#the teacher said hit the lights so the kid actually just broke the light switch with his fist

[honey-dewey]

Random Dewey Finn headcanons (?) I came up with while eating my breakfast

Before Dewey wanted to be a big rock star, he wanted to be an astronaut. 

His aunt gave him his first guitar for his 10th birthday, thus sparking his love of rock music. 

One of the major reasons he never quit music was because of that aunt. She passed away early, and was constantly the only member of his family that truly believed in him. 

Dewey’s mum was kind of absent, so he was raised primarily by his dad. 

Dewey and Ned met on the first day of high school, and were inseparable for all four years. 

Despite both of them liking both, Dewey likes Star Wars more, while New prefers Star Trek. They have debates of epic proportion over which of these preferences is better. Dewey somehow always wins. 

One of the reasons Ned let Dewey live with him is because Dewey is an amazing cook. He never eats what he makes though. 

His specialty is breakfast foods

While he may be an amazing home cook, he’s an even better baker. 

Dewey is highly sensitive to textures, especially food and fabrics. 

Because of this, he rarely tries new foods, sticking to a decently firm schedule. (He really likes hard boiled eggs) 

It’s also why he likes sweater vests. The actual sweater doesn’t touch his skin, but he can rub his hands up and down the knit when he gets overwhelmed. 

He’s also sensitive to criticism. Along with that, he cries easily. 

After the whole School of Rock incident, Dewey did some quick online classes on teaching. When a music teacher position at Horace Green opened up, he was the first one contacted to fill it. 

During SoR shows, Dewey has a tendency to get very hyped, and this eventually leads to a collapse, usually on the bus ride home. It happened once on stage, where he just went still and quiet all of a sudden and then began to panic. 

All of his kids know exactly what to do during his collapses. 

They made him (yes made him) a stress doll. It weighs about twenty pounds and looks like a panda. They lay it across Dewey’s chest and let him lie down on a blanket. The kids then surround him to make a protective barrier. It’s a very effective method. 

It took almost thirty years for Dewey to get diagnosed with mild autism, anxiety, ADD, and seasonal depression. His mother was a firm believer that mental illness was a hoax. 

He did try and take medication for it, right when he started teaching full-time. It made him nauseous and tired and so unlike himself that he quit after three months, a decision that was fully backed by his students. 

He eventually did go back and get a new prescription for his ADD. It works surprisingly well and doesn’t make him act any less like himself. 

This isn’t even a Headcanon. It’s straight up actual canon from the Broadway.com Stick it to the Man video! Dewey stims! He knocks his wrists together and does the raptor hands! (I don’t think his hands were truly by his side at any point during the entire show) He taps his feet and shakes his hands! His facial expressions are always on 10 and he scronches his face when he’s excited! His head go bop! He’s a stimming Boi!

Also have you ever seen a neurotypical person dress like that? Ever? Nope. Sweater vests and jeans and sneakers (that look like heelys) is not a neurotypical outfit. 

Dewey doesn’t like rainy weather, nor does he like the cold bite of winter. He has a heater and a happy light in his classroom for rainy and/or cold days. 

His favorite season is fall. He really really likes to step on leaves and hear that satisfying crunch. 

Dewey also has a weakened immune system, and is pretty vigilant about his health. He takes vitamins and vitamin D supplements, and yet always ends up with some kind of illness in winter. Despite this, he refuses to get any kind of flu shot. 

Dewey’s list of phobias includes: needles, heights, clowns, and the dark. 

He’s dead terrified of the dentist. Ned has to practically drag him every time. It’s not even that he has poor dental hygiene or has actual odontophobia, he just hates the experience. The combination of strong smells and uncomfortable touches and horrible noises overwhelms him so much. 

For much of the same reasons as his hatred of the dentist, Dewey dreads getting his hair cut. Social interaction mixed with weird feelings on his surprisingly sensitive head and the constant background noise and the hair spray-y smell make it an experience Dewey’s hated since childhood. Now, Ned usually cuts Dewey’s hair because he’s really not picky about how it looks, and Ned knows exactly how to go about the job without causing Dewey to hyperventilate and cry. 

He uses a night light! It’s the fun kind that projects stars on the ceiling. 

Dewey is the king of field trips. He’s always just as eager as the kids to go, and he loves to learn niche facts. His favorite field trip location is the aquarium. 

Dewey quit drinking after his 23rd birthday, when he blacked out and woke up in some random girl’s bed. She promised they didn’t do it, but ever since then, he’s terrified it’ll happen again. 

Speaking of which, Dewey’s a virgin. 

Once, one of Dewey’s female students came to him and said an older man was following her to and from school every day. Dewey was later suspended from work for a week for punching a man and putting him in the hospital. Once they knew why, the school board unanimously decided not to punish him. 

Dewey absolutely insists all of his kids call him Dewey and not Mr. Finn. 

He’s the most supportive teacher in the entire school. He’s got name tags on every desk with each kid’s preferred name and pronouns. When Billy comes out as non-binary, he makes the pronoun switch immediately and puts a beautiful stained glass-esque progress pride flag in one of his windows. 

Someone hatefully vandalized said pride art project and Dewey actually cried. His kids all banded together to make a new one. 

Sometimes, the kids purposefully ask Dewey to sing certain things because his voice gets so damn tender and beautiful, as opposed to the usual bombastic singing they’re used to. (Think like. Some of the 35MM songs) 

Dewey has a routine with his drinks throughout the day. Two cups of coffee in the morning, one at home and one at work. One water bottle before lunch and one after lunch. A Gatorade or some other fitness drink after school, usually during band practice to make up for how sweaty he gets. And one cup of lavender citrus tea with extra honey after dinner. 

He broke his only water bottle about four months into teaching full-time and started to use a plastic one every day. Ned decided that wouldn’t do, and got him a Mandalorian water bottle. Dewey loves it to bits. 

Dewey doesn’t celebrate any one version of a holiday. He’s equal opportunity for any and all holidays, but he grew up Jewish. That doesn’t stop him from helping Ned put up his Christmas tree every year. Nor does it stop him from celebrating Yule with his online friends. 

Despite being Jewish and mainly celebrating their holidays, Dewey loves Christmas music and starts playing it as soon as he can. The kids dare him to hit those ridiculous Mariah Carey high notes in All I Want For Christmas. He does it. 

He also once sang ‘Little Drummer Boy’ to his kids the day before holiday break. He only played his guitar softly and by the time he was done, each and every kid was fast asleep. (He played Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer as well) 

Dewey absolutely collects soft blankets. He has four halloween ones, two Tim Burton ones (a Beetlejuice and a Corpse Bride), eight winter holiday blankets, and three miscellaneous. He brought them all into class once and built a blanket fort to teach his kids about ancient civilization. 

Speaking of which, his teaching methods are unorthodox at best, and at worst downright crazy. But he always teaches and he always makes it memorable. His class has the highest test scores in the school. 

Dewey usually teaches using music or hands on activities. He plays soft background music during every class no matter the circumstances, and said screw the building’s lights and uses primarily lamps and strings of Christmas lights. 

He also kind of forgets that he teaches essentially middle school, and he swears every so often when he’s super passionate. Like when he taught the kids about the US Presidents and called Andrew Jackson a racist bitch and Richard Nixon a lying bastard. 

After getting bullied throughout all of high school, Dewey came to terms with what his body looked like, and now he really doesn’t care. (He did have a lot of fun smashing the scale his mother got him for his birthday once) 

Dewey was supposed to teach his kids about mental illness for a suicide prevention thing the school did, but got about halfway through before he had a breakdown and the kids declared the rest of the day a bust. They watched cute animated movies instead of learning for the rest of the school day. 

Speaking of animated movies, Dewey really loves Studio Ghibli. 

The first time one of his kids called him ‘Dad’ he cried. Then they kept doing it and now he’s had to accept that he’s basically a father to about 30 11-year-olds. 

If you ask any kid in the school who their favorite teacher is, they will not hesitate to answer ‘Mr. Finn.’ Even if they aren’t in his class, he’s their favorite. 

Dewey’s classroom is always open for lunch. It’s quiet and calm, usually with a movie going in the background. 

He also stays after school for about an hour every day, helping kids with homework. He hates math with a passion but that didn’t stop him from trying to figure out Katie’s math homework with her. 

Even at home, Dewey cannot stand the quiet. He either has his headphones on or the radio going. Silence just isn’t an option. 

Dewey once got pneumonia and tried to come in to work anyway. The kids made him go home. He didn’t really put up much of a fight. 

The first instrument Dewey ever learned to play was the piano. He started to learn when he was super young, and that was how he learned how to read music. His kids didn’t even know he knew how to play until they walked in on him practicing one day. 

Dewey says ‘fuck gender roles’ and wears the girl’s skirts to a few SoR concerts. He likes the way it makes his legs look. 

Some jerk parents constantly tried to get Dewey in trouble for months because they didn’t like him and thought he wasn’t ‘high class’ enough for their kid’s education. Dewey was so stunned when they showed up during one of his classes that he couldn’t speak and just started to cry. Said student stood up and called their parents out. Two days later, those parents were off the school board. 

Meanwhile, on the other end of the spectrum, Dewey found out a new kid he’d received was being abused at home because they weren’t getting high enough grades and he yelled at the kid’s parents in front of all the other staff members. 

Essentially, Dewey can’t defend himself at all, but will not hesitate to protect his kids. 

Dewey has said multiple times he would die for his kids. He’s always 100% serious, especially during lockdown drills. 

Once, the school had a lockdown that wasn’t a drill, and Dewey managed to keep his entire class silent and calm while mentally preparing himself to lay his life down for his kids. Thankfully, it didn’t come to that. 

Dewey’s also said he’d seriously consider adopting any of the kids if their at-home situation was that bad. 

When he finally could, Dewey moved out of Ned’s house and into his own cramped loft apartment. He’s in love with the apartment, even though it’s tiny and kinda smells. 

Dewey has almost no concept of volume control. He’s slightly deaf from constantly doing very loud shows and sometimes shouts because he thinks that’s a normal speaking volume. 

As one of, if not the actual, youngest teachers at the school, Dewey is universally adored by the rest of the staff. It took a while for all of them to get on board with him, but now they all really like him. 

Dewey’s favorite fruit is pomegranate. There’s just something super cathartic about cutting into a pomegranate and slowly de-seeding it. Plus, it tastes super good. But he only likes them if he can de-seed them himself. 

One of the ways Dewey grounds himself is by pressing things to his mouth. He usually just puts his hand up on his face or the end of a pen in his mouth, but whenever he has a blanket, one corner is up against his lips. The same goes for stuffed animals. They’re always against his face. Most of the time, he doesn’t even know he’s doing it. 

#school of rock #dewey finn #school of rock the musical #alex brightman #my headcanons

[joyful-soul-collector]

Peter was scared

@keep-a-bucket-full-of-stars asked:  Ohhhh can you do one for the line: “Peter was scared.”?? Please?? Congratulations on 300 followers hon, you’re amazing!

Thank you so much! Here’s your story ❤️💙❤️

Read on Ao3!

300 Follower Celebration!

Irondad Taglist: @phahbiyah @keep-a-bucket-full-of-stars @clevermuffinalmondpeach

Let me know if you want to be added or removed from the taglist!

Peter was scared. Not quite like “crushed by a building” scared, or “I have a history test tomorrow” scared, or even “maybe that wasn’t the best decision” scared, but a bit of all three and then some, mixing around in his stomach with all the terrified nausea in there. 

And all just because he would be spending the weekend at the Avengers Compound for the first time. Well, that wasn’t the only reason, but he didn’t want to think about the other one yet. Aunt May was going to be out of town for a few days, and as soon as Peter had casually mentioned this to his mentor Tony Stark, Tony had all but insisted that he stay at the compound until she got back. 

So here he was, sitting the backseat of a car headed for Upstate New York. And wishing more than anything that he wasn’t. 

Alright, maybe not more than anything, Peter reasoned, watching the world outside flash by. I do wish I was bulletproof. What’s the point of superpowers without bullet-immunity? Or at least a way to make it really easy to avoid it. Like superspeed. But it’s fine, I can stick to walls and have super strength. Basically really stubborn wallpaper.

Peter spent the rest of the ride thinking about nothing in particular until he saw the large white building looming on the horizon, and he felt his stomach do a nervous backflip and his heart start to pound. And it only got worse when he saw Tony waiting for him, his hands shoved in his pockets and a smirk on his face. 

“Hey there Underoos!” he said as Peter got out, lugging his backpack and a duffel bag with his clothes and toothbrush.

“Hey Mr. Stark!” Peter said, doing his best to mask the anxiety making him want to grimace rather than grin. Tony didn’t seem to notice, and Peter breathed a mental sigh of relief.

“Here lemme help you with that.” Tony held out a hand to take Peter’s backpack, but Peter held it just out of his reach. 

“You sure?” he said with a smirk, knowing Tony would take the bait. “It’s really heavy.” As he suspected, Tony rolled his eyes and gave him an exasperated glare. 

“I’m gonna pretend you didn’t say that. Gimme,” he said, making grabby-hands at the strap of Peter’s backpack. Peter slid it off his shoulder and held it out to Tony. As soon as he let it go Tony had to scramble to keep it from hitting the pavement, ending up with both arms wrapped around his backpack. 

“Jesus--What the hell is in this thing!?” he said, struggling to get one of the straps over his shoulder. “Did you bring some tech in here with you or something?”

“Nope, that’s just my computer and my homework. And it’s actually a bit lighter than usual, I took out all my chemistry and calculus homework since I did it already,” Peter said. The look on Tony’s face made him burst into laughter, easing the knot of anxiety in his chest a bit. 

“Jeez, how do normal, non-spider kids do this?” he muttered as they made their way to the front doors, hunching over slightly, and almost making Peter feel bad for not carrying it himself. Almost. He was literally asking for it. 

“Well it definitely wasn’t a fun time back when I was a string bean with asthma. I had to use my inhaler any time I had to walk more than a block with that thing. Aunt May used to meet me outside our apartment building so she could carry it up the steps for me,” Peter said with a laugh, opening the door and holding it, letting Tony walk through and promptly drop the backpack on the nearest chair. When he stood up straight again Peter heard his back crack and giggled at the frown on Tony’s face. 

“That’s it. I’m making a drone to carry your stuff for you. Cuz that--” he pointed to the offending bag, “--is bullshit.”

“I have super strength, it’s not really heavy anymore,” Peter said with another snort of laughter. “It would be better to somehow convince my teachers I don’t really need five hours of homework every night.”

“Friday, remind me to figure out how much money it would take for a teacher to be bribed into giving less homework,” Tony said as they walked to the elevator. 

“Done Boss. Would you like to put in an order for pizza to be delivered for dinner?”

“You know me so well, Fri.”

The rest of the day passed pretty well, and Peter was distracted from his lingering worries by the gadgets in Tony’s lab and by the pizza and movies they watched together. But when Tony looked at his watch and told Peter he had to go to bed, he felt his heart sink. 

“Wh--It’s not that late--”

“It’s ten o’clock kid, and even superteens need sleep. Plus I think your Aunt would kill me if I let you stay up any longer,” Tony said, picking up the empty pizza boxes and putting them in the trash before switching off the TV. 

“Well, she doesn’t have to know--”

“As tempting as that is, you really should sleep. Believe me kid, you need rest to function, and I don’t wanna have to deal with a grumpy spider in the morning,” he said with a kindhearted smile. 

Peter barely had the willpower to make himself smile back. Tony gave him a hug before sending him off to his room. Peter got changed into his pajamas, feeling dread rise in his throat like bile with each passing second. He cracked open his door before shutting off the light, taking a small comfort in the fact that Tony would be staying up a little longer. He climbed into bed and did his best to fall asleep before the light in the hall went out. 

~~~

Peter’s eyes opened without his permission. He’d been asleep, and then quite suddenly, he wasn’t. But the effect of waking up was almost instantaneous. 

He couldn’t even see his blankets in front of his face, the darkness was so thick. It was surrounding his arms like heavy ink, filling his lungs with black ashes and crushing him, crushing him like a ton of concrete. He tried to calm himself, to ground himself with something, but he couldn’t see, and the panic was making his fingers feel numb, and seemed to stuff his ears with cotton. 

He threw himself out of bed, stumbling and feeling his bedside table for his phone, but when he couldn’t find it he felt the walls for a light switch. He wanted to cry when he finally felt his fingers graze the small switch, and he flicked it on. 

Nothing happened. 

“No, no no no no--” Peter whimpered, flicking it up and down and up and down, before feeling for the door still resting ajar. He stumbled into the hallway, and even though the windows provided a tiny amount of light, it was too cloudy outside to help much at all. Peter tried the hall lights, then the kitchen, then the living room, feeling tears tumble down his face as they all gave the same, terrifying result as the one in his room. 

“Please, please please please work, please--”

“Kid?”

Peter jumped so hard he almost crushed the switch he was frantically flicking. He turned, and there was Tony, his arc reactor glowing bright through his thin pajama shirt, providing the light Peter had been desperately looking for. Peter had to stop himself from flinging his arms around his mentor. 

“Wh-Why don’t any of the lights work?” Peter said, his voice trembling from fear and tears. 

“There was a storm--the thunder really didn’t wake you? It knocked out the power,” Tony said. 

“N-No, I… I have really loud neighbors.” Peter sniffed, wiping his eyes. “I-I’m s-sorry I woke you up. I d-didn’t mean to.”

“It’s fine, I was just in my room reading anyway--Woah, wait are you crying?” Tony said as he came close enough for his metal heart to light up Peter’s face. Peter started wiping the tears away more quickly, ducking his face a little. 

“Oh, uh, no it’s ok, I’m--”

“Oh Peter,” Tony said softly, laying a hand on Peter’s cheek and wiping a stray tear from his eye. “What happened? Did you have a nightmare?”

“N-no,” Peter said, feeling his face grow hot. 

“Are you sick? Are you hungry? Did you get hurt out on patrol? Peter you gotta tell me when these things happen--”

“No, no no no, it’s not anything like that,” Peter said. “It’s just… it’s stupid. It’s really really stupid.”

“Hey, don’t talk like that,” Tony said gently, pushing curls out of Peter’s shining eyes. “Whatever it is, it scared you, and you don’t have to be ashamed of being scared. Just tell me what happened kiddo.”

Peter ducked his head and squeezed his eyes shut, wringing his hands for a few seconds before he spoke. 

“I-I’m scared of the dark!” he blurted. “I-I woke up and the light in the hall was off and it was so dark it-it felt like I was suffocating, and I couldn’t even see my blankets or find my phone and then the lights wouldn’t work and--” Peter broke off with a sob, burying his face in his hands. “It didn’t used to be like this! I used to be able to sleep fine! But now whenever I’m in the dark by myself I feel like there’s something crushing me, like I’m being buried alive by a bunch of concrete and bricks and dust--”

Peter started crying even harder now, the tears falling so fast and his chest growing far too tight to speak any more. Luckily, it seems he didn’t have to, because Tony circled his arms around him, pulling him tightly to his chest so that Peter's head laid right beside his arc reactor. He ran his fingers through Peter’s hair while his other hand rubbed his back as Peter slowly regained composure. When his sobs had reduced to small hiccups and sniffs, Tony spoke. 

“There you go. You’re all spent huh? I haven’t seen you cry like that in a little while,” he murmured, starting to slowly rock them both side to side. 

“I--I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to--”

“Shhh, it’s okay. I don’t care about the crying, it’s okay to cry, remember? And it’s not stupid to be scared of the dark. You’ve been through a lot Pete, and you’re still just a kid. It makes sense that you’re scared of the dark. It’s okay to be scared,” he said, still speaking in that soft, calm voice that made Peter’s shoulders relax. 

“It’s just… kind of annoying,” Peter mumbled. “I know I’m safe, but when I wake up in the middle of the night like that I’m all like, disoriented and freaking out and too tired to get my thoughts in a logical row.”

“What do you usually do when this happens? Does your Aunt know about this?”

“Aunt-Aunt May knows, and I… I, um…” Peter trailed off, feeling his face turn bright red. Tony chuckled, causing Peter’s head to shake slightly on his chest. 

“I won’t judge you kiddo. Just tell me,” he said. Peter bit his lip and avoided Tony’s eyes. 

“I um… I have a nightlight,” he said. “It uh… it looks like your arc reactor.”

“Does it now? So even little toddler Peter liked Iron Man, did he?”

“No--I mean yeah, I did when I was little too, but um, my nightlight from when I was little broke a long time ago. Aunt May bought that for me after the first time I freaked out in the middle of the night,” Peter said. 

“Huh. Why the Iron Man light?”

“It’s not an Iron Man light. It’s a Mr. Stark light,” Peter said. Tony had to think about what he was saying for a moment before he got it.

“Ohhh, I’m your nightlight?”

“Yeah.”

“I… I keep you safe? I stop the uh, the crushing feeling?”

“Yeah.”

“So, why didn’t you bring your, heh, your Mr. Stark light with you? Did you forget it?”

“No, I just… I didn’t want you to make fun of me,” Peter mumbled, squeezing his eyes shut.

“Oh kid… I’m sorry,” Tony said, resting his chin on Peter’s head. 

“Huh? For what?” Peter said, opening his eyes in surprise when Tony hugged him a little closer.

“I clearly haven’t done a great job of making sure you know I wouldn’t make fun of you for something like that. I would never make fun of your fears kiddo, even if I did think they were silly. I’m sorry I didn’t make that clear earlier,” Tony said. 

“Oh. Um, it’s alright, it’s fine,” Peter said, not entirely sure what else to say, and absentmindedly tracing his finger around the edge of Tony’s heart. 

“Heh, it’s not really, but I see what you’re trying to say,” Tony said with a small smile. “Well, since we can’t exactly go out and get your Mr. Stark light right now, why don’t you have the real thing for tonight?”

Peter blinked, then lifted his head off Tony’s chest, staring up at him in confusion. 

“What do you mean?”

“You want to sleep in my room tonight kiddo? I’ll be your light, I’ll make sure the dark doesn’t get you,” Tony said.

“A-Are you sure? I don’t wanna intrude or--”

“I’m offering, Spiderling, it’s not intruding if I offer.”

After a moment Peter smiled and nodded, and the two headed to Tony’s room. Tony was sure to grab Peter an extra blanket to help with his thermoregulation, and then they both slid under the covers. 

“Goodnight kiddo,” Tony said, being sure his arc reactor wasn’t hidden beneath the covers. 

“‘Night Mr. Stark,” Peter said with a yawn. “Thanks for being my nightlight.”

Tony smiled, warmth growing in his chest. 

“Of course Peter. If there was only one thing I could use this heart for, I’d want it to always be your light in the dark.”

#irondad #irondad and spiderson #irondad fic #irondad fanfiction #tony stark #peter parker #marvel fanfiction #spider-man fanfiction #spider-man #spiderman #Iron Man #MCU #mcu fanfiction #my spidey boy #Tony freaking Stark

[kookitykook]

Seven Soulmarks: Jungkook (”Loser.”)

~genre: soulmate au, fluff, some angst, sfw

~word count: 6.1k 

~pairing: jungkook x reader

~warnings: descriptions of bullying (nothing violent), family member death mention, a wild jackson wang appears (i needed a brother okay), listen it sounds intense but this is one of my favs i’ve written 

~summary: At the exact moment of your twentieth birthday, the first words your soulmate will ever say to you appear in black ink on the inside of your left wrist. Jeon Jungkook is devastated when his wrist reads one word: “Loser.”

See how the other boys meet their soulmates (all interconnected) Taehyung -- Jimin -- Namjoon -- Hoseok -- Yoongi -- Jin

~~~~~~~~~~~

Jeon Jungkook was six years old the first time someone called him a loser. 

It had been during a spelling bee. It was only the first grade, so the words had been simple things like “park,” “tall,” “flower,” or “here.”

In Jungkook’s case, the first word he was given by his teacher had been “soul.”

“S - O - W - L.”

The other students had immediately burst out laughing. Jungkook could feel his ears turning red as he looked at all of their faces, their laughter becoming crueler with each second of his confusion. 

“Oh I’m so sorry Jungkook,” his teacher had said. “Soul is actually spelled S - O - U - L. I’m afraid you’ve lost this time around, you can go sit in your seat.”

“Haha, Jungkook is the first one out!” One of the boys had shouted. Jungkook whipped his head over to look at him, only to be met with the bully’s gap-toothed smirk and a greasy finger pointed in his direction. “Loser!”

The word struck something deep in Jungkook’s chest, a chord that he never wanted to be played. 

How were they being so mean? The other kids in his class were laughing along with the bully, despite their teacher trying to calm him down. Jungkook didn’t understand … He was fine with losing the spelling bee, but now with all of his classmates calling him that word — loser — he felt smaller than ever, and he was a small child to begin with. 

His mother had always told him she loved his quiet, sensitive heart.

But Jungkook’s heart didn’t seem to love him back that day. 

And the tears rolling down his puffy cheeks only cemented the taunting nickname for the rest of his school years. 

***

“What’s up, loser?” 

“Nice jacket, loser.”

“Hey loser, can I copy your notes?”

These kinds of off-handed remarks were part of Jungkook’s daily school routine from that fateful day of the spelling bee up until high school. As much as Jungkook begged his family to let him switch schools as a child, it just wasn’t possible for them because of his father’s job.

Eventually, he stopped asking and just accepted his fate. 

It didn’t mean the name-calling ever hurt any less. 

Jungkook knew that he was sensitive, and he tried to grow thicker skin, he really did. But he also didn’t really want to change. He liked who he was, he just didn’t understand why nobody else did. 

“Hey loser!” 

Jungkook sighed, dropped his head to his chest at the unfortunately familiar voice of that same bully who coined his nickname after the spelling bee in the first grade. 

“Oh come on loser, don’t be like that,” the bully said with a cruel laugh, leaning against Jungkook’s locker. “We graduate tomorrow! Lose the long face for once!” 

I only have a long face because you treat me like shit, Jungkook thought to himself. But of course he didn’t say it out loud. 

People had been mean to him for the past eleven years, but he never could bring himself to be mean back. He knew there was a light at the end of the tunnel and eventually no one would call him ‘loser.’ So he just had to survive and be kind until he got to that place. 

“Graduation, yeah,” Jungkook said with a nod and a brief glance at the bully. “Can’t wait.”

“That’s the spirit!” the bully shouted, hitting Jungkook in the shoulder hard enough to push him into the door of his locker with a wince. “Last day, loser! Woo!”

Jungkook couldn’t help but wince again as the bully shouted right in his ear and then gave him a noogie before striding off down the hallway to possibly terrorize someone else.

“Last day,” he whispered to himself, closing his high school locker for the last time. “It can only get better from here.”

***

And it did. College was the best thing that could have ever happened to Jungkook. He moved to another city, went to a school where none of his high school classmates were attending, and was finally able to start over. 

He didn’t change anything about himself, but was finally in an environment where he could truly be himself without fear. It was life-changing. 

Confidence sprouted in him like a flower in bloom, and Jungkook found himself making friends, laughing without abandon, pursuing his interests with people that thought like him. 

His inward confidence rippled to his outward appearance as well, and his closest friends were two guys that he had met at the gym when he was just a freshman. Jin and Namjoon were both seniors, but they welcomed him into their friend circle without any hesitation. And when Jin heard that Jungkook enjoyed dancing, he connected him to Hoseok, who was a junior and captain of the dance team, and just like that the four of them were thick as thieves. 

This was Jungkook’s light at the end of the tunnel. Having friends who loved and supported him and got his weird sense of humor. 

And not once had any of them called him a loser. 

Now junior year was about to start and Jungkook had just moved out of the dorms into an apartment with Hoseok. Jin and Namjoon had both gotten their own apartments in the last year or so since they were making good money, but he and Hoseok were still typical broke college students (well, Hoseok was graduated, but was living like a broke college student while he saved up to open his own dance studio).

“Dude, did you hear about that new record shop that’s supposed to open up just down the street?” 

Jungkook looked up from his phone as Hoseok spoke, his friend sorting through one of the boxes he had yet to unpack even though they’d moved in two weeks ago. 

“No, I didn’t.”

“Yeah, I went by the other day to see if the space would be good for the studio, but it had just been bought. The owner’s name is Yoongi, super cool dude. He and his soulmate and some other girl were signing. Don’t know when it’ll open, but they bought the space.”

“That’s pretty cool,” Jungkook murmured even though he wasn’t really paying attention, still looking at his phone.

Hoseok scoffed, propping his elbows up on the side of the box and looking at his friend with an eyebrow cocked. “You’re not even listening to me. I need attention, Jungkookie, and you’re not giving it to me.”

Jungkook huffed, looking at Hoseok only to snort when he saw his friend pouting dramatically. 

“Sorry. It’s just … my mark is about to appear.”

“Wait, what?!” Hoseok screamed, making Jungkook wince. “What the hell, dude?! I thought your birthday was tomorrow!” He grabbed his own phone, looking at the date and groaning. “Man, I’m so sorry. I got the dates mixed up, if I had known I would have—” 

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Jungkook reassured him. “It’s not a big deal.”

“It is a big deal!” Hoseok’s shrieking was going to be a topic of conversation with their neighbors for sure. “It’s your soulmark year! What time will it show up?”

“My mom said I was born at 10:05.”

“Damn, you’ve only got … one minute! How do you feel?”

“I don’t know,” Jungkook shrugged, pulling at the loose threads at the end of his sweatshirt. His hair dipped down over his forehead, he would have to go to Jimin soon to get a haircut. “It feels kind of weird. That I have a soulmate out there at all.”

“Yeah, it’s trippy,” Hoseok agreed, looking down at his own wrist. “I can’t wait to meet mine though. She sounds feisty.”

Jungkook chuckled at that. He had been there when Hoseok’s mark had appeared. They’d been with Jin and Namjoon, the former laughing until he literally peed himself when Hoseok’s mark showed up and said, ‘Can you even breathe in those pants?’

“It’s just … until I met you and the guys, I never felt like I belonged anywhere. No one understood me. And to know that there’s a girl out there — I think it’s gonna be a girl anyway — a girl that’s just going to get me, it’s … it’s crazy. Aish, I’m probably overthinking it.”

“No man, this is normal,” Hoseok reassured him, reaching over and nudging him fondly. “Your soulmate is going to love you. And not just because, you know, the universe designed them to and all that, but because you’re great!”

“Thanks, hyung.”

Just then the timer on Jungkook’s phone went off. The two boys both froze, Jungkook turning over his wrist so that he and Hoseok could both look.

Nothing showed up. 

“You sure you got the time right?”

“Yes I’m sure,” Jungkook snapped, but it didn’t hold any real bite. “Just give it a minute.”

“Okay, okay.”

They watched in silence, Jungkook worrying at his bottom lip. What if nothing showed up? What if he didn’t have a soulmate? What if he’d already met his soulmate. That was a nightmare scenario waiting to happen. It didn’t happen often, but when it did, the words appeared gray and were the next words your soulmate would say to you. 

He hoped it was someone new. 

“Look!” 

Jungkook jumped at the sound of Hoseok’s voice, blinking his eyes back into focus. Sure enough, black ink was slowly appearing on the inside of his left wrist. 

His heart started to beat faster, and he could feel himself grinning. This was it, this was the moment he hadn’t ever really dared to dream about. His perfect match, the person who was made up of the same star stuff as him, his literally soulmate’s first words to him was going to be … 

‘Loser.’

Jungkook had never been skydiving before, but he had read that the very first moment you jump out of the plane, there’s a split second where your heart lurches into your chest and you just feel this overwhelming fear and wrongness. 

He had that feeling right then. But it didn’t go away after one second. 

“But … I …”

For the first time since Jungkook had met Hoseok, his friend was speechless. 

“I don’t understand.”

He could feel tears rolling down his cheeks, but he couldn’t bring himself to wipe them away. This couldn’t be happening. 

The words were in black ink, which meant he hadn’t met the person before, and yet his soulmate’s first word to him was going to be the word he hated most in the world? The name his classmates taunted him with for eleven years?

Jungkook was a kind soul. People had told him that his whole life, even before he started to believe it himself. 

So how was his soulmate going to be … so cruel?

“Kookie,” Hoseok started, his voice hoarse. He and Jin and Namjoon all knew what Jungkook’s early school days had been like, and the heaviness of that word on Jungkook’s heart. “I’m sure it’s not what it looks like.”

Jungkook said nothing, only continued to cry silently as his friend wrapped an arm around his shoulders and squeezed. 

It just didn’t make any sense. Jungkook hadn’t even met his soulmate yet and their cruelty was already striking the chord of pain that he thought he’d left behind. 

***

You were suspended for the first time in second grade. 

You didn’t even know second graders could get suspended. Years later you found out that you were actually your school’s first ever case of a second grade suspension and quite frankly, you wore the badge with pride. 

“Y/N, this behavior is simply unacceptable,” your principal said to you as you held an ice pack to your swollen cheek. “Your teacher tells me you’re the class leader and yet this is the example you’re setting.”

You rolled your eyes, which led to a wince when the tender, quickly bruised flesh pulled at the motion. 

“I’ve called your father, he should be here momentarily,” your principal continued. The look on his face was pissing you off. You didn’t even know what ‘pissed off’ meant, but you had heard the phrase on a TV show your older brother watched and it resonated with you for some reason. “I am very disappointed in you, Y/N. This school does not tolerate fighting.”

You huffed in indignation, wanting to stomp your foot but it didn’t reach the floor from the chair you sat in across from the principal’s desk.

“But he—”

“Hi, sorry I’m late.” 

At the sound of your father’s voice, you turned around in your seat so fast that one of your pigtails hit you in the face. 

“Oh, baby,” your father murmured. His gaze went straight to your bruised face, running around your chair to crouch in front of you and inspect the damage. “How did this happen?” he snapped at your principal. 

The principal scoffed at your father’s tone, clearly taking offense. 

“This happened because your daughter initiated a fight on the playground today, sir.”

You father looked back at you and blinked in confusion. “Sweetheart, is this true?”

You could feel tears prickling your eyes. The worst thing in the world was when your father was disappointed in you. 

You nodded, keeping your eyes downcast at your lap and swinging your feet. 

“Yeah, I hit him,” you mumbled. “But it was only because—”

“I’m sorry, Y/N,” the principal cut you off. “This school has a strict no-violence policy, any excuses are—”

“Let her finish.”

Your father practically growled at the principal. The beady eyed administrator gulped, looking away from your father’s intense glare. 

You finally felt comfortable enough to meet your father’s eyes as he turned back to you. In the matter of a mere second, his gaze went from livid to kind as he looked down at you. 

Your father and brother were your whole world. Your mother had passed away giving birth to you and even though you tended to feel particularly empty whenever you saw the other girls being dropped off at school by their moms in the morning, your father and brother were everything to you. 

“Why did you hit another student, sweetheart?” your father asked softly. 

“Because he called Lana a slut!” you shouted instantly, your tiny voice not so tiny anymore. “And I don’t even know what slut means but he said it like a real big jerk and then he pulled on her shirt so hard she fell down on the ground! And instead of helping her up he just kicked sand on her! And I warned him Daddy, I swear I did! I told him, ‘if you say one more word then I’ll sock you right in the mouth.’ I heard Jackson say that one time but don’t tell him I told you that. But then he looked at me and said ‘one more word,’ and then he kicked sand on Lana and me both while I was helping her up. And I knew if I didn’t hit him then I would be a liar and I would be telling him it was okay to push girls down and call them mean names and it’s just not, Daddy, it’s not okay! And the teachers weren’t doing anything, they never do, so I did it, I socked him right in the mouth and then he hit me back and so I hit him again and then Teacher separated us and then I came here and that’s what happened.”

The office went deadly silent when you finished, save for your sniffles. You wiped at your face with the back of your hand quickly, unable to look at your father yet again. 

Then you heard a small chuckle and felt your chin being lifted up. 

“Sweetheart,” he murmured. “You can look at me. I’m not mad.”

