHOTO IS I LOVE THESE KIDS!!!!
And now Jiro steps up and says her piece.  That she knows how hard it is to convince everyone to change their minds for the better.  Like with those two critics from the Culture Fest.  Even so, they accomplished this before, so she thinks they can do it again.  She even gathers all the band members to emphasize on this.  I love how Jiro uses her earphone jacks to rally the band and how she literally drags Bakugo by the shirt for a cute group shot.  None of these kids are afraid of Bakugo anymore LOL 😂!  Also, Momo is the tallest out of all of them in this line up shot (except for Bakugo who’s still being dragged on the ground).  I think she’s roughly 5ft 6-7 inches?  She’s the tallest of the girls I know that, but damn.  She towers all of them.  Even me...  She’s also very pretty in this shot and it’s her birthday as I’m posting this, so happy b-day Momo ❤️
And we get a beautiful panel of Jiro leading everyone to make sure that they’ll go beyond with making everything better than it was before.  We get a nice group shot of the rest of the class agreeing with her with a smile including Shoto with a small one (did I mention that I love him?) 💙💙💙 And Deku’s in the center still sleeping away.  I hope he has good dreams *kisses forehead*💚  And go Jiro for stepping up to the plate too 💜!  All these kids have grown so much.  There is a light at the end of the tunnel. 
Finally, the last pages show Endeavor, Hawks, and Best Jeanist going somewhere, maybe Tartarus.  They got info out of Dr. Ujiko via polygraph and the Nomu Research Group at Central Hospital.  They predict that they have 2 months until Shigaraki’s ready to go again, so they’ll need 1 month of preparation.  But, the info Stain gave All Might gave them more info.  His letter ended up being a personal letter to All Might (Stain really is that nuts...), but there was a microchip in the blade Stain left containing the security records from Tartarus.  It’s not stated how this info affected the mission at hand, but it sounds like it has to do something with the time frame.  So, I’m curious if they have less time to prepare or more?  Given how this is the Final Arc, Imma say less.
Finally, the teaser asks “How are the villains moving?”  I wonder if that means we’re switching to the villain’s next week.  I would love to hang out with the kids more, but I would also like to know what our villains are up to.  Like, where the hell is Himiko Toga?  Is Spinner still questioning shit?  What happened to Mr. Compress after he mauled himself to help Shigaraki and the others escape?  Also I think we need more info on this dude’s backstory given he’s the grandson of the famous Robin Hood villain who’s name definitely didn’t escape me... 😐  Is Dabi laughing his ass off from the utter chaos he started?  Is AFO still smiling like the evil mastermind he is?  Is Shigaraki as crispy as he was earlier?  I was going to ask about Twice but... 😭
So, yeah!  Love this chapter.  Really good transition chapter into whatever happens next.  I’m kinda sad we didn’t see Deku fight off more past villains during his vigilante days.  We got Muscular and Overhaul and I think that’s it?  Didn’t see any of Overhaul’s minions or that teeth-blade villain (Fish-something?; he broke out, but we haven’t seen him since) or Re-Destro or his goons.  I don’t count as Gentle or LaBrava as villains anymore and they were never truly evil to begin with.  Regardless, it was a really cool arc to see a more dark side of Deku.  I’m really glad Horikoshi made great use of his bunny hood and metal mask finally.  Deku really did look demonic for some time.  Also, seeing Deku badass is always a plus.  And seeing the deconstruction of hero society and the possible reconstruction of it was really good too.  Not everything is sunshine and rainbows, unfortunately, but we can do our best to make it that way.
I’m also glad that we finally got our kids back in top form.  Not just being heroes, but being teenagers too.  They all had great moments especially Iida, Ochako, and now Shoto as they should.  But, Bakugo’s apology was peak for me.  Over 320 chapters of development and build-up lead to that moment and it really is one of the best in the series.  It lives in my head rent free.
So, we got 1-2 months in-manga-time until what is probably the final battle of the series.  God, I can’t believe we’re actually nearing the end of this series.  I started reading it back in 2018 when shit was rough for me. I found this series after listening to the music and reading the hype around it.  I watched the show then I read the manga and it really helped me.  Saved me from a dark place actually.  I will miss this series when it’s done and I will be greatly for the joy Horikoshi has gifted us.  I’ll try to save the farewells for later.  I’d say this series has at least 1-1 1/2 years to go.
Me @ the kids and All Might:
Tumblr media
34 notes · View notes
raeandwhatnot · 3 years
Text
Hold Your Breath- Alive!Luke Patterson Imagine
Summary: You have a big test coming up, but what happens if the test happened earlier than expected?
Warnings: anxiety attack
Words: 3.8k
Masterlist
A/N: Hello, I am thinking of taking requests for imagines. So far, I’ve only done Luke/Charlie. However, I attached a masterlist that shows everything I am comfortable writing so far. For marvel, I can try to write for other superheroes, so that way I can learn how to write for them. But yeah, if you want me to write something, request away! I will say, I'm in college so it will take a bit. Alrighty, enjoy this imagine! 
Tumblr media
Beep beep beep
I wake up to the annoying noise that is my alarm clock. It was already 6:45? I barely got any sleep last night from studying for the upcoming history test. I hate taking tests, so I stress myself out by studying as much as I can so I can get a good grade. I sit up on my bed to see my textbook and papers laid out around me. I turn to my alarm and shut it off. I grab my phone from my night stand to see that Reggie texted me.
Hey, I’m going to be a little late picking you up today. I’ll be over around 7:45. See ya soon- Reg
I reply with a simple okay to let Reggie know that I got the message. I collect my textbook and papers and place them on the night stand. I didn’t feel like getting 100% ready. I walk to the bathroom and turn on the light to see what the damage looked like. My hair was a mess and I had major bags under my eyes. I brush my (Y/H/C) hair and put it in a messy bun. I decided I was going to do extra light makeup today. I normally do a natural look, but today I was going extra natural. I put some concealer under my eyes so I don’t look scary. I then put some mascara and eyebrows. I quickly brush my teeth so I don’t have to look at my reflection anymore. Once I finish in the bathroom, I walk back to my room to put on different clothes. Even though I felt like absolute crap and didn’t even feel like putting on jeans, I knew my friends would realize something was wrong if I didn’t wear jeans. I changed the shirt I slept in into a graphic band tee, and I changed from shorts to jeans. To finish the outfit, I put on my checkered vans. I grab textbook and papers from my night stand and put it in my backpack.
After zipping my backpack, I took a deep breath to try to calm me down. I could feel my heart picking up its pace as I was stressing about going to school. I don’t do well when I don’t get a goodnights rest. This past week, I haven’t been getting enough sleep and it is now starting to hit me. I tried to remind myself that it was a Thursday and that I have one more day to study before the test. I took another deep breath and shake my hands to try to get the stress out of me a little bit. I grab my backpack and head to the kitchen for breakfast.
When I get to the kitchen, I place my backpack near the kitchen table. I wasn’t entirely all that hungry, so I just grab a bagel and put it in the toaster. I get the cream cheese from the fridge and wait for my bagel to finish toasting. I suddenly hear a knock at the door. I furrow my brows and look at my phone. It was 7:40. I guess I was having a quicker morning than I thought. I walk to the door and open it to see Reggie. “Hey, (Y/N)!” Reggie smiled.
I smile back, “Hi, Reggie. I’m just heating up a bagel real quick. Come on in.” I step to the side so Reggie can walk in. He nods and steps through the door. I close it behind him as I hear my bagel pop out of the toaster.
“How has your morning been?” Reggie asks as we both walk to the kitchen.
“It’s been alright. I’m a little tired from studying last night,” I say while spreading cream cheese on the bagel.
Reggie leans against counter, “But (Y/N/N), you’ve been studying all week!”
“I know, I know. I just want to do well!” I exclaim.
“Is that why you haven’t come to Julie and the Phantoms rehearsals recently?” Reggie questions. Even though Reggie can be a bit of an airhead, he does notice a lot of things about his friends.
“Maybe,” I mumble as I finish spreading the cream cheese and put it back in the fridge.
Reggie steps over to me and grabs my shoulders to stop me from moving. “(Y/N), you are going to be fine! You always do good enough on your tests,” he says.
