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#will research apparments tomorrow ... trying to find places that have roommates
blackcherrykiss · 3 years
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BLOOD BOUNDARIES - Enhypen OT7 Fanfic (ch.5)
[CH.1] [CH.2] [CH.3] [CH.4]  previous chapters
[CH.6] next chapter (now available!)
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genre: vampire au, romance, drama, mystery, thriller
note: written inspired by enhypen's storyline, given-taken lyrics & teasers. please keep in mind all members are apart of this fanfic and the main theme is mystery/drama!
P.S Niki and Sunoo's roles become bigger in later chapters :) sorry I took 2 weeks to update. School + new enhypen teasers made me alter the story now jesus their lore is confusingly interesting. Didn't proofread half of this chapter LOL. Happy readings <3
"Well now that everyone is here, I'd like to announce we have a new student who just transferred here." Your eyes were immediately drawn to the student's platinum blonde hair. Despite his sharp and charismatic face, his eyes were delicate and innocent. He had an exceptionally small face and a sunkissed skin tone. The new student snapped himself around so that the entire classroom got a good look at him, "Hello, my name is Park Jongseong or Jay, call me whatever you feel." He bowed slightly, his voice having a cool ring that played over in your head.
"Everybody please welcome Jay to our astronomy class. Lend him any of our previous notes because midterms are coming up and I'd appreciate as a teacher if you guys helped him catch up before our long weekend coming up in two weeks." Your teacher gave a warm smile, nodding in such a way that made the rest of the class nod with her.
Without a student saying a word, everyone's eyes followed him as he took a seat at a desk a couple of rows in front of you.
You stared at him tirelessly, barely listening as your teacher rambled off-topic. You noticed Jay often stared out at the crying sky that occasionally flickered with lightning. His eyes focused intently on the woods. You were sure you weren't the only one who was interested in the new boy as you frequently caught other students glancing over at him every few seconds. Jay carried an attractive and dark aura that clearly contrasted from the crowd. Both girls and boys stared at him not because of his pretty face but because he was far different from the new students who had joined your school mid-semester.
The class flew by for you because of Jay until a simple but intriguing question was purposed by the teacher, "Bonus marks today if anyone can guess when the next full moon is." she lifted her eyes off the projector for a few moments, waiting for answers to come sailing.
"Saturday?" Somebody from the front called out, followed by numerous answers that ranged between the second week to the fourth week of the month.
"Come on now. Don't blurt out, give others chances to guess. Jay why don't you guess?" Your teacher questioned welcomingly, expecting no answer from him.
He leaned back in his chair, scraping the non-writing end of his ballpen on his thumb, "November 30." A gentle sound of thunder playing perfectly when he said the answer; like some sort of scene out of a comic.
"Ding ding ding!" Your teacher switched to a PowerPoint slide with the new unit name bolded, "I know this isn't part of the curriculum but I got it approved by the head of the school." She took a breath, giving students time to comprehend what was presented in front of them. "Our next unit will be looking deeper at the moon. More specifically, we'll be looking at both the sciency and non-sciency sides of this topic. And before anyone asks; no, you don't need to believe in astrology or superstitions to understand the non-sciency material. It's just very fascinating because it connects to many cultures." Your attention was now far away from Jay. You were enthusiastic about a topic for once in the class.
"And looks like we're running out of time." Your teacher's wrist clock blocking her eyes. "That's it for today's class everyone! I'll have your projects marked for next class, I promise! Have a good day." She said while shutting off the projector.
You slid all your handouts into your binder, not bothering to align the three-hole punches of the papers to their designated rings.
"Y/N before you go, do you mind helping out Jay? Today or tomorrow?" Your teacher stopped you on your way out.
"Like lend him my notes?"
"Yep! I just forgot to ask but he just left so you might be able to catch up to him. Maybe ask if he's got the notes yet."
You waved your goodbyes and chased the new boy down, his uniquely blonde hair standing out from the hallway of heads. You picked up the pace to catch up with his swift steps when you caught him chatting with Sunghoon and Jaeyun. Your feet froze straight down in their place.
Were they new friends? Or perhaps they were old friends?
You weren't going to bother talking to Jay as you already knew what kind of funny business would come up if you did. You could only watch them swing and lean their arms against each other in a close and friendly way. The picture was becoming more and more clear to you as to what kind of association Jay had with Sunghoon and Jaeyun perhaps even Heeseung, Sunoo or Jungwon.
...
You throw yourself violently over your thick mattress after finishing a long study and homework session at your dorm. The session wasn't productive but the time you spent surrounded by your schoolwork made it feel that way. Your dorm was awfully quiet that afternoon as your dormmates had music rehearsals for their extracurriculars. Nana had told you to come by the music rooms around a quarter past five when their practice was over to go down to the dining hall and have dinner but you couldn't think of a way to kill your remaining hour alone.
Phones were forbidden in your school and you often felt uncontrollably alone and bored with your thoughts during your free time. You could only lay tangled in your bed with your half progressed work in the corner of your eye. You shift on one side to watch your wide-open binder until you got some burst of motivation to finish studying until an idea hits you.
After eyeing your handouts from your astronomy class, you decide to hit the library and do some reading to get a little advanced in the class. Sure you could study for your other class but the sudden idea was far more worth your time in your mind. You quickly twirl out of your room, clearing your desk while you're at it. Excitedly, you hop into your shoes and head straight for the library. You were put in a good mood as you skipped along the long journey to the bookhouse.
The library was moderately packed as you don't bother to recognize any faces there. You get deja vu as you trail the same path you did when Sunghoon and Kyungeun were around. Sliding between the thin space between the bookshelves once again, you search for the section related to the moon, feeling dizzy at the sight of books your school owned. You could've made your life easier by asking the librarian but you were confident you could find it on your own. You move up and down the aisles as you catch a glimpse of theoretical and astrology related books that sit next to a couple of history books.
Backing up, you awkwardly bend your knees forward to get a better look at the small selection of books under the genre. You peel a random book spine out from its tight spot as if it had never been taken out before. You dust off the book a bit, reading the wordless cover and open it to check if it was really related to any sort of astronomy as you find a much stranger subject being discussed.
"Finding everything alright?" The librarian comes by, pushing a kart from the other end of the shelves. "I-I'm looking for books related to the moon." You say, standing up and forgetting you still had the old book in hand.
"The scientific information is just on the other side of this shelf but the section you were just looking at has some interesting stuff that might be related." The librarian stuffed herself in between the shelves to get toward you.
"Yeah, I noticed... This book I just picked up was talking about vampires." You laugh a little as you hold it up.
"Ah, that book..." She paused, snatching the book out of your hands to examine it, "I read this before... It relates to astrology. I think there are some parts of the book that go into detail about the moon, you should give it a read."
"Is this book just theoretical research about vampires though?" You were unconvinced with the idea.
"Yeah, real or not, our school grounds and the neighbouring town are talked about in the book. Apparently many years ago this place used to be a hotspot for vampires."  She looked you dead in the eyes.
"Do you think the information is true?" You questioned with deep curiosity upon her answer.
"Some information in there is haunting. I think vampires did exist." She said with some sort of distress beginning to seep into her face.
Shivers ran down your spine, if she was just trying to sell you the book, it was working damn well on you.
"I'll leave you be, no need to sign out the book, nobody ever takes it out so I trust you'll return it." And with that said, she left you cold with mystery as the book between your fingers stared at you with big round eyes.
You shake back to reality, checking your wrist just to find out your time has vanished. You shift your priorities to getting to the music department, throwing the book into your bag without much thought.
...
The sun was already going down around the afternoon as the days got shorter with autumn blossoming. You're standing between rooms full of beautiful voices and instruments, peering through every window attached to a door in an attempt to find your roommates. The issue was the widows didn't give much of a view as to who was in the rooms. But your ears were drawn to a gentle piano that played a bittersweet melody beneath the louder sounds of people singing in a harmonious glee. As you move in the forward direction of the hallway, the piano gets clearer to your ears. It became clear that the sound was coming out of a room with its door wide open. Your back attached it to the wall in fear of being seen as slide yourself until you meet the spine of the door where you could see into the shadowy room.
Your eyes lit up when they see a familiar platinum blondie behind the keys. The melody was enchanting and was played in such a personal way as the sounds escaped into the noisy environment where it hoped to go unheard. Jay had reached the final notes of his song as he turned his head in your direction. It was as if he knew of your present from the moment you started watching him from the doorway.
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mysterytickingegos · 3 years
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Ouija Board
Pairing: Ghost!Blank x Reader (Ambiguous)
Genre: Paranormal
Word Count: 1,512
Summary: Sequel to Blank’s Winter Ficlet. After months of Blank poking at your sanity out of boredom, you bring your friends home to get their help, and someone brings a Ouija board into the mix. The day ends with you being left with more questions than answers. (There will probably be another part to this later.)
Anonymous Request: 1. Blankgameplays 2. she/her 3. Platonic/ambiguous 4. Fluff (meet cute, like Blanky Boi is 'haunting' {would you call it haunting? is he even a ghost?} reader's house) Prompt: 63 - Reader: “I don’t believe in ghosts.” Blank: *about to ruin this mans whole career* Please and thank you with extra sprinkles on top ♥ ☆゚.*♥・。゚♥
Authors Note: First off, to get it out of the way, I was originally using a gif from the tumblr search option, and I removed it when asked. Even though I’ve done so, I can’t remove the reply because they blocked me before I even saw the notification. The gif you should be seeing (if it matches the image description) is one I made myself. Now, onto the important stuff- Oh my god, it is about time I got this done! I’m so sorry it took this long for me to get to it! If it helps in any way I finished this fic with idea’s on continuing it later so...you’ll probably be getting more out of your request than most!
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[Image Description: A gif of Ethan (Crankgameplays) edited to be spooky with multicolored layers. He leans towards the camera and speaks ominously.]
You’d started out with nerves of steel.
Ghosts weren’t real. You knew that.
It’s an old house, and you have an overactive imagination. That’s what you told yourself, over and over again, even once it stopped making sense. But there’s only so many times you can catch things moving on their own, or you could hear that distant voice, before you started to get a little tense. So when you finally hit your limit, you turned to your friends, bringing them to the house in the hopes that they could confirm what you’d been seeing. Or not.
“Okay, before we go in, here’s the plan. We don’t talk about it.” You started, keeping Vi and Eric on the stairs. “Because I think if it knows that I told you about it, it won’t do anything. Like, try to make me look crazy.”
“You do look a little crazy right now.” Violet quipped, nudging you further up the stairs. “Come on, we get it. Act normal, pay attention, let’s get ghost hunting.”
“Ugh, please don’t call it that.” You unlocked the front door, stepping in with your friends following right behind you.
You tossed your keys onto the counter, and the sudden noise was all it took to make Eric yelp. You and Violet both turned to look at him, seeing him cover his face with his hand. “Sorry...”
You sighed, already close to giving up on this plan. You were pretty sure the so-called ghost didn’t even have to do anything. Eric was so nervous and Violet was so excited about this whole thing that they’d probably make up their own ghost story by the time you finished painting the office.
But you trudged forward, bringing them upstairs and getting to work.
You dug your speaker out of the closet, putting some decent music on and leaving it in the corner of the room. Eric pried the paint can open and Violet started lining the room with painting tape. For the first time in a long time, you were all stuck in an uncomfortable silence. waiting for something to happen.
But the day went off without a hitch. It was late in the evening when you finished painting the walls and your friends got ready to leave. “You know, if this was your way of trying to get free labor out of us, fair play to you.” Vi joked, slinging her bag over her shoulders at the door. “But honestly, I’m kind of bummed.”
You shook your head. “I swear I wasn’t, guys. I’m sorry. God, I feel like I’m losing my mind.”
Eric came up behind you, placing a comforting hand on your shoulder. “Hey it’s alright, you can- well I mean if you want you can stay with us for-”
Before he could finish, he was interrupted by a small thud and a clattering sound coming from the room right above you, the office. All three of you looked up at the ceiling, then at each other, before making a quick pace back upstairs. You flicked the light back on to see that the half-empty bucket of paint you’d left was now on it’s side, and the color of the floor now matched the walls.
“...Dude, this thing is an asshole.” Vi said bluntly, earning a quiet plea from Eric not to make it mad.
“I knew it! I told you! There’s no way this shit just happens, right?” Despite the fact your floor was ruined, you couldn’t help but get excited. “I mean it’s ridiculous but this happens all the time.”
“Okay, this is going to get even cooler, beeecause...” Vi grinned, pulling her bag back around and digging through it until she found what she was looking for, something wrapped in a beige cloth. “Guess what I brought.”
You watched her unwrap what turned out to be a planchette, which had been wrapped in what turned out to be a cloth Ouija board. Eric coughed nervously, taking a small step back towards the stairs, “I actually uh..I can’t stay, I sort of have a-a doctors appointment! Yeah, that. That’s what I have to get to.”
“It’s seven at night.”
“Yeah, um...it’s therapy. You know, they stay open late and...yeah.” And with that Eric excused himself from any further ‘ghost hunting,’ fleeing out the front door. Before you could also object to the idea of talking to the ghost, Vi grabbed your hand and pulled you along to the living room.
“Do you have any candles?” She asked, kneeling down on the floor and spreading out the Ouija board.
“I have a couple scented candles we could light, I guess...” You shrugged and went around collecting them. You started to say something more but stopped to rethink it. This was ridiculous. Lighting candles for a ouijia board? Acknowledging any of this ghost nonsense felt silly enough to you, just a couple months ago stuff like this was all a big joke to you. But what other explanation could there be for everything you had experienced? Maybe you should have done a bit more research, set up a camera or-
“Y/n?” Vi called out from the floor, pulling you out of your thoughts.
Swallowing your pride, you brought the candles and a matchbox over and kneeled across from her. “So since when are you interested in all this, anyway?”
“What, ghosts and stuff?” She stayed quiet for a moment as she helped you set the candles up on either side of the two of you. “I dunno, I guess I’m just starting to notice that maybe...things aren’t as they seem. Kind of like you. But I actually find it fun. So, are you ready to do this?”
You nodded. “I guess so...” Placing your fingers on the planchette, you took a deep breathe before you started. “Hello?”
“Hello? That’s all you’ve got?”
“Shush.”
“I’m just saying, maybe-” “It’s my house that’s haunted so-”
HELLO
You both fell silent again, glancing up at each other. She looked like she might explode from excitement and you had to fight the urge to roll your eyes. Then, you kept going. “My name is Y/n, this is my friend Violet.”
I  K N O W
“What’s your name?”
The planchette began to move again, but this time rather than settle on any letters or even move towards ‘No,’ it moved to a blank patch of the cloth.
Furrowing your eyebrows, you waited for any movement, but it didn’t come. “Do you have a name?”
D O  N O T  R E M E M B E R
‘Oh.’ You felt a pang in your heart at that.
Vi pouted a little, her head tilting to the side. She was the next to ask something. “What are you?”
G H O S T
“Alright-”
M A Y B E
“...Maybe?”
D O  N O T  R E M E M B E R
Chills ran down your spine. That was not a comforting thought. “Is there anything else in the house with us?”
NO
“You’ve really been scaring my friend, you know.” Vi said, looking cautiously around the room as she spoke.
I  K N O W
It took everything you had to keep your shaking hands on the planchette. “Do you want me to leave?”
Nothing happened. You waited, your heart pounding out of your chest. The sun had officially set, making the house pitch black aside from your little pocket of candlelight. You could almost make out a shadow over the board, it’s source seemingly coming from behind you. You didn’t dare mention it. “Do you want to be alone here again? Because I’d understand that.”
Even more dead silence.
Violet let out a sharp sigh, taking one hand off the planchette, despite your objection, to rub her temple. “Are you still there?”
YES
“I just want to understand why you’re doing this.” You said, much quieter than you meant.
S O R R Y
“You’re sorry?”
S T A Y
“But...what?”
You and Violet sat there for another thirty minutes, asking questions and waiting for answers that never came. The spirit was apparently done talking. “Alright, well...” Violet stood up, putting her bag back on.
“What? Wait, I don’t get any of this. What do I do?” You began to panic, not entirely sure if you should be leaving the board yet.
“You can have the board, keep trying tomorrow, I don’t know. Look-” Her tone was coming off uncharacteristically harsh now, as she avoided your eyes. “My head is splitting, think it’s all the candle fumes. I’m gonna breeze off, good luck though.”
You squinted at the door when it hit you what she said. "Breeze off?” Shaking it off, you turned your attention back to your unusual roommate. “Okay, I’m going to call it a night I guess. I have paint to clean up so,” You moved the planchette to ‘Goodbye,’ taking your hands off and being seconds away from blowing out the candles when it moved all on it’s own.
G O O D N I G H T
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peaches-writes · 3 years
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party night
prompt 2: “But it looks like it’s enjoying itself!”
member: minho / lee know wc: 1.9k genre: fluff, bakeneko au, neighbor au, the crackiest fic you’ll ever read in a while warning: explicit language note: finally it’s done it took a while and it’s not even good it’s so trippy sldjflskdf but i’ve been slumped with work rawr + idk i didnt do my research im so sorry this was quick bc i still hav hw lskdfjsldjk
“Swswswswsws...” You hiss continuously as you point your flashlight into the darkness of the forestry ahead, turning your head to your neighbor after. “Ji, what’s your pet’s name again? It might respond if we called it by its name, you know. It’s been five minutes since we’ve been looking for it.”  
“P-Pet? I don’t—”Jisung briefly stops walking and squints his eyes at you, accidentally pointing his own phone’s flashlight to your face when you turn around to face him at immediately noticing his pause. You hold your free hand up to your face in instinctive response to his accidental action, wincing in pain of the bright light to which Jisung guiltily heaves a sigh at. That was close! “A-Ah, I mean!—L-Lee Know! His...yeah, the cat’s name is Lee Know!”      
You furrow your eyebrows and bring your hand down once Jisung apologizes and points his flashlight elsewhere, a confused frown settling on your lips. “Lee Know? You named him?” 
“Y-Yeah?” He raises his own eyebrows curiously, jogging up the remaining distance to you when you beckon for him to continue walking deeper into the forest with you. It’s time like these when the eco-friendly agenda our village has going on is such a hassle, Jisung groans internally to himself, Minho could be anywhere in this forest...that idiot. “Why’d you ask?” 
You shrug, flinching when a distant rustling faintly goes through your ears. When you point your flashlight towards its direction, however, you only see, much to your disappointment, a raccoon scurrying away. “It’s just—and don’t get offended!—Lee Know sounds a bit of a choice for a cat’s name.” You explain sheepishly, looking away in case he does get offended. “I actually thought Minho named him...given his generally weird tendencies. Maybe he got tired of naming pets cutely like Soonie, Doongie, and Dori or something so I thought, you know...”
Jisung snickers under his breath as you explain, frantically shaking his head and waving his hands when you surprisingly hear and ask him about it. Tell that to him when you see him, he so badly wants to tell you but he opts to quietly continue looking for his roommate instead, mirroring you and pointing his flashlight towards every inch of the path. 
“It’s that ridiculous, huh?” He jokes, to which your eyes widen at. When he peers over your shoulder and notices this, he immediately lets out a hearty laugh. “Don’t worry, it’s cool. I think it’s ridiculous for a cat too.” 
Your shoulders unintentionally relax at this and you muster up a laugh as well. “It sounds like a stage name.” 
“It’s swag, apparently.” 
After five more minutes of walking (and not much progress in finding clues as to where the cat went but misleading footprints of foxes and more raccoons), you stop right under the warning sign your village’s Homeowners Association, placed right before the forest’s restricted area. “Nothing.” You turn around on your surroundings twice before concluding against the stillness of the night and the distant cricketing, facing Jisung again with a disappointed expression. “We can’t go beyond the subdivision limits, Ji. I’m so sorry.” 
Jisung glances between you and the angry ‘No Trespassing’ sign in thought, biting his lip down as he ponders on what to do next. It’s either he risks having you see more than one supernatural creature tonight and drag you with him past village limits or he pretends to go back to the village with you then run all the way back to the other side of the forest and continue looking for his escaped roommate. Then why did I ask Y/N to help me look for Minho in the first place? Jisung asks himself as he scratches his head in the hopes that his last functioning braincell could make a quick decision. 
“Ji?” You elbow him gently when he takes too long to think. Only then does he notice that you’ve already taken a step back from the village limits, body twisted and facing the path back. “Let’s go back, maybe it’s better looking for Lee Know in the morning.” 
“A-Ah, but—” Jisung raises his free hand, as if reaching out to you and tugging you back. Before he could finish his thought, however, he sees a brilliant white light reflect back in your eyes and when he turns around, his eyes widen at colorful lanterns approaching from the trees. “Oh, shit...” 
“What the fuck is that?” You ask in a whisper, instinctively going back to Jisung’s side in fear. When the lanterns draw nearer, you start making out figures of raccoons, foxes, rabbits, and cats dancing on their hind legs. “What the hell?” 
Jisung slaps a hand up to his forehead and purses his lips, gritting his teeth hardly in frustration. Too late, he thinks to himself as he turns to you, eyes wide and mouth agape in bewilderment. “Y/N, listen to me—” 
But again, he’s cut off by a certain orange and white cat catching your attention, waving at you with its paws. “Hi, Y/N!” Minho waves at you casually in his cat form, his smile peeking out of the rainbow towel on his head. “We’re doing a conga line around the forest if you want to join!” 
“I...” You freeze, leaning back in confusion. “T-That’s...Lee Know?” 
“Um...” Jisung turns to you, meeting your unreadable expression. You look simultaneously shocked, horrified, and curious but with a small smile threatening to slip into your features. “I can explain!” 
“He sounds like—” 
“My roommate, Minho. Yeah, um...” Jisung scratches the nape of his neck again, instinctively stepping in front of your view to block the sight of dancing forest animals. “Listen, it’s not what it looks like! Minho, he’s...” 
“Jisung—I mean, wilder things have happened in college—” 
“Yeah but—” Jisung stops halfway, staring back at you as if you’ve grown a second head. “You’re not—you’re not freaked out?” 
“So you are admitting that your roommate is half-cat?” 
“He’s a bakeneko...” 
“Bakeneko, sure, okay.” You repeat, rolling your eyes. “As I was saying, you dragged me out here at 2 AM to look for ‘your cat,’ knowing there’s a slight risk of me finding out who the cat actually is, then you react like this when it does happen? I’m surprised, of course, but you really should’ve thought about that.” 
A part of Jisung heaves a sigh of relief but another part of him panics even further which is only amplified with the music growing louder behind him as more animals pass by. “Yeah, well, I did thought about that but I really needed help looking for Minho because he left without a note and I didn’t expect that he’d be out here partying tonight!” 
This time, it’s you slapping a hand to your face. “Jesus Christ, and here I thought you guys were at least sharing one braincell.” You sigh, to which Jisung immediately protests at. You ignore, him, however, and gesture for the growing line of dancing animals. “So, should we stop him? But, then, it looks like it’s enjoying itself! “But it looks like it’s enjoying itself!—I mean, Minho! Minho looks like he’s enjoying himself.” 
Jisung opens his mouth to speak but, for the second time tonight, he’s accidentally cut off again by Minho, this time by said roommate suddenly materializing on his shoulders. “Are here to pick me up?” Minho asks him, the way his normal human voice comes out of his cat form momentarily surprising you from the corner of his eyes and catching his attention. “Oh, hi, Y/N! Sorry, I didn’t mean for you to see me like this! Ya, Han Jisung, why did you bring Y/N along?” 
“Because you just left the house without telling me where you’re going, dumbass! How would I know if you weren’t suddenly kidnapped or something!” Jisung complains in response, flicking Minho’s forehead. “And get off my shoulder, fatass, you’re so heavy. Have you been eating spirits food again?” 
You clear your throat awkwardly, waving at the two boys before they could engage in a full-on argument. “Yeah, I’m still here, guys?” 
Minho and Jisung glance back at you then to each other, as if in contemplation. You raise an eyebrow nervously at this. 
“Hyung, is it okay that Y/N saw you?” Jisung asks Minho in a hushed whisper. 
“Do I really look fat tonight?” Minho frowns, to which Jisung groans at. 