“You’re … you’re not?” 

“Not at all,” he assured you. “In fact I’m proud of you.”

The principal guffawed, but was instantly silenced by another glare from your father. 

“Do I think you should have hit the boy?” your father asked. “No. And we can work on learning some better options for when you see something. But Y/N, I will always — always be proud of you for standing up for what is right. Do you hear me?”

You sniffled, throwing yourself into your father’s arms. 

“I hear you, Daddy.”

***

Your father’s funeral was the day of your twentieth birthday.

For twenty years, you had known exactly where you stood in the world because you knew who you could always fall back on. 

And now he was gone and for the first time ever … you felt lost. 

Your brother Jackson gripped your hand tightly as the casket was lowered. He’d delivered a beautiful eulogy, and you knew that later you would feel terrible for putting all that responsibility on him, but in that moment … you were just numb. 

The snow falling around you wasn’t exactly helping. 

Jackson had tried to convince you to move the funeral so that it wouldn’t coincide with the day you received your soulmark, but you had refused. 

Anytime you had dreamed about when your mark would appear, the dream had always included your father being there with you. Now that he wouldn’t … what was the point in making it a big thing?

“Just a few more minutes,” Jackson said suddenly, startling you from where you were staring at the coffin slowly disappearing into the ground. 

“Huh?”

Your brother nodded down at your wrist. “Your mark. Just a few more minutes and it’ll show up.”

“Oh. Right.” 

“Y/N … I know this is hard, but—”

“Just don’t, Jackson,” you sighed. “I’m just … I’m tired. I’m so damn tired, I can’t make myself get happy about my mark. I feel like with him gone, I don’t even know who I am anymore, how the hell am I supposed to care who my soulmate is?”

“You know who you are.” When you snorted, Jackson grabbed you by the shoulders and turned you to face him. “Hey, listen to me. I know we’re both grieving and I know this sucks alright, I’m in pain, too.” His voice cracking on those words was enough to make you actually focus on him. “But you know who you are. So do I. And so did … so did Dad.”

You winced, looking away to where dirt was being pushed into the grave. Jackson grabbed you gently by the chin to make you look back at him. 

“You are strong, resilient, and you take no crap from anybody. I’ve never met anyone who stands up for what’s right the way you do, and sometimes that needs to mean you stand up to yourself when you get like this. You are who Dad raised you to be.”

“And who is that?”

“The same punk who socked a kid in the mouth on the playground for bullying your friend.”

Your laugh was a sad one, but it was there. Jackson smiled.

“You’re the same person who organized a protest to get the cafeteria to include gluten free pizza because one kid in your grade had celiac disease. You’re the person who organized a neighborhood wide clean up for the old lady down the street when her house got out of control because she couldn’t take care of it herself anymore. That’s who you are, Y/N. Kind and compassionate and yet mean as hell when you know someone is being a bully.”

You laughed out loud at that one, wiping away your tears with the back of your hand. 

“There it is,” Jackson murmured. “I knew that smile was still in there somewhere.”

“How am I supposed to smile right now, Jax? I’m … we’re at our father’s funeral. He’s gone, how do I … how do we keep going?”

“By being who he raised us to be. You — a freedom fighter with a heart of gold. Me — incredibly handsome and charming and talented and—”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it,” you chuckled. “I just … I’m afraid I don’t know how to be that person without him.”

Jackson smiled softly, shaking his head as he pulled you in for a hug. 

“Yes you do, Y/N. Yes you do.”

You hugged him back tightly as you could, letting your brother push the broken pieces of your heart back into place. 

“Oh!” you exclaimed suddenly, pulling away. “My mark!”

“Oh what’s it say, what’s it say?” 

“It says …” you pulled back the black sleeve of your dress and turned your hand over to look at the inside of your left wrist. “‘This is not what I expected.’”

“Huh,” Jackson remarked as you furrowed your brow. “That’s a pretty good one.”

And even though your heart was heavy, there was still a flutter in the back of your heart. 

You had a soulmate out there somewhere. Your other half was out there.

Whoever he ends up being … you find yourself hoping he’s the kind of guy your father would love. 

***

ONE YEAR LATER 

It was a well known fact that Jungkook hated bars. They were impersonal, usually dirty, not exactly primed for dancing the way that clubs were, and he usually got hit on a lot which is flattering, sure, but also super uncomfortable for him. 

But of course Jin wanted to celebrate his birthday at the bar where he met his soulmate — who was now his fiancee. Not that anyone could miss the fact that Jin’s soulmate was now his fiancee considering he announced it to the world every five minutes. 

Not that Jungkook was jealous or anything.

No … not at all. 

“Jungkook!”

The younger boy jumped as Namjoon slapped his hand on his shoulder, spilling a few drops of his drink on the bar in the process. He looked up at his friend and smirked. Like always, Namjoon’s hair was immaculately coifed. 

“Looking good, hyung,” he remarked with a smirk. “Any nice girls comment on your hair tonight?”

“Not yet, but it’s still early.”

“You know I can see your roots starting to come in, you should probably go see Jimin soon. And — oh my gosh, is that … it looks like your part is uneven! Call the hair police stat!”

“Alright you little brat, keep making fun,” Namjoon said cooly. “I’m not the one with a mop on his head.”

“The ladies love this mop of hair, hyung.”

“And yet you always turn them down. Ack, get those doe eyes out of my face. Hoseok!”

“Joonie-ah!”

Even across the entire room, Hoseok’s voice made it sound like he was right beside them. Seconds later the slender, red-faced and slightly tipsy boy was bounding up to the bar. 

“Hello, boys,” he sing-songed, waving down the bartender and asking for another beer. “Where the hell did Jin even go? This is his birthday party and he’s missing all the fun.”

“Ah,” Namjoon remarked, throwing back a shot. “I do believe I saw he and his lovely fiancee sneaking away a few minutes ago.”

“Soulmates,” Hoseok muttered. “Can’t live with them, desperately want to be them.” He thanked the bartender smoothly and grabbed his new drink. “Come on boys, let’s go meet some ladies and hope they say those special words! And if not, well … we can get them to say something else equally enticing!”

“Ah, you guys go ahead,” Jungkook said as Hoseok started to drag him away. “I’m going to finish my drink and then head home.”

“What?” Hoseok shouted (honestly, it was like his default volume when he was tipsy).

“Jungkookie, it’s not even ten,” Namjoon said. 

“I know, but I have a paper to work on and if Jin-hyung isn’t even here then I really should get back and work on it.”

“Aw, Namjoon, look at our little boy all grown up and being a responsible student.”

“Stop that,” Jungkook snapped, but not without a fond smile as he shoved away Hoseok’s hands from gripping his cheeks and shaking them. “You guys go. Find a soulmate or … a person for the evening.”

“Eloquent, Kookie, truly. We’ll catch you later, alright?” Namjoon asked, narrowing his eyes. 

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll see you on Saturday. Go ahead. And Hobi, don’t slam the door when you come in the apartment tonight, yeah?”

When Hoseok bounded away without an answer, Jungkook just rolled his eyes. Typical. It was a good thing he loved that guy already. 

Left to his own devices at the bar, Jungkook went back to his drink. He meant it when he said he had a paper to work on, but he paid good money from his very meager bank account for his drink, so he was damn well going to finish it.

It was kind of peaceful, sitting on his own at the bar and just having a drink. Getting lost in his thoughts, good ones of his friends and new dance choreo and a stupid pun Jin had told him last week. 

He only tensed up once when a woman in a green dress sat down a couple seats from him, fully expecting her to make a move on him, but then relaxing when she just ordered a drink for herself and didn’t pay him any attention at all. 

It was oddly serene. Until it wasn’t.

Jungkook was just one sip away from being finished with his drink when someone clasped his shoulder with an painfully iron tight grip. 

“Ouch, Namjoon, what the—”

Jungkook froze as he looked up to see someone he thought he’d left in another town, in a life long left behind. 

“Holy shit!” his childhood bully shouted, still as greasy faced and obnoxious as he’d been all through their school days, grinning with cruel delight. “I thought that was you! Damn loser, who would have thought I’d be seeing you here? I bet you thought you’d seen the last of me, huh?”

It was an odd feeling, to be thrown back into a past version of himself as Jungkook looked up at the person that had initiated a cycle of cruelty and misery for eleven years of his life. 

“I … I—”

“Haha, still stuttering, huh, loser?” The bully punched him in the shoulder and even though Jungkook had developed a fair amount of muscle mass since high school, it still hurt to be punched. “Damn loser, you been working out? Shit, you really bulked up! I wouldn’t have shit on you so much in high school if you looked like this! I mean, you really went from a dweeb to a good-looking dude! Good for you, loser!” 

“Uh, yeah,” Jungkook muttered, moving to stand from the stool. “Hey it’s uh, good to see you too man, but I gotta go.”

The bully just laughed and the familiar noise stirred a very real pain in Jungkook’s gut. 

“Still a loser, huh loser? I knew it was you when I saw you sitting at a bar and drinking by yourself! I guess you can bulk up and move away, but once a loser always a—”

“Hey tough guy.”

The bully looked up at the sound of your voice. Jungkook turned as well, hoping and praying that his eyes weren’t glassy. 

You stood up from your stool with a margarita in hand and daggers in your gaze as you stared at the colossal asshole trying to act macho.

“Hey sweets, I’m more than willing to chat with you once I finish catching up with my high school buddy here.” He clapped Jungkook on the shoulder once again, squeezing his meaty fingers into the fabric on his black shirt. 

“Yeah see I don’t know you,” you said, stepping up and smacking the inside of the bully’s elbow to make him let go of the unreasonably handsome, but quiet man that had been sitting beside you at the bar. “But I do know that ‘high school buddies’ typically don’t degrade one another and call each other names. So why don’t you buzz off and get your dick hard some other way instead of reliving your glory days of being the world’s biggest teenage douchebag.”

Jungkook’s mouth dropped, staring at you in shock. Not once, not once had anyone defended him in front of this guy. Until you. He didn’t even know you and yet you were standing up for him. 

The bully blinked in surprise, but then it only took a few seconds for his face to turn red with anger. 

“Listen here you bitch—”

“Watch it.”

No one was more surprised at Jungkook’s growled warning than Jungkook himself. You looked over your shoulder at him with a raised eyebrow and the slightest smirk before turning back to the asshole in question. 

“Call me or any other woman bitch ever again, and I’ll throw this drink all over your head, sock you in the mouth, and then get you permanently banned from the bar. Do you understand me or should I repeat myself slower?”

“Who the fuck do you think you are?” the bully snapped, puffing out his chest with held breath. 

“I think I’m someone that can spot a whiny ass bully from a mile away,” you remarked casually, not perturbed in the slightest. “So why don’t you just save all of us some trouble, and fuck off somewhere else.”

The bully looked over you at Jungkook, who was still staring at you shell-shocked. You continued to smile at the bully as if you were discussing the weather. 

“Kookie!” 

“Hey, hey, what’s going on here?” 

Hoseok and Namjoon appeared seemingly out of nowhere, the latter coming up to stand on the other side of Jungkook opposite of you. It was only then that you and Jungkook realized that most of the bar had gone silent and was watching the situation unfold. 

“Hey man,” Namjoon addressed the bully, lifting his chin. “Is there a problem here?”

The bully looked at the four of you standing side by side and straightened his shoulders, inhaling a shaky breath. “Oh I see, loser,” he addressed Jungkook. “You make it out of our little town, think you make it big, but you need a little posse to protect you. Still a loser through and through.”

“What the fuck did you just—”

“Hobi don’t,” Jungkook snapped, reaching behind Namjoon to grab Hoseok’s arm and pull him back. 

The bully laughed, raising his arms out to the side. “Like I said. You can’t even stand up for yourself, loser. You need these two pussies and your little bitch to—”

You threw your drink in the bully’s face, letting him splutter as you turned and placed the empty glass on the bar counter before rearing your arm back and punching him in the nose. 

The entire bar ‘ooo’ed as the bully hit the floor. 

You hissed, shaking out your hand as you looked over your shoulder to the bartender. 

“Jackson,” you said casually, flexing your fingers. “I’m calling in my monthly sister favor. This guy is permanently banned from the bar.”

“First of all,” Jackson replied, eyeing his groaning customer on the floor. “You already used your monthly sister favor when you needed gas last week. But because I’m a nice brother, consider this one an advance on next month’s.”

You grinned, turning back to where the bully was still rolling on the ground like an imbecile. 

“Alright, asshole, up and out. You’re banned, fuck off before I call the cops for trespassing since you’re officially banned. That’s right, out, out. Thank you, goodbye.”

The bully didn’t even spare Jungkook one last glance as he staggered to his feet and out the door. 

“Show’s over, people,” Jackson called out. “But tune in next week, we’ll probably have a rerun of some sort. Carry on!”

You stuck your tongue out at your brother, who just laughed and went back to serving drinks as the bar slowly moved back to normalcy after the scene you caused. Well … the scene you ended. 

You finally looked back to the three boys. 

Who were staring at you … slack-jawed. 

They were all really damn cute, one with sick looking hair, the other tan and glowing and red-faced (tipsy, clearly), and the one who had been bullied just … damn fine.

“I like your hair,” you remarked to the one with the platinum coif. 

His eyes went wide before sighing dramatically. The one on his other side promptly burst out laughing. “Dammit,” he muttered under his breath, stalking off to get another drink. 

You looked to the one who was still laughing. “What did I say?”

“The wrong thing,” the sunshine one said, still laughing. You guessed it was a soulmark thing, but didn’t push it. “That was awesome by the way. Nice punch!”

You smirked, shrugging with no small amount of pride. “Thanks, I do kickboxing.”

“Hey, Jungkook likes boxing!” he shouted, grabbing his other friend and shoving him closer to you. You laughed at the other boy’s scared expression. He had yet to say a word to you. “I don’t know if kickboxing and boxing is the same or not, but … you should talk! I need another drink.”

“Tell the bartender it’s on me,” you said, earning yourself a double thumbs up and a high-five from the sunshine boy. That made you laugh, turning to the other boy to tell him you liked his friends, only to freeze when you saw the look on his face. 

He was staring at you like you were an ethereal being or something. Pure admiration. You weren’t ashamed to admit that if he hadn’t been so cute, it definitely would’ve been creepy. 

You swallowed hard, not knowing what to say. He was just about to open his mouth to speak first when you blurted out —

“Loser.”

The boy froze, his big (and wildly beautiful) brown eyes widening like saucers. 

“Like … really?” you continued. “That dude is practically a professional bully and the only name he called you was loser? Pfft, what a moron. Seriously, don’t dwell on him for a single second, okay? Not worth your time.” 

The boy was still silent, and his stare was really getting to you. 

“Would you just … say something, please?” you asked, swallowing and running a hand through your hair. “I’m sorry if I overstepped, it’s just that I … I can’t just stand by when I see stuff like that. And you looked really uncomfortable and kind of scared and I had to step in. I can’t—”

“This,” he finally spoke, his voice soft and smooth in all the right ways, “is not what I expected.”

Now it was your turn to stare. 

“W-What did you just say?” you asked. 

Your right hand subconsciously moved to grab your left wrist, and Jungkook tracked the movement with his eyes. A smile started to play on his lips, growing wider with each second as he lifted his own left hand.

On the inside of his wrist, right there in black ink, was a single word. 

‘Loser.’

“I … I …” 

You knew you were gaping like a fish, but you genuinely had no idea what to say. 

“I … I am such an asshole!”

Jungkook blinked at you in surprise. 

“Oh my gosh you’ve spent this whole time thinking your soulmate was just going to insult you when you met!” you exclaimed, hands on your head and eyes wild. “Why the hell did I even say that? I’m so insensitive, holy crap!”

Jungkook stared at you, his smile only widening and then he burst into laughter.

And not just any laughter. Oh no, Jungkook’s laughter was open and honest and completely real. He was the epitome of ‘ahahaha!’ and it was the best damn sound you had ever heard. 

And it was contagious. Soon enough you were giggling too, hands on your cheeks as your face reddened in both embarrassment and delight. 

“Kookie!” Hoseok shouted from the bar suddenly, causing the two of you to look over at where he, Namjoon, and Jackson were clearly chatting. “What the hell is so funny?”

You looked back to Jungkook, grinning. His heart skipped a beat, and so did yours. 

The pair of you looked back to the trio, left wrists held up like badges of honor.

“She called me a loser!”

“He said I wasn’t what he expected!”

The three boys were silent for just a split second. 

Jackson promptly screamed and announced free drinks, Hoseok started laughing so hard he literally fell off his chair and spilled his drink everywhere, and Namjoon dropped his head to the bar surface after grumbling, “Another one?”

You and Jungkook looked back to one another, both of you positively beaming. In a rare display of boldness, Jungkook reached out with his left hand and gently grasped yours, running his thumb over the mark there. He giggled when you shivered and you could have melted on the spot.

“Sorry you have to wear the word ‘loser’ on your wrist for the rest of your life,” you said softly, feeling parts of you turn to mush as he looked down at you with utter fondness.

“It’s okay,” he said instantly, smile brighter than any sunrise. “That word doesn’t bother me anymore.”

#bts fanfiction #bts scenario #jungkook fanfiction #jungkook scenario #jeon jungkook #my writing

[alltheangstmygifttoyou]

Pie

A/N: Hello! This is a Learn To Be short that is not canon and brought on by a prompt which is the title. 

Summery: Malcolm finds out Noah has never had pie and insists that they must do everything in their power to get him one.

Word Count: 1880

TW: Let me know if I need to tag for anything

"What do you mean you've never had pie??" Malcolm exclaimed, flabbergasted at the lanky boy in front of him. Noah ducked his face into his knees from his sitting position on the floor. They were in the section fifteen boys dormitory, Malcolm had insisted they do a slumber party but in order to not disturb either of their roommates they had to do it in the main hall. Noah was anxious yet also excited. He had never been to a slumber party before. So far Noah got the idea that his first slumber party wasn't a conventional one. The first thing that had happened when he had arrived was Malcolm trying to set up a pillow fort with one dirty mattress, two ratty blankets, a ripped bean bag seat, two chairs that were each missing a leg, and a two seat couch. Noah had made forts at his house that looked a bit like this disaster, so he helped Malcolm with the construction and they managed to use the chairs and the couch to throw one blanket over their heads while they sat on the mattress and rested on the pillow with the other blanket spread over their legs. The next thing Malcolm had suggested was a pillow fight but with only one pillow that idea was tossed out the window. The third thing suggested was scary movies, but they had no movies to watch and no way to watch them. None of this deterred Malcolm, the older boy had so much energy that Noah wondered if his power somehow gave him extra. The fourth selection had been truth or dare. This had worked, although Noah was pretty sure it was supposed to be played in bigger groups. Also Noah was pretty sure he was being annoying because he kept picking truth but dares were scary! Still Malcolm hadn't yelled at him yet, at least, until now. 

"Um, I don't know, I've just never had pie?" Noah squeaked hoping that his lameness hadn't pushed Malcolm over the edge into hating him. Malcolm fell back with his hand on his forehead sighing.

"You wound me! I've been slain. The knowledge that a young man could go a whole sixteen years without pie is too much for me." Malcolm gasped out.

"I'm only fourteen though..." Noah whispered and Malcolm sat up squinting at him.

"But you're taller than me. You can't be three years younger than me and taller than me. That's just not fair." Malcolm said and Noah raised his shoulders and gave an awkward smile.

"I'm sorry?" He said and Malcolm clapped him on the shoulder not roughly but it still made him flinch and smiled at him.

"It's nothing to be sorry about! Now back to the important stuff. You've never had pie. This needs to be rectified." Malcolm said and brought his hand up to rub his chin while he hummed. Noah untucked from himself a little bit and pondered the predicament as well. He had been to learn to be for five years and they had never once served pie. And students weren't allowed near the kitchen. There was a life lessons class that included cooking but kids in section fifteen couldn't take it. And even then there was no guarantee they made pie in that class. Though there was a kitchen area for it. And stocked ingredients.

"Do you know how to make pie Malcolm?" Noah asked hesitantly. Malcolm broke out of his trance like humming and blinked, looking up to Noah.

"No, why?" Malcolm responded.

"Oh um it's nothing, I just thought we could use the life lessons room to make a pie-" Noah explained and Malcolm was bouncing.

"That's a great idea! We can bake a pie together! I haven't had pie in over a decade! I can't wait to have pie, we should invite Elena too! And here i was just thinking that we trade something with Jesse so he could buy us one." Malcolm said laughing and Noah realized that was a much safer option. For one they wouldn't get in any trouble for it, for two, the pie was much likelier to taste better.

"Actually Malcolm, I think that's a great idea-" Noah tried again but Malcolm had already climbed out the fort and was pacing talking to himself.

"So we can't break in tonight because the hallway to the nearest life lessons classroom is patrolled tonight but on Thursday it won't be so if we grab Elena then we'll have better eyes to see. So we just need to make sure neither Jesse nor Jester find out about this-" Malcolm was pacing, planning, plotting out their routes and times through the hall as if this were a life or death mission and not a plan to try and bake a pie.

"But Malcolm neither of us know how to bake a pie." Noah tried for a third time to get through to the boy but Malcolm waved a hand at him.

"How hard can it be? I've had pie plenty of times and it always tasted good. Im sure I can figure it out." Malcolm said and Noah did not have it in him to try and argue once again. So instead he sat with Malcolm and helped him get the details of the pie heist down.

* * *

It was Thursday night and Noah was much more anxious than he had been three nights ago. He had managed to keep his mouth shut about the plan around Jester and Elena seemed to be fine with the plan. They were all meeting outside the boys dormitory at 11:30pm. Noah was already there ten minutes early already going over all the different ways this would go wrong in the end. They definitely were going to get caught, and then they'd be expelled and he'd be thrown in jail for the rest of his life all because he wanted to taste some pie! But he couldn't duck out now, Malcolm was so excited and really, really, wanted Noah to taste some pie. Noah still didn't expect the pie to taste good but he'd do it for his friend. Elena was the second to arrive and she smiled and waved at Noah who smiled and raised a hand back. The silence between them wasn't uncomfortable but it was tense for Noah, who couldn't help but notice the way Elena's eyes were tracking the dark hallways of the school, checking for patrolling guards and teachers. Noah hadn't even been thinking of doing that, too busy being wrapped up in his own head. He was tempted to smack his forehead but was worried the smack would alert someone of their presence. Finally Malcolm arrived, creaking open the dorm door and peeking out and smiling brightly at the two of them. He came out the door with a flashlight in hand and the three of them started off, with Malcolm in the lead and Elena in the rear. During the planning Malcolm had made sure that Noah would protected at every step, he never wanted Noah alone on this "mission." Noah didn't really want to be alone so he was fine with that. The school was huge, the size of a large city, even the closest life lessons classroom was a forty minute walk away from the dorms. They had to stop around corners and check, and only use the flashlight in emergencies. Noah was all too aware of his footsteps while he walked with these two, who had both somehow seemed to learn to walk silently. By the time they were halfway there Noah was sweating and his legs ached and they had had to stand there silently praying while a guard walked past them in the night. But they were making it, and every now and then Malcolm or Elena would take his hand and squeeze it to reassure him it was okay. By the time they finally got to the room Malcolm gave Elena the flashlight and they switched positions. Elena pulled a hair pin out of her pocket and began fiddling with the lock and held the flashlight with her teeth. Soon the door clicked open and they made it inside. Successfully in the room Malcolm let out a big sigh. He pulled all the curtains down in the room so no one could see inside and Elena turned on the flash light and looked around. Noah followed her example and looked too. It looked like someone had shoved a restaurant kitchen into the back of a classroom. A chalkboard was up front along with a projection screen and desks and chairs laid before it. There was a backroom next to what looked like the teachers desk and Elena was already heading towards it and picking its lock. Noah followed her and inside was a room full of ingredients. Noah had mostly made instant food all his life. He had the basic idea of cooking. He hadn't the foggiest idea about baking. Though he heard it was a lot like chemistry which he was good at. Malcolm came in and stared at all the ingredients before seemingly grabbing them at random and directing Elena and Noah to carry things back to the kitchen. Noah examined the kitchen area to see if there were any recipes lying about and went to the teachers desk to check but there was nothing. This did not deter Malcolm who started giving restaurant manager-like orders to Noah and Elena who just did as he said. The measurements did not seem right to Noah but he had never eaten a pie before so how would he know. If Elena thought anything wrong with what they were doing she didn't show it. She just pouted when Malcolm rubbed flour on her nose. Eventually they had made something that sorta looked like dough and Malcolm had them mash strawberries and apples into some sort of lumpy almost liquid and dump that into the dough covered pan. Then they put another layer of dough and put it in the oven to bake for twenty minutes. Noah, while pretty sure whatever was coming out of that oven would taste worse than vomit, was pretty satisfied. He liked working with his hands. Malcolm and Elena seemed pretty happy too. Then Malcolm threw some flour at Elena who tossed some back and he tossed more at her but it hit Noah and Noah without thinking much of it threw it back and there was an all out flour war in the kitchen that went until the oven beeped. All of them covered in the white powdery substance stared at the still not very appetizing meal before them. Malcolm grabbed a fork and just dug in. He made noises of pleasure so Elena took her fork and dug in as well. Noah did right after her and put it in his mouth only to find out what a burnt apple and strawberry tasted like at the same time. He gagged and spit it out and Malcolm laughed, choked, and did the same.

"Okay! So now we know that's not how you make a pie. Good job gang, well get it next time. For now we have to wash off this flour.” Malcolm said with a smile.

#learn to be #orginal fiction #writeblr

[dustonionpollywongus]

In which Will Byers is in love with his best friend, but Mike has his eye on someone else.

Will yawned loudly as he crawled into his bed. There was already someone in it, Mike- his best friend, as they were having a sleepover. It was actually the night before the boys started their senior year at Hawkins High, and Joyce wasn't too pleased with the last minute plans:

"But mom, how am I meant to cope with the end-of-holidays depression without Mike here?"

"Yeah, Mrs Byers! The last day is the worst!"

"C'mon mom, please. We'll be asleep by 12!"

"12! No way!" Joyce exclaimed. "I'm sorry Mike, I don't think you should-"

"What about 11:30?"

Joyce sighed, "10:30."

"11:30, and I'll do the shopping on Sunday." Will persuaded.

"I can help him." Mike encouraged. "Please, Mrs Byers."

The older woman put her hands on her hips and stared between her son and his best friend's puppy eyes. She knew she would never win. "Ok," She cut off the two teens as they cheered. "But, lights out at 11:30, sharp."

"You got it mom!" Will exclaimed. He grabbed Mike's hand and rushed passed his mother so he could get to his room.

"Make sure to brush your teeth before bed!"

"We know, mom." He groaned. He shut the door after pulling Mike inside. Turning to the curly-haired boy, he sparked- "Wanna read a comic?"

Now, at almost 12:30, both boys lay side by side on Will's small bed. It was hardly big enough to fit one person, never mind two, and Will always grew hot at how close they had to be so they could lay inside.

"So Byers." Mike began, turning in his side so he could face Will, who was staring up at the ceiling. The other boy turned his face slightly so he could look at him, their noses inches apart. "Senior year, huh? Got any goals?"

Will shrugged awkwardly in the small space. "I don't know. We gotta start looking for colleges and if I want to get into a good art one, then I've got to have something to offer. I guess I'll just carry on with Art and the AV club."

Mike hummed, "Will, you're amazing at art. I have no doubt you'll get into any college you want. In fact, they'd be begging for you."

Will blushed. "That's not true."

Mike smiled sweetly at his best friend. "Friends don't lie." They lay in a comfortable silence for a moment, when Mike broke it, speaking again. "You wanna know, what I'm gonna achieve this year?"

Will raised an eyebrow, "Should I be worried?"

Mike groaned and playfully shoved the other boy, who cackled. "Alright be like that then asshole."

Will sniggered, "Alright Wheeler, what are you gonna achieve this year."

Mike smirked. "I'm gonna get Jane Hopper to go out with me."

Will's smile dropped. He wasn't expecting that. Mike had been 'in love' with Jane Hopper since 3rd grade, but he had never had the courage to ask her out.

("Are you kidding, I can't just go up to her and ask her out!"

"Why not?"

"Because she's pretty and popular... and she'd laugh at me. No, I need a proper plan.")

Will never understood what Mike saw in her. But then again, Will was very gay and very much in love with with his best friend - not that anybody knew or was going to find out.

"So you'll finally grow the balls to ask her out then?" Will asked, plastering a smile onto his face.

"Yep... well, hopefully. I've got a plan!" Mike exclaimed, sounding very pleased with him self. Will raised his eyebrows again, encouraging him to go on. "So you know Jessy?"

Ah yes, Jessy. Mike's new flashy car he had gotten for his 17 birthday. Will nodded.

"I'm going to impress Jane with her."

"What?" Will gawped. This was Mike's master plan?

"Yep! When she sees that beauty, she gonna be all over it." Mike smirked.

Will sighed. "Mike, if you have to have a fancy car to go out with Jane Hopper, then I don't think she's worth. You should go out with someone who genuinely likes you." Like me.

"I know. You see, when I manage to convince Jane Hopper to go out with me, she'll begin to see the real me and fall in love! I'm a genius."

"Yeah, a genius..." Will breathed. If you say so. With that the boys both laid down and began to drift off- one with with a intent smile on his face and the other with a bitter and jealous grimace.

;

Will was woken up early in the morning by a pair of sweatpants. Well, it was actually Mike, who was flapping the item of clothing in front of his face.

"Wake up Byers. First day of school!" He exclaimed.

Will groaned and rubbed his eyes. "Since when are you so excited for school?" He joked.

"Since I know I'm gonna see Jane Hopper at school! I'm gonna ask her out today!"

Will forced himself not to frown. "You gonna ask her straight away? You've not seen her all Summer!"

"Well, yeah." Mike shrugged. He then grew nervous. "Wait- you think I shouldn't?"

Will yawned, and shrugged. "I dunno, man. I just think it would come across as kind of creepy. But you do whatever."

Mike anxiously bit his lip. After a few moments, he sighed. "Well, we'll see I guess. For now, get up." He said, hitting his best friend with the sweats "I wanna get coffee before school."

;

After a stressful morning of deciding what to wear, styling his hair and eating burnt toast, Will was now sat shotgun in Mike's new car. They had just gotten some coffee and were getting close to their high school. Suddenly though, Mike gasped, shocking Will.

"What?! What happened?!" He asked stricken.

Mike lifted a hand from the steering wheel and pointed to a figure who was walking down the street a few hundred metres ahead of them. Will squinted his eyes to see who it was.

"That's Jane! Jane Hopper!" Mike exclaimed excitedly.

"Great..." Will muttered quietly. He noticed that Mike had slowed down the car and they were now driving along side Jane Hopper who seemed to actually be walking to school for once.

"Hi Jane!" Mike said, over enthusiastically, as he rolled down the windows. Jane Hopper turned to them and almost seemed to have taken a sharp intake when seeing who it was.

Chewing her gum, she said, "Hey."

"Hey." Mike replied. Will cringed at the slow- going conversation, "You uh, you heading to school?"

"Yeah."

"Cool. Us too!" Jane didn't respond or react in anyway. Mike awkwardly cleared his throat. "You... you wanna ride with us?" Will stared over at his best friend in disbelief.

Seriously...?

Jane shrugged and walked round the car over to the front passenger's seat. She stared expectantly at Will, popping her gum.

"What?" He asked, "You can't sit at the back?"

"Will." Mike said in between clenched teeth.

"I get travel sick." Jane droned, smacking her gum loudly. Will looked over to his best friend raising his eyebrows. Mike put his hands together, begging Will for a chance to be with Jane. Will huffed and dramatically opened the door, slamming it shut before Jane could get in.

"Rude..." she muttered, snarkily. If she didn't intimidate him so much, Will would have flipped her off.

Jane strapped herself in. "Ugh, what is this music?" She asked. Mike muttered an apology and Will watched as he took out the mixtape that he had made for him. He switched on the car's radio, and Jane hummed contently.

He couldn't believe this was happening. Mike was putting Jane Hopper before his best friend! They're going to have to talk about this later.

;

Will wasn't having the best day so far. He didn't have any classes with Mike and only a few with his other friends. Great. And, turns out that the AV club and art club are hosted on the same days, so he'd only be able to pick one or the other.

He couldn't wait for lunch.

But when it had finally come around, he found that he was disappointed again.

He was currently sitting at a table with Dustin and Lucas. Max had to come from the other side of the building so wasn't there yet and Mike seemed to be running late.

The three boys were just catching up despite seeing each other on Saturday, when Mike had ran to their table a huge smile was on his face. "Guess what?!" He practically yelled with excitement.

This was either going to be very good, or very bad. Guess which one it was.

"Jane Hopper invited me to sit with her at lunch!" Will stared in horror and jealousy as the other boys congratulated Mike for finally getting Jane Hopper to notice him.

Mike looked at Will expectantly and he had to swallow back his frown. He didn't trust himself to speak so he just raised two thumbs, causing Mike to smile bigger.

As Will watched him leave, Max joined the table, asking about what just happened. Will bitterly stayed out of the conversation, his head resting on his hand. He picked at his sandwich, and when Max asked what was wrong, he just told her that he's fine- when actually he's not, not at all.

;

Finally, it was the end of the day and Will couldn't be happier. He had decided to ride home in Lucas' van instead of Mike's car, as he had offered to drop Jane off.

Even though he had already gotten homework, Will decided to draw instead of doing it (fuck the teachers, right?)

Pulling out his already full sketchbook, Will slumped onto his messy bed and opened his latest picture of his mom, deciding to finish it. However, as he was about to start drawing, a loud knock banged on his window.

He almost had a heart attack when he saw a grinning Mike Wheeler outside his window. Sighing, he went to open it, stepping aside as Mike climbed in.

"Seriously, Mike? You couldn't have used the front door?"

"I didn't think your mom would be too happy to see me...again." He shrugged.

"She loves you."

Mike smiled, but then it faltered. "I thought you were gonna ride home with me today?" Will rubbed his neck, sheepishly.

"I didn't want to interrupt you and Jane." He spoke. He was lying, he would've done anything to stop the two of them from being together, but he didn't want to be in the third wheel position.

Mike frowned. "It's only a one time thing, I can drive you home next time."

"Mike, seriously it's fine. I got a ride from Lucas anyway." He reasoned, casually. When Mike's frown remained, he decided it was time to change the subject.

"Sooo... how was lunch?" Will asked, lying on his bed. Mike grinned and made his way to Will's spinning desk chair.

"It was amazing! She asked me to thank me for giving her a ride today. And... I asked her out on a date!"

Will's head shot up from his bed. Mike had gone tomato red. "W-what?" He choked out.

"Yeah... we're going Scoops on Saturday." Mike said. Will was growing more and more jealous of Jane, and he hated himself for it. For being so selfish.

"I- I thought, we were going to the Palace on Saturday." Will asked, eyes narrowing.

Mike sighed guiltily, "Actually, that was why I came over. I can't go on Saturday." Before Will could interrupt, he carried on. "But we can go in Sunday, if you want?"

"Why can't you go out with Jane on Sunday?" Will asked unimpressed.

Mike sighed, "She's busy on Sunday..."

"So! What if I'm busy on Sunday?" Will asked, heatedly. He knew he was being irrational, but he couldn't stop himself.

Mike shrugged pathetically. "I-I don't know..."

"Are you actually going to ditch me for Jane?"

"Hey." Mike frowned. "It's just one date. I promise it won't happen again."

Will crossed his arms. "It better not." Getting off his bed, he went to grab his bag which had been tossed by his door. "You should go."

"What?"

"You should go." He repeated, pulling out everything from his bag and slamming it on the desk behind Mike. "I've got homework.

;

Will couldn't believe this. 3rd time in a fucking row. Mike had ditched him 3 times now. He had promised not to let dates with Jane overlap with when they got to hang out. Sure, Will and Mike still hung out loads, but a lot of it was Mike apologising to Will for bailing on him- again.

