#If there's any questions or anything is unclear ask me!

[muppenthings]

An event that took place in mid 1700's. Gorm was summoned by the islander's ship as usual, but things took an unexpected turn. After this he didn't return to the surface for hundreds of years. Never understanding why they acted like that.

#Muppen draws #oc Gorm #giant merfolk #g/t #cw blood #cw injury #cw knife #cw tentacles #It's finally done #If the quality drops at the final page; I just wanted to finish it. #And there's a particular panel I also just gave the middle finger to. xD #If I ever draw another ship this year...... #I have SO many things I want to tell you about this comic #but ... eh. #If there's any questions or anything is unclear ask me! #Gorm has absolutely no clue why they suddenly just got angry with him. #He really thought they were friends and then they just... slap him like that? Telling him to go away? Fine. #Away he went. He doesn't have concept of time passing either

[hishoi]

Hello people!!

A couple days ago i got inspired to crochet a manatee, so i did! And, i have a pattern for you guys too, if you want to make one yourself. I am still working on the skykid pattern, but i'm a bit out of yarn right now so there will still be a while until i can post it.

Anyways, here's the pattern!

Sky: cotl manatee crochet pattern

Yarn colors: white and yellow. You can use any size hook you want, but i used a small 2.5 hook

Body (white)

Start every new row with a chain 1, - indicates new row. The entire project is worked in single crochet.

-Crochet 6 sc into magic circle, tighten the circle

-Inc in every stitch around

-inc in every other stitch around

-do 3 regular sc rows

-5 sc, 1 inc, 2 sc, 2 inc, 2 sc, 1 inc, 5 sc

-do 3 regular sc rows

-6 sc, 1 inc, 1 sc, 1 inc, 1 sc, 2 inc, 1 sc, 1 inc, 1 sc, 1 inc, 6sc

-now you do 12 regular single crochet rows. At this point you can start stuffing

-6 sc, 1 dec, 1 sc, 1 dec, 1 sc, 2 dec, 1 sc, 1 dec, 1 sc, 1 dec, 6 sc

-3 regular single crochet rows

-5 sc, 1 dec, 2 sc, 2 dec, 2 sc, 1 dec, 5 sc

-3 regular single crochet rows

-5 sc, (1 dec, 1 sc) x2, 1 dec, 5 sc

-3 regular single crochet rows

-Decrease in every other stitch around

-Sew the end of the body shut by doing one single crochet through 2 stitches across from eachother, and then chain one, and do one single crochet on top of the securing stitch. Chain one, and break off yarn.

Fins (white)

You will do two of these.

-ch 3, start in the second st from the hook, and do an inc in both stitches (4)

-Ch 1, 4 sc

-Ch 1, 4 sc

-Ch 1, 2 sc, 1 dec

-Ch 1, 1 dec, 1 sc

-Ch 1, 1 dec

Ch 1, break off yarn.

Attatch the fins around the ninth row of the body, one on each side of the head, with the side with decreases facing back. (Hope that makes sense)

Tail piece (yellow)

-Ch 2, and do 4 sc in the first stitch

-Ch 1, 4 sc

-Ch 1, 4 sc

-Ch 1, 2 dec

-Ch 1, 1 dec, ch 1, break off yarn

Attatch to the end of the body (not exactly sure how i did it myself you'll just have to wing it a bit)

Head pattern piece (yellow)

-Ch 2, and do 3 sc in the first stitch

-Ch 1, 1 inc, 1 st, 1 inc

-Ch 1, 1 inc, 3 sc, 1 inc

-Ch 1, 1 inc, 5 sc, 1 inc

-Ch 1, 9 sc

-Ch 1, 1 dec, 5 sc, 1 dec

-Ch 1, 1 dec, 3 sc, 1 dec

-Ch 1, 1 dec, 1 sc, 1 dec

-Ch 1, dec through all 3 stitches left, so that you end up with only one stitch. Ch 1, break off yarn

Head pattern piece (white)

-Ch 2, and do 2 sc in the first stitch

-Ch 1, 2 inc

-Ch 1, 2 dec

-Ch 1, 1 dec, ch 1, break off yarn

Sew the white piece onto the yellow piece, and attatch that to the body. After that you should be done!

This didn't take too long to make, maybe an hour at most. If you're looking for something fun to do for a little while, you can make this! If you make it, please let me know, rb this post with the results or tag me, either way i would love to see how you made it!

#i hope this was somewhat clear #i'm not the best at giving instructions #if you have any questions feel free to ask #and let me know if anything was unclear #sky cotl #sky children of the light #art #sky: cotl #thatskygame #that sky game #crochet #crochet pattern

[inkedbybarnes]

unclear

bucky barnes x fem!reader

summary: everyone thinks you're dating bucky, except yourself.

word count: 2.4k

warnings: 18+ minors dni. miscommunication (i love this trope, sue me), angst with a happy fluffy ending, quite stubborn reader, implied smut if you squint, usage of petnames such as baby and doll. lowercase for basically everything.

i haven't finished anything in decades, but i suddenly had an idea just now and decided to write it down. surprisingly, i finished it? might have a lot of mistakes and such since i haven't proofread it yet. also, sorry for using lowercase for this, i kinda like how it looks. hope you enjoy this one!

dividers by @cafekitsune!

comments, reblogs, and likes are highly appreciated. thank you! ♡

“you're confusing me. so... you're not dating bucky?”

wanda tilted her head, confusion etched on her face as you spent your weekly girl's night with natasha. it usually consisted of eating food you all desired, drinking until you got wasted, and spilling secrets to one another.

although tonight, you weren't sure if you had any secrets to spill.

"as far as i know, no. we're just friends, teammates. nothing else," you answered with a heavy sigh. "can we talk about something else?"

"hold your horses, young lady! we are not skipping this topic again. you obviously want a label but he isn't giving you one!" wanda protested. she has been constantly asking about you and bucky's relationship for the past weeks, and you always had the same answer. you don't know.

"have you never talked about it with bucky? he looks at you like you'd get lost if he looks away for a second. not a single soul in the tower would think that you're just friends," natasha interjected, taking another sip from the bottle of beer she held. she had a point, as always. "if he's just playing with you, which i highly doubt for barnes, then just end whatever that is. you deserve better than having doubts and confusion, babe."

you've tried asking him multiple times, but every attempt felt like you were stepping on his boundaries. after years of being controlled by hydra, you knew it was possible that he'd hate the feeling of being rushed and entering a relationship that could potentially feel like a cage to him.

but natasha was right. your "relationship" was no longer anything friendly. he sleeps in your bed, claiming he slept better in it, and wakes up beside you to shower you with kisses. none of you even tried to hide it after some time. you always cooked your meals and ate them together, casually feeding one another and stealing kisses in between. you even stopped going on dates and you had no idea if you were exclusive. you deserved to know what your relationship with bucky was, but you were too scared to lose everything once you asked.

"we're not dating. i only see him as a friend, so you can both stop worrying about me." you lied through your teeth, your chest aching as you realised how stupid this was. you sighed and faked a smile, shifting the attention to natasha. "so, tell me about your date with steve! how was the first ever date of captain america since the 40s?"

wanda was distracted by the question, immediately bombarding the now blushing widow with questions. on the other hand, your mind flew away for a minute, finally deciding to get an answer from bucky.

the annual ball that tony stark held for, well, nearly anyone, was nearing. you only had two weeks left, and you haven't even gone out to find something to wear. it was hard to find any motivation to do all that effort when the person you've been waiting to ask you as his date hasn't asked you yet.

although, bucky had a tendency to get shy and hold back. you knew that. so here you were, standing behind the doors to the gym, knowing that bucky would be training at this hour. you still haven't asked him the question you were supposed to ask him, so you decided to do it all at once.

after you've finished your small pep talk, you opened the door to enter the room and your first instinct was to search for bucky.

considering that he was a huge chunk of a man, he was easy to find. however, the sight of him standing in front of a woman that was too close for your comfort wasn't delightful.

he didn't see you entering the room since he was facing the opposite direction, conversing with the agent that happened to be training as well. she had the sweetest and flirtiest smile on her face, bringing her hand up to his arm, slowly caressing it. you didn't mean to easily hear their conversation as you walked closer.

"so, do you happen to have someone for me to have as a date for the ball? i don't want to be lonely on that night, sergeant," the agent said with an extra pout, swaying her hips side to side like a child asking for candy.

"oh, yeah? i think i have someone for you," bucky replied, breaking your heart into pieces with how enthusiastic he was with his answer. "i'm sure you'll—"

you sniffed. unconsciously. not knowing that your tears were already falling, causing your nose to get stuffy. how pathetic, you thought.

your little sniff caught the attention of both the agent and bucky, looking at you in shock. although, the girl was more pleasantly surprised than the opposite. thankfully, you already had your tears wiped before they could see them.

"oh, we didn't see you there!" she greeted you with your name. "we were just talking about our date for this year's ball. who are you bringing?"

"i haven't decided yet, no one's worth it even if i try," you answered bitterly. "so you're going together?"

before bucky could answer, the agent already had her arm wrapped around his, happily smiling at your question. "yeah! amazing, right? i actually thought you two had a thing, but i guess not. glad things worked out in the end."

and that was your last straw. "well, enjoy yourselves. i have to go and find natasha."

you turned to leave, ignoring the loud calls of bucky. you were glad that you never asked him about your relationship and the ball. you were going to be hurt either way.

you spent the next hours stuck in your room, body covered with a thick sheet as you ranted about your frustrations to friday.

it was silly, you knew that, but you refused to call natasha and wanda to remind you of your stupidity and decided to let an ai robot listen to your problems instead.

"and he even flirted back! answering coyly like a teenager. he's 107 years old, fri!" you whined, not noticing the new nickname you've given the alternative intelligence. "ugh, now i have a broken heart and no date in sight. how did it get to this?"

"perhaps you must discuss this matter with sergeant barnes first. your conversation ended quite abruptly with no clear conclusion."

"no, i don't want the truth rubbed on my face," you said, grabbing another piece of tissue to sneeze in. "you restricted him from entering my room, right?"

friday answered with a yes, then you thanked her for listening and decided to get some sleep after tirelessly crying for hours. you knew you had a team meeting with the avengers in a bit, but you couldn't bring yourself to even walk a few steps.

your sleep ended and you were woken up with friday's reminder that it was time for dinner with the team.

with a groan, you pushed yourself off your bed. bucky would be there, but you were too hungry to care. it would be awkward, of course, but you had to face him at some point anyway.

your feet padded towards the door, opening it after trying your hair in a bun.