“Dude, come on, I’m asking you a matter of your security and you ask me if you’re looking fat.” 
“Because Y/N saw me!” 
Jisung sighs. “Fine, then, yes you do...you look like a really really fat cat tonight.” He answers reluctantly, to which Minho pouts even deeper at. “It must be those brownies that other cat, Felix, is always baking at these parties.” 
Minho then immediately hops off of Jisung, walking over to you and encircling your ankles once. “Alright, then, I guess, Y/N, you should see me like this on another time, when I’m looking cuter! You’ll have to forget everything you saw tonight, okay? I can’t have my crush seeing me as a fat cat!” 
“W-What?” You try stepping away from Minho’s circling movements but before you could even get a foot out, you already start feeling lightheaded until your vision’s fully clouded in nothing but white. 
“See you tomorrow, Y/N!” Minho’s voice echoes in your ears before you. 
Jisung is waiting for you by the fences separating your houses the next day, a seemingly rehearsed smile on his face. From what you can hazily remember of last night (which is oddly few, you’ve noticed), you last saw him banging his head against the pillars of his host family’s front porch at dinner time because the Internet connection at his place won’t let him pass his homework. 
“Good morning, Ji?” You greet him as you water the plants in your front garden, unintentionally coming off as questioning. “You look...happy. Did you get to pass that homework of yours?” 
The boy nods happily as he organizes the recyclables he’s supposed to take out. “Yep, passed it on time.” 
You nod, opening your mouth to speak only to be interrupted by an orange and white cat emerging from your garden’s potted sunflowers. “Oh, hi!” You greet the cat, instinctively crouching down to scratch its ears to which he purrs positively to. You don’t catch it but Jisung heaves a sigh of relief when you don’t seem to recognize Minho or have any recollection of last night. “And who are you supposed to be, hm? You’re so adorable!” 
From the corner of your eyes, Jisung frowns at Minho before shaking his head and answering you, “O-Oh, that’s—Lee Know, the new house cat! My host family brought him in just—just last night.” 
“Just last night?” You ask, briefly looking up at Jisung and catching his frown turning into a sheepish smile. You try catching his reaction to your question but the cat brings a paw up to your hand and regains your attention again. “Didn’t they come home at like 4 PM yesterday, though? I even greeted Mr. and Mrs. Lee and I don’t remember seeing them with this cat.”     
Shit, Jisung curses himself, glaring at Minho again who only sticks his tongue out discreetly at him, I was doing so well! “W-Well, Mr. Lee went out at around 9 PM, I think, when you were already inside, then he came back with the cat. It’s a stray, basically.” 
You nod at this, smiling at the cat again. “Aren’t you too cute to be a stray cat, though?” You coo, making Minho smile and nuzzle his whiskers more into your hands. “And you remind me a lot of Ji’s roommate, Minho, too. Have you met him? He’s a bit of a weirdo but he’s...cute too, I guess.” 
Minho so badly wants to open his mouth and protest halfway when you called him a weirdo but he puts up the facade anyway and goes around you once again. He’ll have to bring it up to you next time, when he’s human. 
“Look, Ji, he likes me!” You point out excitedly to which Jisung only musters up a small smile. You then pet the cat’s head once more before standing up to continue watering your plants. “Speaking of, Minho’s okay with this? And Soonie, Doongie, Dori?” 
“Yep.” Jisung reluctantly nods, kicking Minho gently with his foot when he comes back to his side of the fence. “Very much so.” 
on a night much like tonight (drabble game) 
@skzwriternet 
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justkending · 4 years
Text
Just Roommates. Chapter 27.
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Series Summary: These two college friends have had years to grow together. Each being the others support system, adventure buddy, movie night partner, and dorky roommates. That is until things start coming to a new light in their relationship. At least for him… Is there something else there? Is it possible? Were these feelings always there?
Pairing: (Modern) Bucky Barnes x Reader
Warning: Fluff, Adulting, sexy-times mentions, language.
Word Count: 2700+
A/N: This is a very simple chapter, but I needed it for the next chapter:) Hope you enjoy!!
Chapter 27:
"That's perfect right there! Thank you!"
Y/N was instructing the movers bringing in the last of their furniture while her and Wanda started unloading items for the kitchen. Steve, Sam, Clint, Wanda, and Vision had all pitched in their cars as ways to help with moving the smaller boxes from their flat. Nat and Maria were going to be there within the next hour.
Bucky was out by the cars with Steve bringing in a few more hauls of the boxes.
"So, when's the engagement party?" Steve asked.
"I honestly think Y/N's just going to count this move in party as the engagement party. She's not one for all the formal events. Which I'm perfectly fine with," Bucky smiled, re-adjusting his grip on the larger box as they walked up the porch.
"Really? How are we supposed to get you two gifts if we didn't know this was the engagement party?" Steve asked.
"Don't act like you guys didn't all bring some housewarming gift. I saw you all casually trying to hide your little gift bags and stuff. Horrible hiding by the way," Bucky chuckled as Steve opened the door for to the two of them.
"Housewarming gifts are different from engagement gift," the blonde countered.
"I guess, but we really don't need anything. We just want to hang out with you guys in our new home. That's enough for us both," Bucky shrugged, putting the boxes down and turning to see Wanda and Y/N laughing in the kitchen.
"You know, Bucky, just a year ago you would be all over the material things. Something I think Bonnie would have played a part in and also been ecstatic for," Steve smiled looking at his friend. "The fact that's not even a thought for you shows how lucky you got Buck. You and Y/N both got lucky."
Bucky couldn't looked away from Y/N. She was in her 'moving overalls' as she called them since apparently she had so many they all had a special purpose. Her hair was in a messy bun with a head scarf wrapped keeping her wayward curls out of her face. Failing at at its job, but still cute nonetheless. One of the overall shoulders wasn't hooked and was hanging off her shoulder. She was laughing and pointing something out to Wanda in the living room.
"I did get lucky. The woman has taught me more things than I cared to know existed. And because of that I'm a lot more content and happy with my life." Bucky sent a single nod and smile after making eye contact with Y/N who blushed and winked back at him. "I'm on a high Steve, and I haven't fell from it in 6+ months."
"I feel you brother," Steve said squeezing Bucky's shoulder.
"You feel me?" Bucky said with a small laugh knowing Steve was as single as could be. "How do you-" When Steve's reaction was just a dopey smile as if he were lost in space, Bucky's eyebrows shot up. "You punk! You're seeing someone and you didn't tell me?!"
"Hey, hey. Quiet!" Steve said, putting his hands out in surrender. "I-I just wanted to see how things would go and didn't want anyone to get their hopes up, but... Yeah... There's a girl."
"Steve, that's amazing!" Bucky said, pulling him into a hug. "How long?"
"Remember Dr. Erskine from your charity gala?" Bucky nodded. "One of his shadows for his work happens to be in the geriatric field, and he mentioned the senior home to her. She came by for a visit to see the home for some research and we kinda hit it off." Steve had a blush creeping up his neck and was rubbing the back of it in nerves.
"Well, what's her name? What was she doing research for? How old is she? Blonde or Brunette? Or maybe redhead-" Bucky started spouting out questions.
"Her name is Margaret, but she goes by Peggy. She does different funding for senior homes and is doing research in veterans history. She's trying to write a book right now about different stories of WWII vets and Vietnam vets. She's just a few years older than me," Steve answered with a laugh. "And brunette. The most beautiful brown hair and brown eyes I've ever seen on a woman..."
Bucky watched as Steve once again drifted into a dream world. He knew how that went considering it happened to him practically every time he thought of Y/N.
"I'm happy for you Stevie. And don't worry, I'll keep it on the down low. I know how important the beginning of a relationship is, and with our friend group, I'm not going to chance ruining that," Bucky laughed half joking, half being serious.
"You can tell Y/N. Just  Y/N though," Steve laughed.
"Ok, good. That was my next question..." Bucky grinned.
"Come on. Let's get you moved in," Steve nudged as they went back outside for another load.
___________
"Y/N, this place is going to be beautiful!" Nat said, raising her glass as the group of friends sat in the living room on the new furniture.
There were boxes scattered everywhere in their designated rooms, some opened but not unpacked. Only things out were some coasters for the end tables, and a few accent pillows that came with the couches today.
"It's true. I saw some of the decorations you have boxed up, and just by the looks of it this place is going to be stunning," Maria nodded, taking a sip of her wine.
"How many bedrooms?" Clinton budded in.
"Four including the master. So enough for you guys to crash if you ever get too drunk to leave," Bucky winked wrapping his arms around Y/N's middle on the chair they were snuggled into.
"Careful to make that offer. I may never leave," Sam laughed with a smirk.
"Everyone but you," Bucky said with a fake glare.
"You see how he treats me, Y/N? So mean and for no reason," Sam fake pouted.
"Oh, quit it you two. Always teasing the other until someone actually gets their feelings hurt," Y/N waved them off. "Sam, you are more than welcome to stay here when you want."
"Thank you," he said in a proud tone as if he won.
"Of course after day 3 there will be a rent fee," Y/N added with a smirk of her own as she took a long sip of her drink.
"Hey!" Sam said, choking on his drink a little.
"That's my girl," Bucky laughed.
"So what did you guys decide on for the flat? Are you going to sell it or..." Wanda asked turning to them from where she was sat by Vis.
"I'm going to rent it out for cheap to some college kids. No point in bumping the price when I don't really need the extra money. I remember how hard it was for people to find affordable housing during that time, and that way I can still keep it. It's already paid off," Bucky answered.
"That's a good idea and sweet of you. College me would have jumped for a place to stay like that for cheap," Nat nodded.
"Y/N thought of it. I was going to sell it, but made better sense to just rent it out," Bucky shrugged.
"Ok, enough boring adult talk! Tell us how it happened!" Maria jumped in.
"Gotta be more specific sis," Y/N laughed.
"The proposal! We've all seen the ring! Now give us the details!"
"Ok, ok. You wanna tell it or me?" Y/N turned to Bucky who just smiled and shrugged.
"We both can, but you start."
"Ok," she smiled before turning to the group. "So we came out here just to set up some lights and see the finished product of the house."
The rest of the story later, the girls were ooing and aweing at the sentiment. The men just grinning and sending smirks to Bucky for the romantic kind of man he apparently had been hiding from them.
After some more catching up, Y/N giving the girls room tours as well as sharing her decor ideas, while Bucky took the guys out and showed them the land and what they planned to build, the crew started packing up.
Bucky and Y/N said goodbye to everyone as they packed into their cars, and waved to them until they were out the driveway and headed back to the city.
Y/N let out a sigh and turned back to the house. Bucky followed and wrapped his arms around her as he rested his chin on her shoulder.
"We have a lot of unboxing to do," she said.
"Yep, but we unpacked a lot tonight. Let's save the rest for tomorrow."
"Yeah, ok." She turned back and gave him a hug as she fell into him. "I love you."
"I love you even more Y/N. Let's go to bed."
________
The next night, Bucky got a call from work saying they had a business trip that Stark had set up for the two to travel and speak with a few investors on some new projects. Something that was bound to take place in the merger. It just so happened to come up when the two were moving in and had a shit ton of boxes to unpack.
"How long?" Y/N asked once Bucky got done explaining Starks travel plans, and they unboxed some items for one of the guest rooms.
"Sounds like a couple of weeks. No more than two, hopefully only one," Bucky sighed. "I can see if I can make it shorter. I don't want to leave you to unpack all by yourself, and maybe the investors-"
"What are you talking about?" Y/N laughed, stopping and turning to Bucky from the bedside table she was organizing. "You don't have to make your work shorter just because I need help unpacking some boxes."
"Well, no, but-"
"I know what you're doing B. It's not going to work."
"I'm not doing anything..." Bucky mumbled, looking down at the bed frame he was currently screwing in the last few pieces into place for.
"You don't want to travel with Stark for up to two weeks, and you're using moving as an excuse. Nope. Nuh uh. You're going mister," she said matter a factly as she plugged in the bed side lamp and brushed her hands off.
"And what if I don't want to go cause I don't want to leave you?" Bucky said with a raised eyebrow standing up.
"It's your work Bucky. You're going to have to leave sometimes to take care of business." Her hands were crossed over her chest and hip popped. Bucky places his hands on his hips in an attempt to mock her sass.
"You want me out of the house or something?" he joked.
"No... I've just noticed you've been pushing work to the side, and trying to distract yourself from it and using the house as an excuse."
"I'm not-"
"James Buchanan Barnes. You have a huge, crazy busy, growing, multimillion dollar business to run. You can't keep distancing yourself from it just because you don't like Stark all that much," she said, taking a step closer and Bucky matched her.
He paused. She was right. He had been finding any excuse to work from home, or only going in during times Stark wasn't there. He still was extremely annoyed by the man, and the less time he spent with him the better. On the other hand he had been really excited about living with Y/N and being with her more now that they were engaged. 
Screw knowing each other for years. The man was in the honeymoon phase still, and hadn't even glimpsed outside of the puppy love he had for her.
"But what if I don't want to..." he pouted moving closer and putting his hands on her hips as he pulled her in.
"Sucks. You're the big boss man whether you like it or not," she shrugged, still crossing her arms with a playful gleam in her eyes.
"You're kinda scary. You know that?" Bucky chuckled tilting his head to her.
"When I need to be, yes. That's not new news," she said with a sly smirk. "So on that note. Let's get you packed for your trip."
"But-"
"Nope! No excuses bossman!" she said walking out the door to their room.
_________
Y/N was right. This was a big opportunity for the business, and even though Bucky was getting comfortable spending his time with Y/n in their new house, and as a newly engaged couple, he did need to get out and actually work.
The trip ended up being a week and half. Y/N having to stay behind to handle some housing things like plumbing, gas, land surveying and all that fun stuff. That and she still had her job as a personal trainer/ yoga instructor, so she couldn't just up and leave with only a day's notice for almost two weeks.
The two facetimed and talked every night and day. Y/N showing him new places she had got around to decorating and layouts and ideas for the land.
What Bucky didn't know was that Y/N had the girls over almost every night to help her finish up unpacking and decorating before he came home. Sometimes Steve and Sam too if she needed some more heavy duty help.
"Y/N, this is all so stunning. He's going to be so surprised when he gets home," Nat smiled as they all stood looking at the newly decorated home.
"Really? You think? It's not too much is it?" she questioned bringing her hand to her chin as she examined the room they were currently in.
"He's going to love it Y/N. Anything you do he loves, but this is crazy impressive," Steve added as he packed up his tool box. "You ever thought about interior design?"
"That's what Bucky said," Y/N laughed. "And now that I have so many people asking me that," she looked at Maria, Wanda, and Nat who had also been commenting on it all day, "It's starting to sound like a possible fun side-job."
"Well, I'll pay you to come revamp my apartment if you do anything close to this," Maria grinned, taking a swig from a beer bottle.
"You got it," Y/N laughed. "Ok, I need to go pick him up from the airport in about an hour, so I'm going to go get changed and do a few last minute things. Thanks again you guys for coming out here and helping."
"Anytime! Maria and I love the scenic drive here, and it gives us a chance to see your fucking gorgeous home," Nat smirked bumping her hip with Y/N.
"That and you know you can always call if you need a handy man when Bucks not here," Steve added, picking up the tool box.
"Thanks for that Stevie. I appreciate you," she said giving him a small peck on the cheek.
"Yeah, I'm just here for the free alcohol," Wanda teased as she downed the rest of her beer. "Helps when Nat's driving."
The crew laughed at the red head and started heading for the door.
"Let us know what he thinks! And when you guys are ready, we can have a housewarming party since it's all done!" Nat shouted as she walked to the car.
"Will do! Love you guys! Drive safe!" Y/N shouted and waved from the porch as they loaded up and made their way down the long driveway.
Once they were out of sight, Y/N turned to look at the finished product of their home. The lights on the porch were hung and turned on. The inside was lit up and bringing life and a sense of comfort to it.
"How did I get so lucky?" Y/N sighed as she thought about the life that was to come with her special person. All she had to do was pick him up from the airport, and yet another milestone would be made.
(Ok pictures are coming next chapter!) 
Just Roommates:
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My Lovelies forever:
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argylemnwrites · 4 years
Text
Looking Back
Pairing: Bryce Lahela x MC (Cassie Vanderfield)
Book: Open Heart (almost 2 years after Chapter 1 of book 2)
Word Count: ~1900
Rating: PG-13 (light language, innuendo)
Summary: A night of celebration causes Cassie and Bryce to take a look back.
Author’s Note: I’m so sorry it’s been so long since I wrote Bryce fic! The pandemic writer’s block was particularly brutal for this couple, but I am pretty happy to be back with our favorite flirty, confident surgeon! This story is for two of the “Things You Said” prompts - 11. Things you said when you were drunk (as requested by @sunnyxdazed, @choicesarehard, and an anon) and 22. Things you said after it was over (as requested by @srta-give-me-my-jax-rl and @omgjasminesimone). It also works for the Choices May Challenge Day 29 prompt (Memories).
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“Nah, I’m good,” Bryce said, shaking his head as Jackie attempted to pass him a shot of tequila.
“Lahela, you can’t pass on drinks tonight! We’re celebrating!” she called out, raising her arm and drawing cheers from several others around them, including Cassie.
“You might be celebrating, but I still have to preround at 6 am tomorrow,” Bryce replied, shaking his head as Cassie grabbed the shot glass Jackie kept trying to hand him, throwing it back in rapid succession with the shot Jackie had already given her. Man, tonight was going to get sloppy.
“That’s on you for choosing a specialty with such a long residency,” said Jackie, quirking an eyebrow before downing her own shot. “It’s not our fault you surgeons are so dumb and cocky that you need those extra years of training just to be competent physicians.”
Bryce grinned at her, grabbing the empty shot glasses Cassie handed to him as she reached for a lime. He would let her have that one tonight. After all, it was her graduation night. 
The internal med graduation had been pretty much what Bryce had expected. Decent food, but watered down drinks and boring speeches by the hospital bigwigs, all culminating with the program director going over each resident’s career plans and handing them a certificate. At least Cassie’s table had been a good one with Elijah, Phoebe, and his parents, a med-peds resident named Amber who Bryce didn’t know well but who had been fun to talk to, as was her husband when he wasn’t trying to corral their two year old son, plus Cassie’s parents and Keiki, able to come thanks to Amber only needing two tickets. And thankfully the faculty member assigned to their table was an endocrinologist named Dr. Liz Aubly, not Ethan Ramsey. Bryce had forced more than enough awkward small talk with the man at the monthly diagnostics team dinner he’d gone to with Cassie last week, and he got the feeling Ramsey was not thrilled that he was now officially Cassie’s date for all such events. Over the next two years, with Bryce on his research years while Cassie remained at Edenbrook for her diagnostics fellowship, their paths were going to cross often.
But tonight wasn’t about looking forward, it was about looking back and remembering three years of patients and long hours and crappy coffee and not enough sleep. Now that the formal portion of the graduation was done with, most of the third year IM residents had ditched their families and taken over Donahue’s, celebrating having only two weeks left as residents. It was the only time they all were off at the same time, excluding the annual resident holiday party, since starting residency, and people were letting loose.
“Wait, we didn’t toast to anything with this round,” Elijah noted after he tossed his lime slice onto the growing pile in the middle of the table. After the first couple of rounds, things had turned decidedly sentimental, with the group rotating what event from their three years of residency they were commemorating. So far, they had toasted to adopting their pet turtle Sal Monella, Jackie being named one of next year’s chief residents, Cassie getting reinstated, and swapping out Landry for Aurora as a roommate. 
“You’re right!” Cassie cried out, stumbling off Bryce’s lap. “I’ll go get us another round so we can do things properly.”
Bryce grabbed her wrist, stopping her abruptly. “What?” she asked, her eyes blazing as they locked on his, clearly ready to fight him if he dared to question how much everyone was drinking.
“I’m going with you,” he said with a grin, standing up and subtly sliding his hand down her back, hoping she saw it as a loving, flirty gesture and not an attempt to steady her and keep her upright. Cassie was typically a pretty agreeable drunk, if a little handsy, but she got absolutely livid if anyone implied that her coordination and proprioception were at all impaired by her drinking. He had enough sense not to tell her there was a good chance all the drinks would be ending up on the floor if she did this by herself.
Together, they made their way over to the bar, crowded with dozens of other IM third years. Cassie leaned over the bar, trying to find a free bartender, but quickly abandoned her mission when she wasn’t immediately successful.
“You should do the next toast,” she said, spinning to face Bryce, steadying herself just slightly by leaning back against the bar.
Bryce shrugged, “Nah, tonight’s for you guys. I’m still just a lowly resident for the next four years.”
Cassie grinned, sliding a hand forward and grabbing a belt loop on Bryce’s pants, pulling him toward her. “Where’s all this modesty coming from?”
“Oh, don’t worry. I know I’m still the best surgical resident at Edenbrook. In fact, now that you are moving up in the world, I am losing some competition for best resident in all specialties.”
Cassie laughed, dragging her hand across his hip and sliding it into his back pocket, giving his ass a light squeeze, prompting Bryce to waggle his eyebrows at her.
“I see you’ve reached a very boldly flirty stage of drunk.”
“I’m not drunk,” she scoffed, rolling her eyes, but sliding her other hand into his other pocket at the same time, “I just found a comfortable place to rest my hands. Besides, in a couple of weeks, I’ll officially outrank you, so I gotta enjoy this-” she added, giving him another squeeze for good measure, “-while I still can.”
He chuckled at that. She wasn’t going to be supervising him at all, so it didn’t really matter, but Jackie had taken to teasing Cassie that their relationship was going to become suddenly scandalous and forbidden when Cassie became a fellow. “Are you sure you want to move in together, then? It might be hard to keep your hands to yourself around all of this-” Bryce gestured an open hand up and down in front of his body “-when you have 24/7 access.”
Cassie tilted her head to the side, a coy little smirk forming. “Yeah. You know why?”
“Why?” he asked, humoring her as he lifted a hand to tuck a strand of her dark hair behind her ear.
“Because you helped clean up after that first party in our apartment.”
His hand froze next to her cheek. He’d completely forgotten he’d done that. He’d mainly just been looking for something to do while waiting to say goodnight to Cassie, or rather, hoping he wouldn’t have to say goodnight. Pitching in with cleaning up the trash had just seemed like the natural thing to do. “I can’t believe you remember that.”
“It’s when I knew you were a good person, not just some overconfident hot guy. It’s when I knew you were boyfriend material, not just a casual fling.”
Bryce didn’t quite know how to respond to that. His feelings for Cassie evolved gradually, slowly, naturally over the past three years, going from seeing her as that cute dark-haired medicine intern to the person he loved and trusted most in the world bit-by-bit, day-by-day. He didn’t have some moment with her that was some great epiphany where he realized he wanted more or saw her differently. He just cherished getting to know her better, seeing different sides of her, and adoring nearly everything that he discovered or she revealed. But Cassie had apparently seen depths in him from the start. He wasn’t sure if it put their early hookups in a different light or not, but all he could really do at this point was appreciate that they had come this far together, no matter how they got there. So he gave her a gentle kiss, pulling back as he saw one of the bartenders coming toward them and flagging him down, ordering another round of tequila shots, plus a glass of water for himself.
Soon, they made their way back to the table, Bryce carrying the shots while Cassie focused on not bumping into people. She waited for him to pass around the drinks and sit back down before she plunked herself back onto his lap, looping one arm behind his neck and grabbing one of the shot glasses with her other.
“What are we toasting to this time?” Jackie asked, raising her glass and looking around the table expectantly.
“I have one,” said Bryce, causing Cassie to twist her head to look at him, her eyebrows raised and her pupils blown wide, “To that first party you guys threw at the apartment. It really was the start of everything.”
Everyone clinked their glasses together over the center of the table, with some “Hear hears” and “To the parties” scattered in the mix, but Cassie didn’t throw back her shot right away. Instead, she kept her eyes locked on Bryce’s, offering him a brilliant smile before wrapping her other arm around his neck in a tender hug... and unfortunately dumping her shot of tequila down his neck and under his shirt in the process.
“Oh shit, I’m so sorry!” she cried out once she realized what she’d done.
“It’s fine,” Bryce said with a little shrug, “but I do think that signals the end of the festivities for me.”
