#would eddie be good at singing? inquiring minds want to know...

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

fuck it. Take This And Run

#would eddie be good at singing? inquiring minds want to know... #i was looking at Southern Belle images for. Reasons & i saw a couple of dresses #that made me go 'ohhhh that would make a killer fusion' #and mr dear was on the braintisserie. so.... #Eddie In Drag My Absolute Motherfucking Beloved #its everything to me its everything to meeeeeee #god i need to see if the nearby (read: over an hour away) gay bar has drag nights #ive never been to a drag event of any kind #and i desperately want to.... #PERHAPS! perhaps! #i do have a car and ample time to waste! #scribble salad #eddie dear #lmao i forgot his name a second there. i started typing and drew a blank <3 #how Fitting! #anyway i need to practice drawing dresses....

[munsons-maiden]

Hi Kiki... It feels stupid to ask but I had a breakdown, cried for like an hour, I'm feeling like worthless shit and I just want to fucking disappear... Yeah, I'm fine. Is there any chance you'd like to write something with Steve to cheer me up? I don't know, I feel so empty inside right now and nothing helps. Even the shortest drabble would be fine, really. Anything... Just anything :") If not then that's fine, I know you have lots of things to write rn!

I really feel bad for asking 💀

I'm so sorry you're feeling like this, my dear 😣 I'm always here if you need to talk, and I hope this little blurb will help cheer you up a little (and please don't feel bad for asking! I'm always happy to be your cheerleader! ♡🤸🏻‍♀️)

𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐆𝐞𝐭 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞

𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 | Steve Harrington x female reader

𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 | You‘re having a bad day and your boyfriend Steve finds a way to cheer you up

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 | 700

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 | angst/mentions of depressive symptoms but mostly fluff

𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞 | I usually don’t write for Steve Harrington, this is just a cute little drabble for a dear friend but I figured I could as well post it. It might help cheer up whoever needs cheering up right now. So, if you’re Steve’s girl and in need of some of that good old Harrington charm, this one’s for you. I hope you feel better soon. – Love, Eddie’s girl ♡

Tik-tok. Tik-tok.

Tik-tok.

There steady ticking of the clock on your nightstand was the only thing filling the silence of your bedroom.

The day outside was warm, beautiful and sunny. So opposing the darkness that was settling in your own chest. Like the Upside Down – a dark mirror image of something brighter.

You didn’t know what to do.

And the only way you knew to deal with is was drawing the curtains shut, blocking out the sunlight and locking yourself up in the darkness of the bedroom that was matching that inside of you right now.

Your face pressed into the pillows, silent tears soaking the fabric of the sheets, the tangle of your hair, you didn’t hear the key turning in the lock of the front door, the quiet sound of the door being opened and shut, or the footsteps wandering the crappy little apartment you shared.

You were too far gone in your misery to pay the rest of the world outside the gloomy, darkened bedroom any attention.

That was, until a familiar sound cut through the silence.

The first tunes of Redbone’s Come And Get Your Love were floating through the stuffy air, coming from somewhere in the tiny living room – and as you raised your head to the doorway to see what was happening, your eyes landed on Steve.

He was still clad in his Family Movie Uniform – and he was dancing.

Chocolate eyes fixed on you, a tiny little smile tugging at his lips and hips swaying along with the tune, he slowly danced his way into the bedroom.

And then, he began to sing along.

“Heeeey, what's the matter with your head, yeah,” he sang, horribly off tune because singing had never been among Steve’s talents, as he slowly, with a seductive little wink, shrugged off the ugly green vest of his uniform with the theatrics of a stripper on speed to reveal the even uglier pale yellow dress shirt underneath. A laugh bubbled up your throat as you watched him, and you sat up to get a better view at whatever show he was pulling off right now.

“Heeey, what's the matter with your mind And your sign an-a, oh-oh-oh –“ With a wink, Steve carded his hand through his luscious hair, slowly, hips still swaying, before in a swift movement, he ripped open the dress shirt, buttons flying all around him like confetti.

“Heey, nothin' the matter with your head Baby find it, come on and find it,” he continued to sing along quietly.

The laugh that had been sitting at the back of your throat spluttered free. “Oh my God, Steve, what are you doin?!”, you inquired with a giggle, but the words were cut short as he sprung onto the bed and grabbed you, gently pulling you up and guiding you into a little pirouette.

“hey, with it, baby, 'cause you're fine And you're mine, and you look so divine – you do look divine, by the way!”

And you just…went along. Dancing with Steve on the bed, his softly crooning along as he guided you through the steps and twirls, his toned chest on perfect display for you and your own laughter mingling with the song.

And when the song ended, Steve’s hands found their way up to cradle your face as he pressed a soft kiss on the tip of your nose.

“You gonna tell me what’s wrong, babe?”, he asked softly, worry and seriousness having crept into his voice, into his eyes, as he watched you.

“A horrible, horrible day,” you said quietly. “I just…I just want to cuddle.”

Your surprised little squeal rang through the air as, with a swift movement, Steve swept you off your feet, holding you bridal style as he climbed from the bed and settled on the edge of the mattress, pulling you into his lap.

And the two of you stayed like that – your cheek against his collarbone, his head resting on yours, listening to each other’s heartbeats.

No matter what was happening…with Steve by your side, you’d manage whatever fate threw your way.

#kiki answers #stranger things 4 #stranger things #steve harrington #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x you #steve harrington x y/n #steve harrington fanfic

[shewantedtobeasecretgirl]

The Backstage Pass (Out)

Hey everyone... this is still not an update of Do You Wanna Dance? but another pathetic attempt of me to provide you with PJ-related reading material... Sssooo, there was this post of @gardenofstoney... and I’ve always taken tags verry seriously. I felt addressed since the situation she described sounded absolutely like a perfect fanfic material so I ended up playing with the idea. One thing led to another and a Stone Gossard one-shot happened, which I hereby share with you (with her and @mookiebaelock’s consent). Disclaimer: may contain traces of Jeff Ament!

Ps. I solemnly swear I get Judy out of the shower soon.

„Are you sure you don’t want to move towards the side of the stage? These Vedder-fanatics seem pretty dangerous, I’m not sure I want to be here when they go wild…” Mel asked fidgeting with the setups of her professional camera.

“No, I’m pretty sure I’m fine here…” Maggie answered leaning her forehead against her arms that were resting on the barrier. She was dog-tired; she and her best friend, Mel were cueing the whole day to get there at the show of their favorite band, Pearl Jam. Actually, Pearl Jam was their second favorite band but it was the rock group that brought them together. They saw each other’s introduction in the “Pen Pal Wanted” column of Footsteps, the band’s fanzine and the rest was history... And finally, they were there, standing at their precious front row places, waiting for the show to begin…

They agreed on standing in front of the center of the stage since they both had different preferences… Mel was dying to make close shots of her bassist crush (and maybe steal a few smiles and glances from him), while Maggie was interested in the other side of the stage… to be more accurate, in the person who regularly ruled it. Stone Gossard. The absent-minded, aloof alien who played the rhythm guitar parts and who, unfortunately, wasn’t the most responsive member of the band. He was said to be a sarcastic, hilarious and nice guy but at shows he just… didn’t give a shit about the crowd. He was usually absorbed in the songs, following the rhythm with his entire body, marching to the beat or just bobbing his head… but that was all. No interaction, no communication, just the chords. If Maggie had been alone there, she would have picked his side and stayed there as if she had been pinned to the ground… but Mel wanted to stand near Jeff so they made a compromise. Of course, Mel tried every kind of dirty trick to lure her closer to Mike’s and Jeff’s territory and Maggie begged desperately with her irresistible sad puppy face to move in the other direction, after all, if the mountain won't come to Muhammad… and Jeff would bounce around, anyways, she argued. But neither of them could convince the other one so they were stuck in front of the place of Eddie Vedder and they knew they would have to fight hard to be able to keep their position.

“You will defend me, I know.” Maggie cuddled to her friend, letting herself be pulled in a bear hug. She was short and slim, the top of her head barely reached the level of the tall Mel’s chin, that’s why they often joked about themselves being two dogs coming from different species but being allies and best friends forever.

“I’ll defend you just… not now, oh my god, ohmygod, they’re here, that’s him!!!” Mel suddenly let her go frantically taking one picture after another of her main target.

“Okay, I can’t win against Jeff Ament…” Maggie shook her head with a forgiving smile only to discover the object of her admiration appearing on the other side of the stage, walking around with a deadpan on his face. She couldn’t help chuckling when she noticed he was wearing a black socks-dress shoes combo... with light brown shorts. She’d already got used to these weird testimonies of his terrible fashion sense but he always managed to surprise her with a newer unacceptable outfit.

When the singer finally showed up too, the crowd moved forward, pressing the girls against the barrier… and from that moment on, they only had some rest during the slower songs. Not that they wanted to complain, they were singing along the lyrics, screaming, laughing, crying or just squeezing each other’s hand making sure they were not dreaming, they were finally together, having the time of their life, really living their favorite songs. Mel was overly contented with seeing the bass player’s manly moves in the tight tank top he was wearing and the passionate solos and dazed-off moments of Mike pleased both of them too, even if they were within the spitting range of Ed. But as time went by, they both started feeling the depressing thought that this would be over soon, even if they tried to fight against it by bouncing and screaming twice as intensely as before…

When Stone started playing the opening chords of State of Love and Trust, the crowd went completely nuts and Maggie had to tighten her grip not to be drifted… the pressure behind her eased for a second but at once, she felt a sharp pain in the back of her head and lost the touch with the outside world…

***

Mhmmmm… what are these bright lights? I must have died and got in that shining corridor about which people who experienced clinical death always tell…

“Jesus, I go blind…” I mumble… or am I just hearing my own thoughts? Shit, this splitting headache, I’m definitely alive, I must have fallen asleep after taking in my migraine pill.

“Do you prefer low light?” a nasal male voice asks and as I look around, I find myself lying on a couch but I’m not in my own apartment, I don’t know this place. Oh, so I’m in a dream, nice, let’s see where it’s going…

“Yes, please!” I groan covering my eyes.

“Clouds roll by… sorry, bad joke, here, is it better his way?”

I take away my hand from my eyes and let them adjust to the pleasant half-light provided probably by a standing lamp somewhere out of my sight. When did I learn how to change the setting of my dreams? Cool… The owner of the voice takes place opposite me only to make me realize, I’m in a Stone dream, moreover, this time it’s a new one.

“Are you okay?” he’s checking me with the inquiring but still expressionless stare of a toad.

“More or less…” I mumble helplessly. Interesting, I’ve never had such a vivid dream about him, it’s somehow different, like I was in charge, I’ve never felt like this before while dreaming… Familiar melodies provide the musical accompaniment, I have to listen for a few bars until I recognize Yellow Ledbetter… but he’s here… and the music comes from…?

“Are we… at a show?” I ask suspiciously, I’m afraid that despite the realistic surrounding, it’ll turn into an incoherent screenplay written by my subconscious.

“Yes, we are…”

“But how come you’re not playing? You should be on the stage with the others…”

“I don’t feel like playing… I mean in that song, I have basically not much to do, I strum the same chords as Mike, it’s boring. At sound checks, sometimes I beg until I can play the drum parts, I’m a desperate drummer but I love it. But the rhythm guitar part is just… nah. Plus, I had to pee, anyways.”

“Fair enough.” I snicker. He’s such an awkward dork, even in my dreams. “Well, that happens if a musician is too busy with drinking beer at gigs instead of playing”.

“Excuse me?” he startles offended. That’s my favorite thing in dreaming, I can do and say what I’d never dare in real life.

“Do you think we don’t notice when you’re just fudging, walking around with the guitar and use the change of amplifier setups as an excuse to take a few sip of your booze? That doesn’t really count as musical contribution.”

“Ugh, busted. I try not to drink before the show though. Right as soon as I get onstage I start drinking. But come on, I never belch out of key, what’s this if not musical humility?”

I snort shaking my head and keep grinning from ear to ear. If he’s such a hilariously funny guy in my fantasy, how adorable he can be in the reality… I know he used to be an annoying, sarcastic little shit but when PJ got really successful, he mellowed down and made himself to the main target of his irony… The mixture of this down-to-earth humbleness and calm confidence was one of the main reasons why he became my favorite member in the band; in the band that only consists of great, relatable people, by the way.

Maybe I should use the occasion to have a chitchat with him, I could ask him questions about stuff I’ve always wanted to know… even if the answers are only the products of my mind…

“Do you see the world in yellow?”

Okay, maybe that’s not the best start but the colored lenses of his spectacles somehow distracted me and it just slipped out. He reacts with that short, amused eyebrow twitch I love… good job, Maggie.

“It’s a good question! It’s funny, nobody asked that before… but to answer it, I do, it’s like being trapped in that moment of sunset when everything is glowing in that golden light… but to be less poetic, it makes everyone look as if they were Lego figures, they have yellow head, y’know…”

The mentioning of my favorite toy brings back old memories about the times when I was building my own town with eclectic houses that served as the scene of the made-up action stories crafted by my cousin and me.

“I you were a Lego figure, you’d be a bad boy.” I remark with a timid smile and try to ignore the fact that my cheeks are in flames.

“Only if I were a Lego figure? That’s offensive. I was the member of the gang Newton Street Boys. We were the most dangerous guys on whole Capitol Hill, we terrorized the district by taking protection rackets from kindergarten pupils. They were scared to death when we showed up riding our bikes, I liked the banana-seat ones with the high handlebars - maybe a card in the wheel could have been part of it.” he chuckles playfully. “Anyway, why a bad boy?”

“It’s because of the scruff.” I giggle and reach out to pinch his neck but he leans away.

“Please don’t touch me.” he grunts.

Hey, brain, we had an agreement: if I behave decently enough in real life, you won’t throw any obstacles in the way of my naughty tendencies at nights. So if I want to touch Stone’s perfect neck, I’m gonna to do it. Period.

“I said no!!!” he repeats this time angrier when my fingers approach his skin again. What the hell???

“Sorry. I… I just wanted to say that there were those bearded figures… and you could get them mostly from the pirate or the police station series.”

“You mean they had an attachable Lego beard?” he inquires confused and excited at the same time; I’m sure he’s already forgotten the embarrassing intermezzo and is now desperately trying to recall the look of the little yellow dudes.

“Haha, no, it was just painted on their face. There was the moustache, the regular beard and the scruff that basically meant black dots on their face. And the scruffy guys always played the role of the bad boys in my stories. You know, the bank robber, the fleeing prisoner…”

“… the fucked-up musician… we should definitely have a Lego party once!”

“We should…” I repeat and we’re smiling silently at each other for a few seconds… I clear my throat and swallow hard since my mouth got completely dry, shit, it must be that damn gum-shield I have to wear at nights to prevent myself from gnashing.

“You want some water?” he asks walking to a fridge standing at the door.

“Fuck, yes, I’m dying of thirst.” I moan and I mean it.

“Here.” he hands a small bottle to me while he opens a beer can. I rather don’t make any remarks, the show is over, after all… But now that I think into it, maybe the other band members will show up too… I can’t wait!

I lower my head and press the ice cold bottle against my forehead. It feels incredibly good, that blinding pain is still pulsing in my head. As I direct my gaze onto the ground, I can’t help laughing again when I spot his dress shoes and the black socks tucked into them. The hem rolled down around his left ankle making the socks look like they were unmatched.