I slightly smile at his comforting words, “Thanks, Reg.” Reggie smiles and drops his hands from my shoulders. I grab my bagel and backpack. “Okay, I’m ready to go now!”
“Sweet,” Reggie says. “Also, sorry for being late! I was fixing my amp in the rain last night. I think it messed up my car a little bit, so I had to have my dad jump my car.”
I slowly take a bite out of my bagel listening to Reggie’s explanation. “I don’t think you should be doing that, but okay,” I whisper as we walk to Reggie’s car. We climb in the car at the same time and start heading to school. Thankfully, school wasn’t terribly far away. To be honest, I could walk to school, but who wants to do that?
I finish eating my breakfast as Reggie pulled into the parking lot. Reggie’s assigned parking space was right next to Alex’s. Alex, Luke, and Julie were clumped around Alex’s car waiting for us to join them. “Hey guys!” Reggie says as he gets out of the car. I follow him out and join the group. I keep next to Reggie as I didn’t want my boyfriend, Luke, to see me in my anxious state.
“You guys are late!” Julie exclaims.
“Yeah, that’s my bad! I tried fixing my amp while it was raining outside last night and it did something to my car,” Reggie explains to everyone. They all gave Reggie a questioning look.
“How are you still alive?” Julie asks out of the blue. We all chuckle and Reggie looked confused. Luke pats Reggie on the back as we start walking to the school building.
As we were walking, Alex tugs on my arm to slow us down and be more behind the group. “Hey, are you okay?” he asks.
I shrug my shoulders, “Yeah, of course. Why?”
“You are more quiet than normal. You also look really tired,” Alex says quietly so the rest of the group doesn’t hear. Alex also suffers from anxiety like I do, so we understand each other. It’s really hard to hide it from him, but I always try to.
I scoff at his statement, “Alex, I’m fine. I’m just tired from studying last night; that’s all!”
Alex squints his eyes at me. “Okay, if you say so. You know you can talk to me, right? Or you can talk to Luke. I know he is more than willing to help you out. You are his girlfriend after all.”
I stop at my locker. “Yes, I know. I don’t want to bother Luke with my troubles. He’s been focusing on the band a lot recently. I don’t want to put more weight on his shoulders. Anyways, hurry and get to class. First period is about to start,” I say to him while putting in the code to my locker.
“Yes, ma’am!” Alex says while walking backwards and saluting. He turns around and walks to his first class. I have class with everyone in our group. First period (History) is with Luke, second period (Art) is with Julie and Flynn, third period (Biology) is with Willy, forth period (theatre 3) is with Luke, Alex, Reggie, and Julie, fifth period is lunch with everyone, sixth period (Pre-Cal) is with Alex, and seventh period (English) is with Julie and Willy. It was nice to always have a friend in class.
I grab my art supplies from my locker as I don’t have time to swing by locker between first and second period. Since art class on the other side of school, I have to put my supplies in my backpack now or else I would be late trying to get my supplies between classes.
I close my locker to see Luke leaning against the locker next to me. “Jeez!” I jumped as Luke scared me by his presence. “You’ve got to stop doing that!”
Luke laughs at how scared I was, “Normally, that doesn’t scare you that bad. What’s going on in your mind?”
I shake my head, “Nothing important!”
Luke tilts his head, not believing what I said. “Sure, whatever you say, (Y/L/N), You ready for history?” Luke asks as he stands up from the lockers and wraps his arm around my shoulders.
I turn my heel to walk to class. “Am I ever ready for history? No! Whenever Mr. Hall teaches, it goes in one ear and straight out the other. I just have a hard time retaining history.” I answer.
As we get to Mr. Halls door, Luke unwraps his arm around me and stands in front of me. “You got this, bubs. You always do good in class!” Luke says trying to cheer me up.
“Thanks,” I murmur against my breath as I look down and play with my fingers. I was starting to feel anxious.
Luke notices and grabs my hand, “Believe me, you are insanely smart! You can do this.”
I look up at Luke who had a slight smile on his face. I nod my head, “Thanks, bubs.” He lets go of my hands and wraps his arms around my head. I hug back by wrapping my arms around his waist. I start to feel slightly less anxious with the hug. Luke always gives good hugs. He rubs my head slightly and gives me a kiss on the top of my head. I pull away from the hug to give him a double thumbs up. Luke smiles wider, snaps his fingers, and turns his heel to walk in the classroom. I take a deep breath and walk in the room. Luke and I take our spots in the back of the classroom; I sit right in front of Luke. Not too long after we sat down, the first period bell rang and the morning announcements started. I tune out whatever was being said over the intercom, not caring what they had to say. I didn’t even stand up to do the pledge of allegiance. I don’t know why I was feeling so anxious; the test is tomorrow!
Suddenly, I feel a kick on my heel. I snap my head towards Luke. “You’re shaking your desk with your leg bouncing and it’s making a squeaking sound,” Luke whispers. I didn’t even notice that I was bouncing my leg.
I immediately stop bouncing my leg, “Oh, sorry!” I turn back to face the front.
Finally, the morning announcements were over. Mr. Hall stood up from his desk to stand in front of the class, “Good morning class. I have a few things to say before we get started today. First thing, I will not be here tomorrow because we have an away baseball game.” A few boys in the class let out some hoots as they are part of the baseball team. I slightly chuckle at their actions. “I normally am here in the mornings when we have baseball games. However, it’s a few hours away, so I will be gone all day. Therefore, we are going to have our test today instead of tomorrow! Surprise! I hope you guys are ready!”
My heart sunk to the floor. This couldn’t be happening. We can’t take this test early; I’m not ready for it! “Clean off your desks, everyone. Let’s get started!” Mr. Hall announces.
I lean down to my backpack that was on the floor to grab a pencil. I open up every zipper to search for a pencil, but I couldn’t find one. I was starting to panic as my anxiety started to get worse. I then feel a tap on my shoulder. I look to see Luke handing me a pencil. I zip my backpack closed and take the pencil from him. “Hey, you okay?” Luke asks as I turn back to the front. I nod my head because I knew if I tried to speak, I would just break down crying. I set down the pencil Luke gave me and wipe my hands on my pants as they became super clammy. Mr. Hall walked by and past tests row by row. He finally placed a test packet on my desk. I pick it up to look at the back to see how many questions was on the test. There were 30 questions.
“Alright, you have until the rest of the class period to do the test. Good luck!” Mr. Hall says and sits down at his desk. My shaky hand picks up the pencil and my vision starts to get a blurry and watery as tears started to brew in my eyes. I shut my eyes hard to make sure tears don’t fall. I take a deep, shaking breath and try to read the first question.
What year did the Holocaust begin?
My mind went blank. I’ve been studying this all week, and I couldn’t remember a thing. I skip around the questions to see if I could find a question that I knew at the top of my head. There weren’t many, but thankfully I found a couple of questions I could answer confidently. I look at the clock to see we have 30 minutes left of class which is enough time to do a test. However, in my mind, it’s not enough at all!
Suddenly, I feel Luke’s foot kick my heel, again. I look up at Mr. Hall to see him on his computer. I turn around at Luke, “What?” I barely whisper. Luke tilts his head to the ground. I look down to see a folded piece of paper next to my backpack. I pick it up, glance at Mr. Hall, and open the folded paper.
Are you sure you’re okay? You keep fidgeting in your desk.
Luke’s awful handwriting was hard to read, and I didn’t have time to answer him back as I needed to finish this test. I fold the paper back and slip it in my bag.
Time passes, and I was down to three questions that were absolutely stumping me. I reread the questions about 15 times each to make sure I could understand the questions. I run my fingers through my hair in frustration and let out a heavy sigh. I look around to see almost everyone done and sitting with their phones. I turn around at Luke who was done as well. How was he already done?!
“5 more minutes!” Mr. Hall announces. I snap my head to the clock; class was almost over. My heart starts racing and beating hard in my chest. I look back to my test. Do I just BS this and guess? Do I even have time to figure the questions out? After a minute or two, I guess the last three questions as best as I can and turn in my test at the front. I try to take more deep breaths to try to calm my heart down. Tears were threatening to fall down my face.