By the 4th time, enough was enough. Mike was coming over in around 20 minutes. Will could confront him about it then.

When Mike had finally arrived, he could straight away tell that his best friend wasn't happy. He didn't seem angry either, just sad.

"What's up?" Mike asked carefully. Will bit his lip.

"You're putting Jane before me."

Mike stared at him in confusion. "What? That's not true! You're my best friend! You're always first-"

"Mike stop." Will said, holding up a hand. "You're putting Jane before me. You've bailed on me 4 times. You promised you wouldn't."

"I-I'm sorry." He said weakly.

"Sorry isn't good enough!" Will exploded. "You promised that Jane wouldn't get in between us. And she has. When was the last time we hung out?"

"Yesterday...?"

"Ok maybe, but- but Jane... she's bad news Mike!"

"What are you talking about!? She's great!"

"She's only using you to drop her off to school-"

"That's what a good boyfriend does!"

"She's changing you to become what she likes, not who you actually are."

"That's not true! You're just jealous!"

"Jealous of what?!"

"Jealous that she's cooler than you!"

Will scoffed, "At least I'm not pretending to be someone I'm not, to impress someone. She's not even worth it Mike!"

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"You don't think this is actually going to last, do you? I'm sorry Mike, but Jane moves on from boy to boy in the space of weeks, and you know it! You're just another boy in the list."

Mike sulked quietly; he really didn't need this right now. "Thanks for the support..."

Will softens just a little, "Mike..."

"No, I'm gonna go." He said, leaving the bedroom. Will followed him across the hall.

"Where are you going? Come on Mike, don't leave!" Will begged.

"I'm going to go see my girlfriend."

Will stopped, his shoulders deflating. This was it- the end of their friendship.

"You..." he sighed, holding back tears. "You really like her don't you...?"

Mike turned towards him hand on the door, a look of disbelief on his face. "Of course I like her!" He watched as his best- as Will rubbed his eyes.

"I just... just thought..." he whispered.

"What?" Mike asked.

Will wiped it his eyes harshly once more and then put back up his hard act. "Nothing. Just leave." He walked backwards, ending up back at his opened bedroom door.

"Fine!" Mike yelled, opening the front door.

"Fine!" Will yelled back. Before Mike left he heard Will call back once more. "And Mike... when she breaks your heart, don't come running back to me. You chose her, after all."

And with that, Mike heard a final slam of a door. He winced as he heard the bang, and quickly walked away from the house, wiping tears as he did.

;

A few weeks later, Will was surprised (and very upset) to find that Jane and Mike we're still together. It hurt him- the two boys hadn't spoken in ages, and Will hated it.

It didn't matter if Mike and Jane were dating- Will just really wanted his best friend back.

But at around 9:00 on Friday night, a mysterious phone call rang through the house...

(Not really)

Joyce had groaned about getting up from the sofa and walking to the phone, complaining about what idiot would call at this time.

Surprisingly though, it was Mike.

Will rushed to the living room phone, asking his mom if she could make herself scarce for a bit. She put her hands up in defence and walked to her bedroom.

With the phone clutched tightly in both hands, Will nervously spoke, "Hello?"

A small sniffle could be heard from the caller, and the thickness of Mike's voice indicated to Will that he had been crying.

"You were right." Mike choked into the phone. Will didn't speak for a moment. He knew this would happen. He knew Mike would get his heartbroken. He knew he had every right to just end the call and never speak to Mike Wheeler ever again.

But it was Mike Wheeler who had always been by his side, so now it was time for Will to be by his. Loosening his grip on the phone, he said, "I'll be over in 20."

Will slammed the phone back on the holder (what were they called again??) and ran into the kitchen. His mom walked into the kitchen after him.

"What's going on?" She asked. Will ran to the freezer and pulled out a big tub of chocolate ice cream. Putting it in a bag, he ran to the front door and pulled on his black trainers.

"I'm going to Mike's."

Joyce frowned. "Now? Will, it's 9 o clock!" She said.

"Mike needs me. It's fine, I can take the car." Will reasoned.

"But-"

"Mom." He cut her off. "I'll be fine." Joyce sighed and nodded. Will grinned at her and kissed her cheek.

"I'll probably see you tomorrow." He told her. Joyce threw Will the keys and he ran out the front door and to the car.

Once Will had finally got to Mike's house, the door was opened by Karen Wheeler. "Hi Will! I haven't seen you in a while!"

Will smiled, "Yeah, I know! Uh... is Mike in the basement?" Karen nodded.

"Wait Will?" She called to him. Will turned around to look at her. "He's a bit upset. Make him feel better?"

Will nodded, raising the bag he was holding. "I'll try."

He waved back at Karen and made his way down into the basement. Closing the door behind him, he called, "Mike...?"

Mike was lying on the couch, a pillow over his face. When he looked up at the voice, Will saw that his eyes were bloodshot. "Hey." He said, then slumping the pillow back onto his face.

Will sighed and walked down the steps towards Mike. He knew Mike probably didn't want to talk about what happened just yet so he decided to question him later. "I brought you this." He said, dumping the bag on Mike's chest.

Taking the pillow off his face, Mike sat up and looked inside the plastic bag. Pulling out the tub of ice cream, he looked at Will. Will blushed, suddenly feeling embarrassed.

"I just thought you'd need cheering up." He explained, looking down. But Mike didn't say anything. Instead he jumped up from the sofa and placed the tub of ice cream on a coffee table in front of him. He ran up the stairs to exit the basement. Will watched him go with worry and confusion. "Where are you going?"

"I'll be right back."

A few minutes later, Mike came running down the stairs, two large serving spoons in his hand. "I went to get these." He said, shaking the spoons.

Handing one to Will, Mike opened the tub of chocolate ice cream and dug in his spoon. Will took this as a sign for him to also eat the ice cream, and joined Mike on the sofa.

After around 10 minutes of the boys enjoying the cold treat, Mike spoke up, "You were right." Will raised his eyebrows. "Me and Jane didn't last."

Not knowing what else to say, Will replied, "I'm sorry."

Mike shook his head, and closed the lid of the now-empty ice cream box. "'s not your fault."

"What happened? She just broke up with you?"

Mike nodded, "Yeah, over the phone."

Will frowned, "That's shitty."

Mike shrugged, "At least I didn't cry in front of her. That would have been embarrassing."

"Mike..." Will reasoned, "It's Ok to cry after a break up."

Mike didn't respond; he wiped his nose with his sleeve. After a few awkward seconds, he talked again. "You can say I told you so if you want. You were right after all."

Will shook his head. "I'm sorry about yelling at you. I was being a jerk."

"Don't apologise." Mike said, "I shouldn't have ditched you for her."

"Mike... I was being irrational. You should be able to spend time with your girlfriend as well as me."

“No, I should've told her that I couldn't do Saturdays." He smiled weakly at Will, who's heart broke a tiny bit. Will moved closer to him on the couch and pulled him into a hug.

"Why'd she..."

"Break up with me? She said we weren't good together." Mike chuckled bitterly.

"She's not worth it Mike. People like Jane don't deserve someone as nice as you." Mike smiled at Will with wet eyes.

"I just... I just feel like no one would want to go out with the real me. That's why I try so hard to please others."

Will shook his head. "I'd go out with you." He said. He didn't mean to say it out loud and turned red as soon as it left his mouth.

"You would?" Mike asked, turning towards him. Will nodded.

"Even though I'm lanky and too tall, and really nerdy?"

"Especially because you're lanky and tall and really nerdy." Will laughed, rolling his eyes. "I like you because you're you."

Mike's wet eyes shone as he he stared into Will's own orbs. "Thank you." He whispered.

"For what?"

"For always being here for me. Even when I'm being upset and pathetic."

"You're my best friend Mike..." Will smiled. "I'll always be here for you." After a thought he also added, "Besides, you can't get rid of me that easy.”

#stranger things #will byers #byler #mike wheeler #stranger things 3 #byeler #i love them #ugh tumblr always makes my writing seem bad #byler is endgame #byler fanfic #enjoy

[kyurilin]

2010-2019 Or The Overly Non Dramatic Story of How Kyuri's Decade Went

Technically this isn't a part of this decade review but I'm posting this on December 24th specifically because 10 years ago today I spoke to @mist-over-water on the phone for the first time after having known her for three years and I'm pretty sure we both cried

2010

met @mist-over-water for the first time in person. Took her to the beach where she promptly got roasted by the sun. Took her to the mountains. Took her out to practice driving in a local high school parking lot because why not. I cried so hard when she had to go home and God help me I'd only known her four years at that point.

Flunked a math class for the first time. Funny enough, it was because I'd been put in the advanced math courses for years and that was the year I both had a teacher I hated and could no longer reasonably fake my way through understanding math. Don't put your kids in advanced courses unless you're certain they can keep up with it people I only really was an advanced reader.

My dog Scruffy passed away :(

Started my senior year of high school

2011

Managed to graduate high school on time despite having to take 2 whole math courses during senior year (and with @mist-over-water 's who will now be referred to as Gabby because simplicity buddies sending me 'GRADUATE' messages so I'd have the motivation to go see her in person)

Got to go to England to see Gabby which, dream come true. Had a blast. Met the two precious nieces she had, her brother who's accent I couldn't understand, her mom who is one of the sweetest people, and her grandparents who I got to watch a lot of old British gameshows with.

Saw Wicked from second row seats in London.

Saw Cars 2 three times with Gabby which is why I'm still emotionally invested in Cars 2 because boy getting to see the sequel movie to the movie that ended up allowing you to cross paths with someone you really clicked with is AN. EXPERIENCE.

Cried when I finally had to leave because I was 18 and terrified of the future and didn't know when or if I'd ever see my friend in person again.

Started at community college in the film and video program

2012

Finished my first year of community college

Wrote my first original novel that will honestly never see the light of day. It's terrible ya'll

Through circumstances I still regret started losing my friendship with Gabby and boy do I hate who I was a person during that time

Started my second year of community college

2013

Worked on the X Factor as a production assistant.

Probably around this time that Gabby and I stopped talking which was better for us at that point. Still took an emotional toll to lose a friend that I'd known for 7 years at that point but in the long run we did need the distance (and I'm sorry to throw it all out here like this Gabby if you want it edited tell me I'm just putting it all out lmao)

Through a cosmic aligning of the universe by which I mean a special interest in both Minecraft and Achievement Hunter at the same time, I found a small Minecraft server that I could play on and met some really great people

Started my third year of community college

Oh yeah met @inspector-starfish from the Minecraft server for the first time in person, me and my brother stole her from her college and took her to the state fair with us.

2014

Started easing into talking to Gabby again (I remember the message with new baby Imogen!!!) Which was a blessing

I can't remember if it was 2014 or 2015 but at some point Gabby also hung out with me on the Minecraft server with my other buddies

Worked on Catfish as a Production Assistant for like 2 days and I still think I was fired lmao

My dad was arrested. Which is... The hardest thing to type out. Because everything before 2014 feels so distant because of the events.

He got put in jail and we bailed him out, but a month later he got arrested again and we couldn't bail him out this time.

God help me I'm so glad I had gotten back to talking to Gabby at this point I vaguely remember a sobbing Skype call between us.

I don't even remember what classes I was in at community college anymore that's how bad it is.

I basically dropped out though.

I stopped writing, I stopped drawing, I stopped... Being. That's really what it narrows down to. Only one of my real life friends knew what happened and I broke down everytime I thought about it so i'm pretty sure at one point I had a panic attack on my way to hang out with Friend A, who knew, and Friend B, who didn't.

I did start talking to @rhysispiecess that year. Through a post on here actually (we were also on the same Minecraft server but because I didn't really play that much that I remember after this whole thing I kinda forgot who he was).

I think (maybe???) I also met @belle-sourires and @youllthinkofsomething that year.

We moved from the house we'd lived in 13 years to a little rental house where we had the sweetest neighbors

2015

I spent a lot of time reading and crying in 2015 lmao

Also spent a lot of time talking to @rhysispiecess (the FNAF AU years God bless them for being a much needed distraction from real life)

Dad went to actual prison and boy that's an experience having to visit him there every week

We moved again this time to a small apartment

Got my first real job that wasn't being a production assistant (the same job I still have!)

Started to make actual attempts at writing again but struggled with it a lot

2016

For the first time since 2014 I actually wrote more than a simple one off story of the course of a month

Saved up my money and went to California to meet @rhysispiecess and @27thousandlizards.

Confused the shit out of Luke's (@27thousandlizards ) grandma

Was so tired I cried when I saw how little Corgi puppies are

Got to see @inspector-starfish and @youllthinkofsomething in San Diego where they were doing a robot thing as usual

Got to see the end bit of Route 66 cause wouldn't you know Rhys lives right near it (and as a huge Cars fan oh my God FATE)

Had an absolute blast with both Rhys and Luke and cried when I had to leave them because boy do I love friends

2017

Cars 3 came out and I transcended to a higher plane of being

Okay not really but I'm sure ya'll remember the days where I was mostly a Cars blog

100% I know I've said this before but all of the Cars movies have hit with specific messages at exactly the point in my life I needed to hear those messages so like. Poetic cinema.

Made some fantastic friends from those days

After 11 years of attempts at writing a redemption arc for a certain Cars character I finally wrote one and IT WAS GREAT

Cars 3 also managed to make me write again which has continued to be a struggle since 2014

Oh yeah became single again I was in a relationship but that ended TIME FOR ALONE (learned I'm still a terrible person who doesn't handle relationships well so hey not bad I'll leave people out of my overly anxious 'they must hate me' mentality)

2018

Fell out of writing again after the Cars 3 hype died down enough lmao

Got to meet @whipplefilter and @the-kings-tail-fin for a road trip around NC which was fantastic

Played way too much Nintendo Switch

Gabby got engaged and I absolutely cried for like an hour because how the fuck do you not cry when someone you've known for so long gets engaged (I'm still so happy for her @onetruejonsey seems like a really wonderful guy)

Oh yeah we moved again we have a real house now but the neighbors are redneck assholes

2019

Thanks to FNAF Help Wanted, I got whiplashed back into that fandom BUT I did start writing pretty regularly again. In fact I've written more this year than all the years since I stopped COMBINED. Which means I was both in the right headspace to actually want to write again as well as being able to keep myself focused on it.

Met Jodie Benson (ARIEL!!!!!!), Daniel Logan (KID BOBA FETT) and Christopher Sabat at GalaxyCon. Right. I went to my first convention despite being terrified of it

I cried like a bitch meeting Jodie Benson and she hugged me. I told Daniel Logan I'd had a crush on him as a kid and that Attack of the Clones was still my favorite Star Wars (which it is I wasn't lying) and he hugged me. Got to hear Sean Schemmel call Christopher Sabat out for being so friendly that his line was ridiculous which was great because boy did I not have enough money to meet more than three people. Christopher Sabat was fantastic too.

Went to DC with my 3 closest IRL buddies I've known since like 2008 and despite some arguments none of us killed each other. Nearly destroyed my feet from all the walking though. Don't know how we'd survive a trip to Japan which they all want to do.

Started formulating my next novel idea

It's been a long decade. Really the first half feels like it happened to another person.

I want to say, more than anything, if it weren't for Gabby I never would have had the courage to meet so many of my other online friends. She flew over here to meet me when I was 17 and she was 15 going on 16. We were so young and my dad and her mom worked so hard to make sure that we could actually meet each other and I'm forever thankful for that. I went across the ocean by myself at 18, an autistic disaster of a human, and somehow I didn't panic or get lost or anything. Without those experiences I never would have had the courage to do a lot of the things I've done since.

I'm still terrified of the future though. I have no idea if I'll even save enough money to go to England to see Gabby again (and God we actually need to talk more because I feel like a terrible friend ALL I DO IS SEND GIRAFFE PHOTOS). I don't even know what I want out of life.

Here's hoping though that I can continue to have some adventures and meet more of my online buddies in the next decade!

[quillsonparchment]

What’s lurking under the bed? My first draft

For my English class, we had to write a story about a search for the truth, and using one of the seven basic plots described by Christopher Booker (more about them in a later post). I decided to write my story about a boy searching for the truth about the monster in his bedroom. Is it real or not? 

My first draft is down below! I have to redraft it in tomorrow’s lesson, so any feedback you have about it is very welcome! 

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

The room was darker than Ernest’s worst nightmares. Pitch black. Darker than the bottom of the ocean, he thought. Or darker than the far depths of space. But he wasn’t scared of the dark. Of course he wasn’t. Ernest knew that dark was just when the sun was at the other side of the Earth, and he knew that it would be selfish to have the sun always at his side of the Earth, so he knew he had to share it. Anyway, dark is just the absence of light. No, Ernest wasn’t afraid of the dark. He was a big boy, and big boys could handle the dark.

But the dark opened pathways for his other fear. Of course he knew that dark is just the absence of light, like all the other children in his class, but he also knew that you needed light to see. And in his dark room, he couldn’t see a thing. He supposed that it was his fault for not eating enough carrots; if he’d eaten them when Daddy told him to, he would be able to see. But he hadn’t, and now he was in a predicament.

He shook his blanket off him in a hurry. He had to get to the window, to open the curtains, so he could see a bit better. He hurriedly swung his legs over the side of his bed and thrust his feet into his slippers. He heard the bed creak, and he wasn’t sure whether it was just his fast movements, or something else entirely. Something inhuman. He felt tears roll down his face, and noticed his arms shaking. He had to get to the window. He had to.

Ernest put all his weight on his feet in a second. A mistake. He felt his head spin and his legs collapse from under him. His body hurtled onto his bedside table, and he placed his arms on it before he felt entirely certain he could walk. Meanwhile, there was a huge bang, and it made him yelp out in total fear. He was certain it was a footstep. And it wasn’t his. He tried to remember what Mummy said about taking deep breaths, and he tried to take some deep breaths right there, but it didn’t work. Instead, he carried on walking around his bed.

His feet were normally graceful, drawing upon his ballet classes that he’d begged his parents to pay for. Now, they were clunky and heavy, like an elephant trying to do a dance. He stepped as quickly as he could, and he’d given up on the window and the curtain entirely. No, he aimed for his door, because once he’d gotten out of his bedroom, whatever creature he knew was there but he couldn’t see would be trapped there for the night, and he could go to sleep in his parent’s room, his sanctuary.

His foot pressed into something, and he heard a squelching noise. It was horrible, slimy, and squishy, much like the slimy tentacle of some horrendous monster trying to kill him. He had to get out. He was stuck in his room with a monster, a terrible, evil monster, and he had to get out. He had to get out. He had to get out.

He felt a scream rip deep from inside him as he legged it for his door. Despite the dark enveloping every part of his room, he still knew where everything was. After all, he had slept there for years. He pulled the door open with all his strength and ran down the corridor, where he knocked and knocked on his parent’s room. He was safe now. He looked back at his room, breathing heavily, when he noticed the door wasn’t shut. Cautiously, he walked back and slammed it shut, before walking back to his parents’ room, and knocking even louder. Now the monster couldn’t escape into the house, and he would be safe sleeping between Mummy and Daddy.

 The door swung open, and his mother lovingly yelled out, “What’s the matter? You should be in bed?”

“I can’t go to bed. There’s a monster.” Ernest wept.

“Oh, for God’s sake, Ernest. Come in.”

Ernest wiped the tears from his face with his sleeve and followed her into the bedroom. She flicked a switch, and a second later, light engulfed the room, reassuring Ernest that he was very safe in his parents’ room. He could see fully under the bed, and there was certainly no monster in their room. He wondered why the monster chose his room to reside in. Whatever reason, it wasn’t fair on him.

He lowered his arm and looked over to his parents’ bed. His father had his sleep-mask pushed up to his hairline, and he ran his fingers through his hair.  A yawn broke out from his mouth, and he squinted at Ernest. “What’s the matter, Ernie?”

“He’s saying there’s a monster under his bed. He’s being ridiculous.”

Ernest’s brow furrowed. “I’m not being ridiculous!”

“No, of course you’re not, darling. Come here, Ernie,” his father said. This was why Ernest preferred Daddy over Mummy.

He clambered onto the bed and sat atop his father’s legs. He hugged his dad as hard as he could, and his dad hugged him back.

“Stop encouraging him! He’s being a baby. There’s obviously no monster. He. Just. Wants. Attention.”

“Come, on, don’t be like that. He’s acting like a kid because he is still a kid,” his father said loudly to his mother. Then, he turned to Ernest, who was still sat on his lap, and said, “Why do you think there’s a monster, Ernie?”

“I could hear it walking towards me! It had ginormous feet—”

“It’s gigantic or enormous, Ernest. Pick one, and don’t mash them together in that stupid word,” his mother cut in.

“Right, it was gigantic and enormous. And I could hear it underneath my bed. And I felt its weird, slimy tentacle underneath my foot.”

“Ernie?” asked his father in a gentle tone.

“Yeah?”

“Do you think you’re getting a bit worked up over something small?”

“Of course he is! He’s being stupid!” said his mother, shooting glares at both Ernest and his father.

“No,” Ernest replied. And it was the truth. He wasn’t getting worked up over nothing, because a huge monster lurking under his bed was something huge, not something small. “No I’m not.”

“There is no monster.” His mum stated that as matter-of-factly as possible. She was good at that. “The sooner you learn that, the better. Now, if you’re going to sleep here, shut up, get off your dad’s knee and actually go to sleep, so we can do the same. Dad’s got work tomorrow.” She flicked the light switch, and dark occupied the room. Without another word, she stomped back into bed.

Ernest grabbed the covers and pushed them high up, so he could crawl in. There. He was safe now, between his daddy and mummy, and no monster was going to hurt him. He felt his dad looking at him. “Night night, sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite, Ernie.”

He turned to look back at him, and said, “You too daddy!” before placing his head on the pillow and falling swiftly into sleep.

 …

 Despite it being the weekend, Ernest was awoken early by his father getting ready for work. He waved him goodbye, then fell promptly back to sleep.

It was around 11 in the morning when Ernest woke again, this time by his mum’s gentle shaking. “Hey, sleepyhead,” she teased. “Don’t you think you should be getting up now?”

Ernest groaned and reluctantly rose from her bed. “Thanks for letting me sleep here, Mummy. I feel safe when I’m with you and Daddy.”

His mother walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. “It’s ok, darling. Look, I know I seemed angry last night, but I didn’t mean it. I was tired, that’s all.”

“It’s ok, Mummy! Don’t be upset!” Ernest broke away from their hug and looked up to her face to see her crying. He’d always thought of Mummy as big and strong and indestructible, and he’d never seen her like this before. “Are you upset, Mummy?”

She smiled back at him, before saying, “Yeah, I’m upset. Upset that I yelled at you. I shouldn’t have done that, should I? I should have reassured you, like Daddy did. I should never have reacted the way I did, Ernie, and I’m so sorry.”

“It’s ok, Mummy. I don’t mind.”

The two looked at each other with tenderness, before his mother broke away, saying, “Well, go into your room and get dressed. I’ve got bacon and sausage on downstairs, because I know that’s your favourite, and you deserve a treat, don’t you?”

At that statement, Ernest could have jumped for joy. Bacon and sausage made everything feel better. He grinned before running off to his bedroom, completely forgetting about the events of the night before, and not remembering the monster there until after he’d washed and dressed.

He pulled his curtains open to light up the room. He had to find out the truth about the monster. After all, Mummy said that there wasn’t a monster, and Mummy was a teacher, and mothers and teachers were right all the time. Always.

He plonked down on his bed, and the springs squeaked underneath him. He froze, remembering how his bed made the same sounds last night when he thought the monster was there. A sudden thought hit him: what if I’m the monster?

He yanked his notebook and pen out and opened it to a new page. At the top, he scrawled ‘Monster under the bed’. He followed that by ‘Hypothesis: there is a scary monster in my bedroom, and it hides under my bed.’

He thought carefully about what had happened. The bed squeaked underneath him, but he had already realised that that was him, and not a creature, so he wrote that down. He remembered a huge footstep, that couldn’t possibly have been human. His eyes lit up, and he whispered to himself, “Time to investigate.”

He looked towards his bedside table, which is where he was when he heard the horrifying noise. He noticed something off about it. He couldn’t sense what, but something wasn’t right. Something wasn’t there.

Terror took over him. He couldn’t help but think about the monster, and what it was capable of. What if it had snatched some of his things whilst he was in his parents’ room? He looked around his room in fear, before his eyes rested on a pile of books strewn carelessly across the floor. Had the monster been reading them? Then, realisation struck him. When he’d felt dizzy, he’d thrown himself onto the bedside table without a thought, and he must have knocked them off. He suddenly felt so silly, just like he did when he’d wet himself at school, and everybody looked at him and laughed at him. Really silly and embarrassed. His cheeks pink, he picked up his notebook and wrote that the ‘footstep’ was really his books falling over and crashing onto the floor. He gathered them from the floor and placed them back on his bookcase, so another incident like it wouldn’t happen.

Next on his agenda was the squishy thing on the floor. In the heat of the moment, he’d been convinced it was a big tentacle. After what he’d already found out, he guessed it was something he’d left in his room but had forgotten about. And anyway, if a monster had tentacles, wouldn’t it be in the sea?

His eyes scanned the room for anything that might seem squelchy. There were teddies, but they were softer. Books, but they were too solid. A chocolate bar, but chocolate bars were hard too. Unless…

Ernest looked like he’d had a Eureka moment. He guessed that if he were in a cartoon like the ones he often watched, then he’d have a big lightbulb above his head. He’d worked it out. The puzzle of the monster was no more. The mystery of the monster was no more. He’d cracked the case. He swiftly wrote down in his notebook that he’d stood on the chocolate bar, and it was melted due to the heat from his radiators. “Mummy, I’m a genius!” he yelled out.

In a sudden bout of excitement, he thrust open the doors to his closet, and swept the clothes to one side. No monster there. He jumped onto his bed then swung his head under. Now it was lighter, he could see clearly that there was nothing there.

His door flew open, and his mother shouted, “Ernest, what’s the matter?” in a concerned voice.

Ernest swung his head back and sat up straight too fast, so that he felt slightly dizzy, but he said, “You were right, Mummy! There’s no monster! And I worked it out soon, like you told me to do.”

He observed as his mother’s face turned from concerned, to stunned, to humoured in less than 30 seconds.

“That’s great, darling.” She laughed, then continued, “I’m proud of you, honey. Now, are you going to come downstairs to eat?”

“Yes!” Ernest jumped up and down on the bed, before running down after her to the kitchen.

 ...

 Monster under the bed

Hypothesis: there is a scary monster in my bedroom, and it hides under my bed.

 Proof for:

My bed creaked because it was underneath it.  Actually, I made that noise.

There was a monster footstep when I got up.  It was me knocking the books off of my table.

I stood on its tentacle.  Monsters with tentacles are in the sea. My bedroom is not the ocean. Also, I stood on some melted chocolate.

Proof against:

I looked all over in the light and I couldn’t see anything. There’s no way it could have escaped out of my room.

Mummy said so. Mummy knows everything because she’s a mum and a teacher.

 Conclusion:

There is no monster, and Mummy was right as always.

I need to tidy my room.

I need to eat more carrots.

#writing #i need feedback on my writing #writeblr #writers #writer #my writing #writeblr community #writeblogging #first draft #short story #my short story

[substantial-exposure]

Cut The Bullshit - B.H

Belch Huggins x OC Angst

-

September 8th.

The gang woke up that morning even more exhausted than usual, especially since they knew what the day had in store. Belch had ended up driving everyone home around two am . Although he was looking forward to being able to sleep in a little later now that he wasn't the token chauffeur of the group, his girlfriend was responsible for that now.

When the time arrived Tulip had picked up Victor and Henry who were now snoozing in their respective seats. Henry to her right and Victor sleeping behind him. She was now currently parked in the driveway of Patrick's house at 6:47 in the morning waiting on him to come outside. She didn't want to be late for her first day and starting the year off with a tardy wasn't a good idea. Not to mention she still had to pick up Jade and Belch.

A sigh of relief left her as she saw him exit the house and walk up to the van. She watched him climb into the back, he seemed tired. Good. That meant it would be quiet. Quickly she hit the gas and picked up Jade. Waving to Angelica, she thought of how lucky she was that the woman wasn't making them take a 'first day of school' picture.

"Hey" Jade said as a yawn left her, now fully closing the door to the van. She seemed to be the most awake.

"Wow, don't you look put together" Tulip chuckled and pulled out into the street.

Each of the girls seemed to be a little more put together that morning. The night prior was the first time either of them had slept in their respective homes in a week. Naturally they looked a lot better when they weren't using Patrick's 3-1 shampoo or bar soap at Henry's.

Within minutes they were outside Belch's house and Tulip looked to the other girl. Jade looked confused. She tried to recall a time Jade had been to the house. The driver squinted and saw that Reggie's mother was on the steps of the porch to see him off. The girls smiled and Tulip put down her window.

"Hey Mama!"

"Holy crap... is that Reggie's mom?" Jade had said to the other girl with a smile

"She's an absolute sweetheart. I love her"

Mrs. Huggins smiled and waved, she watched her son climb into the back of the van and returned inside her home. Belch closed the door to the car and held out a to-go mug for Tulip. Smiling tiredly he kissed her cheek and quickly took his seat in the back with Patrick.

"Gross"  Jade muttered

"Don't be jealous just because your poor excuse of a boyfriend is napping like a toddler right now" She snickered in response.

It was 7:02 and Tulip was praying that they wouldn't be late. They had to be inside their homeroom classes by 7:15. Tulip was certain they wouldn't make it. Even still, she turned on the radio and kept it quiet. She sped off, nearly blowing a red light speeding to the school. Needless to say she got them there with a grand five minutes to spare, Tulip was never one to drive like a psycho, she knew the dangers of what she was doing. But that didn't stop her from parking like an asshole in the school parking lot.  She opened her car door and got out grabbing her coffee.

"Alright fucktards. Get out!" she hollered and slammed her door shut, effectively waking up Vic who in turn shook Henry into consciousness.

Everyone moved to the side walk and entered the building, the crowds split for them.  Jade wasn't used to seeing them like this. She'd never seen the gang scare this many people. Whispers were heard around, all eyes were on them as per usual but this time? This time it would appear that most of the whispers being shared were about her, Everyone had seen Jade with the gang around town all summer. But now they were up close and personal with her.

Henry shoved some poor freshman out of the way. He grabbed Jade by the wrist.

"We're here"  He pulled her into the room as the bell rang. She stumbled from the harsh tug.

Henry stood before the desk he had been sitting at for two years, and sent a glare at the boy who sat behind him. "Fucking move." he snarled watching the boy quickly scramble to leave the seat. "Jade. Sit". The couple took their seats  along the wall, right in front of the door. He began to explain her schedule to her, he took the paper that she had gotten a few days prior and examined it. He sat backwards on his chair to lean over its backing and loom over her desk. He began to give her directions on where she'd be going as best as he could. His directions weren't good in the slightest.

Meanwhile the rest of the gang split up to go to their homerooms. Patrick had branched off first and entered his class Vic, Belch, and Tulip all walked to the next hallway and entered the B Wing. Belch pulled his girlfriend in for a quick kiss to say goodbye. Vic gagged dramatically.

"You're both fucking gross" the blond swore laughing

Each of the two rolled their eyes and split up, Belch and Vic going into one class and Tulip going to the end of the hall and entering hers just as the second bell rang. Everyone was on time but that certainly wouldn't be the biggest surprise of the day.

Despite being separated in different rooms every member of the gang was slouched the same way in their desks. Jade and Henry sat back and looked around the room. The male was studying his fellow classmates, that's when he saw two boys in the back of the class sending glares in his direction, he could tell they weren't towards him but at the girl behind him. He nearly got up to brawl the second he connected the dots. If looks could kill the boys would have been dead. It was clear that they'd be getting a beating from him later. That was for damn sure.

Patrick picked a random seat and snickered at the sight of the inconvenienced girl who now had to look around the room for somewhere to sit in a panic. He watched her like a hawk, he was so entertained watching the fear on her face as she struggled to find a seat next to someone she knew. People were so easy to make anxious. It was so much fun. He made a mental reminder to try and do this more often. Relaxing back in his chair Patrick surveyed the room.

Victor and Belch sat at their assigned seats, front and center. Immediately they were back on their bullshit. Vic gave an overly enthusiastic and obnoxious greeting to the teacher at the front of the room as he passed her desk. Belch just snickered behind him.

"Hello Victor. Remove your hat Reginald" the woman said boredly with a sigh. She wasn't ready for another year of this and took attendance.

Tulip in her own opinion had it the worst. She was by herself now, originally Gard Jagermeyer was in homeroom with her. That was before the stunt they pulled during their sophomore year, it got to the point where he had to switch homerooms. They gave a girl a full blown panic attack. There was crying, some screaming, and a desk and chair pushed across the room. During a fifteen minute period they managed to make a girl flip her shit. They were quite proud at the time, but now she was bored and slouched back in her seat.

The school day moved in fragments. Everyone in the halls had no idea where they were going besides the seniors and a few of the juniors.

It was fourth period and the minute Tulip actually looked to her schedule she knew she'd have to go to the guidance office and get it switched. There was no way in hell she was gonna spend half the year in a drama class. She sat down in the classroom. God she hated electives, she studied the few freshman and just to be an asshole she slid a kids back pack across the floor.

"Move it lardass." She hissed and took the kids seat. She looked around for a familiar face.

"R-Really?Isnt- Isnt that a b-bit behi-ind you? Kasprak?" A young males voice was heard behind her. She knew that stutter.

Nothing could of stopped the grin on Tulips face as she turned around. Maybe she wasn't gonna switch classes, this could end up being a lot of fun. She turned around and saw none other than one of her least favourite freshmen, the stuttering kid himself, Bill Denbrough.

"Ah hey there DJ, you here to remix Shakespeare for us ?"

Tulip was about to start something spectacular but her dream was cut short by the teacher telling everyone to take their seats. Bill shuffled away.

A few minutes in and the door creaked open, in walked Jade. Tulip broke out into a smile.

"Jade" she called out and nodded to the seat beside her.

The girl took the seat and looked around her eyes landing on the freshman who was glaring at Tulip. They met eyes and his softened. Jade was nice to the losers yes, but Bill pissed her off to no end.

"Today we're gonna be doing some ice breakers so we can get to know eachother" The teacher started and the class groaned.

After the hour ended Tulip booked it out of the class, dragging Jade with her. Juniors and Seniors had lunch fifth period and truly she was just excited to see everyone. Jade had no idea why the other was so excited.

"This is gonna be so much fucking fun" Tulip mumbled as she let go of Jades wrist and walked with her through the hall.

Tulip walked with her head held high, much different than most of the kids shrinking into them selves and staring at the floor. She expressed a level of confidence that Jade had never seen her wear before, she was happy for her despite that confidence coming from the fear that students held. Then Kade heard her yell across the hallway.

"Is that who I think it is? Holy shit! Jade it's Moose! And he ain't too bad lookin!" She laughed and followed him into the cafeteria.

Who the fuck was Moose? What kind of name was that? Was it some kind of dumb nickname like Belch has? Jade had a lot running through her mind as she blindly followed the girl into the cafeteria. The girls looked around trying to find the table where the boys were seated. It didn't take long to locate them once Jade saw Henry seated on the table surrounded by a group of boys.

Jade migrated towards them faster now with Tulip falling behind her. She saw Henry's grin upon her arrival and honestly she hated how her stomach fluttered. Two weeks ago Jade had convinced herself she needed to break up with him. Obviously she didn't go through with it but the thoughts still ran rampant, as well asked the guilt.

"Jade! Come here meet the guys" Henry said waiting for her to come closer so he could wrap his arm around her.

Her eyes moved to Tulip to silently plead for help, then she saw that the girl was already seated and talking with Belch. Damn. Jade walked to Henry and looked around at the group of males that seemed to flock around him. Great, more white boys.