“Party pooper!” Elijah yelled out, but Bryce just shook his head. 
“Someone has to actually be functional enough to take care of patients tomorrow, and it’s certainly not going to be anyone else at this table. Cassie, you coming over to my place, or are you going to keep the party going with this crew?”
“Your place,” she said without a moment of hesitation. “I spent the night with you after my first party of residency, so who am I to buck tradition at the last one?” Bryce grinned at that, noticing Elijah just shaking his head out of the corner of his eye before Cassie leaned over and kissed him, sliding her hands along his shoulders before pulling back.
“Get a room,” Jackie said, rolling her eyes.
“I’m trying,” Bryce replied over Cassie’s shoulder. “Come on, babe,” he said, helping Cassie to her feet before standing up and slinging an arm around her waist, waving goodbye to their friends as he navigated her towards the door. 
“I can’t believe I’m basically done with residency,” Cassie said as Bryce pulled out his phone to order a Dryve. “It’s been three years already. How has it been three years?”
Bryce just chuckled, guiding her down the large step off onto the sidewalk as they left the bar. “Time flies when you’re working 80 hours a week for minimum wage, huh?”
“Something like that,” she replied, pivoting to face him and tugging him into a loose hug. 
“Looking back, anything you’d want to change?”
She seemed to ponder that for a moment before shaking her head, “I mean, I probably could have done without the suspension, but I think it helped me grow. I don’t know. I guess even with all the drama, I’m happy with how things turned out. Does that make sense?”
“Yeah, Cassie,” he said, squeezing her tight and running his hand along her spine, “it does.”
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lovehugsandcandy · 4 years
Text
One-on-One: Rematch (Part 1)
A/N: So this is getting out of control...what started as fulfilling a prompt that no one actually asked me for has turned into...this, a continuation on the Colt!basketball player/MC!cheerleader nonsense because why not? This is the first of four parts. (First story here)
Pairing: Colt x MC, ROD
Length: ~4,500 words
Rating: N*FW (Sex. Swearing.)
Summary: When Langston made it to Nationals, Ellie planned on spending the entire time studying in her room. It didn’t end up quite as planned.
Ellie perched on the edge of her bar stool, hand locked around a glass of ice water, toes tapping nervously against the floor. She never did this.
The plan had always been to use this time to study. Ingrid was psyched about their trip, chattering nonstop about the massive intercollegiate parties and the freedom to fraternize with the players. Ellie listened, dutifully; however, she had planned on avoiding it all, venturing out only for games and meals, living in her headphones and studying under the covers to dig into the obscure theorems and formulas required in upper-level classes.
But now?
She shifted in her seat, keeping the sliding door leading to the hotel lobby visible in the corner of her vision; she sat straighter when she saw familiar red-and-gold uniforms streaming through. Pivoting, she tracked their path, players filing through the hallway in clumps of two and three, lugging packed gym bags over broad shoulders. She waited, eyes narrowing, and finally, there. 
At the end of the line, gesturing pointedly at a piece of paper in front of him, she caught a familiar stride, long legs carrying a recognizable head of black hair and a pair of mischievous eyes. She hid a fond smile behind her glass. If there is anything she learned about Colt once he friended her on Picta, it was that he took the strategy behind the game more seriously than the actual game play. Whereas his teammates would be in the gym, perfecting bench presses and layups, Colt spent most of his time watching tape, designing play upon play that tactically attacked his opponents’ weaknesses. She internally wondered if he enjoyed the mental plotting more than being on the court.
He jabbed at the paper again, finger tracing an determined path as two other players listened intently. She tilted her head, trying to follow his path towards the elevators through the crush of the crowd as athletes, spectators, and cheerleaders, everyone flitting around in the buzz of finally being at the playoffs. Eventually, his gaze left the paper, and he glanced about; the smirk on his face when they locked eyes sent heat to her cheeks. 
She waited as he spoke to his teammates and then pushed his way through the crowd, eyes trained on her with every step. He stopped before her with a grin. “Fancy seeing you here.”
“You told me to meet you.”
“Do you always do what people tell you to?”
She had a thousand retorts on the tip of her tongue, ranging from sarcastic to flirty to downright indecent, but before her brain settled on one, a harsh voice cut through the lobby. “Kaneko! What are you doing? Let’s go!”
He glanced behind him, face pulling into a frown, but turned back again, pressing thin plastic into her palm.
“What’s this?”
“1512.”
“What?” She looked down to find a hotel key.
“1512.”
She blinked. “Is this an open invitation?”
“It’s whatever you want it to be.”
Oh my God, she didn’t know if she wanted to smack the smirk off his face or kiss it.
“Kaneko, let’s go!” He sighed, and the frown on his face was a curious mix of haughty and regretful.
“You gonna come?”
“I…” she glanced behind him, where the rest of his team crowded around the elevator.
He smirked and leaned down, hands warm even through her jeans, breath whispering over her lips. “Just come on. Open invitation, ok?”
Her eyes fluttered. He was so close that she saw each individual lash surrounding his eyes, trace his tongue dipping out to wet his lower lip. She had to focus, tighten her fingers so her drink didn’t plummet to the floor. “Ok.” She could do nothing but agree, not when he looked at her like that.
His answering grin made her stomach swoop as he straightened, shooting her a wink before he turned to jog back to his teammates.
Shaking her head, Ellie turned back around to place her glass on the bar. What was she thinking?
~~~~~
“You sure you don’t wanna go out?”
“No thanks, I’m good.” Ellie read the same sentence over again. When the uncertainty in a particle’s position is multiplied by the uncertainty in momentum, its value cannot be greater than half H-bar. She frowned; this was why she hated particle dynamics. You can’t tell both the speed and location of a particle simultaneously? She internally scoffed. Bullshit. She had always known exactly where she was going. Langston University, 4 years. PhD program at Yale, 6 years, followed by a postdoc before moving back to LA for a tenure-track research position. She had detailed out this path the day she won her seventh-grade science fair; in the years since, she had never wavered, never veered. Why was it so hard to do that with particles?
“Really, El?” Ingrid ducked out of the bathroom to study her, fiddling with an earring. “You seem...off.”
“I’m fine.”
“You sure?”
Ellie sighed; she wouldn’t have been convinced either. “I’m good, really.” Her hands tightened around the textbook in her lap. “We have a game tomorrow night. I’m just gonna study and go to sleep early.”
“Ok. I’ll be quiet when I come back.” Ingrid grinned wickedly. “If I come back.”
Ellie flushed but didn’t reply, only giving a quick wave as her roommate headed out the door. She read the sentence again. What was Planck’s constant again? She should know this by heart; she shouldn’t be so jittery, fidgeting and glancing at her purse every three seconds. It was there, a tiny rectangle nestled between flash cards and a folded-up game schedule; for a cheap strip of plastic, it was distracting, calling to her, a siren song far more compelling than quantum mechanics.
Fine.
She stood, closing the book and silently tucking it under her covers. Ingrid’s footsteps faded down the hall, followed by the ding of the elevator and then blessed silence. Ellie knew exactly where she was going and how fast; a quick detour to the room of a blindly attractive basketball player wouldn’t change anything. Quickly, she stripped, bundling her pajamas under her bed on the off chance she wasn’t home before Ingrid, throwing on street clothes and triple-checking her purse for the plastic key card. It gleamed, reflecting the light as if taunting her, conspicuously out of place among the detritus of her carefully crafted life.
He was two floors above her but she took the stairs, cautiously listening before turning the corner between floors. Thankfully, it was silent; apparently the parties were somewhere else tonight, even the hallway deserted as she walked, never-ending carpet empty and dulling her steps as she sidled up to the door. 
1512. She stood for a minute, heart hammering in her chest, before gathering every speck of courage; her fingers shook as she put the key in the slot. The light turned green, and, with a tiny ding, she was in.
She pushed the door open, peering curiously inside before she stepped forward, but it was just a normal room, the mirror image of hers and Ingrid’s. The walls were drab, painted a dull beige and decorated by inoffensive pastoral photographs that contrasted with the emerald carpet under her toes. There were two beds, one covered in clothes and a familiar red-and-gold jersey, facing a large flat screen. It was almost exactly the same as her room. The only notable difference was standing in front of the window, phone to his ear; however, he obviously wasn’t focused on the conversation, not with the way his mouth hung open, gaping at her.
She waved, and her awkward hands closed the door behind her.
“Hey, yeah.” Colt spoke into the phone, rushed, low. “Ok.. Listen, I gotta-I gotta go… Yeah, yeah. Ok. Bye.” He turned to her but his phone rang almost immediately, shrill tone cutting the silence of the room; with an annoyed glance, he hit some buttons, randomly, and the phone went flying as he kept his eyes trained on her.
She stepped forward, letting out the breath it seemed she had held since she left her room. “Hi.”
“Hi.” The smirk was back, surprise all but gone as he watched her pad into the room. “Fancy seeing you here.”
“Again,” she ground out, “you invited me.”
“I’m glad you took me up on the invitation.”
She dropped her purse on the bed that held the familiar uniform. “I was studying but got bored.”
“Ouch. You wound me.” She felt the sarcasm dripping from his words. “Had I known I was just a way to pass the time, I wouldn’t have given you a key.”
“You would have.”
“Maybe.” He stepped closer, smirk never wavering. “You come to give me my prize?”
“Your… your what?”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “I thought you were gonna give me a kiss if we won Nationals.”
“Excuse me?” she scoffed, mouth dropping open. “You haven’t won anything yet.”
“But we will. We’re 2-to-1 favorites. It would take a catastrophe for us to lose.”
Ellie knew all of this. She had been reading up on the playoffs and the predictions and the certain specific players whose breakout sophomore year included a 30 point victory when she was too focused on thermodynamic driving force to even notice the game unfolding. “Well, you haven’t won yet.”
“We will.”
“You just want me to kiss you.”
“Obviously.” He blinked and the warmth in his eyes softened, minutely, so subtly that she would have missed it had he not been merely a breath away. “You can call it a loan.” He blinked at her underneath lush lashes.
“A loan? Really,” she sneered, stepping even closer to watch his eyes zero in on her lips.
“Sure. I’m good for it.”
She trailed her nails through his hair before pulling him closer. “I charge interest.”
“Of course you do.” She could feel the words across the bow of her lips and then, finally, they were kissing, his hands skating down her back to cup the curve of her ass. He pulled back, smirking. “You didn’t wear the skirt.”
“Is that all you think about?”
“Oh, no.” The next instant, his hands cradled her thighs, and she was up, weightless in the air before falling onto the stiff hotel blanket. She had to smile; the bed under her was still made, sheets at sharp lines and right angles, but the boy above her was anything but proper, eyes wild, lips curving in devious intent as he stared down at her. “I think about a lot of things.”
“Like what?”
“How you look out of these clothes.” He ducked his head so his teeth found her neck. “How it sounds when you say my name.” His mouth trailed higher, and he reached down to trace a determined hand up her inner thigh. “How you fucking feel when I-”
Her hands found the solid muscle of his chest and she pushed, hard, straddling his hips when he landed flat on his back. “Are you always so mouthy?”
She immediately realized her mistake when he opened his mouth, laugh lines dimpling his face, and immediately closed it again.
“I mean…”
“I feel like you’re setting me up.”
“Ugh. Is there any way to shut you up?” 
“Multiple,” he laughed and pulled her down, meeting her lips with teeth and tongue until she rolled her hips reflexively; he only bit deeper divots into plush skin, tightening the hand on her thigh so she felt every single digit digging through her jeans deep into her thigh. Her fingers found the hem of his t-shirt, pulling roughly up to expose tight muscles too sculpted to be real. He wasn’t huge or beefy, but every inch of skin lay upon corded muscles, abs clearly defined as her fingers traced them inch-by-inch. “You admiring the view or something?” he sassed.
“You are so... fucking… annoying.”
He laughed, eyes shining, and returned the favor, throwing her shirt across the room, bra quickly following as callused fingers tweaked a nipple. “Come here, come here,” he all but commanded and she could only comply, meeting his mouth for a kiss that ended any lingering doubts in her mind. She was draped over him, nipples peaking as they grazed over the planes of his chest, and sparks burned their way up her spine.
He popped the button of her jeans, one-handed, and she broke the kiss to wriggle out of the rest of her clothes, grinding her hips. She felt the thick line of his cock through his shorts, right where she was boiling hot, and his choked off moan let her know that he could feel every single movement.
She felt frantic, weightless, desperate. She could only kiss him, furiously, as he shimmied the rest of his clothes off. He was so warm under her, skin laid bare underneath her as his hands drew sigils of fire down her thighs, up her back. She couldn’t have stopped if she wanted to, her plans of studying, her common sense, her mind completely gone as she lifted her hips, a quick pivot, and then she was sliding down as he moaned into her mouth.
“Oh fuck, you feel-” The curse was bitten off, thickly rolling from his tongue, but the note of praise was there, awe seeping into his voice. His hands grasped at her hips, holding her in place as his chest heaved as if he had just gone rounds on the court. “Goddamn.”
She rocked her hips tightly, solely to see the flash of pure pleasure fly across his features. Hell, he felt good, just as good as three weeks ago, hiding in a tiny locker room shower stall. But here, they didn’t have to hide, and she was free to slide up and down his length with abandon, moving her hips so it hit the exact right spot inside her. Her toes curled.
He traced a hand down her stomach before it ducked into her folds. The praise continued. “Ellie, fuck, you look so amazing riding me, fuck.” His thumb drew circles around her clit and she fell forward, barely catching herself as shivers started up and down her spine. “You feel so fucking incredible, God-” he breathed, eyes trained on where their bodies came together, heat of his eyes burning through her core. 
She could barely hold herself up, nails digging crescents into his chest, and she was sure that the red marks in the tight muscles would last until his quarterfinal match. She hoped he would feel them on the court, a distracting ache when he was taking a shot or blocking a pass. Her hips moved faster. “Colt, fuck, Colt, I need-”
He surged off the bed to pull her closer with a weighty palm curving at the small of her back, rocking up into her with abandon. It took three more thrusts, hips slamming together once more as he found that spot inside her, and the room exploded, her body quaking as she fell apart, clinging to his shoulders, the only solid thing in a room where everything was moving and shaking in pleasure so strong that she had to close her eyes lest the wave carry her away.
She slid onto the bed, limbs weak. Or perhaps she was on top of Colt? It was hard to tell as the world got hazy. Everything-her mind, her limbs, her sense of time passing-everything was wrapped in fragile gauze, warm and light. 
She should return to her room... but her limbs wouldn’t work, muscles laden and slow. It was easier to just lay here, just for a minute. Maybe it was the sex, but she felt good, relaxed, at ease.
She had seriously planned on reviewing the Heisenberg uncertainty principle again.
She was going to.
She was totally going to head back.
But after they showered together, where Colt had proven his absolute inability to keep his hands to himself and used soap-slick arms to ease her onto the floor, water raining over his head as his tongue drew shapes that made her legs tremble, and after they fell into bed, wrapped in plush towels that quickly found their way to the carpet as her fingers clamped onto the headboard and his hips drove into hers so quickly that she lost her voice, barely able to push air from her lungs as he moved just so, just right to make light flare behind closed eyelids, after, well, it was all hazy. 
She had planned on returning to her room.
She had.
But somehow, she was sprawled over him, limbs heavy with exhaustion, and nose digging into his chest. Every breath smelled like nondescript hotel soap, clean scent utterly at odds with the dirty deeds this room had seen. His hands traced down her spine as she murmured into his skin. “Who were you on the phone with?”
“Hmm?“
“Earlier. When I came in.”
“Oh. My mom,” he said sheepishly. “She wanted to come watch the games, but she had to work.”
“Aw, are you a momma’s boy?”
“What?!? I would definitely not say that.”
“I bet she had her hands full with you.”
“She’s the reason I play ball; she’s the one that got me into it.”
“Really?”
“She was desperate for something to get my aggression out, give me something to do. She also thought I needed practice working with others, being part of a team, some shit like that. Soccer? Fucking boring. I was downright brutal in football. In hockey, I once tried to slice someone with the edge of my skate and you definitely don’t want to see me with a baseball bat. Basketball just seemed to fit.”
“She’s probably proud of you.”
“Ha. I doubt that very much.” He rolled his eyes. “How about you?”
“What do you mean?”
“Your family.”
She looked out the window at the moon, crawling through the sky. “Hmm... It’s only me and my dad. My mom died when I was 13, so it’s been only the two of us forever. He’s a little... overprotective.”
“What do you mean?” His hand started running comforting circles around her shoulder blades; she edged closer.
“You know, typical story. Only daughter. He had a lot of trouble letting go. He’s a detective too, LAPD,  so he was always petrified I would end up on one of those unsolved crime channels.”
“Daughter of a cop, eh?”
“Yeah,” she sighed, glancing up at him. “So that made it worse. He barely gave me any freedom, and I decided I would get away as far as I could.”
“You sure attending the best college in the US didn’t have something to do with it?”
“Well... that too.”
“I didn’t know you’re from LA.”
“Yeah, born and raised.”
“Hmm...I wonder if your dad ever ran into my Pops,” he scoffed. “They run in... similar circles, I’m sure.”
“What… are you from LA?”
“Originally, but my mom moved me out East before I started high school.”
“And your dad is still there?”
“I think.” Colt looked away. “He hasn’t spoken to me in years.”
“Ouch.” 
“I hate him.” She watched his eyes shutter; unbidden, her hand ran through his damp hair. “I almost dropped out last year.”
“Of college?!?”
He shrugged.
“Why?”
He inhaled through his nose, hard, exhale ruffling the strands of her hair making their way over his sculpted chest. “I had this grand plan to leave school, take my bike to LA, confront my dad, work my way into the family business, rule the world.”
“But… you have school, basketball.”
“I know… but I wanted...” 
The silence hung heavy enough for Ellie’s heart to hurt. “What happened?”
“My mom caught on, lit into me, said I was risking my future to be like my dad and tool on cars the rest of my life.”
“He’s a mechanic?”
“Well... something like that. Owns a garage in Gramercy Park.”
“You don’t seem like you like cars that much.”
“I don’t.”  He wiggled his eyebrows. “But I’m fucking fantastic with my hands. Want me to show you?” He rolled over to slide on top of her, running those talented hands down her sides, lower, and time passed and the haze in her brain intensified.
.
“She was actually my competition. My best friend is still out west at school and, when we realized we would go to the same school, she kinda... took me under her wing. I was... sheltered before that.” She was fully on top of him-how did that happen?- running her nails through his hair, his scalp, while he mewled underneath her. They both still weren’t wearing clothes. It was late, or early, moon still passing through the sky. She needed to go back to her room but, when his hand cradled her hips, she really couldn’t bring herself to move.
“You don’t seem that sheltered.”
“Well, not anymore. Ingrid helped me come out of my shell, make me realize that I could have a life besides studying. She even got me into cheer.”
“Wait, how long have you been cheering?”
“A little over a year. I started senior year of high school.”
“Wow,” he rumbled, moaning when her nails grazed behind his ears. “I would have thought it would have been longer.”
She hit the spot again and his moan got louder. “Colt?”
“Hmm.”
She slid lower, catching him right where his cock was stiffening underneath her. She circled her hips, a slow grind, a catch of breath, and then she was sliding down again, guttural whimper making its way through her lips. “I’m done talking.”
.
They dozed. She slept, she thought she did at least, but she was startled awake when she rolled over into him; then her hands tracing over the defined muscles of his chest woke him up, and suddenly she was on her back. Time shifted, bent, and she had no idea what time it was or what day it was, but then it didn’t even matter. His tongue flicked and it must have been something, diabolical sorcery or criminal mischief or something, because the next thing she knew, she was flying, screaming, the world ending around her in a blaze of sparks and light, gripping his hair so tightly that it must have ached, must have hurt him because it hurt her, her hand fisted into silken strands but she couldn’t let go, she had to hold on to something, some anchor, some piece of solid ground, while the world broke apart into shards.
.
Did they sleep? She had no idea.
She only knew she couldn’t catch her breath.
Her fingers tangled at the back of his head. She pulled lightly, but his lips didn’t budge from a patch of skin at her collarbone. “My uniform-oh God- my uniform won’t cover that.”
Finally, he sat back, eyes trained on the tender mark, the result of lips and teeth and white hot pleasure. “Good,” he rasped, eyes scorching as he looked down her bare body. With a smirk, he went lower, teeth delivering a love bite to her thigh. “How about here? I think that skirt is shorter than this.”
“Ugh… higher.” She pulled his head up higher, and his tongue traced up her thigh. “No, higher.” She could barely reach his jaw, fingertips struggling, pulling him up. “Colt, higher, please.” And when his tongue finally reached where she needed it, her hand flew to her mouth to cover the high whine and time stopped.
.
It was too late. She blinked. What day...was that the sunrise? She sat up, peering through the windows at an ominous purpling of the sky.
“Mmpf.” He rolled over to paw at a hip, pulling her back against him. “C’mon, stay.”
She glanced between the door and the sport on his cheekbone where his eyelashes fluttered. “What about your roommate?”
“No roommate.” His arm tightened around her waist, warm and solid. “Just stay.”
She swung her legs onto the bed and settled against his chest. “How did you swing that?”
“Incident. Last year. I told...” His voice dropped, heavy with sleep; it rumbled through her back, into her lungs. “Gonna throw ‘em out the window…” he yawned. Their legs tangled. She waited for the rest of the story but it apparently wasn’t coming; when she peered over her shoulder, his lashes were heavy against his cheek, jaw slack, breath regular and low. Her muscles slowly relaxed and, against her better judgement, she pulled the sheet closer. I’ll wait until he’s asleep. She knew how hookups with basketball players went; she wasn’t dumb. Just until he falls asleep….then I’ll sneak out. I’ll just rest a minute and then go. She closed her eyes.
When she opened them again, the sun was high in the sky.
“Crap!” She shouted, sitting up.
Colt jolted up next to her, arms flailing. “What? What happened?”
“It’s morning. It’s…” She glanced at the clock. “Oh my god, it’s one in the afternoon!”
“Umm… ok?”
She jumped out of bed, cursing again when her shin hit the nightstand. “I have to go. My roommate... Ingrid’s gonna freak out.” She raced to her purse to grab her phone, shoulders dropping at the seventeen messages and six missed calls. “Ingrid already freaked out.”
“Then stay.” He settled back into bed, rubbing a hand over his face. “Tell her you’re fine and come back to bed.”
She paused, covertly studying him out of the corner of her eye while her fingers hovered over the phone screen. Basketball players weren’t exactly the ‘breakfast the next morning’ type. “I have to be at the arena in an hour; we’re playing the afternoon game today.”
“There you go; enough time for room service.”
She blinked. She couldn’t think of a reason to leave and, besides, his bed was comfortable. “... fine.” She texted Ingrid while Colt called in the order, ignoring the resulting three blaring phone notifications as she slid back into bed.
“Room service will be here in thirty.” He pulled her against his chest, hand sliding down her back to rest lightly on the curve of her ass. “You know what that’s just enough time for?”
She raised her eyebrows and retorted, “A shower?”
“That’s exactly what I was thinking.” Ellie giggled as he hoisted her over his shoulder to cart her to the bathroom.
As the hotel staff learned, thirty minutes was not enough time for a shower. It was enough time to memorize how her hands looked, scrambling against the bathroom tile. It was enough time to catalogue every sound from his throat. It was enough time to fall apart, to shake into pieces, and forget everything except the way his body perfectly molded to hers. 
She was 20 minutes late to warm-ups and, despite Ingrid’s incredulous expression, she couldn’t quite bring herself to care.
.
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Share a Lair 02 || Share a Lab
After Henry was moved into the tower, Charlotte began to check out the lab. Ray wouldn’t let Schwoz take the time to go set things up, so she would have to do it herself. In her brain, that meant she might have to contact Schwoz for questions, but once she went to work, she was unstoppable and didn’t require any assistance. Fortunately.
Jasper and Henry wound up decorating and unpacking while she checked equipment and made lists for what she might need to give this guy a functional laboratory.
She opened what she believed to be a breaker box but found a screen with some controls at the bottom, so naturally she pushed one, (the button that she presumed would be the power button), and a camera came on that appeared to be inside of another lab.