However thirsty I am, I can only take small sips since I’m already snorting at the next part of this weird vision.

“Anyway… before the others would arrive, there’s one thing we have to discuss.” I begin when I finally manage to force my facial muscles into a serious expression.

“Something that stays between us? Like a dirty little secret?” his face lights up with a boyish smile.

“Kind of, if your socks are dirty…” I roll my eyes. “It’s the footwear.”

“Yours or mine?”

“Of course yours, mine is normal. Matching boots, a totally adequate choice for a rock concert. But yours is just… criminal.”

“Don’t be rude with my shoes, they look good and they are comfy as fuck!” he circles with his feet comically.

“They do but man, look in that mirror!” I point at his reflection in the mirror hanging on the opposite wall. “You look like the mixture of an elementary school boy and a bachelor dressed by his mother. Shorts with dress shoes? How? Why? It’s an obvious no-no!” I scream.

“I have only these ones, sneakers and flip flops with me, which doesn’t leave much variation.” he shrugs briefly.

“You should have chosen the sneakers… as for the “f” word, I’m not even willing to pronounce it.”

“I always wore hiking boots in the earlier times, they were the most comfortable choice but they weren’t compatible with the heat on stage. And then, I got introduced in the magical world of orthopedic sandals but the band somehow vetoed them, I don’t really understand why... I was only allowed to wear them between shows and at soundchecks but at gigs, I had to wear the boots… Once, before a show, maybe in Atlanta, I can’t remember exactly, the sole of my boot separated so I could only wear my sandals… the guys freaked out about my velvet shorts-sweatpants-white socks-sandals outfit and obliged me to wear Jeff’s shoes during the show.” he recalls but I can barely listen to him, his hand talk and the fidgeting alien fingers are definitely more appealing than the image of Birkenstocks worn with socks.

As my eyes are glued to him, I involuntarily start playing with my hair but my fingers land in something sticky. I check them and glance at him helplessly, as if he could help me find out why blood is the next nonsense feature in this scene.

“Fuck, why didn’t you tell me earlier that you’re bleeding?” he shouts and rushes to the fridge.

“Because I didn’t know…” I mutter and can’t form further coherent sentences since he steps back to me with an ice bag and presses it to the back of my head… and he keeps standing opposite me with his arms laced around my neck. I’m desperately trying to look at the ceiling, the ground and the four walls at the same time, anywhere but him…

“This is too embarrassing, I want this to finally end… this is terrible.” I whisper in pain, fixing my gaze on the ugly shoes and working on calming down my hyperventilation with all my nerves.

“Hey, I just wanted to help! Just for the record, we don’t often let passed-out fans in the backstage, you were in bad shape and…”

“No, I mean, thanks and all but this dream… it’s going nowhere, it was funny but you entering into my personal space creates a tension that needs resolution, like a hug or a kiss or anything, this makes just no sense!” I blurt out, basically arguing with myself, the director of the movie.

“What? That doctor could finally arrive, you must have a concussion!” he gently tries to push me back onto to the couch but I shake his hands off me.

“What doctor... wait… the pain… the blood… is this… real?” I flail still hoping he doesn’t exist and suddenly disappears or turns into my real crush or Edge from U2 or whatever.

“You got hit with by a half-empty beer can and you passed out so the security personnel fished you out of the crowd. Since I came back anyway, I suggested that they should lay you down here until they get a doctor. You got a backstage pass by passing out. A backstage pass out.” he tries to ease he situation with a pun but I’m not really in the mood.

“No… the scruff… the shoes… the ki… I can’t believe I said all this bullshit, this is worse than a nightmare…” I bury my face into my palms completely mortified and stumble back towards the couch dizzily. Suddenly, I hear a familiar voice… Mel!!!

***

“I’m not going to repeat this again, my best friend is in that room so if you won’t let me in immediately, I’m going to fuckin’ sue you!!!” Mel pointed with her index finger outraged at the huge guy standing in front of the door of the dressing room. Actually, instead of suing, she wanted to headbutt him in the chest but she knew it would feel like running into a concrete wall. She’d already been arguing with him for like fifteen minutes but the guy was just standing there with folded arms, stoically bearing the threats and the various spells casted on him by the furious girl.

“Hey, Ernie, I think you can let her in, her friend has just woken up, it’d be better if she’s with her when the doctor arrives…” a top of a head with ruffled hair peeked out of the door. The security guard obeyed and silently stepped aside.

“Maggie!!!” Mel shouted and tossed the young man in the door away to get a free way to her friend. “I was so worried about you!!!” she captured her into a rib-breaking hug.

“I’m… I’m okay… Stone took care of me…” Maggie mumbled against Mel’s chest trying to point at the guitarist under her friend’s arm.

“Stone???” Mel screamed making both of them turn around without breaking the hug.

“Yup.” the guitarist waved clumsily with one hand at her, digging his other hand deeply in his pocket.

Maggie managed to tiptoe enough to rest her head on her friend’s shoulder, which allowed her to saw the door opening… only to recognize the other members of the band arriving back from the stage. The small group was guided by Jeff who stopped at the door exchanging a surprised look with the embarrassed guitarist standing in the room.

Maggie started silently shaking of laughter because she could already imagine what’d happen next…

“Uhm… Mel… I’m choking… please let me go…” she acted patting her friend’s back a few times. “I think you should turn back… slowly…” she recommended biting her lips to hide her amusement when she pulled away to see the girl’s reaction.

“Why… what…?” Mel looked back over her shoulder and… due to the bassist’s excellent reflexes, she didn’t land on the ground but in his arms. Jeff stared shocked alternately at the unconscious girl and the other ones, begging for help with his eyes.

“Jesus, not again… “Stone sighed facepalming.” She’s yours, I’m out.”

[puttingfingerstokeys]

an alliance you silly fool

for lack of a better title--here ya go. I’mma call this a sequel (or maybe just a spiritual sequel) to thermodynamic equilibrium which, in turn, is a sequel to heart and fire. Should I turn these into legitimate fics? Fuck idk. 

Fire and Ice (subscorp) with tendrils of strange subplots--enjoy!

Broken Timeline

From the moment he woke up that morning, Johnny Cage knew that this was going to be the absolute strangest wedding he would ever have the pleasure of attending. The venue was idyllic with falling leaves of many colors scattered about, caught by wind and tossed here and there by eddies of breeze. Fujin’s on his game, thought the actor, passing beneath the archway that marked the entrance to the Shirai-Ryu Fire Gardens.

The place was a temple and a training complex all in one. The “facilities”, such as they were, bore the gravitas of age and deeply held tradition and dignity. The Lin Kuei dotting the area, therefore, were somewhat out of place. It was good, at least, to see them (those who remained) in flesh bodies—all save Cyrax, whose yellow chassis was impossible to miss. 

Johnny could not help noticing the amount of Shirai-Ryu, a clear testament to the late Hanzo Hasashi’s dedication to their restoration. His heart gave a little, achy beat, then, when he counted and compared their number to that of the Lin Kuei. The titan of time had taken so much from Sub-Zero and his clan. 

Kronika’s machinations had decimated the Lin Kuei; Sub-Zero had said as much, but seeing it first hand was gut-wrenching. “Great venue, though,” he commented to no one in particular.

“An ideal choice. Arctika would have been much too cold for the mortals in attendance.”

Johnny nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of his old friend, Liu Kang. It felt like an age since he had heard that voice but despite all that, it forced a smile. Johnny played it as cool as he could and turned to face the keeper of time, glowing eyes and all. I’m never getting used to that.

“Liu, ya made it—lookin’ ah… divine, buddy.” He reached out and patted Lord Liu Kang almost hesitantly on the shoulder. He was hot to the touch, but the fire did not burn, sort of like Raiden’s low-grade EMP field. Speaking of... “Where’s ah…” Johnny craned his neck and looked around, as if he missed something. “Ol’ Sparky?”

“Lord Raiden is indisposed, unfortunately—elsewhere in the timeline.” Liu Kang seemed hesitant to offer details. This sensation, along with the lack of Raiden told Johnny something was up. He would have dismissed it but for a tiny discharge of what was little more than static electricity, arcing from Liu Kang’s upper body. Johnny nodded and gave a thumbs up, catching sight of Cassie, Jacqui, and Takeda Takahashi over Liu’s shoulder.

“A’ight well, good to… y'know see ya, Liu. I’m gunna—”

“We must speak later, Johnny,” said Liu Kang, grasping Johnny’s upper arm, shining eyes boring into his, even through the sunglasses. Johnny's heart skipped a beat. Liu knew him too well to hope he had noticed nothing. “After the ceremony.”

“Sure thing, man, no problem…” Johnny paused. “You okay?”

“I think I will be, once we speak.”

That was the best he was going to get, so Johnny let it lie and moved over to see the happy couple and his daughter. Jacqui was leading one child, their eldest, a six year old named Hanzo—the child was bright and gleeful, dark eyes sparkling with wonderment at the falling leaves—and her belly was swelling with another. She was radiant. Takeda balanced a two-year-old on his hip. Her name was Sonya and she was just as inquisitive as her brother, holding a red leaf in one hand and a small blanket in the other.

“Jacqui, Takeda, glad you’re here,” he greeted, pulling them both in for a hug.

“Mr. Cage,” they both chimed, wide smiles stretching across their faces. Everyone, it seemed, was fairly fond of Cassie’s father. She stood off to one side, offering her hand to little Hanzo when the adults squeezed him out in favor of a hug and catch-up session. The boy ran to her and slapped her palm before grasping it.

“You two look great—ah, hey, Jacqui… how’s your dad?” Johnny didn’t want to pry, but felt it was the right thing to do to inquire. It was what Sonya would have done. She was always well aware of protocol and propriety. Now he had to be the master of his own manners. It had gotten easier, but it still was not easy.

“He was…” Jacqui chewed her lip. “Today wasn’t great, to be honest, Mr. Cage; he has ups and downs.”

“This one was a down,” Takeda said, shifting his grip on Sonya, “but he sent us with all his respect and… honestly, curiosity.”

“Yeah, who’da thunk?”

Presently, Cyrax, who was acting as an usher, approached and gestured that the Takahashi family should follow him. Jacqui bid Johnny goodbye and there was melancholy in her eyes, a kind of regret that she could not offer more solid information or good news on her father. Johnny crossed his arms and found himself losing focus, staring off into the woods beyond the gates, thought and memory carrying him away.

When Liu Kang had taken control of Kronika’s crown—Johnny was informed that that had been a fight literally for the ages, like all of them—he had supposedly set about restoring the timeline,doing his best to put pieces back into place, where they belonged. It meant making many painful decisions, but Liu was, as ever, aided by Raiden, who had given his chosen champion his divinity that he might fulfill his ultimate destiny.

Liu Kang had offered little information on the arrangement. Fortunately, Raiden was a little more forthcoming than ever he had been previously. He had explained to Johnny and Cassie one afternoon upon visiting Johnny’s Beverly Hills residence that he had conferred his divinity permanently, but that he was still himself, an elemental, and that Liu Kang had given him that aspect of himself back once Shang Tsung had been defeated. For what reason and to what end was evidently not for Johnny to know. 

“It will belong to Liu Kang again,” he had said, “once my mortal life is over.”

He had guided Fire God Liu Kang to make many decisions which hurt him deeply. Returning the younger versions of all of his friends to the past had been heart-rending. Johnny preferred not to think about it in depth. He had forgotten how much he liked Lao and Kitana until he had seen them in their younger forms again. It was doubly painful now to know they were back within their timelines, put into place to maintain the balance—Liu Kang’s balance. No more of that Kronika bitch, Johnny thought. That’s shitty balance.

“Something is on your mind, Cage-san.” It would be the second time that day Johnny would jump out of his skin. He whirled this time, recognizing the voice, but startled nonetheless.

“DO not sneak up on me—Jeezis…”

Scorpion shrugged. “Be more aware of your surroundings in a den of assassins.” He did not speak with malice, though his strange wraith’s eyes betrayed nothing and so Johnny had to go on instinct that he was not being menaced. Certainly Scorpion’s attire had changed; he wore the traditional robes of the Shirai-Ryu nuptial rites, rather than his customary yellow and black assassin garb. There was something comforting in that, but Johnny had laid money on there being some kind of violence at this wedding, so he was still hoping Scorpion was packing some kind of heat under all that fine fabric. Just one “get over here” would do me, I swear.

“Okay, you got me there—am I supposed to be sitting down? Also aren’t you like… shouldn’t you be hiding someplace ‘til it all starts?” He found himself observing the man’s hair, now, held up with an ornate pin that looked to be made of gold. Everything about this was weird, but also made a strange, cosmic sense. There was balance in this, too.

“Western wedding traditions and eastern ones are laid aside here,” said Scorpion cryptically. “We are neither. Shirai-Ryu descend from Outworld… But if you would be seated, we might begin.”

Before Johnny could respond, Scorpion sank into the ground in a flash of fire and heat. Johnny wondered if his hakama would be singed by so doing and chuckled, shaking his head at the thought. Heading toward the seats, he noticed that many people had arrived while he had been daydreaming and he wondered how he had missed them. Before he could worry much about that, Cassie had caught his eye and was signaling him to a seat near the Takahashi family and, of all people, Kung Jin.

“Good to see you, kid,” said Johnny, shaking Jin’s hand. Jin nodded. 

“You kidding, Mr. Cage? I wouldn’t miss this for anything.”

The seats were filling, all familiar faces. Not many were complete unknowns; those who were quickly found their place among kindred spirits. This was an intimate affair, after all. Who would turn down the chance to see the legendary Fire Gardens of the Shirai-Ryu? There was low, murmured chatter, a few peals of laughter, and many wide eyes. 

All at once, however, a hush fell over the crowd prompting the laughter to die down and the murmuring to become whispers. The wind which had been moving the multicolored leaves two and fro stilled and Fujin himself touched down near the back, settling into his seat. Grey Cloud leaned over and whispered something in the god’s ear; Fujin seemed pleased and smiled a crooked grin, nodding. 

Kotal Kahn adjusted his headdress a moment, before taking it off and setting it to the side of his seat. Now is not the time to be emperor, he thought, but honored guest. Next to him, his empress’s smile was soft, approving, her hands folded in her lap. Lord Liu Kang had given them a great gift, restoring Jade to life and vitality. Their wedding had been the largest celebration Outworld had ever seen. She could not see how this could eclipse that, but was politely in attendance nevertheless. 

Erron Black leaned forward and exchanged a few whispered words with Johnny, who shook his head, pointed toward the most ornate building in the Fire Gardens which was serving as the backdrop for the “stage” of this ceremony. Swatting Johnny’s shoulder, Erron leaned back and crossed his arms. 

“Hang on! Don’t start without us!” A voice called from the entrance where a couple of Lin Kuei were struggling to lead a pair of figures who were now jogging toward the seated assembly. Johnny flew up out of his seat and lifted a hand. 

“Lao! Kitana! How…?” He was baffled, but so very, very glad to have the seats in that row filled by these two. Perhaps Liu had done something similar for them to what he had done for Jade. It was good to see her sitting next to Kotal. This was balance. 