Finally, the bell rang to end class. I grabbed my bag as quick as I could and sprinted out of class. I heard Luke calling out my name, but I couldn’t face him like this. He has never seen my anxiety so bad, and I don’t want it to be at school. I walk into the girl’s restroom, walk in a stall, and lock it. I drop my bag to the floor and lean against the wall. My breath was uneven and quick. I can’t be doing this in public. I need to calm down! I try to do the 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 anxiety trick, but I couldn’t focus on anything. The tears that have been trying to fall finally fell, and I lost it. I place my hand on my mouth to try to hold the sobs coming out of my mouth.
“(Y/N)?” I hear Julie call out. I gasp as I wasn’t expecting her to know where I was? I look at the floor to see her standing in front of the stall I was in. “Hey, are you okay? Luke said you ran out of history.”
I attempt to speak clearly, but a loud sob left my mouth. “I-I’m f-f-in-ne,” I barely spoke in-between sobs.
Through my blurry vision, I saw Julie exit out of the bathroom. I exhale the breath that I didn’t know I was holding. My legs started to feel like jello; I couldn’t hold myself up anymore. Thankfully, the toilet seat was down as I sat down on the toilet. I then noticed that I was hyperventilating. I was having a full out panic attack.
“Bubs?” I hear Luke softly call out. I shake my head as I knew Julie told him I was in here. I try make my breath quiet. “Bubs, can you let me in? Please?” he asked. I could barely move. It felt as if I was a statue and I couldn’t move.
“(Y/N), I know you’re in there,” he states, not knowing I physically couldn’t move.
“I-I-“ I attempt to speak, but words couldn’t form as my hyperventilating kept me from speaking. Next thing I know, Luke drops his backpack on the floor and so does he. He crawls under the crack between the floor and the door. I back further on the toilet and look down so he couldn’t see my face.
“Hey, hey, hey,” Luke whispers and grabs my face to make me look at him. My cheeks were red and tears and tear stains on my cheeks. My nose was running from me crying. He trys to wipe away tears, but they kept falling on my hot cheeks. “Try to breath with me, okay? Inhale through the nose; exhale out of the mouth.”
I nod my head slightly. Luke moves his hands from my face and holds my hands. As Luke inhales, I inhale. As Luke exhales, I let out a shaky exhale that ended in a sob. He does it again, but as I exhaled, all that came out was a sob. I then hyperventilated again and shook my head. This wasn’t working.
“No, no, no, that was supposed to work!” Luke mumbled under his breathe. In the distance, I heard the bell ring to indicate that it was time for second period. This made me panic even more as I can’t be late for class! I squeezed Luke’s hands that my nails digged into his skin slightly. I noticed Luke defeated as he wasn’t sure what to do. Suddenly, I feel him remove his hands from mine and place them back on my face. This time, he pulled me close to him and slammed his lips on mine. My eyes widened as I was shocked at his sudden action. I finally give in a little in the kiss and close my eyes and release the breath I was accidently holding. After a minute, Luke slowly pulled away.
I open my eyes to see him looking at me with a worried look on his face. I then noticed that my breathing was slightly back to normal. “H-How did you that?” I ask.
Luke rubs his thumbs on the apples of my cheeks. “I uh, read about it actually,” Luke states. “When Alex told me he had anxiety, I skimmed some articles on how to help and support someone with anxiety. I read that holding your breath can help, and when I kissed you, you held your breath.”
I couldn’t believe what Luke was saying! “Wow, t-that’s really smart, Luke. Thank you.”
Luke slightly nods his head. He pulls down my head and slightly kisses my forehead. “How come you never mentioned your anxiety was so bad?” Luke questions.
I take Luke’s hand from my face to hold them in my own hands. “I don’t want to bother anyone with my burdens,” I say embarrassed.
“Look, bubs,” Luke whispers. “You don’t have to be embarrassed about your anxiety. I will always be here to help you if you feel really anxious or anything,” I give Luke a slight smile. “Also, I told Flynn and Julie to tell your art teacher that you wouldn’t make it into class, so don’t worry about class right now.”
“What about you?” I question, not wanting him to miss class.
Luke shrugs, “Reggie is covering for me. It’s okay.” I feel slightly guilty that he is missing class because of me. Luke stood up, “Do you want some water?” I nod my head as I slowly stand up from the toilet.  Once I stood up, I felt a little dizzy and placed my head on his chest. Luke placed a kiss on the top of my head. “You good?”
“Mmhm,” I hum quietly. My head finally stopped spinning after a minute. I took my head off of Luke’s chest and stood up straight. “I’m good.”
Luke squeezes my hand and unlocked the bathroom stall door. Thankfully, during this whole time, no one had come into the restroom. However, it might look weird that the both of us are walking out together, but I don’t care at this point. We walk out of the bathroom and head towards the cafeteria where the vending machines were.
“Wait!” I stop my tracks, still holding Luke’s hand which made him stop as well in front of me.
“What?” he questions.
I look at Luke dead in the eyes and ask in a very serious tone, “Do I hold my breathe while we kiss often?”
Luke tries to hide the smile that was forming on his face, “No?”
My mouth opens wide, “Wait, really?!” Luke laughs out loud and walks closer to me. He wraps his arms around my shoulders. “I didn’t know that!” I exclaimed.
“It’s okay, (Y/N)! You know, because you do that, I was able to help you today,” he says while unwrapping his arms around my shoulders and instead places them on my waist.
I roll my eyes and lightly punch up on the chest, “Okay, okay, that’s true. Thank you, again.”
Luke kisses my nose sweetly. “Anything for you, bubs,” he smiles. I smile back. “Hey, there’s that beautiful smile.” I blush at the comment and give him a peck on the lips.
“Let’s go get water,” I say as I grab Luke’s hand and tug towards the cafeteria.
“There’s my girl,” I hear Luke whisper as he walks next to me. As we walk next to each other hand in hand, I take my other hand, wrap it around his arm, and place my head on his bicep. I’m grateful to have Luke in my life.
122 notes · View notes
literaryfic · 3 years
Text
singer!cha-young & violonist!vincenzo au pt.1
don’t ask me why. i have no answer for you okay.
cha-young starts her career when she’s 5, appearing in a yogurt commercial. she’s not exactly a cute child, but she’s enthusiastic and disciplined.
her dad, the retired leader of a rock band who had a few hit songs in the 80s, is the one who introduces her to music.
she learns the piano & the guitar and takes singing lesson. her childhood is guided by auditions and music classes.
when she’s 12, a big agency contacts her and she signs a trainee contract with them. her dad is against it, but her mom and her win him over. she’ll be careful, they’ll look after her.
she starts training after school everyday, on the weekends too. she’s not really good at dance and she gets in trouble a lot but she’s the best singer in her age group, which makes up for it.
time passes by and the company starts to ask her to lose weight. her dance teacher comments on how big her thighs are. she’s asked if she ever thought about a nose job, or an eye surgery. those things happen a lot, and if she wants a sit at the big table, she’ll need to make some decisions.
her parents disagree, of course, but then her mother falls ill. she has to stop working and money becomes scarce. cha-young doesn’t want to bother them with her insignificant issues and so she starts a diet without any of them noticing. she needs to be thinner, maybe she’ll win a scholarship and her dad won’t need to work two jobs anymore.
her dad comes home drunk most nights, as if the sight of her mother made him sick. she was dying and her husband couldn’t even look at her anymore. cha-young doesn’t know who she hates more: her dad or herself for wishing she could escape home the same way he did every night.
her mom dies when she’s 15 and she stops taking lessons. she quits the company after a while too. she wins a scholarship for a good arts high school, known to hone musical talents. she meets new friends there, ones who don’t care about her proportions or her eyelids, and she’s happy in school.
her dad and her starts to argue more and more, until they stop talking. she fills the silence in her empty house with the music she writes.
after she graduates high school, she works two jobs to pay her way through college. all of her spare time is used composing, writing lyrics, singing. she posts covers on YouTube and she starts to gain some followers.
it’s not enough to make money but an independent label that’s been on the rise notices her. she signs with them after reading the contract carefully, when she’s 19. she choses her stage name, NOVA.