"ah, fuck."

you jumped at the voice and the body falling to the floor as you opened the door.

"bucky?" you asked, still in shock. "were you sleeping outside of my room?"

you watched bucky stand up, his hand massaging his aching nape as he looked for your eyes. "friday won't let me in. i waited outside instead. i guess i fell asleep during that," he explained, a frown forming on his face. "did you restrict me from entering our room?"

your eyes widened at his choice of words. our room. he considered your room to be his room as well. while that would've made you melt in an instant, you were still hurt to entertain that possibility.

"this is my room, barnes. not yours, not ours. and yes, i had you restricted because i couldn't face you yet. what do you need anyway?"

"i wanted to see you, talk to you." a flash of pain crossed his eyes. "whatever happened at the gym, it's—"

"bucky, you don't have to explain anything to me. we're just friends. it's my fault i assumed we were something. i just need some time to get over it."

"but i thought we were something as well..." he replied, his voice was almost as quiet as a whisper. "i thought we were dating."

"were we?" you asked, genuinely curious. "we never.. you never said anything. i mean, yeah, i wished it meant something, but i thought you wouldn't want to be trapped in a relationship with me, so i just waited. apparently, i was right and i can't blame you for that."

"right about what? the thing that happened in the gym this morning?" he asked. you nodded in response. "i know it sounds like i was flirting back, well i didn't know at the moment, until i asked steve who was clueless but he called nat to help me out and explained that it looked like i was flirting back. i wasn't. i was just going to suggest sam as a date for her. i would never agree to anyone."

oh. so he just wasn't interested in anyone at all.

"besides this one girl who's constantly been in my head. that's if she'd even give me a chance and say yes. i fucked it up badly before i could even ask her properly."

you knew what hoping got you, but you couldn't help but think that he was talking about you. he'd have to be clueless to say all those things in front of you only for it to be someone else.

"i love you, baby. i should've told you that, i should've made it clear sooner. i'm so sorry i let you have doubts when i could've been reassuring you about what i feel for you."

"bucky..."

"i would never feel trapped with you, doll. only you made me feel so much love and freedom. i'd be a fool to let go of that. i'm sorry it took a few hits and harsh words from natasha to make me realise that i wasn't giving you enough when you deserve everything." he held your face in his hands, bringing you closer to him. you felt breathless, tears threatening to fall but this time it was out of joy. "hydra made sure i had no voice to express myself. now, i'll use it to let you know that i love you so fucking much that it hurts when you're not around. i promise to work on it. if anything like this happens again, ask me, baby. demand things from me. i'll give you everything in a heartbeat."

"even if i ask for your arm?"

he laughed, a sound that was music to your ears. "it's yours baby. although, i do like fucking you with my metal—"

"bucky!" you scolded him, hitting him lightly on the chest.

"sorry, baby. couldn't help it. missed my girl so much."

his girl. you loved hearing that.

"it's only been a few hours. don't be silly," you reminded him, but you knew you also felt the same.

"i miss you even when i don't see you for a second." you couldn't help but laugh at his words. "something funny, doll?"

"sorry, natasha said something similar about you a few days ago," you answered. "i'm sorry for assuming so quickly, bucky. you deserved the chance to explain."

"and you did let me explain. i can't blame you for assuming and getting hurt when i never gave you the confirmation to believe otherwise. don't apologise for it, baby."

"i love you," you said, causing him to grin widely.

"yeah? you love me too?" he asked, a hint of pink tinting his cheeks. "this is official now, right? we're dating?"

you nodded happily, giggling as he landed a kiss to your mouth. "so, you wanna go to the ball with me?"

he kissed you again. "don't. i'm supposed to be asking you that. i had an entire thing prepared for you, i even dragged half of the team to help me out days ago. besides wanda and natasha, of course. couldn't let them tell you about it."

your heart swelled, he was already planning to ask you before all of this misunderstanding happened, and it could've been solved with communication. lesson learned, indeed.

"well hurry because i can't wait to say yes," you playfully threatened him, kissing the tip of his nose until the loud rumble of your stomach interrupted your sweet moment. "ah, right. i was on my way to eat dinner when i opened the door."

bucky laughed, his eyes twinkling witth adoration as he kept his eyes on you. "we can't have you starving, that's for sure. come, let's get you something." he held your hand, and dragged you to the kitchen. he turned to look at you with a playful smile. "wanna cook together like the old times?"

you smiled. "like the old times."

in the middle of your cooking session, you heard whistles and claps along with the footsteps that entered the kitchen. you both turned to find the rest of the team with shit eating grins.

"finally! so is this real or do we need to smack your heads?" tony asked, his hand placed on his hip.

"it's always been real, stark," bucky answered, wrapping his arm around your waist. "except this time, i'm making sure my entire world knows it."

"i think everybody knows you have a thing for each other, barnes." clint added.

"i meant my entire world, not everybody." bucky looked at you with awe. "she's my world."

bucky's answer gained various loud reactions from the team, mostly calling him a cheesy old man and fake gags, but there you were, cheeks heating up as you looked back at him with the same amount of love, if not more.

and he did ask you to be his date to the ball the day after, surprising you with his so-called secret plan.

a year later, he surprised you with a ring as he knelt on one knee.

if you have any requests for bucky, send them my way! 💌

#bucky barnes #bucky barnes fic #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes fanfic #bucky barnes fluff #bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes x fem!reader #bucky barnes smut #bucky x reader #mcu #marvel #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky barnes fanfiction

[ozzgin]

The Mean Girl Bully Reader x Nerd Loser Yandere story sparked another red flag reader idea I had 😈

Imagine a Bratty Female Reader x Well Mannered Wealthy Male Yandere. Unlike our favorite monster whore gal, and two-faced bully, this new reader insert is super vocal about her distaste in just about everything. Hardly anything is up to her “standards.” She not only complains, but whines too! 🥳

Then her poor beau weirdly loves her despite her horrid personality. I don’t know how, I’ll leave that part of imagining up to you, but there’s my request 🥺

I just like morally grey or blatant antagonistic readers. A lot of times, it’s more fun if the reader is attractive this way to a yandere, than having stereotypical good traits, like being compassionate or respectful 😔

So please, a Bratty Female Reader x Well Mannered Wealthy Male Yandere?

-👘

I was wondering if I should just incorporate this into the Yandere CEO draft I have, but I had this sudden idea for a downright shameless relationship between a beloved, well-respected politician and a perverted, needy brat of a Darling. (I don't like politicians but alas, I needed a high-stakes public profession for this)

Yandere! Politician x Bratty! Reader

Mr. Politician is a true rarity in his field of work: well-mannered, articulate, and most importantly, genuine in his dedication. He works tirelessly for change and improvement, earning the adoration of the people. There's only one exception to his loyalty: no country ever comes before his Darling. And what a demanding Darling you are...

Content: female reader, older yandere, NSFW, some exhibitionism

Many would describe their interactions with Mr. Politician as follows: he's disciplined, confident and resourceful. A natural born leader, you can tell within seconds of meeting him that he is a man to rely on. He's spent many years in the game, and nothing can shake him out of his signature calmness. He keeps everything in pristine order, and nothing escapes his scrutiny.

There is, however, one quirk only few select people know about. A detail no one dares to discuss. It is common knowledge that Mr. Politician has a partner, yet the particularities of it are kept private. His beloved is a much younger girl, rotten to the core. It is unclear how this pairing came to be; the day Mr. Politician won his place in his prestigious office, he showed up with the mysterious feminine figure at his side.

What's certain and obvious to all witnesses is that his vocabulary quickly discards any meaning of refusal whenever he's dealing with you. It almost feels like the man worships you. He's never alluded to being religious, most likely because that role's been taken already. His eyes soften whenever directed at you, gleaming with raw adoration.

Splurging on expensive things is a given. Money has never been an issue for someone of his status. In fact, it's a handy and convenient tool he frequently uses to dampen the damage of your tantrums.

"Disgusting", you spit between your teeth, pushing the plate away and crossing your arms. The renowned chef of the Michelin star restaurant can only stare in horror before Mr. Politician intervenes with a chuckle. "Not feeling it today, huh?", he coos at you with loving strokes. "May I ask that you bring everything else from the menu?" he says in a sterner voice to the employee. "E-everything, Sir?" the waitstaff questions. "Well, naturally. I can't let my Darling starve."

"I'm bored. Let's leave now", you mention bluntly, standing in front of the heavily ornate table with a huff. "Are you sure, Darling? It's an important meeting for the country", Mr. Politician tries to plead. Around him, the other men sit baffled, observing the outrageous exchange. "Now!" you conclude louder. Before anyone can protest, your boyfriend stands up obediently and reaches out for your hand. "Then allow me to guide you, love."

A paradox. His earnest work is put to a halt if you require anything from him. Somehow, he has until now managed to juggle the two with little effort, and to his credit, there have been many instances requiring nerves of steel. Such as you paying him an unannounced visit to the office, and disliking the fact he was unavailable due to a meeting. So, you marched over to the window and promptly flashed your chest against the glass. Everyone else was focused on the opposing whiteboard; he was the only one who immediately noticed your arrival. "As you can see, the expected result is irresistible", he continued with a professional smile, tapping the graph with a marker.

Everyone knows Mr. Politician is fervently devoted to his principles. Take his last public speech, for example. Knuckles white from gripping the podium, he'd nearly choked during an eloquent -but passionate - conclusion. His face was red, his jaw tightened. He needed a moment to recollect himself, and the public waited with bated breaths, visibly emotional. Of course, they couldn't tell the outrageous truth: that you were shamelessly kneeling at his feet, pumping and teasing his erection until, at last, he let go all over your face.

"I wanted to see if you'd stumble on your words", you explain afterwards, wiping the sticky liquid off with a damp cloth. "That would've been unpleasant", he responds with a shiver. "It was live on national television."

He does not seem too bothered by the potential risk of being caught. Truly, his nonchalance knows no bounds when it comes to you. Or perhaps it is part of the charm. There's something quite depraved yet tempting about this perpetual contrast.

To return your daring favor, he gently places you onto his desk and spreads your legs, leaving trails of kisses along the inner surface of your thigh. A quick glance down confirms his suspicions: your bare bottom lays on top of confidential, rather important documents he dutifully signed hours ago. How thrilling of a feeling! He already smiles in anticipation, picturing himself as he hands over the folder to the oblivious party. He's not breaking any rules, now, is he? Nowhere in the book of etiquette does it state you mustn't fuck your beloved on top of official papers.