"Jade, this is Moose and Gard. They're part of the group too" Henry said introducing her to the two boys.

"Where the hell have they been all summer?" She asked him, Henry snickered in response.

"Stevie here had summer school and Gard was shipped off to summer camp" he laughed and looked around the cafeteria.

Tulip opened her lunch bag and started to spread out her food to everyone. Then she felt two hands cover her eyes and a deep voice come from behind her. Jade was watching this and she'd of sworn she'd never seen that boy before but all she could tell was that his clothes were expensive. She watched her friend grin.

"Guess who?"

"Holy shit!" Tulip whipped her head around and smiled. "Peter! I haven't seen you in fucking months!" She beamed now moving to sit on the table and look back at the boy.

Reggie was looking between them, a look of distaste covered his features. Both Jade and Henry took notice, they met eyes and Henry laughed. The final bell rang and everyone was accounted for at the entire table they took up.

"Who's this?" Jade asked looking over to the new character who had arrived and was still speaking with the other girl of the group.

"Jade you remember Peter right? This is the motherfucker who left us hanging after the rock fight" Henry said flatly.

Everyone went quiet, except Jade.

"Hank. Everyone left you hanging at the rock fight" She said to him crossing her arms. She had watched it happen.

"I didn't. I wasn't there" Tulip had objected. She immediately regretted it.

"Shut it Tulip-" Henry and Jade spoke in unison, Jade's tone wasn't nearly as harsh as her boyfriends.

"Henry. Cool it" Belch warned, he was starting to grow sick of this. He knew his girlfriend could fight her own battles but at this point he was fed up and all around done with this. Henry ragged on her more than anyone else.

"Look who finally grew a pair" Henry taunted, he felt a hand on his arm.

Jade had placed her hand on his forearm a warning for him to calm down, that these weren't the people he should be insulting. It didn't really matter though, Belch sank back into submission right after.

"I'm gonna go to the music room I want to see if my shit is still in the recording booths" Tulip grumbled standing up and walking out. She didn't want to deal with this shit. Sometimes Henry's voice sounded just like his fathers and it shook her to her core. She'd handle Henry and his temper later after school.

"Nice going Hank" Peter grumbled

"The fuck you just say?" Henry asked, his eyebrow cocked up in question.

Jade tightened her grip on his arm. But she looked to Belch who as well as Henry, didn't look too happy. She could recall a time where she was jealous of him and her friend. They seemed to be the most healthy couple she knew but now she was starting to second guess that. He looked jealous, and over what?

While Tulip entered into the empty classroom she slipped into the cold recording room. Sneaking to the latter on the back wall, she began to climb. The girl sat on the floor of the room it lead to, she finally let herself breathe. Pushing her black hair back behind her ears she looked around. Sure enough there was a backpack and walkman up there from the last year.

Jade wasn't sure what was going on beside the tone of the table turning sour. It was the first time she met half these people and she was beginning to realize just how much she didn't like them. They just seemed weird, she didn't click with them like she had with the boys and with Tulip.

"I think I'm gonna go check on T" the girl muttered

"I'll go with you" Reggie and Peter said in unison. Reggie shot to his feet quickly.

"I got it. I'm fully capable of checking on my girlfriend. Gordon. " he sounded annoyed, like on the verge of telling him off for real kind of annoyed.

"Belch. Sit. Who fucking cares about what's got wheezy crying this time-"

Belch got up and ignored him.

All that was heard was Patrick's laughter as he and Jade left the table. They walked together in silence for a few moments. She could see the other loosen up the further they walked away from the cafeteria. She didn't expect the words that left his mouth, it felt like a fever dream.

"Do you think Tulip is cheating on me? You guys are practically connected at the hip. You'd know... and we're friends right? You'd tell me if she was, wouldnt you?" he said lowly

Jade had to look at him fully. She stopped walking. "What the fuck are you talking about?" Why did he have to drag her into this?

"You've seen the way she looks at the rest of the guys still. You saw her and Peter in there. Wouldn't be surprised if she was fucking him too" Belch grumbled as he waited for Jade to keep walking.

Tulip switched out the batteries in her Walkman and sat there with her homemade tapes. The headphones over her ears didn't do much to block out the sound of the door from the room under her opening. Her breathing was shallow, she'd been doing this for years, there was no way she'd get caught now.

Then she saw the latter shake and a low voice swearing. It was Belch. She let out a relieved breath. Thank god.

"Hey" she hummed scooting over to make room as he sat down beside her.

"Hey" he said while looking down to Jade and making sure she was okay on her way up.

The white girl followed his lead and did the same. She saw Jade and couldn't help but smile. They both came to check on her. It was sweet. She didn't know a damn thing about the conversation the other two had just shared.

"You okay? I know Henry's been on your ass lately" He commented. His voice was rather neutral, but it was a lot softer than the tone Jade had heard outside.

" 'm fine. I'm a big girl you know" she joked nudging the boy beside her.

Tulip watched Jade get settled and smiled faintly. This was the first time she had been there. The gang rarely ever went up there all together, it was Tulip's little hideaway, really. She was the only one who consistently traveled up into the ceiling of the school.

Belch looked over to the walkman his girl was holding, he took the headphones off her head and took off his hat to place them over his own. Their music taste was fairly similar if not identical.

"Whatcha listening to?" He asked as the sound waves finally registered in his head. He cringed immediately

Watching the scene before her Jade felt like she was intruding. Like she was witnessing something she shouldn't of been.

"The fuck are you listening to? Is this the backstreet boys?" He asked dumbfounded

"Uh... yeah?"

"I thought you hated them" he asked confused. He knew damn well that the tape had been up here and now he was growing curious of whatever else she was hiding. Music or otherwise.

"That's what I tell you. You'd make fun of me. Just like you do with Mötley-"

"Yeah because Vince Neils voice isn't cut out for heavy metal" he said to her quietly. It was a common and rather playful 'argument' they'd have.

"Oh my god Reg. Backstreet is Gordon's I nabbed it from his place like a year ago"

Reggie tensed and stopped as he heard the last name. There it was again. Peter fucking Gordon. So much for waiting. He was having this conversation now even if it killed him. Since when did she listen to music like that? The concerts they'd gone to, the ANTHRAX and Ozzy shirts she'd wear, or even the useless Mötley Crüe trivia she'd throw at him that he didn't give a shit about but still remembered because it was something she liked. Since fucking when did she listen to crap like the Backstreet Boys?

"Jade can you leave us for a bit?" Belch asked her and watched the internal struggle take place inside his friends head. She was scared of what would happen if she wasn't there to supervise the couple.

"Jade it's fine just go back to the cafeteria. I'm sure Henry wants you there" Tulip said gently a small smile on her lips, it was forced and everyone in the room knew it.

Jade hated how she brought up Henry. After all this time they still took orders from him. It was so stupid in her eyes. She let out a breath and nodded. "Fine but we're talking later" she grumbled and moved towards the latter.

She was worried leaving them and she was beginning to think she had too much trust in Tulip. Lord only knows what was happening up there while she was walking to the cafeteria again. There wasn't even a point in her going back because as soon as she sat at the table the bell had rung.

-

"Reg is everything okay?" The shorter girl asked grabbing her old backpack and shoving all of her dusty belongings back inside. Fighting back a cough she zipped up the dirty bag.

"No. Can you just be fucking honest with me for a change?" His tone was bitter as he grabbed her wrist and held her in place.

He watched her brows furrow in what seemed to be panic and confusion. In his eyes he thought he now had some kind of proof. That the memories were registering and she was shocked that the other knew about what she'd been doing. Which was the farthest thing from the truth. She was wondering what the hell was going on.

"What haven't I been honest about? If this is about the poker thing-" she was cut off by his voice.

"No! I'm talking about you and Peter. You're screwing him behind my back" The male accused angrily

Tulip was taken back by the claim, just by how fucking absurd it was. "Are you? Are you fucking kidding? Reg why would I do that? I haven't seen him since fucking June." She defended

"Oh bullshit Tulip! I don't even know how many guys you were fucking around with before I asked you out" he said quietly in a grumble.

"That's none of your fucking business"

"Yes it fucking is! Tulip just admit it" he said to her almost pleading.

"I didn't do anything! Reg I wouldn't of accepted being your fucking girlfriend if I was gonna do that "

"I just want the truth. Okay, that's all I want"

"Sounds like you won't be satisfied with the answer unless it's me confessing to something I didn't do!" She shot back her eyes narrowed, steel grey eyes boring into his.

"Tulip I'm sick of this. Just cut the bullshit!"

"Reg. He's my friend I kissed him when I was ten. That's it." She emphasized her words "Now let go of me" she whimpered lastly trying to twist her hand out of his iron grip.

He hadn't even realised his grip on her wrist had tightened until he saw her wince and immediately he let go.

"I'm sorry-" he immediately blurted out in a panic. The guilt filled him to the brim in an instant. What had he done?

She looked at him there was a blank stare for a moment that quickly seemed to turn into a sad anger. She went to open her mouth and the bell rang beneath them.

"We can finish this later" she growled grabbing her back and sliding down the latter quickly. "Hurry the fuck up Reginald" she spat lowly and moved out into the hall and walked along to her next class. Leaving him to find his way in the crowds.

Tulip was so beyond pissed and so lost in her own head she stormed right past Patrick who went to talk to her in the hall.

She wanted this day to be over.

-

[oblivion-time]

The Dead Tell No Tale

@darkpurply Couldn’t tag but there is a link! has been a wonderful artist and she made the most awesome gifs ever! Especially the last one, you should check it out!

After a charm gone wrong, Maka, Soul, Black*Star, Tsubaki, Liz, Patty, Kid and Marie end up at a haunted school. Dead bodies are around every corner and the threat of death looms over them in the shape of three ghost girls, a man with a chainsaw and other unknown threats lurking in the dark. There is no way out. No way to find each other. Only death is certain.

Pairing: SoulxMaka, LizxTsubakixBlack*Star Rating: Explicit Warnings: Dark themes, gore, character deaths. Not a story for the weak-hearted.

You can read the fic in its entirety at AO3 or FF.net

Chapter 1

Sachiko We Beg of You

Laughter resonated within their home classroom as the seven teens sat in a perfect circle. Black*Star held the candle in front of him and casted haunting shadows disarranging his usual soft and kind face into a horrifying image.

"The librarian went closer and closer…" A wide grin spread on his face as Liz used Tsuabki as a shield, peeking over her shoulder. "… she went over to the student staring out of the window. She patted the student's shoulder and the student didn't respond. The librarian shook the student's shoulder and his head fell off and landed on the ground. All of his teeth were gone and the librarian knew the tooth fairy was real."

Behind Tsubaki Liz quivered madly as she clung onto her friend.

Patty sitting beside her sister laughed like a mad man as she slapped the floor as if the story hadn't been a horror one, but a comedy.

Black*Star growled as he lowered the candle from his face, glaring at Patty. "Hey! You aren't supposed to laugh!"

"But it's funny!" Patty defended.

"It's not! Okay! Having your teeth pulled out and taken by a demon isn't funny!"

"But everybody knows the tooth fairy is good! She leaves money behind and she makes good use of your spoiled teeth."

"Yeah, that story was lame," Soul agreed as he placed his hand on Black*Star's shoulder. "The only one you managed to scary was Liz and she has been scared the whole day!"

Liz threw Soul a deadly look. "Shut up."

Soul snorted. "And what are you going to do? It's not like you will be able to walk with your shaky legs."

Liz gave him the finger.

"Honestly, will you two never make peace?" Kid shook his head slowly from his seat beside Maka. "It's just a bad ghost story. And badly told too."

"Hey!" Black*Star barked. "It was good."

Maka blew a raspberry. "Yeah right. Pausing to say if it was you in that situation you wouldn't even break a sweat is telling a story badly."

"Oh yeah? If you can tell a story better then go on right ahead!"

"Oh no, no, no, no, no!" Liz quickly protested the moment Black*Star closed his mouth, waving her hand in distress as she hid behind Tsubaki's shoulder. "Please, anybody else than Maka! Maka always tells the scariest stories ever!" Liz squeaked.

"It's alright sis," Patty soothed her sister. "It's just a story."

"Actually, this story I'm about to tell you took place within this very building." Maka said as she grabbed the candle and held it in front of her; the light casted eerie shadows on her face, deranging her usual soft cheeks and cute features.

"Please don't Maka. Can we at least turn on the light?"

"Oh no." Gently Maka shook her head. "This incident actually happened during a rainy day, just like this one, around this very time of the day, a hundred years ago."

All the teenagers' eyes were on her, holding their breaths at Maka's too serene voice.

"A teacher wandered the halls of the elementary school, making sure all the children had gone home for the day. After checking the last classroom on the top floor, she closed and locked the door." Maka imitated the creaking door. Liz squeezed her eyes tightly shut as if it would make the story disappear. Soul watched Maka's composed expression as cool terror wandered up his spine. "She headed down the stairs when suddenly―" her voice crescendo, "―the step under her foot broke and she tumbled down the stairway. She shrieked in pain and instantly, her scream came to an end. When her body hit the ground, her neck was broken."

"Is that the end?" Liz cracked her eye open.

Maka smirked, the shadows on her face made her look insane. "No. The news of the teacher's death reached the public. The community questioned the safety of the school, and eventually a decision was made. The school was closing. The principle was devastated, so ashamed his beloved school was closing. He was so ashamed of himself he covered his face with a mask and jumped off the building to his death."

"Boring!" Black*Star exclaimed, arms boastfully tied behind his head, but everybody had caught the slight tremble from his hands.

"That's not the end." Maka turned to her childhood friend. "The school was closed, but from the day of the accident and to the day the school closed, people reported hearing voices from the corridors of a female, calling for anybody still left in the building."

Soul let out a shaky breath, trying to maintain his cool and the fact that he did absolutely not under any circumstances have goose bumps on his arm hidden under his leather jacket. Maka was way too good of a storyteller. She would make even the most stable person uneasy. Even their "god" didn't want to admit it, he was scared too.

"Come on, that's just a bunch of bullshit you've come up with! That does not have a based on a true story stamp on it!" Black*Star bolstered.

"Actually anything can have a based on a true story stamp and be completely legal," Kid pitched it.

"Even if it wasn't true, you were scared," Soul spoke.

"Hey! I wasn't!"

"Oh yeah? How come you were biting your nails the entire time?" Soul grabbed Black*Star's wrist and he raised his hands, showing off the bite-damaged nails hanging loose from his fingernails and the sore irritated skin on his fingers.

Black*Star slapped Soul's hand away as their friends laughed at Black*Star and he hid his hand from them. "Uncool. You were supposed to be on my side!"

"Can we please just turn on the lights!" Liz begged, her voice shaking and her nails digging into Tsubaki's shoulder. Tsubaki empathetically patted her hand calmly.

"Okay fine." Maka stood up and she went over to the light switch just by the classroom door and flipped it on. The classroom was once again bathed in light and the rain drops dripping on the glass was seen. The classroom was already cleaned and ready for class on Monday after their Halloween festival the school held. All the scary Halloween decorations were no more around and their bloody school costumes were gone and in their lockers.

Liz let out a sigh of relief and she went slack against Tsubaki.

"That was a lot of fun!" Patty cheered as she jumped up on her legs to Maka blowing out her candle. "Maka you sure do know a lot of ghost stories!"

"Thanks. I get a lot from Miss Lady Arachne's blog and Tezca Tlipoca's work."

"Oh please can somebody stop her before nobody can shut her up," Soul muttered and he earned a hard glare from Maka, but she didn't say anything to him. Even a tease wasn't enough to earn a sound from her directed toward him.

"It's a very interesting story. You should write a script for us to play out in the theatre club," Kid suggested as he rested his chin against his palm, obviously coming up with the idea at the moment.

"That would actually be really cool—"

Soul rolled his eyes into his head as Maka gushed toward Kid when the lights went out.

Liz let out a nervous laugh. "W-w-what is going on?!"

"Who turned the lights off?!" Patty exclaimed.

"What the fuck did you do Maka?" Soul accused.

"I-I didn't do anything!" Maka defended.

"Bullshit! You're the one standing closest to the switch!" Black*Star sneered.

"It's not because of the light switch," Kid said. "Look out in the corridor! Even the lights outside are off!"

"It must be a black out or a plug must've gone." Tsubaki reasoned.

"It's not a black out. Look out of the window. The lights in the other windows are still on. A plug must've gone," Kid said.

"A plug at this hour? We didn't even use any energy sources!" Liz exclaimed. "Oh man what is going on?!"

"Everyone be quiet!" Maka overpowered her classmates' panicked voices. "Listen."

Everyone grew quiet. Liz quivered in fear as she bit on her nails, clinging onto Tsubaki as tightly as she could. Someone grew closer to Maka from the sounds of soles as quietly being dragged toward her. From the direction of the source of the sound, it belonged to someone she did not want close to her.

All the teens listened. Outside in the corridor something was dragged against the floor and then thudded. Something was dragged and then a thud rung outside in the dark corridor. The pattern repeated and it grew closer.

It was footsteps.

Soul held his breath as he stood close to Maka, ready for whatever would happen. Tsubaki grabbed Liz's hand and squeezed it tightly.

The footsteps had Soul's heart rushing within his chest and his senses in readiness as the sound of the footsteps stopped. Right outside of the classroom. The door handle was pushed down slowly and the door creaked as it slowly cracked open.

"Is aNYoNe iN tHeRE?"

The teens shrieked loudly in horror.

The lights were suddenly turned on and the door slid further open, revealing none other than their homeroom teacher, Miss Marie Mjolnir.

Miss Marie let out a hearty laughter as she rested against the door frame. "You were all so scared!" Maka went up to her teacher, earning confused glances from Soul when she gave Miss Marie a high-five and grinned just as wide.

"I call that a mission accomplished!" Maka cheered.

"Wait…! Was this just a prank?!" Liz screamed.

"Can't your teacher pull one simple prank on you?" Miss Marie grinned wide. "Oh I haven't had this much fun in a while! Maka here explained her plan and I just couldn't resist! You know I was young once and I pulled a similar prank on my classmates like this one."

"What the fuck?!" Black*Star screamed and his hands balled. "Are you trying to overshadow the mighty prankster ME! You can't overshadow the GOD of PRANKS with lame ass pranks like this!"

"Oh yeah?" Maka crossed her arms over her chest. "This was just the beginning! I still haven't forgotten the time you put a tarantula in my hair!"

"Come on, it was just a prank bro—"

Soul put his hand on Black*Star's shoulder. "I suggest you don't finish that sentence if you want to live."

Black*Star blew a raspberry. "As if she could take me down! I'm the almighty ME! Miss tiny tits has nothin' on me!"

Miss Marie clapped her hands and earned her students' attention and broke off the glare war between Maka and Black*Star that was just starting. "It's getting late and your parents must start wondering where you are. The janitor will soon come and start locking the school up."

"Wait hold on!" Maka ran over to her messenger bag she had left on her desk and swung it over her shoulder. She opened her lid and she started running her hands through it before she pulled up an odd paper doll; one that had abnormally long arms going down to the paper doll's knees. Maka turned toward Tsubaki as she held the paper in her hands. "Since this is your last day of school before you're transferring to Japan, I thought we could do this charm."

It was right. Tsubaki was transferring. Her parents had grown tired of the life in the USA and longed to return home to Japan where their older son was already studying at university. All of their friends were shocked when she broke the news to them of her transferring at the beginning of their senior year. They thought her parents would wait until she had finished high school, but they longed for Japan and their summer vacation there hadn't quenched their thirst, instead it had poured gasoline on the flame.

It was heart-breaking to lose their friend. Now Maka would no longer have her only friend she could speak Japanese with. Liz wouldn't have her best friend around and Black*Star would lose her. The Halloween festival was supposed to be a fun time with their friends and classmates, but instead it had been rough for the friend group. They were supposed to have the day of their lives and have a fun Halloween weekend together with plenty of horror movies and ghost stories and sleepovers, but instead it would be gloomy with Tsubaki packing up her last things and going on a plane to Japan.

A soft smile had spread on Tsubaki's lips as she quizzically glanced at the paper doll. "What kind of charm is it?"

"It's a charm to bind us all together. After we do this charm, we will always have a part of each other with us and we will never be apart."

Tsubaki paused before she nodded. "Okay, let's do it."

A wide smile spread on Maka's face and she nodded eagerly. "Everyone gather around in a circle."

The teens didn't question it. They all gathered in a circle and their homeroom teacher was left looking at them, until Tsubaki noticed it.

"Please join us Miss Marie," Tsubaki encouraged.

"You want me to join?"

"Of course!" Patty chirped. "You're our homeroom teacher!"

Miss Marie didn't object. Quite frankly, she was happy of the impact she had made on these kids. After she had graduated from university and gotten her first teaching job at Shibusen High, she was assigned their class, and she couldn't be happier. As much as she taught them, they taught her too. When she was in the process of divorcing her ex-husband Frank, the kids had been understanding and kind when she was more than flustered and the classes she had to cancel to meet with her divorce attorney. The kids reminded her of how foolish she had been when she was young. Letting the true love of her life go in favour of acting as a caretaker of the mentally ill man who under no circumstances wanted any help, simply wanted her company and her to take care of his home and patching him up when he had his hallucinations and psychotic breaks. She hadn't been able to take it anymore and, the kids had helped her realise the mistake she had done.

It was emotional to see one of her students leaving her. She dreaded the day of their high school graduation and she would have to let this wonderful class of bright and passionate students go.

This one last engagement in a playful charm she could do. For Tsubaki.

Black*Star and Patty made room between them for their teacher and Maka held out the paper doll toward them.

"You have to listen carefully if you want the charm to succeed. I want all of you to grab a hold of the paper doll and close your eyes. Then you'll chant Sachiko we beg of you for everyone present. That will be… six… seven… eight. Eight times."

"A perfect eight. Marvelous," Kid said pleased as he looked at his friends, earning smiles from them.

"After everyone has said it eight times, we will rip the paper doll and it will be done!" Maka cheered. "Everybody got it memorised?"

"Say Sachiko we beg of you eight times. Rip the paper doll. We got it," Soul repeated her instructions.

"Good. Now everybody grab a hold of the paper doll and close your eyes."

The classmates and their homeroom teacher grabbed a hold of the paper doll and their eyes fluttered shut. Silence filled the air as they chanted the words in their mind. Moments went by until they cracked their eyes open and Maka was first to break the silence.

"Are everybody done?" She received nods from her friends. "Then rip it!"

Everybody pulled at their piece of the doll and it tore into eight pieces.

"Good job everyone!" Maka beamed. "Now you keep your piece of the doll on you and we will forever be together forever!"

Black*Star raised his eyebrow as he peered at his piece. "How the hell will a piece of paper keep us together?"

"It doesn't work like that. It's more like a token. Whenever we look at the scrap of paper we will think of each other and everybody who were present during the charm," Kid explained with ease, and Maka nodded at the precis conclusion.

"Exactly. You can keep your piece of your paper in your student ID so you can always have it close to you."

Soul quizzically looked at the paper, but he did as Maka said and slid the paper inside of his student ID holder.

Miss Marie clapped her hands and earned the attention of the students. "We need to leave before the janitor locks us all inside. Grab your belongings and we shall all say our goodbyes outside—"

Miss Marie's voice drowned when the ground started to shake violently. Maka gasped loudly and Soul quickly latched onto her, stabilizing her from falling to the ground.

"Everybody get under the desks!" Miss Marie declared.

Lamps swung violently, one after another the cord snapped and hit the ground.

"Look out." Liz tackled Tsubaki out of the way, milliseconds away from a lamp crashing on her skull.

Floor boards creaked loudly, nails sprouting from the floor as if they were a breed of iron flowers. The wood cracked, splitting open and falling down to an endless abyss. Screams filled the air as the gap rapidly grew larger. Their desks one by one fell down into the growing hole growing rapidly closer to them. The floor underneath Soul and Maka's feet disappeared, clinging desperately onto each other as they fell. Maka reached toward their friends as if they could catch them from their fate. Tsubaki and Liz screamed at the top of their lungs as they fell down, the floor completely collapsed and all of them fell into the strange abyss.

#The Dead Tell No Tale (fic) #resbang #resbang 2018 #soul eater #soulxmaka #oblivion-time writes

[hyyunjinn]

guiding light | soulmate!minho fic

summary: When your words were etched right above his heart but you already had your fated words encircling your arms—fated words he never said.  

→ pairing: bff!minho x reader  

→ pronouns: they/them

→ genre: angst/fluff + soulmate au

→ words: 10.1k  

→ a/n: slow burn? DEFINITELY SLOW BURN. suffer with me everyone :) ily (it’s *canonverse! so he goes through being a backup dancer and training and the show :))  mucho angst guys) (BUT IT’S ALSO REALLY CUTE I SWEAR)

*i’m assuming the events into a timeline from what we know of him

“you were my guiding light”

the sentence has always been etched on your arm and everyone assumed it’s the first thing you’ll hear your soulmate say

honestly? besides your name? that was the first thing you learned to read

and if you were bored, you’d trace the words that encircled your right forearm

admiring how pretty it looked on you, like a circlet

your parents would always smile when they catch glimpse of your tattoo, comforted that your soulmate sounds like they’d really take care of you

you were my guiding light

sounds like promising first words

however, a couple of years into middle school when you were talking to Minho about soulmates, he pointed out how it says “were” and not “are”

you were offended

your jaw dropped and he quickly tried to reassure you that maybe they just had bad grammar or something

but it ate at you for a while

until you grew out of it

since your soulmate didn’t appear for the longest time

BUT LET’S START FROM THE BEGINNING:

you and minho became best friends at the end of elementary school when the two of you got separated from your family at an out of town faire

your mom sent you off to buy food as she looked over your siblings, but when you went back to what you thought was the same spot she was at—she wasn’t there 

so being the kid you were, you wandered, trying to find her: pushing through crowds of people and tried to avoid getting run down by other kids until

you bumped into minho.

“oh! hi y/n” he greeted, a little shy considering meeting any classmate outside of class is kinda weird.

“oh,, hi minho.”

you two sort of stared at each other awkwardly until he noticed:

“are you lost?” he questioned, a smirk growing on his face

you flushed, but he quickly grinned and went “ME TOO!”  

so being bad children, you two didn’t look for your parents and went to go play

and since there were too many bodies and you two babies couldn’t find your parents, you guys just hung around the nearby game booths with your leftover tickets

it was a lot of fun

and he was nice enough to share his food tickets with you to buy this huge ice cream sundae

and when you guys met again at school, a friendship blossomed after that  

the two of you always got into trouble: either talking too loudly in class, arguing about something that you eventually, but accidentally, broke; tripping and receiving cuts and bruises and scabs everywhere.

whenever you two sat at the same table, you’d lean over and scribble over his paper just because and he’d have to get back at you by stealing your pencil case or closing your book, making you lose the page you were on

you guys are quite the dynamic duo.

as kids, you guys always went on adventures and chased each other around

and even as you guys grew up, nothing was too awkward

like you read all about the best friends who drifted apart and you were so scared that that might happen to the two of you

but there was always something about him that kept you attached—and he could say the same about you.

ya’ll had your dumb inside jokes (“heY MIN-HOHOHOO” “y/N SHUT UP BEFORE I shOVE A SAND CRAB DOWN YOUR BACK”) and dumb handshakes and dumb photos

(context to the sand crab thing? you had a dream where he dropped a sand crab down your back and you cAN STILL FEEL THE SENSATION ON IT BECAUSE IT FELT THAT REAL and then you woke up and called him in the middle of the night to yell at him and from then on he keeps threatening you about it)

“that’s you” he interrupted you, pointed to a brown splat of bird poop on a white car as the two of you walked by

a dumbass grin appeared on his as you narrowed your eyes at him, completely unamused.

and while you usually only see each other during school, he loves calling you up at night and talking about the new episode of your favorite tv shows or this new “recipe” he wants to try out the next time you guys hung out outside of school.

it was a really chill relationship: enough distance but still best friends all the same.  

you often times hit him for the dumb things he says and he’d just flash you his heart-stealing smile and laugh.

and he’d fret about you when you aren’t dressed warmly,

but you do the same thing so it’s okay.

and he loves to put his hands on your shoulders to shake you when he’s excited about something and it gets reALLy annoying

There was a park nearby that you two loved to hang out after school; hogging the swings and swinging there for hours on end—talking about who knows what.

and life just went on.

As the two of you guys grew older together, going through phases and crushes and puberty, the topic of soulmates eventually came up

somewhere along the line, minho picked up dancing as a hobby and he would teach you some moves for fun

and while you weren’t completely into it like he was, you loved how much fun the two of you had together just dancing in your backyard.

“one day I’m gonna be the main dancer”

“yeah?”

“heck yeah”

A couple of months just before middle school ended, a classmate of yours received their soulmate sign in class: a scribble of “PERMISSION SLIP DUE TMRW”

and everyone freaked out, trying to understand what that meant until your teacher explained that it’s the communication sign

as all the students crowded around your classmate as they tested it out, writing something like “hello?” on their skin and receiving a reply,

you beamed in happiness for your peer, finding the concept absolutely adorable

the classmate’s friend took a pen and scribbled on their arm: “YOU BETTER TAKE CARE OF MY FRIEND OR ELSE”

during lunch as Minho tried to steal your chips, you asked him “do you have a soulmate sign?”

snatching a chip and munching happily, it took him a second to understand your question before “no, I don’t think so. i don’t have tattoos or see in black and white or feel anything”

you sort of just blinked, surprised you guys never talked about this before

“you don’t?”

“yeah… and I guess it never really crossed my mind. how about you?”

“uh, yeah!” you pulled up your sleeve and revealed the circlet of words on your forearm

minho took your arm and pulled it closer to read the words

“you… were… my,” he snorted “guiding light?”

you snatched back your hand, offended as he laughed

“how romantic!”

“shut up”

“no it’s cute!” he paused. “it’s just… were?”

you cocked your head to the side

“like, past tense.”

bringing your arm up to look at it, you heart sank

“mINHO WHY WOULD YOU MENTION THAT!” you yelled, half amused, half hurt—and he heard that in your voice. 

“jasdkfa i’M SORRY I’M SORRY IDK I JUST AHH DON’T CRY!” he panicked, seeing your eyes tear up and he threw his arms around you to rock you back and forth violently

“maybE yOUR SOULMATE IS JUST DUMB ANd ThEY CAN’T GRAMMAR!” he shouted, sort of laughing at your reaction

he rested his chin on your head as you overdramatically sobbed

“you suck dude”

he smiled softly

“sorry, I didn’t mean to”

playfully scrunching up your face after he let go, he couldn’t help but laugh at the tears threatening to fall at the corner of yours eyes

“wAIT YOU WERE ACTUALLY CRYING?”

“SHUT UP IT WAS YOUR FAULT ANYWAYS”

trying to switch it up, he asked “are those the words they’re gonna say when you first meet them?

you stared at the black ink

“i mean, i’m pretty sure? that one is the most common mark anyways…. what do you think yours is?”

minho shrugged

“I never really thought about it because I didn’t have one I guess. It’ll appear one day.

“hopefully”

“hOPEFULLY? MINHO DON’T SAY THAT YOU’LL FIND YOUR SOULMATE!!!”

as the two of you entered high school and more soulmate signs began to appear on those without, the two of you sort of lost interest in the topic

like, most people meet their soulmates after graduating college anyways, so what’s the point?

even so,

realistically speaking, not everyone ends up with their soulmates or people just never find them or they wanted to go against societal norms

which is why minho has dated a couple people here and there

while you were still waiting, being the hopeless romantic you are

not that you minded: there wasn’t anyone for you to crush on at your school anyways

but you always hoped for minho’s sign to appear

maybe his was the color explosion one or the other version of the first words that appears

anyways,

when you guys entered high school,

he became really serious about dancing

you occasionally danced with him because why not, but he really stuck with the hobby—and it made you really happy to see him so happy dancing his heart out as he continued to learn

going to his performances

being the only one on the street who watched him perform,

“hey hey y/n! look at the new move i learned!”  

“duuUUDE that looks hecka cool TEACH ME”

“I tripped and nearly broke my nose the first time I attempted it”

“teACH ME!!!”

“I ain’t paying for your hospital bill”

realistically, you guys did drift just a little since he was so focused on his hobby and you had other interests

but it wasn’t like you guys didn’t smile at each other in the hallway and walk each other to your respective classes

and with whatever class you guys shared, there was no doubt he sat behind you and bothered you constantly by poking his pencil everywhere

and group projects? more like partner projects because you guys were too shy to join any other group and were more content with each other anyways

that way, you can count on each other to finish the work

When he joined the SOULDance Crew, that was when everything changed

you guys barely saw each other anymore—him focusing on dance; you, on college  

but that doesn’t mean you guys don’t text at ungodly hours about the weirdest topics of whatever is on your mind

like you’d scream about BTS and he’d laugh and torture you with whatever pictures he can dig up

or he’s rambling about what song he should use to choreograph and you flood him with all the new tunes you listen to

or if you’re just feeling bad and with a “wassup,” he knows immediately to send ugly selfies to you

and then graduation passed.

Your phone was filled with pictures with friends, but mostly him—whether it was just his side profile or a selfie or a derp face

but your favorite has got to be the polaroid of him piggybacking you, trying to carry his diploma at the same time

he got a matching one tucked away in his wallet

your meetups always fluctuated, and after a month of not seeing each other (him busy with his dance group and work; you with work and travelling around with your friends), you finally had a day off to meet each other

on the day of the annual fair that you always go (not the one the two of you met at), it was right after a filming for one of his dance covers

and he was so jumpy during it, everyone else was super confused but his high energy got everyone hyped enough to quickly finish the video

right after “cut!” minho stumbled towards his towel to wipe himself up, stuff whatever items of his that were laying around, and

“bYE EVERYONE! SEE YOU SOON!”

he was such a rush, everyone just looked at each other before someone called out

“HEY MINHO! WHat’S WITH THE HUSTLE DUDE?”

just as minho ran towards the exit

except he didn’t even hear his friend as he nearly crashed into poor you opening the door

the biggest grin spread across his face

“Y/N!”

“you’re done already—hey!”

he grabbed your hand and dragged you out to the street

“TO THE FAIR WE GO!!!!”  

“YOU’RE STILL SWEATY!”

“WE’RE RUNNING THERE ANYWAYS!”

everyone in the dance studio gave each other The Look and you guys can probably guess what happens

but we’ll go back to this date

so you ran to the bus stop,

him laughing and swinging your intertwined hands as you’re trying to catch your breath

“why did we have to run all that way?”

“because i want to!”

“nO”

“too late~”

ten minutes later, the bus arrived and you guys talked about your month as the bus rolled down the street

the carnival pulled into view and grins unconsciously spread across both of your features.

The door hissed open and he grinned at you

“ready?” you asked him, waiting for the traditional reply

“I bet 3 sundaes and a stuffed animal you’re gonna lose the goldfish”

“I bet a ride on the drop tower and the goldfish you’re gonna win a goldfish”

his jaw dropped as you guys hopped off the bus

“hEY UNFAIR. YOU CAN’T EVEN HANDLE THE DROP TOWER AND I’M GONNA WORK HARD FOR THAT GOLDFISH!”

you shrugged cheekily, glad the approaching night was cool enough while lights flashed about and kids ran around and the noisy sound of happiness encircled your surroundings

“it’s a trapped deal—if you don’t get us that goldfish we’re both gonna die”

“geT yOUr own gOLDfisH!” he pouted, crossing his arms as your neared the ticketbooth

“NO! I SUCK AT THAT GAME AND I WANT A GOLDFISH!”

“NO DEAL.”

“YES DEAL.”

“I AIN’T GOING ON THE DROP TOWER FOR YOU”

“I WANT A GOLDFISH!”