her first album is out by the time she’s 20 and she starts appearing on tv. her second album at 23 is her big break. her first hit song “Alone With You”, an upbeat tune contrasted by sad lyrics, stays on top of the charts for weeks, owing her the nickname of “monster rookie”.
people soon start to discover her easy-going, bubbly yet blunt personality and she starts going on more variety shows.
she’s loved and she’s found her sound, profound lyrics with innovative instrumentals, she plays with genres and concepts often, keeping her image fresh.
at 30, she’s one of the biggest South Korean solo act. she tours the world, sells album, holds events for her fans, travels. she doesn’t have to think about money anymore. she lives in a luxurious apartment in the centre of Seoul.
she’s learned that not everyone is going to love her. she’s used to dealing with virulent anti-fans, stalkers and paparazzi.
she has everything her 15 year old self dreamt of, an amazing career and devoted fans, a name people recognise and a wardrobe bigger than their previous living room. yet, she can’t seem to fill the emptiness inside of her.
she calls her dad once a year, for the new year. he still lives in their old house, refusing to move into the one she bought just for him. he teaches guitar to kids at the community center in their neighbourhood. her anger doesn’t seem to fade with the years.
she almost looses everything when her assistant, jung jun woo, leaks the fact that she’s had an abortion after she rejects him.
she’d been dating an actor a few years ago, and they had had an accident. she’d noticed too late that she missed her period since it was irregular and had to get an abortion. she didn’t think any of it now, there’s nothing wrong with a woman making this choice and she wasn’t ready to become a mother. she’d never once regretted it in the past.
however, South Korea’s entertainment industry was not a kind one, and a news like that would destroy her clean, quirky girl-next-door image she’d built over the years. and it did.
she’d never expected jun woo to betray her. he was part of her management team, one of her assistants. he’d always been cute if not a little clingy.
he’d confessed his feelings for her a few weeks back, claiming that he knew they were made for each other and that he would do everything for her and she’d laughed in his face. she hadn’t meant to sound mean or insensitive, she had thought it was a prank he was pulling on her.
turns out it wasn’t, and he had leaked this “abortion gate” to dispatch to get get back at her.
her label had released a vague statement, about “a difficult time in her life”, urging people to stop looking into “her private medical history”.
trashy tabloids and online blogs had had a field day. some people even started a petition to remove her from the industry. the news quickly turned into a social discourse when feminist orgs stood up for her. everyone was talking about it, some claiming she was a slut, others turning her into a symbol for women’s rights.
she felt like neither, it had been too long since she’d gotten some to qualify as a slut, and her label would have never let her discuss politics publicly.
she’d lost dozens of endorsements and deals and had officially decided to “focus on her health away from the spotlight” for a while (another statement from her label)
officially on her first hiatus ever, cha-young was lost. every time she tried to write, nothing came out. it would’ve been the perfect time to work on a new album but it seemed nothing worked in her favour as of late.
it’s 6 am when her father calls her. the last she’d heard of him was when the scandal broke out and he’d sent a vague supportive message to which she had responded “thanks, dad”. it was unusual for him to call, especially so early (or late).
she picks up the phone the second times he calls. “hello?” “hello, do you know the owner of this phone?” the man on the other side of the line is definitely not her father and he sounds rather annoyed. “yes, i’m this person’s daughter.” “great, can you come pick him up from my hotel room?” “your hotel room? is he okay?” “he should be. we drank too much and i have to vacate the room before 8. can you come or not?” “yes.” “I’ll text you the address from his phone.” is the last thing he says before hanging up. what a rude man.
why was her father drunk in hotel room with this rude stranger and why was she the one having to pick him up?
she doesn’t want to wake up her manager at this hour, and so she decides to go on her own. the hotel isn’t too far, a mere 15 minute drive, and soon enough she’s knocking on the door of a very expensive hotel suit, definitely not what one of her father’s friends could afford. who the hell was this guy?
she definitely did not expect Vincenzo Cassano, renowned world class violinist, to be the one opening the door.
69 notes · View notes
restlessmaknae · 3 years
Text
chasing love (chasing you)
Tumblr media
All it takes is one masquerade, one dance and one lost high heel, and Kim Byeongkwan already finds himself chasing after you, but life always seems to get in the way.
➳ Characters: choreographer!Byeongkwan x contemporary dancer!reader/you
➳ Genre: fluff, comedy, modern cinderella au (yeah, has the ‘another cinderella story’ movie vibes, too)
➳ Words: 8.2k
➳ A/N: Dedicated to @dat-town​ 💖 I can’t believe you guessed the song based on just one hint, but I hope that the story itself will have some surprises for you nevertheless. *-* Wishing you the best birthday ever, and here’s to many more fun roleplay games, kdrama nights, intellectual (or not so intellectual) conversations, dissing and cooking sessions! Hope you can achieve everything you wish to achieve in this year! Love you so much that my love wouldn’t fit into potato boy’s pocket! 💖💖💖
➳ Click here to be added to the TAGLIST and to let me know about your fic preferences.
“Dude, we HAVE to go!”
Kang Yuchan’s excitement can be heard in his voice, seen on his face and read from his body language. He is the human embodiment of joy, but his best friend... Not so much. He doesn’t really appreciate his words, instead, he raises an eyebrow.
“There are so many places I would rather be than a masquerade, thank you so much,” says Kim Byeongkwan, also known as Jason, a bit edgy. His friend either doesn’t notice or doesn’t want to acknowledge Byeongkwan’s frustration.
“But you can meet cute girls, and you can also dance! How fun is that?”
“Do I have to remind you that I’m at the arts academy in the first place because I don’t have the inspiration to dance anymore? Why would I go to a party of all places?” Byeongkwan asks, very much annoyed, reminding his best friend why he’s actually studying at the same arts academy as him.
Here’s the thing: Kim Byeongkwan is a famous dancer and choreographer known by his stage name Jason. He started at 5, made it big at 15, barely finished high school afterwards, but still, he worked with and worked for big names, and he thought that his life was all set. He was doing well, he was good at what he was doing, and he was known for his talent. He didn’t get stuck at the underappreciated level, he made it big as he was making choreographies for kpop bands and soloists, and he was dancing in CFs and other promotional films for big companies like Samsung, Hyundai and Lotte.
Yet, ever since his mother died, he didn’t find his great escape in dancing. It was as if even the one thing that always provided solace for him seemed distant, almost uncomfortable. Thus, since his whole life revolved around dancing and dancing only, he really didn’t know what else to do. He felt lost and helpless, he even contemplated giving up altogether. That was until Yuchan suggested checking out the arts academy he also attended as an acting major. Byeongkwan’s agency gave in, telling him to try and find inspiration from other students and the classes he would attend there and in exchange for attending any class of his choice and not having any special application to enter, his agency would hold a talent show at the end of the semester for the students of the academy, granting two winners (one in singing and one in dancing) a place at the company and a deal for two years.
So far, the only thing that came out of this whole thing was the ruckus with him being a student with others and girls swooning over him and trying to get his number. Sure, it was cool that he made choreographies for BTS and EXO as well, but he didn’t think that so many girls would be following his every step as if he was the celebrity himself. It was surreal, he didn’t know what to do with this sudden attention.
So nope, he definitely doesn’t feel like going to a party where he can meet those so-called cute girls even though the arts academy is huge, so he’s sure that there are nice girls out there. He merely wasn’t so lucky so far.
“But dude, you might find your muse there,” Yuchan keeps on going with his prompting agenda, a grin on full display, and Byeongkwan is sure that his friend would make a great salesman. Not that acting doesn’t suit him, but he’s sure someone who can be fully convincing if he wants to. “Besides, you can wear a costume and a mask, chances are people won’t even recognize you. I can also help you dye your hair if you want to,” he suggests casually, shrugging his shoulders as if it would mean nothing to him, and it would be an everyday thing to dye his bro’s hair (hint: it’s not).
Byeongkwan rolls his eyes, not very fond of the idea of attending a party organised by the arts academy even though his friend is right; it would be a masquerade, so less chances for having crazy fangirls around.
But still, is this really where his life is going?
“Girl, we HAVE to go!”