“Divine intervention,” said Kitana simply, her face a broad, open grin. Dark eyes sparkled with delight and she looked as young and beautiful as ever. Lao had aged a bit, but he was still a knockout. Johnny flushed a little at the thought and shook his head.

“Well c’mon you acts of god, siddown.”

“You think there’s gunna be some kombat?” Lao asked, stuffing an elbow into his nephew’s ribs. Jin swatted at him and shrugged. Kitana shot a look at both and they sat back. Johnny shook his head. 

“It’s a wedding,” Johnny stated nebulously.

“You’ll be eatin’ your words come this evening,” Erron declared without looking or offering context. Cassie looked between them, eyes narrowed with suspicion. Johnny pulled a face and gestured at Lao and Kitana to sit. Everyone else had gone silent, so it was clearly time. 

A frigid bank of fog had settled into one side of the “stage”. Those closest were shivering, wrapping arms around themselves, smiling with heart-pounding anticipation. Of course this could not be a normal wedding. 

Sub-Zero emerged from the fog bank, ice coating his hands, which he opened and held out toward the right side of the venue. His attire was formal, some kind of ancient Chinese wedding garb, very traditional, as Scorpion’s had been. What were they playing at? And where’s Liu?

“This’s gonna be a helluva show,” rumbled Erron Black, sitting a little straighter. Grey Cloud leaned over and whispered something else to Fujin, who nodded, but then covered his mouth, glowing eyes wide and darting toward his companion, who crossed thick arms with satisfaction and sat back looking very much like the cat who ate the canary. 

A tornado of fire swept the fog and chill from the crowd and Scorpion stood, wearing the same garb in which Johnny had earlier seen him. Not a bit of it was scorched, which was impressive special effects, in Johnny’s mind. He tried to forget the magic bits as much as possible; it hurt his brain even now. He heard a low whistle from behind him, distracting his enchantment-driven discomfort. Evidently his gray matter wasn’t the only thing being strained constantly by their odd choice of companionship.

“It is Shirai-Ryu tradition that the intended must fight for his wife,” said Scorpion, his voice resonating over the quiet crowd without a need to raise it. “A brother, a father, an uncle, or cousin…” He gestured, arms out to either side of himself, as if to indicate that he had no relatives, that he was his only family. “I am nobody’s ‘wife’.”

This, at least, earned a chuckle, rippling through the crowd and easing some tension. Those who had been present from the beginning of the initial konflict knew well the former animosity between Scorpion and the man who had once worn the Sub-Zero mantle. More than that, they knew the rivalry between the Shirai-Ryu and the Lin Kuei, then brutalities committed against the former by the latter. This ceremony was unprecedented. 

“But, I will represent myself.”

“I challenge you, then, Hanzo Hasashi, Grandmaster of the Shirai-Ryu, for the right to call you mine.” Sub-Zero’s dress garb had not changed, but his hands had retained their icy coating and, presumably, that ice was running up his arms now. A cold snap was fanning out from his position, placing a beautiful layer of frost upon the leaves and greenery closest to him.

“I assent.”

Scorpion was enveloped, then, in violent flames, the challenge accepted. These consumed his dress attire and replaced it with his yellow, black, and red assassin garb as he walked through it, untouched. Swinging the spearpoint of his chain almost lazily, Scorpion emerged. With a swift, unforgiving motion, he hurled it toward Sub-Zero. 

“GET OVER HERE!”

The spear flew like lightning, taking Sub-Zero by surprise in the shoulder and tugging him forward into a stumble, staining his nuptial attire with blood. Scorpion was on him in an instant, pulling one of his swords out and swinging hard for the man’s face. Only a quick motion deflected it, ice coating the Lin Kuei Grandmaster’s arm and sending the blade spinning off and sticking into the fine wood of the dojo’s porch. The crowd gasped appropriately as Sub-Zero grasped the spear end and tugged it free, tossing it almost contemptuously onto the ground.

Scorpion retracted it and then began swinging it in another lazy arc as he approached, backing Sub-Zero toward a stone monument to the left of the dojo building. Before he could make another move, Sub-Zero had encased himself in ice and burst forth with a rolling tackle in his traditional blue uniform. Scorpion stood his ground and took the man’s momentum in stride, forcing him to one side and bringing a savage elbow down on his back. There was a grunt of agony from Sub-Zero, but the kryomancer did not release his hold, slowly beginning to chill his arms. Scorpion’s hand bearing the spearhead was trapped, but his other arm remained free and he beat Sub-Zero about the head and shoulders mercilessly, trying to free himself before hypothermia set in.

When his hand dropped open and the spear dropped from it, Scorpion knew he had to change tactics. He set his jaw and brought a leg up, aiming for Sub-Zero’s thigh muscle. The hit drove home and he broke away swiftly, rolling into a kick to the Lin Kuei Grandmaster’s jaw which sent him reeling onto his back. Sub-Zero manifested a snowpile—something he had recently cultivated—to catch himself.

“He’s not even fightin’,” Erron grumbled, arms crossed.

“Would you fight the man you loved? ‘Cause I wouldn’t.” Johnny’s mind flew, unbidden, to Liu Kang. “Besides, you’re still winning.”

“Damn right.”

“You’re BETTING on this?” Cassie’s hiss was so forceful, Johnny nearly jumped.

“Of course not, pumpkin, why would I do something like that?”

Meanwhile, Scorpion was bearing down on Sub-Zero, intent lacing every single one of his tightly coiled, compact muscles. He was an imposing figure, if only in reputation. As far as Johnny was aware, the man had never breached five and a half feet tall, if that—but make no mistake, he had more than earned his name. Supposedly—and everyone was inclined to believe this tale—he had, through sheer force of will and rage, fought his way through the Netherrealm to challenge Quan-Chi and demand his vengeance. The story, after that, became a bit sordid and most people did not repeat what came next.

Sub-Zero launched a few icicles in rapid succession at Scorpion, who was making a run at him. These, he leapt and ducked with almost practiced ease and then, with one tremendous heave, launched himself into the air to come down on top of Sub-Zero, spearhead kunai in hand, aiming very clearly for throat or face. Johnny could see their mouths moving from where he sat, but could not make out their words.

“Do you fight for your honor?”

“I fight for ours.”

“You will not best me.”

“I will.”

“I will kill you, Liang.”

“Hanzo… you are beautiful.”

Sub-Zero forced Scorpion’s arms, both of which were now employed in trying to drive the blade downward, up and over his own head, sticking the tip into the dirt. Both of Sub-Zero’s chilly arms had wrapped around his torso again, but the hold was much softer and without menace. He was holding Scorpion, rather than attempting to crush his ribcage.

“I… yield,” said Hanzo Hasashi, very quietly, sitting up and facing the crowd. “Before this assemblage… I yield.”

Johnny couldn’t help noticing that Sub-Zero’s hands had come to rest easily and comfortably on the yellow-clad assassin’s hips for but a moment before Scorpion stood and offered one of his own. Sub-Zero took it and stood, towering over his new husband, looking pleased, but hardly gloating. Both chests were heaving.

“That counts as violence,” Erron hissed in Johnny’s ear. Cassie was rolling her eyes in their direction, but her attention was mostly upon the spectacle before them. She had never, in her lifetime, had the privilege of witnessing the two Grandmasters really throw down. She was glad she did not have to take them on; one was enough and Sub-Zero had been toying with them. Proud as she was of her training, skill, and heritage, there was something to be said for the raw experience of age.

“Wait…!” Takeda called from a few seats down. He stood, gesturing. “Master Hasashi, your… your eyes!”

“My…” Scorpion paused and looked at Sub-Zero.

“You’ve returned to me, Hanzo,” whispered Kuai Liang, brushing a few stray hairs out of Scorpion’s face. “Body and soul.”

Johnny was the first to stand and applaud. Others soon joined until the entire crowd was surging to their feet with wild laughter and clapping and whistles, whooping and hollering. Jade considered this ceremony adequate competition to hers. Kotal was in tears. 

“If anyone here has any reason these two should not be joined,” said Liu Kang, appearing from a portal just at the top of the steps to the Shirai-Ryu dojo. “Speak now and risk life and limb.”

“It is not recommended,” Sub-Zero added, holding Scorpion tightly.

#cc #cw #subscorp #thermodynamic equilibrium #mortal kombat

[ugly-crying-over-bucky-barnes]

Trust

Summary: Jenna moves in across from Eddie and Venom after escaping an abusive relationship. Within hours of meeting the journalist, her ex-boyfriend winds up dead and she comes face to face with the creature terrorizing San Francisco.

Warnings: Physical abuse, domestic abuse, anxiety, violence

A/n I have this work on my AO3 but I wanted to throw it out here just in case people were interested. My Tom Hardy love has gotten out of hand. Anywho, let me know if you want to be tagged. If you’re in my permanent tags and DO NOT want to be tagged for this particular fic, please let me know. Thank you!

           Jenna knew she probably should have been at the peak of her life. She was in her mid-thirties which was the new twenties for Millenials. She had the opportunity to be a little selfish because she wasn’t married, had no kids, and was young.

           But it seemed like at every turn, Jenna was hitting obstacles. She grew up in a dysfunctional family but always blamed herself for her increasingly worse relationships. Her last boyfriend landed her in the hospital with three broken ribs, a broken nose, and a black eye. With some friends’ help, Jenna managed to escape and get herself into a new apartment. It was a pretty shitty one in a pretty run down part of the city, but she was free.

================

           “There is someone in pain by our door.” Venom brought Eddie’s attention up from his phone as he walked upstairs.

           “Huh?” The journalist jogged up the last flight of stairs in alarm.

           “She is in pain.”

           A woman was hauling boxes into the apartment across from Eddie’s. Venom appeared to be right. The woman looked young but in visible pain as she lifted the boxes. She walked with a slight hitch in her step as well.

           “Your pulse quickened. You think she is beautiful.” Venom’s deep voice was inquiring but had a hint of jealousy.

           Their relationship had been delicate. There wasn’t a Wikihow article about falling in love with your parasi-ahem, symbiote. But Venom was comforting and understood Eddie. There were a lot of factors to that, but Venom didn’t have to be in his mind to get him. And yet, there were the logistics of that matter.

           Could a human date an alien?

           Could someone date what was physically attached to them?

           Would he technically be dating himself because they were basically one entity now?

           Could a relationship work if you had zero alone time?

           Not that Eddie was annoyed; Venom was starting to understand boundaries. “Nah bud, you’re my number one.” Eddie comforted the symbiote as he walked to his door.

           “You cannot deny physical signs, Eddie.”

           The journalist fished for his keys and glanced over his shoulder. The woman came back out of her apartment and caught his gaze. “Hey, I’m Eddie.” He reached over to shake her hand.

           She pushed a strand of auburn hair off her sweaty forehead. “Oh, hi. I’m Jenna.” She shook his hand. “Guess we’re going to be neighbors now.” She gave him a polite smile.

           “Yeah, I was actually glad to see the last tenant go. You don’t happen to play guitar do you?” Eddie tried to joke but he could see the marks left from the beating she’d sustained just a week before. He couldn’t say for sure what the cause was, but he got a sinking feeling in his gut that it wasn’t accidental.

           “No, just sing in the shower sometimes. I hope the walls aren’t that thin.” Jenna replied in a light-hearted manner. But she was wary. “Are you going to do a news report on me if I do?” She teased.

           Eddie looked a little surprised, then let out a short, sheepish laugh. “You watched my segment.”

           “I did. I was sad to hear you weren’t on the air anymore. But, aren’t there rumors flying around that you were starting up again?”

           “Yeah, no.” He shrugged and stuck his hands in his pockets. “Just rumors.”

           “Oh.” Jenna leaned against the doorframe. “So, what do you do now?”

           “Y’know, writing and just sticking my nose into places I don’t belong.” He cracked a wise smile.

           “She appears to like you.” Venom had been uncharacteristically quiet through the exchange.

           “Sounds exciting.” Jena picked up a lamp to bring inside. “I guess you have a lot to report about after everything with the Life Foundation. And that crazy…monster or whatever is running around San Francisco.”

           “Monster?!”

           “Although, it lowered rent here, so that’s good.” Jenna shrugged. “Whatever it is, I guess it’s going after criminals.” She noted. “Wish he’d go after my ex-boyfriend.” The woman muttered more to herself than to her new neighbor.

           Eddie’s blood ran cold because, despite her quiet voice, he had heard her loud and clear.

           “Her boyfriend did that to her?”

           Eddie tried to console the symbiote but felt just as angry at the possibility. The woman couldn’t have been more than 5’5 and looked harmless. He couldn’t imagine a man beating her up.

           “We must find him and rip out his heart and eat his head and then…”

           The symbiote continued ranting angrily as Eddie stood stock still in the hallway.

           Jenna gave him a puzzled look. “Are you okay? You look exhausted.”

           Eddie stopped listening to Venom’s violent plans. He nodded and cleared his throat. “Yeah, totally. I’m really tired. D'you need help with these?” He gestured to the last two boxes in the hallway.

           “No, thank you.” Jenna shook her head. “You’re tired, I don’t want to work you to death.” She declined. Truthfully, she wanted nothing to do with men for a long time. There was no way she was going to lay all of her trust in someone only to wind up in the hospital again. Eddie could have been a nice guy but she wasn’t taking any more chances. No one was ever what they seemed on first glance.

           “You sure?”

           “Yep, got it. Thank you, though.” Jenna pushed one of the boxes into her apartment.

           “Alright, well…here.” Eddie grabbed a business card out of his wallet. It had been a while since he’d had one. Even though he was still freelancing, it felt like an accomplishment. Venom had griped about not being listed on the card. After all, he went along with Eddie on his interviews even the boring ones. The symbiote enjoyed chasing bad guys much more. “My cell number is on there.” Eddie gave Jenna the card and pointed it when she took it. “If you need anything, just let me know. You can call or text doesn’t matter what time.” He smiled.

           Jenna looked at his name printed above his number on the simple white card. “Thank you, Eddie, that means a lot to me.” She said but her nerve endings flared in anxiety.

           “No problem.” The journalist turned and entered his apartment.

           Jenna brought the last box inside and closed the door. She turned the lock and slid the latch in place. She stared at the door for a moment, wondering how hard it would be to add a few extra locks. The fear of her ex-boyfriend finding her was constantly looming in the back of her mind, ever since she made a police report and left the hospital. Her friends insisted she file charges, even though she was terrified.

           Her mind was in a perpetual state of anxiety as she just waited for the day her ex turned up again. Tyler’s anger was ruthless and once he found out he was being charged it was inevitable he would track her down. Jenna worried for her friends and family because they would be the first to be questioned about her location.

           Maybe she should have stayed to save everyone else the angst.

           Jenna shook the dark thought away. She was alive because she left. The police station was aware of the situation so they could get restraining orders if they needed. It just wouldn’t be easy.

           She eyed Eddie’s card in her hand but decided to keep it. She supposed it would be a good idea to have a neighbor’s number.

==================

           “Eddie.”

           Venom’s stern voice woke up his host fairly quickly. The symbiote had made Eddie a much lighter sleeper than he ever had been before.

           Groggy and startled, Eddie sat up in the tangled mess of his bed sheets. “What? What? What time is it, Ven?” He grabbed his phone to see that it was only nine o’clock at night. His ‘quick afternoon nap’ had turned into a deep sleep. He figured the symbiote was starving and just wanted to eat.