“THEN WIN IT AND I’LL BUY YOU 3 SUNDAES AND WORK MY BUTT OFF FOR A STUFFED ANIMAL”

“N O”

“fine. that means you’re going on the drop tower with me if I lose the goldfish.”

you scrunched up your face, hesitant, and then

“deal.”

your time there didn’t change from the past 8+ years together

you guys rushed around as many rides as you could before he’d start complaining about how hungry he is and drag you to the food and games booths and after pooling in and buying as much street food as you wanted, you guys walked around, taking in the atmosphere and each others’ presence

As the last hour neared, you leaned over to steal a last bite of his churro before you guys headed towards the goldfishing booth

to sum it up

you actually won the goldfish and he lost

“crap”

he laughed out loud

“you win some, you lose some,” he teased

you punched him in the arm

“unless you’re lee minho and you lose everything”

“shut up—I still managed to get you to go to the drop tower with me”

realization hit you

“yOU LOST THE GOLDFISH ON PURPOSE DIDN’T YOU”

“ALSDFJK NO I DIDN’T DOES IT LOOK LIKE I WANT TO GO ON THE DROP TOWER?!”

“L I A R”

“we’re gonna die we’re gonna die we’re gonna di e”

“y/n shut up”

“you shut up you loser”

“says the loser who walked right into a trap”

“at least i gOT my goldfish”

“you’re still going on the drop tower”

“i’m gonna kick you”

as you got closer and nerves began to take over he said “i hate you” before the two of your boarded

“my stomach is not gonna last”

“if you hurl, I’m leaving you”

needless to say, you guys made it alive,

barely

eagerly hopping off with a screech, you picked up your stuff from the cubby and handed him his

“that actually wasn’t so bad,” he mused with a grin, fixing his mussed up hair that was sticking in all directions

“tHAT MEANS YOU DIDN’T EVEN HAVE TO DRAG ME ON IT!” you yelled “I THOUGHT I WAS GONNA DIE”

something strange seemed to tug at his heart looking at you cutely grumbling about the ride, but it was quickly washed over with an overwhelming urge to hug you—which he read as a platonic sign so he didn’t dwell on it  

he just laughed and apologetically hugged you

“get off me”

“you’re my favorite person in the entire world ♡”

“go buy me my sundaes”

you guys stayed until the announcement was made that the fair would close soon and you guys left with a fit of laughter

on the bus home, you fell asleep on his shoulder, which he smiled softly at

brushing away you hair and adjusting himself so it didn’t feel too awkward

which got him to fall asleep and you guys missed your stop

“minhooo, why did you fall asleep?”

“hey, it’s not just my fault—your head was really comfy”

luckily, the last stop was his anyways and you crashed at his house—just like old times.

The next day as Minho barely cracked open the glass door to the dance studio,

“MINHO WHO ARE THEY?”

“NO WONDER YOU WERE SO GIDDY!”

“WAS IT YOUR FIRST DATE?”

“HOW DID IT GO?”

“YOU GOTTA INTRODUCE THEM TO US!”

minho screamed and pushed through his dance buddies

“THEY’RE JUST A FRIEND!”

“that’s what they all say”

minho scrunched up his face

“best friend.”

“tHaT’s WhAt ThEy aLL SAY!”

“NO I DON’t LIKE THEM LIKE THAT”

“YEAH YEAH SURE TOTALLY”

the thought totally crossed minho’s mind once or twice in high school, but he frantically pushed it away—not wanting to dwell on it at all  

but his mind kept wandering back to last night and the way you looked in the glow of the carnival after the drop tower

and how your hair was all messy and how you were grumbling about your heart after the ride

and you were really breathless too and he found that really endearing

and when you were laughing on other rides

and when you leaned over to steal his food and he can see your eyelashes up close

also whenever you won a game

or lost a game

he furrowed his eyebrows—freaked out that he’s only noticing all of this for the first time

which led him to not focus on dancing

and his friend plopped down right next to him without him noticing

“classic ‘shoot i love my best friend’ dilemma isn’t it?” she asked

“shut up”

she smiled and patted his shoulder

“hey, if it’s meant to be, it’ll work out. fate will do it’s thing and you’ll find out sooner or later”

“but you guys didn’t have to mention iiiit”

“you’re telling me this thought never crossed your mind?” she deadpanned

“i mean, I don’t want to think about it so i always ignored iiiiit”

“don’t think about it too much! if you like them, you like them. if you want to stay as friends, stay as friends. if you want to be more, be more. if you don’t know what you want, just stay as friends. trust me.”

“they have their soulmate mark though: it’s the first words type of deal.”

“oh”

“yeah—so I shouldn’t like them”

“but you dated in the past right? you didn’t care about those soulmate signs”

minho paused

“i guess you’re right”

“don’t dwell on it too much!” she encouraged, shaking him back and forth with her hand on his shoulder

“but what if I do like them? what about their soulmate?”

“just wait until their soulmate comes around I guess? isn’t it better to test out the waters than just suffer knowing the soulmate will come anyways? maybe your friend won’t even stay with their soulmate: there are people like that”

minho shrugged

“cmoN—you don’t even know your feelings on it so let's just work on the new choreooo” she nagged, grabbing his hand and dragging him back to the practice floor   

he quickly forgot about the matter anyways when he became a backup dancer for BTS

that was a fun time

when he got the news, he immediately phoned you and placed the phone as far away as possible from his ear as he yelled “DUDE I’M GONNA BE A BACKUP DANCER FOR BTS!”

there was a pause on your end before

“YOU W H A T ? !”

“YEAH”

“NO SAY THAT AGAIN!”

“BTS. BACKUP DANCER. ME.”

“H O W. YOU GOTTA TELL ME DUDE”

so he talked about the audition news getting to his dance studio and he auditioned with a couple of his friends and they managed to passed so he’s gonna go learn the new choreography for their comeback and perform on the music shows and whatnot and you just sat on your bed with your jaw open, not quite believing any of this

“you’re kidding”

“i’m not”

“no way”

“yes way”

“wh a t ?”

“ye a h”

a surge of emotions just rushed through you before “I���M SO PROUD OF YOU MINHO OH MY GOSH GOOD JOB AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!”

you could hear his laugh on the other side of line and you broke out into a goofy grin

“this is so amazing!!! you! dancing! pursuing your dream! uGH MINHO I’M SO PROUD OF YOU I NEED TO HUG YOU BUT I GOT THIS DUMB ESSAY TO FINISH”

“IF YOU LEAVE YOUR HOUSE JUST TO HUG ME I’M GONNA ESCAPE THROUGH THE WINDOW”

so for the next couple of months, you rarely heard from him

but you know that’s a telltale sign that he’s working hard and a smile always appeared on your face whenever you’re thinking about him

or bragging about him to your friends

gosh the first time you caught glimpse of him on the music show

you s C RE E CHed and your roommate thought something was attacking you

“nO IT’S MINHO! LOOK LOOK LOOK!”

you roommate smiled when she caught sight of him and you spent the next hour crying about how proud you are of your best friend

you didn’t even pay attention to BTS and you love them to death

that same night, he called you and before he could even say hi—

“I SAW YOU ON TV AND I’M SO PROUD OF YOU DUDE”

“IT WAS SO NERVEWRACKING! I THOUGHT I MESSED UP!”

“did you?”

“yeah”

“wELL I DIDN’T NOTICE SO GOOD JOB!!!”

“pfft thanks—OH! I was gonna call you to tell you that I’m gonna perform at their Seoul concert!!!!

“..... buy me tickets”

“I don’t think I can”

“nOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO I’M A BROKE COLLEGE STUDENT AND I NEED TO WATCH MY BOYS AND MY BEST FRIEND PERFORMMMM”

“welllllll, I mean I couuuld ask…..”

“aghghghghghhhhhhh—I can’t believe you’re gonna perform on tour! yOU’rE aN ACTUAL BACKUP DANCER!”  

“so you’re telling me I’m not a backup dancer when I perform on the music shows?”

“yeah”

“thanks for the pep talk y/n, now I know I can be the greatest while performing at the concert. i’ll work hard just for you”

“you’re welcome dude.”

The fact that he went viral had you on the floor

“daYUM ‘JUNGKOOK’S HANDSOME BACKUP DANCER!’ YOU SHOOK THE NATION!”

“SHUT UP!”

“YOU REALLY ARE THE GREATEST! i’M THE BESTEST BEST FRIEND EVER! I BLESSED YOU!”

minho fumed at his phone but inside, he was pretty elated that you found this so funny, a smile finding its way onto his face

“don’t forget me when you get famous” you dramatized and he softened.

“hey, can we video call?” he suddenly asked and you immediately worried

“oh yeah, of course,” you agreed, clicking on the video button “everything okay?” 

when his face appeared, he was lying stomach down on his bed, white covers propping up his phone

“um”

and you waited patiently, for whatever he had to say

“you’re not gonna leave me right?”

you blinked at him, unsure of what to reply since you weren’t quite sure of what he meant

and he understood that as he choked on his words trying to rephrase

“like, nothing would change between us if I continue this path, right?”

“of course not! minho, why would you think that?”

he paused

“idk, I guess it’s because you were like ‘don’t forget me when you get famous”

you flipped on your back and repositioned your phone, slightly upset that he took it like that

“hey if you were uncomfortable, just tell me. i’m sorry if you didn’t want to hear that, but i love you more than you can imagine—i don’t care if you’re famous or not, trust me”

“i do trust you! it’s just—”

“you’re talking to the same person who didn’t even freak out when we bumped into IU on the streets. or ask to meet up with BTS when you got accepted”

minho smiled “i guess you’re right”

“i’m sorry you felt like that”

“... i guess it’s just because i don’t want to lose you”

“and you won’t lose me! i’ll always be here! i’ll even let you push me into the sea next time!”

“you’re gonna regret that”

“it’s called pulling you in with me, d u h”

you guys talked for a bit more before you told him you had to work early tomorrow and you were going to sleep

and he made a face at you before ending the call

minho grabbed an extra pillow nearby and hugged it to his chest, which suddenly started hurting

he had an inkling as to what the feeling was but he managed to tell himself to fall asleep quickly to forget about it.

Fast forward a month or so

Minho couldn’t control his shaking hands as he clicked your number and impatiently waited for it to follow through

“hello?”

“please don’t make me go deaf—I have headphones in. but anyways: i got scouted for jyp”

you completely ignored his request and he had to yank out his earbuds

“Y/N!!!”

“OH MY GOSH”

“I CAN’T HEAR YOU WITHOUT EARBUDS BECAUSE IT’S REALLY LOUD RIGHT NOW AND I AIN’T PUTTING YOU ON SPEAKERS SO SHUT UP”

“I’M SO PROUD OF YOU!!!!! oh my gosh this is amazing!! mINHO! MINHOOOOOOO YOU REALLY ARE GONNA BE THE WORLD’S GREATEST—wait. does that mean you’re gonna train to be an idol?”

“after I pass the auditions yeah”

“no way”

“i know, crazy right?”

“you? an idol?”

“yeah i don’t see it either but—”

“—BUT You’RE GONNA CONTINUE YOUR DREAM OF DANCING! dude dude dude when’s the audition????”

“it’s like, in a month?”

The audition came and passed

and he passed as well

and whenever he had the time, he’d call you and talk about what happened each day

so he trained

and met new people

there was this boy, Seungmin you think, who really helped him adjust to the life as a trainee

“wow let me meet this Seungmin.”

“no. he’s mine”

And the day he met this boy named Chan, he got added to an official group?

and you were so shook, not quite sure how to react because wow Minho really will become an idol and have his face plastered on billboards and perfume ads.

What you didn’t know was that he was practicing for the showcase two weeks later.

He called you a day before and was like “so um, I got you tickets to the JYP showcase tomorrow and uhhhhhh I’m gonna perform with my group!”

“.... you could’ve told me earlier?!??!”

“WAIT CAN YOU NOT MAKE IT?!”

“no I can, WHY WOULD I PASS DOWN FREE TICKETS?!”

Minho pauses, debating whether or not to tell you something else

but his big mouth spilled it anyways: “i’m not supposed to tell you this, buT IM GONNA BE ON A SHOW!”

“W O A H”

“YEAH! It’s gonna be how my group prepares for debut! At least that’s what I heard,,,”

“WO OW WOWW do you have a date for the show yet?”

“no but it’s gonna start filming on the day of the showcaseeee—although, wait. Let me clarify: we’re actually going against a girl group to see who would debut first so uh, yeahhhhh, I might actually not debut soon, but it’s a hope!”

“you and your team are gonna kill it! … wait, tell me their names again?”

On the day of the showcase, you made signs for all of Minho’s team.

they had to ask him who you were because you were screaming so loud (but not as loud as the girl who screamed for Hyunjin lmao)

After the show,

you ran up to him all smiley and congratulating him with a bouquet of flowers and the other boys were like

OOoOOOoOoOO WHO T H I S

but you had to catch your bus home so you couldn’t really stay

“NOOOO WAIT! WE GOTTA TEASE MINHO FOR A BIT LONGER! HE’S ALWAYS MAKING FUN OF US!!!”

“I’M SORRY BUT I HOPE TO MEET YOU GUYS FOR REAL SOON! TAKE CARE OF HIM OKAY?”

Minho was actually really quiet for the next month and he didn’t seem to have time to talk to you so you went to focus on your life instead.

When “Hellevator” dropped, you were so excited because the song sounded SO GOOD! AND MINHO RAPPED!

to say you advertised it to everyone was an understatement

but hey, it’s a good song

when you were freaking out about the release, you phoned him and yelled “I LOVE THE SONG SO MUCH WHAT AND YOU CAN RAP WHAT? THIS IS SO AMAZING!!!!”

“haha yeah thanks y/n”

“AND DSJFKSDF YOUR BAND MEMBERS ARE SORT CUTE AND THE AESTHETIC OF THE MUSIC VIDEO!!! YES!!”

and you kept talking about how excited you were about the song and the show but he didn’t seem to respond much so

“you okay?”

“i’m just... tired”

“you want me to hang up?”

he didn’t reply so you were like “okay! good night minho!”

“good night y/n”

When people began spotting Stray Kids without Minho, you started to worry.

But you didn’t ask him because you didn’t want to jump to conclusions and had faith in Minho.

However, you didn’t even finish episode four and you already grabbed your phone, shakily finding his number.

“Hello?”

“Minho, meet me at the park a couple of streets from that intersection.”

“Y/N, it’s 11:30.”

“Minho please.”

You heard him sigh and agree.

“If I get in trouble it’s your fault.”

Running there, you were breathless and frantic, not being able to control your emotions and you didn’t even let Minho breathe when you spotted him

“Why didn’t you tell me?!”

Minho stopped in his tracks, his eyes widening.

“Tell you what?”

“About the elimination!”

He visibly slumped, not knowing how to reply.

“Minho!” you cried, stamping your foot on the ground, frustrated that he kept this locked up, tears already threatening to fall.

“I didn’t want to disappoint you,” he whispered, looking at the pebbles on the side of the road.

“it’s not that!” you whined, coming up closer to him “why didn’t you just tell me?”

tears dripped onto the ground and Minho shut his eyes

“I don’t know, maybe if I didn’t tell you I could’ve worked harder and become someone you’re proud of”

“you don’t have to be so insecure about everything, especially around me. You can fall into darkness but I’ll be there with you and we’ll make through it together.”

Minho nearly slipped on the bathroom tiles when he saw those exact words right above his heart on his chest the next morning when he took off his shirt to shower.

He blinked at it in the mirror, then looked down, gingerly touching it.

The first thing he thought of?

Shit.

Minho didn’t really react.

He didn’t know how to react.

But he knew heartbreak will hit him hard because you already had lines that he never said.

So to cope, he kept distancing himself and not talking to you.

You on the other had didn’t know what to do so you just, waited, assuming it’s because he’s training hard and to join the group again.

Waited until the episodes came out.

When news of the busking leaked, out of curiosity, you attended it with a friend, knowing fully that Minho wouldn’t be there. You thought maybe you could still support the other boys because they seem really nice and talented.

On that day, Minho snuck out as well, only to spot you in the crowd with a friend and he couldn’t bear it but to leave.

when he was told he was given a second chance, he wanted to call you so bad

but he couldn’t make himself do it

so he just ignored you

and continued practicing

and when you watched the episode, even if having no hope at all because he didn’t give you any indication that he was back in

you screeched and even your roommate who was watching with you yelled in disbelief

and minho was expecting the phone call

the other members were expecting the phone call

“LEE F REA K IN G MINHO”

“wh—”

“YOU SUCK”

and you hung up out of adrenaline and because you didn’t really know how to react

all of stray kids looked at minho in amusement and he just cheekily grinned

your phone buzzed and it lit up a millisecond later with a text from him reading

“i love you”

“thanks for always being there”

and your heart flipped just seeing those two texts there  

the day of the finale came quicker than you thought

and before you knew it

you were waiting outside of the venue in the cold with his mom, passing out hot chocolate to adoring fans

honestly, you were surprised but not surprised at the amount of support Stray Kids has and how all of them were praying that Felix and Minho would be part of the official line up

and your heart swelled

you saw multiple banners for him, some with cute messages

and you overheard conversations between friends about how cute minho is and you just smiled to yourself

that’s your best friend—stealing everyone’s hearts

once everyone was packed inside the venue, your nerves kicked up as you anxiously waited for the show to start

for sure you were impressed by the performances

and whenever minho came up—during the performances or the video reels—you smiled so wide his mom noticed

she giggled to herself and left you alone to your own thoughts

it’s really hit when he sang the bridge for “School Life’

your jaw d ro p p e d

and everything almost stopped

he was glowing and smiling

and it hit you

he was in the center

to say you screamed so loud you lost your voice was an understatement

the surrounding families and fans kept looking back at you in amusement because once the song picked up, you didn’t stop cheering

minho caught your eyes and he scrunched his face in acknowledgement and you smiled so big you were ready to just rush up to the stage and crush him in a hug

after the excitement toned down and Jun K performed

final judgement was nearing

and you were shaking to the point his mom grabbed your hand and squeezed it

“it going to be okay, I believe in them,” she whispered and all you could do was nod

felix and minho climbed onto the box and the cameras started rolling

jyp did not shut up. it felt like forever.

and up on stage, Minho couldn’t look at you, no matter how tempting it was. he kept his gaze straight ahead and tried his best to calm himself down

he almost missed it when jyp finally announced it and lights flashed in his eyes

you let out a huge breath and hugged his mom so tight to calm yourself down

as people left and the families waited to greet their boys

he didn’t even pop his head completely out from behind the curtain yet and you knew it was him

and may or may not have charged at him

“CONGRATULATIONS!” you screamed, wrapping your arms around him and trying to pick him up to spin him around and failing to do so

“y/N!” he hissed, face aflamed as everyone was watching the two of you

the other boys started “oooh-ing” and mischievous grins appeared on their faces as they closed up on you guys

“is this the famous Y/N????”

“OoOOO FINALLY!”

“mINHO NEVER SHUTS UP ABOUT YOU!”

“he looks goofy when he’s talking to you”

minho wasn’t having any of it and started waving his arms like windmills to ward them away

“nON ON ON NO STOP GO AWAY YOUR FAMILIES ARE WAItinG!”

they laughed and chan poked at minho’s face before dispersing

he turned back to see you beaming at him and his heart did a backflip

“haven’t seen you in a while!” you chirped, only to gET COMPLETELY IGNORED BECAUSE HE SPOTTED HIS MOM and because he suddenly didn’t know how to react at all

“MOM!!!!” and he rushed towards her to hug her

“wOW I SEE HOW IT IS”

“YEAH. I LOVE MY MOM MORE THAN YOU DUH” and he’s just snickering as he enveloped his mom and she’s laughing at your antics as you walked closer

you got to meet the other boys (with minho hovering protectively around you and glaring at his members just in case they say something) and their families and it was a really nice atmosphere

“you’re gonna debut soon”

“yeah”

you guys were standing next to each other, arms barely touching and watching the parents talk and the younger siblings awkwardly not know what to do and the other boys messing around with each other or their siblings

Unbeknownst to you, Minho played with the fabric of his shirt where the tattoo is: twisting and turning it in his hands

he promised to himself he’d never tell you, but at this moment, it was tempting

Glancing over to you,

taking in how your eyes are slightly turned upwards, content filling your face as you watched his members nearby,

he clutched the fabric and squeezed his eyes shut and

“y/n?”

A moment barely passed as your name fell out of his lips barely above a whisper when chan called

“hey y/n! minho!” chan called and you guys directed your attention towards the smiley leader “stop looking like an old couple and come over here!”

minho’s face immediately flushed

“we’re not a couple!”

“i said you looked like an old couple—not that you are!”

you smiled, rolling your eyes at the antics

“yeah let me get to know these boys you keep gushing about”

minho shakily sighed and agreed

a couple of days later, you were back to your life and before you knew it, Stray Kids’ debut was just around the corner

then their first comeback

then their first award show

then their first win

and you were there to support them like always: especially Minho

but you didn’t even know how much he appreciated it—he just couldn’t express all of it because his feelings just grew and grew and he didn’t want to mess your friendship up

he kept seeing you in a different light and it was messing with him

There was this one time where the two of you were just walking the streets together.

He looked over and had the biggest urge to just kiss you that he spotted an ice cream shop and bolted to buy him something to keep his mouth busy.

Another time, you were visiting and you fell asleep on his lap because of his soothing touch from mindlessly tracing the words on your skin.

Hopelessly, he sat there, his heart aching as he wanted you to know you’re his soulmate but he couldn’t.

The pain was almost unbearable as he was immobile because of you and he couldn’t pry his eyes off of your tattoos.

He cried himself to sleep that day, with you within his touch yet detached from his fate.

You got to know the rest of Stray Kids so well it was almost like you were the fourth mom (chan and minho easily took the first slots)

if you weren’t busy and they were home, you’d visit them at the practice rooms

if they were abroad, you’d call them just to check in

it was all the mundane things and you can’t believe you get to experience and that Minho was living his dream—even if he was living with a burden he couldn’t even unload to his best friend.

Luckily for him, the hustle bustle life of an idol preoccupied his thoughts and he often times convinces himself that his fans are his soulmates.

Two years have passed and it was finally the time where your friends began to find your soulmates

and then somewhere along the line, Stray Kids began finding their soulmates as well

and you and Minho would always call each other whenever this would happen, squealing into the mic

you favorite story was of Felix and his soulmate: Felix had the sign of being able to telepathically speak with his soulmate and one day as he was walking down the crowded street with Minho and Hyunjin for groceries, trivially arguing with his other half about an ending of a recent movie, a loud “SHUT UP YOU DON’T KNOW ANYTHING THEY WERE MEANT TO BE TOGETHER!” echoed around the vicinity

Felix was so surprised he stopped abruptly in his tracks and Hyunjin crashed into him.

He was so sure he heard his soulmate say the same thing and just then, his other half was like “shoot i just yelled that out loud”

He shot back: “i’m looking right at you aren’t I?”

“By any chance!” he called out to the person he was making eye contact with across the street “we you talking about Love Signed?”

Minho snorted and and shouted a “cliche!!!!!” and everyone around the area knew exactly what happened

it was really cute and you whined for days for missing it because Minho invited you to go shopping with them but you had a paper to finish.

Minho’s favorite story of your friends’ is your least favorite.

Why?

That day just so happened to be a really bad day for you and Minho had no idea. 

He just liked that story because he experienced it firsthand and you highkey believe it’s because he was mistaken as the soulmate

the day didn’t start off well, and let’s just say you and Minho were hanging out and you bumped into some of your friends and something happened that everyone thought Minho was the soulmate

you were too confused and unknowingly jealous to remember what happened exactly

because it didn’t strike you too well that your friend is soulmates with your best friend,,,, for some... odd... reason... 

“y/n, are you jealous?”

“pfft nO whY would i be jealous?! that’s ridiculous!”

your friend raised her eyebrows

“your voice is giving it away”

you squinted your eyes in disbelief, cocking your head in confusion

“but i can’t be jealous?”

“why not? isn’t he your friend?”

“yeah and that’s it. shouldn’t i be happy for him if it was you?”

“don’t you think it’s because you like him?”

you nearly gave yourself a whiplash

“why would i like him? i have a soulmate!”

“and people still date others knowing full well their soulmate exists”

“dating and liking are slightly different things. a lot of those relationships are flings”

“that doesn’t say anything of whether you like him or not”

you paused.

“but i don’t…?”

“you don’t sound so sure”

you furrowed your brows

“hey, let’s not talk about this—i don’t, i don’t want to think about it”

but it was all you thought about that night. 

It kept you up and Minho’s dumb smile kept popping up in your mind and your face heated up when the thought of a kiss passed your mind

You found out because you overheard the boys yelling about it.

bags holding food, you were about to enter the practice room when 

“hYUNG YOU LIKE Y/N”

“NO I DON’T”

“WHY WOULD YOU—”

“WAIT JISUNG SHUT UP Y/N IS—”

you blinked at them. “uh, hi boys. I brought you food”

Minho’s face turned bright red and he rushed out of the room. Jisung chased after him.    

you guys started dating when the other members tried to fix their fiasco by saying: “screw soulmates you guys ARE SOULMATES DATE ALREADY PLS MINHO WON’T SHUT UP ABOUT HOW MUCH HE WANTS TO KISS YOU AND SOMETIMES HE JUST LIES IN BED CRYING ABOUT YOU AND DOESN’T WANT TO DO ANYTHING!”

“Y/N PLEASE YOU KNOW HIM SINCE FOREVER AND ALL OF A SUDDEN HE KEEPS NOT WANTING TO DO ANYTHING”

“plus the two year ban is up sO”

you were hesitant at first because you really wanted to meet your soulmate

but they don’t seem like they’ll appear in your life anytime soon

and it’s minho, who you adore and have? always found him attractive

and he likes you so much, you couldn’t just—

“but what about your soulmate? you still don’t have a sign”

he shook his head and replied “it’s okay, I know I want to spend my life with you”

“but what happens if mine comes around?”

“then I’ll let you go to them. but, just, give me this chance? please?”

“minho—”

“please.”

“you’re gonna get hurt”

“but at least I got to be with you. I’ll be happy for you, don’t worry! because we’re best friends first!”

“are you sure?”

“positive. I’ll probably get hurt but I’m getting myself into this knowing fully well the possible outcome, so I won’t blame you.”

you just stared at him. “but then I’ll feel guilt—” your words caught in your throat as minho took a step closer and brought his hand up to caress your cheek

“please.”  

your heart rate spiked and you averted your eyes

his thumb gently brushed over your cheek

“i’ll make you happy, i promise. besides, your dumb soulmate hasn’t even appeared so why are you waiting for them? obviously i’m the better alternative”

your jaw dropped and heat rushed to your cheeks as his lips quirked up, winking at you

“i’m kidding” he laughed at your expression, pulling you closer to hug you.

with your face buried in his chest, you can hear his heartbeat and you breathed in his familiar, comforting scent—

“okay”

“hmm?”

“we can try this out”

Nothing really changed between the two of you.

he still loves to trace the words on your arm and you guys still try to go to the annual carnival

(one time, you guys went with stray kids and it was a Mess)

except for the more than often stares minho gives you where he’s smiling at you like a dork and if you ask what’s wrong, he just bursts out laughing and squeal “i can’t believe i love you so mucH!”

it’s all really cheesy and you can feel yourself falling in love more and more

and you feel guilty sometimes, knowing your soulmate is out there somewhere

but minho really does make you happy

and just seeing how happy he is makes you okay with it

because after all, he’s your best friend and you love him regardless of anything else

and he gets your heart racing every time he pulls you closer to kiss you and you want to punch him for that

Of course, the two of you got your ups and downs.

usually when he’s stressed out about an upcoming comeback or you’re stressed out about work or when you two miss each other so much and you don’t know how to express it and the call ends up in frustration

or when he just wants to love you but you can’t make yourself reciprocate your feelings and he can sense it, leading him to excuse himself and go back to his dorms

he knows it’s because you don’t want to hurt him, but it still does

but it’s natural

and both of you guys know that

nothing ever gets too out of hand

it’s because of the years of reading each other’s actions that you guys know when to take the break from each other if you need it  

Nearly three years has passed since you guys started dating and it was around the time when Stray Kids would start to go off to the military in the next year or so and taking a break in their successful career.

Funny, your soulmate never appeared for the last six years and you were starting to wonder if your sign was a fluke.

Minho never found his either.

You can’t lie and say you weren’t a little bit disappointed that your destined one never showed up, and sometimes, you would lash out at Minho for it, as if it was his fault.

But he swallowed it because while even though your soulmate doesn’t seem to be appearing, Minho found his and he’s not letting go. No matter how messed up the entire situation is.

He felt horrible about it but he couldn’t make himself tell you that you’re his soulmate when you were still holding back.

Eventually he would.

But he told himself he’ll wait for a couple more years, even if it was selfish of him to do so. If he was being honest with himself, he wants your soulmate to never enter your life and sweep you away from him.

Your insecurities heightened as most of your friends began to marry their soulmates and you were, quite honestly, terribly jealous.

And while you were ecstatic for all of them during the wedding days, Minho would always catch you deep in thought when you weren’t conversing with someone.

He’d sigh, grab your hand and squeezed it.

You let out a breath you were holding and shut your eyes for a moment, reminding yourself that you have Minho, and that’s pretty hard to beat.

“I love you,” you muttered

he leaned over and kissed your temple.

Minho was released for break just today, and he promised to spend his entire break with you—so even though he was dead tired, he drove a couple hours to your apartment because he just wanted to see you.

His eyes were barely open as he fought the urge to crash to the cement pavement and fall asleep right there as he fiddled around for the correct keys

“y/n?” he asked softly, slowly opening the door and peeking his head in, “are you home?”

you were in the living room, typing away at your laptop, trying to finish up a report for work. the lights in this room were turned off but the lights in the kitchen was on and minho frowned.

“you’re gonna hurt your eyes if you work in the dark like this,” he scolded

“hi minho,” you replied, not tearing your eyes away from the illuminated screen

he didn’t reply and the clacking of the keys were the only thing between the two of you

a couple of seconds later: “i have leftover dinner if you’re hungry,” you said

minho just hummed and dropped his things on the sofa and shuffled into the kitchen

the fluorescent lights occasionally flickered as he opened the refrigerator door.

eyes scanning the contents, he noticed a can of soda and he picked it up.

opening it, he was about to take a sip when he noticed the sole paper stuck on the door.

“hey you didn’t pay the bills,” he called out, peeking out from behind the door frame

once again, it took you a moment before you replied

“uh, I was gonna do it today but I guess I forgot”

“y/n, it was due two days ago.”

you ignored him, pressing harder on the keys as you typed

he frowned but went back to heating his dinner

After he cleaned up, he awkwardly paced the kitchen before finding the courage to be in your presence

because he can feel very well the elephant in the room.

he sat down next to you

and watched you work.

you didn’t appreciate his staring eyes but you ignored it, more focused on finishing

he tried to cuddle you but you brushed him off

so he huffed and pushed himself off the couch, wandering the dim apartment and sees something new on the little shelf where you kept small items

it was a cute keychain—in fact, two matching keychains and a small smile began to grow on his face

“hey what’s this?” he asked, hopefully turning back to face you

you slammed your hands on the keyboard.

he flinched.

“oh my gosh minho you’re so annoying!” you cried, voice cracking from stress and frustration

a pout formed on his face, not appreciating that you’re not responding to him at all when he drove a couple of hours to go see you

“well i’m sorry. i just miss you,” he pressed, frustrated as well.

“well miss me some other time,” you retorted

sighing, you adjusted your focus back to your screen and

“look y/n. you could at least give me a hug? i drove out two hours to see you and i’m dead tired.”

“that’s your problem. you could’ve visited in the morning”

“that’s because I wanted to see you, make sure you’re okay.”

“well I’m okay, thanks for worrying. now go to sleep or something—you said you were tired?”

he paused, knowing full well he couldn’t get mad at you because you’re obviously stressed so he opted to change the direction of the conversation “y/n you don’t look well at all: you’re stressed and you are the least efficient when you’re stressed.”

“minho, just leave me alone. let me finish this report.”

“when was the last time you slept?”

“just this morning”

“for how many hours?”

“I don’t know, does it matt—Minho stop. let me work on this.”

“You need to sleep.”

“sleep is for the weak,” you muttered

and misinterpreting that, Minho smiled a bit, thinking that you were giving in and was joking

“Well then if you don’t go to sleep, I’m gonna break up with you,” he quipped

however, you didn’t hear his teasing tone and something inside of you snapped.

glaring at the black keys in front of you, you gritted your teeth and asked him, “fine then. break up with me. why do you even care so much if you came here to annoy me anyways?”

“wait y/n, I didn’t—”

“just let this end because I want to end up with my soulmate anyways”

Minho stopped, his worst fear—the fear of hearing those words—just happened.

“You don’t mean that,” he whispered.

you looked up and straight into his eyes. “does it look like I’m joking?”

hurt flashed through Minho’s face and without knowing so, he raised his voice

“Well I don’t know? Does it look like your soulmate is even here with you?! Your soulmate never came so obviously I’m a better option then what you can get with them anyways! I’ve been with you since forever! That has got to mean more than a soulmate who never even wanted to meet you!”

You slammed your hands on the table and stood up, tears begin to blur your vision as his words stung your heart.

“Maybe I don’t want to be with you! I’m still waiting! you’re the one who said you didn’t mind getting hurt! so just shut up!” you screamed, arms shaking.

“BECAUSE YOU ARE MY SOULMATE!” he yelled back, slamming his arm on the table and it knocked down a picture frame, shattering it

“Classic,” you sneered, glaring at the glass littered around his feet

a sharp pang hit minho in his chest as he realized you didn’t pay attention to what he just said

a loud scoff escaped him and he looked up at the ceiling, blinking back threatening tears

“i hate you” he forced out, his voice involuntarily cracking.

looking up, you were met with his usually soft pair of eyes glaring right at you

anger boiled inside you and you balled your fists

“I can’t believe you’re being so selfish,” he taunted.

“shut up! just shut up minho!”

“You’d think after all we’ve been through you’d stop thinking about the potential jerk your soulmate is for making you wait.”

“you shouldn’t have gotten involved then!”

“Or maybe you shouldn’t have lead me on and kept this relationship for so long!”

“IT’S YOUR FAULT ANYWAYS. DON’T PUT THE BLAME ON ME!”

“HOW COULD I NOT PUT THE BLAME ON YOU? I TOLD YOU I LOVED YOU AND IF YOU LOVED ME BACK, EVEN IF IT’S JUST A FRIEND, YOU WOULD’VE CUT THIS RELATIONSHIP A LONG TIME AGO!”

“I ALREADY TOLD YOU! YOU’RE THE ONE WHO GOT INTO THIS MESS.”

“AND YOU COULD HAVE STOPPED ME! BEST FRIENDS ARE SUPPOSED TO ADVISE EACH OTHER WHEN SOMEONE DOES SOMETHING STUPID!”

“BUT WHY IS IT THAT I’M GETTING ALL THE BLAME?”

“BECAUSE I AM STUPIDLY, BLINDLY, IN LOVE WITH YOU!”

“SO BLAME YOURSELF!”

“I can’t believe you y/n. You’re actually the most selfish person I’ve ever met,” he gritted coldly. 

“LOOK, IF YOU HATE ME SO MUCH, WHY DO YOU TOLERATE ME?” you screamed, tears blurring out your already limited vision

“BECAUSE YOU WERE MY GUIDING LIGHT!” he yelled, kicking at the nearby drawers “YOU WERE THE ONLY ONE KEEPING ME SANE DURING TRAINEE DAYS. YOU KEPT ME SANE FROM THE SPOTLIGHT OF BEING AN IDOL!”