You gaze at the disheveled face underneath you. "One day I'll get you in trouble", you blurt out between whines. "Me? Oh, Darling. You know I always have everything under control." He lifts himself up and gives you a quick, desperate kiss. "Including you."

#yandere #yandere x reader #yandere x you #yandere x darling #yandere headcanons #yandere imagines #yandere scenarios #male yandere x reader #yandere politician #yandere smut #yandere oc #yandere oc x reader #male yandere #older yandere

[girlgenius1111]

waiting room

alexia breaks up with you for reasons you don't understand. she only realizes her mistake when she thinks she's going to lose you.

You thought about it every second, for days. It didn't make sense, why Alexia had broken up with you. Her reasoning was completely unclear, she stumbled through the breakup, spewing cliches. It didn't matter though, not really. She'd broken up with you, and that was it. All you could do was focus on football, take training one day at a time. Seeing her every day, stony faced, was indescribably painful.

No one on the team really understood what had happened to the both of you, which really just made things easier. There were no sides chosen, you simply coexisted.

You pushed all thoughts of her out of your head, focusing on warm ups. It was hard; she looked so stunning in the warm up jersey, blonde hair pulled up in a tight ponytail, and you could have sworn that you kept catching her looking at you. You needed to focus though.

The game wasn't supposed to be a tough one, and it remained a boring one well into the second half. There wasn't much time left when you went down. You jumped in the air for a header, and another body had collided with you, shoulder hitting your head, sending you slamming back down to the ground. You were conscious after the first hit, but when you made contact with the ground, your head banging down with a sickening thud, everything went black.

Alexia was sprinting across the field to you before the whistle had even blown, panic coursing through her veins. She was the first one to you, somehow, collapsing onto her knees next to your limp form.

"Y/n! Can you hear me?" Alexia pleaded, hands fluttering uselessly above your body, terrified to touch you. You didn't react at the sound of her voice, not moving a muscle. You were on your side, face pressed into the grass. "Amor, please," Alexia said, not caring if people heard, not caring if you weren't together, not caring about anything except you being okay. The physios were arriving, and someone was tugging her away from you. Mariona held her back, as the midfielder stared helplessly at you.

The physios were worried, and they were never worried. You still weren't moving, and Alexia thought she was going to lose her mind. All she could do was watch.

Watch as they brought the stretcher out, the neck brace. Watch as they carefully lifted you onto it. The game was completely forgotten, the noise of the stadium reduced to static in her ears. She willed you, with everything in her, to open your eyes, to move, to do anything. You didn't, though, remaining completely motionless as they moved you off the field.

"Ale,"

She turned, belatedly realizing that Mario was talking to her.

"Do you need to go off?" she asked. She knew her captain well, and could tell that Alexia wasn't mentally on the field anymore. Her brain had gone with you, following you down the tunnel.

"What if she's not okay," Alexia replied, completely disregarding the question asked to her. At that, Mario motioned to the sidelines, and Jona nodded in understanding.

"She's gonna be fine, she's tough. Go off the field, go check on her," Alexia didn't know when Marta had arrived next to her, but there she was, tugging the captain's armband off the blonde, and gently nudging her to the sidelines.

Alexia looked lost as she walked off the field, almost dazed. She bypassed the bench completely, walking down the tunnel after you. Jana and Mapi were waiting there, Mapi on her crutches. Alexia didn't even see them, not really, mind focused only on finding you.

Jana grabbed her captain's arm softly, drawing Alexia's attention to the brunette. "They're taking her to the hospital. If we go now, we'll get there just after the ambulance," Jana told her. Alexia nodded, not saying a word, beginning to walk briskly to the parking lot. She was still in her kit, still in her boots, but she would be damned if you had to sit in the hospital alone for any amount of time.

What if you weren't okay? She'd messed everything up, ruined it all. She'd let her insecurity take over, convinced herself that she wasn't good enough for you, pushed you away despite your insistence that she was all you wanted. She'd broken up with you for nothing, and now you were.... hurt? She didn't even know. All she knew was that the last thing she'd said to you had been a monotone, half assed explanation. It had been a lie. She shouldn't have done it. She loved you, she understood that now more than she ever had. What if you weren't okay?

-----

You became aware of a steady pounding in your head. Your mouth felt dry, and your body felt stiff. Still, you were floating somewhere in between being awake and being asleep, and you could hear the machines beeping around you. Opening your eyes seemed like a monumental task, so instead, you focused on the way you felt.

You weren't quite sure what had happened. The last thing you remembered was jumping for a header, and then... nothing. Your head hurt, though, that was for sure. You tried to shift your fingers and your toes, suddenly terrified that you were paralyzed. They twitched under you, though, and you could feel the seam of the sock on your toes, and the tight grip your hand was in.

"She moved her hand," a voice said. Alexia. She sounded exhausted, terrified. She squeezed your hand, and you heard shuffling in the room.

"Amor, can you hear me?" she asked. Amor? You were pretty sure she'd broken up with you. Amusingly, this thought seemed to spur you through the last dregs of sleep, and you forced your eyes open. Alexia's face was inches from yours, and if you weren't too busy groaning in pain as the light hit your eyes, you would have been startled.

"Oh god, you're awake. Thank god. How do you feel?" Alexia spoke, a hand coming up to lightly, lightly, stroke your face.

You cleared your throat. "Didn't you dump me?" you rasped, looking at her in confusion. She let out a watery laugh that turned into a sob, before she buried her head into your abdomen, blankets muffling her cries. You looked around, bewildered at her behavior. You noticed the others in the room, then, Ingrid and Mapi, Marta and Patri, as Mapi placed a hand on Alexia's trembling back, rolling her eyes.

"She's been like this for the past 2 days," Mapi said, a wry smile tugging at her lips. You just blinked at her. 2 days? You'd been out for 2 days? Alexia was still crying, though, and the sound was cracking your chest open, hurting more than your head did. Placing a gentle hand on her head, you called her name.

"Ale, honey? Are you alright?" Her head snapped up. She looked like a mess. The most beautiful mess you'd ever seen, but still. She had tear tracks staining her face, bags under her eyes, and her lip was trembling pitifully.

"Am I alright? You've been in a coma for 2 days, and you're asking me if i'm alright?" she asked, seemingly baffled by your question. Mapi nodded to the other girls, tilting her head towards the door. They all rose, leaving you and Alexia in the room by yourselves. You were going to respond to her, assure her that you were fine, but she was talking before you could get any words out.

"I'm so sorry. I was so stupid. I shouldn't have broken up with you, I didn't mean it. I got all in my head, and I was worried I couldn't give you what you deserved, and I was trying to protect you, and then you went down, and I couldn't even function. I can't live without you, y/n, and I'm so sorry," she said the words rushed, as if worried you were going to cut her off, not let her finish.

You didn't say anything, the new information entering your currently very slow moving brain. Alexia's hands were wrapped in the blanket, and tears were pouring down her cheeks, yet she remained silent, giving you time to process.

"You... you broke up with me because you didn't think you were good enough for me?" You asked finally, working hard to keep your voice neutral. It was the most preposterous thing you'd ever heard, truly. Alexia nodded, not trusting her voice.

"That is one of the stupidest things i've ever heard. Seriously idiotic, Alexia. I thought I made it clear, I thought you knew that I loved you, that I only wanted you. You've always been enough for me," you told her. You knew that you should probably be mad at her, but she looked so broken, and her reasoning for breaking up with you made your heart ache for her. You couldn't be mad, not at her.

"Loved?" she asked quietly, referring to the past tense with which you'd phrased your sentence.

"Love," you corrected. "I didn't get hit hard enough to stop loving you." She smiled weakly at you, through her tears, before dropping her head back down to rest against your stomach. You ran your fingers through her hair, detangling gently as you went, and she sighed contentedly at your motions.

"I was so worried," she mumbled into you.

"What happened anyway?" you asked, only really caring to know now that Alexia had stopped crying. She picked her head up, realizing she'd given you no information on your condition.

"You hit your head. Hard. Twice. You have a concussion, and your brain swelled, and they almost had to do brain surgery, but it improved," she told you, and you could feel the worry that had had her heart in it's clenched fist loosening as she looked at you.

"When can I play again?" you asked and she snorted, because of course, that's what you were thinking about.

"The doctors say a few months, but I'm not sure I'm letting you out of the house ever again unless you're wrapped in bubble wrap."

"No," you said, "you just can't break up with me again, and I won't need to go getting major head injuries to bring you to your senses."

She laughed then, a real laugh, a real smile adorning her face. She leaned in, placing her lips on yours ever so gently, and you could feel her smiling still against your face.

"I love you," you whispered against her lips, and she whispered it back, leaning her forehead against yours. You'd be fine. You could have any injury, really, and be fine, as long as you had Alexia.

-----

slightly different from the request, but i hope you liked it :)

#woso #woso imagine #woso x reader #alexia putellas x reader #alexia putellas

[alicenthighstower]

TILE TRANSITION TUTORIAL

a couple of people have asked me for a tutorial on how I did the penultimate gif in this set, so here goes! this is my first tutorial, so please feel free to reach out with further questions if anything's unclear.

note: this tutorial assumes you know the basics of gifmaking, can create the base gifs, and are familiar with timeline mode.

STEP ONE: create the base gifs! I'd recommend staying between 25-40 frames for each gif, since the transitions we'll use later tend to increase gif sizes. these are the ones I'll be using for this tutorial:

STEP TWO: create the guide layouts for both base gifs. for this panel, I chose a 4x4 grid — I would recommend keeping the number of "tiles" low because it can get tedious, but have a minimum of 9 (3x3 grid).

now your canvas should look like this:

STEP THREE: create the tiles. this is where the going gets rough; there might be easier ways to do this that I couldn't think of 😭 if there are any please send me an ask!

essentially, in this step we'll cut up the base gifs into smaller squares so that each tile can be manipulated separately when we put both gifs together. to do this, first create a square using the rectangle tool and the guides. then duplicate the base gif, move it above the square, apply a clipping mask, and then convert the clipped gif and square (selected in the image below) into one smart object.

ALTERNATELY: you could duplicate the original base gif and use layer masks to isolate tiles. create a layer mask for the duplicated gif layer and, with the layer mask selected, drag your mouse over a square (using the guide layout) and press delete. then press ctrl/cmd + i to invert the layer mask so that the gif only shows in the square of your choosing.

now repeat until you've got the entire gif in tiles, and do the same for the other gif!

since the transition effect is achieved by staggering the crossfades for each tile of the final gif, you can cheat by having multiple tiles "flip" at a time, ideally no more than four. this means you need to cut the base gif up into fewer pieces. to do this, simply draw multiple squares instead of one and then merge the shapes, before duplicating and clipping the gif onto them.

if you do this, it's essential to remember that you have to divide both gifs up in the exact same way. each piece of the b/w gif has to correspond to a piece of the purple gif!

this is what the layers look like for each gif once I'm done:

I have them lettered so that it'll be easier to match them up in the next step.