Curiously, she pressed the next button and heard a loud beeping noise in the other lab. It startled her and she almost turned off the screen and shut the panel, but Max appeared on the other side, running to the screen in a mild panic. “What’s happened? Did you already set the place on fire?"
"What do you mean, already? Why would I set the place on fire?” She asked, annoyed. He sighed, but didn’t answer as he caught his breath. “What is this thing?” Charlotte had to ask.
“The two way caller. It keeps our two labs in contact in case there is an emergency or someone needs assistance. There are buttons at the bottom of the screen for calls, transmission messages, the rescue beam, the chute, and emergency. You pressed the emergency button.”
She winced a little, partially embarrassed that she hadn’t researched before just testing things out in a new lab. “Sorry. I’ll consult the manual for instructions.”
“Everybody with access to the lab should be familiar with that contact center. ESPECIALLY those who wouldn’t be able to solve laboratory issues on their own.” He tilted his head to glance behind her at Henry and Jasper.
“Will do,” she said, sidestepping into his way, to block whatever the boys were doing - something she was sure might embarrass her in front of Henry’s new (cute) housemate. He looked like he might say something else, and she really wanted him to, but he simply nodded, pressed a button and the screen went black. Charlotte frowned, turned around and assessed her boys. They were still ogling over the new space Henry was in, the “decorating” and “unpacking” reduced to still holding what they had in their hands five minutes ago, and pointing out other features of the lair to each other.
.
Max had his siblings over whenever Henry came in after a difficult shift. He was extremely tired, injured, and annoyed by a very persistent Charlotte who insisted on making sure he got settled in and his injuries addressed. She didn’t even notice the small group in the living room as she went to get ice from the kitchen, while fussing, “And if you think that I’m leaving AT ALL, you’re out of your mind…”
“Hey, Max. Max’s family. Excuse my friend, she’s had a rough night. Apparently when I get injured, it’s somehow her problem…” Henry said. Max narrowed his eyes at him. Imagine being irritated that your friend was trying to help take care of you…
Charlotte only then noticed there were 4 other people in the living room, besides Max. She grabbed Henry’s arm, told Max, “We’ll be in the tower. Sorry to interrupt your living room time.” She dragged Henry towards the tower and Max watched them bicker as they vanished through the double doors that led to the hallway that led to the tower.
“So, that’s her, huh?” Nora asked, breaking into Max’s thoughts. Before he could ask her what she meant by that question, Phoebe replied.
“That’s her! She does look much older than when I met her, but that’s definitely the same girl that was working for Captain Man back when we teamed up.”
“She’s REALLY pretty!” Chloe observed and everyone else agreed, except for Max. He wondered if they were trying to GET him to say it. If they somehow knew that he’d been thinking it every time that he saw her. That was nonsense, though. They weren’t around here that much. He kept silent.
“How are they as roommates?” Phoebe asked.
“Henry, my only roommate, is an idiot and a dweeb, so I don’t really spend any time around him or his two friends. He’s got a cool younger sister, though. We chat online a little bit,” he said.
Charlotte came back through the double doors and went into the kitchen again, apologizing, “Last time, I promise!” She said.
“Do you need any help, Charlotte?” Phoebe asked, getting up from the couch, concerned.
Charlotte looked at her for the first time tonight, recognized her and smiled, “Hi! No, I’m good. I just… Am a little upset with Henry right now but I’m the only person who can stitch him up. We need to catch up some time, though! I’ve been following your Hero Tracks. I featured one of your victories in my dissertation on the double standards for super heroines in modern society versus the ones in history.”
“PLEASE send me that!” Phoebe said. “Why don’t I help you carry some of this, since my twin insists on being a useless roommate?”
“She’s not my roommate. She doesn’t even live here!” Max called from the couch and folded his arms. Nora and Billy gave each other a look. What was HIS problem? Phoebe didn’t point out that she was HELPING the roommate, so whether or not she lived there was irrelevant.
Phoebe set the things she helped Charlotte carry to the medical table in the lab, which Henry was sitting on, shirtless, cleaning blood off of himself. Phoebe gasped at his wound. “Do you need more help?” She wondered.
Henry heard her voice and reached for his shirt. “Don’t think about it!” Charlotte said, sternly. Then to Phoebe, “It’s not the worst he’s come home with, but he didn’t immediately let me know!” Her eyes were daggers pointed at him. “I’ve got it. You should go back to your family day or whatever.”
“Ok. Well… you know, if you guys ever need help, Max is very resourceful. He doesn’t always jump to action, especially for people he doesn’t know very well, but he IS a superhero. It’s in him. Just let him know, okay?”
“We’ll manage,” Henry said. He didn’t like Max. They didn’t like each other, was more like it. Henry always felt like Max was judging him. (Max definitely always was).
“If we ever need him, I’ll remember what you said,” Charlotte told her.
After she had Henry in recovery mode and sedated, she put him to bed and went to put away everything she had borrowed. She heard shuffling in the house, but figured it was Max and company. Within a few moments, she was discovered by Max.
“He okay?” A voice asked and she yelped at the sound of it. Max seemed amused by her reaction, and judging by how close he was standing, she figured that he meant to startle her.
She caught her breath and nodded, “He’s fine. Scans showed there’s no permanent damage and I was able to address everything and get him settled for the night.”
“So… what ARE you two?"  He asked, trying not to seem TOO concerned with the answer.
"Friends.” The answer was quick and confused, but also… curious.
“It seems one sided, from what I’ve noticed. Of course, I don’t pay much attention to you people. Maybe I’m missing the parts where he comes to your rescue all the time.”
“I don’t need any rescuing,” she laughed.
“Maybe not… but, is he a hero, or are you?"
This conversation was making her uncomfortable. "Obviously, him.”
“Obviously? Okay.“ His smirk made her agitated. Because it was cocky and knowing, though she wasn’t sure what he supposedly knew, and also, it was smug, but he was still smoldering hot.
She furrowed her eyebrows and looked around, "What happened to your family?”
Almost instantly, Max quipped, “I know this is difficult to imagine for you, but whenever people don’t live here, they tend to go home after a while.”
She fumed. “I’m going home, now!”
“Are you? Or are you gonna go back to the tower and eventually convince yourself that Henry shouldn’t be left alone, wind up sleeping at his and not even get a thank you tomorrow when he wakes up to find that you sacrificed your comfort for his protection?"
"I… it… shut up, Max!” She snatched the nearest thing from the counter and stormed off. Then, quickly came back and slammed it down. A bottle opener. She had reflexively snatched it for dramatic effect, like she sometimes did when she stormed off from Henry, but this time, nothing here was hers and she wasn’t so clueless as to not notice that for long.  “This is yours!” She said, then stormed off again. “Jerk.” She muttered. Max smirked and shook his head.
.
Charlotte came through the tower entrance the next day (as she usually did). Even with approval to enter the lair, she didn’t trust that Max wouldn’t try something if she came through the main entrance.
Whenever she went into the lab to set her things down before checking on Henry, she heard the lab chute sound and she went to check on it. It was a two way chute that could be used to send things between the two labs, as long as it was secured and not volatile. Max rarely asked for anything, but who knows? She opened the chute and opened the canister. It was a bottle opener with a bow on it and a note: You’re cute when you’re angry :) She fumed at that sentiment. That was one of her LEAST favorite things to hear. Just because she was small, people didn’t take her anger seriously. She was about to give him a piece of her mind!
She marched over to the panel, pressed the button and held up the card. Whenever she did, she saw something written on the back of the note: J/K. You’re always cute.
Max came up to the lab screen and smiled, “See you got my gift.”
Her flared nostrils went down whenever she read the back of the note and she dropped her hand, warm faced and disarmed. “Don’t… play like this,” was all that she could say.
His smile was sympathetic, his eyes apologetic, but he asked, “Who says I’m playing?”
She tossed the canister back into the chute, pressed the button and turned the screen off on him. The equivalent of hanging up in someone’s face, kinda. HOWEVER, she tucked the note into her pocket. “Jerk,” she muttered again, this time with the trace of a smile.
1 note · View note
sprnklersplashes · 4 years
Text
heart of stone (7/?)
AO3
Unlike most of his peers, Damian isn’t excited at all about moving out. There’s a lot he loves about living at home-having a mom who cooks him his own meals, not having to pay bills, living withing walking distance of his best friends and a not having to do his own laundry. All those little conveniences are things he’ll miss sorely when that day comes, but the biggest reason has nothing to do with any of that. No, the reason he dreads moving out is because he’s not sure if he’ll be able to find a roommate that will put up with his constant singing around the house. Especially around audition time.
Which is why now, he’s practicing his rendition of Dressing Them Up in his bedroom, his mom being incredibly cool about the whole thing downstairs and Janis on Facetime, earbuds in and bopping along with him and giving him more enthusiasm than the actual audience probably will.
“You sound great.” She’s sitting cross legged on her hospital bed in a sweater and leggings, her face more bare than it was yesterday, but her eyes still bright and laugh lines creased around her eyes and mouth. She’s still her.
It was tough, seeing her for the first time, but weirdly, it wasn’t nearly as tough as he thought it would be. Once he got past the strangeness of the hospital environment and the little emotional hiccup she had with Cady, he knew she’s still her. Hard situation, uncomfortable new world, but still his Janis.
“You think so?” he says. “I don’t know about this song. All the forums say it’s a really good song to audition for the Emcee with.”
“And it’s your party piece,” she tells him. “Remember freshman year, you sang it for my grandpa?”
“I miss your grandpa,” he sighs.
“I’ll let him know. He calls me weekly now.” She shifts on the bed, tossing her hair over her shoulder. Before he even realises what she’s doing, he checks her arm. No IV in there. Why does that make him feel better? “So do you think you’re going to change it?”
“Should I?” he asks, looking through his music. “The audition’s tomorrow. I don’t know if I can research and learn a new song by tomorrow.”
“Then don’t,” she tells him. “You’re overthinking it.”
“You’re telling me off for overthinking,” he says rather indignantly, raising an eyebrow at her. “This is the same girl who texted me at 2 in the morning for my opinion on a dog meme to send to Cady.”
“I needed a second opinion,” she says.
“Thought you didn’t need opinions,” he teases.
“Maybe I need yours,” she says softly, the grin on her face lighting up the screen. “Dick.”
“Don’t even love you,” he replies, blowing a kiss softly to the screen. Janis giggles, hiding her face behind her hand.
“Okay, you have the scene worked out as well?”
“I think so.” He picks up the extract from his bed. He’s done it for everyone, Janis, his mom, Janis’ mom, Cady, even the plastics. He learned that day that Gretchen is amazing at giving weirdly specific compliments and also knows more about theatre than he’d have guessed. Maybe in another life she’d be a drama geek like him. “It’s just an audition anyway. They’re not looking for the finished product. Just potential.”
“And you my good man are 6’2” of raw mother fucking potential.”
“Janis, language!”
“Raw mother freaking potential. Sorry, mom.” Somewhere behind the phone, Janis’ mom says something and Janis chuckles, rolling her eyes. “I’m not allowed to cuss in here. Since this is a ‘children’s ward’.” She quotes the word with her fingers. “Which is apparently where I belong.”
“You are a children,” he reminds her.
“I am older than you!” she spits back, laughter shaking her voice. She leans back on the bed, tossing her hair over her shoulder. The joke slips from her face, leaving soft sincerity in its place. “Are you nervous?”
“I don’t get nervous.” She raises her eyebrow at him, of course. By now she can see into his brain like there’s a little window on his forehead. It’s why he can’t bullshit with her, and conversely, why she can’t with him. “A little. I just really want a good role, you know. It’s our last show.”
“Which is why you’re going to ace that audition so hard,” she tells him. “Just don’t drink dairy in the morning and do your breathing before you go in. And stay away from the candy!”
“Pity you’re not here to remind me,” he says.
“True, but I did take the liberty of passing on all the info to Cady,” she tells him. “She knows what to do.”
“You’re a hero, babe.”
“Don’t I just know it,” she says. “Are you going to do the whole ‘dress for the part you want’?”
“Of course.” He runs over to his wardrobe and shows her the outfit he’d picked out for tomorrow, black silk waistcoat and black skinny jeans, his dance shoes in his bag. “What do we think?”
“Oh, that’s so sexy,” she tells him. “We need to bring waistcoats back to the collective again. I miss them.” Before he can answer, she looks beyond the camera, nodding along to a conversation he can’t hear. She casts an anxious glance at him, so quickly that he would have missed it if he blinked. “Okay. Okay, yeah fine, I know. Okay fine.” She turns back to him, letting out a long exhale that makes the hair on his arms stand up. He can’t help it; he has built-in parental instincts and they’ve been heightened ever since Janis went to hospital. So much so that even when she flashes up a peace sign and grins, it’s hard for him to grin back. “I have to bounce. Go get a good night’s sleep, ace it tomorrow, and tell the drama club that my services are still available.”
“I’ll let them know,” he says. He sits on the bed, tucking one leg under his body. He’s reluctant to let her go, their time together so precious now. “I love you, honey pot.”
“Love you more, bitch.” Her face freezes and then she’s gone. Not gone, he corrects himself. Just… not around for him right now.
“Okay,” he exhales, giving himself a shake. She’s fine. She said she was fine, she looked fine, she is fine. And she will be fine. She even said that she might be well enough to come see him in the show, all things going smoothly. The thought alone is enough to make him smile. Of course she will. The show won’t be for months anyway. He just has to get through this first. So he picks up his music and bounces down the stairs, ready to treat his mom and sisters to yet another rendition.
                                                                                               *****
It’s just after second period when the nerves do start to kick in. He’s not scared or intimidated, he can’t be he approaches auditions the way Cady would a calculus test, as a thrilling challenge to be overcome and a way to improve, whatever the outcome. But like he said to Janis, it’s his last year. He’s not gotten parts before but would be different. He wouldn’t throw a fit or leave the show if he didn’t get it, those types of divas make him cringe so much it hurts. But he can’t shake the idea that it wouldn’t be as special if he were in the ensemble in his last year. Besides, this is his part. Always has been.
“Hey.” He jumps off the floor, so wrapped up in his own thoughts he’d barely noticed the person sliding up beside him. He’s even more surprised when he sees who it is; Regina, wearing a lacrosse jersey over her white dress and a smile that’s uncharacteristically apprehensive. Since when did Regina George doubts? More to the point, since when did Regina talk to him? He wouldn’t be surprised if she didn’t even know his name until Cady told him. He just assumed he was ‘Janis’ gay friend’ to her, nothing more. The same way she’s nothing more than ‘asshole Queen Bee I’d punch given the chance’ to him.
“Hi,” he says flatly. Her smile falters at his tone, and he has to hide his own smirk behind his locker door. Someone clearly isn’t used to not being given the golden treatment.
“So… how’s Janis doing?”
And the surprises keep on coming.
“You care?” he snorts.
“Yeah, I do.” Her tone is more defensive this time, the familiar anger that’s become her trademark making an appearance. Somehow, she sounds more natural this way. She shakes her head and tosses her dark hair over her shoulder. “You’ve talked to her recently, I’m guessing.”
“Of course I have. She’s my best friend,” he fires back, suddenly finding himself on the defence. Heat prickles on his skin and he wants nothing more than to get out of this conversation.
“I just… wanted to know how she’s doing,” she says, her voice quiet and her arms crossed over her chest. He closes the locker door and looks at her, trying to find some semblance of the ruthless predator he knows rather than the timid, vulnerable creature before him. It’s unsettling, seeing her like this, and he’s almost certain it’s a trap. “So how is she?”
“She’s great.” He slams the locker door closed and now it’s her turn to jump. “Janis is doing great. And she’s being let out for a week on Friday. So, she’s great.”
“O-okay,” she replies. She picks at her nails, her eyes growing wide. It’s only when she takes a step back that he can breathe again. She gives an attempted smile and it doesn’t look right on her face. “That’s cool. That’s good to hear.”
“Yeah.” He puts his bag on his shoulder and pushes past her. Admittedly, he does feel a little guilty here. Regina’s a horrible person, but she’s still a person, right? Maybe she is worried about Janis, that there’s some sincerity beneath the make-up.
No. Of course not. And if Regina wanted his respect, she should have started back in middle school. And in any case, why is he even thinking about Regina? He’s got way bigger things to worry about today than her.
He checks his phone at lunch, finding nothing from Janis. Which is normal these days. Normal re-adjusted pretty quickly and she’s just finished another round right about now, so she’s probably resting from that. Besides, no news is good news, as his mom likes to say.
“Damian. Damian!”
“Woah, yeah, I’m here.” He shakes his head, grabbing the side of the table. He really needs to tune back in today. Cady is sitting beside him, her hand on his shoulder and her eyes big with concern.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I am,” he says, patting her hand. “Just daydreaming, kid.”
“Okay.” Silence settles over them, tight and uncomfortable. It hurts. Janis’ absence hasn’t rocked their friendship at all, but at the same time it’s felt like there’s been something missing since the start of the year. And that there’s constantly something going unsaid with them. “When’s your audition?”
“T minus four hours,” he tells her. “They’re after school.”
“Speaking of I see you’ve broken out the two-litre bottle of water.”
“Are you kidding me?” he asks. “Honey, I am a professional.”
“A professional drama queen,” she teases. “You think you’re ready?”
“As I can be. My mom and sisters all gave me a standing ovation,” he says proudly. “And I think my cat liked it.”
“I mean that’s all the validation you need,” she says. “When you go into your first Broadway audition, all you need to tell them is how highly your cat recommends you.” They burst into laughter as Karen and a forlorn-looking Gretchen sit down next to them, Karen holding the other girl’s hand and looking helplessly at Cady and Damian.
“Hey, what’s up, Gretch?” Cady asks. Without a word, Gretchen slides a crumpled sheet of math questions over the table and lets out a huff. Despite trying not to look, Damian can’t help noticing the score at the top, and the “see me” written at the bottom. Cady’s face falls instantly as she takes in a sharp breath. “Well, it’s just the second week. And it’s one homework.”
“Oh, what’s the use,” Gretchen sighs. “I’m never going to get it. It’s all so complicated. I wish I had a brain like yours, Cady. You’re super great at math.”
“Well you’re good at stuff too,” Cady responds.
“Yeah,” Karen agrees. “Like you’re super good at English. And at picking out clothes.”
“I don’t think Ms Gardner will appreciate me picking out clothes,” she says glumly. “Besides, I need to get better at math this year. For one thing, my dad will totally kill me if I get another C.”
“Well… hey why don’t I tutor you?” Cady offers, changing Gretchen’s entire demeanour in an instant. She sits up and gasps, a smile breaking out across her face and lighting up the cafeteria.
“You would? Really?” she squeaks.
“Of course! I mean, I did all this stuff last year, so I know it well. What do you say?”
“Oh, thank you so much!” She reaches out the table and grabs Cady’s hand, and judging by Cady’s face, it’s stronger than you might think for Gretchen’s slight frame. “This makes me feel so much better.”
“What does?” Regina sits down beside her, looking from Cady to Gretchen and funnily enough, avoiding Damian entirely.
“Oh, Cady’s going to tutor me in math,” Gretchen explains.
“Oh, cool,” Regina says. “You know that’ll look great on a college application.”
“Yeah. I mean of course that’s not the only reason I’m doing it,” Cady replies, smiling at Gretchen. “But I know. All I’ve heard since we got back is ‘college applications’.”
“Me too,” Damian sighs. “And I am not looking forward to telling Miss Meyer I want to do theatre.” He rolls his eyes and mimics shooting his head.
“Oh, hey Damian, Cady?” Karen asks. “Can I ask you something.”
“Um… sure?”
“What kind of muffins does Janis like?” The four of them all fall quiet, Damian looking to a confused Cady before back at Karen, who seems to be the only one who sees the sense here.
“Muffins?” he echoes.
“Mm-hm. Well, I want to bake her muffins to cheer her up, and since you two are her besties, I thought you’d know,” she explains. “Trust me, there’s nothing worse than bringing someone the wrong muffins. One time my cousin brought my other cousin muffins that weren’t her favourite and I was so, so ashamed for her.”
“Oh, okay,” he says. Karen nods severely, apparently taking the muffins incredibly seriously. “Um… she really likes raspberries I guess. Oh, and white chocolate. That’s one of her favourite combos.”
“Perfect!” she chirps. “I’ll start shopping for those tomorrow. I told my mom about her and she said she might like something sweet.”
“That’s… really nice,” he says. Life with the former-Plastics is a surprise even after spending the summer with them. He isn’t sure how ‘former’ he’d consider them, especially Regina, but they’re softer than they were a year ago. Gretchen more caring, Karen more kind. Or maybe they were always like that and he simply didn’t notice.
As they get up to leave, he takes out his phone and checks it. Still nothing from her.
He walks Cady to her next class, the two of them being on the same floor.
“Should I wait for you until your audition’s done?” she asks him.
“Oh, you don’t have to do that,” he says, patting her on the back. “Go live your life, little one.”
“Okay, but…” She rests her head on his shoulder and warmth sparks in his fingers and a stupid grin crosses his face. “Would you like me to wait until after your audition? We can go to the donut place after?”
“Did Janis tell you to do that?” Grabbing donuts after auditions to unwind has been their tradition since middle school.
“Well, yeah,” she says, shrugging innocently. “Just thought it would be cool. It’s what you always do, right?”
“Yeah. Yeah of course, totally. That’d be awesome.” They stop outside her history classroom. “Okay, I will see you later.”
“I’ll be in the library,” she explains. “You can meet me there?”
“Awesome blossom.” They have a quick high-five before he sets off down the hall to American Literature. As he goes, he finds a small but fierce sense of anxiety sparking in his chest and he can’t work out what it’s for. Probably the audition. After all, no amount of experience can chase away the terror of this process. Waiting around, learning and re-learning lines, sitting by his computer waiting for an email and fighting through crowds to see the cast list. He puts up a confident face, but that will never stop shaking him.
He takes out his phone again, just to check the time and location again. There’s nothing from Janis again, which is fine. Completely.
“Damian Hubbard.” He halts and looks up at the face of his Literature teacher, Mr Bock. He’s not great, but he’s not awful either. Once upon a time he may have actually liked kids. “Is that phone meant to be out during school hours?”
“No, sir,” he replies, sliding it back into his pocket and hoping for the best.
“Well come on, you’re in my class next and I won’t have anyone being tardy.”
“No, sir,” he repeats, doubling his pace and making it into the classroom, looking up at the clock as he does so. Just three more hours to go.
                                                                                               *****
He spends the time waiting for his slot breathing and doing small vocal warm-ups, enough to get him ready but not enough to irritate anyone else. As well as consoling a fearful looking little freshman kid. There are few things in the world that warm his heart quite as much as seeing new faces in auditions and watching them bloom during the show. He always makes sure to build connections with each and every one of them, taking up the role he wished someone had done for him. By the time Damian’s name is called, the freshman is grinning and his hands are nearly steady and he even whispers ‘good luck’ before he goes in.
“Afternoon all,” he greets the panel; Miss Petersen, the director/oldest drama teacher, and the perky little new one, fresh out of teaching college and rearing to go, as well as the choreographer and head of the drama club. Three familiar faces and one new, all smiling back at him. Something he tells every freshman; they want to cast you. He hands the sheet music to the girl at the piano and takes his spot, always remembering to smile and compliment her.
“Hi Damian, how are you?” Petersen asks.
“I’m great,” he replies. He clears his throat slightly, not having realised how tight it was. Did he not warm up enough? “Ready to go.”
“Okay so what song have you picked for us today?” the new teacher asks. Miss Hadsell, someone said her name is. She’s cute, with wide dark eyes and blonde hair in a messy braid. He wonders if she also takes art, he hasn’t seen her around the art room.
Then he remembers he hasn’t been in the art room this year.
“I have picked Dressing Them Up from Kiss of the Spider Woman,” he says brightly, bringing himself back. Here and now, that’s what matters.
“Good choice,” Miss Petersen says. “And you’ll be reading for the part of the Emcee?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“Okay.” She grins at him, although it doesn’t really do anything to bring his focus back. What is wrong with him today?