           “Does not matter! Get up!” Black ropes shot out from Eddie’s torso and grabbed onto the bed frame to force him to his feet.

           “Alright, alright!” Eddie stumbled to his feet, batting Venom away. “What is going on, man?”

           “There is someone outside Jenna’s door.”

           Eddie went to his front room and began to hear a disturbance in the hallway.

           “Jenna, for fuck’s sake just let me in!” A harsh voice accompanied banging on the door across from Eddie’s.

           “Tyler, just go away!” Jenna’s voice was slightly more muffled from the safety of her apartment. But there was intense fear and panic in her tone.

           “God, you stupid bitch, just open the door!”

           Eddie crept across the room to look through the peephole. A large guy stood in the hallway. His body was tense as he continued pounding on the weak door.

           “What are we waiting for? Let’s eat his face!” Venom roared and threatened to take control.

           “No, stop.” Eddie hushed him. “It could just be an argument.” He was slightly hesitant to get involved because it would ultimately mean Venom trashing the apartment building (again) and scaring Jenna. And it would be for nothing if it were just a harmless argument between exes.

           “She is scared!” Venom was incredulous at Eddie’s lack of action.

           “Just wait!” Tyler began shouting again. “When I kick this door down, you’re going to regret going to the police. Your dumbass friends won’t even be able to recognize you when I’m through with you!”

           “Is that enough reason to eat his head off?”

           “Yep, let’s do this.” Eddie threw open his door so hard it almost flew off the hinges.

           “Hey!” Venom’s bass tone was starting to already take over his voice. “You can get the hell outta here, she doesn’t want to see you.”

           Jenna’s boyfriend turned around and recoiled in fear when he saw Venom’s full figure standing over him. “What the fuck?!” He shouted.

           “You don’t seem to understand basic human decency. You have made a big mistake, what do you think that mistake was?” Venom’s head tilted to the side as he bared his teeth. Eddie expected him to just finish the guy off as soon as he turned around, but the symbiote had a habit of playing with his food.

           The man was cowering in fear, his eyes desperately scouting out an escape route. “Man, I’m sorry.” He stammered.

           “And what are you sorry for?” Venom crouched down to come close to the man’s sweaty face.

           “Sh-she ratted me out to the police. I dunno I…”

           Venom growled and grabbed him by the shoulder making him scream in panic. “Wrong answer.” He was done with playing around and unhinged his jaw to bit off the man’s head. But he didn’t swallow him whole. Instead, he threw the decapitated body out of the nearby window.

           Jenna’s door slowly opened and she peered out. A strangled scream left her mouth as she found not her abusive ex, but San Francisco’s monster vigilante.

           Venom didn’t move so he wouldn’t frighten her further. “Do not be afraid, Jenna.” He spoke in a quieter voice to reassure her. “I would never harm you.”

           Jenna stared at him in utter shock. She couldn’t move her tight grip from her doorknob and she couldn’t run. Her feet felt cemented to the ground. “H-how do you know my name?” She sputtered.

           “I would call the police and inform them what has occurred. Tell them the truth.” Venom didn’t answer her as a commotion started to kick up on the streets below. “What matters now is he will not harm you again.” The symbiote made a hasty exit out of the shattered window. He climbed up the building and stayed in the shadows. He perched on a nearby roof to watch the chaos below. They would have to wait to return to the building so Eddie could act like a confused bystander.

           “You like her.” Eddie’s voice piped up from behind Venom’s shield-like form.

           “She is innocent. I do not like bullies.” Venom huffed.

           After about an hour, Eddie grabbed a few things from Mrs. Chen’s store and returned to the apartment building. Someone stopped him by the flight of stairs.

           “Area’s been roped off for an investigation.” The uniformed officer told him.

           “I live up there,” Eddie replied. “What happened?” He feigned ignorance of the situation around him.

           “There’s been an attack, sir.”

           “Is my neighbor okay?” He hoped that would be a good reason to be allowed past the tape. He was pretty good at getting into restricted areas with or without permission.

           “The young lady? Yeah, she wasn’t hurt she’s just in shock. They’re talking to her now.” He answered.

           “I can I make sure she’s okay? Please, I’m the only person she has right now.” Eddie was agitated but thought it would probably pass off as a concern. The officer looked conflicted but finally lifted the yellow crime scene tape to allow him upstairs.

           “Jenna’s in distress. Her heart is racing.” Venom said as they ducked underneath the tape and hurried upstairs.

           “Well, she just saw you, handsome, I’m sure she’s still in shock.”

           “Perhaps, but I sense something is wrong.”

           Eddie found a criminal investigation underway on their floor. Jenna was in her doorway shaking as a detective stood over her in an intimidating manner.

           “You need to tell me how your ex-boyfriend ended up killed after coming to your doorstep, Miss Prince.”

           “I told you, I have no idea. He was trying to get into my apartment. I heard him scream and the glass break so I opened my door. There was this creature just standing there.” She struggled to get the words out to recount what she saw. “The window was broken before I opened the door. I didn’t even see Tyler.”

           “You��re giving me this bullshit story that an alien bit your boyfriend’s head off an threw him out a fucking window?”

           “You’ve heard cases all over the city…”

           Eddie stepped in as Jenna tried to defend herself. “Whoa, I’m sorry, what’s goin’ on?”

           “Who the hell let you up here?” The detective snapped.

           “I think the better question is about your methods. You really think this woman decapitated her boyfriend, picked him up, and threw him out a window? Are you insane?” He wedged himself between Jenna and the man.

           “Let’s eat his head too. We are still hungry.” Venom snarled.

           “This isn’t any of your business, Brock, move along.”

           “Oh, so you know me.” The journalist smiled. “Then you can probably guess that I can ask tough questions too. Here, since I’m your size and not a five-foot woman, you can pick on me instead.”

           The detective glared at him. “This is an ongoing investigation and she’s a suspect. You have no right to just…”

           “Find any blood in her apartment? On her? I can imagine it’s pretty hard to behead someone without getting any blood on your hands. In fact, did he even read you your rights?” Eddie glanced over his shoulder.

           Jenna met his eyes and shook her head. “No.” She answered quietly.

           Eddie turned back to the man with an overly exaggerated look of shock. “No kidding!” He tutted. “Doesn’t make your department look too good, officer.”

           “I didn’t know you were a lawyer on top of being a nosy douchebag.” The detective spat back at him but looked caught at the mention of Miranda rights.

           “Nah, just a nosy douchebag. But I do know a lawyer. In fact, we’re going to drop by her place now. Jenna’s not answering any more of your stupid questions.” Eddie replied. “Why don’t you grab a few things to stay over her house?” He said in a softer voice to his neighbor.

           Jenna still looked overwhelmed with shock. She didn’t argue or ask any questions though. Instead, she retreated into her apartment to pack a small bag.

           Eddie leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed. “You’re probably in Captain Scott’s precinct. Or, I apologize, was his precinct. He’s still got a few months left on his sentence, right?”

           The detective’s nostrils flared in anger at the mention of his deposed captain. “I could have you arrested for obstruction.” He snarled.

           “What did I expose him for?” Eddie played dumb just to get on his nerves. He wasn’t threatened with the petty offense. “Fraud? Corruption? Y’know I lose track sometimes. This will be a good one though, six-foot asshole detective threatens abused young woman. I can see the public outrage now.” Eddie’s eyes flashed gray for a moment as Venom vibrated with joy over the torment of the man.

           “Fuck off.” The detective spat before moving away from him.

           “Jenna’s lawyer is engaged to a doctor, maybe he can help your oversized ego!” Eddie yelled one final jab.

           “That was funny. But I still wish we could have eaten his head. He is a bully as well.”

           “Yeah, but he’s not a murderer, bud,” Eddie said under his breath.

           “Could be.”

           “Yeah, I guess he could be.”

Permanent Tag List: @what-the-buckybarnes @captainmarmel

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#venom #venom symbiote #eddie brock #eddie brock x venom #eddie brock x ofc #eddie brock x venom x ofc #ofc #venom x ofc #marvel fanfiction #venom fanfiction #marvel fic #marvel #sony #symbiote #fanfiction #fic #venom fic #eddie brock fanfiction #eddie brock imagine #tom hardy #tom hardy imagine #venom imagine #imagine #tomy hardy character #abuse #ptsd #violence #throuple? #ocs #original characters

[where-fading-princesses-live]

‘’An Ed Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest’’ - EEnE Fanfic

@eene-fangirl Fanfic Weekend Challenge! Just a collection of random Jonny thoughts, and a poem thing at the end. (Raise your hand if you remember video stores.)

 An Ed Flew east, an Ed flew west,

An Ed flew over the cuckoo’s nest.

 -Parody on children’s folk rhyme

             People thought Jonny didn't care. It wasn't true. He did want things. That is, he wanted to want things, even to love things, as much as Ed loved every living thing— every plant, every tree, every bird and cloud in the sky. As Rolf loved things— the soil beneath his hands, the sweat on his back, the wind in his hair. As Jimmy loved things— the creek by the woods, quiet girls in crowded rooms looking inside a mirror or out the window at something unknown but desired. Only Jonny couldn't say what he wanted. It was too impossible now. Wanting anything seemed crazy. There was only one person Jonny could talk to, and it should have filled his craving. Was he satisfied?

           ''Jonny, why do you still play with that stupid thing?'' Sarah asked him one day, oddly concerned for the strange child as she indicated the wooden plaything. In the past, Sarah would have never even batted an eyelid in Jonny's direction.

           ''Cause Plank says so,'' Jonny replied, holding up Plank for her to see. But she didn't look at Plank. She just continued to gape at Jonny.

           ''Really, are you gonna continue to let that stupid board of wood tell ya what to do? Get grip!'' and she stormed off. As long as Jonny was happy, who cared what others thought?

           Eds always seemed to have more fun. It was on one such trip to the video store that Jonny discovered this. Jonny didn’t intend to run into them, but he always happened upon the Eds by pure happy coincidence. He watched as Ed made his way through the rows and rows of shelves, sprinting through the video store like a child at a toy shop. ''Movies, movies! Look at all the movies, guys!'' He yelled and pointed at each colorful video casket cover bearing a different title, a different genre. Jonny smiled at his immature display, in spite of himself. Watching Ed aglow made his heart flutter in warmth, but he couldn't exactly say why. Maybe because it was so different from the eternal smile his best friend often displayed. Jonny found Ed endearing, to say the least.

           ''Now be careful, Ed!'' came Double D’s familiar cautious voice as Ed ran through the seemingly empty store. On a Friday night, it was unusual, but Jonny assumed parents with their small children and families and groups of friends

had already swept the store clean the minute school let out. In fact, they were late to the party. Jonny supposed they were the only four kids in the store. Eddy, too, acknowledged this as he trudged behind Double D with his hands shoved in both pockets, sulking that they would not be out in time to make a trip to the candy store.

           ''Christ,'' he muttered under his breath, ''all the good stuff's rented out.''

           ''Eddy, first of all watch your language in public, and second of all, we're looking for a decent, educational film for Ed, not for us.'' he lectured.

           Eddy sighed at Double D’s usual nagging and rolled his eyes at the ceiling. ''Yeah... forgot. Hey, how this supposed to help Lumpy anyways?''

           ''Because, Eddy, proposing a fun activity can show Ed that learning can be a fun experience outside the classroom environment! Besides, he can apply previous knowledge to new concepts. He's already improved drastically!''

           Eddy just listened to this rant quietly before asking only half-interested, ‘’So if Ed brings up his grades—‘’

           ''Yes, we’ll be back in business, goodness, is that all you ever think about? You'd be surprised, Eddy. I'm very proud of him. In only a month's time, he's come a long way, but he will advance, I'm sure of it. He's a fast learner.'' But Edd stopped himself when he saw Eddy yawning in boredom and moving away to find Ed. Why did he even bother?

           ''Hey, lumpy, didja find something?'' He called.

           And Ed rushed out from behind the Sci-Fi/Horror section with a case depicting a giant green octopus monster. ''Look, Eddy! It Came from Beneath the Sea!'' And Ed pushed the video casket under Eddy's nose.

           ''Get that thing away from me!'' Eddy commanded as he pushed Ed backwards.

           ''But it's so cool!'' Ed pleaded.

           Double D came forward and put a hand on Ed's shoulder. ''Ed, that's very nice, but... may we find something less... dismaying?''

           ''Okay...'' and he reluctantly obeyed and put the movie back in its proper section.

           ''Let's try the family section, shall we? We're bound to find something there.'' Edd suggested.

           And Eddy once again rolled his eyes in besetment. ''Oh, brother...'' he moaned.

           ‘’First impressions always last, as they say. And furthermore-''

           But Ed's voice broke through what Edd was about to say next. ''Look, guys! Elvis!'' And he pointed to the comedy section. ''Elvis is so cool!'' And he held up a familiar title Clambake, a typical 60's beach comedy. Ed, being the devoted Elvis fan that he was, was literally in heaven, for the comedy section held quite a few notable Elvis titles, though Clambake was not the most versatile of them. By 1967 with the Beatles leading the British invasion of new musical performers, the King of the Sixties was in decline at least in his film career. You can tell with Clambake; you would know if you'd seen the film. But to Ed, any B-grade film made no difference to him. Eddy burst out laughing the minute he laid eyes on what Ed had in his hands.

           ''Yeah, right, Ed! Elvis is so yesterday!'' But Ed didn't catch the joke as he laughed along.

           ''I don't know, Ed...'' Double D told him. ''It's a nice thought, but keep in mind that—‘’

           ''Dammit, Double D, you ain't gonna find nothing these days but beach movies, westerns, crime dramas and Dick Van Dyke!'' Eddy said rather annoyed as he threw up his hands.

           ''There must be something,'' Edd tried again, but no sooner had he spoken when Eddy disappeared into none other than the crime section. ''Eddy!'' but when he tried to follow him, Eddy emerged once more from behind one of the shelves and jabbed his finger into Edd’s lower torso, his hand imitating the gesture of a gun.

           ''This is a stick-up,'' he said in a gravelly voice as he pushed Edd back into one of the walls. ''Guess who, Double D?''

           ''Haha, very funny, Clyde!'' he mocked as he pushed Eddy’s hand away, catching on.

           ''C'mon, Sock Head, you're no fun! Bonnie & Clyde is da shit!''

           ''I doubt Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway is a good influence for —‘’

           But before he could finish his reply, Johnny 2x4 interrupted them. They both jumped clean out of their skin, expecting to see someone else, but they sighed in relief upon seeing the small child with his board of wood in tow. Neither Ed had even known Jonny was in the store with them.

           ‘’Watcha guys doin’?’’ Jonny inquired in his usual piqued curiosity. Eddy was about to tell him to get lost but Jonny continued on. ‘’Why be couch potatoes, huh? Plank says there’s gonna be a solar eclipse tonight.’’

           Ed, who had briefly returned from his movie hunt, gasped and repeated to his friends, ‘’Did you hear that, guys? Plank says there’s gonna be a solar eclipse tonight!’’

           Eddy only snorted. ‘’We don’t need an echo, Ed, we heard him the first time.’’

           ‘’PLANK SAYS!’’ Ed protested.