Minho didn’t seem to realize what he said, but your eyes widened as the words echoed in your head.

you were my guiding light

misinterpreting your silence for something else, minho laughed, mockingly. his eyebrows furrowed as he averted his gaze from yours to the remaining framed pictures on the counter

“y/n, just hate me.” he whispered, clenching and unclenching his hands. “Hate me please and I’ll disappear from your life. I’m so sorry for thinking this would work out.”

you didn’t answer

you couldn’t answer

Minho got mad and was about to repeat but when looking back at you, he noticed your change in expression and inability to speak

“why are you—”

so he frowned thinking back to what just happened within the last minute

you were my guiding light

you guys awkwardly stared at each other before you inched forward and before he knew it, you were burying your face into his neck

“i’m sorry,” you choked out, clutching at his shirt “I’m so sorry.”

He was in a state of shock. He couldn’t respond to the tears running down his body or your words as he replayed that moment over in his head.

you were my guiding light.

the same words five words he traced under his finger for so long, envying the person who will sooner or later say it to you

He is your soulmate.

When the realization finally sunk and your tears hasn’t stopped, he slowly wrapped his arms around you, picked you up and headed towards your bed.

Minho didn’t let go of you as the two of you went to sleep that night.

your parents were surprised, but absolutely relieved it’s Minho

you were waiting for so long they were starting to worry

same with Minho’s parents

but when the two of you phoned them about the news, they immediately called each other, ranting about how long they were waiting

“if we waited this long for them, how long do you think we have to wait for the wedding?”

“at this point, Minho might be the last to marry out of his group”

“havent Minho and Y/N been dating for the longest time though?”

“if it took the world that long to reveal to Y/N that Minho is their soulmate, I don’t have trust in Minho anymore”

“oh you right”

when the boys found out,

seungmin was the first to react, yelling “THANK THE L O R D I DON’T KNOW WHAT I WOULD’VE DONE IF FATE DECIDED TO SCREW THIS UP.”

Changbin started screaming

Hyunjin had such a big grin and was unable to say anything

he later came up to you and side-hugged you, saying a quick “finally”

“yeah haha, finally.”

chan made fun of minho

“yoU WERE MY GUIDING LIGHT? CHEESY”

“YOU SAW THE TATTOO FOR THE LAST SEVEN YEARS”

“I DIDN’T THINK YOU’D BE THE ONE SAYING IT AHAHAAHHAHAHA” and chan proceeded to squeeze Minho and shake him around

“congrats bro, you get your happy ending”

So, life continued.

Military enlistment came and gone.

Stray Kids began to get married.

And one day,

“Y/N, will you marry me?”

#stray kids #sk-writersnet #straykidznet #lee minho #lee know #minho #skz #stray kids scenarios #stray kids imagines #soulmate au #stray kids fluff #*fic #*mine

[news4dzhozhar]

I FIRST MET Dzhokhar “Jahar” Tsarnaev in seventh grade, on the basketball court at the Cambridge YMCA in Central Square, where I played on weekdays & in a Saturday league. He went to the gym to use the weight room & shoot around. I disregarded him  —  he sucked at basketball.

Basketball helped me feel like an American, instead of a Muslim whose single mother dragged him here from Morocco looking for a better life, then worried constantly that we wouldn’t find it. Before basketball, I didn’t really fit in. I wasn’t particularly smart or witty. Worse, I had started second grade in Cambridge the very same month that the Twin Towers fell. On the playground, kids would call me “sand [expletive]” “Saddam Hussein’s son,” or “Abu,” after Aladdin’s monkey. One kid nicknamed me “Unicef,” which was brilliant, in a way: It rhymed with my name & alluded to my African heritage, financial situation, & emergent unibrow. When we were a little older, kids would come up to me, place fake “bombs” on my body & then run away making ticking noises. I got into a fair amount of fights until my mother, who worked three jobs, told me I had to stop. Even if it meant saying nothing when bullies taunted me, I had to exercise self-control. It felt completely debilitating.

My mom always made me stay in the apartment until I finished my homework. But she agreed that as long as I kept my grades up, I could play basketball after school. I began spending hours on courts across Cambridge. This freedom allowed me to meet a slew of people who helped me develop as a young man & truly feel a part of the culture of Cambridge. As I improved, I gained confidence, sociability, & friends.

I met Jahar again in high school, when we enrolled in the same lifeguarding course in my sophomore year, his junior year. Lifeguards were paid well for minimal effort: You sit in a chair & watch people swim, or so we thought. We were actually terrible swimmers, but our teacher stressed that if we failed during a rescue attempt, people could die. So we learned how to breathe while swimming with our heads in the water, & swam endless laps to get in shape. We took turns “drowning” at the bottom of the pool, holding our breath & waiting to be “rescued.” Jahar & I learned to trust one another in the pool — and that trust soon extended beyond class. After we became certified, a group of us from the class applied to be lifeguards at Harvard University during the summer of 2010. To our surprise, we each landed positions.

Jahar & I became part of a small group that would gather at “808,” a tall apartment building off Memorial Drive overlooking the Charles River. After dark, we frequented a party spot nearby that we referred to as the Riv. We were all classmates, peers, co-workers, & good friends who shared common interests. We called ourselves the Sherm Squad. We didn’t know that “Sherm” referred to Nat Sherman cigarettes dipped into liquid PCP (I didn’t even know what PCP was). All we knew was the word Sherm had a negative connotation. We used it to mean someone who messed up a lot; we called it being a Sherm. I felt Jahar & the Sherm Squad accepted me unconditionally; they became my home base of friends, almost an adopted family

My real family’s life centered on Islam. I was raised to follow the teaching of the Koran & the five pillars of Islam, which boil down to self-discipline, love for yourself & toward others, & growing your relationship with God. We typically went to the mosque on Prospect Street twice a week, plus whenever my mother forced me to come to some event she’d volunteered for. I never looked forward to it. Men & women separate when they enter the mosque, which drove home my lack of a father or other male role models (I have an older brother, but we haven’t talked in years). So I would sit by myself or with someone else I knew who didn’t want to be there, engaging only when the call for prayer was sung.

One Friday near the end of sophomore year, my mother yelled at me to go to prayer.

When I walked in, I did a double take  —  Jahar was sitting there, listening intently to the imam. We had been hanging out all that year & he had never mentioned being Muslim. I picked my way through the large crowd sitting on the patterned carpet & squeezed into a spot next to him. “What are you doing here?” I whispered. “You’re not supposed to be here!

He chuckled and whispered back: “I’ll tell you after.”

After we prayed, he told me his family were also Muslim immigrants who expected him be a model Muslim. We both were trying to maintain an image as wholesome Muslim youths at home while being normal American teenagers away from it.

Balancing our family & American lives was stressful. As a junior, I played point guard on Cambridge Rindge & Latin School’s famed basketball team, and Jahar, a senior, was the wrestling team’s co-captain. During the fierce month of Ramadan or on the fast day before Eid al-Adha, the Feast of the Sacrifice, we might endure grueling sports workouts on empty stomachs & no water. At least we could complain to each other.

Maintaining separate Muslim & American lives sometimes meant keeping secrets from & even lying to those closest to us about our other life. We were shamed just for being Muslim by strangers, the media, & even some of our peers, just as our Muslim families shamed us when we were caught committing a sin. Jahar & I shared countless hours toking herb, hanging out, & hitting social events. We lived near each other, & often walked home together from parties. We’d hit Cambridge Street, dap each other up with a handclap and bro hug, then head off to our Muslim lives.

He was fun to be around  —  always cracking jokes, coming up with things to do. He was smart, warm, respectful & a good listener; and many of us admired his ability to “code switch,” moving effortlessly between social crowds & people of different races. He was also adept academically, holding his own in honors & Advanced Placement classes. He was generous, too. Whenever I ran short of funds, he’d give me money for lunch & crack “Stop being a broke boy!” in a way I found endearing.

Sometimes, when we were hanging out, he’d get calls from his older brother, Tamerlan, telling him to get home. Jahar mostly heeded these requests without question. (He admired his older brother, and I envied their seeming closeness.) At one point, Jahar told me that his family was arranging a marriage for him & he was considering it. All I could say was, “Well, it’s your life, bro.”

* *

IN SENIOR YEAR, my priorities were playing basketball, finding the right college, my fantasy basketball team, girls, watching the Celtics, partying with friends, the prom, & making sure to get my homework done. In the secular, diverse melting pot that is Cambridge, I had my American life at school & my Muslim life at home. Adhering to the tenets of Islam, especially the daily prayers, was a struggle, & it didn’t help that Jahar, one of my main confidantes, was off at college.

My mother still expected me to act like a strict Muslim, even though by now I was really only going to the mosque on the major holy days. She forbade me from attending “unwholesome” social gatherings, including school dances & any event held at the home of a female. I was not to swear, use drugs or alcohol, or flirt, among other vices. My mother knew little of what I actually did when I left the house, since I usually climbed out my bedroom window after she had gone to bed. But she often guessed at what I was up to, & frequently berated me as unworthy.

I was much more interested in my American life, where religion was immaterial. You were judged on your social standing, whether your personality added life to the party, and how you expressed yourself through fashion or music. When Jahar was back from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth on breaks, it seemed like we picked up right where we left off, cruising the city with the homies in his green Honda, looking for a party. My future felt bright. I was going to attend Bentley University, & become an entrepreneur. I had fulfilled my mother’s American-immigrant dream of getting into college & building a real life in America.

* * *

DURING MY FRESHMAN YEAR at Bentley, I realized that I wasn’t sure I wanted to be in school. I took a leave during second semester & went back to Cambridge.

I was at a friend’s house on April 15, 2013, when the bombs went off on Boylston Street. We ended up on a nearby rooftop, watching the commotion — the helicopters scouring the city & flashing police lights everywhere. I felt angry & under attack. I wanted the monsters who had committed this atrocity to get what they deserved.

On the 19th, I was at another friend’s house and still up at 3 a.m. when I got a call. “Turn on the news!” my friend said. They were broadcasting a photo of the possible suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing. “Just look at the picture, fam,” he said to me.

I looked at the blurry image on screen. “What am I supposed to be looking at, bro? I don’t know who that is.”

“Yo, doesn’t he look like Jahar!”

I thought that was outrageous. I fell asleep on the couch, & the next morning I woke up to see my friends huddled around the TV. I had never seen kids my age so absorbed in the morning news. I wondered if maybe a late spring snowstorm was approaching. They told me Cambridge residents had been asked to stay inside, and it did sort of feel like a snow day.

Suddenly, Jahar’s face appeared on the screen — there was no mistaking him this time. He was the bombing suspect still at large, the anchors said. Aside from the sound crackling on the TV, the room was dead silent. I felt like 10,000 volts of electricity were coursing through my body. It had to be a mistake. The Jahar I knew wouldn’t even do something mean, let alone commit an act of terrorism.

One of the girls’ cellphones rang; the call was from a TV newsroom where her sister’s friend was working. As our friend answered questions, her name appeared on the screen & we heard her voice come from the television. Within minutes, the doorbell rang. Our high school principal came into the house, along with two FBI agents wearing bulletproof vests. The FBI agents said they were looking for Jahar, and collected our cellphones. They had us sit in the living room & pulled us into the kitchen one by one to question us.

It didn’t take long for one of the FBI agents to step in the room and say, “To save time, which one of you knew him the best?” I raised my hand. In the kitchen, they asked what I knew about the bombing  —  nothing  —  where I thought Jahar was, whom he might try to contact. I answered their questions as best I could, and then they left.

Much later on that surreal day, a group of us were walking around Central Square, saying almost nothing. A pizza shop had its TV on & that’s where we saw a news update: A body had been found in a boat in Watertown, it said. Though we’d later learn he’d been captured alive, at that moment we believed our friend was dead. I remember a man riding toward us on his bike screaming like some sort of modern-day Paul Revere: “They caught him! They caught the bomber!”

This infuriated us, and we started screaming insults & epithets at him. I’ll never forget his shocked expression. That’s probably how most people reacted over the next few days when some of us defended Jahar, saying he was a good kid. But really, that’s the Jahar we knew.

* * *

SOON WE KNEW THE FACTS of the despicable acts Jahar committed with his brother, Tamerlan. We witnessed the heartbreak & loss suffered by those they hurt & by the families of those they killed. Jahar left behind an ocean of pain that is still washing across my city, & my country, sowing hatred & division between people who hardly know each other’s lived reality. Jahar wounded those he grew up with as well as millions who practice a religion he perverted with his crime. He made suspects of everyone who knew him.

Jahar put our safety & freedom in direct peril. Cambridge gave way to the real world, a place where I found myself feeling clueless. Like many of my friends, I did not have easy access to a lawyer. Later, I would realize I didn’t have access to what I needed even more: medical advisers, counselors, or therapists. Some of our mutual friends made bad choices & ended up in jail.

In the fall of 2013, I returned to Bentley to start my second semester, but I was still struggling to cope with the aftermath of the bombing, the FBI calls & questions. I felt guilty I even knew Jahar, after what he’d done. I was ashamed about what had happened to his victims  —  I still feel terrible for them. It feels awful that innocent people were hurt by a person I cared so deeply for.

That November after the bombing, three days before midterms, the FBI interrogated me for five hours, as far as I could tell simply because I had been friends with Jahar. I had nothing to tell them; I still felt betrayed by him, & knew he deserved the full brunt of the judicial system. After that interview, I found myself completely unable to focus on my studies. I asked my professors for extensions, but all of them made me take my midterms. I failed several of them, & soon after I took another leave.

This time I entered a downward spiral of addiction, insomnia, severe stomach pains, & depression, which fed off each other. I didn’t sleep more than a couple of hours a night for months. I felt paranoid & distrustful in every social interaction. Every aspect of my American life I had had to figure out on my own, and it seemed as though I hadn’t figured out anything at all. I felt like I had fallen behind my peers, unable to compete with their intelligence, their access, their privilege.

I was exhausted from maintaining multiple, often conflicting identities as a Muslim-American, from not being Muslim enough for my family, but too Muslim to feel secure in a hostile, post-9/11 environment. It was soul crushing; I felt I had lost touch with the person & identity I fought for years to establish. It got to the point where I could no longer follow a normal conversation. I lost around 25 pounds, and the ability to play basketball, which had been my sanctuary.

CONTINUED AT THE LINK

#jahar Tsarnaev #dzhokhar tsarnaev #tamerlan tsarnaev

[army-author]

taehyung scenario | x and o

❝ You accidentally send ‘xo’ at the end of a text to your daughter’s teacher, and he seems to get the wrong idea... ❞

➸ prompt: My ex will be at the Christmas party, so you agreed to pose as my fiancé to keep them away.

➸ pairing: teacher taehyung x parent reader

➸ warnings: mentions of alcohol, brief mentions of bereavement

➸ requested by anon | 11.4k words | fluff, teacher au

In the busy whirl that is the life of a single parent you’ve done some pretty stupid things – like running out of the house in your pyjamas to try and get your daughter, Mia, to school on time, or accidentally giving her your lunch of chickpea salad while you went to work with her sandwiches made with teddy-bear shaped ham, or forgetting to check the weather before driving her to school on a snow day, only to realise your mistake and ending up needing to call in sick off work so you could stay home with her.

But out of all the stupid things you’ve done, distracted by the blur of days that are never long enough, this is by far the stupidest. You stare at your phone in horror, gaping down at the ‘xo’ send at the end of the text. That was not meant to be there. How could you absentmindedly tack on kisses and hugs, normally reserved for your mother alone, and accidentally send them to Mr. Kim, your daughter’s young, and unnaturally handsome teacher?

If only you could delete texts… if only you could delete yourself…

‘That would be fine xo’ was certainly not the appropriate response, to ‘Hello. This is Mr. Kim. I got your number from the school office. Sorry for the bother, but would it be possible to reschedule our parent-teacher meeting?’

You bury your head in your hands with a groan, having a mental breakdown as you sit alone in the car, waiting for Mia to come out of her singing lesson. Why do your brain and your fingers hate you, typing out things you don’t intend? You debate sending another text to explain yourself, but then decide that doing so will only make the whole situation more awkward. So instead you leave it, and pray he’ll just think you’re the sort of person that sends ‘x’s and ‘o’s to everyone.

Thankfully, Mia’s coming out of class now, clanging open the car door and clambering in, offering her bubbling conversation as a welcome distraction from your screw up.

“Hello!” she beams, clicking in her seatbelt and chucking her folder of music into the backseat.

“Hello, Mia Mouse, how was it?” you ask, which causes her to puff up her cheeks, and complain:

“You know I don’t like that nickname…”

“Sorry, Mia,” you keep smiling, “I’ll try to remember.”

Mia’s in the middle of a phase, starting when she hit the grown-up age of eight, where she’s decided that she doesn’t want to be cute anymore, and has discarded her old nickname, along with her old clothes, all shades of pink. Now she wears purple and blue, always opting for jeans, although you still sometimes see her staring yearningly at the sparkly section in the kids clothing section, not completely over her ‘girly-girl’ phase, despite her efforts to convince you otherwise.

“So, how was singing, Mia?”

With you now addressing her correctly, Mia goes on to tell you all about her class, how she got through her scales easily, and how her teacher complimented her for her technique. “She even said that if I keep this up I’m bound to get a solo for the school’s Christmas play this year,” she tells you, bouncing up and down in her seat, as you pull out of the singing teacher’s drive and head towards home.

“Wow, that’s amazing, Mia!”

As you drive through the bright lights of town, the accidental ‘xo’ is completely forgotten…

♡♡♡

That is until the day of parent-teacher interviews - then it suddenly hits you again as you sit alone outside Mr. Kim’s room, looking at the displays dripping colour, showing off the scribbly drawings of the children in Mia’s class. You jog your knee up and down as you wait, restless and anxious, realising you’ll have to explain yourself when Mr. Kim calls you inside. Maybe he’s forgotten, or doesn’t even care. A handsome man like him must be used to single parents flirting with him by now. If their lives are anything like yours, parent-teacher meetings may be the only time for flirting. There’s zero time for finding yourself a boyfriend while caring for Mia. You barely have time to care for yourself, you think, with your eyes self-consciously falling to the worn nails of your fingers, well-chewed from the stress of work and child rearing. You wonder how many numbers Mr. Kim gets slipped during these sorts of meetings, how many dates he’s been asked on over his desk. You shake your head to clear yourself of these thoughts and the impure jealousy that rises from them.

What’s it to you if the handsome teacher gets attention from women confident enough to show their affection? You’re happy in your own little bubble, just you and Mia, living contentedly together. Developing a crush is pointless. You try yo convince yourself of this.

The door opens at last, and Mr. Kim’s husky voice reverberates in the hall as he says, “Sorry for the wait. Would you like to come in now?”

You gather up your bag and coat and follow him into his classroom, splashed all over with bright colours, times tables pinned up on one wall, another wall showing off the children’s dabbling in poetry and painting, and in the far corner is the class Christmas tree, covered with decorations handmade by the children.

“Thank you so much for agreeing to reschedule our meeting,” Mr. Kim says, as he sits down at his desk and extends his hand to offer you the space across from him, “I’m sorry if this is inconvenient for you.”

“Uh… no… it’s fine,” you say, trying to keep yourself from staring as you sit down. You’re struck once again by just how handsome Mia’s teacher is. You’d forgotten it from the last parent-teacher meeting, your mind going rusty after all those months. Seeing him again is a shock to the system, battering down the imperfect copy your mind had created. With your lips feeling numb, despite the heaters in the school being switched to max, you press them together to get them working again, and quickly say, “About the text I sent you… the ‘x’ and ‘o’ were an accident. I have a habit of adding them to my messages without thinking… it wasn’t meant to mean anything… just in case you thought I was… flirting or something…” you trail off, disconcerted with Mr. Kim’s eyes boring into you.

He crosses his hands in front of his face, creating a bridge for his chin to rest on as he listens. “Well, yeah, I had expected so much… it would be odd for you to be so forward.”

You blush, and fiddle with your hands in your lap, absentmindedly picking at your ragged nails. He’s not wrong, but it bothers you that he’s able to pick up on your personality so easily from the few parent-teacher meetings you’ve had, already pinning you down as the type to send ‘xo’ by accident, rather than on purpose. Feeling the need to defend yourself, you ask him, “How would you possibly know how forward I can be?”

Mr. Kim raises his eyebrows over his hands. “Because I have to deal with women who actually send me ‘x’s and ‘o’s on purpose, and they do an awful lot more than just that when we meet in person... Did you know that the mother that came in before you spent the entire meeting trying to play footsie with me under the table?”

“No!”

He leans forward. “That’s not all. When I went to shake her hand afterwards, she tried to lean in and do the European-style greeting, you know, with, like, kissing on the cheeks and stuff.” His eyes glitter as your own widen. “So, I figured since you’ve never tried anything like that with me, you probably didn’t mean those ‘x’ and ‘o’s. It was just a guess though.”

“I can’t believe you had to deal with that…” you say, “These meetings aren’t meant for flirting… they’re for our children.”

“Yeah… well…” He leans back in his chair again and shrugs, “Not all parents are as committed to their child’s education as you apparently.” He laughs mirthlessly. “But the flirting has certainly got a lot worse for me since I broke up with my girlfriend.”

This is new information for you. In fact, him having a girlfriend in the first place is news to you. You make a point of not delving too deep into the personal lives of your daughter’s teachers.

“That’s rough,” you nod sympathetically, as Mr. Kim’s eyes droop slightly, probably recalling all the trouble the break-up has caused him.

His hand falls to his mussed brown hair, carding his fingers through it as he sighs, “Yeah. Wish she hadn’t been so vocal about it on Facebook… she probably knew the trouble it would cause me.”

You look down to inspect your nails, an excuse to stop staring at Mr Kim, whose face is like caramel candy for your eyes. All calories.

He lets out a brisk laugh, more of a bark, saying, “Guess that’s what I get for dating a teacher! Let me give you a piece of advice, never date a co-worker. Not only do you have to see them every weekday, but they also know all the worst parts of your job and know how to make them even worse!”

Somehow this parent-teacher meeting has evolved into a therapy session for Mr. Kim, who seems unbothered or unaware that he’s unloading all of his problems onto you. You wonder if you should direct the conversation back to Mia or leave him free to ramble. It’s late in the evening, and he’s probably flagging after having to deal with so many other parents, some of which don’t seem to know what personal boundaries are, so you decide you should cut him some slack if the meeting is a little disorganised. You hum softly, to show your understanding and let him continue:

“And what’s worse, whenever your boss organises any kind of meet-up, you end up having to see your ex outside of working hours as well. Like at Christmas parties. Christmas parties! They’re the worst when you’ve had a break-up, did you know that? She’s going to ruin it for me… and Christmas parties used to be my favourite thing as well…” His lips press together, as he licks them, considering all his problems. Then he gives himself a shake and says, “Anyway, Mia!”

At last the meeting gets back on track. But you can’t get rid of the feeling that Mr. Kim still has more to say on the subject of exes, that the meeting took too sharp a turn back on course, and that something is expected of you after his tangent.  You get the sense that he wants to ask you something, but you can’t decide what it is. With this question clouding your mind, you try to listen as he explains how Mia’s grades are going, not telling you anything you don’t already know – Mia is doing well with music and art, but won’t show any interest for maths. You bite your lip, wishing you were better at maths so you could help her with that.

When that the meeting starts wrapping up, painless, no problems, Mr. Kim tells you, “Mia seems happy, she gets on well with the class, and she’s a delight to teach.” Your cheeks glow with pleasure and pride, hearing him praising your daughter.

As he collects his papers together, tapping them against the desk to straighten them, you grab your bag and coat, standing up ready to leave, before he halts what he’s doing, and says, “Actually… could I ask you something?”

You pause, the niggling question you had wedged in your head popping up again. “What’s that?”

He licks his lips, pink tongue poking out for a split second before he says, “Well… since you seem like a sensible person, with a good head on your shoulders… what do you suggest I do for the Christmas party?”

Your mouth freezes again, stuck slightly parted as you stare at him, caught, like a deer in headlights.

He smiles at you, only one side of his lips rising up.

“Why are you asking me?”

“Because,” the other side of his mouth finally rises up into a symmetrical grin, showing off straight teeth that make you understand why the mother he met before you had tried playing footsie under the desk. “You and I are friends now.”

“Friends?” you repeat.

“You sent me ‘x’ and ‘o’s at the end of your texts, and I decided to keep your slip up a secret, instead of laughing about it with my colleagues in the staff room. That makes us friends.”

“What? So doing the decent thing and keeping your mouth shut somehow… makes us friends?”

He shrugs, “It’s enough for children to consider each other friends. Sometimes I think adults should try to live as simply as kids do. Life would be a lot easier that way.”

Not entirely sure how much you agree, you still admit that the idea is nice, but not nice enough to pull down your sceptical brows.

“Listen, how about I tell you a secret, and then we’ll be even?” Mr. Kim grins, sticking his hands in his pockets. For a split second he reminds you of the young children he teaches, looking like a school boy ready to break a few rules, rather than a grown man, responsible for the education of twenty children. Before you can tell him that you don’t need to hear it, he leans forward a little, and says, “I left our class hamster food next to my ex’s lunchbox last week so that it got covered in seeds and hamster litter, and then I blamed it on the children.”

“That’s incredibly petty,” you say.

He just winks. “Don’t tell anyone.”

You shake your head, fighting off a smile that seems inappropriate. “Well, if that’s the way you play, then for the Christmas party: I say you make your ex suffer. Especially after all the trouble she’s caused you with flirty parents…”

His eyes light up, and he begins rubbing his hands together, “See, I knew you were the perfect person to ask! What would you suggest?”

Caught up in his schoolboy glee, you can’t help but go along, letting your own mind run wild with childish vice. “The Christmas party would be the perfect time to show her how well you’re getting on without her.”

“Like… I’m earning more money and living in the lap of luxury without her?” he asks, brows furrowing with confusion. Despite the evil glint in his eye, he’s sweetly innocent when it comes to making trouble for his ex.

“No, no,” you shake your head firmly, “I’m talking about getting on well romantically! Go to the party with a new girlfriend, or better yet, a fiancé, and show your ex that you don’t need her… and if it gets out that you’re with someone new, then maybe your problems with overly… interested… parents will go away as well.”

“But I don’t have a fiancé...”

“I'm not suggesting you actually get one. Just pretend. To get your ex off your back.”

He stares at you, mouth hanging open. You worry you’ve frayed a wire in his brain with your your plan. But then he’s leaping from his chair and rushing around the desk to grab your hands in his own, bowing his head to you, “You’re god level when it comes to this!” he gasps, eyes rising up to meet yours again, “I’m not worthy. Thank you, thank you!”

You can’t help but laugh at his genuineness, releasing yourself from his hands with a shy shrug, “Well… I do what I can…”

“Will you be my fiancé then?”

You stop, shock crashing into you, leaving you speechless and breathless. You swallow, and finding your tongue once more, manage to stutter, “I didn’t mean with me. I – it was just a suggestion. I wasn’t-”

“Please?” He clasps his hands together, “I thought we agreed we’re friends, and a friend would do this for another friend.”

“No. You agreed that we’re friends,” you remind him, “I had no say in it.”

“You were the one who sent me ‘xo’ on your text.”

“By accident.”

He closes his eyes, “Please. Help me out here. You can’t suggest such a good plan, and then leave me hanging with no one to carry it out with!”

You consider carefully, then tilt you head to the side. “Fine.”

His eyes light up.

“But on one condition.”

His eyes go dim again.

“If I agree to this, then you have to get Mia a part in the Christmas play this year. She’s been working hard on her music, and she really wants to be in it.” You’re not doing this if there’s nothing in it for you... besides a handsome fake fiancé for an evening that is.

Mr. Kim stares at you for a few seconds. You can see the cogs working in his mind. Finally, he nods his head. “Alright, I’ll see what I can do!” The he sticks his hand out to you. “Do we have a deal?”

You should know better, but, somehow, you find your hand in his and the fate for your Christmas holidays is sealed. “We have a deal, Mr. Kim.”

“Please, it’s Taehyung. We’re friends now.”

♡♡♡

As Christmas draws closer, your anxieties grow worse, and with Mia running to the car after school to you to tell you that she got the solo part for the Christmas play, you can only smile, while secretly dreading what you promised in payment. Seeing her face lit up with joy reminds you why you asked for it to begin with, and you know you need to bear the burden of it. Seeing her happy is all you want, and if one night of feigned romance is all it takes, then you’ll do it gladly.

“Well done, Mia Mouse,” you say, “You deserve it!” And although you know that she does, there’s a small seed of guilt rooted in your heart, reminding you of the cost of her happiness.

She doesn’t even seem to notice the unwanted nickname as you start up the engine and pull out of the school car park, casually adding, “Mr. Kim was asking about you by the way.”

You choke on a yelp of surprise, supressing it, since you don’t want your daughter to get suspicious. “Oh, really… did he?”

“Yeah,” Mia grins across from her seat, “He asked me how you were, and then he told me to tell you that he said hi. Wasn’t that nice of him?”

“I suppose it was,” you say, trying your best to concentrate on the road, while your mind is racing elsewhere.

“I really like Mr. Kim,” Mia decides, as she stretches her feet up onto the glove box.

“Feet down, Mouse,” you remind, and she kick her legs back again with a sigh, before continuing:

“All my friends say Mr. Kim’s very handsome. Do you think he’s handsome?”

Suddenly it feels as if the Spanish Inquisition has begun in your car.

“Well… I suppose… he is classically handsome…” you answer, “He looks like he could be an actor, or a model.”

“But do you think he’s handsome?”

You just shoot her a quizzical look. “Why all the questions?”

Mia shrugs her shoulders, turning to look out the passenger window, “I don’t know…. Just… don’t you think it’s time you got a boyfriend?”

“Mia!” You almost swerve off he road in your surprise, but quickly correct your steering, while you try to adjust your voice to a volume more appropriate inside the car, “What’s brought this on all of a sudden?”

“Well… it’s just… all my other friends’ parents are married, or they have boyfriends or girlfriends. I was just thinking… since everyone’s parents will be going to see the Christmas play…” she trails off, leaving your mind reeling. All her life you’ve tried to keep her happy, straining to fulfil the roles of two parents at once, and sacrificing your own time and happiness for it. But you know there are some things you just can’t do, things that a father could. It has crossed your mind multiple times that you shouldn’t stay single, even if you only want a boyfriend for her sake, but there’s never been time, you’ve never had the energy, and she never seemed to be bothered by it. Until now. Maybe she’s only just starting to realise that something’s missing.

After a long silence, only the road rumbling below you for accompaniment, she asks, “Do you still miss dad?”

“Of course. Every day. But I believe he’s somewhere better now, watching over us.”

She smiles to herself. “I like to think that as well. Even if I don’t remember him. Do you think he’s proud of me for getting the solo?”

“Absolutely,” you tell her.

With that, the subject of boyfriends is dropped, but that doesn’t stop your singleness from burning in your mind for the rest of the day.

♡♡♡

As you sit in your room that evening, with Mia tucked up in bed, (although you know that she’s still up from the light peeking out under her door), you stare at your phone, scrolling through the lists of dating sites on offer. There’s bound to be one out there specifically made for single parents. The bright light burns into your retinas as you search, the itching reminding you that you should sleep.

You drop your phone onto the bed. It was a silly idea in the first place. As if online dating will fix everything.

But then you remember Mia in the car, wishing she could have a father to watch her in the school play, and you pick up your phone again, clicking on one of the more promising sites. You’re almost ready to sign in, finger hovering over the screen, until a text flashes up, blocking your finger with the words, ‘Mr. Kim Taehyung’. You pause, wondering why he’s texting… and at this hour…

You tap on his message to open it up, and read:

‘Well, Mia’s in the school play, so I suppose I should propose to you now. I’m looking forward to seeing my new fiancé at the Christmas party ;) The dress code is ‘smart casual’ by the way xoxo’

Despite knowing it’s all a joke, you find yourself smiling fondly at your phone screen. He’s not planning on letting you forget the ‘x’ and ‘o’s any time soon.

You reply back:

‘Wow. What a romantic proposal… not... I’ll see you there xoxo’ just to continue the joke, and then set your phone down and turn over in bed, the idea of dating sites dropped for now.

After all, signing up for that would be cheating on your fake fiancé. You can worry about finding a boyfriend once all this is over. You convince yourself that’s the reason for leaving the dating sites alone, but you know there’s more there, lurking below the surface, stemming from Taehyung’s interest in you. It would be foolish to assume his jokingly flirty texts mean anything – he’s unaware of his affect ninety percent of the time. But he’s not completely clueless, and you wonder if he knows what he’s doing with you.

You curl your toes under the duvet, and fall asleep with a grin on your face.

♡♡♡

The school looks different at night. This is the first thought to strike you as you park in the driveway, ready for your evening serving as Taehyung’s fake fiancé. Well, as ready as you can possibly be with a storm of butterflies in your belly.

You left Mia happy at home with the babysitter, who she insists she’s old enough to not need, although you know better. Now, you have nothing to worry about, except whether or not you’ll make a fool of yourself in front of Taehyung. The chances are highly probable, but you still find yourself smiling as you hop out into the freezing air, wishing you’d brought a coat to compliment your sweater dress and uncomfortable high heels. With your arms crossed around you to hold in as much heat as possible, you run to the school, using the side door that Taehyung promised to leave unlocked for you. You head to his classroom, where he’s still crouched over his desk, marking papers. He seems completely absorbed in his work, not even getting up to switch on the light, he sits in the dark, squinting at his work.

You rap lightly on his door, and he looks up, wide-eyed, like he forgot he invited you over to his room before the party started.

“Hi,” you hold up your hand awkwardly, not sure if you’re interrupting him from the flow of work.

A smile breaks across his face when he sees you, and he quickly jumps up from his desk.

“Hello,” he purrs in that deep voice of his, “I’m glad you didn’t bail on me at the last minute.” He almost goes for a hug, but then decides against it at the last moment, and instead offers you a quick pat on the shoulder, as he surveys your outfit. “You look good!”

“What about you?” you take in his well-fitting trousers, red tie, and white shirt, tucked in to accentuate his slim figure, “You look amazing!” you can’t help but gush. Amazing is an understatement. He really does look like a model. “You said it was smart casual,” you complain, “There’s nothing casual about this!”

He looks down at his outfit. “You don’t think it’s okay?”

“Well, no, it’s fine,” you tell him, “But I’ll feel underdressed standing next to you all evening.”

“What?” He pouts his lips, “But you look so pretty. You’ll be fine.”

He might say that, but you still feel embarrassed about your simple dress, and black tights, with no jewellery to set it off. Self-consciously, you wring your hands together.

“Oh, before I forget!” Taehyung dashes back to his desk and hunts about in the drawer by his seat, pulling out a small box, “I got this to make our story convincing.”

He opens the box and pulls out a shining ring, with a diamond sparkling at the centre. “Give me your hand.” His voice is low in the darkened room, pulsing through you like a tremor in the earth below your feet. Body responding to him before your brain does, you hold out your hand, and he takes it in his own, slender fingers wrapping around yours as he pulls you a step closer, and carefully slides the ring on. With his hand still supporting yours, you admire the shine of the diamond on your finger.

“Where did you get this?” you ask, staring in awe, “I hope you didn’t go out and buy this just for me.” It’s meant as a joke, but then you remember his recent break-up and the thought shoots through you, violently, like a bullet, that maybe this was intended for his ex.

He quickly dispels your worries, with: “It was my grandma’s.”

“Your grandma’s?” You gape at him, “Are you sure it’s okay if I wear it?”

He grins, “It’s fine. It’s what she would have wanted.”

“For you to use it to get revenge on your ex?” You raise your eyebrow at him, and he offers a wide grin in return:

“She had a good sense of humour.”

Still unsure, but happy that he deems you worthy of his grandma’s heirloom, if only for one night, you remember: “We should probably come up with a good story before we go out.”

“Oh right!” he frowns, “How should we say we met?”

You fall silent, thinking, before you decide, “Maybe we shouldn’t stray too far from the truth. We can say that we met at a parent-teacher meeting.”

“Yeah,” Taehyung nods, “And then I was interested in you, so I asked if we could grab coffee together sometime… but you played hard to get…”

“Until I thought about Mia and how she would need a good male figure in her life,” you say, blushing at how close it is to the truth.