He takes two deep breaths, and then another, and quickly shakes out his hands before nodding to the pianist. Once the song starts, he’ll be fine. Lost in the music, laser focussed. And he is. After missing the first note. He’s never missed a note before. Still, he manages to pick up the rest of it and keep going, throwing everything into it.
But it doesn’t feel enough. Like something is holding him back. Every time he’s sang this song before it’s come as naturally as breathing, the movements coming from him, not a character or persona. Now nothing feels right. Like he’s on a string and someone else is moving his limbs and every gesture is artificial.
By the time he finishes, it’s almost a relief. And he’s never thought that about performing.
“That was great!” Miss Hadsell says. “You must love that song a lot.”
“It’s an old favourite of mine,” he agrees. He can still bring this back. Maybe it was better than he thought.
He reads through two scenes for them before he’s asked to leave. At least those are stronger, partially because he knows them like the back of his hand. He feels more himself in them, or rather he feels more like the character. Even if his mind’s still a little fuzzy, it clicks for him. If only it could have happened earlier.
Rather than running right to the library and Cady afterwards, he sinks down onto a bench in an empty corridor, wringing his hands together. He doesn’t remember ever feeling that nervous or having an audition like that. Not even when he was a kid. Being in drama clubs since he could walk chased away the strong jitters that could affect him like that. So what happened in there?”
You know a voice in his head whispers. He goes to wave it off, but he can’t quite do it. Because what if there’s some truth in it. He’s worried about Janis, he’s only human. But he has it under control. She’s getting what she needs and she’ll be back with him by Christmas, and they’ll move forward like nothing ever happened. He presses his fist into his palm and bites his cheek. He’s handling it, and his own issues have never affected his performances before. Why would they now?
There’s no point in worrying now, he tells himself. It’s over, so just go home, tell everyone it was fine and whatever happens, happens.
It’s with that mantra that he gets up and heads to the library to pick up Cady.
                                                                                               *****
The next day is Wednesday and when he wakes up he’s suddenly immensely excited and won’t pretend he doesn’t know why. As his mom likes to say, ‘Wednesday is halfway to the weekend’. Which is enough of a reason to be happy in itself, but this means something more. It means it’s two days until Janis gets out of hospital and three days until they hang out again. They arranged it a few days ago; a movie night in her place, just like always, with blankets and pillows and junk food and an equal balance of musicals and old sci-fi and horror. So he can’t not be excited, so much so that it’s enough for him to block out the memories of his audition yesterday.
So when he half-walks, half-dances into the kitchen, it’s justified, and what’s more, his mom picks up on it.
“Someone’s in a good mood,” she remarks.
“Sun’s shining, birds chirping,” he replies as he puts on the coffee pot and pops bread into the toaster.
“Did you talk to Janis at all last night?”
“A bit.” He pours himself a cup and one for his mom. All the milk in his and one sugar for him, black and two sugars for his mom.
“How’s she doing?”
“She’s fine,” he says. “You know her. Tough as hell, fighting anything.” His phone vibrates in his pocket and it brings an instant smile to his face. “As a matter of fact that’s her now… oh…”
Janis’ message is a picture of the medical student, Jackson, fiddling with her IV, shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Below is the caption ‘forgot to send you this yesterday. Thought you might enjoy’. And a winking face, of all the emojis.
‘Appreciated, thank you,’ he texts back. ‘Though I am debating the ethical ramifications of this.’
He probably won’t get an answer for a while. She tends to sleep in in the mornings.
“Her poor mother,” his mom sighs, seemingly to herself. He looks up at her, her hands tight around the hug and her head shaking. “I mean, poor Janis as well of course. No one deserves to go through that. But if anything like that were to happen to you…” She runs a hand through his hair, a fond smile along with her sad features. “God knows what I’d do.” There’s a small moment, a sigh, and then she kisses his head.
“Mom, you’re so mushy,” he sighs, not meaning any of it. Mushy is a well-established Hubbard trait passed from mother to son and he’s not ashamed of it, not at all. It’s that exact mushy-ness that gives him the capacity to love his friends the way he does and let them feel it every chance he can. He’d never trade it for anything. “I have to get ready. Don’t want to be late. Love you!”
When he gets into homeroom, Cady is bent over her notebook with her pens out, which strikes him as odd. Surely the study bee Cady Heron isn’t catching up on homework already. He’s not even catching up on homework yet.
“Hey.” He pulls on her ponytail, a far more amusing way of getting her attention that tapping her shoulder. She grins and looks up at him, stretching out her arms. “What are you working on?”
“Trying to make a schedule for tutoring,” she explains, handing it over to him. The page is divided into seven days and those into hour long slots, and true to form, everything is colour-coded. School is green, Mathletes is blue, and so-called ‘Janis time’ is purple. Her name is written in silver glitter pen rather than black ballpoint, and there’s a little star doodled in the corner. It’s nothing short of adorable, and Cady’s cheeks go pink as he knowingly catches her eye. “Gretchen says she can’t do weekdays, so I might squeeze her in on Saturday mornings.” She takes the page and tilts it, scrunching up her face. “Wonder how many more I can fit in.”
“How much tutoring does she need exactly?” he asks.
“It’s not just Gretchen,” she says, shrugging. “I just thought, well, why not expand it. See who else needs tutoring? I could make some money off of it. And it looks great on-”
“The college applications,” he finishes, earning an eyeroll from her. Still, they both smile. “I think that’s a great idea little slice. As long as no-one’s faking stupid to score a date with you.”
“Oh hush,” she chides, swatting at him playfully. “Besides, no one would dare. Half our grade is kind of terrified of Janis.”
“We all know she could still kick their collective asses.”
“Even hopped up on chemo, she could.”
“Yeah, completely.” Something shifts inside him, and suddenly his smile feels more plastered on that natural. Keep it together, he tells himself. “So has anyone gotten back to you about tutoring?”
“I haven’t put the word out yet,” she says. “Although I did make this!” She reaches into her bag and hands another page to him, this time with a photo of her in the centre and “Tutoring Services-Math and Science, specialising in calculus” printed below it, and her phone number and email address in a different, cursive font below. And true to form, she decorated it with little ClipArt lions and tigers. “What?”
“Nothing.” He hands her it back. “It’s just very you. And if I needed help with math, I’d call you in an instant.”
“You flatter me,” she jokes, putting it back in her backpack and dropping it on the floor. It catches his eye and he doesn’t understand why it would for a second, but then he remembers. She bought this backpack the day they went to the mall. She picked the white one with the little frogs. Janis had laughed at it, affectionately calling her a ‘permanent child’. That was the day Janis had passed out. The day she had overslept. The day before she had gotten that doctor’s appointment. And all the while, none of them knew the truth. None of them had put the pieces together.
“Damian?”
“Oh, yeah.” He nods quickly. “Yes, you should definitely do that.” Across from him, Cady’s eyebrows are shot up, her mouth half open. He’s blown it. Whatever ‘it’ is.
“Okay,” she sighs. “Um… are you okay?”
“Of course I’m okay.” He leans back in his chair and tosses his head.  “Look at me, I’m the King of Okay, baby girl.”
“I know a bad Doctor Who reference when I hear one,” she tells him. She taps her pencil on the desk. If she knows a Doctor Who reference, then he can recognise a tell. She’s building up to something. “Look, it’s okay if you’re not okay. I mean what’s going on right now with Janis… it’s rough. It’s okay if you’re a little out of it. I am too.”
“Well that’s fine, but I’m not.”
The words shock him as soon as they leave his mouth. He wouldn’t be surprised if he hadn’t said them at all, rather someone behind him, and he wishes that were the case. He’s not like that. Those words are sharp and he’s rarely ever sharp. He made himself a promise never to be sharp or cruel or nasty unless absolutely necessary. He’s put in so much work over the years building up his cheerful, warm persona and it took a while for it to become fully natural. Apparently, he still needs work, because Cady’s face is falling at his outburst and she’s turning around him her chair and his gut is twisting and churning with guilt.
“Caddy, wait.” He reaches out and grabs her shoulder. “I’m-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it to come out like that. It’s just-I’m so sorry, Caddy.”
“Hey.” Cady takes his hand and wraps her own around it, giving it a comforting squeeze. “It’s okay. Everything’s a lot right now.” Is it? Well, it is anyone can see that. But he’s coping, he’s sure of it. He woke up today so full of happiness he may have burst. How did he go from that to this in the space of an hour?
“Yeah,” he simply says. He runs his thumb over Cady’s knuckles, still shaken from what he said. He grips her hand tighter as if that can make sense of it. “I’m sorry.”
Despite Cady telling him it’s okay, a bad feeling follows him around all day, guilt combined with something else he can’t figure out. It leaves him feeling nauseous and uneasy all through his classes and even during lunch with his friends. It sits there all day, right in the pit of his stomach and wearing him out. By the time his first class after lunch starts, all he wants to do it go home. That very last bell is music to his ears and he barely remembers to bid goodbye to his friends before bolting out the door.
His hands are cold and unsteady as he pulls books out of his locker, his heart beating quickly and faintly beneath his shirt. He checks his phone, his messages empty, and makes a mental note to text Cady later before closing his locker and heading to the front gate. Hopefully by the time he gets home he’ll have come back to himself.
“Damian!”
Oh god, he thinks, suppressing a sigh. Ms Towers slips out in front of him, a file held close to her chest and her glasses perched on her head. She’s the school guidance counsellor, someone he’s never really interacted with. All of his issues were either fixed or in the process of that by the time he reached high school. She sure had her work cut out for her when the Burn Book was released though.
“Um, hi,” he says.
“Could I grab a quick word with you?” she asks.
No you cannot is what he wants to say. The school bell has gone, I’m free now.
“Sure,” is what he says instead, and his body follows her into her little office and even takes the seat she offers. It’s only when she sits down that he turns off autopilot. “Is this going to take long? Only I’ve got a lot of homework.”
“Not long at all,” she replies. She clears her throat, pretends to fix some papers on her desk, and leans forwards on the desk, her hands clasped beneath her. “Damian, what you’re going through is very difficult.”
“That’s indeed one word for it.”
“And the schoolboard is fully aware of any challenges you might be facing this year,” she goes on. “You probably know your teachers are all aware of the toll this may take on your schoolwork.” He hadn’t actually thought of that before. “But there are many support systems in place outside of the classroom. I want you to know that if you need any of them, we would be more than happy to schedule something for you. You could talk to me, or one of my colleagues on the care team, during one of your free periods maybe once or twice a week? Or if you want, our pastoral care team would be more than willing to talk to you in the school chapel-”
The image of Damian sitting in a church sitting on a pew talking to a priest about anything is so ludicrous to him that he actually bursts out laughing in her face.
He’s really being the resident asshole today, isn’t he?
“Sorry,” he replies, making a show of clearing his throat. “Something caught in my throat. You know how it is.”
“Oh, of course. I can get you some water if you like.” He shakes his head, taking his own bottle out of his bag, and gives her a gesture to keep talking. “Just if you want to avail of any of these services, they’re here. We’re all here for you Damian. So… do you think you might?”
“I appreciate the offer,” he says. His hand wraps tightly around his knee. “I really do. But I’m fine. I don’t need any school therapy or anything like that.”
“I don’t mean therapy,” she says. “Well, I could. But just if you needed a quick chat. This is a hugely stressful situation.”
“I know,” he snaps. He takes a deep breath in. He feels as though his insides are shaking, like a town caught in an earthquake. “I know. But I’m fine. I’m coping. And I have my own people anyway. I’ve got my friends; I’ve got my mom.” He stands on sore and unsteady legs and puts his bag on his back. “Besides, everything’s fine. Janis is coming home this weekend and we’re going to have a movie night and it will be exactly like it always has been. So we’re all good here.”
He lets her nod before bolting out the door. He doesn’t let anyone slow him down this time as he runs outside, down the front path and out the school gates, only starting to slow down when he’s off that street.
All the while, he doesn’t let himself think about Ms Towers’ offer, because doesn’t need it. He’s good. He’ll make himself good if he has to. He’s had enough practice at that after all.
                                                                                               *****
Saturday night takes forever to come around. The clocks on the wall tick by too slowly no matter where he is. Janis must get home late on Friday, because at some time after nine she posts a video of her dog cuddling her on her bed with the caption ‘I missed this boosh so much’. While Maxie takes up half the screen, he can see the smile in her cheeks. She looks good, healthy, happy, and that’s the main thing.
But finally the time comes, and he’s standing on her doorstep with a rucksack full of treats, DVDs, and the sleepover essentials. Butterflies flutter in his stomach, something he hasn’t felt since the early teens, and he has to hold back his arm lest he press the doorbell again.
“Hubbard!”
“Sarkisian!”
The moment he’s in her house, he envelopes her in a hug, letting her head rest in his shoulder and his hand rubbing up and down her back. His knees buckle in relief once she’s back with him, back hugging him. Sure he’s seen her before back in the hospital, but that was too alien. This is home. This is real.
“Missed you, dork,” she whispers.
“Missed you more,” he replies. When they finally let each other go, he sees her dressed down, blue and green galaxy leggings and a deep purple sweatshirt with a cartoon dinosaur on the front. Sleepover wear.
In the living room, Laura is setting up a bowl of popcorn and a try of tortilla chips, as well as a litre bottle of water and one of lemonade. She brightens up at the sight of him, hugging him lightly like you would a family member.
“Nice to see you, kid,” she tells him. “Hey how were the auditions? Janis told me they were this week.”
“Oh yeah,” he replies. It’s an effort not to wince. “They were fine. You know.”
“Well, we’ll be expecting front row tickets,” she tells him. “And a discount.”
“Sorry Laura no can do. Janis knows the importance of providing funds for the drama club.” Behind her mom, Janis nods as she fiddles with the DVD player.
“Oh, Janis, hon, let me do that.”
“It’s fine,” she replies, force behind the words. “I’ve got it. Besides you’re the one always asking me how to work it.”
“Fair enough,” she mutters. “Well, you two enjoy your night. I’m just down the hall if you need anything.”
“Cool. Thanks Mom.”
“Do you want me to take the dog out?”
“We can keep him. I think he’s missed Damian anyway.”
“And I’ve missed him,” Damian adds in. Maxie is pawing at Damian’s legs, his head rubbing against his legs and his tail wagging.
“Okay, just make sure you keep him calm. Otherwise he won’t let you sleep.”
“We’ll keep him calm,” Janis promises. “He’s a good boy.”
Laura mutters something to the contrary as she leaves, the door clicking shut behind her. Janis rolls her eyes at her.
“She’s so mean to the baby,” she says, patting the ground. “Come here Maxie-boy. Isn’t mama just the meanest and nastiest to the poor baby boy?”
“Should I leave you two alone?” he asks, only half-joking. Janis looks up from where she was making kissy faces at her dog and chuckles.
“I missed him,” she says. “Can you blame me? Imagine not letting your dog into the hospital with you.”
“It’s lunacy all right.” He kneels down beside her, opening up his rucksack. “Okay, I brought chocolate peanuts, I brought mini pretzels, I brought sour gummies. And to top it off, I brought your faves… crispy NemNems!” He holds up the box of M&Ms, wiggling them in her face. She bats them away, grinning.
“Perfection. Okay, what do we watch first?”
“You pick. That’s the rule after all, remember?” he reminds her. “Your house, your rules.”
“Okay. Then I pick…” She holds up the DVD to him; A Nightmare On Elm Street and wiggles her eyebrows. One of her favourites, which just so happens to be one of his least favourites. He’s not a horror fan. It’s one of the few disagreements they have.
“Deal. But I may have to hide behind your hair.”
They settle themselves on the couch, a pair of blankets resting on the heater behind them and Maxie plopped on top of them for extra warmth. His little head is on Janis’ lap, demanding pets, and she is only too happy to oblige. He snuggles further into her with his paws up on his legs and whimpering whenever she so much as shifts.
“Someone missed you.”
“Yeah he did,” she replies, her voice fond. “You know when I came into the kitchen last night he peed himself because he was so excited.” She leans down to the dog and starts speaking in what they call her ‘Maxie-voice’. “Didn’t you to a peepee on the floor and Daddy had to mop it up?”
“Awww. Also ewww.” Janis digs him the ribs even as she laughs. Maxie is oblivious to this, his ears pricking up as he looks between the two of them. Damian cracks open the snacks, already commandeering the tortilla chips (what can he say, he’s a carb lover) and placing the rest of them delicately between them before opening the M&Ms and handing them to Janis.
“Oh, thanks…” She picks a few out of the bag while holding the dog down with the other hand, lest he eat something he shouldn’t.
When he looks back in the bag, it’s like no-one took anything. Sure enough, there’s probably only three or four in her hand right now. And they’re one of her favourite things in the world, ever. She’s hidden them under pillows at sleepovers before. Before he can stop, she notices him looking and gives him a shrug.
“I’m just not that hungry,” she explains, taking a sip of the water. “It’s fine.”
It’s fine. There you go. She said it’s fine, so it’s fine.
Despite that reassurance, and against his better judgement, he doesn’t stop taking peeks at her as the movie goes on. It’s probably a good thing he doesn’t like this movie. She picks at the food she would normally be fighting him for, eating a pretzel here and there and nothing else, only long, slow drinks of water. The hair on the back of his neck pricks up at it, his instincts once again kicking in.
Maybe instead of instincts, he thinks he might just be paranoid. Janis said that she hadn’t had much of an appetite recently. It’s just a side effect of the medicine. Nothing to be worried about, surely, especially with the way her eyes are wide and her grin is excited and bright, the way she jumps at scares she’s seen ten times over and ‘ooh’s at Freddy coming down the hall. She even calls him a ‘magnificent bastard’. Why should he focus on what she’s eating when she’s still her and is in good spirits? With that in mind, he turns his attention to the movie, properly this time, accompanied by Janis’ rantings and commentary.
When he does lose focus on Freddy Kruger again, it’s nothing to do with Janis or ‘instincts’, but rather nature calling, courtesy of a half-empty lemonade bottle on the floor. He stretches his stiff legs and turns to let her know, probably having to tap her to pull her out of the movie… only to find her curled in on herself, eyes closed, lips slightly parted. Her hand rests limply on Maxie and her chest rises and falls slowly. How long has she been like that, he wonders.
“Janis?” he whispers. Nothing. “Janis.” She doesn’t move, doesn’t even flinch. That’s her for the night.
She looks younger in sleep, especially without make-up. And a lot less tough. It’s easier to see her as the little girl he met crying in a bathroom all those years ago. But she was tough even then, and she’s even stronger now. He rises slowly, careful not to wake her. Maxie is still awake, but antsy at sitting down for too long.
“Come here, kid,” he says quietly to him. He lifts Janis’ hand a little and coaxes him off her, patting his knees until he reluctantly climbs down. He settles beside her instead, sitting beside the couch like a little guard dog. “Good boy.” Next he takes the blanket from the heater and throws it over her, making sure to tuck it over her shoulders. That’s what moves her, and for a second he panics, but she only murmurs something and burrows into it. His heart swells in that moment, and he presses a swift kiss to her head.
“Good night, kid,” he whispers, even if it’s still light outside.
He doesn’t go home after that. He sticks around all night, despite Janis’ mother asking if he wants to go home. Neither one of her parents are surprised she fell asleep, telling him she’s tired a lot in the hospital. Her dad heaves a sigh before telling him that’s how they know it’s working. Damian nods, unsure of what else to say, and heads back to the living room. The idea of leaving her alone in there unsettles him for whatever reason.
He slides Cabaret into the DVD player, the volume at 2 and the subtitles on. At least if Janis does wake up, it’ll be to something she likes. For now he bounces between watching the movie and watching her until he gives up entirely. He changes spreads himself on the couch next to him, the light from his phone the only light on in the room. As he does start to doze off, a mere four hours after Janis, he starts thinking about what her dad said. If this is how they know everything’s working, then he can take it. Because it means she’ll be okay at the end.
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neshabeingchildish · 4 years
Text
Share a Lab
Share-a-Lair 02
I didn’t MEAN to make this story SO Thunderbolt heavy, but I’ve been watching The Thundermans in all my little spare time and Thunderbolt is where my heart is right now.
@henryhearts @adorkable-blackgirl @chenoahchantel @kiddangers i think it was just y’all that read/gave feedback, or is Umana and has to be tagged on principle.
After Henry was moved into the tower, Charlotte began to check out the lab. Ray wouldn't let Schwoz take the time to go set things up, so she would have to do it herself. In her brain, that meant she might have to contact Schwoz for questions, but once she went to work, she was unstoppable and didn't require any assistance. Fortunately.
Jasper and Henry wound up decorating and unpacking while she checked equipment and made lists for what she might need to give this guy a functional laboratory. 
She opened what she believed to be a breaker box but found a screen with some controls at the bottom, so naturally she pushed one, (the button that she presumed would be the power button), and a camera came on that appeared to be inside of another lab. 
Curiously, she pressed the next button and heard a loud beeping noise in the other lab. It startled her and she almost turned off the screen and shut the panel, but Max appeared on the other side, running to the screen in a mild panic. "What's happened? Did you already set the place on fire?" 
"What do you mean, already? Why would I set the place on fire?" She asked, annoyed. He sighed, but didn't answer as he caught his breath. "What is this thing?" Charlotte had to ask.
"The two way caller. It keeps our two labs in contact in case there is an emergency or someone needs assistance. There are buttons at the bottom of the screen for calls, transmission messages, the rescue beam, the chute, and emergency. You pressed the emergency button."
She winced a little, partially embarrassed that she hadn't researched before just testing things out in a new lab. "Sorry. I'll consult the manual for instructions."
"Everybody with access to the lab should be familiar with that contact center. ESPECIALLY those who wouldn't be able to solve laboratory issues on their own." He tilted his head to glance behind her at Henry and Jasper.
"Will do," she said, sidestepping into his way, to block whatever the boys were doing - something she was sure might embarrass her in front of Henry's new (cute) housemate. He looked like he might say something else, and she really wanted him to, but he simply nodded, pressed a button and the screen went black. Charlotte frowned, turned around and assessed her boys. They were still ogling over the new space Henry was in, the "decorating" and "unpacking" reduced to still holding what they had in their hands five minutes ago, and pointing out other features of the lair to each other.
.
Max had his siblings over whenever Henry came in after a difficult shift. He was extremely tired, injured, and annoyed by a very persistent Charlotte who insisted on making sure he got settled in and his injuries addressed. She didn't even notice the small group in the living room as she went to get ice from the kitchen, while fussing, "And if you think that I'm leaving AT ALL, you're out of your mind…"
"Hey, Max. Max's family. Excuse my friend, she's had a rough night. Apparently when I get injured, it's somehow her problem…" Henry said. Max narrowed his eyes at him. Imagine being irritated that your friend was trying to help take care of you...
Charlotte only then noticed there were 4 other people in the living room, besides Max. She grabbed Henry's arm, told Max, "We'll be in the tower. Sorry to interrupt your living room time." She dragged Henry towards the tower and Max watched them bicker as they vanished through the double doors that led to the hallway that led to the tower. 
"So, that's her, huh?" Nora asked, breaking into Max's thoughts. Before he could ask her what she meant by that question, Phoebe replied. 
"That's her! She does look much older than when I met her, but that's definitely the same girl that was working for Captain Man back when we teamed up."
"She's REALLY pretty!" Chloe observed and everyone else agreed, except for Max. He wondered if they were trying to GET him to say it. If they somehow knew that he'd been thinking it every time that he saw her. That was nonsense, though. They weren't around here that much. He kept silent. 
"How are they as roommates?" Phoebe asked.
"Henry, my only roommate, is an idiot and a dweeb, so I don't really spend any time around him or his two friends. He's got a cool younger sister, though. We chat online a little bit," he said.
Charlotte came back through the double doors and went into the kitchen again, apologizing, "Last time, I promise!" She said.
"Do you need any help, Charlotte?" Phoebe asked, getting up from the couch, concerned. 
Charlotte looked at her for the first time tonight, recognized her and smiled, "Hi! No, I'm good. I just… Am a little upset with Henry right now but I'm the only person who can stitch him up. We need to catch up some time, though! I've been following your Hero Tracks. I featured one of your victories in my dissertation on the double standards for super heroines in modern society versus the ones in history."
"PLEASE send me that!" Phoebe said. "Why don't I help you carry some of this, since my twin insists on being a useless roommate?"