Your best friend’s - Jinhee’s - whining doesn’t help the state of your heart, not when your hopes of going to the masquerade have been crushed. Her all too enthusiastic self only makes things worse.
“But I’ve told you, my aunt gave me so many chores, it’s impossible that I’ll finish in time. Plus, since my cousins are going to the party, it would be suspicious if I also left the house,” you point out, your reasoning shaking her a bit. You know your cousins will go and your aunt will attend a wedding, but she will be back by midnight because she needs her “8 hours of beauty sleep”, and you have to be ready with all the chores by that time. So basically, it’s a mission impossible to finish in time and to go to the masquerade tomorrow at the same time which leaves you with no choice but to leave your best friend hanging.
“But I’ve already made our clothes, and you’ve wanted to go so bad!”
This is what hurts the most; that the few things you would want to have in life are things that you can’t have because you’re still stuck with your aunt - the one who became your legal guardian when your mother died - and your evil cousins. Always having to run errands for them and taking care of all the household chores instead of them doesn’t leave you with too much time to earn money to be able to afford moving. So you’re stuck with them even though you’re already an adult, and the only reason you can attend the arts academy is because your cousins are there, so they can monitor you any time.
Needless to say, they got in because your aunt bribed the head of the academy, and you got in fair and square through an audition. You don’t know why your aunt thinks that they would make great singers because their voices are terrible, and their performance tests are always rather poor, but maybe it’s for the prestige; so that they can say they attend the famous Bang Arts Academy, previously a home to some pretty big names in the entertainment industry.
“Maybe next time.” You just shrug your shoulders, not wanting to break down in front of your best friend because it’s really not the end of the world that you can’t go. It’s just disappointing; having to say no to something you would really want to experience for yourself.
So you just sit in silence for some excruciatingly long moments, your best friend mopping over the missed opportunity to see you in the dress she made (because she’s a fashion designer, and a really good one on top of that), and to get to know that you can’t make it only a day before the big event. That’s life though, it’s really not sunshine and rainbows for you, but you’re over the point of crying over every single thing that goes wrong.
Jinhee then clicks her fingers and turns to you with her whole body. You can already tell that she has something in mind because that determined look on her face is there whenever she gets hit by inspiration for a new design or she connects the dots while reading some stories.
“Wait a minute! I might know someone who can help,” she remarks rather confidently, and violently starts typing on her phone. If it weren’t for the circumstances, you would think that she’s angry, and that’s why she’s typing so aggressively, but it warms your heart that she tries so hard to make it work.
A few seconds pass by, and you can only hear her typing before she looks up at you, all smiley.
“It’s settled. You’re coming. We’ll be back by midnight, and your aunt wouldn’t know a single thing!”
“How?” You can’t help but furrow your eyebrows in question. You’re eternally grateful for your best friend’s help, but how can she make this work? Does she know a cleaning company?
“I have my connections,” she reassures you, adding a cheeky wink to her words, and you know better than to question her. Once Jinhee puts her mind to something, she pushes through with it, so whatever that connection is, you know you can be there at the party tomorrow.
It turns out that Jinhee’s brother’s girlfriend’s cousin has a cleaning company, and they were persuaded to help you out on the day of the masquerade, and since Jinhee says they are very efficient, you believe her that they will finish in time while you can still attend the masquerade. Which is just great! You were so ready to give up on this party, but now you have every reason to be happy because the dress your best friend made is beautiful and elegant, yet it’s comfortable enough not to feel like a fish out of water, and you can spend this time with your best friend. Finally, a night you can enjoy without having to worry about having more to-dos with each passing hour, and without having to run away from your evil cousins because it’s a masquerade, so you have your pretty dress, a mask that covers your whole face and a very nice hairstyle, and your cousins probably won’t be able to recognize you.
Jinhee is bubbly, too, chatting away her excitement, and telling you about the special technique she used for the skirt part of her own dress while you two are standing by the food stall, sipping on your fruit punches. Maybe some people need alcohol to feel good, but you two are the complete opposite: you feel better without alcohol because you’re both lightweights, not to mention that Jinhee’s stomach can’t handle alcohol, so basically, she never drinks it.
You listen to her chattering with a fond smile, so thankful that you can be here because of her assistance, and it seems like such a perfect moment that you wish to capture it and store it in your heart.
That is until someone spills his drink on your best friend’s dress.
“Oh my gosh, I’m so, so, so very sorry! Are you okay?” The stranger dressed as Cupid asks your best friend who’s fuming, but it’s nowhere near as bad as it could be.
“Yeah, sure. Just be sure to be more careful next time!” She reprimands the guy whose eyes widen in fear, and even though you can’t see his face because of the mask, you’re sure his facial expressions would be equally as scared as his eyes. “I’ll go and try to clean it,” Jinhee adds as she looks at you, and you give a brief nod.
So she leaves for the bathroom, and you would think that the Cupid guy would evaporate, but he actually starts following her, asking if she’s really okay, and if he can do anything to help her. No matter how much Jinhee tries to wave him off, he keeps trailing behind her, and you shake your head with a smile, amused at the sight.
As you look back, you realise that just like your best friend left you, the Cupid guy left his (probably) friend too by the food stall, awkwardly standing there with his glass of (probably) fruit juice.
“I’m actually not surprised he did that. He’s just so clumsy,” he speaks up unashamedly, and his words seem more like a friendly call-out than anything else, but still, you let out a little giggle.
“And he seems adamant, too.”
“He is. God, he is!” The guy who’s dressed as a goblin agrees, and he joins you in laughter. His laughter is a soft and carefree one, and you find it a nice sound, especially in the hustle-bustle of the party and the all too loud background music. “He really wanted me to come, and even offered to dye my hair.”
“Maybe he just wanted to spend time with you. My best friend was the same. She even made this dress for me, so that I would have one more reason to come,” you tell him with a smile, and maybe it’s because of the masks and the fact that you can’t tell fully how he’s reacting, but you find it easy to talk to him, and to tell him such things.
“It’s cool that you have a tailor-made costume. We basically got ours at a second-hand shop because my best friend isn’t the man of deadlines, and I’ve given in to come only yesterday,” he lets you know, and you can feel his warmth despite the edge to his words, and you can tell that he’s not really angry at his friend. He seems used to that so-called best friend’s antics, too.
So you smile at him because you can imagine his friend being all over the place after witnessing for yourself how he could spill that drink over your best friend’s dress. You can’t tell how the goblin guy is feeling, but you don’t think it’s that awkward when silence falls over you. Or well, to be precise, momentary silence in your conversation, not complete silence because the DJ puts on another song, and it’s being played all too loud for your ears. But at least it’s a slower song, not one that you can imagine people twerking to.
Though you’re not too sure about that awkwardness when you’re literally pushed towards each other by a group of friends who come to the food stall to grab something to eat, and your face is inches away from his face. Despite not seeing his face, you can tell from the abyss in his eyes that he’s a warm-hearted person, and the way he takes a step back almost immediately makes you assume that he’s a considerate one, too.
“Do you want to dance?”
You find yourself saying, and you can see how his eyes widen. Sure, it might not be an everyday thing that a girl asks a guy to dance, but you’re a dance major (contemporary dance), and one of the reasons you wanted to come today was for the dance. Dancing without a routine or a fixed set of moves. Just dancing.
“We don’t have to if you don’t want to,” you clarify before he could think that you’re pushy, but he just shakes his head.
“It’s okay. Let’s dance!”
There’s something uncertain in his voice that makes you question whether he’s actually comfortable with the idea of dancing, but you would never make fun of him even if he was a terrible dancer. So you make your way to the dancefloor, stepping closer to him (this time on purpose), and putting your hands on his shoulders while he’s placing his hands on your hips. His touch is gentle yet firm, and once you start moving, you can tell he’s not anyone new to dancing.
The way your moves follow each other without even discussing anything seems like a well-structured routine though. It’s as if your bodies are connected, and you can feel how the other will move, and you react to it almost immediately. It’s pleasant this way, and once you’re confident enough about his skills, you dare to lean on him more, and use his strength to keep you steady. He sure is a dancer, you notice quite quickly, but you can’t tell what kind of a dancer. His moves are not ones of a ballerino or a contemporary dancer like yourself, but they aren’t entirely loose either.