Taehyung hangs for a breath, considering what you’ve said, “And when you saw how good I was with children, and how well I got on with Mia, you decided I was the one.”

“And the rest is history.”

You stare at each other in the half-light, Taehyung’s pupils dilated without the sun. For a second you almost let yourself get swept up in your made-up romance, tantalisingly close to reality. It could almost be true, but it’s just out of your reach.

“I like that story. Let’s go with that,” Taehyung nods, breaking the spell, as he goes to grab his blazer from the hanger by the door. His designer clothes look odd hanging off one of the pegs designed for children’s coats. He puts it on, and then gives a spin for you, “Do I look okay?”

You beckon him over, and when he reaches you, you stretch out your hand and hook your finger through his tie, loosening it slightly before you pull out the top button. “There, now you look a bit more casual.”

He chuckles, a deep sound at the back of his throat. “You know I have to tell off my students when they don’t have their school ties neat, so this feels a bit hypocritical.”

You shrug with a smile, “What your students don’t know won’t hurt them. It can be another secret we share.”

His smile widens, lips parting. “Alright.” He reaches out his hand to you, and you take hold of it. With one shake, he promises, “Partners in crime.”

“Partners in crime.”

As you leave the room, you keep your hand in his, lacing your fingers together – just as practice for later, when you’ll have to convince his ex that you’re in love.

♡♡♡

The school Christmas party is being held at the bar and restaurant in the next street over from the school, but a few of the teachers are meeting up outside the front doors to walk down together. As you approach the crowd, you feel your stomach dipping, and grab Taehyung’s hand a little tighter. “Is she there?” you whisper, to which Taehyung answers:

“No. No sign of Inna yet. I’ll warn you when she shows up.”

Two men spot Taehyung and come over, smiling. You fix on a smile, despite the worry pricking your skin.

“Well, Taehyung, who’s this?” The taller one asks, “We didn’t know you were seeing someone.”

You freeze under their curious gazes, but Taehyung, as if it’s the most natural thing in the world, announces, “This is my fiancé.”

The two men’s faces go slack in surprise, while Taehyung, seemingly oblivious of their reaction, explains to you, “These are my friends, Namjoon and Seokjin. We’re the three Mr. Kims of the school, and we ended up getting to know each other when all of our photocopying would get sent to the wrong Mr. Kim.”

You chuckle as he tells you the story, but can’t remain completely ignore the shocked stares you’re receiving from the other two Mr. Kims.

“Taehyung?” the taller one, introduced as Namjoon, exclaims, “You’re engaged?”

Taehyung turns back to them with an innocent smile, eyes devoid of anything worthy of suspicion, “Yeah!”

“And you didn’t tell us?”

Taehyung scratches at the nape of his neck, “Well… after what happened with Inna I didn’t want to go around announcing my latest adventures in love… but things are going really well, obviously,” he holds up the hand that holds yours, showing the shining ring on your finger, “So, I guess this is our announcement.”

Seokjin and Namjoon just stare at him blankly. “No way,” Namjoon says, “There’s no way.”

With a husky giggle, Taehyung raises his hands up in defeat. “Okay… you got us… actually, keep this between us four, but we’re just pretending to be engaged to keep Inna off my back…”

Namjoon frowns, dimples pressing into his cheeks as his lips thin into a line. Seokjin on the other hand, seems excited by the idea, giving Taehyung’s arm a light push. “Mr. Kim number three! That’s sneaky!”

You incline your head towards Taehyung, raising your eyebrows in a question. “Is it okay that they know?” you ask.

“You can trust these two,” he says, “They won’t tell anyone.”

After all you had shared with Taehyung, you feel oddly let down that he had so easily revealed your plan to these tow men. Betrayal might have been an over-exaggerated reaction, but there’s no other word to describe the nibbling in your chest.

As the group starts moving towards the restaurant, ready to meet the other teachers who are already there, your feet drag and Taehyung ends up pulling on your arm a little to keep up with his co-workers. His head turns back as he walks, face lit up with the blues of the Christmas lights. “You okay?” he asks, “Too cold? Do your feet hurt in those shoes?”

You shake your head. “No, I’m fine.” But already he’s moving back, shrugging off his blazer for you, and offering you his elbow to relieve some of the weight off your high-heeled shoes. With him fussing over you it’s hard to stay upset, even if you do feel some childish disappointment stirring in your gut because your secret doesn’t belong to just you and him.

You barely have the right to be upset in the first place; you can’t explain why you feel upset about it, let alone try to relate it to him.

With Taehyung helping you along, the scent of his cologne leaking into your head from his blazer, you walk in silence behind the rest of the group.

“So, how’s Mia,” Taehyung asks, making conversation as you try to keep balanced on your heels.

“She’s good,” you say, face softening into a smile when you think of her, “I left her with a babysitter, which she was a little upset about. She’s at that stage now where she thinks she’s old enough to stay home by herself… maybe that’s me being too protective.”

Taehyung shakes his head, a laugh rumbling through him, “No, a babysitter’s probably for the best, although the name ‘babysitter’ isn’t so good. Kids don’t like to be called ‘babies’ and they certainly don’t like to be ‘sat’ on.”

The joke is stupid enough to make you crack a grin. “Yeah… with Mia there certainly won’t be any sitting happening anyway. The sitter will be on her toes all night!”

“Mia’s great,” Taehyung rumbles, “Always so cheery when she’s in class. And so full of energy.”

Your chest swells with pride when you hear this.

“And so talented too,” Taehyung continues, “Maybe I shouldn’t be telling you this now, since you might feel a bit cheated, but she actually got the choir solo without any of my input… so I guess I didn’t even uphold my end of the bargain.”

“That’s my girl!” you smile, so overcome with pride that you can’t get angry at Taehyung’s deception.

On a high from your daughter’s accomplishment, you finally arrive at the restaurant, and all your good feelings come crashing down, to leave cold fear. Your hand grips at the fabric of Taehyung’s shirt as the other teachers who were waiting at the restaurant wave you inside, babbling over who should sit where and how nice everyone looks.

“Which one’s the ex?” you ask, tugging on Taehyung’s sleeve to keep his attention amidst the buzz of noise.

Taehyung nods in the direction of a woman sitting at the far side of the table, conversing with some friends. “That’s her,” his voice sounds distant, something you’ve never heard in his tone before, “That’s Inna.”

You sneak a glance at her, as casual as possible, and feel your insides wring themselves out. She’s absolutely stunning, dyed blonde hair hanging in waves around her slim face, strong make-up making her look like she just stepped out of a beauty magazine. She really does seem perfect for the model-like man by your side. You’re struck by your own ordinariness compared to her, and despite not even being in a real relationship with Taehyung, you feel your confidence departing you in tatters.

She glances over, sensing your looking her way, and her false-eyelash eyes narrow when she spots your arm through Taehyung’s. She mutters something to her friends, and then stands up, giving you a display of her tight-fitting back dress, sparkling down to the middle of her thigh, showing off well shaped legs, accentuated with tall heels. She walks over, a lot more confident in her stilettoes than you are in your own small heeled shoes.

“Taehyung,” she coos, and his eyes widen at her tone. You’re not sure if he’s surprised to see her talking to him, or if he’s struck by the dress that leaves little to the imagination, but you see him lick his lips nervously, before he responds:

“Inna. It’s been a while.”

She smiles, but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes, which stay glued to the ring on your finger. “Yes, well… I figured since it’s Christmas I’d try to be nice. You know… season of good will and all that.”

Taehyung winces a half-smile. “That’s good of you.”

She giggles, high-pitched and breathy. It’s the kind of laugh you used when you were in high school, trying to make boys look your way. “And who is this, Taehyung?” she finally looks to your face, acknowledging your existence as more than an arm attached to her ex. Her brown eyes sparkle bright as she sweeps you up and down. Embarrassed, you drop your gaze to the floor – the room suddenly swims with heat and the smell of wine.

“This is my fiancé,” Taehyung explains.

“Fiancé?” Inna’s voice rises above the murmuring of her colleagues, turning to you with her mouth hanging open in exaggerated surprise, although you can see something else, much more sinister burning below the surface, “Wow. So soon?” Her smile is scarier than the most furious of glares, and you feel as if she’s stabbed you in the face with her bitter-cocoa eyes.

“Yep,” Taehyung pops the ‘p’ in his response, souning oddly terse compared to his normal tone. This whole thing is getting more and more awkward by the second, and it suddenly strikes you how bad this idea is.

Taehyung continues, “When the right one comes along, you just know, don’t you, baby?” He nuzzles his nose into your neck, skin cold against you, and you bite down on your surprise, smiling through your shock.

“That’s right.”

“I’m so lucky,” Taehyung breathes against your skin, and even though you know it’s a show for Inna, you can’t stop your heart from missing a beat. Maybe he’s spooning in on a little too thick now.

You see Inna’s lips pucker in a scowl, before she softens out her pretty face again and smiles, “Well, isn’t that just great!”

There’s an awkward silence, and then she continues, “Well, anyway... my boyfriend’s taking me on a trip to France next month.”

Jealousy is already rippling out from her, and you’re not a minute into conversation. You swallow, not sure if you should laugh, or bolt away before she rips your face off - those unsmiling eyes in her smiling face promise your pain.

As Taehyung stiffly mutters about how nice France will be, and how she should take advantage of all the good food while she’s over there, you feel a hand slide around your shoulder, and Namjoon and Seokjin appear at your other side, saying, “Taehyung, we’re just going to steal your fiancé away for a split second.” Before you or Taehyung can protest, they drag you out of his hold, and towards the other group.

With the air clearing the further you get from Inna, you breathe a sigh of relief.

“We thought you needed some help,” Namjoon says, “Inna looks about ready to claw that ring off your finger.”

“Will Taehyung be okay?” you worry, glancing behind to see him standing poker-straight, feigning interest while Inna talks.

Seokjin nods his head. “We’ll give them a second alone to sort themselves out, and then we should probably keep them away from each other for the rest of the evening.”

You can’t keep your gaze from straying back to Taehyung as his friends lead you around the group, politely introducing you to the other teachers. Your stomach squirms uncomfortably seeing Taehyung talking with his ex, and you wonder what’s wrong with you. You can’t be worried about him being with his old lover when you don’t even count as a new lover. Still, you can’t relax until he manages to detangle himself from the knots of Inna’s conversation, and escapes back to your side.

“You okay?” you ask him, as he slots his hand back into yours.

“Yeah. She just kept on talking about how nice her boyfriend is, and how much money he’s spending on her…” you see Taehyung’s jaw tensing as he talks, and rub your thumb up and down the back of his hand, soothing.

“Do you think she’s jealous?”

“Jealous?” Taehyung looks at you, “What do you mean?”

You raise your shoulders in a small shrug. “What I mean is… in her mind you’ve left her and got on with your life. You’ve got it all settled. She’s trying to prove that she’s got everything she could want, that she’s just as happy as you…” You let out a sigh through your nose, “Sorry… I came up with this idea just to keep her off your back, but maybe it made the whole situation worse.” But even as you explain this, another possibility is burning bright in your head: that Inna isn’t jealous of Taehyung for getting his life sorted out, but she’s jealous of you, realising what a great guy she got rid of.

As her eyes burn through you from the other side of the room, you become more convinced of this possibility, and a curiosity niggles at you. How exactly did Taehyung and Inna part ways… and is there a possibility of them getting back together? You glance up at Taehyung, who’s refusing to look back at his ex, and swallow before asking, “Sorry if this is too personal, but how exactly did you break up with her?”

Taehyung’s sides heave in a deep sigh. “It’s… not too personal. But it is a complicated story and I was never good with words-”

Before he can even start, the man you recognise as the headmaster is tapping his wine glass with a spoon, and saying: “Dinner will be served soon, and before we all take our seats, I’d just like to say a few quick words.”

“Ha!” Taehyung mutters under his breath, “When he says quick words what he really means is a ten page pre-made speech.”

You can’t help but giggle at this, and quickly disguise it as a cough, while the other teachers fall silent, listening.

By the time the headmaster is done thanking everyone, your feet are aching in your shoes, and it’s a relief to sit down at the table next to Taehyung. For a second, as Inna passes your spot, you worry that she’ll sit down next to you and make the whole evening awkward, but instead Namjoon and Seokjin quickly slot themselves into the seats around you, and Inna ends up at the other end of the table, out of sight and out of mind.

The rest of the dinner passes by in a blur of lulling conversation, and a few glasses of wine to make the meals melt together in a swirling of jokes and laughter. It’s pleasant, sitting by Taehyung’s side, with him smiling and laying his hand on top of yours on the table when the occasion calls for it. You had forgotten what it was like to go out without Mia, but this is a pleasant reminder.

Before you know it, your dessert plates are being taken from you, and a few teachers are waving goodbye, while another group talk about going upstairs to the bar for a couple more drinks.

You’re aware that you should get home to Mia, but Taehyung’s colleagues are pulling him back, saying, “Come on, Taehyung. It’s not like you to go home early.”

He pauses, stuck between the hold of his friends and your own hand wound in his. He looks back to you, clearly torn, and you know how bad it will look if you separate now.

For a second you worry he’ll give in to his friends, but then he shakes his head, stepping towards you. “Sorry, but my fiancé needs to get home soon. We’ve left Mia with a babysitter, but I’m sure she’ll want us home soon.”

Your heart swells with gratitude, thankful that he explained it for you, not leaving you to flounder among his friends that you barely know.

But his co-workers are unconvinced, cajoling him – “Just one more drink. Don’t tell us that getting engaged has made you boring!”

Inna choses this exact moment to insert herself into the conversation, saying, “I never thought you’d be the type to go for someone with kids, Taehyung.” Her voice is icy, and you don’t know if the frost is directed at you or at Taehyung, but it makes you shiver, despite the heat in the room.

Taehyung gapes at her, clearly lost as to what he should do, searching his brain for what to say. In your hand, you can feel his fingers damp. “Well… Inna… like I said, when you meet the one, you just know, you know? And I love Mia as well. I really do. She’s a part of the family…”

Inna sniffs, and then shoots you a look you can’t quite fathom. With the exchange clearly finished, Taehyung’s friends butt in once more, and with one firm tug on his arm, pull him towards the bar, saying,“Mia can wait. You don’t mind, right?” Not wanting to cause a scene, you bend:

“One more drink’s fine.”

And so, you find yourself being pulled up the stairs to the blaring music of the bar, and the burning bright lights of the small dancefloor set up at its side.

“Sorry you got dragged into this,” Seokjin murmurs to you, as the group detaches you from Taehyung, herding him towards the bar to order drinks, and with Taehyung turning back to give you a guilty grin, you press your lips together in a line, and turn your attention to the other Mr. Kim.

“It really is okay. Mia can handle herself,” you tell Seokjin. You know it’s true, but you still feel bad. It’s already approaching eleven o’clock and you said you’d be back at half ten.

“I don’t know if you’ve realised,” Seokjin says, “But Taehyung’s pretty popular at our school. He’s sort of known as the mood maker among our co-workers, and we all joke that a party can’t be a party without him. That’s why it’s important he stays… even if it’s only for a little while.”

“Really?” you watch as Taehyung frowns over the bar menu, and then gives his order to the bartender, adam’s apple moving as he shouts to be heard over the music.

“You’ll see what I mean,” Seokjin offers you a wink, and then moves over to talk with Namjoon, while you slide back to Taehyung’s side again.

“This is okay, right?” he asks, as his rum is slid over to him, “You’re not just saying it’s fine when it’s really not fine?”

You nod. “I said I’d be home by half ten, but Mia’s pretty independent, so she won’t be worried… I just hope the babysitter has the sense to put her to bed soon. She’ll be grumpy tomorrow if she doesn’t get to bed early…”

Taehyung chuckles at this, “Yes, I’ve seen her grumpy in class. She’s certainly a force to be reckoned with.”  He takes his rum in one gulp, and then sucks in a breath through his teeth with the alcoholic burn. “We’ll leave after a few songs, okay?”

You nod as he slips from your hand, shrugging off his blazer and handing it to you. With a smile your way, eyes bright, he heads for the dancefloor, loosening his tie. He means serious business when it comes to partying, and you can’t help but smile after him, while the other teachers begin cheering as he steps onto the dancefloor.

As the next song starts up, you’re not entirely sure what you’re expecting. With Taehyung this could go either way - he could take dancing completely seriously, or he could make a whole joke out of it. It turns out that it’s a mixture of the two. He begins striking strong poses, with legs and limbs twisting, all in time with the music, and all completely over exaggerated, while still looking like they could be the ending poses of a fashion runway. You end up laughing along with the other teachers, and every so often, he’ll shoot a glace to where you stand at the edge of the floor, gauging your reaction, and obviously happy when he sees you grinning at him.

As you wait on the edge of the group, you sense someone sidling up beside you, and turn to see Inna by your side.

“Hi,” she offers you a smile, and you return it, as polite as possible.

“Hello.”

“Um… listen…” she curls a strand of bleached blonde hair around her finger, “Can I talk to you… somewhere a bit quieter?”

Your stomach twists, worrying what she could have planned for you. You’d rather not agree, but you don’t want to be rude, so you shrug, “Sure.”

She heads back towards the stairs leading down to the quieter foyer of the restaurant, and you have no choice but to follow behind, but not without shooting a glance back to the dancefloor, desperate for help. Taehyung pops into your vision for a split second in between all the other bodies, and his brows raise quizzically at you, while you give him a look that translates roughly to: “I have no idea what she wants with me, but I’m scared”.

On the ground floor again, Inna turns to you, and you cross your arms defensively, asking, “What do you want?”

She sighs, running a hand through her hair, before she says, “Listen, I know I might have come across as a little bit… cold tonight, but I don’t want you to take it the wrong way. I was just... um... surprised that Taehyung’s already thinking about marriage! And to someone who already has a child as well!”

“What’s wrong with having a child?” you ask, ready to shield yourself from whatever judgement she might throw.

“Well… you know,” she raises her eyebrows as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world, “It’s just extra baggage. And I didn’t think Taehyung was… mature enough to handle that.”

Irritation stirs inside you, “Actually, Taehyung’s amazing with children. You should know that yourself, seeing him in school everyday.”

She snickers, “Yeah. Only because he’s a child himself!” She raises her hand to her mouth, and clears her throat before continuing, “Ah. Maybe I’m coming off as rude again. I really don’t mean it.”

You’re believing it less and less every time she says it.

“Seeing Taehyung acting so mature now, I thought maybe I should start acting a little more my age myself,” she goes on, “And since I’m an adult, I’d like to tell you that I don’t have any bitterness towards you, even if you are with my ex. I can move past that. And I think it would be nice if we became friends.” She smiles sweetly at this, extending her hand to you.

She seems to have the same ways of securing friendships as Taehyung, settling it over a handshake. But this feels different from when you agreed to help Taehyung. Something in her smile warns you that there’s more to her than her sugar-coated words, and you keep both hands firmly by her side, refusing her offer.

She scowls as you remain motionless.

“Sorry,” you say, “I think… it would be best if we just kept to ourselves. You’ve broken up with Taehyung for your own reasons, and I think you should try to stay out of each other’s lives now.”

“Oh, I see how it is,” she snaps, acerbic as she jerks her hand back to her side, placing it on her hip, “Whatever. If you’re worried about me, then don’t be. I don’t want him back. You’re welcome to him.” And with that she storms off.

Seeing her terse reply is enough evidence that you did the right thing. From her track record of passive aggression, and her complaining about Taehyung all over social media, you already know she only wanted to use you as yet another way to get back at her ex, as if she hadn’t made his life miserable enough. She can’t seem to let go of her anger. You feel a little sorry for her, and for her new boyfriend. Only a little.

Returning upstairs, you decide it’s about time you went back home. Taehyung’s still busy on the dancefloor. As he spots you in the crowd, he waves you over and you read his lips moving, trying to shout over the loud music, “Come dance!”

“We need to go now,” you try to tell him, and he frowns at you, obviously not hearing you over the thrumming beat. You try again, raising your voice, but he still looks totally lost, instead just shouting, “Come on!” and you let him pull you onto the floor, holding your hand as he continues to make a spectacle of himself in front of his co-workers. You bow your head, hiding your face in his shoulder to escape the embarrassment as he keeps moving. But as you nestle closer to him, his movements becoming smaller so he doesn’t end up hitting you with one of his wild limbs, and the other teachers begin cooing over how cute the new couple is, and now you’re embarrassed for a completely different reason.

As the last chords play out, you take the small gap of silence before the next song to say, “We really should go, Taehyung.”

He nods in agreements, and you sigh in relief, seeing the end of the night finally in sight. With Taehyung making his rounds through the group, saying goodbye and shaking hands, you finally feel your body relax.

At the door, you hold out his blazer to him again, but he shakes his head. “It’s cold outside, keep it.”

And with that, you open the doors to the frozen December air and step out, waving final goodbyes as the door swings shut on the noise of the restaurant. With your breath billowing in clouds, Taehyung offers you his arm to help you walk back to the school again, where your car waits with heated seats and a short drive back home.

“Thank you for this evening,” Taehyung says, as you walk down the street, now quiet with everyone either busy partying, or wrapped up at home. Each step is becoming more painful for you, so unused to your high heels.

“It’s no problem,” you say, forcing yourself to smile, even as your face fights to wince instead.

“I really appreciate it,” Taehyung goes on, “I’m not good with words, but… I guess, if you were one of my students I’d give you one hundred gold star stickers. You did an amazing job being my fiancé.”

You can’t help but chuckle at his explanation, but then end up wincing again, and stop in your tracks.

“Hey, is it okay if I take off my shoes? These heels are killing me.”

“In this cold?” Taehyung asks, while you bend down to undo the buckles, and step out of the prison of straps. Even on the frozen concrete, feeling your soles flat again is deliciously soothing.

“It’s okay,” you say, wiggling your toes in your tights, “It’s not too cold.” You say this with another clouded breath misting from your mouth to completely debunk your argument.

Before you can say anything else, Taehyung kneels down in front of you, offering his back. “Get on, I’ll carry you the rest of the way.”

“I’m fine Taehyung,” you say, picking up your high heels and stepping around him, “My car’s only a street away.”

“Exactly, it’s only a street away and I can carry you no problem.” Without any more warning than that, you feel his arms wrapping around his waist and the world tips upside down as he heaves you into a fireman’s hold.

“Taehyung!” you hit at his back, trying to argue through your laughter, “Put me down. I can walk.”

“Sorry,” he hums, “But if you won’t accept a piggyback from me, then this is the only way I’m letting you travel back to your car.”

“Okay fine!” you admit defeat, “I’ll take a piggyback! But not this. Please.”

Satisfied, he sets you down again, and you skirt around to clamber onto his back, arms locking around his shoulders. With a gentle “hup” he lifts you up, hands firm on your legs, as he holds you up and continues walking towards the school.

You go on in silence for a short distance, only hearing your heartbeat thundering in your head, and Taehyung’s gentle breath as he walks.

At last, he cracks the quiet, asking, “What did Inna want with you?”

“Oh…” you’re taken aback by his question, but continue, “She wanted to apologise for her behaviour… said something about wanting to be more mature… but I don’t think she really meant it.”

Taehyung laughs at this. “Good. I was worried she might say something nasty. I was going to go down and get you myself, but the other teachers kept holding me back, and… well, you handled it yourself anyways, so I guess you didn’t need a knight on shining armour after all.”

You rest your chin against his shoulder. “You never did explain why you broke up.”

Taehyung is silent for a moment, and you wonder if he doesn’t want to tell you, but then he says, “We both had very different ideas about what we wanted from a relationship, I think. She always thought I was too childish, and that I wasn’t responsible enough… I guess I kind of was… I was scared of ever committing to her. You know, we’d been dating for quite a long time, but I never mentioned marriage or anything. She didn’t even move in with me. That was bad sign for her… she kept getting angry, wanting to move her stuff over to my place, and saying I mustn’t love her enough if I didn’t want to live with her. But there was… something holding me back… I don’t know how to explain it… but… it was intrusion? Intru… no! Intuition. It was intuition.” He laughs at himself. “Sorry, I get so used to speaking simply with the children that I forget how to use long words with adults sometimes.”

You smile, “It’s okay. I’ve only spent my free time with Mia for as long as I can remember. I don’t really know how to relate to adults either.”

“At least we know how to talk with each other then…” Taehyung chuckles, with a cloud of mist escaping his throat, “Anyway… Inna didn’t really understand me, and I guess I never understood her either, so we ended up breaking up. She blamed my immaturity for the whole thing.”

“But that wasn’t immature!” you feel anger bubbling up, “In fact, from the sounds of it, you behaved very maturely in that situation. If you can’t relate to each other, then the relationship can’t possibly last. It was good to end it as soon as you could.”

He nods his head, “I thought so too… but I am sorry that it ended so badly...”

“No, don’t be,” you adjust your grip around her shoulder, holding him a little more tightly, partly to keep yourself from slipping off his back, and partly to offer him some comfort under your touch.

As he turns the corner, and the school appears ahead of you, you feel a tug of remorse that the night is over, that you’ll have to leave Taehyung’s hold and return to being single. It was nice to remember what it was like to have someone to hold hands with, someone to be with, and the whole evening had almost convinced you to fall in love again, to allow yourself the leeway to care for someone else besides your daughter. It’s difficult to remember that Taehyung isn’t anything more than a self-proclaimed partner in crime, and that the ring around your finger is nothing more than a prop.

As Taehyung walks you up the school drive, he says, “Well… I’ve told you what happened to me and Inna… would it be too rude to ask what happened to Mia’s father?”

You fall silent as he reaches the edge of the car park, slipping off his back and onto the cold pavement.

He turns back with wide, worried eyes. “Sorry. I overstepped a line, didn’t I? I’ve had a bit of alcohol and… my tongue gets a little more lose when I do. Sorry. I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s okay,” you sooth with a gentle smile as you dig for your keys from your purse and head for your car, “It was a long time ago, so it’s not that painful anymore.” By your car, you stop, hand on the door. “He died a couple of months after Mia’s birth.”

“Oh.” Taehyung’s face falls at this, and he licks his lips, unsure how to respond.

“Like I said,” you continue, “It was a long time ago. And even though I do miss him… I’m not sad about it anymore. He gave me Mia, and she’s the best part of my life.”

Even though you should be leaving, it feels wrong to part like this, so rather than standing in the frost you say, “Would you like to get into the car for a bit? Just to get out of the cold?”

He nods, and so you end up with him sitting in the passenger seat, body twisted towards you as you continue talking about your husband, reliving old memories with a wistful smile twinging your lips.

“That must be hard for Mia,” Taehyung says eventually, and you nod sadly.

“Yeah, she doesn’t remember him well, but she’s recently started noticing the absence. You know, just the other day, she said she wished she had a dad to come and watch her in the play.” The thought makes the smile wobble off your face, replace by pain, as you remember her innocent questions.

“I’ll come to see her in the play,” Taehyung offers, and then his cheeks flush and he begins rambling, “Well… I mean… ah, maybe this is the alcohol still in my system, and I’m definitely overstepping a line here… but Mia’s a good kid… and…” His hands go up to run over his face, pushing at his closed eyelids. “Ahhhh… what am I saying?”

“Taehyung,” you say gently, and he peeks at you past his fingers, “Mia would be delighted if I told her you’ll watch her in the play.”

He drops his hands and offers a cautious smile.

The conversation seems finished, but still you don’t want Taehyung to leave, and he makes no movement to do so. Absently, you fiddle with your hands, and feel the cold of the ring still on your finger.

“Oh, right…” You pull it off carefully, and hold it out to Taehyung, “I believe this is yours.”

He puts out his hand, and as you press the ring into his fingers his warmth seeps below your skin.

“Oh, and the blazer as well,” you murmur, the stillness in the car seeming to call for a lower voice. You slip off Taehyung’s blazer, catching one last breath of his cologne, as he leans closer and you throw it around his shoulders for him.

Even though it’s time to part, you can’t let go of the collar of the blazer, holding him close. You feel that if you let him go, the whole night will slip from your fingers, like the mist of a dream. Forgetting what it’s like to be held, to be felt, to be connected, what it’s like to be in love, you’ll return to a single-minded focus on Mia, living in love, only for her, with no time to love a man and no time to love yourself.

In the subdued moonlight Taehyung looks all the more ethereal, eyes dark and glossy, lips shining wet as he licks them, and you allow yourself one act of self-love, allow yourself one split second of happiness, just to satiate your own curiosity for what might have been. In the hold of the night’s murmurings, you lean in, just as Taehyung does, and close your lips to his own, locking against him. Your eyes shut instinctively, and all that’s left is his warmth on you, warmth around you, as his hands pull you an extra bit closer, trying to manoeuvre you awkwardly, so he can get as close as possible with the gear box in the way. Your arms snake up around his neck, fingers tangling into his hair, and you melt away on this moment.

It’s all heat, all Taehyung, all you, all you’ve been wanting all evening.

At last, he slips out of your hold again, and you sit, short of breath, with him leaning, watching you from the other side of the car with a dopey smile on his lips.

“I should probably go now,” you remember, knowing it’s far too late, and Mia definitely needs to be in bed.

“Yeah,” he breathes. It takes him another second of staring at you, in awe, before he moves, opening the car door again, letting cold air to rush in and knock sense into both of you, drunk on each other’s touch.

“I’ll see you at the school play,” he says, and then jumps out, and with a wave and a boxy grin, he closed the door behind him, and heads across the car park, towards his own house.

You sit for a few seconds, holding your burning cheeks in your hands and trying to steady your heartbeat, knowing driving like this would be dangerous. You give yourself time to clear your head, before finally starting the engine.

♡♡♡

Mia’s still up when you arrive home, sitting in her pyjamas watching TV with the babysitter. The babysitter looks sheepish when you arrive. “I did try to get her to go to bed,” she explains, but you just hand her the rest of her money, and tell her it’s fine.

Your daughter spins around, and you can sense she’s hyper off sugar that the babysitter probably shouldn’t have fed her. “How was the date? How was the date?”

“Mouse... I told you...” you say, “It wasn’t a date!”

But even as you say this, memories rush back of all that happened this evening, and you realise there’s absolutely no fooling anyone. It was a date.

“You’re blushing! It was totally a date!”

You smile. “Alright, Mouse, maybe it was…”

As you shepherd her up the stairs you feel a vibration in your pocket, as your phone goes off. Reminding Mia to brush her teeth before she goes to bed, you watch her slump to the bathroom, complaining that she’s not ready to sleep. It takes a lot of coaxing, but you finally get her into her room with the lights switched off, and allow yourself to collapse into your own bed, still with a full face of make-up and your dress hugging your body.

You check your phone, and smile to see a message from Taehyung:

“Thanks for tonight. It was great. You did great. You were great…. Am I rambling? Haha! I’ll see you later anyways. Xoxo”

You smile involuntarily, roll over in bed, curling up in the duvet. You type your reply, “I’ll look forward to it xoxo”. This time the ‘x’s and ‘o’s are completely on purpose.

♡ END ♡

Author’s note: I’m sorry this is late! It wasn’t meant to be so long, but my brain got carried away, and it ended up taking longer than expected to write! I hope the wait was worth it!

#armiesnet #sfwbangtan #bts scenarios #taehyung scenarios #bts imagines #taehyung imagine #bts fluff #taehyung fluff #bts #bangtan boys #bangtan sonyeondan #bangtan scenarios #bangtan imagines #bangtan fluff #bts v #kim taehyung #taehyung #bts x reader #bts x you #taehyung x reader #taehyung x you #bts fanfic #bts fanfiction #bts fic #taehyung fanfic #taehyung fic #bts reactions #bts chats #bts christmas #tae

[janetbrown711]

‘ c’mon, lazybones. you’ve slept enough. ’ obviously Louie and literally anyone else

"C"mon, lazybones. you’ve slept enough," Donald rolled his eyes, "Get up so I can get you three to school on time," he started playing with the light switch. Louie groaned. "Uncle Donallddddd," Louie groaned and covered his eyes."Louie, I let you sleep in a whole half hour later than your brothers. Get dressed now," He signaled 'I'm watching you' and walked out of the doorway. Louie groaned and rolled out of the bed. He stood for a moment, adjusting to the motions of the houseboat, then stumbled to the closet to pull out a green button up jacket with one too many holes in it and a dark green shirt with a pattern of a spaceship on it. He walked up to the door and peeped through the crack to make sure no one was coming down the halls, which no one was. He darted back into the closet and took out a slightly beat up laser pointer, a t-Rex toy, and a yo yo he had all found in the garbage the previous day. He took the items and shoved them in the pockets of his jacket, which he noticed was starting to get holes in the pockets themselves. He made a small mental note he knew he'd forget to ask Donald for a new jacket... Preferably a sweat shirt this time. Slowly he walked back into the halls and into the small kitchen where Huey, Dewey and Donald were already done and cleaning up breakfast."You slept late," Dewey grabbed a blue backpack from a coat hanger. "Shut up..." Louie sighed and sat down."Louie, we don't have time to wait. Here," Donald handed him a piece of toast, "eat this, we need to go." Louie nodded slowly and Huey gave him a nervous look."A-are you sure Louie feels well? Sleeping in can be a sign of a sickness such as the flu, uh... Measles...? A few other things... According to the Junior Woodchuck Guidebook," Huey tried act like Louie looked sick, but he was always the worst liar."Boys, I don't have time for this. We need to get going now," Donald grabbed the other two backpacks and shuffled them out of the boat and into the car. Louie sighed and stared out the window as Donald drove onward. They arrived at the school in the matter of a few minutes as Donald quickly dropped them off and said goodbye. The triplets waddled into the main play room and set their bags down in a cubby. Dewey ran off immdietly to the playground to go and play pretend pirates on the playground, and Huey wandered to the sand and started digging. Louie sat on a bench by a tree and waited for his first costumer to come by, which didn't take long.A young owl boy walked over with crumpled up money in his hand. "Hello Owen, so what'll it be?" Louie asked."You know what I want," he tapped his foot. Louie suddenly remembered that he was a whole year older than himself so he got straight to the point and pulled out the laser pointer."State of the art, you're lucky I found it in such great condition. That'll be eight dollars," Louie grinned and held his hand out."Woah, eight dollars? Im not paying that much," Owen crossed his arms"I'm sorry good sir, but I'm only selling it for eight," Louie pulled away his hand."Wait!" Owen sighed, "I have eight... Here," he opened his hand to actually reveal a crumbled up ten, Owen was not the brightest Bulb. Louie smiled and took the money."Pleasure doing business," he gave him the laser pointer and Owen walked away. He made eye contact with Huey from across the playground, who sighed and shook his head. Louie looked away and shoved the money into his other pocket. Louie sat and waited for someone else to walk by, but neither of his other clients showed up, so he set his head down and closed his eyes in defeat. After about two minutes of rest he felt a tap on his shoulder. "Hey, kid," it was some big guy... Perhaps a fourth or fifth grader, much older than Louie himself, "you sold me this, right?" he held key chain of a dog that when you pressed the button, his eyes lit up and he made a really obnoxious sound. How could Louie forget? He nodded."Well it doesn't work anymore and i want my money back!" the guy slammed his fist on the table, but Louie didn't flinch." I'm sorry, I have a strict no returns policy," Louie tried to sneak around him, but the kid wasn't alone. Two of the guys friends surrounded him. Louie gulped."Well then we have a problem now, don't we?" the kid cracked his knuckles. Louie looked around for a way out."Look, I make sure everyone is aware of my policies and such. It-its not my fault you broke it.""It broke after two days. Gimme my money back or I'll pound you!" the kid got closer to Louie."I don't have your money!" Louie said."Well, looks like its pounding time for you then!" his to friends grabbed Louie and held him down while the main kid prepared to punch. Louie flinched and closed his eyes. Just as the kid was about to strike, Louie heard a "stay away from my brother!" and heard the running of feet. Huey and Dewey."Oh yeah? Whatre you gonna do to stop me?" the kid didn't move from his pose of 'about to punch Louie in the face'. "We're gonna beat you up sooooo bad," now it was Dewey who cracked his knuckles."Or... Maybe we can be civil and talk about this. No one has to get hurt," Huey had a bit of sarcasm. The kid glared at the triplet brothers. "Unless you have fifteen dollars I don't wanna hear it," the kid raised his fist higher. Huey lunged into position, waiting. "We do not," Dewey said. Louie internally slapped his forehead."Well then... Your funeral," the kid punched Louie square in the face and Dewey leaped at him. Suddenly, all Louie saw was punches and hits and older boys and his brothers, he didn't even know what he himself was doing anymore. It felt like self defense, but who knew. Out of nowhere a whistle blew and all six boys froze in their place. A goose teacher walked over and snapped at the boys to all go to the principals office, to which they all groaned, but obliged. As they walked Louie looked at his brothers and say that Huey's knuckles were bruised, but there wasn't much damage otherwise. Dewey looked far worse than him, he looked like he had a bleeding beak, several bruises on the arms, it was a mess. Louie didn't want to guess what he looked like.First, the three older boys went into the office, then the triplets did. It was boring, and was the usual talk of 'don't get into fights' and 'we don't accept bullying or physical violence, but that doesn't mean you have to fight back' and blah blah blah. The only good thing that happened was that the principal only said he'd levae a message for Donald, not make him come and pick the boys up, which was a relief for all three of them. Then, the principal wanted to talk to Louie all by himself. His brother walked out slowly and with a fake sense of shame on their faces as they slowly nodded to Louie as they left.Once they were gone, Louie looked everywhere, except at his face. He looked at posters, mirrors, chairs, jars of lollipops, star student awards, all sorts of things. He pondered how much a kid would pay for one of those..."Louie, why do you do this?" the principal asked. Louie glanced at him."What... Do you mean?" "Why do you always get in trouble?" he sighed and took off his shiny red glasses. Louie made an 'I dunno' sound and he sighed."Louie, I'm going to ask you something and i want you to answer honestly."Uh oh. That's never a good sign.Louie nodded."Is your Uncle Donald the most capable person go take care of you and your brothers?"The question. That stupid question. Everyone had it on their minds, but only few had the guts to say it to their faces. Louie felt his blood boil. Words couldn't describe how much he loathed the question. "Yes," Louie said with a grim and assertive tone."Now look here, Louie I-""Shut up!!! You have no idea what its like!! My brother's and I are happy. Uncle Donald keeps us happy, and fed, and educated in your stupid school!!! He is he best guardian I could ever ask for!!! Don't you dare ever say such a thing ever again!" Louie stood. The principal was stunned into silence. He tried to say words but it turned into a stuttered mess. Louie waved his and walked out of the office, slamming the door which made the office ladies all jump. Louie stormed down the halls, hearing the principal call out his name, but choosing to ignore it and ran off to the janitors closet to hide. He got in and turned off the lights. He sat on the ground next to the mop, pulled up his knees to his chest, and started balling. He hated school. He hated this. He hated all of the adults and some of the kids whispering. He didn't want to be here. He wanted to be home. He wanted to sleep. He wanted his family to have money, but he only knew one way how. Finally, he heard a knock on the door, nd heard the lock click. Louie looked up and saw it wasn't any of his brothers, or any janitors, but Donald..."Uncle Donald! I-I" he quickly wiped the tears from his face and stood up. Donald hushed him and gave him a tight hug. Louie was quick to hug back. " I'm sorry, Lou," Donald whispered."What about that job interview thing?" Louie asked."It doesn't matter. I'm sorry," Donald hugged tighter, "are you okay?""Yeah... I'm okay... I'm okay..." he took a shaky breath in and out " I'm always okay, as long as youre still here, Unca Donald."