"She’s not my roommate. She doesn't even live here!" Max called from the couch and folded his arms. Nora and Billy gave each other a look. What was HIS problem? Phoebe didn’t point out that she was HELPING the roommate, so whether or not she lived there was irrelevant.
Phoebe set the things she helped Charlotte carry to the medical table in the lab, which Henry was sitting on, shirtless, cleaning blood off of himself. Phoebe gasped at his wound. "Do you need more help?" She wondered.
Henry heard her voice and reached for his shirt. "Don't think about it!" Charlotte said, sternly. Then to Phoebe, "It's not the worst he's come home with, but he didn't immediately let me know!" Her eyes were daggers pointed at him. "I've got it. You should go back to your family day or whatever."
"Ok. Well… you know, if you guys ever need help, Max is very resourceful. He doesn't always jump to action, especially for people he doesn't know very well, but he IS a superhero. It's in him. Just let him know, okay?"
"We'll manage," Henry said. He didn't like Max. They didn't like each other, was more like it. Henry always felt like Max was judging him. (Max definitely always was).
"If we ever need him, I'll remember what you said," Charlotte told her. 
After she had Henry in recovery mode and sedated, she put him to bed and went to put away everything she had borrowed. She heard shuffling in the house, but figured it was Max and company. Within a few moments, she was discovered by Max. 
"He okay?" A voice asked and she yelped at the sound of it. Max seemed amused by her reaction, and judging by how close he was standing, she figured that he meant to startle her.
She caught her breath and nodded, "He's fine. Scans showed there's no permanent damage and I was able to address everything and get him settled for the night."
"So… what ARE you two?"  He asked, trying not to seem TOO concerned with the answer.
"Friends." The answer was quick and confused, but also… curious.
"It seems one sided, from what I've noticed. Of course, I don't pay much attention to you people. Maybe I'm missing the parts where he comes to your rescue all the time."
"I don't need any rescuing," she laughed.
"Maybe not… but, is he a hero, or are you?" 
This conversation was making her uncomfortable. "Obviously, him."
“Obviously? Okay." His smirk made her agitated. Because it was cocky and knowing, though she wasn’t sure what he supposedly knew, and also, it was smug, but he was still smoldering hot.
She furrowed her eyebrows and looked around, "What happened to your family?"
Almost instantly, Max quipped, "I know this is difficult to imagine for you, but whenever people don't live here, they tend to go home after a while."
She fumed. "I'm going home, now!"
"Are you? Or are you gonna go back to the tower and eventually convince yourself that Henry shouldn't be left alone, wind up sleeping at his and not even get a thank you tomorrow when he wakes up to find that you sacrificed your comfort for his protection?" 
"I… it… shut up, Max!" She snatched the nearest thing from the counter and stormed off. Then, quickly came back and slammed it down. A bottle opener. She had reflexively snatched it for dramatic effect, like she sometimes did when she stormed off from Henry, but this time, nothing here was hers and she wasn’t so clueless as to not notice that for long.  "This is yours!" She said, then stormed off again. "Jerk." She muttered. Max smirked and shook his head.
.
Charlotte came through the tower entrance the next day (as she usually did). Even with approval to enter the lair, she didn't trust that Max wouldn't try something if she came through the main entrance. 
Whenever she went into the lab to set her things down before checking on Henry, she heard the lab chute sound and she went to check on it. It was a two way chute that could be used to send things between the two labs, as long as it was secured and not volatile. Max rarely asked for anything, but who knows? She opened the chute and opened the canister. It was a bottle opener with a bow on it and a note: You're cute when you're angry :) She fumed at that sentiment. That was one of her LEAST favorite things to hear. Just because she was small, people didn’t take her anger seriously. She was about to give him a piece of her mind! 
She marched over to the panel, pressed the button and held up the card. Whenever she did, she saw something written on the back of the note: J/K. You’re always cute. 
Max came up to the lab screen and smiled, “See you got my gift.” 
Her flared nostrils went down whenever she read the back of the note and she dropped her hand, warm faced and disarmed. “Don’t… play like this,” was all that she could say.
His smile was sympathetic, his eyes apologetic, but he asked, “Who says I’m playing?”
She tossed the canister back into the chute, pressed the button and turned the screen off on him. The equivalent of hanging up in someone’s face, kinda. HOWEVER, she tucked the note into her pocket. “Jerk,” she muttered again, this time with the trace of a smile.
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babydontherdme · 5 years
Text
Tusk Part 2- Frat Parties are the Absolute Worst
Fandom- The Order
Pairing- Eventual ....???
Warnings- implied assault attempt. Werewolf stuff. That’s it. 
“Honestly, you didn’t strike me as the microbio type,” I stated, casting a glance over at Tara. She sat at her desk as she finished reviewing a powerpoint, grinning slightly at my statement. “Guess I’m just full of surprises,” she chuckled, shutting her laptop. Strolling over to the mirror of the dorm room, she reached and turned on the attached lights. She took a dramatic bow.
“Now, get over here. You can’t draw a straight line for shit, and I think you would look great with winged eyeliner,” She instructed.  I sighed, feigning exhaustion. Dragging my desk chair over, I sat down in it right before the mirror. Tara leaned back, hand on her chin as she examined me. Seeming satisfied with her plan, she dug into her makeup bag and got to work.
“So how did you get into paleontology?” She asked, quickly covering my face with some liquid. Makeup wasn’t my forte, I ended up making more of a mess of my face than I started with. Tara was bound and determined to see me through the struggle.
“Honestly, Jurassic Park.” I replied.
“Oh, so you wanted to dig up dinosaurs?”
“Yes, but now I want to dig up plants.”
Tara cast a confused glance at me before turning and getting different tools. “How do you go from being interested in dinosaurs to plants? I think it would be more fun with animals. Close your eyes now.”
“I know it sounds lame, but I loved my Botany class back at my community college.” Shutting my eyes, I continued “Besides, for research reasons. Plants are so much easier. Animals can move around and mess up the picture of an ecosystem. Plants are rooted in one space and don’t deceive you.”
Tara gave a hum of acknowledgement. “Never thought of it that way. Now open your eyes but look to your left.”
After several more minutes, Tara stepped back. Giving a quick glance over and moving my head several times, she smiled. “Looks good. Now what heels are you wearing with that dress.”
“So, it’s been a week… you know which frat houses to avoid by now, right?” I asked Tara as we down the Greek street. One frat house in particular sported a homemade sign made out of someone’s bedsheets, stating Freshman Daughter Dropoff. Gag. Puke.
“I don’t party that much,” Tara scoffed, rolling her eyes in amusement. “But I think I have a pretty good idea. Fear not, I will never leave you astray; my dearest roomie.”
She pointed to a dark grey house further down the street.
“That one there. See? Not total scum.”
It was around 11:30 pm when I felt my social battery reach reserve levels. I had been sitting in a corner for a bit now, hoping to see Tara appear after we split paths. But she hadn’t. I grabbed my phone and quickly typed out: Where are you?
Time passed further and no response or sighting of Tara. Sighing, I got up from my claimed spot. The house was packed with people talking and laughing, the sound of chatter almost drowning out the song that was playing in the background.
Stalked in the forest too close to hide I'll be upon you by the moonlight side Do do do do do do do dodo do do do dodo High blood drumming on your skin it's so tight You feel my heat I'm just a moment behind Do do do do do do do dodo do do do dodo
Making my way through the living room, I stuck my head into the kitchen. No, still not there. Maybe she was upstairs? Turning back around, I shuffled between the same social clumps I just managed to get through to get to the staircase.
In touch with the ground I'm on the huntdown after you Scent and a sound I'm lost and I'm found And I'm hungry like the wolf Strut on a line it's discord and rhyme I howl and I whine I'm after you Mouth is alive all running inside And I'm hungry like the wolf
I had to admit; I wasn’t expecting to hear Duran Duran at a frat party. But I was not exactly complaining. My trip upstairs was short due to the amount of bedrooms occupied for recreational use. I concluded that Tara would have at least sent me a quick victory text if that were the case. I made my way back downstairs.
I stepped off the porch, the song and chatter becoming a dull thud contained within the house. I checked my phone again, just in case. Still no response.
“Hey, it’s…Sorrel right?”
My head popped up at the mention of my name. Before me was Lilith, a classmate of mine from Evolutionary Biology. When there are only ten people in the class, you learn names pretty quickly. Draped over her was…Randall?
“Yeah. Hi Lilith. How are you?” I asked, flicking my eyes away from my confused gaze at Randall.
“I’m good. This is my boyfriend Randall,” she stated, Randall giving a short wave when his name was said. “Is everything alright?”
“I’m just trying to find my roommate. I haven’t seen her for a few hours and it’s radio silence as far as texting,” I said, biting my lip. I hated to admit I was worried, especially if it was for nothing. After all, Tara and I were adults. We could drink without faking IDs. Surely that meant I didn’t have to lose my mind over one unanswered text…right?
“Hey if you’re worried, we can help you look for her. Besides, safety in numbers.” Randall offered. He opened his mouth to continue when we all jumped at the sound of a shriek coming from the park. Randall and Lilith gave each other a knowing look, before breaking out into sprinting towards the shriek.
“Sorrel, stay here. We’ll be back!” Randall shouted over his shoulder.
“Wait, no! I’m coming with!” I retorted, trying to run after them. I stumbled, curse these death trap heels. Kicking my shoes off, I grabbed them and proceeded to run barefoot after Randall and Lilith. My feet would hate me tomorrow, but I had a bad feeling about this.
Eventually I caught up to where Randall and Lilith had stopped. I had no idea how both of them could run so fast, were they on the track team? Panting, I slowed down as I got to where they were standing and evaluating…Tara?
Tara stood between them, slightly swaying and hunched over. But the bottom half of her body seemed to be the opposite, stiff. I approached and my eyes cast down to her feet. Instead of the heels she had chatted my ear off about, all I saw were…roots?
“Tara? Oh man, what the fuck is going on? What’s with your feet?” I sputtered, quickening my pace to a slight jog. Randall and Lilith turned towards me as I spoke. Randall groaned and slumped his shoulders, rolling his eyes.
“I told you to stay put Sorrel,” He griped. His hand caught my shoulder and prevented me from getting closer to Tara. “Listen, I know you want to help but we’ve got this. Besides we don’t know exactly what type of…. thing, we’re dealing with here. So, you should stay back.”
I wanted to snap something back at him, what kind of nonsense was he spouting? But all I would look at was the roots that came up from the earth and twisted around Tara’s calves, rendering her immobile. What on earth was this? Lilith crouched down to get a closer look, an angry grimace crossing her face. She and Randall both stiffened and looked back towards the woods.
A few seconds later, I heard the noise that they had apparently heard. Two guys came out of the brush with smirks on their faces. Randall quickly stepped in front of me as Lilith did the same with Tara.
“Geez, can’t a guy do any magic without somebody interrupting the fun?” the taller one goaded. The second one brought out a blade and sliced the palm of his hand open, clenching it tightly as the blood ran down his forearm. He looked like he was muttering something, but what?
My focus on the two strangers broke as I heard a rumble, a growl coming from…Lilith? I watched in awe as her veins darkened and her eyes lit up. Wait... were her eyes glowing?! I found myself being backed further away by Randall, as my awe turned into horror. Lilith’s body was contorting, but before I could figure out the transformation, a bipedal canid burst towards the two strangers, pinning down the one with the bloody palm.
The snarky tall one screamed, before running away. Just as quickly as Lilith, Randall also transformed into the same type of creature and pursuing him. I quickly made my way to Tara, who was still swaying in a trance. This was not the kind of night I expected when Tara asked me to go to some party with her.
I heard a crackle come from below, I looked down to see the roots untangling from amongst themselves. Once straightened out, they receded back into the ground. Without the strange form of support, Tara collapsed. I jumped forward and caught her, preventing her from dropping face first into the ground. My ears registered no more commotion; monster or human. Tara mumbled nonsense in my arms as I shivered from the cold and my terror. What the hell was all of this.
I heard the movement of brush and saw Randall exiting from the tree line. He was partially dressed in pants and shoes. As he walked closer, he managed to pull the hoodie he was holding over his head and onto his body. The wolf, I mean Lilith, followed him. He turned to her and stuck out his tongue.
“Remember when you made fun of me for putting out clothes caches? Who’s the loser now?” he gloated. Lilith pinned her ears and growled at him.
“Um…excuse me?” I pleaded. They both looked at me, as if just now remembering that I bore witness to what had just transpired. Randall walked over and kneeled, looking closely at Tara.
“There’s a reason why I told you to stay back, but I guess we can explain on the way back to our house.” He took Tara from my arms and hoisted her up, looking at me expectedly. “She needs a certain type of help.”
“What kind of help? The kind that removes magical tree roots from your feet?” I snapped back, still bewildered by the whole event.
“Oh, so you know it’s magic! Good, you will catch on quickly.” Randall smiled. Lilith rolled her eyes and grumbled. Randall continued, “I’ll explain when we fix her. I promise. But she has to go to our place, because we have the supplies.”
“Fine,” I sighed. At this point I would go anywhere with them, considering the ass-kicking they just served those two creeps. Standing up, I grabbed my heels and stared at Randall. “Just don’t lock me in your basement, make me put lotion on my skin, none of that serial killer shit.”
“You’ll get along fine,” Randall smiled, adjusting Tara in his arms. “This way, it’s not too far from here.” He started walking further out into the woods. I turned to Lilith, who nodded her head as if to tell me to go ahead. I followed Randall, and Lilith fell in pace behind me.
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canaryatlaw · 5 years
Text
today was...a lot. morning was actually pretty good, my emotions have just kinda been all over the place. I never notice when I’m in a depressive spiral until I hit the bottom and look back like oh yeah, that would make sense why I’ve been sleeping so much and feeling so anxious and stressed about work (and I mean, work is definitely a part of it, which really just means I need to get the position at the DV clinic that much more) and discouraged all the time, along with skipping church for like, a solid month, even going in for the babies one week but not staying for the service because I just didn’t have it in me. I think I need to really reevaluate who and what is important to me and how that actually has an impact on my life and wellbeing. Most of all I need to stop relying on other people for emotional fulfillment, because eventually they will let you down and I can’t keep putting myself through that pain. I’ve been thinking back to when my life wasn’t as crazy like it is now. I’ve tended to look back on that time negatively, at least in the positive moments now. But the truth was that while my life was pretty boring, I wasn’t depressed (save for the summer of 2017, but that was external circumstances that I couldn’t control). I was happy with the life I had and the friends I had, and god do I miss those friends. I’m talking to them in a GC on twitter like right now and I really just miss them. It’s been way too long since I’ve gotten to see them and actually hang out with them. And these are my friends- mine, not friends by association with someone else who I know aren’t at all loyal to me as actual friends and I really don’t trust most of them. Is it nice to have sometime to do on my weekends now? Yeah, it is, but the drawbacks have been beginning to weigh on me, and now I’m not sure that it’s always what’s best for me. I’m not saying I want it all gone, because for the most part I do very much like my life now, but there are definitely some things that need to change, because I can’t keep doing this. And more than anything I think those changes need to come from me, not anyone else. god, I’d kill for a good therapist that I was comfortable with and knew I could trust right now just to talk this all out with. I just need to be better with controlling my emotions and not getting attached to people who aren’t going to be there for me. I need to rely on myself, not other people. so that’s pretty much all the emotions I’ve been processing. I’m still split on whether I should say anything to my psychiatrist about it at my appointment Tuesday. It’s gotten to the point where I feel like I should, I’m just so scared of switching meds that might result in a very bad result like it has in the past, and I really don’t trust this new guy yet, so far all he’s done is prescribed the meds I told him I was already own, I don’t have any examples of his judgment on which to base a decision. But I realized today that it’s definitely worse than I thought, so at this point I pretty much feel like I have to, even though that scares me. sigh. okay, I think that’s all my feelings for now, I may come back and add more sentences while writing the rest of the post. but yeah, my day, let’s get to that. I woke up to my alarm at 7:15 and surprisingly managed to get out of bed without that much effort. Got ready, public transit was actually cooperating with my schedule for once and I literally made it inside the sanctuary 20 seconds before the service started, lol, can’t beat that. I had taken a seat next to this guy after asking if it was open, and we started talking a little, just bits and pieces during the service. and y’all, he was SO cute. Kinda preppy, wearing a polo shirt, but it looked classy, not douchey. so throughout the service (which I’ll get to in a minute) I’m like sneaking glances over to him. He just moved to Chicago, and it was his first time at the church, so we talked a bit about that stuff. And like, at this point my brain was setting off serious alarm bells (in a good way, lol) because finding single cute guys at this church is fucking impossible, and I saw my opportunity and knew I had to take it. So once the service was over I was just like “I’m never this forward, but are you seeing anyone? dating in this church is impossible because everyone’s already taken, lol” which he laughed at. He responded that he wasn’t seeing anyone, but felt like he wasn’t really in a good place to be in a relationship right now because he’s got some things he has to deal with, but if he was available he would *definitely* be interested, which he certainly did not have to add if he was just trying to blow me off haha. I said ofc I totally understand, and if he gets things worked out, he’d know where to find me. We left off saying we’d see each other in the weeks to come. So overall I’m declaring this a successful guy interaction! I’ve literally never done that before in my life haha so I’d say pretty good. But yeah the service was really good, started by talking about the beginning of Matthew reading the genealogy of Jesus (which is of course not terribly thrilling haha but that was the point) and then went to talking about how each person on that list had a story and how your story is going to impact the people around you if you allow God to work through you and share it. Really good stuff. And just to make it super awesome, they brought an ice cream truck and paid for everyone to get ice cream??? have I mentioned how much I love my church??? so so much, lol. these people get me. So of course I went down and got an ice pop before proceeding to the volunteer huddle, and it was very much appreciated. Once I was done I went to the volunteer lounge and we did our kick off, and then headed to the baby room. There were 3 of us in the babies and 1 in the walkers, but at this point we’d basically been combining them so it wasn’t really an issue. We started getting babies pretty quickly, and they just kept coming, and coming, and coming.....it was getting insane. and when I say babies I mean like infants, under 1 and either not being able to crawl or just starting to figure it out, and we were running out of rockers and just about anything else to put them in. So at this point it was getting to pandemonium very quickly. I think the final count ended up being 18 babies for 4 volunteers, which is NUTS. Thankfully our kids ministry people are super awesome and did everything they could to help out and took the crying ones on a stroller ride with the massive stroller they have, and that always helps. but yeah, in my 3 years of volunteering with the babies, this was the most babies I have ever seen. Like older kids? sure, I’ve seen plenty of those. but babies?? like those are sooo much harder and require so much more attention. so it was definitely a challenge. Apparently the reason for this was for some reason this service was absolutely flooded with people, with the sanctuary packed out and over 100 people (100!!! people!!!) in the overflow space, which is insane. no idea what triggered that, but definitely a good problem to have. so eventually the service ended and everyone got picked up, and after cleaning up I headed home. Commute home was fine, once I got here I had some lunch and was on my laptop for a bit before starting to get some work done, still doing case research so that’s at least preferable to writing for me, and I got 4 hours of work in so that’s good. I’m at 14 hours so far for the week from Friday to today, so to make 40 hours by the end of Thursday I gotta do 3 days of 6 hours and 1 day of 8 hours (or some similar combination) which is definitely doable, so I’m pleased with that. I finally stopped to watch the Teen Choice Awards, which I felt absolutely ridiculous doing, but I wanted to see Monsta X perform, so I stuck it out for them and was pleased with that. My roommate came home earlier than she normally does so we sat and watched it and mostly laughed at people. They ended up not airing like, the majority of the awards and ended it after two hours which was very strange. I could’ve sworn Monsta X got nominated for “Who Do You Love?” in like an international song category, but couldn’t find any proof of that anywhere, so idk. Of course BTS won every award it was nominated for, including best fandom, so no surprise there. Once it was over we watched the news for a bit and eventually my roommate moved to her bedroom and I turned to netflix and watched an episode of Sugar Rush before showering and starting to get ready for bed, and now I’m here. Ooof that was a long post, but I clearly had a lot to say. Hopefully tomorrow will be better emotionally and I’ll be able to figure out what I need to do going forward to take better care of myself. Until then, I definitely need to be getting some sleep since it’s just past 1 am at the moment, and I need to do at least 6 hours of work tomorrow, do laundry, and hopefully make a quick Walgreens run for face wash and milk, so plenty to do so I’m gonna go to bed now. Goodnight friends. Hope your Monday doesn’t suck.
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wethairjoel · 5 years
Text
Roommates Part 2
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A/N: Hey guys! Hope you like this. If you do or don’t let me know :) Also, I’d appreciate any kind of feedback, good or bad, my messages and ask box are always open. In this part I introduce Ben’s (ex) girlfriend. I didn’t use her real name because it felt kinda weird to write about her since she’s not a celebrity you know?????? 
Again, I apologize in advanced for any grammar mistakes.
Thank you @apinkwhisperscollector for your help (again). You’re the coolest.
Warnings: A tiny bit of swearing, nothing big I guess.
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The pair was greeted by Frankie. She looked very excited to see Ben again and she began later to sniff around Valerie and her bags.
“Let me show you around” Ben said, putting one of her suitcases down.
“So here you can find the kitchen, living room, a bathroom and dinner table” He said.
“Now if you follow me to the second floor” Ben said walking up the stairs, Valerie quickly followed him.
“My room is at the end of the hallway. Here’s the bathroom, and this is your bedroom” Ben said opening the door of Valerie’s new room.
“Wow it's perfect”, Valerie said with a big smile on her face. It it already had a wardrobe, Valerie only had to buy a bed, a small desk and a few basic bedroom things to decorate. Valerie arranged everything just like she wanted to. A mix of a soft, kind of warm gray, with white and a few lilac accents. Perfect. Just perfect.
A few months passed by, Valerie found a job at a jewelry store, the pay was great and had flexible hours allowing her to not lose focus from her number one goal, getting the PhD. Ben was beyond nice to Valerie, their roommate relationship was excellent. They quickly became very good friends. Ben taught her everything she needed to know about London, and Valerie was so thankful she found such a good person to live with, and a great friend too, he slowly became family to her. Ben thought the same of Valerie. She saved his life, he didn't really cook and Valerie's food was simply amazing. Finally he ate nice homemade food and not take out everyday. They kept each other company on late nights when Valerie had to prepare for an exam or when Ben couldn't sleep. They talked about everything and anything. Ben introduced Valerie to his girlfriend too, since Katherine spent a lot of time with Ben in their now shared home. Valerie wondered why didn't he just move in with her, but apparently she travels a lot for work. Anyway, Valerie sensed Ben’s girlfriend was kind of jealous of their friendship, she never was rude or showed any kind of discomfort, on the contrary, they kept a friendly relationship, but Valerie could sense something odd from her. Whatever, it wasn't her business, it's their relationship after all, she thought every time things got a little weird with Katherine.
Valerie made a friend in university, she was also in a PhD program, but in business administration area. Grace is a very organized and had a schedule for everything. Absolutely everything. She was the kind of person who thinks their world is going to collapse if something doesn’t go according to plan. Valerie is the opposite, not very organized, even though she tries her best. She hates routines and love thing to happen spontaneously. Grace added a bit of order to Valerie’s life and Valerie helped Grace to loosen up a bit.
Everything went so well in two years. Valerie's mom visited a few times for holidays and on her birthday. She never heard of Daniel again. Valerie still felt so guilty for being such a coward with the one person who gave her so much. But what's done it's done, there was no going back.
--- Two years later ---
Valerie is about to finish her PhD, finally, she is going to become a Doctor in Psychoanalytic Studies. Tomorrow is the presentation of her thesis, she's studying everything she wrote, she's getting ready to answer any questions the commission could possibly ask her. It's 8 pm, in 12 more hours she'll be presenting her work of the past year. Her room is a mess, sticky notes scattered all over the place with different drafts of her presentation. She's been planning and trying to rehearse this for almost a month now, but nothing really feels right.
“What if tomorrow I forget everything? Or if they ask me something I didn't study? What do I do Ben?” Valerie started to have a mild anxiety attack.