No matter what the case might be, it’s nice dancing with him, you feel almost weightless, and while trust is a big thing when you dance with someone else, it’s not even a question that you trust him and he trusts you back. You both dance to the soft and slow melody of the song as if it was something you actually practiced, and you don’t even notice that you’ve been dancing for some time when a more upbeat song comes on, and you’re brought back to reality.
Your steps become uncertain, and soon enough, he halts his steps as well, so you look at each other and head back to the food stall without a word where your friends are already talking, and once you arrive, they can’t stop gushing about how you two were such perfect dance partners. Your friends continue to chat most of the time, but you also get to speak up sometimes, and you get to know that the guy is taking mostly hip-hop classes while the Cupid guy is an acting major. The latter can’t stop telling funny stories, and you laugh and smile a lot beside them, enjoying yourself in their company until the clock strikes midnight.
“Oh my gosh, I need to go!” You exclaim frantically as you grab your best friend’s arm.
“Oh my gosh, we need to go!” Jinhee repeats after you, and without further ado, you two leave the two boys behind as if your life depended on it (maybe it did), and you’re already in your best friend’s car, heading towards your aunt’s house when you realise that you didn’t even ask for the Goblin guy’s name, and in that big hurry of yours, you accidentally leave one of your high heels behind.
Thankfully, that’s the worst thing that happens that night since you just manage to arrive before your aunt does, and you hop into bed, pretending to sleep while your aunt is going around the (hopefully) clean house. Seeing the way she doesn’t start yelling at you to clean up again, Jinhee’s brother’s girlfriend’s cousin’s cleaning company probably did a very good job, so you’re relieved, falling into a dreamy dream about that goblin guy and the way he held you in his arms so securely.
Byeongkwan is confused. Big time. Yuchan is confused, too. Big time.
All they know is that they danced and had fun with two lovely girls, and all they have is the picture of their costumes in their heads and Byeongkwan’s mysterious girl’s high heel. That’s it. No name or department or whatsoever because even though they shared the same about themselves, the girls didn’t mention such things. In short: they are doomed. In more detail: they are very hopeless, very clueless and very much doomed.
Even though Byeongkwan would be ready to give up because what are the chances of meeting you again, Yuchan isn’t the same. He keeps on talking about his mysterious girl from the night, and how much he felt the vibe, and how much he wishes he said or asked anything that would help find her, but they didn’t get into small talks about who they were or what they did at the academy, they talked about more fun stuff, and well, now that’s a big problem. How are you just supposed to search for someone who lost their shoe? Sure, they could print out leaflets or maybe even use the speakers from the administration office, but wouldn’t that be weird?
“Dude, just ask girls to dance with you! Who cares if they get to know that they danced with Jason? I’m pretty sure they would be happy,” Yuchan suggests one afternoon after all their brancells were fixated on finding a way to find their mysterious girls from the night. Not that the girls could find them either. They didn’t even have a lost shoe to begin with, and they didn’t even seem to search for one.
“I don’t want the unwanted attention. I might make her uncomfortable, and she might feel scared showing up to me if she knows that the whole academy would know that we were the ones dancing together,” Byeongkwan reasons, letting out a heavy sigh afterwards.
Gosh, he knew he shouldn’t have signed up for that masquerade, but the truth is… He doesn’t mind the fact that night happened because you awakened something in him. You made him remember why he started dancing, and with you, he didn’t worry about messing up, and he didn’t feel like he couldn’t dance either. He just did, and concentrated on you and you only, and it was just something truly magical. For that reason, he definitely doesn’t mind going, but now for not knowing how to meet up with you again, he sure does.
Yuchan shakes his head, then aggressively starts sipping from his banana milk. He nearly chokes on it in the next second, and even though his best friend is ready to pat his back, Yuchan holds his hands up high, stopping him.
“I’ve got an idea!”
“That made you choke already, starts good,” Byeongkwan hums, not too impressed, but as pumped up as his friend is whenever he’s hit by something, he doesn’t care about his slightly savage response.
“Attend different classes to find her! I mean, you can do so, you have the right because you’re here to find inspiration, and we could both see that she’s no ordinary girl, she’s actually a dancer. Also, you’ve said that if your hunch is right, she’s probably more on the elegant side, so maybe try visiting ballet lessons first? Then, you can go onto others. I mean, you’re the dancer, you know this better than me,” he runs his mouth excitedly, his eyes wide in enthusiasm. He keeps on his hopeful smile, and this time, Byeongkwan doesn’t tell him to shut up. Instead, he bites down on his lower lip.
“You do have a point, but that might take a while.”
“Well, worst things worse, maybe she will show up at the talent show, but that’s at the end of the semester, so still two months from now on,” Yuchan points out, shrugging his shoulders a bit sulkily because he doesn’t want to admit that Byeongkwan is right, and his plan might take some time to actually work out, but who knows? It still might bring her mysterious girl back to him.
“Oh, and wait! Your mysterious girl made the costume for my mysterious girl, so she might do something like that at uni, too!” Byeongkwan mentions as he tries to remember the details from that night, but instead of a content grin, he only gets a nudge in his side.
“Why are you telling me this only now? Are you really my best friend?” The other boy huffs, clearly hurt. “I could have already started looking for that girl! Gosh, I gotta go and use all my connections to find her now that I know she might be… uhm… maybe in the design department?” Yuchan already starts standing up from the desk, but falters when he tries to connect the dots. He’s like that meme in which one guy tells the other that he didn’t connect shit. Maybe she just likes making dresses in her free time.
Anyways, both Yuchan and Byeongkwan start looking for their mysterious girls afterwards, and as much as it’s tiring, it actually gives Byeongkwan a sense of adrenaline. He was so hopeless, just wandering in the big world of his dreams and crushed hopes after his mother died, but now he has a reason to look forward to each and every day, and no matter how silly that reason is, he’s actually curious who you are, what kind of dance you do, why you like dancing… And he could go on and on, but one thing is for sure: no matter with whom he dances in the next weeks, it wouldn’t be the same if it wasn’t you.
He’s not ready to give up, but he loses more and more hope as time goes by, and Yuchan’s search doesn’t seem fruitful either even though he tries to contact everyone on SNS who might be under the design department. As for Byeongkwan, after ballet classes, he goes onto jazz and ballroom dance classes, and he tries his best not to look weird trying to fit in yet still trying to check out how girls around him dance, but it’s a bit ridiculous still.
So next up, a contemporary class it is, and even though it’s another one that’s very different from his hip-hop background and sexier choreographies, he sees the beauty in it, and he sees the beauty and familiarity in your movements which makes him feel like a fire has ignited inside of him. He knows that it’s you, it has to be you, but he doesn’t want to jump at you in the middle of the class or stare at you inappropriately, so he waits until the end of the class to go up to you.
While you’re taking sips from your water bottle, he gathers the courage to actually turn to you and speak up:
“Can I dance with you?”
At the sight of your widened eyes, he realises how stupid and ridiculous it sounds coming from him - Jason -, a mere intruder at your usual contemporary dance class, but the words have already slipped from his mouth, so what can he do?
“Why?” You furrow your eyebrow in question, putting the lid back on your water bottle and putting it back into your bag. You seem nonchalant, almost neutral, but there’s no judgement in your eyes that would keep him back from asking the question.
Though when it comes to the actual execution, he finds himself stumbling upon his words and blurting out something along the lines:
“Well, why not?”
Now, you definitely narrow your eyes, alarmed, checking him out - probably to test his intentions -, and he swears there’s no inappropriate intention behind his question, he’s just not very experienced talking to girls who have bewitched him with their dance. Read: it has never happened before, so he has no clue what to do, and the way you’re ready to leave, not impressed by his question, he knows he has messed it up.
In sheer panic, the right words finally come out:
“It’s you, isn’t it? The girl from the masquerade,” he says a bit tentatively, but his question is enough for you to turn on your heels and face him. Luckily, the others have already left the practice room, so there are no witnesses to his attempt to get the truth out of you, but it doesn’t mean that there’s no burden on his shoulders.
You let out a sigh, confused, but you stay in one place, not intending to leave again.