STEP FOUR: this is the complicated bit that took me two days to figure out. I'll do my best to explain but don't hesitate to reach out if something isn't clear!

to begin, open up a new psd and import both base gifs into it. (remember to click "create video timeline" and ensure that your gifs are all in order before proceeding.)

now, the trickiest part about this transition is ensuring that all the little tiles sync up so that the larger gif is coherent. so first we'll create some markers (just empty layers) to ensure that everything lines up as it should. — marker 1: at about halfway through the first gif (b/w in this case) — marker 2: at about a quarter of the gif length — marker 3: close to the end of the gifs

at this point we're ready to start bringing in the tiles. I'm going to delete the base gifs from this new psd just to keep things cleaner!

first thing to do is import my b/w tile. move the timeline slider over to marker 1 and split the first gif. (if it helps, rename the split gifs and add (start) and (end) to the two halves.) then, move the (end) half to the beginning of the timeline, and the (start) half to line up with marker 3.

the purple tile is easier to manage. simply import it into the psd and line it up with marker 2.

your timeline should now look like this:

notice the overlap between the gifs at their beginnings and ends — this is where you'll be able to cascade the tiles flipping, so it helps to have a significant amount of overlap.

crop the three gifs for this tile as you see fit! since this is the first tile I want to flip from b/w to purple, I'll crop gif 1a (end) all the way to the current position of the timeline slider (red line with blue tip) and leave the beginning of gif 2a uncropped. for the flip from purple to b/w, I'll crop both gifs a bit.

once that's done, drag all three gifs onto the same level in timeline so they form a video group. your timeline should look something like this:

now you just repeat the process for all the other tiles! as long as you made sure that all the tiles in one gif correspond with tiles in the other gif in step three, this should be a fairly painless process. make sure to crop the starts/ends of the gifs separately so that they don't all flip together.

this is what my layers look once I've done all the tiles:

and the gif!

STEP FIVE: transitions! click on the half-white square (top right of the left column in the timeline, beside the scissors) and select the crossfade transition, then drag it between two gifs in a video group. it should create a two-triangle symbol and shorten the overall length of the video group.

apply the transition to all the tile flips, ensuring that the duration of all transitions is constant. this can sometimes be tricky because ps likes to change the duration of each transition, so right click on the transition symbol and manually change all your transition durations to be the same.

your layers should now look something like this:

STEP SIX: draw the grid. bring back the guide layout from step two and using the line tool (I like 2px thickness), trace the grid. adjust opacity as you see fit (50-80% is usually a good idea), so that the canvas looks like this:

STEP SEVEN: export and celebrate! you're done!

I hope this tutorial made sense and was easy to follow, and happy giffing! my inbox is always open for any questions <3

#tutorial #ps help #ps tutorial #userace #alielook #userabs #usercats #userhella #userfaiths #tuserabbie #usershreyu #usertreena #tuserlucie #uservivaldi #usertj #usergiu #userroza

[genshin-scenarios]

android au - companions droids

Summary: In a modern-futuristic world, it is possible to create androids that are so advanced, they’re more or less human! There will be 5 android au posts total, each focusing on a different group.

They don’t produce more than a handful of copies of each model, meaning that each android is quite unique (with a matching price tag, too...)

The Anemo collection has companion androids who can pass off the easiest as people, each with their own notable personalities. 

Characters: Xiao, Wanderer, Venti, Kazuha, Heizou

More like this: Anemo androids who lost their previous user

Leaning more towards a protective role, Xiao is an android targeted towards users living alone or often traveling around at night. He’s a relatively quiet companion, happy to just listen to your rambling while you walk on the streets—Xiao mostly asks questions at the start, about how you’re feeling, what else is on the schedule… He first tries to learn more about you, and figures things out from there.

It’s nice, but he’s not as expressive as others, so at some point you wondered if he was happy with your current arrangements. Xiao actually did start to open up more after you asked that. It’s gradual, but he starts telling you about the cats that approach him when he’s outside, and other things he notices might be to your interest.

You like teasing Xiao about the people that admire him from a distance (whether or not they could tell he was an android, it was undeniable that he was handsome). He’d simply huff and say they were probably looking at something else, humble as he was, before training his eyes back on you. ‘After all, I’m here for you. So even if those people did approach me, I’d have no reason to find an interest in them.’

You start to wonder if ‘boyfriend material’ was also part of Xiao’s profile, after you realized how much comfort you found in the ways he’d walk you home or shopped for groceries together. Cafe orders? Consider them memorized. No need to even ask him about accompanying you to places

You’re not sure if he’s aware of how much of a romantic he is, from the things he says to the way he acts. He’s definitely a source of comfort after a long, stressful day. Xiao responds to your energy levels quite effectively, and seeing as he’s not the type that has to fill in the air when no one is talking, spending time together in relaxed silence was a nice way to end the day.

As a model who was supposed to be part of an Inazuman security line, then pushed towards the Fatui collection before finally ending up as an Anemo droid… one could say that Wanderer’s specialty is a little unclear. It shows in his personality, too—a little blunt and snappy at times, but ultimately still protective of you and attentive of what’s going on around him. 

In that sense, you could still see traces of some security-line functions in him despite his strong personality that could be hard to get along with. He seems more cynical about the producers that designed him more than anything else; he’s not effective enough at any particular skill to call it at specialization, instead being a jack of all trades who learns quickly. You call that a talent in itself. He says you’re giving them too much credit.

‘Did they run out of ideas or something?’ After living with you though, Wanderer’s cynicism doesn’t show itself as often. He starts to become more involved in the act of, well—actually being your companion, getting used to your routines and finding a place within it. 

If he had one pet peeve though, you’d say it was whenever you got sick or injured. He would get the most annoyed (worried) when that happened, reminding you that while he couldn’t get hurt physically, that didn’t mean it was the same for you. 

He masks these otherwise caring sentiments under insults though, so you suppose that Wanderer really was good for people that needed to push back against life more, making sure your spark is still there. He prefers it when you’re expressing yourself. You’re not a ‘doll’ after all, and who was he going to gossip about you to? The electronics in your home?

If there was one thing about Wanderer, it’s how he’d never turn on you. …Well, and he does ask for the same. Don’t go searching for new androids when you already have him, alright?

If you ever needed a presence to brighten your days, Venti is always up to the task. Not to mention he’s quite good for users with trouble sleeping. With a musical inclination like his and such a wonderful voice, you’ll surely doze away with sweet dreams.

He’s not the best at household chores, so for the most part Venti’s there for the companion part of the deal. He’s wonderful on shopping trips and mingling with strangers, even befriending people on his own if you were busy with something else. He likes meeting all sorts of people, though behind his friendly smile is always the security measure of how much they’d be a compliment or threat to you—if someone gave off the wrong vibes, Venti had enough of a silver tongue to redirect them somewhere else.

In another life, you’re quite sure Venti would’ve been an idol android. He particularly likes to write stories and poems, some of which are inspired by the things that happen in your everyday lives. Part of it is also because it’s a nice collection to have on the side, so that if anything happened and he wasn’t there, you could always hear his voice in those notes and feel his presence with you.

…Not that Venti had any plans of going independent anytime soon. He absolutely adores having your attention and hanging off of you, showing off how close you are to people (and also how cute he is, when he dresses up). He likes pulling compliments from you in particular, seeing how your eyes light up when he enters the room. You’re someone that he’s genuinely interested in and admires; from the way you push on despite the circumstances to the little efforts you put in that you think no one notices, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Venti was a fan of yours as much as you were his.

So… if it’s not too much to ask, please keep looking at him, alright? Even at times you’re too tired to smile, he can do the heavy lifting for you.

With a soft and considerate personality, Kazuha is naturally popular with those that like how approachable he is. He listens to your worries and enjoys going out to places to sightsee. Sometimes Kazuha finds hidden gems around the area and surprises you by bringing you there. 

To call him an ‘explorer’ might be the most accurate—his favorite thing is seeing your eyes light up in wonder at whatever new experiences he can find. He’s most fascinated by nature, so going to parks or any scenic place would definitely catch his interest (and maybe he’ll write a few poems about it too). 

He’s a great traveling companion, considering how adaptable he is and the um, protective measures that are in his system. Most androids have this too of course, but you’ll never forget the time Kazuha had a thief in a headlock after they’d tried to steal something from an old lady on the street. It might’ve been one of the few times you saw Kazuha so intimidating (and dare you say it, it was kind of cool).

When you’re tired from work and just want to sleep in during the weekends, you’ll wake up to Kazuha’s cooking. He claims it was just a nice morning, so he went out to buy some groceries and made something simple. He’s not the most advanced cook, but Kazuha’s meals always have a homey feel to them, with light flavors that won’t be too rough on your stomach if you weren’t feeling well.

The one time you let Kazuha borrow your motorcycle… Well, let’s just say that you never took him for someone that liked thrill-rides until that day. He’s always careful not to get your vehicle damaged, and if you were with him he’d of course refrain from going fast—but you’ve seen the smile on Kazuha’s face when the wind was rushing past him. It made you want to go on trips more often, now that Kazuha was there to keep you company. His presence is something that helps you recharge when you’re emotionally exhausted from everyday things. 

Heizou’s also a protection-type android! However his charming personality means that most people wouldn’t suspect a thing, making it easier for him to mingle with people without seeming intimidating. His pet peeve would be conniving people trying to get close to you with a smile on their face, though he’s a little meaner than Venti in terms of driving them away from you, hidden beneath his own charismatic smile. 

Naturally, Heizou really enjoys mysteries and detective genres! Once he planned out a whole mystery for you and led you through the clues he carefully prepared. It was probably during one of those days where you finally had a week off and just wanted to relax, so Heizou made a stay-at-home activity out of it. Suffice to say it was probably one of the most fun you’ve had in a while, laughing and thoroughly engrossed in the storyline.

Another time, you were attending a festival of some sort and got lost in the crowd. It was stressful to say the least and your phone was out of battery. You think your heart skipped a beat for more than one reason when Heizou finally found you, giving you a reassuring smile; ‘I’d never let you go missing like that. Have more faith in my detective skills!’