“No Val, you’ll do great, I'm sure. You are so smart, you know what you're doing. You did this huge research on your own, believe in yourself for once!” Ben said with determination, looking straight into her eyes and with his hands on her shoulders. “You're capable of so much. You've worked your ass off for this. I know for a fact that tomorrow you will do amazing. I can help you rehearse and teach you a few things to forget stage fright” He said.
Valerie smiled “Thank you Ben. You're an amazing friend” Ben’s words worked wonders, she was a lot more calmed now.
“I know” he winked at her. “Have you eaten something today Val?” He inquired.
“Hmm I had a cup of chamomile tea around noon? But I'm not hungry, I don't have time to be hungry honestly” Valerie affirmed.
“Oh no missy, you are going to eat something. I don't want you to faint tomorrow. Get up, I'm cooking for you tonight” Ben said, getting up from Valerie’s bed and standing in front of her. “Forget about this for an hour, you know you need to relax for a bit. I mean, you're the psychologist here, you know more about this stuff than I do” Valerie rolled her eyes and followed Ben downstairs.
“What are you going to cook though? There's nothing in the fridge and the pantry is almost empty” Valerie added.
“Oh did I say cook? I meant order some exquisite delivery. Do you prefer pizza or Chinese?” Ben said picking up his phone. Valerie laughed at his joke
“Hmm I'm in the mood for chinese”. Ben dialed the number on his phone and ordered the usual.
“Tell them to not forget the fortune cookies! I need one desperately” Valerie whispered loud enough for Ben to hear her.
The food arrived quickly, and they ate it even more fast. Both of them were starving.
“Okay, you were right. I needed food and time away from work” Valerie said getting comfortable on the couch.
“Well, of course. I'm always right”. He said cockily, walking to the couch with the two fortune cookies in his hand.
“Here, choose one. Let's see what the future holds for us” He offered her the cookies and she took one hoping for the best. Valerie didn’t believe in that kind of things but that night she needed any type of encouragement. They opened their cookies and took out the paper.
“You first Mr. I'm always right”
“No no, ladies first”
“No. You first”
“Ok, rock, paper, scissors. The loser goes first”. They played, and Valerie won. He sighed.
“Hmm so mine says ‘There is great love in your future’. What does that even mean? I already have a girlfriend” Ben said a little annoyed, Valerie laughed at his fortune.
“Hm maybe you'll have a baby? Or i don't know, you'll find another way to love? Another person to love?” Ben laughed at this. It was just a cookie.
“What do cookies even know about the future. Now is your turn. What does it say?”
Valerie opened her hand and read her fortune “ ‘The new year will attract the right person for you’ ” Valerie opened her eyes. It wasn’t what she imagined. “What? I was expecting something about tomorrow's presentation, not next year and specially not about my love life. But I guess you are right, what do cookies know about the future”. Ben nodded.
Valerie stood up. “It's time for me to go back to my presentation” She said a lot more enthusiastic than she was an hour ago.
“Ah yes. I'll be there in a minute”. Ben took his fortune paper and put it in his wallet, he went upstairs to Valerie’s bedroom and started to organize the speech and rehearse the possible Q&A.
Ben thought her some basic tips he uses to memorize his scripts and to fight stage fright, things that Valerie needed. It was 1 am, both of them were tired and needed to sleep.
“Ben, thank you so much for helping me out with all of this. Really. What did I do to deserve a friend like you” Valerie said with sleepy eyes and a huge smile. “Oh it's nothing, anything for my best friend. Now let's get some sleep. See you in the morning” He kissed Valerie's temple and left the room.
“What do you mean? You'll go with me tomorrow?” She shouted from her room.
“Yes, of course. I want to be there when you finish your presentation” He said from the hallway. “Now go to sleep” He said.
“Wow okay dad, see you in… 6 hours. And thanks again!” both of them shut their doors. Valerie couldn't help but smile. She felt as she won the lottery with him. Valerie was 100% sure Ben was the sweetest, most caring and dedicated person in all Europe. He always surprised her with little details. Sometimes Ben would show up at Valerie’s work with coffee and something to eat, he would pick her up from uni when it was pouring or made her a cup of tea before he went to bed when Valerie was up late at night finishing an assignment or studying.
In the morning, Valerie and Ben were ready to leave at exactly 7 am.
“Ben! Are you ready?” Valerie shouted from the first floor.
“Coming!” He shouted from the second floor and quickly appeared going down the stairs putting on his jacket.
“Oh, someone looks nice today” She said taking a last sip of her tea. He looked very handsome that morning. His hair was still a little wet and messy, his black sweater made his eyes look brighter than any other day. Valerie was almost perplex.
“Thanks. You look like you did an effort, too” Ben said teasing her. “Why are you looking at me like that?” He asked. Valerie panicked realizing she was in fact staring at him.
“Your hair. Let me fix it” Valerie said, walking towards him and putting his messy blonde locks in order. This wasn’t the first time Valerie fixed Ben’s hair, but for some reason he didn’t want her to stop, this time it felt special maybe? He thought. His heartbeat quickened and  Ben hoped she didn’t notice his face getting red, too.
“Okay, ready. Now let’s go, we’re gonna be late!” Valerie said, making him come back to reality.
They got in Ben’s car and drove off. With all the traffic, they barely got there on time. Valerie was trying to run as fast as she could but her heels were interfering. Ben just laughed so hard at the scene.
“What's so funny?” Valerie snapped.
“Nothing Val, I'm sorry. Come on. You'll be late”. He said grabbing Valerie's hand, running to the auditorium. They got there 5 minutes early.
“Ah Thank god. It's 7:55”. Valerie said. Neither Ben and Valerie realized they still were holding hands.
“Val! You made it on time. Thought you’d be late” A familiar voice said behind them.
“Grace! What are you doing here? I thought you had to work today” Valerie said, hugging her with her free hand.
“Well, surprise! I wouldn't miss this for the world. It's your big day!”.
Valerie noticed Grace staring somewhere, only then she realized she was still holding hands with Ben.
“Jesus, I’m sorry” she muttered, letting go of Ben’s hand.
“Shit sorry Val. I um, I'm going to uh. Over there”. His cheeks were all shades of red, he started walking down the hall.
“So… What's that about?” Grace said with a little wink.
“It's nothing he just grabbed my hand because we were late and I couldn't run with this heels” Valerie said blushing.
“Sure, Val. Okay. I'll pretend I buy that”. Valerie just rolled her eyes.
She was about to say a witty comment when her professor called her name. “Miss, we're ready for your presentation. Please come in”.
Ben heard this and walked back to Valerie. He gave her a big bear hug “You’ll do amazing Val. We'll be here when you finish. Good luck”. There was this feeling again, the same he felt earlier when his best friend was fixing his hair.
“Good luck!” Grace quickly added, waving goodbye before Valerie went into the auditorium.
---
Almost an hour later Valerie opened the door. Ben rushed over her, Grace following him. Valerie came out with a smile, looking relieved, she just hugged her friends.
“Thank you Gracie for being here. Thank you for bearing with me through all of this. I did it!” Valerie said, with a cracked voice. Ben hugged her next.
“I knew you'd do perfect. I'm so proud of you!” He said, spinning Valerie around.
“Ben put me down!” Valerie said, slightly punching him on his chest.
“I gotta call my mom, I’ll be right back” Valerie went out to tell the good news to her family. It was a long call, Valerie's mother was beyond excited and so proud of her little girl. Neither could hold back tears, wanting to be sharing this moment, but they'll have time to celebrate another time. Valerie hanged up the phone and went back to Grace and Ben.
“Hey Val, have you planned what you're doing tonight?” Grace asked.  
“Jeez I don't know. I'm exhausted to be honest. I just want to sleep for like a week before thinking about partying like there's no tomorrow” Valerie laughed.
“Oh no no no, celebrations begin tonight.” Ben announced.  “It's… almost 10 am. You have all day to sleep. I already called your friends from work, my friends, bought a lot of alcohol and we are going to party tonight.” He put his hand behind on Valerie’s back. “You don't become a Doctor in Psychoanalytic Studies every day”. Valerie rolled her eyes and smiled. Again, Ben being sweet. Way too sweet, he really didn’t need to do all of that for her, but he wanted Valerie to feel like home. He knew how much he missed her family and old friends and somehow Ben tried his best to make it easier for her.
“Okay Ben. If you went through all that trouble just for me, then I'll do it. You can invite your friends too Gracie. Don't forget to invite Joshua”. Valerie said, whispering the last part.
“Sure. I won't forget”. Grace hugged her friend.
“Val, I'm extremely proud of you. I have to go now. See you tonight” Grace waved goodbye and left. Ben and Valerie started walking back to Ben’s car.
“So who is Joshua?” Ben said.
“Uhm I met him on Grace's birthday, he's a close friend of hers. Really sweet and smart. Kinda good looking too” Valerie said with a sort of dreamy smile.
“Sweet, smart and good looking. He's got the whole package then, huh?” Ben said in a weird tone he never used with Valerie before.
“I guess, Why?” Valerie questioned, a bit confused.
“Just saying. So you're over your ex then?” Ben said, never looking at Valerie.
“What? Why’d you say that? You know I hate to talk about that” Valerie hissed.
“Well, in two years you haven't gone on a single date and suddenly you want to meet guys and stuff” Ben explained
“Ben that's literally none of your business. What's the matter with you?” She groaned. She couldn’t believe what he just said.
Ben realized what he just said, he went there, the only topic Valerie made him promise he would never bring up again because it really hurt her to remember how shitty she was with Daniel.
“I am so sorry, I- You're right, it's none of my business. Sorry Val” He said, deeply regretting bringing up that topic.
“It's fine I guess” She sighed.
The car ride back home was awkward. Valerie couldn’t think why Ben suddenly acted a little jealous? And talking about Daniel. God, he knew how much Valerie didn’t want to be reminded of her ex, but maybe he's right, Valerie is over Daniel. Sure, what she did was awful but it can't be undone. She needs to be at peace with that. On the other side, Ben was still impressed on the way he was talking to Valerie, his best friend. She didn't owe him any explanation of how many guys she was talking to, or how many dates she'd go to or anything regarding her love life. He would always be there for her if she wanted to talk about it, but it wasn't his place to act jealous. No. He had a girlfriend too. They have been together for 9 years, what is even happening to him? In this 9 years of relationship he never even looked at other women. He only has eyes for her. He even thinks she's going to be the mother of his children, his wife maybe. Why he is jealous of this guy that Valerie wants to see tonight? This is not right. They arrived home.
“Thank you again for being there” Valerie said opening the door and heading upstairs to sleep for the rest of the day. Ben stood there still confused. He then went to his room started to read and answer emails.
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fortitude-sakura · 6 years
Text
Noir [1/?]
AO3
Summary: We wander through the darkness, alone and blind. That is, until we find each other and walk into the light together.Love blossoms in many different ways and at different times. It's beautiful any way you look at it.
Rating: M 
Tags: Corporate AU
next
“Sakura!” A sweet, feminine voice sing songed from the hallway. “Congrats!”
Sakura’s roommate Tenten bounced into their tiny living room, the widest grin on her face.
“Thanks, Tenten.” She smiled, looking up from her laptop over her shoulder.
“I got you something.” Tenten announced, leaning over the back the couch, dangling an envelope in her roommate’s face. “Something to celebrate you finally finding a job.”
“An internship.” Sakura corrected, as she took the envelope and opening it up.
“It’s a paid internship, that’s what counts!”
Tenten had gotten her a gift certificate to Serenitea House, a fancy tea house in the city. It was a really popular place because of how aesthetically pleasing everything was from the food to the decor and so she saw it a lot on Picstagram.
“Oh wow! You’re the best Tenten, thank you!” she said, hugging her roommate. “You wanna go tomorrow since it’s Saturday?”
“Sounds like a date.” Tenten said, winking mischievously.
“I’ll pick you up at 1.” Sakura laughed. “It’s not as if I have a better offer.”
“Rude!” Tenten pouted comically, hitting her roommate with a throw pillow. “I’ll have you know I’ll be the best date you’ve ever had.”
The tea house was styled with traditional Japanese elements - wooden furnishing, panelled walls with linen pillows - as well as more modern design - their desserts and drinks were served on delightfully minimalist dinnerware. They had been seated by the window, where the lazy Saturday sun, made the small koi pond outside sparkle.
“So which company is the internship with again?” Tenten asked, peering inquisitively at her assorted tea jellies.
“Uchiha Enterprises. You know, I’m surprised I got the internship there since I’ve applied to nearly every single job in this city.” Sakura replied, taking a sip of her hojicha latte. Serenitea House really lived up to all the hype, the hojicha was divine.
“Well, since it’s a paid internship, we can finally stop eating like we’re broke students.” Tenten laughed.
Indeed, in the last 2 years they had lived together they really did eat like they only had $100 to feed the both of them, so much so that Tenten developed a signature instant ramen dish (which really was just ramen noodles stir fried with whatever she could scrounge up with a spicy sauce).
“You’ll still cook noodles for me though, right?”
“Of course, otherwise the only thing you’ll have for the entire day is a coffee and a muffin.” Tenten giggled. “Anyway, when do you start?”
“Monday. Which reminds me, do you have a blazer I could borrow?”
“You don’t have anything?”
Sakura shook her head. Between her job searches and meagre part time wage, she had only bought a single black sheath dress to wear to interviews.
Tenten thought for a moment. “I should have something. I’ll have to take it in though - you’re a lot smaller than I am.”
That was the benefit of having a friend that was a tailor - she could make anything fit you like a glove. Sakura had wide hips but wasn’t very tall, so she would often have to buy pants that were slightly larger resulting in extra pant length. Sakura also had the issue of a lot of clothing being too loose in the chest, much to her dismay. Over the years, Tenten had taken up many pant hems and taken in clothes that were too big or loose for Sakura.
Tenten herself shared Sakura’s pain with ill fitting, off the rack clothing, although her issues were attributed to  a generous chest and what she liked to refer to as Thundaga thighs (a result of playing too much Final Fantasy).
“Tenten?” a soft voice questioned.
Tenten jumped slightly and looked up to see a pretty, gentle faced girl with long silky black hair. Her lavender coloured cashmere sweater brought out small hint of lilac in her pale eyes and emphasized the slight purple lustre to her hair.
“H-Hinata! Hi!” Tenten said, rather started. “This is my roommate, Haruno Sakura.”
Sakura smiled and gave her a polite head bob.
“It’s been a while! Are you having tea here too?”
The girl called Hinata smiled softly, her pale purple eyes twinkling. “Oh um, kind of. I opened this tea house.”
“Really?” Sakura exclaimed, “The tea and desserts here are amazing!”
“Thank you. We also serve light meals too! Our chef, Koma-san is very talented. Please let me know when you’d like to try them - I’ll save a private room for you.” Hinata said earnestly, reaching into her expensive leather handbag and producing her business card. “Just send me a message or call me.”
“Thanks! We will!” Sakura said, waving as Hinata left the two girls to their tea.
She looked over the business card. ‘Hyuga Hinata’ was embossed on the heavy cream coloured card, her phone number just below her name. She opened her mouth to say something but Tenten looked like she was in a faraway place, her eyes glazed over with hints of reminiscence.
The first week at Uchiha Enterprises did not go as she expected. She had been slightly nervous about the idea of having to get straight to work but it seemed as though the first week was purely for orientation and administrative matters.
After getting her photo taken and keycard printed, Sakura, along with a dozen other interns were given lengthy presentations from a Takaya-san from the Talent Acquisition Department (which was really just a fancy name for Human Resources) on how the Internship Program worked (a quarterly department rotation in order to best determine suitability beyond the program if the participant passed), various employee incentives (from discounted movie tickets, corporate discounts to the famous Employee Housing Program). Lunch had been generously catered for each day, even though there was supposedly a subsidised staff cafeteria.
At lunch, her fellow interns were discussing the many benefits of working here.
“So, did you guys apply for the Employee Housing thing?” a tall, dark haired guy name Shoichi  asked, tucking into his turkey and cranberry focaccia.
“No,” Hiromi sniffed, tossing her shiny golden hair over her shoulder as she picked at her salad with ladylike delicacy, “I don’t live far away enough to qualify.”
Takaya-san talked about the Employee Housing Scheme that morning. Apparently it was a new incentive that Uchiha Itachi had started to encourage applications from talented individuals that would not have otherwise applied due to location.
“That was the only reason why I applied.” Toshiro piped up, pushing his glasses up his nose. “This was the only company in Konoha I applied for. I had offers back in Suna from high profile companies, but ultimately the program was what convinced me.” he said rather haughtily.
Of all the interns, Toshiro was the one she liked the least. He was always humble bragging, talking about what other companies made him offers and how he graduated from University of Suna magna cum laude . If she had to endure another conversation of him and his IQ (“142, that’s genius territory.”) she’d punch him (or not, since it was technically physical assault and she’d get terminated).
After lunch and the inevitable lull of sleepiness that followed (too much good food can be a bad thing after all), they were given a “quick tour of the office” as Takaya-san put it.
The Uchiha Enterprise owned the land the building stood on and subsequently owned all 38 floors of said building. Takaya-san also noted that the Uchiha Enterprise also owned other various buildings, including a high rise and a small block of apartments that were used in the Employee Housing Program.
Most departments took up a single whole floor, while others took up several.  Some departments (mostly the marketing and creative departments) had surprisingly modern office concepts - open offices, bean bags, feature walls and even table tennis tables - while other floors were more traditional - cubicles, potted office plants and file boxes piled everywhere.
They all piled back into one of the 6 elevators after touring the sad cubicles of the Finance Department when Toshiro spoke up.
“So is the 38th floor, Uchiha Sasuke’s office?”
Takaya-san was looking rather annoyed as did everyone else. Toshiro kept commentating on almost everything as they toured the office. Hiromi and Ami gave him withering looks and shuffled away from him.
“It’s Director Uchiha to you.” snapped Takaya-san. Poor Takaya-san. She had been rather patient the entire time but even she had her limits. “But yes, 38th is the Director’s Office.” she said, swiping her keycard and pressing the ‘38’ button.
The rest of the interns started murmuring with interest.
“The man’s a proper genius. Not as brilliant as Uchiha Itachi, but still.” Shoichi said in awe.
Hiromi and Ami were giggling about how they had seen Director Uchiha on the cover of Konoha Business Review. Toshiro let out a little scoff, muttering under his breath how he too had won awards at his alma mater too.
Sakura didn’t know a thing about Director Uchiha. She had applied for the internship on a lark, received an interview invitation that day, interviewed the next and received the offer later on that afternoon. She had directed her research to the company itself and its subsidiaries, not the actual director himself and knew nothing other than his name.
The elevator doors opened with a gentle ‘ ding! ’ and the interns were greeted by a beautiful lobby - dark marble floors and a wood panelled wall feature, the Uchiha Enterprise logo emblazoned upon it. An attractive woman was shuffling papers around at the reception desk, looking up as they exited the elevator.
“Hi Akane, I’m doing an office tour for our new interns.” Takaya-san gestured to their group, “Is the Director here?”
“He should be. I don’t have any appointments for him and I haven’t seen him leave.” Akane said with a warm smile.
“How’s his mood?” Takaya-san whispered.
“Well, Keiko didn’t get his coffee order wrong for once so I’d say it’s as good as you’ll get.” she said quietly, before pushing a few buttons on the phone. “Keiko? Let Director Uchiha know that the new interns are here taking their tour.”
“Uh… sure.”
Seriously, it’s not fucking difficult to get a damn coffee order correct.
Sasuke paced around in his office, the takeaway cup from Milk Grind in his hands. Getting Keiko to grab him his daily dose of caffeine was like playing Russian Roulette - you never knew which one she’d come back with. She’d come back with long blacks, short blacks, cappuccinos, flat whites (an Australian specialty that Milk Grind prides itself on), flavoured lattes. The list goes on. Once she came back with an iced latte (despite his request for a hot drink) and another time she came back with a hot chocolate (which didn’t even have caffeine in it!).
Kakashi probably thought it was funny, hiring him an executive assistant that couldn’t follow instructions. However he didn’t really have a legitimate reason to terminate Keiko’s employment. Even though Keiko seemed to be incapable of remembering his coffee order, she was doing the rest of her job to a reasonable level.
His intercom buzzed. Speak of the devil .
“Director, the new interns are here in the lobby. On their tour.” she drawled lazily.
“I’m busy Keiko. Give them my apologies, I’ll arrange another time to meet them.”
The intern program had been overhauled by his brother during his term as Director. No longer were interns delegated menial tasks like photocopying and fetching coffee, they were given actual work. His reasoning was that interns were an excellent way of finding untapped talent - how were we supposed find out if they were talented if all they’re made to do is stand guard at the photocopying machine? His brother also went out of his way to make sure that new employees were given tours of the office - including the executive floor.
While his brother may not have minded new employees poking around his office, he certainly did.
He wasn’t Itachi. When would anyone get that?
Sakura had been put into a software development team as a business analyst. Her fellow interns were also doing business analyst work, including the insufferable Toshiro. The faint silver lining being was that he was in a different team which limited their interactions some.
Her work was challenging and her colleagues were all friendly and accommodating. On the whole, she had no complaints except for the frequency of the coffee runs mandated by the Team Leader. It also hadn’t helped that Sakura decided to get the coffee from a local coffee house called Milk Grind instead of Starbucks - the team loved the coffee so much that it was decided that it would fall on her shoulders to get coffee and snacks.
Still, they were a nice excuse to get some fresh air during the day (even if she got fresh air on an average of 3-4 times a day). This coffee run included 7 lattes (one regular without sugar, one regular with a single sugar, one with skim milk, two with almond milk, one caramel and one iced) and snacks. She had become quite adept at carrying all the coffees and snacks back to the office, a talent that she wasn’t sure if she should be proud of or not.
“What will it be this time, Sakura?” a roguish looking barista asked, leaning on the counter. When you come down for coffee runs multiple times a day, you make fast friends with the staff.
“Hi Kiba.” She rattled off the list and added a chai latte for herself. Kiba had convinced her to try a chai latte and was pleasantly surprised by the sweet spiciness and had been ordering them since. “Oh and I’ll take three of the chocolate chunk cookies, three almond croissants and two of the raspberry slices.”
“Woah, not watching the scale are you?” Kiba laughed with a wink.
“Not in the slightest.” she quipped back, grinning.
Sakura sat down at one of the tall tables while she waited for her gigantic order. Aside from the fresh air, she enjoyed watching the people at Milk Grind because you’d encounter a wide range of people, from caffeine deprived corporate slaves to ironic hipsters in flannel to hypebeasts flexing their new Keezys.
Her eyes fell squarely on one person though. A dark haired man, dressed smartly in a crisp white shirt, navy slacks and shoes the colour of cognac. His sleeves were pushed up to his elbows, showing off his forearms. His  side profile showed a high nose and a well defined jawline which gave way to-
Is that a piercing?
His ear was pierced with a black flat button stud.
'Damn’ was the only thought that came into her head. Her eyes traced his face again. For a man he had surprisingly delicate features and yet, when you pieced it all together it was perfect in every masculine way.
“Here you are, mate. Latte with one sugar.” the Australian bartender said, handing the tall dark haired stranger his drink. “See ya later.”
The handsome stranger raised his takeaway cup as a gesture of thanks.
Realising she had been staring just a second too long,  she averted her eyes away, fighting the blush that was rushing to her cheeks. She suddenly found much interest  in the bags of coffee beans for sale as the man walked past. She began to wonder about him - what did he do? Did he work in an office? Is he even from around here?
“Hey Sakura! I’ve got your order!” Kiba called out to her a few moments later.
Snapping out of her thoughts, Sakura startled, knocking over half the little bags of coffee beans on the shelf in her surprise.
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starryeyed-char · 6 years
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Expecto Patronum (2/7)
Hunk
Second part of my self indulgent Harry Potter AU. You don’t really have to read them in order, but you should. Basically, I’m doing all of the happiest memories they use to cast their patronuses, and this chapter is about Hunk. I hope you enjoy! It’s 3 AM now so I might have to edit this tomorrow but it’s fine.
Hunk had always been a family-oriented guy. He loved his relatives more than anything in the world, and he spent all his time with them, even though his moms were in the very small percentage of wizarding families that had decided to send their children to public school until they grew old enough to go to Hogwarts. Most would just homeschool their kids.