           ‘’Yeah, right! That stupid piece of firewood don’t know jack shit!’’ Edd was about to chastise Eddy once more for his cursing but Jonny cut him off.

           ‘’Says you!’’ Jonny accused. ‘’Plank knows everything!’’

           ‘’Yeah, Eddy,’’ Ed defended, ‘’you’re gonnna hurt the poor lil guy’s feelings! Plank told me my birthday’s Feburary 27th! That proves he knows everything!’’

           ‘’Ed,’’ Double D piped up, ‘’your birthday is always February 27th!’’ then he turned to Jonny, also skeptical of Plank’s prediction. ‘’And besides, we already had a solar eclipse last month!’’

           ‘’So?’’ Jonny challenged him arrogantly.

           ‘’So,’’ Double D emphasized, ‘’total solar eclipses only occur every eighteen months on average, and it is estimated they reoccur at any given place only every 360 to 410 years… generally speaking. So another solar eclipse couldn’t possibly occur tonight, Jonny, it’s not possible! Science would forever be changed.’’

           ‘’Yeah, what he said!’’ Eddy shot back.

           '''Fine, who needs ya guys anyways?'' Jonny snapped and stormed off with Plank in tow.

             Ed was the only one who believed Jonny—er—Plank, and went over to his house that night to prepare for another total solar eclipse. Eddy and Edd stood by their skepticism and hung out in Edd’s bedroom, finishing their homework (or at least Edd was doing homework, Eddy was reading comic books if Edd recalled correctly). They were both proved wrong when the sky suddenly darkened and when they ventured outside, they were both amazed and shocked to see a total solar eclipse occurring right before their eyes! Jonny and Ed never let them hear the end of it, feeling superior to any scientific proof.

           ‘’We told ya so, we told ya so!’’ they chanted every day.

           Edd couldn’t explain it—all the books and mathematical calculations could not prove how Jonny—or Plank, in this case—could have possibly predicted another solar eclipse, a month after an eclipse had already occurred! Solar eclipses were rare events— a pair of eclipses occurring two months in a row had never happened before—it was just not possible!

           I am a collective soul who prefers to keep a small inner circle around me. Too many is overwhelming and misguided. I have my books, my parents, and Plank. What more do I need? I have my Masters, the Blue Light, and the voices of my angels ''singing songs'' in my head. I don't need any friends (that's a lie), I don't even need myself (that's the truth). My best friend is and always will be Plank, unaccompanied by my mirror- - a friend I have known my entire life. And now I am proud to say that I consider you a close friend, though distant through the years, and far away. One does not need to face a good friend in order to feel each other's heart beat in the darkness. One may never meet, and feel closer to them than a person they had known seemingly for a thousand years. That being said, I can sit in my room alone in the company of the shadows on the wall. My mother could be in the next room or not there at all, and I'll still feel her presence through the fibers of my skin. I can be sitting here reading an e-mail, and though separated by a glass screen, it would seem as though you were sitting there before me, reading the words aloud to me in your voice full of wit and wisdom.

           I prefer the quiet conversations of the trees to the chorus of voices in a crowd. I prefer the blood in my veins to the water in the pond. One must learn to be lonely, and learn to live life alone. One who is always in need of more than two friends is insecure and has low self-esteem. It is not healthy to live one's life completely in seclusion, but one must also embrace the beautiful moments of alone-ness, and will come to appreciate a passion for life in which the world rejects when surrounded by one too many faces. Plutarch once said, '' I don't need a friend who changes when I change and who nods when I nod; my shadow does that much better.''

             Thankfully welcome.

#eene #ed edd n eddy #jonny 2x4 #plank #fanfiction

[4birds-of-a-feather]

Chapter 26 - Man, it doesn’t show signs of stoppin’ [part 4]

Birds Of a Feather

(In the previous chapters: Sara’s come back to the apartment, only to find Eddie next to the front door; the two of them then spent their afternoon talking about concerts, but also about Eddie’s difficult childhood and Sara’s singing abilities that the girl wants to keep secret at all costs. The guy forces her to sing him something and, after jokingly threatening her with the promise that he’ll write a duet for the two of them, Eddie and Sara start a pillow fight. Unexpectedly, Layla appears and sees them behaving in this unconventional friendly way. WARNING: we know, we know! A Christmas Eve chapter when Carnival has already ended?! You all have to forgive us: we fell ill, then University exams and jobs gave us the final blow... Let’s just hope you’re gonna enjoy this update! Thanks for your patience, you guys are seriously the best and we’ll never get tired to say it 🏵️)

Layla sighed as she entered her apartment and tossed the keys on the telephone table. She silently thanked her past self for taking the spare ones after she gave hers to Sara, otherwise she’d have spent Christmas Eve outside a closed door alone. She noticed the lights were on and took a mental note to scold her roommate for having forgotten to switch them off before going out. She plopped on the couch still wearing her coat and with her bag in her hands. <Is it possible to feel relieved and extremely sad at the same time?> the girl asked herself as she was staring at the flashing lights of the Christmas tree she set up with Sara a few days before. She smiled thinking about how she had to threaten her friend not to cook anymore to get some help with the decorations. A minute later she was sulking again though, thinking that it was all meaningless since nobody was there to enjoy it. She wasn’t upset because she didn’t get to leave and see David – she wasn’t that eager to go anyway – it was simply one of those things she would have done because it was just the right thing to do. Layla was actually glad to have an excuse to avoid meeting him, but being alone on Christmas Eve wasn’t exactly the ideal scenario either. She snapped out of her thoughs when she heard some noise coming through the hallway. <... Eddie?> Layla distinctively heard male laughter and sprang to attention. She quickly removed her coat, leaving it on the couch and got up, walking towards the source of the noise, which was Eddie’s room. In a small corner of her mind she wondered what he was doing at home, why he wasn’t at the party with Jeff, but most of all she was curious to know what he was laughing so heartily for. Maybe he was on the phone with his friends from California... She was about to find out and was also considering going to the bathroom for a quick check in the mirror before showing up in his room, but she stopped in her tracks when she heard a female laughter too. <Oh... he’s not alone... well, of course he’s not> Layla called herself stupid for being jealous because they were nothing but friends and after all she was just about to board a flight to go see her ex boyfriend. She was about to go back and take the phone so she could lock herself in her room and call her parents and siblings when she heard a well known voice. “... nobody has to fuckin’ know it!” her friend Sara warned Eddie, who was now horse laughing. “What the...?” Layla whispered and took a U turn, walking towards Eddie’s room. “Ok, ok, nobody will ever know this thing! I swear!” Eddie hardly managed to say between laughters. “Nobody will ever know what?” Layla stuck her head through the half open door and found herself gawking with her jaw dropped when she saw Eddie laying on the bed with his legs in the air and Sara bent over him with a pillow in her hands, both in an almost frozen position as they were looking at her, surprised to see her. “Layla?! Layla, h-hi. What are you doing here?” Eddie slowly processed the fact his crush was standing at the door while he was in bed with her best friend – at least that was what it looked like – and when he did, he immediately jumped up to sit on the covers, while Sara remained there awkwardly holding the pillow and slowly pulling it down on her head. “I could ask you the same question but I’ll focus on the one I’ve already asked you” Layla promptly remarked, opening the door a little wider and entering the room. “Hey, El! Did you miss the flight? Sara asked as nothing happened, her head still covered with the pillow. “Yes, like all the other passengers. The airport is basically blocked because of the snow storm, no flights for now” “And I’ve always thought God didn’t exist!” Sara exclaimed throwing her pillow at Layla, who caught it directly in her hands and gave a scornful look at her roommate. Sara immediately got the hint and went on, addressing Layla but actually talking to Eddie “Oh, I mean, I’m sorry you can’t visit your family but I’m happy you’re here” “I’m happy too. Too bad for your... family” Eddie played along, crossing his legs on the bed and not looking at Layla in the eye. The fact she still wanted to see her boyfriend really upset him but he didn’t want to let her know he knew, he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable. “What about your family, Sara? Weren’t you supposed to spend Christmas with them?” “I did! I went home, shook hands, shared hugs and kisses, wished a merry Christmas to everybody and then flew out of there as fast as I could!” the girl basically mimicked the movement of a Space Shuttle launch. “Did you run after they asked you how college is going? Or if you’re working?” Eddie asked her amused, still remembering their previous exchange on the matter. “Nah, I resisted, but had to get out of there when they asked me where my boyfriend was” she elbowed him hard in the ribs as he was still laughing. “Oh god! I hate when they ask that. When will you settle down?” Eddie put on an extremely serious voice. “When will you get your act together, Miss?” she squakwed and burst out laughing until her eyes met Layla, who was just awkwardly standing there with an embarrassed smile on her face. “Yeah, I guess it can be stressful at some point” the girl commented, feeling kinda out of place in that conversation. Family reunions with the whole Boulais clan together were rare and she loved them and treasured them. Anyway, nobody ever asked her anything about her career or life in general... at least not for first; relatives were usually more interested in her brother’s upcoming concerts or her sister’s first fashion shows at school. Then they would end up asking about her as well, but there wasn’t really much to say; her parents didn’t inquire about her relationship with David, – also because they didn’t really approve it – they thought she was too young to go steady with a guy like that and that he was actually clipping her wings. “Layla’s not like us, Eddie, she was lucky in the family department” “I’d be luckier if I got to spend more time with them. You can’t understand, Sara: you can see them anytime you want, if you were me you’d miss them too and wouldn’t get tired of those boring questions” Layla sighed and her roommate had to gulp down the lump in her throat. “Well, yeah... I guess that-” she shrugged, but her friend stopped her. “So what is it that nobody has to know?” “What?” Sara decided to play dumb but Layla wouldn’t hear of it. “You were talking about that just before I arrived, about a secret you had to keep or something...” Layla folded her arms and leant against the doorframe, waiting for an answer. “Heaven by Warrant” Eddie stated out of the blue. “Excuse me?” Layla squinted towards him. “Sara loves that song but is ashamed to admit it” “WHAT THE FU-” Sara turned to face Eddie and give him a nasty look but immediately understood she had to play along if she wanted her little secret to remain safe “And you swore you wouldn’t have told anybody!” “But Layla is your best friend forever, she wouldn’t – ouch! - she wouldn’t ruin your reputation” Eddie tried to defend himself but couldn’t avoid Sara’s slap on his nape. Layla wasn’t really sure about what was going on. <The song thing can be true but...> it wasn’t Sara’s unexpected interest for power ballads that didn’t convince Layla, but rather the apparently new chemistry and intimacy between her and Eddie. “My lips are sealed” Layla dismissed everything with a smile and decided not to think about it and simply enjoy the company of her friends. “So... what do we do now? I mean, we’re alone at Christmas, we gotta come up with something” Eddie questioned, finally standing up from his bed and retrieving his pillow from the floor next to Layla’s feet. <She’s so beautiful, for fuck’s sake...> he pondered as he did. “We’re not alone, we’re three – we’re a group!” Layla cheered with a little jump. “A group of losers” Sara smirked. “Ok, if you wanna stay here and lie around, moping like this forever and feeling sorry for yourself, you’re welcome; this loser here’s gonna cook a delicious Christmas dinner” Layla stated with a nod and left Eddie’s room just like that. “Where does all that energy come from?” Eddie turned around to ask Sara, still sitting on his bed. “Don’t ask me, just prepare yourself to stuff good things in your stomach” Sara slowly stood up from the bed and was about to drag herself out of Eddie’s room, but the singer had already stormed out to join Layla in the kitchen.