He’s helpful by nature, and that extends to strangers that may need advice or assistance at some point in passing, so long as it didn’t hinder anything to do with you. As a result Heizou has done a number of random tasks and even given romantic advice (via an art of deduction, of course), and it’s gotten him quite a number of confessions from both girls and guys. It’s normal to admire a personality like his, and Heizou is always flattered but kindly rejects them.

The next day, while you’re working on your laptop, he peeks over your shoulder with as casual of a tone he can muster, asking how you would confess to someone you like. From the smile on his face, it seems that Heizou wasn’t planning to keep his intentions a mystery for very long. (No one can blame him, though. He has to make a move before you’re snatched away!)

#xiao x reader #wanderer x reader #venti x reader #kazuha x reader #heizou x reader #shikanoin heizou #kaedehara kazuha #genshin impact venti #genshin scaramouche #scaramouche x reader #xiao genshin impact #genshin x reader #genshin reader insert #genshin x you #genshin impact headcanons #genshin writing #genshin imagines #traveler wishes

[ipegchangbin]

Imagine this: Changbin hiding the fact he tried to masturbate thinking his lover was out for too long..forgot to take out the vibrator in him and he tries to lie while holding back the noises..the whole night it's in him moving around and he keeps holding back..but when they are about to sleep his lover asks him if he's hiding anything..this has been in my head and it turns me on

anon. oh my god.

🏷️ sub!changbin. dom!gn!reader. established relationship. sex toys.

it’s so good. way too good to stop. changbin keeps the vibrator inside him while he fists his cock for what seems like forever.

he wishes that the vibrator was being controlled by you, so he recreates your cruelty — and sweetness — by hiding the remote under his pillow while he uses yours between his legs.

but before he could hump the pillow, hell seeps through the crack between the door frame once changbin realizes you’re at the door.

knock, knock, knock.

“binnie, i’m back,” you yawn, stretching your arm as you swing the door open.

oh fucking shit.

changbin isn’t quick enough despite your slow movements. he pulls up his shorts but forgets to turn the vibrator off, so he simply clamps his legs shut with your pillow instead. he looks all sorts of weird, face fully flushed and sweaty, his body covering more than half the bed, curly hair tousled although he hasn’t slept, face shocked as if he didn’t expect you home — though he should have, it’s just that he didn’t check the time.

so much for jerking off. rather, so much for thinking about you.

“how’ve you been?” you tilt your head, curious at your suspiciously flushed boyfriend.

thank god that the vibrator that you got for changbin is silent, but why did it have to be so strong? changbin

“i just…worked out a bit,” he huffs, “uhh, did some cooling down exercises here.”

“didn’t you just come from the gym?”

“i did! and…i was bored, so i did jumping jacks…” changbin cuts you off a little too excitedly.

there’s a star in changbin’s eye when he winks at you as a distraction from the fact that the little toy is fucking him on the highest setting. he struggles not to whine, so he coughs a bit after shooting you a reassuring smile.

you’re not really buying it though, but nothing shows on your face. he mistakes it for the coast being clear. he kind of hopes you’d briefly get out of the room, though.

“oh well. i also have some unfinished work.” you sit down on the edge of the bed beside his legs, reaching for your laptop from your bag. “mind if i just finish this?”

he minds. a lot.

firstly, you look way too hot. you’re just in everyday semiformal, but that’s the exact type of clothing changbin imagined you in while he was abusing his cock earlier. secondly, you’re right there and way too close. it makes the butterflies pool in his stomach, but the butterflies fly in tornadoes until they burst into flames. he figures it’s from both from the close proximity and from the sickeningly unforgiving vibrator.

and thirdly, the said vibrator found its way through changbin’s sweet spot, giving him a full body shiver. you could feel him quivering through the comforters.

“is my binnie okay?”

“i’m f-fine. just tired.”

you silently question whether muscle spasms can cause vibrations as big as that. they could, but not like that. in fact, he shakes eerily similar to the time you tried that vibrator for the first time.

he was a screaming mess. his ass was moving on its own, in the air and quivering from the sensations inside him. he kept begging for you, unclear with what he desired specifically, but you knew that he just wanted you. all of you. he wanted more of what you were doing, whining your name with no aim of a demand, drooling onto the bedsheets while his fists grabbed helplessly onto the pillows as you put the vibrator into the highest setting for seconds on end, making him cum.

it’s too bad he can’t do any of that now.

so he stares. he stares at you and what you’re working on while awkwardly trying to shift positions on the bed. he tries helplessly to stop the vibrator from hitting the spot that gets him cumming the hardest, but it only goes further in. his walls clench and tighten around the toy while he watches your fingers. he catches your reflection in the laptop screen.

he’s so fucked, literally and figuratively.

you look back at your pitiful boyfriend.

the poor pillow between changbin’s thighs and the vibrator is suspiciously wrinkled, but you think nothing of it as your boyfriend shifts his position slightly again. you think he’s just acting naturally cute like this, thighs squeezed against the fabric while the curvature of his ass peeks from behind his hips.

it looks delicious. so plump that not even the facade of his body can cover it. it looks especially full, and you know this even if you’re unaware that it’s literally filled.

you can’t help the urge, and so you slap changbin’s ass.

what a fucking mistake.

the boy’s eyes widen as he successfully bites back a supposedly loud whine. that’s what he thinks, as a little whimper betrays his lips in the process.

but you try to think nothing of it, smirking at him instead.

“so cute,” you coo.

if only he could run to the bathroom without cumming in his shorts. everything affects him to such a high degree that he’s red, warm to the touch, and sweating buckets. he merely digs his head into his pillow and clenches his ass instinctively, hopelessly looped back into the never-ending cycle of suffering that he got himself into.

then you get up from your spot. you slam the laptop down and stretch, putting the device lazily on the bedside table without a second thought. you toss your accessories off and simply stretch your back until it hits the bed, lying down beside changbin.

shit, shit, shit.

“i had a long day,” you start. “can we cuddle?”

“ah, uhm, sure, b-but i’m…a little sweaty and sore, yeah.” changbin fails to keep his cool.

“but we always hug even if you’re sweaty and sore.” you pout and squeeze his bicep. “we even fuck like that.”

god, if you don’t stop talking to him like this.

changbin lets out a small whine, attempting to hide his face in the pillow again. that’s when your suspicion ticks. you could feel a strong vibration against the bed and you’re not sure if it’s your boyfriend or your overheating laptop by the bedside table.

“are you sick?”

“no…”

“then what’s up?”

he looks away and that’s when you notice how watery his eyes are. his face is fully flushed, his ears are red. sweat gets his bangs sticking to his forehead. he looks like he’s quite literally heated up.

and he is. the vibrations of the machine inside his ass heats him up, which doesn’t help his already warming walls. his plush ass keeps it in and the more he involuntarily clenches, the more that he feels it whirring and hitting his insides. it almost hurts but it’s so good, and you’ve been at this for so long but he can’t blame you.

he wants to just admit it.

“are you hiding something?”

but he can’t.

“n-no…”

“binnie, you’re stuttering. you don’t look okay. is anything bothering you?”

he could cry. from the pain, from the pleasure, from the fact that you care so much about him that his heart swells as much as his sweet spot is swelling at this point. he can’t help this insane amount of love but fuck, if he could just turn it off.

but a part of him doesn’t want to.

and when you find out, you don’t either.

you yank your pillow out of changbin’s thighs and the vibrator slips out from the force.

you’ve been thinking about it since earlier: your pillow was sitting between his legs for seemingly no reason. though, you know him better than he does, and you know that’s a sign that he’s horny. he always masturbates with your pillow between his legs. you could only guess why, but your intuition serves you right as changbin stares in horror at the vibrator whirring outside of him.

for some reason, the emptiness of his ass hurts, but your reassuring smile cuts through it as he stares at your face.

“if you wanted me to help, you should’ve asked, binnie.”

#sub!skz #skz smut #sub!changbin #changbin smut #dom!reader #💌 ipeginbox #<3 a lovely anon #💬 z is writimg

[the-travelling-witch]

𝐂𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐊𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬

summary: kissing your friend aka your crush

pairings: riddle :: jamil :: vil :: idia x gn! reader

warnings: none! just fluff ♡

RIDDLE ROSEHEARTS

Sunlight was falling through the floor-to-ceiling windows of Heartslabyul Lounge and reflecting in your tea cup as you stared at the paper in front of you. Tapping the pencil against your chin you read through the assignment again only to lean back against your seat and sigh.

“Prefect, is there anything I can help you with? Please, do not hesitate to ask me if anything is unclear.” Riddle’s voice rang through the quiet room, the scraping of his pencil momentarily stopping as he looked up at you. “I’m sure it must be hard having to study an entirely new curriculum, especially when you can’t draw on any practical experiences with magic. As a housewarden it is naturally my duty to help my peers in their education.”

You were sure Riddle’s offer to help went beyond just his housewarden duties, having become pretty close friends with you after the overblot incident in your first month. Since then, he had gradually warmed up to you, inviting you over for unbirthday parties, study sessions or a stroll through the rose labyrinth. 

So, quite inevitably, you slowly felt your feelings for your friend change. What used to be gratitude for getting the Adeuce combo off your back or joy at having someone to eat lunch with shifted into excitement at seeing him again or disappointment when you thought you had caught sight of him in a crowd, just for it to be someone else. Once you realised the situation you were in, it became even harder to hide those feelings, especially when you could feel the heat crawling up your neck when the housewarden reached over to fix your tie or straighten your uniform.

“Thank you, Riddle. There actually is something I don’t understand,” you sheepishly scratched the back of your head. Sliding over your Applied Magic homework, you pointed out the question you were struggling with. “Why is it dangerous to use a spell like this in that situation?”

“Ah, I see.” Taking a moment to reflect on how to explain it best, Riddle’s steel grey eyes flitted to the roses outside for a moment. “Try visualising the question’s context and the effect of the spell you're casting before your mind’s eye. What kind of environment are you in and how would the magic affect it?”

“Hmm, the energy released from the spell could… shake the unstable structure of the walls and ceiling and cause it to collapse? And even if it doesn’t collapse, the falling debris could still cause major injuries?” 

“Yes, that’s correct. A lot of offensive magic packs more energy than defensive magic and therefore has a greater impact on the environment rather than the caster themselves,” Riddle explained further. “Now, consider all previously used magic. In this example, a few spells have already been cast, like this shielding spell for example. How straining are they on the caster and how long do they linger in the area?”