“There were a lot of girls at the masquerade,” you point out very much reasonably, and even though you don’t seem like you would run away like that night, Byeongkwan has this immense urge in him to drop his confession onto you, so he does exactly the same.
“But not everyone danced like you; as if they didn’t have anything more to lose, and they were so passionate that it was eye-catching. I was speechless, and dancing with you to that slow song made me realise yet again why dancing is something I enjoy doing,” he says in one-go, but seeing how you’re still not convinced, he adds that he was dressed as a goblin and his friend was dressed as Cupid, and now, he can see the twinkles in your eyes.
There are so many emotions going through his body at the sight of your realisation, and the way you’re speechless for a moment that it makes him wonder whether you have good memories of that night, or you’re just not sure how to reject him. Because dancing and talking one night doesn’t mean that you should feel obligated to continue getting to know you, and if you didn’t want to do so, he would respect your decision for sure.
The seconds that pass by seem excruciating, and it doesn’t help either that your facial expression is literally frozen, so he begins preparing himself for the worst. Thankfully, your features soften as you speak up.
“Dance is the great escape from my life ever since my mom died,” you confess bitterly, and when he catches your eyes, he can see the same kind of burning passion as he used to have. You’re desperate to hold onto something, you want something to keep you grounded and sane, and it’s dancing for you. He should have known since there are great dancers who use their bodies to dance, but there are exceptional dancers who use their heart and soul to dance. You, without a doubt, belong to the latter category.
Maybe it’s the mutual understanding or the bittersweet atmosphere covering both of you, but he finds himself opening up, something that was never easy for him, especially since he lost a loved one.
“I thought the same until my mom died. Then, I didn’t know how to dance anymore. I didn’t feel like dancing. I was lost…” Byeongkwan breathes the words out, melancholic. You give him a weak smile, one that prompts him to go on, and he’s eternally grateful for your trust; that you trust him even after just one encounter. Or maybe it’s the way your bodies and hearts connected that night that you feel so at ease beside each other.
“I was so afraid of losing everything so suddenly that’s precious to me that I couldn’t do what I loved the most. It was as if my fears had become reality, and I proved my own point, but it was a vicious cycle. I made myself believe that I was no longer able to dance well, and so I wasn’t.”
The words that were so difficult to say out loud seem almost weightless now, and as he tells you more and more, he realises how much this confession shouldn’t have been weighing down on him. Instead, he should have just said them out loud, screamed into the void. Yuchan was understanding, of course, but it wasn’t the same with him as it is with you; talking about dancing with someone who cherishes dancing as much as he does.
You, on the other hand, seem to understand him even without more details, and the empathy in your eyes makes his heart flutter. Is it really possible to feel this way when it’s the first time he met you personally? To be precise, he met you face-to-face. Sure, he doesn’t have anything against being behind a mask because dancing with you and talking with you in your costumes was enough for him to be interested in you, but now that he sees every twitch of your lips, every freckle dotting your pale skin, every shade in your dark orbs, every emotion being mirrored in your body language, it’s different. More personal. Better.
“That must have been hard. I don’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t been able to dance,” you admit after a few seconds of silence, and your sincerity tugs on his heartstrings. He might not have thought how similar you two are on the dancefloor, but he feels strangely understood by an almost stranger.
“I didn’t either. Not until I met you.”
The words are out before Byeongkwan could think twice about them, and as much as he’s honest, he also thinks that he’s a fool because he may seem pushy or cringey or outright rude, and he would never want to make you feel this way. Instead of panic or doubt though, all he can see is that you’re clearly touched, but the moment just has to be interrupted by the sound of your phone ringing. Even Byeongkwan can hear how the woman on the other side of the phone yells at you:
“Where the hell are you? I’ve told you we have an important guest coming over. I can’t blow my chances with him, or else, I might go down the drain of underappreciated models even at the age of 45!”
The boy is confused big time (Who’s that woman? Is she really a model? Why is she using such a language towards you?), but you don’t even flinch, and that surprises and saddens him at the same time. When you hung up and put your phone back into your pocket, he’s not taken aback that you announce:
“I gotta go.”
“But...” He wants to hold you up, saying that he doesn’t even know your name or any other contact information of yours, but before the words could roll off his tongue, you’re already out of sight.
Dear gosh, it really feels like chasing after you, but now, he has one more clue, and he can come back to this class next week, no need to worry about attending any other class to run into you. Or well, to purposely run into you again.
You definitely don’t expect the goblin guy to reveal himself as Jason, the famous dancer and choreographer, who caused quite a ruckus when it turned out that he would come here to attend some classes. People were wondering about the intention behind his sudden presence at an arts academy when he already made it big, and girls were swooning over how cool and handsome he was from up-close. Which isn’t far from the truth, you have to admit, but you just can’t believe it.
Sure, you know who he is even if you two don’t do the same kind of dance, and you’ve also heard about him attending Bang Arts Academy, even more so because you are planning to take part in that competition his agency holds at the end of the semester in hopes of getting away from your evil cousins and your evil aunt. If you manage to win in the dance category, you’ll be given a two-year deal and also a dormitory, so no need to wipe floors for the rest of your life and worry about the nonexistent time you could have to yourself to actually make money.
But still… what were the chances of meeting Kim Byeongkwan through the masquerade and having him confess to you that you made him feel something that he has thought he has lost? You feel sorry for him, of course you do, you can’t even imagine how devastating it must have been for him to lose his mother recently because you were fairly young when you lost yours. On the other hand, you can’t imagine that you, a mere dancer, can make him want to dance again. That’s both fluttering and scary at the same time. You don’t want to disappoint him again if you manage to dance together in the future.
Though it seems like life is just not on your side because the class he attended with you wasn’t a weekly one, it was just a workshop, so a one-time thing, and even if he would come back to the same practice room at the same time, he wouldn’t find you there because you have your usual class at a different practice room. So again, no way of contacting each other, and despite the fact that at least you know who he is (unlike him), you can’t just DM him on social media, saying that you wouldn’t mind getting to know him better, and go around searching for Kim Byeongkwan when he’s known for not attending regular classes.
So you would be doomed yet again if it weren’t for your friends who actually manage to connect the dots and make things work. Yuchan - the Cupid guy - finds your best friend on social media thanks to Byeongkwan telling him that Jinhee must be under the design department, and Jinhee responds all too enthusiastically that they should meet. When they meet, they realise that you and Byeongkwan still haven't contacted each other, so they set up a meeting, and that’s how the four of you end up around a bench on campus.
“I’m telling you, Byeongkwan is seriously the worst at these kinds of things, so don’t worry if he’s not the man of words. He tries to say what’s on his mind, but his words come out pretty savage, so it feels like being reprimanded by your mother whenever he tries to compliment you,” Yuchan blabbers as if you were lifelong friends, and while Jinhee lets out a laughter, you only smile to yourself, exchanging a glance with the said boy who feels just a tiny bit uncomfortable.
“He didn’t seem to struggle with his words around me,” you mention casually, and even if it’s meant to save him from further embarrassment, Yuchan doesn’t want to change the topic. Instead, he becomes a full-on touched, surprised and proud best friend.
“Oh my gosh, dude! That’s great! You can finally open up to people! Even though I could feel hurt by it since you don’t like to open up to me, I’m just so proud of you for overcoming-”
“Okay, okay, that’s enough,” Byeongkwan shuts him up by covering his friend’s mouth with his hands, and even though Yuchan keeps on talking, he doesn’t let go of him until he decides to be quiet for a moment.
You giggle at the sight, finding the two friends’ bickering funny, and the atmosphere is light and cosy, so you really feel as if you’ve known each other for years. Maybe that’s why Jinhee is prompted to let her mouth loose.
“Y/n was the same. She’s usually not one to talk about boys, but she kept wondering who this goblin guy might be, and it was just sooooo cute,” your best friend coos, and never have you felt so attacked in your life. Jinhee really did decide to throw you under the bus in front of Kim Byeongkwan, huh?
“Cuuuute,” Yuchan remarks all too enthusiastically, and you don’t dare to turn your head towards Byeongkwan for a few seconds, but instead of surprise or shame, he’s actually more amused by what he has heard. Which is fine, if you think about it, since you already know that he felt the same way about your dance from the masquerade.