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

Eddie stopped a few steps away from the kitchen then proceeded to enter walking normally, so that Layla wouldn’t notice he was in a rush and eager to be alone with her. As he got in he realized she wouldn’t notice anyway because she was standing on a chair with her head buried into an open cabinet, probably looking for something for the dinner. “Ehm ehm... can I help you?” Eddie coughed and asked as he was noticing Layla’s long Christmas sweater had reindeers also in the back. “Oh, hey! Yes, you can, hold this” the girl turned around a little and held out a big casserole for him to take. “You don’t have to do anything special, you know, anything edible will do. It’s just-it’s just the three of us” Eddie put the casserole down on the kitchen table next to the other pots and pans Layla took out. “If it’s more than one person, it’s always special. And sometimes, when you’re alone too, you need to make yourself feel special, don’t you think? We’re all worth it, now and then.” she smiled and handed Eddie another white pot, pointing at the table “Give me the small one back, I’ll use this one” The guy obliged as he thought Layla was now her usual happy self, whereas minutes earlier she looked kind of sad, almost pissed. <Maybe cooking distracts her from the fact that her Christmas plans with that poor excuse of a man are ruined> “So? Will you just stand there doing nothing or will you give me some real help?” Eddie was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t see Layla had already come down from the chair and was now stocking on food from the fridge, her hands full of stuff. “Oh yeah, yes! Sure!” he walked up to the girl and took the goods from her hand, one item at a time “Cauliflower? I’d appreciate it but I don’t know if the roaring carnivorous lion in the other room would agree” <Ok, I said I didn’t want anything special but...> “You’ll see, man of little faith!” she squinted at him as she passed him butter and cheese “The lion will be licking her claws. And you as well” “Gruyère...” Eddie read one of the tags aloud “Oh, I like this!” “Grâce à Dieu j'ai acheté les fromages ou nous devrions gratiner avec... je sais pas...Cheese Strings” she chuckled to herself as she was busy putting the rest of the food on the counter. Eddie smiled; he didn’t understand every single word because she was talking fast, but he got the meaning anyway. “Do you speak French to your family?” he asked to shift the conversation on other more personal subjects. He knew very little about Layla and he hated the fact he knew more about her ex boyfriend than her family. “Sometimes. Only a few words or sentences here and there anyway, not whole conversations in French. Unless we don’t want to be deciphered!” she added with a wink “But it’s an extremely dangerous activity because, you know, some people study French and all, it’s not a secret dead language or something” “Did you call them?” “I’ll try and call them after I’m done with this last minute Christmas dinner. Will you cut the cheese, please?” she answered as she took a box of pasta from another lower cabinet. “Sure” “Small cubes, use a plate” she added, handing him the knife. “But... shouldn’t you tell them about the canceled flight and that you’re not going?” Eddie asked and Layla felt he had her on the sharp end of the knife – and not just physically. “Uhm yeah, I guess. I mean, I told them I’d go but it wasn’t like an official invitation – it’s not like they’re specifically waiting for me. Relatives are gonna see I’m not there anyway... at some point, at least” she shrugged as she took a pot and placed it under the tap to fill it with water. “At some point?” “Well, yeah; I guess some time towards the end of the night, when they’re all sprawled out on the sofa with their pants unbuttoned, food and alcohol baby bellies spilling out, then they’ll probably notice there’s more room on the sofa because I’m not there” she joked but Eddie could read a faint hint of bitterness in her words. “I’m sure that’s not true, you’re exaggerating” “Hehe yeah yeah, they’re not gross binge eating alcoholics, it was just for the dramatic effect! They just... really love wine. Like, in a sexual way” “I really love wine too,” Eddie explained and specifically decided to avoid the sexual part “I meant that they’ll immediately notice your absence” “You’re overestimating my stage presence” she shook her head while putting salt into the water pot. “I find your stage presence quite extraordinary, actually” the singer remarked and Layla immediately looked at him, focused on chopping the cheese in small pieces. “Thank you. You say so because you don’t know my parents and siblings yet, they’re more interesting” <Yet? Why the hell did I say YET? What does it mean? It’s not like he’s gonna meet my family anytime soon. He’ll think I’m a weirdo> Layla started panicking internally soon after she had spoken. “Uhm, but I know you and you’re such a genuinely beautiful person and you’re always so full of energy and positivity and every time you enter a room is like you fuckin’ bring the light but in such a delicate, not unwieldy way... And you’re so interesting and passionate about everything you make, from dinners to rabbit surgery, and-and I can’t imagine anyone not noticing you’re not there and not missing you. I’m surely gonna miss you when you’ll go back to your apartment” Eddie said all at once, without taking his eyes off the cheese, and Layla just stared at him through her glasses. “... My dad worked with Ann Margret. Among others” she stated with a sarcastic tone in her voice. “Well, I loved her in Tommy but-” “My brother met Baryshnikov” she added. “You’re still more interesting to me.” Eddie looked up from his work “Is it alright?” “Well, yeah – I mean, thank you...” Layla blushed and didn’t really know what to say. “I meant the cheese. Is it ok?” Eddie smiled a wicked smile and only then Layla noticed he was slightly lifting up the plate to show her. “Yeah! The-err!, the cubes are perfect, thank you! Maybe add just a little bit more, I’m gonna need it for the pasta too” the girl giggled nervously and turned her back to Eddie as she started to peel potatoes more aggressively than needed. “Sooo, look at you two ants, workin’ your asses off!” Sara appeared behind them all of a sudden, peeping at what they were preparing “Oh, but don’t mind me: I’m going to enjoy this sumptuous banquet in my faithful pajamas, Auf Wiedersehen” “You’re wearing what?!” Layla stopped with the potato peeler in mid-air and looked at her best friend in disbelief. “My faithful pa-ja-masss” the other girl did a pirouette “Oh, and my Donald Duck slippers too! This is too good to be true” “Exactly – this is too good to be true, and I can’t let it happen! Not on my watch” Layla wielded the potato peeler in a threatening manner. “Who do you think you are? The fashion police?! C’mon, El, just lemme breat-” “Ed, could you please go on with this task? I got a mission to fulfill here” “Yeah, no problem” the guy smiled at Layla, taking the potato peeler from her hand. “You fuckin’ traitor!” Sara hissed, then tried to escape her friend’s grip “Oh, yes, using your physical superiority against me – that’s fuckin’ great” “C’mon, Sara, don’t be a baby: I’m just a couple of inches taller than you” “That means I’m more agile than you” the other girl retorted, snapping her fingers and running around the table for the umpteenth time. “Just do me this one favor! I’m cooking you THE perfect Christmas Eve’s dinner – you owe me this!” “Yeah, and look at how you’re abusing your alleged authority! Fascist” After a couple of minutes Layla pretended to give up but actually took advantage of Sara’s lack of attention to crush her in a bear hug. “You play dirty! You, of all the fuckin’ people! I can’t believe it” “Fashion police works in mysterious ways” Layla retorted, chuckling when her friend struggled to free herself – obviously with no success at all “Later, Ed” “Later, girls! I’m gonna polish my scorecards for all your outfits” Eddie replied, instantly gaining a middle finger from the victim of all that conspiracy.    “I’m a motherfuckin’ beast you all have to fear!” Sara kept on wiggling out of the other girl’s grip. “Yeah, Sara – now let’s go to your room so I can come back to my potatoes as soon as possible, please” was her friend’s reply, while she dragged her out of the kitchen. “I won’t go down so easily!” were the last words that came out Sara’s mouth before she disappeared in her bedroom with that executioner of her best friend. “Soooo, let’s see what do we have here…” Layla pondered, assaulting Sara’s wardrobe after having locked both of them inside the room. “… you’re fuckin’ insane!” Sara let herself plop down on the bed with a heavy sigh, while the other girl had already begun to throw aside lots of clothes that she didn’t deem appropriate for that evening. Seeing herself in a blind alley, Sara tried to reach a compromise with her. “Ok, let’s just say that pajamas and slippers would be too extreme – I could see your point here… but instead I could wear my U-Dub sweatshirt, sweatpants and a pair of Converse – and that wouldn’t be inconvenient at all, am I right?” “… I’ll just pretend not to have heard the atrocity that has just come out of your mouth, Sar-OH MY GOD!” Layla suddenly squealed and then turned to face her perplexed friend “Look at this! Where did you hide it for all this time??” “… Shit, I knew I had to throw it away while I still had the chance” “Nonsense!” the other girl approached her and waved a tartan skirt under her nose “With a sweater and a pair of boots you’ll be cute as a button!” “OVER MY DEAD BODY” “Please, it’ll be your Christmas present!” “Are you fuckin’ kiddin’ me??? I already given ya your goddamn gift! You ungrateful bast-” “Sorry, your second Christmas present! Because you’re such a wonderful best friend and you love me so much that you want to give me two presents instead of one???” “… just fuck off” “Oh, c’mon! You have this a-ma-zing ponytail full of luscious ringlets and you really want to let it go to waste by pairing it with a stupid tracksuit and sneakers?!” “Holy Ugo Tognazzi, you’re a real pain in the ass!” Sara finally snapped “Just go with it already, but don’t force me to wear a horrible woolen sweater because my skin will scream revenge – and that also applies to the tramp boots you gave me a couple of Christmases ago” Layla pouted but quickly recovered, squeezing her in a tight hug: “You’re the best – we’re gonna have so much fun, you’ll see!” Twenty minutes later, for the second time of that day, a desolate Sara looked at her reflection and blatantly rolled her eyes. “Can anybody explain to me why on fuckin’ Earth I’m dressed as a Sacred Heart schoolgirl?!” She was wearing the green tartan skirt, a white shirt with a red bow under a green cardigan, white tights and a pair of brownish Timberlands – the last a magnanimous concession by her best friend. In the meantime Layla had just finished to tie another red ribbon around her ponytail and was looking at her like a mother looks adoringly at her child; she added a bit of mascara to Sara’s lashes and, after giving her an approving nod for her red lipstick, she couldn’t resist and hugged her for the umpteenth time. “Look at youuuu! I’m so happy, now you’re really ready for Christmas Eve!” “...Yay? Ok, now can I go? I can’t stand your presence anymore, I need at least half an hour alone to be able to be again in your presence – oh, and Ed’s presence too” While Layla was giving her blessing, the doorbell suddenly rang. “Ok, but first go to see who’s at our door and then I’ll consider our task completed!” “I BEG YOUR PARDON?!” “Who knows, maybe’s our landlord and, seeing you like this, he’s gonna offer us a Jacuzzi!” Layla chirped, pushing her friend outside the room “You’re free to go, little bird! Go and spread some Christmas spirit around these stone-hearted people!” and, thus said, she slammed the door right in Sara’s face. “... ma vaffanculo, va’ – chi cazzo me l’ha fatto fare” was her best friend’s lovely reply, while she dragged her feet to the front door.

#Eddie Vedder #Jeff Ament #Pearl Jam #Eddie Vedder fanfiction #Pearl Jam fanfiction #grunge fanfiction #Jeff Ament fanfiction #Birds of a Feather #chapters

[londone-fog]

Friday, Never Hesitate- Reddie Soulmate AU

AO3 Link

The next day, his mother told him to swallow a new pill. Oblong, slightly pink in color. It was bitter on his tongue, and he didn’t like it. The back pain went away after a couple of days.

But his Mama told him to keep taking them.

He didn’t want to upset her.

Chapter Two- Tuesday

Eddie ran for one of the first times in his entire life, limbs awkwardly flailing in an attempt to escape the pounding of feet behind him. He finally caught sight of a bathroom, screeching around the tight corner and slamming the door behind him. He clambered on top of the toilet seat in one of the stalls, hugging his knees tight to his chest. The footsteps of his pursuers thundered in moments later, followed by the sounds of fists banging on the door.

It was a Tuesday. Eddie was 11.

The pounding and shouting faded on down the hall eventually, but Eddie stayed put, trying and failing to keep his face dry of tears. He took a quick puff from his inhaler, trying to dispel the panic still lingering in his chest.

“Eds? You in here?” a voice asked, echoing off the tile walls of the bathroom.

“Don’t call me Eds, Richie. You know I don’t like that.”

“There you are. What happened?”

Eddie could see Richie’s large eyes through the crack in the stall door, magnified through the thick lenses of his glasses. He sighed, pushing the door open, forcing Richie aside. He stared at himself in the mirror, swiping at the drying tear tracks adorning his cheeks.

“Nothing. Just those kids in gym being jerks.”

It was not nothing. They saw something while they were all in the showers, or rather, a lack of something. Eddie didn’t have a soulmark. And, by extension, Eddie didn’t have a soulmate.

“Come on, Bill’s probably wondering where we are,” Richie said, giving Eddie a gentle pat between his shoulders.

“Yeah, right. Let’s go.”

-

Eddie usually wasn’t allowed out of the house much once he got home. His mom was still worried about him getting hurt, and he still took all of the same pills he did when he was younger, maybe even a few more. And he took them diligently. He didn’t want to make her upset.

But today, he was going to a sleepover for the first time at Richie’s house. He’d had to beg his mom over and over, and she finally cracked. And so, after school, she loaded him up with all his medication and several pairs of everything he could possibly need. With a big smacking kiss to the forehead, he was on his way.

The air was cool, whizzing through his short hair as he pedaled his bike through the streets of Derry. A few straggling pedestrians wandered around on the sidewalks, shuffling on their way back home from school and work.

When he pulled into Richie’s yard, he recognized both Bill and Stan’s bikes leaning against the side of the house. Sure enough, inside they sat, already starting a movie and chattering amongst themselves. Richie caught sight of Eddie through the screen door, cracked a grin and leapt up to let him in.

“Howdy Eds, thought you’d never show up.” He tried to make his voice sound funny, but it just sounded really weird.

“My mom told me I needed to take all my medicine. She doesn’t want me to get sick.” Richie wrinkled his nose.

“You won’t get sick. That’s crazy.”

“Is not. It’s flu season, anyone could be sick.”

“Flu season? You can get a flu any ol’ time. That’s dumb.”

“Is not.”

“Is too!”

“H-h-hey, the good p-part is coming u-up,” stated Bill from the other room, barely getting the sentence out. Stan nodded in agreement, blowing a loose bit of hair out of his eyes.

They all sat in relative silence for most of the movie, only making the occasional comment of telling Richie to please stop making fun of the characters and just enjoy the show. Eddie looked around at his friends, happy to be sitting surrounded by company, rather than sitting alone in his room.

“Hey, did you guys hear?” Stan asked, eyes not leaving the television as the credits rolled across the screen.

“Of course, Stan-the-man, I did hear. I’m doing it now!”

“Shut up Richie. Greta met her soulmate today. In the cafeteria.”

Greta was the pharmacist's daughter, and she was possibly one of the worst human beings to grace the earth. In the grade above them, she thought it appropriate to make their lives hell for simply existing. Eddie, who had to go to the drug store on a near daily basis, was quite familiar with her antics. To think someone like that could have a soulmate was very jarring.   

“W-w-who was it?” asked Bill, shock laying low beneath his features.

“I dunno. One of those jerk guys from gym, I think.”

Eddie’s skin crawled, thinking back to earlier that week when he was chased out of the gym and into the boy's bathroom. The skin between his shoulder blades itched, and he swiped his nails across it a few times.

“I can’t tell if finding your soulmate young is a good thing or not. I mean, you know sooner, but what about the bad stuff?” Eddie inquired, more thinking aloud than expecting an answer.

“I guess I know what you mean. Like, what if you decide as a kid you want to just be platonic but then change your mind? Or vise versa? It’s pretty young to make a decision like that,” said Stan, scratching at his nose. Eddie caught a glimpse of his soulmark, a colorful, sweeping feather shape. It rested comfortably over the hollow of his slender wrist, winking, taunting.

“I-I-I dunno? I think having s-someone like that from the time you’re little w-w-would be nice?”

“Of course you would think that, Billy Boy, you ol’ sap,” Richie crooned, jokingly thumping Bill on the back. Eddie itched again.

-

The flashing lights from the television screen danced and blinked against the white walls of Richie’s living room. It was very late, and Eddie was the only one awake. Stan and Bill lay on the ground, sound asleep, backs pressed against each other for warmth. Richie’s head drooped against the back of the couch, legs curled beneath him and soft breaths puffing from his parted mouth.

Eddie thought back to the other day, and the kids who taunted him for being different. Catching a glimpse of his colorless body in the showers, pointing and making a scene.

Freak!

Forever alone!

Little Eddie doesn’t have a soulmark!

Weirdo!

He scratched at his shoulder blades again, running his nails across the skin there over and over again.

A loud crash emitted from the TV, causing Richie to jolt awake. He looked around in mild panic  for a moment, before he scrubbed his eyes under his glasses and looked at Eddie.

“Why are you scratching like that? It looks like it hurts.”

“I dunno, my back itches like that sometimes. I think it’s allergies.”

“Let me see.”

Eddie hesitated for a moment, nervous energy bubbling up in the pit of his stomach. He finally relented though, turning enough so Richie could lift up the back of his shirt and examine the offending skin.

“It’s really red. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

A beat passed between them. But, slowly, Eddie felt the cool palm of Richie’s hand press gently against the irritation, rubbing small, gentle circles.

“Are you sure it wasn’t something those guys from gym did?” His voice was uncharacteristically gentle, worry ever present in his expression and tone.

“No, I’m sure. They mostly just yelled at me a bit.”

“Why were they so upset in the first place? I’m sure our Eddie Spaghetti wouldn’t just start a fight.”

Eddie tore a bit of dried skin off his bottom lip, the tang of blood singing on his tongue.

“I don’t have a soulmark.”

“What?”

“A soulmark. I don’t have one. I never have.”

Richie was deathly silent.

“I’ve never heard of that happening before. What’re you gonna do?”

He shrugged, feeling his face heat up with shame just a little.

“I guess I’ll just be alone forever.”

“No, you won’t,” Richie scoffed, raising his voice almost loud enough to wake up their sleeping friends. “You have your family. And Bill. And Stan. And me.” Eddie smiled a bit at that statement, embarrassment leaving to make way for something warmer.

Then Richie went quieter for a moment.

“Do you want to see a secret?” Eddie nodded.

Richie shimmied up his shirt a little bit, exposing his bare back. And sure enough, on the top of his back, sat a soulmark. But it was much different than any Eddie had ever seen. It was not grey, like someone whose soul mate had died. But it was not colorful at all.

It looked like it had sat in the sun too long, fading from constant exposure. Now it was only just barely darker than the skin surrounding it. The lines were thin and swirling, forming something that resembled a deep V shape.

“What’s wrong with it?” Eddie asked, words forming shocked and breathy.

“I dunno. It’s been like that since I first got it.”

They looked at each other, silent understanding passing between them. Eddie felt less alone in that moment, less like he was stranded in his struggle.

In that moment, Richie became his best friend.

#my writing #reddie #eddie kaspbrak #richie tozier #It (2017) #soulmate #friday never hesitate

[reddiefortheweekend-blog]

Trip of a Lifetime: Part One (Reddie)

No warnings for this part~

Summary: The Losers go on a trip to wrap up their 18th summer. 