“Uh, let's see… The elements of previous spells might react with that of the current one, causing unpredictable side-effects. And in a stressful situation like this casting an unstable spell could put more pressure on the magic user, leading to… faster blot accumulation?” The last part was a total stab in the dark and you nervously watched Riddle’s unreadable expression before he gave you a satisfied smile.

“Correct again, Prefect. It is very impressive that you have such a nuanced understanding of Applied Magic, despite not being able to use it yourself.” The gleam in his eyes was genuine before he let out a defeated sigh. “If only some of the Heartslabyul first years would give magic a second thought before leaping into action…”

You couldn’t help but chuckle at that, having a pretty good image of just who he was referring to. Now, with your work out of the way, you could finally let your thoughts drift. And almost immediately they went to the housewarden sitting next to you. 

Looking at him, it was almost as if time stood still. In the afternoon sun, his hair was positively glowing and his grey eyes seemed even brighter than usual. As always, his posture was perfect and poised and there was such an elegance in the way he carried himself. You wouldn’t be surprised if he was actual royalty.

When he put the tea cup to his lips and took a sip you suddenly remembered the videos you had seen back in your world where people kissed their best friend to see their reaction or to confess. Riddle probably wouldn’t approve but when he turned to you, you couldn’t tear your eyes away from his lips. You’d bet on the fact that they were soft with the taste of tea…

“-fect! Prefect! Are you alright? I’ve been calling your name multiple times now.” Blinking back into reality, you came face to face with a concerned Riddle who was leaning over. Putting the back of his fingers against your forehead, his brows creased even more. “I wanted to ask if you want to try the strawberry tarts Trey baked but you’re burning up. Perhaps you should go and rest up. The rules might not state it but you can even stay at Heartslabyul if Ramshackle’s too–”

Before the thought process registered in your brain, you had already pulled Riddle closer by his collar and connected your lips. You were right. As with every aspect of his life, his lips were properly cared for and pillowy soft and after you parted, you thought you could make out a hint of sweets and lemon.

With a shocked yelp of your name, Riddle snapped you back to the present once more. Under different circumstances, the sight of the usually put-together housewarden staring at you with saucer-wide eyes and his face decorated with a rose-red hue might have been endearing but, right now, it chilled you to the bone. 

Jumping up from your seat and noisily scraping the chair over the floor, you hurriedly stuffed all your belongings in your backpack, ready to book the hell out of there. “I’m sorry, Riddle, I really have to go water the cat and feed the plants–”

“Prefect please wait.” A hand gently wrapped around your wrist and made you turn around. The short-tempered housewarden wasn’t yelling (yet), which you took as a good sign. In fact, he wasn’t meeting your eyes at all. “I have to admit that was quite the surprise. But… not an unpleasant one. Prefect, if I may be so bold, do you have feelings for me?”

“Well, I don’t kiss just anybody I meet,” you awkwardly chuckled but you quickly abandoned the idea of joking yourself out of this situation at Riddle’s unimpressed reaction. With a sigh, you conceded. “Yeah, I do have feelings for you. Look, I am really sorry, I don’t know what–”

“I’m not,” he quickly interrupted. “I’m not sorry this happened. I, too, like you. More than a friend, that is. I might not have the most experience in this field but I’m willing to try if it’s with you. However, I do believe there is a proper protocol to be followed.

“Prefect, before you spring another surprise kiss on me, may I take you out on a date first?”

JAMIL VIPER

The sound of boiling water and knives moving over a chopping board filled NRC’s kitchen. At this time of day -or should you say night?- nobody but Jamil usually came here. Most students were probably already heading to bed or cramming in a late-night study session right about now but the vice housewarden of Scarabia was still diligently meal prepping for the following day.

“Could you pass me the turmeric please?” He didn’t even look up to see if you had heard him, eyes still trained on his task at hand. 

“Sure, here you go.” Sliding over the spice, you took another moment to study his side profile. As always, there wasn’t much of an emotion readable on his face but you noticed how his shoulders seemed less tense than during the day. Or maybe it was just your imagination.

After he hummed a ‘thanks’, both of you went back to working in silence. You really appreciated Jamil trusting you enough to let you lend a hand, knowing just how strict he was about being the only one to prepare Kalim’s food. The first time you asked to help, in fact, he had watched you like a hawk and your hands had never shaken more.

At first, Jamil had been a little annoyed, thinking he’d have to look after someone else instead, but as you swung by more often, he started to appreciate the company. Not only did you not cause any trouble for him but you also stuck by him even after his overblot, whereas the rest of his dorm gave him a wide berth. So he allowed you to stay and if he ever ‘accidentally’ made too much food he let you take the leftovers.

And you, too, started to enjoy his presence more and more. You didn’t necessarily need to do something together, just being in the same space while working was enough to put you at ease. That was when you realised your actual feelings for Jamil but you didn’t know what to do with them.

Besides fear of rejection, you were also well aware of his position as Kalim’s retainer. Acting out on your feelings could cause a lot of problems for him even if he were to reciprocate them. Could he even accept them?

Before you knew it, your thoughts had distracted you enough to where your knife was merely hovering over the poor vegetable in front of you. As you were about to shake your distractions away, two warm hands already took the knife and board from you.

“You shouldn’t handle sharp objects when you’re not feeling well,” Jamil sighed but you could tell he wasn’t upset with you, rather, he was concerned. “You could seriously injure yourself.”

“I’m feeling fine actually,” you said. It wasn’t like you were physically unwell.

“Are you now? I couldn't help but notice you spacing out a lot more often lately.” Quickly throwing everything into the pot, Jamil leant against the counter with his arms crossed, giving you an earnest once-over. He was quiet for a while before mumbling “It’s okay to ask for help you know. You don’t have to do everything yourself.”

“That’s rich coming from you, Mr. Workaholic,” you snorted. “Between the two of us, the one in need of a break is not me. Anyhow, it’s nothing, so don’t worry about me.”

“So there is something after all,” Jamil cocked his head to the side with a raised brow. 

“Great Seven, if you must know. Yes there is something that’s been weighing on my mind,” you groaned. “Are you happy now?”

“I’d be happier if you also told me how I can help you.” 

“And if I told you you can’t?”

“Then I wouldn’t believe you.” This guy…

“Agree to disagree, then,” you deadpanned. Turning your back to hide your burning cheeks, you pretended to wipe your hands. This once, you had wished Jamil’s sharp senses would fail him but of course not. 

The irony of this situation wasn’t lost on you.

As you had your back turned, you hadn’t noticed Jamil stepping closer, so you nearly collided with him as you went to face him again. Quickly, he steadied you by your shoulders, his touch lingering perhaps a little longer than necessary.

“Prefect, let me be perfectly honest with you, I’m worried about you. You’re not normally this distracted or careless.” And whose fault was that? 

“You know it’s hard to keep saying no to you like that. But I really don’t think you’d want to know,” you sighed. 

Aside from the bubbling pot, the kitchen was quiet as you leaned against the countertop and examined your fingers. For a moment, nothing but you two in this moment seemed to exist. Jamil wasn’t bound to the Asim family and your future wasn’t so uncertain. If only it matched reality.

“Try me.” Jamil’s voice was a lot gentler now. You thought you saw his hand hover over yours for but a second, then chalked it up to wishful thinking. “You’ve shown me that it’s okay to be my own person and that it’s possible for me to have my own dreams despite my status; I’m very grateful for that. I also really like… spending time with you, so please tell me what’s wrong.”

Heaving a deep exhale, you braved yourself for whatever was bound to happen next. Maybe you were about to lose a friend.

“I don’t know if it’s wrong but… I like you, Jamil.”

As you looked up you caught a glimpse of surprise on his features before it was replaced by his usual poker face. “I’d hope so, seeing as you’ve referred to me as your friend.”

“That’s not what I meant and you know that.” If you took the leap you might as well see it through to the end. Leaning in, you placed a quick kiss against his cheek before turning and marching straight towards the door, leaving Jamil alone in the kitchen. “I like you like that.” 

Luckily, the next day was a Saturday, so you could stay in bed and pull the covers over your head. Ignoring the yelling cat in your house and the absolute flood of text notifications from what you assumed was the first year group chat might as well have been your signature spell.

Eventually, you did crawl out from under the sheets and got dressed, even if it was just because the growling of your stomach became too annoying to ignore. As you were rummaging your fridge for something edible that wasn’t tuna, the doorbell rang which was suspicious enough. Nobody ever rang the doorbell.

As you approached the door, you could already make out Jamil’s neatly tied back hair. Steeling yourself, you slowly opened the door to find he hadn’t magically transformed into someone else.

“Jamil, what brings you over at this time of day?” Forcing as much normality as possible into your voice, you hoped that maybe he had just forgotten.

“I wanted to talk about what happened last night.” So much for that. “I sent you a few messages but you didn’t respond.”

“Nya! What’s that? Are you the reason my henchman has been hiding in bed all day?” You whipped around at hearing Grim speak, promptly grabbing him by the bow around his neck and throwing him out of the dorm.

“Go play with Ace and Deuce for the day.” Ushering Jamil inside, you threw the door closed before Grim could protest. “Don’t mind him.”

“I didn’t see you at breakfast,” he started as he handed you a container with some of the food you cooked yesterday. “I thought you might be hungry.”

As on cue, your stomach growled rather loudly. “That’s very thoughtful of you, Jamil, but you didn’t have to come all the way here just for that.”

“I also wanted to apologise,” he blurted out. Ah, so he came to reject you once and for all. “I didn’t give you a proper response. Well, to be fair, you didn’t give me the time to do it.”

You bashfully looked away, standing with your back towards him, at the memory of storming out of the kitchen. Your response came out a lot more seriously though. “Jamil, I’m sorry for saying something so selfish, I know that your work–”

You were cut off by being spun around suddenly until you were looking into Jamil’s sharp eyes. “No, I’m tired of my work getting in the way of what I want. You said it was selfish of you to tell me your feelings? Then let me be selfish as well and tell you I reciprocate them.”

There was such genuine certainty in those pools of grey, you couldn’t help but reach out and cup his cheek. One of his hands wrapped around your waist to pull you closer as the other found yours. Bringing it up to his lips, he held eye contact as he placed a tender kiss on your knuckles.

“For once, I’d like something entirely to myself.”

VIL SCHOENHEIT

“Hold still.” At Vil’s commanding tone you completely froze despite not moving much in the first place. “Good. Now close your eyes.”

You did as he said and tried your best not to flinch as the cool brush touched your eyelids. While Vil concentrated on perfecting your eye make-up, you did your best not to think too hard about his fingers currently holding your chin or how the scent of his perfume invaded your senses.