“Well then, don’t get me started on Jinhee…”
“Oh, no, no! I know something better! Cookies anyone?” Jinhee tries to save herself the moment you try to tell the guys the truth about how she has been thinking of setting up a search to find her mysterious Cupid guy. A literal, physical search with leaflets and all that.
“Come on! I want to hear it!”
“Eat your cookies instead!” Your best friend retorts when Yuchan gets whiny, and shoves a piece of chocolate chip cookie into the boy’s mouth whose mood is immediately lifted. You exchange a glance with Byeongkwan, breaking into a smile when you meet each others’ eyes, and it’s so easy to forget about the fact that you have duties and classes and Byeongkwan also has a meeting with his agency that you feel weightless, happy and carefree, something that you haven’t felt for a long time.
All thanks to him.
The thing is, Kim Byeongkwan is a great guy, which makes it hard not to fall for him.
You have never really let yourself develop feelings for boys before because you know how complicated your life is, and you don’t want someone else to worry about your cousins or aunt. It’s enough that Jinhee is usually worried sick when you don’t reach out to her out of the blue while it’s really just you having to fulfill yet another long list of household chores, or when you get humiliated by your cousins for no absolute reason. It’s like she’s upset for the two of you because you’ve already gotten too used to how things are. Not to mention that you barely have time to yourself, so how could you go on dates with guys?
However, even though things are the same, Byeongkwan makes it work. Since he doesn’t have a fixed schedule at the academy and his career has been put on hold due to his lack of inspiration, he can work around your classes (because he doesn’t want to be a creep and attend every class of yours) and duties at home which just makes it easy and comfortable to spend time with him, and to look forward to each and every day, wondering what you might get to know about him that day.
He’s funny, and sometimes he doesn’t even try to, it’s just in the way he reacts so expressively. He’s considerate, always making sure that you feel comfortable beside him, and he’s looking for ways to make things easier for you even if it’s just by buying you your favourite brand of iced coffee or sending you an encouraging song when he knows you most need it. He’s playful, adamant in the smallest of things and teasing you when you least expect him to, but you enjoy it, the way he’s a bit unpredictable. And he’s a great dancer, so you find it difficult to believe that he has actually lost all inspiration some time ago (though you can understand him) because now, when’s dancing with you… He’s a piece of art. His moves are fluid, his body is a continuation of a story he tries to convey, and his heartbeat is the same as the rhythm of the song played in the background, the two matching each other like ad-libs to the main vocal line in a ballad.
Coming from two very different backgrounds when it comes to dance, you learn a lot from him and vice versa. You learn how to loosen up a bit more and find beauty in the quicker, more complex moves while you teach him how to appear a bit more stiff and make longer movements seem smoother and more natural. While hip-hop and contemporary dance aren’t complete opposites, it’s still a lot of fun and quite a challenge to dive yourself into even just the basics of the other’s dance style. You laugh a lot nevertheless, and slowly but surely, you can feel yourself falling for him: for his windshield laughter, for his gentle actions, for his mahogany orbs, for his little teasing remarks and for the way he holds you so securely when you are dancing together. Sure, it helps that your best friends become a couple in the meantime, but you also feel yourself getting closer and closer to him, you just don’t want to make a move, at least not until the day of the competition because you don’t want others to think that you were favoured. Even though Byeongkwan isn’t a part of the judges’ panel, you know how people are: always quick to jump to conclusions, to see more into things than they are.
So you prepare diligently, working on adjusting your choreography for the big day, and even though you get some tips from Byeongkwan himself, he doesn’t put the routine together for you, you do it for yourself. He’s more like a hype man, and it’s heartwarming how supportive he is, even on the day of the performance when he wishes you good luck before he gets lost in the mass of people including the contestants, the audience and the organisers. Jinhee and Yuchan cheer for you in the audience, and despite knowing that your aunt will be there because your cousins will compete, you’re not afraid to be up on the stage.
“Let us begin the big competition! Today, the judges will choose two winners: one in the dancing and one in the singing category. The two lucky contestants will have the chance to join Jason’s agency, sign a contract for two years and receive specialised training to make their hot debut happen. Lessons from professionals and a dorm room will be guaranteed. What more could you want? So let’s begin, shall we?”
The presenter’s, Park Junhee’s, voice is light and excited, but it can’t be compared to the excitement of the audience. Everyone is literally buzzing, and the more contestants show what they have, the more hyped up they are. Of course, there are some rather poor performances (yes, you mean your cousins’ performances), but overall, it turns out to be a fun night, and since you’re by the end, you have the time to get used to the atmosphere by the time you are called onto the stage.
“And now, competing in the dance category with a contemporary dance performance mixed with some hip-hop elements… please, welcome Y/N!” Park Junhee shouts into the mic beamingly, and he gives you an encouraging nod of his head when you run up to the stage and he goes back into the waiting area while you perform.
Truth to be told, your mind shuts off the outside noises when the performance begins, and you concentrate only on the beats of the song you have chosen. You become one with it, let it whisper to you, let it lead you, and you lose track of time and space while you’re presenting the well-practiced moves. Maybe you’re not perfect, but you don’t mind because you forget about who’s watching and what has led up to this moment as you stand there, and it’s such a deliberating feeling that it can’t be compared to anything else.
No wonder your performance comes to an end in no time, and the competition is reaching the final stages by the time you can wrap your head around the fact that you have just performed in front of thousands of people, and based on Jinhee’s and Byeongkwan’s excited messages, you did really well.
“And now, the time everyone has been waiting for…” Park Junhee riles up the audience as he jogs onto the stage with two envelopes in his hand. “The judges have made their decision, and even though everyone did well, there can be only one winner in each category, so let me announce them!”
They start with the singing category, announcing Sohn Jeonghyuck (also known by his stage name Demian) as the winner, and even though you have never heard of him before, his voice was so good, you were literally speechless while you were watching his performance, so you clap genuinely when he shyly gets the trophy from the grinning Junhee.
“Now, onto the winner of the dance category,” the young man continues as he opens the second envelope, and you can feel your heart beating twice as fast when you wait out those seconds that pass by. Even though the world wouldn’t end if you didn’t win, you wish that you could have a new chance in life, and this would be a good start. A really good one. It’s just that nothing has really worked out in your life before as you wanted, so you don’t dare to hope.
“Congratulations, Y/N! You’re the winner in the dance category!”
You are so dumbfounded by the news that you don’t even know what’s going on until Park Junhee comes to grab you by the arm and drags you onto the stage, giving you the trophy and asking you to give a speech. You just jumble out a few words that seem right, but you have no idea how collected they are because you’re just so happy, bathing in the newfound hope and joy, receiving congratulatory words and hugs from your best friend afterwards. It all feels too good, too much like a miracle.
“Aww, I’m so happy for you! You deserved it so much!” Jinhee says, half crying, and Yuchan has to give her a few tissues to dry her tears, but he also gives you his congratulations in the meantime.
Byeongkwan comes up to you a bit later, but you don’t mind because the moment he crushes you into a hug, nothing else matters. He has seen how hard you have worked to prepare for your performance, and he has listened to all your ramblings about how you wish your life could change for the better, and now… Maybe you can finally dare to hope for it to happen.
“Now you can’t run away from me because we’ll be at the same agency,” he remarks cheekily as you pull away from each other, and even though he’s just being playful, you know there’s truth to his words. You kept missing each other in the beginning, and it took you three encounters to actually get each other’s contacts, so you practically chased each other until you could start getting to know each other. But not anymore. Gosh, you’ll work under the same agency as Kim Byeongkwan himself!
“I don’t intend to run away,” you let him know with a smile, and he reciprocates it with his own proud, touched one.
“I’m glad to hear that.”
And you’re glad, too, for your life really takes a turn for the better afterwards. You move out of your aunt’s house to move into the dorms of the agency, and you can cut all ties with your aunt and your cousins (something that you should have done so a long time ago), pursuing your dream and going on all those dates you have missed out on with the boy who makes your heart flutter. So no matter how thorny the road was, you have your own happy ending with Kim Byeongkwan, and it’s really the best you could have wished for.
46 notes · View notes