Pairings: Richie x Eddie --- Bill x Stan --- Ben x Bev

Parts: 1, 2, 3, 4

Part One:

                 How can anyone be so perfect? This question echoed through Eddie’s head as he stared longingly over at his good friend, Richie, who sat perched on the hood of his station wagon. Richie had a cigarette hanging loosely from his soft lips and a wrinkled map outstretched in his lap. His face was twisted into a look of confusion as he tried to interpret the contents of the paper he was looking at. His curly hair fell haphazardly over his forehead, seeming to glow in reaction to the morning sun’s light.

               “I swear we are at the right spot” he muttered to himself, adjusting his glasses. “Why aren’t the others here yet?” Richie took another drag of his cigarette before looking of at Eddie.

“Whatcha lookin’ at there, Eds?”

               Eddie suddenly fell out of his trance, awkwardly pretending to look somewhere else.

               “You know I don’t like you calling me Eds” he responded, choosing to avoid his question.

               “Alrighty, Eds” Richie said, a smirk sliding onto his face as he looked back down at the map. There was a short silence before Richie spoke up again. “Why the hell didn’t we just meet up at someone’s house? I swear Bill always has to over-complicate things like this.”

               “We’ve explained this a million times”, Eddie answered, “Bill and Stan’s parents don’t want them going on this road trip together. They don’t exactly support their kid’s relationship with each other.”

               The sound of breaking sticks could be heard as Stan emerged from the trees behind them, buckling up his belt.

               “I heard my name. What are you guys talking about?” Stan inquired, still struggling to buckle up his belt.

               “Can you explain again to Richie why we have to meet here?” Eddie sighed, “Apparently the reason didn’t get through his thick skull the first few times we explained it to him.”

Richie made a face at Eddie causing Stan to chuckle.

                “It’d be an understatement to say that neither Bill nor my parents support our relationship. So that’s why I made my parents think I am going on this road trip with only you guys, and Bill told his parents that he is going with only Bev, Ben and Mike. Because both of our parents have eyes all around town, we need to meet somewhere will no one will see us meet up.” He explained. “If they find out we’re going together, they’ll freak.”

               “Well you guys are sure making things complicated” Richie joked, scruffling Stan’s hair.

                The boys sat there making small talk for a few minutes when a small red truck pulled up beside them causing dust to fill the summer air. Out of the vehicle emerged the four remaining Losers: Bill, Bev, Ben, and Mike. 

Stan jumped up and ran over to Bill, enveloping him in a passionate hug, and then giving him a big wet kiss.

               “Blech! Get a room” Yelled Richie jokingly. Everyone in the group laughed.

               “Good to s-see you t-too, Richie” Bill responded.

               “Alright guys, we don’t have all day”, Bev said, “Let’s get going!”

               The others agreed and hopped into their respective vehicles before heading out onto the road.

               Richie’s hair danced delicately to the warm summer air as a soft breeze blew in through the open car window. His voice filled the air as he sang along to the radio. Although his singing voice was not spectacular, Eddie loved listening to it. It had a sort of calming effect for him. Eddie had liked Richie basically since they first met, and he had only grown to like him more and more over the years. Richie had come out as bisexual 3 years prior, yet Eddie still remained in the closet and hid his true feelings.

               “Do you mind?” Bill groaned from the backseat, “Stan and I are trying to sleep here.”

               “Why did we end up with the snoozer losers in this car? Sleep is for the night. Live while you can!” Richie exclaimed playfully. But he knew Bill and Stan were not planning on sleeping much that night, so he turned the volume down and turned to look at Eddie. He had his head resting against his seatbelt as he gazed out at the passing trees, his dark hair swaying to the flow of incoming air.

               “Want me to put up the window, Eddie Spaghetti? I’d hate if that breeze ruined your perfect hair.”

              Eddie turned around to look at Richie. “You should be worrying about your own hair instead, Rich. It looks like you used it to mop the boys locker-room.” 

               Richie displayed a look of fake hurtfulness, then replaced it with a warm smile. “I’m glad your mom let you come on this trip, Eds. It would not be as fun without you.”

               Eddie let out a soft laugh and glanced back out the window. “When are you going to stop calling me ‘Eds’?”

               Richie grinned, “I ain’t kidding around, Spaghetti… I’m super happy you’re coming.”

Eddie turned to look at him again and their eyes met briefly before Eddie looked away blushing.

“I’m happy I am coming too. This is going to be a trip of a lifetime”

Thanks for reading. This is the first part of the series so any feedback y’all have to give would be sick.

#reddie richie eddie it fanfiction fanfic part one trip of a lifetime

[cows-that-fly]

When He Can’t Speak

REDDIE fic. posting this cause I’m impatient and want to start it off. part 1/ ???

It sucks when the person you’re in love with is either A) totally oblivious, B) interested in somebody else,  or C) would never look your direction in that way because you might as well have created the ultimate “friendzone” for yourself. As shitty and moronic as that term is.

You’re the best friend. The cocky, outspoken,loud and comedic, bf. Not the right connotation for that acronym though. You want to be the BOY FRIEND. Unfortunately that didn’t seem to be an option because you couldn’t get the balls to clarify that to the pint sized cream puff you’d somehow fallen in love with.

Richie Tozier was bum out of luck and for once totally speechless. He couldn’t think up a reply, couldn’t come up with yet another stupid next move like usual. No, for once he was just stuck there, staring at the screen of his computer, trying to ignore the quake in his chest.

--

He was over again, it wasn’t out of the normal or anything though, he was always over. They were best friends after all. It was only natural for the two of them to spend that much time together. For fucks sake, they practically lived together.  He’d come over about three times a week to spend the night, and he and Richie would stay up burning the midnight oil till they were running on fumes. Stuck laughing uncontrollably over some dumb joke that one of them had cracked, tears in their eyes, smiles spreading over their faces so widely that it was painful.  

And then one of them would look at the clock and groan because class would start in 20 minutes and they’d have to leave the pile of blankets and pillows on Richie's couch so that they would have time to get coffee before enduring the next several hours of painful lectures.

But recently… it had been getting harder and harder to just sit there as though it were normal. Now whenever Eddie came over, Richie would expect a knot in his stomach to come along with him. It wasn’t Eds fault though, as far as he was concerned it seemed like he simply didn’t notice. Hopefully that was a good thing. The last thing Richie wanted was for his feelings about Eddie to ruin the friendship they had. Truth be told, next to Bev this was the best he’d had. Not to mention it was the most natural he’d ever felt around someone. Eddie was just easy to be around, not a lot of harsh judgment to be found. Sure, Eds would roll his eyes at most of Richies jokes, and yeah half their conversations Eddie would be complaining about something someone else had done that irked him, but it wasn’t as though Eddie was an unmovable critic. It just took some time.

Afterall, Eddie had looked past his first impression of Richie.

What was it Eddie had said?

“You’re vulgar, immature, and do you even have a sense of offensive you are? No one in their right mind would hang around you, it’s like you’re trying to be socially repellent to all decent human beings.”

“Didn’t repel your mom last night. Bitches be hangin off my chandeliers so I must be doing something right.”

“Stay away from me Tozier.”

Granted, it had taken several weeks after that before Eddie finally warmed up to Richie, and by that time it was deemed unavoidable because the rest of the group was already friends with him and his friends and had been since the beginning of the year. Not to mention Stan was 80% sure that he’d known Eddie from highschool back in Derry, or at least had seen him around for a couple months before he vanished again.

Later Richie would find out it was cause Eddie's mom had them move towns when a flu went around that was so bad that nearly everyone caught it even if they hadn’t been exposed. “It was at epidemic levels! What does that say about a town that can’t even keep a flu at bay? Of course we left-” Had been the only explanation Richie got when he inquired.

Inconsequential now of course. There they all were, going to college in the same city. Bev had helped Richie out getting into the same school as her when she found out he hadn’t filled out a single application and it was already june. It was a stroke of pure luck that Richie got into the school, not that his grades were shit, he was just wholly unconvinced that he needed school. He didn’t want to give money to a bunch of upshots anyways so that he could pay for their expensive tastes when half the time he couldn’t afford his next carton of cigarettes.

Bev convinced him it would be his best chance to get out of town and away from his dad.

That was all the convincing he needed.

But now, well into their Junior year (Sophomore technically for Richie, although he’d gotten into the college, after the first year he had to take one off to work to afford the next. Blowing through his ‘savings’ and a meager scholarship in the first thanks to required exorbitant costs from the school.

“They fucked us without even giving us dinner first.”

“They did give us dinner. It wasn’t free.”

“As I said Bev, they didn’t give us dinner. They gave us toxic run off on platters.”

“Didn’t stop you from eating it.”

“And why would it?” And then he’d spun off into a terrible rendition of Toxic by Britney Spears, but whether or not he was singing about himself or the cafeteria food, neither of them would ever know.

Months later of course, Richie would discover a talent for peppering microwave dinners and ramen and dubbing them ‘gourmet delicacies.’ And he decided to never eat at the dining hall again.

Which wound up being where most of the Losers became friends.

Eventually Eddie and Richie found themselves at enough mutual get togethers that Eddie had to deal with interacting with Trashmouth. (Richie assured everyone it was an affectionate term as soon as it had left Eddies lips.) (Eddie disagreed fervently until it became exactly that, an endearing pet name that only someone like Tozier could pull off.)

-

“Did you finally internally combust Richie? You’ve been quiet a whole ten minutes.” Eddies voice broke through Richies stunned haze. He blinked, shoving his glasses back up the bridge of his nose almost violently, taking the second it gave him to compose himself. Slapping a smirk on and waggling his brows. Always a good reaction.

“Internally busting a nut, can’t a guy day dream in peace?”

Eddie  groaned, shaking his head and returning his gaze to his laptop.

“Spare me the details. You’re completely ignoring what I just said.”

Shit what did he say? Richies mind had gone awol and whatever Eddie had said earlier must’ve gone through one ear and out the other. He shrugged, trying to disregard the fact that he’d been too preoccupied fretting over his fucking feelings to pay attention fully.  

“You’re completely ignoring what I just said.” Richie echoed, pitching his voice up to comedy his friend.

Eddie looked like he wanted to sock Richie in the face. A typical expression of his and one that Richie adored. Just cause of how he scrunched his nose, it was adorable.

“You didn’t listen did you.” he sighed.

“Nope. What can I say, being pretty comes at a price.”

“Price of being an idiot.”

“A gorgeous idiot.”

Eddie snorted, already beginning to shift his attentions to the conversation he was having with one of his tumblr friends. Richie sagged a little, trying not to give it much more thought. Eddie was a sweet guy who actually kept in touch with his followers, even though he had thousands. He was ever attentive somehow, but sometimes Richie just wished that he could captivate Eddie that way as well.

#Richie Tozier #IT 2017 #Reddie #Eddie Kaspbrak #college au #love #fic #fanfiction #comedy #drama #i dont know what im doing #cows write too #part 1 #Losers club #the losers club #cute #falling in love #college #best friends #just friends #pining #Richie/ Eddie #writing #art school #au

[shewantedtobeasecretgirl]

6. This means war a. k. a. a butcher knife, an interrogation and a battlefield (Part One)

After taking a deep breath I enter Eric’s room. Glancing around I realize it’s not as big as I thought. We assigned him to the host of the party since due to an administration failure he’s been accommodated in the honeymoon suite, which led to a hilarious competition among the guys for the role of the new wife. But standing in this so-called honeymoon suite the differences I see in comparison to our double room are only the enormous double bed and the corner sofa. The latter is occupied by Jeff, Eddie, Beth and Karrie who arrived probably just a few minutes earlier than me, she left when I was drying my hair.

“Judy, finally, we were waiting only for you!” Eric exclaims as he spots me.

“Man, I’m disappointed. No candles, no rose petals on the bed?” I complain.

“Actually, you’ve just missed the rose petals. Smitty ate all of them a few seconds ago.”

“That’f nod drue, he’f lyimm! Don’t believe him, Miftreff Judy!” I hear Smitty who joins Eric’s joke miming chewing and swallowing hard. He’s sitting with Mike and Brett on the carpet in the other corner of the room. They’re playing a game which is unknown for me and seems to be a bizarre combination of beer pong, strip poker and building house of cards.

“Hey Jude!” Mike hails cheerfully singing the first notes of the classic Beatles song.

“They say it’s your birthday!” I shout back responding with another song of the same band.

“Uh, can I call you Jude? I know, I know, it’s a male name, but I’ve always wanted a friend who I can greet by singing a famous line!”

“Of course, I’m honored. But why me? I mean, you have a bandmate called Stone, so… “ I point at the referred person who sprawls out in the armchair between the bed and the huge window that serves as the fourth wall of the room. As usual, he’s holding his acoustic guitar on his lap and sips his beer time and again. Noticing I’m talking about him he sends the lovely look of an axe murderer to me.

“Nevermind…” I wave resigned. “Dave, Scully?” I turn around searching for the missing members of the team.

“In the bathroom” Mike points with one thumb behind his back, straight at a door opening to the room in question and after twinkling for a few seconds I spot two figures sitting in the bathtub in the darkness.

“Hi guys, why are you hiding?” I peek in.

“Just a second Judy, we’re busy.” Dave answers closing a small, transparent plastic bag and searching for something in his pocket. I hear a quiet clicking and as the tiny flame of his lighter rises to his chin I realize what’s going on. The orange light of the joint wanders towards Scully and a few seconds later I see it approaching me.

“Uhm, no thanks, I‘d rather… I’d rather have a beer.”

“As you want, no pressure. But since you go back in the room would you take the role of the mailwoman?” Before I could answer Scully raises my right hand and puts the glowing joint between my thumb and my index finger.

“Oh… okay… and who’s the addressee?” God, I hope they can’t see how hard my hands are trembling. Shit… l could be arrested for this…

“We share everything so it can be anyone… even if you would change your mind on your way back.” Dave snickers.

“Ooookaaay…” I start walking back slowly in the room. I hope I don’t get high with that shit while inhaling its smoke… Maybe I shouldn’t breathe until I get rid of it… “Hi folks… I have a spare joint… Does anyone need it?”

“Mike, you’re cheating!”

“No, I’m not!”

“Yes, you are… Smitty dropped the queen of spades so now you have to take off one of your socks!”

“But I hit the glass with my ball!” Mike argues.

“But it touched the edge of it; that costs one sock.” Brett insists. Okay, these are too obsessed with their insane game... I wave with the joint towards the couch group but they all shake their heads, Eric disappeared somewhere while I was in the bathroom so there’s no one left except him.

“Hahaha, guys, I can confirm that Mike can hit anything with his balls but could we skip the sock part? We’re not prepared for chemical weapons.” Stone giggles in that annoying nasal voice which drives me crazy every single time I hear it. And he giggles at his own joke, as always.

“Stone, do you wanna get high? Or could you just take this, I don’t care what you’re going to do with it…”

“Am I your last hope? Well, after all, someone has to do it…” he grins reaching out his arm for the joint. I should have known, this fuckin’ hippie… “Oh, wait! What does the Bible say about getting high?” he asks with pretended concern.

“It doesn’t matter; you’ve already deserved fire and brimstone.” I shrug and try to hide the satisfaction I feel seeing his surprised expression.