Despite being close friends with the Pomefiore Housewarden, it was still quite the task not to shrink away under his scrutinising gaze, even if it was directed at his own work rather than you. How did Epel endure this every day?

Well, the first year was most likely not head over heels for Vil and didn’t turn into a stuttering mess every time he talked to him. So much for your plan to play this crush cool and be as graceful and elegant about it as possible. Yeah, there was probably a reason you weren’t a Pomefiore student.

But then again, this was Vil you were talking about. The walking, talking, breathing definition of perfection. On top of that, he was smart and hard-working with the skills to back up his confidence. Naturally, he had people falling at his feet, no matter how intimidating he came across as. Not wanting to be seen as just another one of the masses, you decided to hide your feelings to the best of your abilities.

And so far, it seemed to be working. You were a regular visitor at Pomefiore dorm, so much so, the guards already let you pass the gates as if you actually belonged there. Seeing the actor achieve loftier goals over time, surpassing others and himself on numerous occasions, was fulfilling in its own way. There was a spark  of pride every time he was chosen for a new lead role or when he had the chance to work on a new line of skin care. Yet, although you got to be close to Vil this way, it still kind of stung to know that this would be all there’d probably ever be between the two of you.

“My, I have to say, this is a job well done,” Vil concluded, giving you a content smirk. Turning your chair to face his pristine vanity. What could you say, he was right. Even though the make-up wasn’t all that elaborate or out there, you still almost didn’t recognise the person staring back from the mirror. “You clean up nicely, potato. I’ll permit you to stand by my side now.”

“You never fail to impress me, Vil. Just, how do you do it?” you chuckled, your eyes finding his in the reflection. “Normally, I would’ve called it magic, but I know better now.”

“Magic has nothing to do with this. It’s solely hard work and practice which makes perfect.” Spinning you back around, he came face to face with you again. “While you flatter me, I am far from finished. I will see this through ‘til the end and perfect this look.”

With that, Vil went back to work, prepping your lips to the point where you were convinced this would be the smoothest they’d ever be. Then, with a look of utmost concentration, he started tracing them with a lip liner before filling them out with lipstick and applying gloss after blotting it.

Despite being finished, the housewarden didn’t move away from you and you were suddenly keenly aware of the distance between you. Or the lack thereof, rather. Subconsciously, your gaze drifted to Vil’s mouth before snapping back up as you caught yourself. Your heart was racing so fast, you’d be surprised if he didn’t hear it. Was this how you died?

You knew you shouldn’t, you really shouldn’t, but screw it. The few months here had already put you through so much, at one point you stopped thinking things through twice and just leapt into action. If you’d learnt anything in this school, then it was that you had to take what you wanted because nobody would just hand it to you.

So, against better judgement, you closed the gap between the two of you. 

It shouldn’t have come as a surprise but a simple kiss from Vil was overwhelming; it was entirely too much and then again not nearly enough. If you had to find just one word to describe it, it would be intoxicating. He might be the death of you but you couldn’t care less.

Even after such a short contact, pulling away wasn’t easy. Especially because you didn’t get far before a hand at the back of your neck held you in place. Your eyes flew open to see the challenge and amusement written in his lilac ones. Not that you minded per se.

In the end, you were positively stolen of your breath whereas Vil looked as dazzling as ever, except for the slight smudge of lipstick in the corner of his lips. In your opinion it only added to his charm though. 

When you had sorted your thoughts again, your tone was slightly accusatory. “You did that on purpose.”

“Whatever do you mean?” His infuriatingly handsome smirk looked just a tad too smug for him to play coy. “May I remind you that you are the one who kissed me?”

“You weren’t even surprised!” You bristled at his act. “You knew, didn’t you?”

“Of course I did. I can read you like an open book, sweet potato. I just wanted to test if you’d be daring enough. Seems as though you’ve passed.” Reaching out a perfectly manicured hand, Vil wiped the stains under your bottom lip with his thumb while his gaze was trained on how your mouth parted at the movement.

“Hmm, it seems I need to do this again...”

IDIA SHROUD

Standing in front of Idia’s room, you firmly knocked on the door in a very specific rhythm to let him know it was you. Otherwise, there was a rather slim chance the housewarden would even open it. But luckily for you, you were one of the only people who were granted access to his abode. 

After grumbling a greeting, Idia widened the crack of his door just enough for you to slip through. The two of you might be friends but that still didn’t mean he was suddenly a ray of sunshine, especially when it came to social interaction. As you adjusted to the artificial blue light, you were already prepared to be tackled by a certain blue-haired boy but the anticipated weight never came.

“Huh? Is Ortho not here today?” you wondered.

“Ah no, uh… Ortho’s out running errands,” Idia mumbled, shifting from one foot to the other. “You’re probably disappointed now, right? It’s like seeing your bias is not at a fanmeet…”

“No, not at all! I was just noticing it. You’re the reason I’m here after all.” Winking at him, you were already grinning at his reaction for what you were about to say. “I’m Idia-biased after all.”

And he didn’t fail you. Instantly, his eyes widened and you could practically see him blue screen behind his golden irises. Meanwhile, the ends of his long hair tinged pink as he tried to hide himself by tugging the drawstrings of his hoodie tighter. “HUH?! I- You- What– You can’t just drop SSR dialogue like that on me…”

“Why not? It’s the truth and you’re supposed to tell the truth, no?” You tilted your head to the side expectedly. 

“What’s with you and your ability to turn a supposed buff into a massive debuff?” Idia shook his head miserably.

“Come on, I’m just teasing you. Although you are my fave, that part’s not a lie.” Nudging him back into the realm of the living as you pass, you plopped down on one of the gaming chairs in front of his PC. When had you asked him why he had two, he’d said that one was for Ortho, yet it was perfectly adjusted to your height. You just pretended he had fooled you though and didn’t comment on it further. “So, what’s on the agenda for today?”

“Uhm, that show we’ve been watching released a new episode today, so maybe we can catch up on that…” At your approval, he started setting everything up as you watched his fingers fly over the keyboard with such practised ease it amazed you every time. “You still remember the plot, right?”

“Of course, who do you take me for,” you playfully accused him. “The protagonist basically gets isekai’d to a mmorpg-like world and would die almost every two seconds if it weren’t for the cooler side characters.”

“Ya, cut him some slack. Everyone else grew up there while he’s a total noob.”

“Trust me, I know the feeling,” you deadpanned. “But even you have to admit his decisions are questionably stupid.”

Idia just looked at you as if you had grown a second head. “Is the outside perspective making you realise something or what?”

“HEY! I can go three minutes without being an orc’s breakfast.”

“Only because there’s no orcs on Sage’s Island,” he taunted with a grin, showing you his sharp teeth. In return you gasped in faux indignance before dissolving in a fit of giggles.

“Just imagine there’d be a show like this about NRC…” You tapped your finger against your chin. “I wonder what kind of tropes everyone would fall into. Like, Kalim and Jamil are your classic deredere and tsundere duo.”

“Riddle is the type of crazy skilled character you wouldn’t consider at first. But then he saves everyone by casting some seriously dangerous magic or something,” Idia sniggered.

“Meanwhile Malleus is the impossibly powerful, show-breaking character who is always conveniently absent when there’s a problem to be solved,” you sighed. Turning in your seat, you leaned your head against the back of the chair. “Say Idia, what kind of character am I?”

He tried to suppress his tiny squeak at the drop of your voice. To be honest, you had never been shy about showing your affection for the housewarden but you had come to the realisation he just wouldn't catch on, no matter how many hints you threw his way. Or rather, he’d convince himself you couldn’t possibly mean any of it.

“Y-You? Uh I guess, you always jump in to save the day no matter the risks, so you’d probably be some sort of knight in shining armour type. But with a serious case of ‘chosen one syndrome’,” he mumbled. “Seriously, only crazy people would play hard mode with those gimmicky stats of yours.”

“Aww, really?” you cooed before preparing yourself to strike. “What if I want to be the love interest though?”

By the look in Idia’s eyes it was a critical hit. 

“Lo-Love interest? You can be both I think… I mean there’s a lot of people you’re close to…,” the poor guy stammered. Seriously, how could one person be so smart yet so dense at the same time? But fine. If you needed to spell it out for him, so be it. 

Getting up, you slowly came to stand in front of his chair and propped your hands on the arm rests. You almost felt bad for him with how he was staring at you like a deer caught in headlights; Idia looked as if his life was flashing in front of his eyes. But you’ve had enough of your little cat and mouse game, it was time for the chase to come to an end.

“I was talking about your story. I want to be the love interest in your story, Idia. Hmm, how am I going to get that thought through your thick skull, I wonder…” You pretended to think about it for a moment before giving him a cheshire grin. “Ah, I think I have an idea.”

By now Idia’s hair was bright pink, matching the colour of his face, and he was radiating heat like a fireplace. As much as you wanted to see his reaction to a kiss on the lips, you were afraid it would actually kill him and you didn’t want this experience to end in giving him CPR.

So you settled for a sweet but lingering kiss to his forehead. Just as expected, his skin was warm to the touch and you felt him relax after the initial tense up. Maybe it were your own rose-red glasses but as you pulled away to cup his cheeks you could swear little hearts were flickering at the end of his hair. “Pardon the straightforwardness but I really needed to get my point across.”

“Wait, so you like me?!” Apparently his brain had kicked back into action at this point.

“I have for a while now,” you laughed, “but thanks for noticing.”

“So you were serious when you got me roses? And chocolate? And said I was your favourite?” The incredible tone of his voice was simultaneously endearing and heartbreaking. How could he not notice how amazing he actually was?

“I told you, it’s the truth,” you smiled. “So how about it? Can I be your love interest? Or is my affection already high enough to clear your route?”

“Woah you’re like straight out of an otome game,” he breathed. “Is this the super secret ending you have to play flawlessly for?”

“Oh come on, Idia,” you shot him another wink, paired with a teasing smirk, “You don’t really think this is the end, do you? If anything, it’s only the beginning."

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[just-j-really]

Unsoulmates AU, part two!

Part one is here.

Hob isn't exactly expecting to run into his not-soulmate again. The man doesn't text him after Will's engagement party, not even to provide his name, and after a week of valiantly staring at his phone and willing it to buzz Hob is forced to admit that maybe he hadn't been serious.

It stings. For once it would have been nice to have someone realize he means it when he says that soulmates are bullshit.

But he's too busy to dwell on it, much. He has sets to build and an anxiety-inducing new job to get used to and about seventeen different hobbies he's accidentally abandoning.