But Hunk had never had many friends. At school, he was shy and anxious, and never talked to anyone much. The other students teased him for his weight more often than not. Then again, if you accidentally make things happen that no one but you understands, that gives bullies plenty of material.
Hunk had been terrified to go to Hogwarts, to be away from his family and at the mercy of people who would probably just end up being new bullies for nine whole months. He wouldn't even have any siblings there his first few years, since he was the oldest. His parents, both witches who had gone to Hogwarts and in fact met there, assured him he would love it, but Hunk wasn't so sure.
Which is why it was surprising that Hunk's happiest memory didn't take place at home, or with his family. It involved only him and one other person, a person he was meeting for the first time.
But it also made sense, because of the impact this one specific person had had on his life since that time. He was Hunk's first friend, his best friend.
No matter how many happy memories Hunk had with his family, no specific moment could hold a candle to the day he met Lance McClain on the Hogwarts Express.
  Hunk stared out the window, even though the train hadn't left the station yet. He'd already said goodbye to his family, and with every second his dread grew.
He'd secured a car near the front of the train, where the first years usually sat, all to himself. Hunk had already made up his mind that he would talk to the other kids as little as possible. Maybe that way, he wouldn't get made fun of.
Hunk turned back to look at the door when he heard noises from behind it, only to see several Hogwarts students, both in robes and out, passing by him without so much as glancing in the car.
One short boy with black hair and eyes that seemed almost purple did pause to look, but quickly continued trailing after the older girl in front of him, who was probably his sister.
Hunk nearly turned back to the window, but stopped when he made eye contact with another boy walking past a few moments later.
This boy's eyes were a calm, dark blue, and he was walking with his two apparent brothers. They stopped, and asked the boy something.
The boy stared at Hunk and the empty car for a moment longer. Then he nodded once, and slid open the door. He plopped down onto the seat across from Hunk with an enormous grin that was all but contagious, and stuck out a hand.
“Sorry to barge in like that. I was going to sit with my siblings, but when I saw you sitting alone I figured you could use someone to talk to! I'm Lance, by the way.”
Hunk stared at his outstretched hand, dumbfounded.
And Lance's smile faltered. “Unless... sorry. I shouldn't have assumed you'd want to talk to me. I can go—”
“No!” Hunk blurted, finally finding his voice. He had no idea what was going on, but he knew that he didn't want Lance to leave. “I mean... no, you can stay. I'm— I'd love someone to talk to. I'm Hunk.” They shook hands.
“Hunk,” Lance echoed, and Hunk mentally cursed himself. He shouldn't have told him that. “Is that... like a nickname, or...?”
“No,” Hunk said, with a sigh. “It's my actual name.” He waited for the teasing to begin. How someone who looked like him shouldn't have a name like that. How his name didn't fit him in any way, shape, or form.
“Hunk,” Lance said again, tapping his chin thoughtfully. He was smiling again before he'd ever really stopped. “I like it! What a cool name! I'll bet the ladies love it, huh?”
Hunk snorted. Ladies? They were eleven years old.
Lance was undeterred. “Man, I'll bet there are so many cute girls at Hogwarts! I don't really have that many friends my age, since my siblings and I were homeschooled before this, but I just know it's going to be great! I'll get to meet so many new people, like you! How fun is that?”
Hunk hummed vaguely, trying to seem interested. The idea of being in a permanent setting with all his peers wasn't exactly all that appealing... but he had to admit that if everyone at this school was as nice as this Lance kid, then maybe he could get used to it.
Lance was, apparently, unfazed by Hunk not answering any of his questions. In fact, he rambled on, not hesitating to ask even more.
“What house do you think you'll be in? I'm pretty sure I'll get put in Hufflepuff, like my brother Marco. But it'd be super cool to be a Gryffindor, don't you think?”
This time, Hunk nodded. He'd done as much research as he could into Hogwarts, and the four houses were actually something he knew quite a bit about.
“Ravenclaw seems pretty cool, too,” he offered, and Lance nodded.
“Yeah, Veronica was a Ravenclaw. I'm nowhere near smart enough for that, though. I hear you have to answer a different riddle every time you go through! As if remembering a password isn't hard enough! How crazy is that?” Lance asked, with a shake of his head, then continued before Hunk could reply. “Man, I hope we're in the same house! Then we could be roommates.”
“Maybe,” Hunk said, and he couldn't help but hope so. But this boy seemed like a Gryffindor if Hunk had ever seen one. Outgoing, speaking his mind, yet kind for no reason at all. And Hunk would probably get put in Hufflepuff, which he didn't mind.
Still, it would be nice if he got to spend more time with his first friend.
“You said you had siblings?” Hunk asked, trying to contribute more to the conversation. If he wanted to return the kindness Lance was showing, he should at least give answers of more than one word.
“Yep!” Lance replied, instantly beaming. “Veronica's the oldest— she was a Ravenclaw before she graduated. Luis is a Slytherin, and he's in his seventh year. Marco's in his fifth year now. Hufflepuff. Do you have any siblings?”
Hunk nodded. “Two, but they're both too young to go to Hogwarts yet.”
Lance tilted his head to the side. “Both your parents are magical, then?”
“Yeah,” Hunk said, nodding again. “My moms are both witches. They sent us to regular public school, though, instead of homeschooling.”
Lance seemed to hesitate, before blurting another question. “You're pure-blooded, then?”
Hunk shook his head. “One of my moms is, or at least it's all wizards so far back that we can barely keep track. But my other mom's parents were muggles. So I'm a half-blood, I guess.”
Lance, who had become momentarily tense, relaxed again. “Good.”
“Do... you weren't asking because you have something against people who are muggle-born, were you?” Hunk wondered, almost afraid to ask. He had really hoped this Lance was as nice as first impressions had suggested.
Lance's eyes widened, and he shook his head automatically. “No! Of course not! It's just... well. My dad was a muggle, and my mom's a witch. She warned me that a lot of pure-blooded wizards have a problem with people who aren't like them. Even though I'm not fully muggle-born, a lot of people think that muggles and wizards shouldn't be allowed to be together at all. That's... that's why I asked.”
“Nope. Half-blood brothers, man,” Hunk said with a grin, then immediately regretted it. Just when he was making a friend, he had to go and say something lame.
But Lance smiled back. “Yeah!” He gave Hunk a high-five, then opened his mouth to say something else. Before he could, however, the door to their car opened.
“Anything from the trolley, dears?” asked the little old lady wheeling a cart of candy and treats.
Lance was visibly staring at all the food longingly, and Hunk couldn't blame him. The smell alone was enough to make his mouth water.
“No, thank you,” Lance started to say anyway. “I'm good—”
“Hey,” Hunk interrupted, fishing out some of the galleons his moms had given him specifically for this purpose. “What's life without a little sweetness? Can we get... two pumpkin pasties, two chocolate frogs, and... some every-flavor beans, just for fun?”
He returned to his seat with the goods, and Lance stared at him in awe. “You didn't have to do that.”
“I wanted to,” Hunk said, handing Lance his share. “You didn't have to come sit with me when you saw me by myself.”
“I wanted to.” Lance held out his own chocolate frog case, and clicked it against Hunk's in a childlike toast. “To magic and to new friends, yeah?”
“Yeah,” Hunk echoed, mimicking the gesture.
They ate the chocolate quickly, as children always did, and enthused about their cards. Lance had received Professor Alfor and Hunk had gotten Professor Gyrgan.
Lance sighed contentedly, wiping a hand across his face and smudging chocolate on the side of his nose. “I hope everyone at Hogwarts is as amazing as you.” he said, voicing Hunk's thoughts exactly.
The rest of the train ride they spent just as happily, eating both impossibly disgusting and delicious jelly-beans and talking about their excitement for sorting and classes while the rolling green hills sped past them under a sunset out the window.
Hunk opened his eyes, with a small smile at the memory. A translucent dog materialized out of thin air from the point of his wand, and ran around in circles at his feet. A pretty fitting patronus, he thought. Man's best friend.
And Lance really was his best friend. Even after being sorted into different houses, him in Gryffindor and Hunk in Ravenclaw, they still did everything together that they could. And in their second year, Pidge joined their group, resulting in countless wonderful memories that Hunk had never had before meeting them.
But out of all of those, this moment stuck out the most. It was the beginning of a whole new era of Hunk's life, the moment he met his favorite person. 
He felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned to see Lance looking at his patronus, a smile on his face.
“Woah, a Labrador! Aren't they, like, one of the friendliest and cuddliest dogs ever? It fits,” Lance said, then seemed to think for a moment. “Well, but wait, is it a chocolate lab or a yellow lab? Or a black lab? I can't really tell.”
Hunk shrugged, not sure which color the ethereal blue light was supposed to represent. “I don't think it matters, man.”
Lance snorted. “Yeah, you're right. Whatever it is, it's perfect.”
And it really was.
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gregkatepetegowest · 3 years
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Truckee + Tahoe
Apologies for the delay to our loyal followers! My ghost writer took a minute to edit and add his commentary (is it Greg or Pete I'm referring to? You'll never know).
Our drive from Mammoth to Tahoe was just over three hours, easy! We had booked a ski in/ski out condo on Northstar. Technically located in Truckee, Northstar is about a 15-minute drive to Lake Tahoe and to downtown Truckee. We could also walk from our condo down to the Northstar Village, which had several shops and dining options (and a Starbucks).
Pete, Greg, and I arrived just after 4 pm, dropped our bags and then went for a hike. We found a trail that meandered up the mountain and wondered if we were on a hiking trail or mountain bike trail. If you have not been to a ski resort in the summer that allows mountain biking, you probably don’t know that people FLY down these trails so we were very interested in figuring out exactly what kind of trail we were walking on with the dog to avoid being mowed down. Unbeknownst to us, the resort was coming out of the post COVID fog the following day at 9 am by re-opening the gondola and bike trails for the first time since last year, which is why we were the only trio out there (Google told us this as we were trying to look up Northstar hiking trail maps).
After our walk, we headed down to the village in search of food. Additional Google research told us that few places were open and most closed at 8 pm (this was a Thursday). We tried to head to a sports bar but arrived to find it had gone out of business. We didn’t let this stop us and walked a pizza joint, Rubicon, which we knew was open. Being one of two restaurants open in the village, Rubicon was very busy. Most people were waiting for outdoor patio seating and we assumed this was COVID related. Since we have been sitting inside in Nashville for a month or so (AND VACCINATED, TY), we told the hostess we would be happy to sit anywhere. We walked inside and were seated at a high top table in the bar area. Within 30 seconds we realized… No air conditioning! Apparently, this is a thing in Northern California because it “doesn’t get that hot” there. To be fair, it has been unseasonably hot in the entire country the last couple of weeks and the temp drops significantly at night in the mountains. But when you’re sitting inside, near the kitchen of a pizza establishment and it’s 85 degrees outside, with no AC, you’re going to sweat. So that’s what we did. We had an awesome server/bartender (this is not a sarcastic comment). His name was Trevor and he fit the mold of a stereotypical California ski bum. He didn’t come over right away (but we really weren’t waiting long) and then felt the need to profusely apologize for “making us wait”, which was hilarious. Apparently, he had been on vacation for seven days and, in that short time, forgot how the server sections at Rubicon worked (prayers for me when I return to work after a 5 week sabbatical). At least that is what he told us. Anyway, we got salads like the responsible people we are (but split fries, hehe) and Trevor gave us the “local discount”, which was 10% off. Overall a win and worth the sweating.
After dinner, we hustled back to the house because Pete’s buddy, Andy, was due to arrive from San Francisco any moment. We spent the evening catching up with all windows and the front door open because, again, no AC in the condo, and made a plan for tomorrow morning’s hike.
Day two in Truckee/Tahoe started with breakfast made by yours truly. Pete and Andy worked until noon or so and I think I wrote a blog post and walked Greg or something of that nature. After the guys wrapped up their work, we headed out for a hike picked by Pedro which was eight miles (!) with a scenic view of Lake Tahoe at the turnaround point. The trail was mostly shaded which was really nice and the view was gorgeous. We left Greg behind for this hike due to the length and heat. After the hike, we showered up and headed into downtown Truckee for drinks/dinner/meeting up with Shawna (my friend/roommate from Baltimore) and her boyfriend, Ralph, who had also driven up from San Francisco. Shawna and Ralph weren’t due into town until 8 pm so we headed to a dive bar, the Tourist Club, and had a drink and “played” pool. I used quotations for playing pool because Pete just worked over Andy and I, which is pretty much what I knew would happen. Finally, Shawna and Ralph arrived after surviving the SF traffic and we headed to Best Pies Pizzeria & Restaurant. At dinner, we encountered another spacey Tahoe server that forgot to visit our patio table. After waiting 20 minutes or so, Pete went inside to address the situation. Our server, Noah, eventually made it over to our table. He looked to be about 17 years old and it was his first night on the job. A future Tahoe ski bum, without a doubt. Luckily, a true veteran server, Amanda, was training him. She came over multiple times to apologize and tell us what a little pain in the ass he was for her night. The pizza was amazing, so we took it easy on young Noah.
After dinner, we headed back to the house to let Shawna and Ralph get settled and unwind.
Saturday morning Shawna and Ralph prepared a breakfast feast. Pete was very excited to have someone cook him bacon! From there, the guys went to play disc golf and Shawna and I walked Greg and then hit the pool at the resort. Stupidly, we didn’t look into pool COVID regulations. We were supposedly to make a reservation, which we didn’t, but somehow the girl at the desk let us in anyway. Of course, I assumed there would be free towels there – WRONG! Was I about to pay $1 to rent a towel for 45 minutes? Nope. So we swam around and air-dried and laughed about how unprepared we were. Every other group had coolers packed with snacks/lunch/beverages/etc., but we came empty handed. I did buy an overpriced water while there and then stared at the couple in the lounge chairs in front of us who had a whole spread of cheeses and crackers on their table. UGH. After disc golf and the pool, we headed to the lake to kayak. Pete had booked us kayaks for a two-hour paddle. The lake is incredible. So clear and just beautiful. Lake Tahoe is the second deepest Lake in the United States, but the water is so clear that it can be deceiving. Shawna kept claiming she was paddling in shallow water and sticking her paddle down into the water to see if she could touch the bottom with it (she could not). Twenty minutes into the paddle, I was feeling the buuurn in my shoulders. We paddled for almost two hours straight, only taking a break to lounge and swim for a bit before paddling back. We were all pretty burnt out by this point so we headed back to the house and grilled chicken and veggies for dinner and just hung out from there.
The next morning, we were all a little slow moving, but breakfast was had and we packed up all our crap, hugged our friends and hit the road to Chiloquin (Crater Lake).
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allwaswell16 · 7 years
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>>>My Favorite Fics<<<
In honor of Fanfic Writers Appreciation Day, this is a fic rec of my personal favorite fan fics in no particular order. Happy reading and thanks to all the writers!
Just Tell Me the Song and I’ll Sing It by @myownsparknow
Louis is an architecture student who can only think about the future. Harry is a baseball player who can only think about right now. Both are lonely for different reasons. Boybands bring them together.
Why Can’t It Be Like That by @taggiecb
A fashion AU with a royal twist, where Louis doesn't need a stylist, Harry's thrilled to have a real life Barbie doll, and they're both very wrong about each other.
Feels Like Coming Home by @phd-mama
This is a story about love and the power of forgiveness, and how the hard choices we make define us, and change our lives.
I Had Rather (series) by @magicalrocketships (Tomlinshaw)
The first time Louis Tomlinson kisses him, Nick is three sheets to the wind, wearing a pirate hat, and so fucking tired of Louis being a complete and utter knobhead that he's spent the last ten minutes snapping at him. The kiss takes him rather by surprise, all things considered. Or: Nick and Louis don't like each other, not even a little bit, not even at all.
Take My Breath Away by @realitybetterthanfiction
Lt. Harry Styles, call sign Sparrow, is a prodigy when it comes to flying. The owner of an unrivaled Naval pedigree, being a pilot was always written in the stars for Harry. With his trusty RIO, Lt. Niall Horan, Harry has made an unprecedented ascension in the ranks of the Naval aerial combat elite, and has been recruited to the esteemed Premier Delta flight school, carrying on his family’s legacy. What he finds there are unexpected friendships, perilous challenges, and something beyond what he ever thought possible. Because as his father had always told him, before the great Captain Styles went tragically missing in combat, you don’t fall in love with the sky, you fall in love with what keeps you on the ground.
I Walk the Line by @a-writerwrites
Professor Louis Tomlinson is the leading researcher in his field. Harry Styles is Louis’ recently hired grad assistant. Sparks fly between them but something doesn’t add up when it comes to Harry, and Louis is determined to find out what.
Ain’t My Fault by @afirethatcannotdie
Liam posts an ad on the wrong section of Craigslist, Louis is pretty sure they’re gonna get murdered as a result, and Harry’s missing an avocado.
This Ain’t Just a Thing That You Give Up by @lululawrence
The one where Harry is a baker in addition to being a college student who just happens to meet the crazy famous Louis Tomlinson while on spring break. Featuring personal assistant!niall, roommate and best friend!liam, and costar/model!zayn.
Midnight Dancers by @alveronian (Larry/Tomlinshaw)
Nearly a year after One Direction ends, Louis finds himself with a choice to make: go back and fix the mistakes of the past, or take a risk on something new? A tale of three men, two love stories...and two endings.
Fall At My Door by @fullonlarrie
A-list actor Harry Styles and award-winning musician Louis Tomlinson have an acquaintances-with-benefits relationship, so whenever their busy professional lives happen to land them in the same city, they meet up. It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement. And that’s all it is. Until it isn’t.
Yet in Thy Dark Streets Shineth by @juliusschmidt
Louis’ life has become the very thing he’s always dreaded: routine. His job is steady, his bills are paid, his friends are preoccupied, his siblings are mostly old enough not to need him, and his mom keeps pestering him about attending church. Apparently, the new minister pulls rainbows and unicorns out of his robes. Advent arrives three months into Harry’s first call as associate pastor at St. Andrews. Life is… not perfect. He’s still figuring out how do his job and the holidays bring a whole bundle of extra stress. On top of which, he has no friends or family nearby with whom he can decompress. Louis Tomlinson shows up to worship in the nick of time.
Love Is A Rebellious Bird by @100percentsassy & @gloriaandrews
AU in which the boys still make music. Louis is the concertmaster of the London Symphony Orchestra, Harry is the New! and Exciting! interim conductor/ex-cello prodigy who "has made Mozart cool again" according to Esquire Magazine (Louis hates him immediately, which is definitely why he internet stalked him in his dark bedroom late at night that one time), and Niall is the best. Zayn and Liam are around too. Don't hum Bolero.
blend into my favourite colour by @rainbowninja
Harry is a barista with a secret Werewolf High fan blog, a desperate crush on a customer named Louis, and a best friend on Tumblr who always makes him laugh. Louis can't figure out why the barista at his favorite coffee shop keeps creepily staring at him, and to make matters worse, he may be slightly in love with a friend he met online. A love square involving two boys, one TV fandom, and one food fight.
Far Away. by @dimpled-halo
Harry returns to London after five years. Stuck in the past with "what ifs" and "what might have beens", he sees that his friends and ex (and possible love of his life) Louis have all moved on with their lives while he finds himself questioning his own life choices, past and present.
And Then a Bit by @infinitelymint
Harry and Louis fake a relationship for publicity. Eventually it becomes a lot less fake and a lot more real.
Twelfth Night by @becomeawendybird
Queen Anne holds a masquerade ball to try and find matches for both her children on Twelfth Night. While anonymity reigns, Prince Harry spends the ball getting to know a handsome stranger.
Naked & Proud by @icanhazzalou
In which Harry runs an organic store, not a nudist colony, and Louis doesn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed.
Coming Home Through the Dark to You by @londonfoginacup
Harry Styles works at the Fox in the Snow, the most hipster coffee joint around. He's got too many roommates and a best friend he met his first day of university who he might very well be head-over-heels for.
Then We Talk Slow by @letsjustsee
A famous/non-famous AU in which Louis banters back and forth with his new record company on Twitter, only to find out that Harry is the man behind the tweets.
kiss me on the mouth and set me free by @suspendrs 
Louis is a gamer and Harry is a beauty guru, and VidCon is a good place to fall in love.
You’re Writing Verses About Me by @all-these-larrythings
Everybody knows that Louis has never been one for serious boyfriends. His reputation around campus precedes him, which is why he doesn't think twice before proudly telling his mother about his new and completely fabricated relationship with his oddly quiet and completely gorgeous new roommate Harry to shut her up about his lack of commitment. It's the perfect lie; a flawless plan, or at least it was until Louis' ordered to bring his fabulous new boyfriend home.
A Match Made in Aisle Three (Everybody Cut Footloose) by @flamboyantommo
The one where Louis is a drama student/cashier who assists Harry in buying a bottle of lube, and is also the only guy that frat boy Harry has trouble talking to. Also featuring Sophia as stubborn matchmaker and Liam as accidental wingman.
If Tomorrow Never Comes (We Had Last Night) by @suddenclarityharry & @all-these-larrythings
Based on this Tumblr prompt: "Accidentally called your number while drunk asking for a ride and you actually came au"
driving me crazy, but i’m into it (series) by @jaerie
Harry is a camboy trying out something new and Louis ends up on the other end of the line.
You You You by @isthatyoularry
The one where Harry and Louis meet at a club and Louis takes Harry home, only for him to realize that the boy who just made him breakfast half naked is Harry Styles from One Direction.
Unbelievers by @isthatyoularry
It’s Louis’ senior year, and he’s dead set on doing it right. However, along with his pair of cleats, a healthy dose of sarcasm and his ridiculous best friend, he’s also got a complicated family, a terrifyingly uncertain future, and a mortal enemy making his life just that much worse. Mortal enemies “with benefits” was not exactly the plan.
Fall Into Your Gravity by @zarah5undercover
AU. In which Harry is an overnight pop sensation and Louis steals plants, Zayn pulls Liam's proverbial pigtails and Niall's really just pleased there are more girls for him.
burn to ash by @bethaboolou
The fic where Harry spirals out of control, the band breaks up, and then he shows back up, five years later.
Have You Coming Back Again by @crazyupsetter
It’s five o’clock in the morning. Louis has a lecture at half eight. He could be using this time to study or to do his readings or to go to the gym, but - well. He doesn’t have any exams coming up, he’s not going to his seminar today anyway and he hates the gym. Instead he’s using this time to fuck with Harry Styles’ poor little brain.
The One Where Harry Really Doesn’t Have Ten Cats by @loaded-gunn
The AU where Harry is a pet-sitter for the rich and famous, and Louis is rich and famous.
After Hours by @mizzwilde
Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson are the bane of each other's existences. Unfortunately, they're already in love--even if they aren't completely aware of this minor detail. [A "You've Got Mail" AU]
Want You More Than A by @donotdialnine
Falling in love with your step-brother’s best friend is a disaster enough. When he happens to be the boy everyone loves and you’re a nerd who wears sweater vests and cries during rom-coms, it takes it to a whole new level.
Rise up like the sun by @tommosgun
“I wasn't taking a sneaky pic.” Louis blurted out, the guy stood at one of the urinals taking a piss. “You were.” The guy answered coolly. “I would've taken a pic with you if you'd just asked.” “No I didn't want a pic with you.” The guy turned his head, quirking his eyebrow sardonically. “No you're far too cool for that, you just wanted to violate my privacy.” Louis squeezed his eyes shut.
let me make a thing of cream and stars by @missandrogyny
It doesn't explain why he's lying on the floor, with Harry Styles, of all people, planking on top of him.As in, seventeenth most influential person in London, pop-star-turned-rock-star Harry Styles. The same Harry Styles who has had countless model girlfriends, left, right and centre. Also the same Harry Styles who has been the subject of Louis' wet dreams since he was about eighteen.(Or: Louis is a Radio 1 DJ and Harry is a pop-star he interviews.)
no pressure, no diamonds by @karamelised
Louis is a thief, Harry a grifter. They are thrown together for a huge diamond heist in Paris, where their past soon catches up to them.
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