[taehyungiestummy]

Lucky -- Chapter Twelve

Masterlist     Previous     Next

Warnings: Brief swearing

Word Count: 2647

The air has been tense ever since the incident in the dining hall just hours ago. Hansung has been a bit quitter, and I feel uncomfortable with some of the boy’s gazes. It’s just an overall bad atmosphere at the moment. Now, to make it all worse, we have all been called to a sort of classroom to wait on further instructions. All these boys filled with anger are being forced to wait for who knows how long, and I am stuck in the middle of it all. The room is quite spacious, so I don’t feel to trapped. There’s many windows to filter in a lot of light, and panels with Hangeul are over by multiple windows. A few bookcases have me smiling when I see them at the back of the room. It feels like ages since I have had the chance to sit down and appreciate a book, but it can’t really be that long.

Hansung speeds away from me as we make our way into the room. Not a glance or word at me; he’s ditched me without a second thought. My heart clenches in hurt, but I push my feelings down. For years I have been able to ignore my feelings for my best friend, and now I can’t even get a grip for a second. It’s like I am fighting a battle that I know I won’t win, but I can’t just stop now. A quick look around the room shows a spot next to Sooho, and in an instant I am gracefully walking over to take it. “Have you missed me so much that you need to sit next to me?” Sooho smirks, placing an arm around my shoulders. I giggle, “It has been a little bit since we’ve been able to talk. I see you every day, thought. Your cute face can get me through a hard chore.” He rubs my upper arm, “You and Hansung are having a fight, aren’t you? I remove Sooho’s arm from my shoulders, sighing as I glace at Hansung. “No, I wouldn’t call it that. He’s thinking about something, so he’s become quieter. We’ll be okay, not that we are a thing. I hope we will be okay. I need him.” “That’s very clear when you look at him. You’re so cute that way,” he gently pinches my cheeks. I jokingly slap his hand, a chuckle leaving my lips as I take some time to look at some of my other friends in the room. Sunwoo locks gazes with me. He still doesn’t look okay, and I don’t blame him after BanRyu was a huge jerk. I give him a small smile, waving with my fingers for a second. His eyes widen in shock for a brief moment. He has a hint of a smile on his lips, and he bows his head barely to acknowledge me. Then he breaks our gaze by turning his head to look at someone else. Next, I catch Jidwi already looking at me. My heart skips a beat at his cool gaze on me. I can feel my cheeks slowly heating up. Jidwi smirks with just one side of his mouth. There’s a sort of desire hidden behind the walls he has built. I have a want to learn about him as we wants to know more about me. Before I lose myself in the unknown Hwarang and becoming a blushing mess, I force myself to look at another boy that I consider a friend. It ends up being the one that challenges me on the beautiful scale. Yeowool smirks and gives me a wink when I connect gazes with him. My face becomes hot as a blazing fire in an instant and I have to look away before I explode. How can he be that smooth and beautiful? Hansung has a scowl on his face when my eyes finally land on him. No doubt he hates the redness on my cheeks that the two boys before him caused. That all changes when he turns his head and looks right at me. His face turns gloomy, and I just want to run to him and smother him with a hug. He looks away before I can even mouth some assurances to him. My heart clenches in pain once again. BanRyu has taken a seat next to Sunwoo, and the tension in the room has risen. “It seems that you don’t know anything about pride,” he talks just loud enough for me to hear. “You will know what I said earlier is true if you learn who I am.” My tongue messes with the inside of my cheek in annoyance at his words. Sunwoo turns his head to look at BanRyu but says nothing. “I start when you start,” BanRyu continues. “Are you stupid?” Sooho is now listening with me, and slightly tilts his head. “I am not stupid,” Sunwoo speaks up, and I realize that it is the first time I have heard him speak. “I am in the midst of enduring, so no one is starting,” he looks away. “You won’t be able to endure here,” BanRyu looks at Sunwoo. “Both you and Hwarang won’t be able to endure because I will break you both.” My fists clench in my lap. Sooho notices and gives my hands a reassuring pat. Sunwoo fixes his headband before looking back at BanRyu. “Why does I have to be me?” “First,” BanRyu does not hesitate to answer the question. “I do not like you, the Queen’s Hwarang.” The two break their gaze once again; Sunwoo nodding at what he hears. “Second, because if I fight with other kids, their families will intervene, turning it into a complicated problem, but you aren’t one of them.” Sooho lets out an irritated breath at that comment, leaning back against the steps we are sitting on. “Third, the face of your sister is so nice that,” BanRyu smirks, looking back at Sunwoo who is now looking at him with a face that I can’t read. “One wants to take her as his mistress.” It’s no surprise that Sunwoo snaps because of that comment and lunges at BanRyu. It is a surprise how fast Jidwi jumps out of his seat to grab BanRyu and pull him into the middle. Sunwoo is the one that gets the punch that sends BanRyu to the ground, though. At this point, everyone is out of their seats, and Sooho has rushed to the front of the crowd. I am frozen in shock to my seat. BanRyu has an evil smile on his face for a few seconds before he stands up and addresses Sunwoo. “You’re the one who started it.” Sooho surprises me just a tad when he rushes up to BanRyu and grabs his clothes near the collar. “You and I haven’t started yet,” he growls before decking BanRyu. That’s when all chaos breaks loose. Boys all around me rush to fight one another; punches and kicks go flying. It’s clear there are two sides to this when we all need to work together. A boy, with an evil grin on his face, is making his way over to me. If he thinks he can take me out, he has another thing coming. “Not today,” I chuckle as my fist comes in contact with the boy’s face. “Such a jerk,” I sigh as I shake my hand out, walking over to Yeowool who is standing away from the fights. “You are all pathetic,” Hansung’s voice carries above all the other noise. I look over to see Hansung in the middle of the fray with a beyond annoyed look but is fighting with the others nonetheless. He is actually doing fairly well for himself. Until he is tackled to the ground mere seconds after I spot him. I grimace, “That hurt.” It takes a while to maneuver my way through the fighting boys to get to the safe spot next to Yeowool. “May I fan you off, my dear,” Yeowool smiles. “You look a little hot, or maybe you are just flustered.” I smile, rolling my eyes, “It is a bit hot in here.” He uses the fan in his hand to cool my face. “Anything for the princess of the Hwarang.” “Shush up,” I gently shove him. “I am not the princess of all of this,” I motion with my hand to the chaos that is going around us. “I am not the princess of hell.” “Maybe not,” he shrugs. “But I like to believe that the Hwarang need some kind of royal to keep peace.” I shake my head, “I think they need a teacher. Someone that can understand them and help them become better. Not just someone who will rule with an iron fist.” The two of us stay away from the fighting, watching as the others hurt each other. Yeowool switches between fanning himself and me every few moments. Suddenly, after what seems like an eternity, the doors to the room slide open, and the big man that dragged BanRyu and Sooho out of their room that one day steps in. He flips a kid onto his back, but that doesn’t stop the fighting. “Stop!” Master Wihwa shouts as loud as he can. All the boys fighting around the room instantly freeze in their positions. Fists stopped before connecting with faces, and kicks stopped before hitting sides. They all look shocked, and a bit terrified. “What are you all doing now?” Master Wihwa sighs. As the boys pant on the floor, some looking worse off than others, my eyes drift to Hansung heavily breathing on the steps. His lips busted in the corner as he looks a mess. Then, the beautiful wooden art piece handing above the raised platform at the front of the room comes crashing down. I suck in a breath of shock. Master Wihwa closes his eyes, sighing in annoyance. Someone is getting into big trouble because of this.

********

Hwarang has been lead out to the open area, lined up in rows to receive whatever punishment Master Wihwa is going to give. Hansung is standing in front of me, and like most of the boys around me, is clutching some body part as they grimace in pain. It breaks my heart to see my best friend in pain like this. “One of you broke the rules of Hwarang,” Master Wihwa speaks up. “Breaking the order of the Hwarang, breaking the trust between Hwarang. One of you caused a huge commotion in the school, whish should have been a sacred studying place.” I bite the inside of my bottom lip, feeling guilt rush through me even if I only punch one guy. “Following the Hwarang’s discipline, I shall punish one of you as responsible. Which punk started this mess?” The crowd is silent. No one wanting to take on the full blame. It’s not surprising coming from these boys. “Who was it?” Master Wihwa angrily shouts. “It was me,” Sunwoo loudly speaks out. “I started it.” A smile edges onto my face. I know little about Sunwoo, but that act just made me like him a little more than I already do. That was an act of courage. If only I could give him some of my luck to help him out. The next moments are a bit of a chaotic blur. Sunwoo disappears from my vision, and everyone begins stumbling and groaning from pain. Yeowool and myself being the only ones not effected from the fighting. A man that isn’t a teacher, but knows Master Wihwa somehow, rushes off to get a doctor to help these boys as some of them are not doing too good. Deep cuts that need stitches, and noses that won’t stop bleeding. It’s some kind of war zone here. Training these boys is going to be a difficult task. Thankfully that is not my job. “Hi Hansung,” I gingerly step up to the boy who is better off than most of the others. “Ara,” Hansung runs his fingers from my temple down to my chin. “Want to head up to a balcony to be away from everyone?” I feel my heart flutter, but I can’t forget how he just left me bac in the schoolroom. Not trusting my voice, I just nod. Hansung sadly smiles, grabbing my hand and pulling me with him. We end up on a balcony that can look out over the open area. Boys are stumbling around below us; either already treated or waiting their turn. Ahro was the one that the man found and is now acting as the Hwarang doctor. Yeowool is leaning against the balcony railing, fan in hand, and looking as pretty as ever. Hansung decides to wrap his arms around a pillar as he leans against it. I figure I might as well lean my back on the pillar, wanting to be close to Hansung. “I wish everyone would just get along,” I sigh, crossing my arms over my chest. “Fighting amongst each other only causes trouble that can seriously hurt us. It’s just so stupid.” Hansung’s fingers begin to mess with my hair. “If only things could be that easy.” Three boys across the way begin talking about Sunwoo and BanRyu, but I lose myself in Hansung’s fingers weaving through my hair. Whatever those boys say would probably just anger me, and there’s better things to worry myself over. “Can you think of a kingdom without a bone rank system?” One of the three boys snaps me out of my relaxed state with those words. I huff out a breath, “I wish I could.” “It seems like it is going to be like this for the time being,” Yeowool says. “This fighting is going to be a part of out lives here. Which side are you on?” I curiously look over at the pretty boy. “Are you with the half-breed or BanRyu?” He moves his fan around to emphasize his question. “I’m not with BanRyu,” Hansung looks at Yeowool for a few seconds. “He’s a brat,” he adds with a scowl. “Ara?” Yeowool asks. I push off the pillar, “Is it even a question? I am with Sunwoo, the half-breed. It’s what I am.” “Plus, you hate BanRyu,” Hansung grins. Yeowool chuckles, “I can understand that.” I look over at Hansung, slightly pouting at the blood on the corner of his mouth and cut on his cheekbone. “Seeing you fight was awesome, and terrible all in one, Hansungie,” I step closer to the boy. Then I push onto my toes, leaning in so I can kiss the cut on his cheekbone. “Oh,” Hansung’s cheeks slightly redden. “What was that for?” “Kisses make everything heal faster,” I fall back onto my heels, bringing my hand up and wiggling around my pointer finger. “Don’t you know?” “I wish I had fought, if just for a kiss,” Yeowool sighs. I look between the two boys, finding I want to explain my actions. “The lady who raised me always kissed my cuts that I got from my adventures. Swearing it would make them feel better and heal faster. Kisses are magical.” “What about this,” Hansung taps the corner of his mouth that busted. “That,” I poke his stomach, “is not my problem.” “Your arm is bleeding,” Yeowool speaks up. “Did you get hurt?” I check my arms, seeing no red liquid dripping down. It’s when I look at Hansung that I see blood soaking through his shirt sleeve. “Me?” Hansung is confused, and then looks at his hand at the blood dripping down. He instantly turns shocked and a tad scared. “What is this? What is this blood? When did this happen?” “That’s coming from a cut that a kiss will not help,” I pat Hansung’s cheek as he pulls away from the pillar. “Come now, you need to see Ahro.”

**** ++++ **** ++++ **** ++++ **** ++++ **** ++++ **** ++++

And that is that! Everything is coming alone nicely, and I hope that you are enjoying reading! Now I need to get to work on the next chapter of Blood, Sweat, and Tears. :D

#Hwarang imagine #Hwarang fan fiction #Hwarang x oc #my oc #Hansung imagine #Hansung x oc #Yeowool x oc #Yeowool imagine #Sunwoo x oc #Sunwoo imagine #Sammaekjong imagine #Sammaekjong x OC #Sooho x oc #Sooho imagine

[avengeultrons]

Title: The Kids Are Alright (Reader x Peter Parker)

Summary: an intruder at Midtown High causes best friend duo Peter and the reader to team up to help save the school, even if that means the reader has to expose their secret to their best friend.

Word Count: 1977

A/N: Honestly I highkey love this and hope you do, too? I’m trying really hard to write a bunch of imagines to have as a stockpile for when I go on my birthday trip to disney world in two wks SO PLEASE bear with me, lol. I hope you guys enjoy! Also I’m obsessed with The Who please enjoy the title insp and this song. Song. 

--

It was nearly lunch time, nearly time for you to run off to your preferred table and regroup with your friends. All you had to do was get through five more minutes of your chemistry class with your best friend Peter as your lab partner, his safety goggles pushed up onto his forehead as the two of you wrote out the steps to your experiment. He looked all too cute sitting there next to you, the sleeves of his Midtown High sweatshirt rolled up past his elbows as he scribbled down equations in his perfect handwriting.

All was going well until a loud boom coming from the street across from you caused the glass windows of the classroom to shake like an earthquake was erupting.

“Alright, everyone stop what you're doing. It seems like there's been a sort of disruption on the street outside, I’ve been told to lock the doors and turn off the lights until we know more. Everybody stay calm; remember what you've practiced,” your chemistry teacher hustled to the door to lock it and draw the shades before switching off the lights and ushering all of you into one area of the room with a large utility closet and spacious corner out of sight.

You glanced over at Peter wearily, pulling the safety goggles off of your head. When you had drills for this sort of thing, no one took it seriously. They were always talking loudly and goofing off.

Now, you could practically hear a pin drop, “What's going on?” you whispered, your heart beating loudly in your ears. Another boom made you jump, followed by the sound of gunshots. You grabbed ahold of Peter’s hand, silently pulling him into the closet and shutting the door softly.

“Before you ask, my suit’s in my locker!” Peter whined helplessly. You clamped a hand on his mouth when you heard a group of kids whispering outside the door, suspicious of the noises coming from the closet.

You pulled up a chair and carefully stepped on top of it, using it as a ladder while you pushed a piece of the ceiling out of its matching spot, “Do you have your web shooters?” you asked, hoisting yourself up into the air duct. Of course he did; one thing Peter never left behind was web shooters.

“Y/N, what are you doing? You're going to get us killed. Or expelled!” he stared up after you, mind boggled that you had the kind of upper body strength to pull yourself up like that. Peter followed suit, joining you in the tight squeeze of a vent with nothing but the flashlight on your phone, “I’m not going to let you put yourself in danger over something that we don't even know of.”

A groan escaped your lips as you crawled along the cold metal vent, headed straight for the hallway. The flashlight sent eerie shadows up the wall, dancing along as the two of you moved slowly and quietly, “You have no idea what I can do, do you?” you laughed quietly to yourself, stopping in front of the vent in the hallway.

Weird things had been happening to you ever since you’d had a near death experience last winter. You'd somehow become stronger, faster, and more agile than you could have ever imagined. It was...freaky.

“Do you hear that?” Peter whispered,his breathing picking up. There was the sound of squeaking shoes on clean, freshly waxed tiles that you brushed off as just being made up in your head. You pried the vent out of its snug place in the ceiling and lowered yourself down, your breath catching in your throat.

You couldn't breathe. There was someone pacing the halls, someone you'd never seen before, “Pull me up,” you whispered as quietly as you could, clawing yourself back into the safety of the air duct, “There's someone there. Peter, someone is in this school that's not supposed to be!” You we're trying to refrain from freaking out, but you couldn't help it. You clutched your chest and tried to breathe slowly, but the walls of the vent were suddenly closing in on you. There was an actual intruder; this wasn't a drill. Peter took your hand and held your gaze, your heart seeming to stop completely as he did so.

“We’ll figure out what to do. It's okay,” he spoke quickly, peeking down at the hallway, “Hold my feet,” he said and, without warning, hung upside down from the vent to scope out the area. You held onto his ankles, flabbergasted as you watched him, “Coast is clear,” he announced.

Peter wriggled himself free from your grasp and somehow managed to flip right side up again during his fall to the ground. He landed on his feet, staring up at you while you looked in horror. You dangled your feet and carefully dropped from the vent, shooting him an annoyed glare, “This is how non spider humans get out of small spaces, you know,” you followed him through the long stretch of dark, barren hallway of metal lockers, keeping a close watch all around you.

“If we can just get to my locker, I can grab my suit and then we can-,” Peter was cut off by the sound of gunshots behind you. You pushed him forward and the two of you broke into a sprint, ducking behind a locker.

It was just then hitting you that it was naive of you to pull Peter out of the safety of the classroom to stop a bad guy, “Go, turn into Spider-Man or whatever. I'll hold them off,” you whispered. His eyes went wide and he shook his head fiercely, gaping at you. Peter couldn't believe the words that had just come out of your mouth.

“Are you crazy, Y/N? No way!” he spoke in a hasty whisper, raking a hand through his hair nervously.

You rolled your eyes, peeking around the metal locker to see if the coast was clear, “Peter, I can handle this,” you placed a hand on his shoulder, pleading him with your eyes, “Please, go.”

“I-,” there was no way Peter was going to let you take this on your own. Not without knowing what you really could do. With a sigh, you stood up and clapped your hands together to clear them of dust, Peter shushing you the whole time.

You tiptoed across the hall and glanced over at him nervously. The only way he would believe you is if you showed him, but you also didn't need him passing out, “You can't freak out. We kind of have a situation, so,” you took a deep breath and squeezed your eyes shut as you carefully lifted the whole row of lockers in front of you with complete ease. You heard Peter audibly gasp, your face burning red from embarrassment, “I said you can't freak out!” you ran back over to him after setting the locker back down carefully.

“Okay. I-I’m not freaking out. But, like, you lifted that whole row of lockers? I'm not freaking out here, I promise! I just...how long?” you yanked on his arm to pull him to his feet.

With a roll of your eyes, you dusted your jeans off and sighed, “Since last year when I almost died. Look, we don't have much time. Go, please. I can take him. Your identity can be kept a secret too if you hurry,” you smiled at him, pulling him back to the safety of your hiding spot once you heard footsteps.

“Oh, okay. I-okay,” he couldn't keep a smile off of his face as he turned to leave, looking back at you, “That was awesome, by the way!” you laughed lightly as you turned your attention to the hallway, pushing a row of lockers over to keep the intruder away.

The police were finally able to enter the school, after they'd figured out that all three of the intruders were now unconscious and stuffed into lockers in the gym’s locker room. You and Peter had worked well together, almost as well as you worked in chemistry class. Well, minus the fact that you were questioned and almost put in the back of an ambulance because you were found lying in an exhausted heap near the door.

Sirens blared outside the school, parents pulled up in their work clothes to pick up their children, teens called friends and family to let them know of two things. One; Spider-Man had saved the school and two; they were fine, no need to worry.

You sat on the front step of the school with Peter who had changed from his super suit and stuffed it in his backpack quickly. Both of you were waiting for rides home, ready to be rid of the commotion from the day, “We’re a pretty great team, I must say,” Peter said with a smile, checking his phone for a text message from his aunt.

“You can't tell anyone, you know that right?” Peter laughed as you said it, “Hey, I mean it!”

He nodded, rolling his eyes at you, “I promise I won't,” Peter said, a small smile flitting across your face as he did so.

“I… thank you for helping today. And not freaking out, you know. Just, thank you,” you busied yourself with stuffing things into your backpack, tapping your foot anxiously, “You mean a lot to me, so, yeah.”

You felt like you were going to suffocate on feelings, feelings that you never thought you'd come close to voicing. They made your face grow hot and Peter’s cheeks turn red in a blush. A smile made its way to his face and he looked down at his sneakers while you stared up at the sky, pretending you didn't say anything, “You mean a lot to me, too,” he said quietly.

A smile grew on your face as you looked over at him, your heart beating loudly in your ears. You had just practically helped save the school with your best friend, and now you were nearly close to confessing your feelings for him. It was all a lot for just one day.

“Peter, are you okay?” May Parker herself jumped out of her car and ran up the steps to where the two of you were sitting, your faces turning scarlet, “Hi, Y/N! Do you have a ride home? I can just shoot your dad a text and let him know I'll drop you off,” she was so warm and inviting, willing to go out of her way to help others. You could see where Peter got those attributes.

You smiled and shook your head, “He’s on his way, thank you,” you smiled, watching Peter jump to his feet and hastily grab his things. May glanced between the two of you wearily, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she suddenly put two and two together. Her face lit up and she threw an arm around Peter’s shoulders, waving at you.

“You wanna go out for some ice cream?” she asked, leading the way down the steps, “We can talk about your crush on Y/N.”

May laughed mischievously as she watched his face turn red once more, “What? I...what? A crush on Y/N! That's ridiculous. Gosh, you know that two people can be friends, right? Jesus, that's..no,” Peter laughed nervously, glancing at you as if you could hear the conversation happening inside the van. You waved gleefully as he drove away, “That's… that's totally absurd, May.”

“You're blushing! Besides; I was young once, too, Peter,” she glanced over at Peter, stifling her laughter as he turned away to look out the window.

Peter scoffed and turned up the radio so that neither of them could talk over the 2000’s pop music, “I am not blushing, Aunt May!”

#avengers imagine #avengers imagines #avengers #marvel imagine #marvel imagines #marvel #peter imagine #peter imagines #peter #peter x reader #reader x peter #peter parker imagine #peter parker imagines #peter parker #peter parker x reader #reader x peter parker #peterparker imagine #peterparker imagines #peterparker #peterparker x reader #reader x peterparker

[yuki-d-raizel-blog]

Hero

Chapter 4/??

Relationship: Todoroki Shouto x Reader (Your/Name), (Full/Name)

Summit: It all begin at the Sports Festival when Shouto’s other half met Endevour by mistake. The student never thought to see his partner fight against his father just to show him that he is wrong. It started from that instant, Shouto’s new path started exactly from that moment thanks to his friends and his beloved one.

---

Everyone is shouting and cheering for the winner, you prop your arms up against your knees and breath slowly. The last sprint cost you a lot of stamina without including the fact that you kept fighting against Bakugou to not let him pass. A little pat on your back, on your field vision there are white boots...

<<Good job Shouto.>> the girl gets up again just to greet her partner, <<You're getting stronger against my moves. That's not good for me.>> she tries to make him smile by cracking a few jokes.

<<We always paring during simulations, I'm getting used to your style.>> he replies, <<But you didn't use your quirk yet, so I supposed that I'm still easy to read.>>

<<I think that I need to use it soon.>> she speaks while looking at the other members, <<I was about to activate it when Izuku hit the mines, but I've restrained myself.>>

<<Why?>>

<<Mainly for two reasons: because I could hurt him, you and Bakugou and because we're at the beginning, I can't show my cards at the first turn. It's against my logic.>>

<<An answer that suit your image.>> he smiles a little, but that angry expression comes back, <<I'm sorry if I hurt you before... Today, my nerves are->>

<<I know, you don't need to apologize.>> now it's her turn to pat his back, <<And don't hold back with me. I can handle your quirk, given that mine is quite similar.>>

<<Your quirk is like mine? Really?>>

<<Mor->>

<<The first game of the first years is over!>> the heroine Midnight speaks again to get everyone attention, <<Then, I will show you the results!>> on the big screens all around the stadium, show the rank.

1st: Class A, Midoriya Izuku                6th place: Class A, Iida Tenya

2nd: Class A, Todoroki Shouto, (F/N)  7th place: Class A, Tokoyami Fumikage

3rd: Class A, Bakugou Katsuki            8th place: Class A, Sero Hanta

4th: Class B, Shiozaki Ibara                9th place: Class A, Kirishima Eijirou

5th: Class B, Honezuki Juuzou           10th place: Class B, Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu

Your attention is stolen by the R-18 professor again, who explains that only the first 42 students will go to the next challenge, and her whip activates the slot machine that will decide the next game.

"A cavalry battle? What's the trick this time? " the young woman has a bad feeling about this.

<<Let me explain! It's basically the same as a regular cavalry battle, but there is a little upgrade!>> everyone is pay attention, <<Based on the results of the last game, each person has been assigned a point value. The points assigned go up by five starting from the bottom; and the point value assigned to the first place is.... TEN MILLION!>>

"T-ten million... ?! Are you trying to kill me?!" everyone is staring Izuku like hungry predators, "Why me! I want to go home! "

<<This is a survival of the fittest, with a chance for those at the bottom to overthrow the top!>>

"This is bullshit, not a survival! Nobody wants to be in my team, come on!" the poor greenish boy is so nervous right now that even his brain can't think straight.

The teacher allowed the students to make their teams ready.

"I need those two if I want to protect my points... I need them!" walking shyly, All Might's pupil approaches you, <<(Y/N)-chan... D-do you want.... to p-pair with me?>>

<<Mh? At one condition.>> after a deep consideration, the girl adds, <<Actually two.>>

<<Y-yes?>>

<<Number one: no matter what happens, trust me until the end. Number two: I don't wanna be the horse.>>

<<Can I ask why?>>

<<I have someone in mind who's the horse, everyone will attack us from the start, so he can block them with his quirk...>> she looks angry, <<Shouto needs to be in the edge, so I want to use you. It doesn't sound heroic, but this is the best I can do for him right now. I will protect you Izuku, even with my life!>>

<<T-that's too much!>>

<<You finally smiled.>> she pats him on the shoulders, <<You're too tense, relax and think with calm. But first, let's call the horse in our team, then you can do whatever you want.>>

The 15 minutes are over and every team stand ready. Your plan was call Tokoyami and make him do the horse, you defend the sides, Uraraka uses her quirk on the squad and obviously, Izuku is the knight. Before the game start, you add one last thing, you leave the lead to Midoriya and Tokoyami, but when the strongest show up, you will switch place with Fumikage without break the rules. Everyone agreed because they trust your sense of judgement.

(Those are very interesting teams.) Aizawa's voice starts the commentary, when Mic takes the lead again.

(The bloody Yuuei battle is starting now! On your marks kids!)

<<Uraraka-san, (Y/N)-chan, Tokoyami-kun... I'm counting on you!>> Midoriya ties the value points on his head and the squad gets ready immediately.

(Let's go! Let's countdown for this brutal battle royal! 3! 2! 1! Start!)

Even a second is no wasted. Every single team is charging against the ten million one.

<<They're fast.>> comments Tokoyami, <<What's your decision, Midoriya?>>

<<Of course... Let's run away!>> when the three on the ground start to move, the floor is melting blocking the team right away.

<<We're sinking!>> Tokoyami and Uraraka are trying so hard to get out of that slimy mass, without any results.

"C'mon, so early? Guess I have no choice." <<Izuku hold onto us, Tokoyami-kun, Ochako-chan, be ready to run.>>

<<Eh?>> something almost broke Midoriya's balance. Something is pulling them out the trap... It's ice?

<<Now!>> (Y/N) drags the team along when she moves away, <<Let me face them!>> everyone stops to satisfy your request, <<Don't get burn Class B!>> moving her leg in an ascensional way, a huge strip of ice is moving towards the enemy and in another time, big spikes block their movements.

<<Wow, that's awesome! It's your quirk?>> asks Uraraka, <<So you control the ice too?>>

<<Look better, it's not only ice.>>

<<....White flames?! How your quirk works (Y/N)-chan?>> Izuku saw little white flames burn near the ice, how can the ice not melt near the fire. It's the same as Todoroki's quirk.

<<Dark Shadow!>> the monster moves to protect everyone from Jiro's attack, <<Good job. Protect our blind points.>>

<<Both of you are so cool!>> exclaims Midoriya, <<This is the spear and the shield we needed! A total defense combined with a strong offensive, you're the best duo, guys!>>

<<You are the one who chose us.>> they both replied at the same time.

(Let's see... Not two minutes have passed and we're already plagued in chaos! Everyone is stealing the headband from each other! Even without aim to the top, the positions from the second to the fourth are still great! And now mummy hero, what's your opinion on (Y/N)'s quirk? This is the first time she uses it in front of us, so...)

(I don't know, I can't see very well from here and I don't understand how it works yet. It's an interesting quirk, I must admit that.)

When your team is about to have the time to think again, a new one is charging. It's Mineta's voice, but the horse is Shoji. There's someone on the other side too. This is bad, like Tokoyami suggested, it's better to take distance, two teams are too much. Uraraka is stuck on a purple ball, and (Y/N) is freeing her as fast as possible. Now a tongue almost missed Midoriya. And now a storm of purple balls and whipping tongue is pushing your squad to the edge.

(Mineta team is using their dimension disadvantages as a weapon! How the Midoriya team will act?)

<<I’ve really enough of you!>> the balls frozen and fall to the ground, breaking into thousand pieces.

<<Midoriya, we need to get away from here!>> Tokoyami runs as the leader gives the permission, <<(Y/N), can you use a big amount of your ice?>>

<<Let me guess, to fly?>> both have thought at the same idea, <<Hold yourself Izuku!>> a circle of white flames surrounds them and in a blink of eye, a tall icy pillar is under their feet.

<<Kacchan?!>> Midoriya sees Katsuki uses his explosions to reach them, <<Tokoyami-kun, (Y/N)-chan!>>

<<Don't think to win so easily you damn nerd!>> Dark Shadow is surrounded by white flames that turned into an armor, fully blocking Bakugou's offensive, <<The fuck is that?!>>

The pillar reshape itself into a slide and Midoriya team skate on it, getting away from the chaos. They never stop running, while Uraraka is doing like (Y/N) said to her, light everyone's weight so they can move and dodge something easier than normal. The squad is working well together, all is well balanced.

<<Thank you guys!>> Izuku's stress level is rising rapidly, "Geez, these two are really fantastic! "

(Woah, what just happened?! Everyone is aiming at the first place. (Y/N) was amazing to made a way to escape and then an armor to reinforce their defense against Bakugou! Midoriya team is amazing! The entire A Section is chasing them! Will be there another development like before? These adolescents are super!)

<<Izuku, I can't use well my quirk if I need to apply it for too many things. Create an armor for Dark Shadow without hurting it or Tokoyami-kun is difficult, do it after made something big like a pillar it's too much for me. I can handle only another situation like that, so don't get into two versus one battles again.>>

<<Ok, I get it...>> "It would be hard if we keep like this; we can't run away in the sky anymore. We need to bet on the mobility of Uraraka-san's Zero Gravity, on the teamwork of Tokoyami's Dark Shadow and (Y/N)-chan."

While Mic keeps commenting the game, the screen with the results after seven minutes is drastically changed. Everyone in the Class A, Midoriya excluded, is at almost 0 points. It's Monoma from the Class B who stole every headband, even Bakugou's.

Meanwhile, (Y/N) opted to keep running and make some distance between the others, but when Midoriya was staring at Katsuki's squad, a strong change of movement almost unseats him off. In front of them there is Todoroki's team. Shouto seems another person, such scary eyes and aura... Something is wrong here.

"Well, it was obvious that wouldn't be so easy..." <<(Y/N)-chan what about the B plan?>> whispers Izuku.

<<Not now... Let's wait a bit more.>>

<<Finally, you're mine.>> even Shouto's voice is harsher and colder than before.

(This cavalry battle is on its second phase! In one side, we have an unexpected recovery from the B Section, and on the other side, we have Todoroki vs Midoriya team! Who'll wear the ten million points headband? Man, the tension is getting heavier here!)

---Continue...

Chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 21.5, 22, 22.5, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, Last Chapter

#todoroki shouto #shouto todoroki #midoriya izuku #bnha #boku no hero academia #my hero academia #scenarios #bnha scenarios #fanfictions #deku midoriya #anime #manga