“Wait, are you trying to joke with me? Sorry, but I’m not high enough to appreciate your efforts yet.”

“And I could never get high enough to bear you for more than three seconds, so bye…” I wave to him and turn back to join the others, giving myself a mental pat on the back for making him speechless for a few seconds. I’m still in readiness to stay prepared in case his retort hits me with a little longer delay than usual but the scene doesn’t go on since Eric arrived back in the room in the meantime, lifting the cake box over his head with a loud whistle.

“Nobody’s going to take off any socks or get high before the most important event of this party.” he begins his speech. “We are here to celebrate two people.” What, two? “On one hand, our badass lead guitarist…”

“Who has the body of a Greek god…” Dave cuts him off as he and Scully show up in the room in the meantime.

“Yes, Michael David McCready, the Greek guitar god turned twenty-six today so we’re going to consume this awesome cake with him, yes, I said “consume”, it’s full of alcohol, we’re not going to play cake throw this time. But we forgot to buy candles so you’re not entitled to make wishes.” Eric places the cake onto the table right in front of Mike who seems puzzled and excited at the same time.

“And on the other hand, we’ve had a new member in the team for a few days, a diligent road intern who deserves her own cake as well…” Eric nods towards Karrie who puts a small cupcake in my hands and quickly begins to distribute paper plates and plastic forks which were probably hidden behind a pillow until now.

“It’s a coffee cream cake, as far as we know you’re addicted to coffee…” Eric explains. He must have asked Karrie, her mysterious smile reveals that she was involved in the surprise.

“That’s right… I… I didn’t think that… I… thanks…” I have to fight for every single word since I wasn’t prepared for getting in the middle of the events. And I hate being in the middle of the events.

“They should have bought rather a grammar textbook for you…” Stone’s caustic remark brings me back from the shock in the present but I decide to push Mike into the limelight again instead of starting a battle of words with Stone again.

“Mike, you should slice the cake and make wishes while doing it. Could you get a knife?” I ask Eric who pulls out a terrifying cleaver from behind his back.

“The birthday party resulted in a cruel slaughter. The victims are the members of the Seattle-based rock band Pearl Jam, the other corpses haven’t been identified yet…” I try to impersonate police spokeswomen, which makes Beth laugh out loud probably because it reminded her of our very first conversation in Cleveland.

“Hey, this is all they could find in the kitchen. Mike?” Eric wants to hand him the frightening tool but he protests keeping his hands behind his back.

“Uh, I’m very clumsy with kitchen tools, uhm, Jude… would you take over the task? I’d do the wishing part in the meantime.” he begs with his eyes, which makes me sigh and accept the object of his fear from Eric.

“Wow, that butcher knife looks good in your hands!” Jeff laughs nudging Eddie who’s also chuckling quietly.

“Okay, who wants to be the first?” I glance around with a devilish grin stroking all over the blade cautiously with my index finger and enjoy the perplexed faces for a few seconds before I go on. “I mean, the first to eat a slice of cake…” I add angelically.

“I’ve suspected since our conversation that you’re not that innocent schoolgirl you look like but that’s high above my expectations.” Eric shakes his head smiling.

“Which conversation?” Mike inquires curiously.

“There wasn’t any conversation. Eat, private McCready!” I command placing the first slice onto his paper plate.

“Yes ma’am!” he yells. “Who would dare protest while she’s holding that lethal weapon?” he mutters in front of himself.

I serve everyone with cake consistently ignoring Stone who puts his plate in front of me again and again thinking he’ll be the next one to be offered.

“I thought you forgot about me.” he remarks as he finally receives the last slice. “A typical example for an abuse even of the tiniest hint of power.”

“You embarrass me with your exaggerated kindness all the time, how could I forget about you?” I bite back faking a smile before licking the rest of the chocolate cream carefully from the blade. Glancing up I can see a shocked Stone turning away with his prey to plop down into the armchair again.

Since Mike finished his cake in the meantime I settle next to him using the occasion that everyone else is busy with eating; I don’t want to be bothered by anyone’s idiotic jokes.

“Hey, birthday guy, I don’t know what the customs are here but I have something for you.”

“For me? You shouldn’t have… we don’t really give presents to each other so…”

“Not a Fender Stratocaster… or actually it’s almost that…” I put the little, electric guitar-shaped bottle opener I bought at the shop of one of the gas stations we stopped at onto his palm. “Uhm… it seemed like a good idea but now it’s rather embarrassing, as if I thought you’re the maniac lead guitarist dude who gets fucked up all the time but…”

“Hahaha, stop that, I like it, it looks cool! And your description was hundred percent accurate. But I think I won’t use it for its original function, it matches my necklace as a medallion, what do you think?” his face lights up while he’s examining it taking a closer look at it. “Thanks, Jude!” he pulls me into a light hug and for some unknown reason I forget to protest and even reciprocate the hug instead of that. “Anyway, I can open beer bottles with anything, anyway…”

“That’s true, once I saw him using a cat for that purpose.” Dave confirms the statement with the typical, dumb grin of stoned people.

“A cat? How…” I want to know more about the story but Eddie’s warm baritone emerges from the monotone, incomprehensible mass of parallel conversations as he starts talking into his fist using it as a makeshift microphone.

“This is a service announcement. Judy Camden is awaited at the customer service department. I repeat: Judy Ca…”

“I’m coming, I’m coming. But I won’t leave you alone until you tell me that cat story.” I pat Mike’s shoulder and I while I’m heading to the couch I can’t help playing Eddie’s voice in my head again and again. How does he do that? He didn’t even need to shout and still, everyone fell silent for a second. And how can Beth manage not to die every single time he talks to her? What a gift, my goodness…

***

Since I share one side of the couch with Beth and Karrie, Judy’s only option is to sit down next to Jeff who obviously doesn’t object to her decision. He pulls away to offer her the place between him and the big pillow in the corner, carefully measuring the inches to give her exactly as much space as she needs without leaving any unnecessary distance between them. I catch a faint flush on her face when she realizes due to a side glance that Jeff’s arm keeps resting on the backrest behind her.

“We decided to hijack you since we haven’t had a normal conversation since you got here yet.” Beth begins playing with my fingers in her lap. I love these involuntary moves of her, her touch makes me feel like home but it’s like electricity at the same time even after all those many years we’ve spent together.

“Yeah, that’s the official version but our main purpose is to run some… uhm… background check… you’ve barely told anything about yourself and we… we failed to interrogate Karrie, she’s the discretion itself on two legs.”

“My lips are sealed.” she shrugs smiling.

“Yes, and unlike you we want to pry into your privacy.” Jeff confirms with a shameless smile leaning his head against his palm, still keeping his elbow behind Judy.

“Uhm… and what do you want to know? I didn’t know I needed a national security clearance to join the team… uh, all I have to confess is that I touched a joint like ten minutes ago, does that count?”

“Hahaha, I think our bureau of investigation has a different profile… seriously speaking… how do you feel after the first days? As far as we know, uhm… you came from a… a quite different scene…”

“Are you trying to refer to the fact that the police have already had an assigned parking place at the school I worked at due to their regular visits? Yes, being a ghetto teacher is something different.” she responds fidgeting with the string of her dress.

“He was trying to refer to your classical musical qualification.” Beth explains raising her voice a bit as Stone started strumming random chords on his guitar ignoring the fact that apart from him everybody is chatting in smaller groups.

“You mean classical musicians are considered serious while rock musicians are hilarious and reliably unreliable?”

“Uhm… I don’t know how I meant it… did I mean it that way?” I look at Beth for help, damn, women are so much better at directing conversations in a tricky way.

“Kinda.” she rolls her eyes and squeezes my hand slightly.

“That’s a huge mistake. I was forced by my music teacher to play in the wind orchestra of the high school… we toured several times, you can imagine how it feels to spend basically days in a bus with forty teenage guys who are struggling with the hormonal explosion of adolescence…”

“Gosh, poor teenage Judy, judging from my experiences with basketball teams it must have been rude…” Jeff strokes her forearm playfully, which makes her move one inch towards the corner.

“Ahah, yes… I’m still unbeatable at endless citing of dirty jokes flavored with poop and pee humor.” she frowns.

“And were you the only girl in the band? I’ve never understood the cause of that massive majority of male wind players…” Yes, that’s my feminist girl.

“No, I wasn’t… there were about four or five girls in the orchestra apart from me but… ahem, their musical skills played only a secondary role behind their… ahem… primary function in the band…  Let’s say they didn’t use their oral skills only for musical purposes.” she ends the sentence staring her hands on her lap embarrassed.

“Ah, band bitches?” Beth chuckles.

“So to say. And as the guys figured out I was really there for playing music, they lost interest in me. Not that they had had much interest in me before that… And the girls didn’t want to socialize with me either, regarding I wasn’t really animated when they tried to share their stories about the skills of the guys with me.”

“NUHUN!!!” we get interrupted by Stone’s loud fake sneeze which he uses to express his opinion about Judy’s attitude. I can’t believe this guy, I knew he was eavesdropping even if he pretends to be busy with searching for new riffs. Beth sends me a perplexed look questioning ‘Is he serious?’; yes, babe, he is…

“So was attending the classes at school a relief in comparison to the band tours?” Beth tries to lure Judy back in the conversation seeing she’s probably planning how to kill Stone as cruelly as possible, or at least that’s what I can read from her face.

“Uhm, not really, if you’re labeled as the nerdy, valedictorian girl who spends all of her spare time with classical music and was elected for the president of Resting Bitch Face Society three times in a row, nobody cares who you really are… except from that two or three friends I had from my class. Probably you’ve already realized that I’m not that party girl type…”

“Catholic girls with a tiny little mustache…” Stone starts playing and singing Frank Zappa’s song. What a coincidence. Hearing Stone’s performance Judy furrows her eyebrows hard; she must have dropped the plan about pushing Stone in front of a train and now she’d rather spill hydrochloric acid on him.

“Don’t believe her, she seems shy but had quite crazy adventures with her sister…” Karrie nudges Beth with one elbow nodding towards Judy; our female road has already gained enough experiences with Stone to know that ignorance is the best thing you can do in these situations.

“Oh, yes… the riot girl.” she smiles in front of herself probably recalling some of the mentioned adventures.

“Younger or older?” I ask.

“Two years younger.”

“And didn’t you fight a lot? My younger brothers were yelling with each other all the time, I started listening to my vinyl records using a headphone partly because of them.”

“Actually we’ve always been pretty good sisters. She’s a ray of sunshine so she compensated my distant relation to the pushy old relatives… of course later she freaked them out with her rebellious ideas and it was me who saved her ass after her pranks.”

“Rebellious ideas? Like climbing through the window, crawling down on the gutter and going to parties despite the parental prohibition?” Jeff takes over the role of the interrogator. He should blink sometimes before his gaze burns a hole into Judy’s skull… In the meantime, Stone starts tuning the strings, one after another, driving me crazy enough to ask him to stop.

“Stone, could you do that later? We’re trying to talk.”

“Yes, all of those classic teenage stories. But she began to shock people earlier… little schoolgirls usually like wearing nice dresses and shoes at school events but guess who was the only girl who was dressed up as a Kiss member at the Halloween dance of 1978…” Judy goes on while Stone keeps torturing his instrument.

“Did someone mention KISS?” Mike cranes his neck suddenly from behind the table like a curious mongoose but I can barely hear his voice over our cackle.

“Yes, I was talking about my sister, Effie, she’s a fanatic. She decorated the wall around her desk with posters of them and I swear once I saw her praying in front of the picture of Gene Simmons.”

“That’s not so unique, right, Mike?” I laugh at him knowing that the reason of his beginning to play the guitar was his classmate’s lunchbox with a KISS photo.

“Oh, come on, Ed, who would do that kind of things?” Mike shrugs with a reproving eyeroll awkwardly denying his definitely unhealthy infatuation with the band in question.

“But the moment when everybody realized she wouldn’t be the typical cute girl of the family was on next year’s Christmas Eve.”

“That was the year when…when…?” Karrie cuts her off in tears, chocking of laughter; she must already know the end of the story.

“Yes, it was THAT year.” Judy puts accent on the middle of the sentence. “Imagine the family sitting around the Christmas tree. We’re after the dinner; everybody is dressed to the occasion, especially the little Effie. Blonde curls, blue eyes, blue dress, like a little angel. Granny asks her to sing something for the family – I’ve already fulfilled my duties by playing Christmas songs on the piano –, she agrees and stands next to the Christmas tree. What a perfect idyll, right?” Judy glances around with an excited smile checking our reactions. I never thought that this girl was so good at storytelling... Karrie presses her hands squeaking on her mouth not to spoil the probably hilarious ending.

“And?” we all ask impatiently but the annoying sound of guitar strings breaks the tense silence.

“Stone, stop that fucking strumming!” Jeff yells in his direction. “Judy, don’t tease us, we’re all ears!” he adds in a softer voice turning back to Judy.

“Our little Effie starts singing in a crystal clear voice… “God gave rock and roll to you…” “ she thins her voice to imitate the singing style of small girls. Our little company explodes of laughter what leads to Jeff’s almost falling of the couch. He manages to balance himself on the edge of it and uses the turmoil to sit back a little closer to Judy than before.

“And the coup de grace came in her senior year in high school. She was a valedictorian too, winner of several student competition and one day she stood in front of our parents and said: “Mom, Dad, I’m going to travel all around the world as a rock photographer. I’m going to college, but that’s what I really want to do.”

“And what did they say?”

“Well, they both knew if she decided something nobody could stop her so they looked at each other and sighed… and then Dad asked her to introduce him to Mick Jagger in case she would meet him.”

“I love these stories. You must have a wonderful family.” Beth remarks cautiously. Karrie asked us not to mention or ask a few topics which could be painful for her; so we try to act as discrete as possible.

“Yes, they are fantastic and I miss them already a lot. Effie is basically my best friend.”

“They certainly miss you too. It must be difficult to them and your spouse nowadays.” Beth remarks glancing at Jeff. And here we are. It’s pretty obvious that Jeff is interested in her and she’s a nice person, so why not? But Karrie wasn’t sure there wasn’t anything in progress between Judy and someone she maybe hadn’t mentioned to her yet and we didn’t want to quiz her in a too pushy way either. That’s why Beth came up with the idea about questioning her diplomatically as if it was only about friendly curiosity.

“Oh, there’s, there’s no one else except them.” she responds the question that colored her cheeks with a rose flush. And her answer pulled Jeff’s lips in a wide grin as I can see taking a side glance at him. “I’m in celibacy nowadays, hehe…”

“Hey guys, our birthday boy’s got an idea!” Eric interrupts the conversation pointing at Mike.

“Yes, I saw a bar on the next corner, they have pool tables, pinball machines, darts and all… What if we played a few rounds there, huh?”

“Like the Olympic Games of bar sports?”

“Cool!”

“I’ll beat the shit out of you in darts, ‘Cready!”

“Let’s go then!”

“Hey, I haven’t finished my beer yet!”

We immediately agree unanimously on visiting the place Mike suggested. In the cacophony nobody gives a damn about Stone who’s extending his repertoire with the bluesy cover of Like a Virgin.

#do you wanna dance #pearljam #fanfiction #fanfic #pearl jam #pearjamfanfiction #eddie vedder #stone gossard #jeff ament #mike mccready #dave abbruzzese