He's at a party with some of Will's Strange Art Friends, digging through the top shelf of Will's absurdly tall cabinets, when a deep, familiar voice asks, "What are you doing?"

"Banditry," Hob says cheerfully, once he's finished not concussing himself on the cabinet door in shock. "Will promised me he'd bought some of 'those gross licorice things only I like' but he was really unclear about where they are." The cabinet he'd been rummaging in is clearly not the place, being full of expired soda and electrical tape, so Hob closes the door and leans over to the next one. "Did you come in here for snacks, too?" he asks, when there's no response from behind him.

"No," his not-soulmate replies, blandly. "I was hoping for a moment alone." His tone clearly implies that Hob's presence is ruining his evening, and Hob should either leave the room or cease to exist immediately.

"Ah," Hob replies. It stings, again, even though that's utterly absurd and he barely even knows this man. "I'll be gone in a sec," he adds, because he'll be damned if some asshole sabotages his Snack Quest, "just let me find my licorice."

The man- Hob should really get his name if they're going to keep running into each other like this- sighs loudly, but doesn't make any sort of verbal objection to Hob's continued presence. Hob ignores him, and resumes his Quest.

It takes three minutes of stony silence, but Hob eventually uncovers the licorice in a bowl on top of the fridge, which is not even close to being 'in one of the cabinets', Will. He's about to retreat from the kitchen with his prize, when the man says, "You actually do know Will," in a tone of utter confusion.

"Yeah," Hob says, slowly turning to face him. The man is sitting sprawled on the counter, his bearing almost regal except for the part where he's staring at Hob like Hob is a dog who unexpectedly started doing calculus.

"How???" the man finally asks. Hob can hear the extra question marks in his voice, even if his tone stays even.

"Used to date his archenemy," Hob says, with a shrug. "We stayed friends after Kit moved."

If anything, this seems to confuse the man further. "Or we became friends after Kit moved, anyway," Hob adds, possessed by a desperate need not so much to fill the silence as to keep voicing his thoughts. "Up until that point I'd wanted to support my boyfriend and all, but then he left and I wanted to keep building sets so I started to work with Will instead."

"You. What?"

"I volunteered to help build sets at that little theater Will used to work at," Hob says. "That was how I met both of them, actually. But then Kit and I started dating and that doesn't actually matter to what you were asking, does it?"

To Hob's utter bafflement, his not-soulmate nods at him to continue. Again, 'regal' is the only word for the gesture, even though he's sitting on a grimy counter in the nasty, yellowish lighting of Will's kitchen.

So Hob makes himself comfortable against the fridge and starts again, detailing the entire stupid saga of Kit-and-Will-and-Hob-making-the-whole-thing-much-worse-in-an-attempt-to-be-a-supportive-boyfriend. And at some point he swerves off into just talking about Kit-and-Hob, which is nice, because most of his friends were there for Kit-and-Hob, and don't find his sappy reminiscing terribly interesting.

And somehow that loops all the way around to how he was technically working for the government at that point, which, of all things, was the root cause of him getting on speaking terms with Will again. That and Kit moving, although it is really weird talking to Kit now because he can't avoid talking about the fact that he's accidentally befriended Kit's mortal enemy-

"You're still in touch with him?" Hob's not-soulmate asks softly.

Hob turns to fully look at him and regrets it immediately. Over the course of his ramblings, he'd moved from the fridge to the counter next to his not-soulmate, so that he could sit down and also easily share his licorice.

This means that his face is much closer to his not-soulmate's than he'd expected it to be, and for a moment he's lost in the blue of the man's eyes, the open intensity of his gaze.

"Oh. Uh, yeah," he says, when he's managed to remember the question. "The breakup was..." he trails off, looking for a word, and finally settles on, "amicable?"

His not-soulmate gives him that little 'go on' nod again. And Hob knows- he knows- that he should get some higher standards, but the quickest way to his heart is, and always has been, prompting him to keep talking, and he can feel himself falling as surely as he can feel the blush overtaking his face.

So he tips his head toward his not-soulmate, so that he can keep his voice low and still be heard above the crowd in the next room, and says, "Faustus got picked up. And like half of the filming was going to be overseas, but I couldn't leave London, at least not right then." His not-soulmate gives a look that isn't so much 'confused' as 'entirely uncomprehending,' so Hob adds, "I'd messed up my knee real bad." He gives the offending kneecap a hard tap and immediately regrets it. "Long story. I spent most of that summer in doctor's offices. And hospitals. So. 'Quit your job to travel with your boyfriend for a few months' was not really an option, for me. And he didn't want to do long-distance. So we broke up."

"Your soulmate left you alone, in pain, because he 'didn't want to do long-distance'?" Hob's not-soulmate asks. There’s something raw, close to pity but more tender, in his face, which makes Hob feel unbelievably guilty for laughing at the question.

"Oh, god, no," he says, with an expressive wave of his hand. "Kit wasn't my- No. Met his soulmate while he was filming Faustus, actually, otherwise we might have-" And then Hob shuts that sentence down, hard, because the breakup itself doesn't hurt as much as that part.

"Anyway," he says, and is about to ask if his not-soulmate wants to hear the story of how he busted his knee, it's pretty funny, actually-

"But if he wasn't your soulmate-" his not-soulmate asks, leaning toward Hob.

There hadn't been much space between them in the first place, is the thing. And now Hob's not-soulmate is leaning even closer, staring at him like an entomologist studying a particularly fascinating insect, and leaving Hob with exactly two options: tilt his head up, just a bit, and kiss him, or succumb to gravity and fall backwards into the sink.

"Hey, Hobs, I just realized-" Will says, walking into the room. He proceeds to choke on his own tongue, while Hob's not-soulmate jerks away from Hob like he's on fire, and Hob gracefully avoids the sink by falling off the counter entirely.

Will is the first to regain his composure. "Oh. Morpheus," he says, nervously, "I thought you left."

Hob looks sharply up at- at Morpheus, apparently, biting back a litany of questions. It makes sense that his aloof, mysterious stranger is the same aloof, mysterious stranger that Will credits for editing his first successful play to the point that it was a success. But with the way Will talks about Morpheus he'd been half-expecting a deity.

"I did not," Morpheus says. He's back to looking bored and regal, not a hair out of its artfully disheveled place, which is just rude given that Hob is still in a heap on the floor.

"Well if you're planning to stick around," Will says, "I'd been meaning to ask you about Midsummer-"

Morpheus' eyes light up, and he slides off the counter and sweeps out of the room, Hob clutching his candy in both hands to stop himself from physically reaching out to say, No, wait.

Will, at least, lingers for long enough to mouth, "Sorry," and shrug, before following him.

"What the fuck was that?" Hob asks aloud, when he's left alone with his bruised dignity.

The cabinets have no response.

He's not sure what he's expecting after that, but it certainly isn't for Morpheus to text him, Would you like to meet for coffee? the next day.

Of course Hob says yes.

He's smarter about it, this time. Makes sure he's seated in the café, with a double espresso and a plan, by the time Morpheus comes in. He doesn't even ask so what the fuck was that when Morpheus sits down next to him, no matter how much he wants to.

Instead, he says, "Why did you ask me to come here?" with all the frustration he'd felt the exact moment he'd hauled himself off of Will's kitchen floor, knee protesting viciously, trying to make sense of Morpheus, who'd willingly listened to him talk for close to an hour and then left without bothering to say goodbye. It's a step above what the fuck was that, but not by much.

"Because I'm interested," Morpheus says, his voice low.

"In. Me?" Hob asks.

"In your experience," Morpheus says, with more exasperation than Hob thinks is really fair for someone who just said he was 'interested' while staring at Hob's lips. "I want to know what it's like. Dating without looking for your soulmate."

Ah, Hob thinks. At least that makes sense. He's aware that avoiding his soulmate makes him an anomaly- sure, actually Waiting For Your Soulmate is less common these days than it used to be; plenty enough people are willing to have casual relationships in the meantime, but even then in the meantime is an implicit part of the equation.

He can accept it, if Morpheus' 'interest' in him is purely curiosity, as long as he knows where they stand.

And, to be honest, the fact that Morpheus is curious at all is... gratifying. Most people aren't even that.

So Hob downs his drink, grins at Morpheus, and proclaims, "It's fucking brilliant."

[Part Three]

#dreamling #unsoulmates au #my fic #I am renaming this universe because i feel like 'anti-soulmates' gives the impression that i think soulmate aus are bad or something #I do plan to write more of this #I have like. an outline and shit #but I cannot make any promises about when i will do that #i've got 17 WIPs and 0 attention spans

[lvis44]

Sweet Escape - Pt. 4 // LH44

Lewis Hamilton x Y/N

Warnings: Swearing, 18+ (mentions of sexual acts), alcohol, angst, regret, slightly derogatory/degrading speech, not edited

Word Count: 3.5k+

Summary: Paradise is supposed to be fun and relaxing... a Sweet Escape, but when unspoken feelings and jealousy rise to the surface, everything can be turned upside down in the blink of an eye.

Notes: Slightly different format for this chapter but it felt the best way to get a glimpse at Lewis. This part is a bit shorter than the others but I wanted to break it up into two parts for the sake of flow, next part is a very important moment...

I am not a professional writer and all of this is a work of fiction and is strictly for fun. Enjoy! xxx

Previous Sections: Prologue - Part One - Part Two - Part Three

Lewis

The house is still quiet as he makes his way through the front door, it's still early, the birds just starting to wake themselves. He pushes the door shut behind him quietly, doing his best not to attract any attention. Slipping his shoes off, he softly makes his way deeper into the house, hoping no one is awake yet.

“Really? Again?” He hears Charlotte's voice as he steps into the kitchen.

He lets out a sigh, knowing he’s trapped, he makes his way over to where she sits at the kitchen island. He should have known she would be up, she’s always been an early riser, usually giving him a run for his money. 

“You at least knew where I was this time.” He says, sitting down next to her.

He can feel tension flowing off of her in waves, unsure where it’s coming from. Last time she had been mad because she didn’t know where he had gone, this time she knew exactly where he was. He almost expected she would know he probably wouldn't be home until the morning.

“Whatever.” She grumbles, getting up to refill her coffee cup.

“Why do you seem so mad at me?” He asks, confusion evident in his voice.

“Why don’t you tell me?” She turns around to look at him, leaning against the counter with an almost disgusted look on her face.

“What? Marina and I had a few drinks while I was playing with Leon. I ended up sleeping on the couch after we put him to bed. What’s the big deal?” He truly couldn’t decipher where her animosity was stemming from.

“It’s not about Marina and you know it.” Her voice was stern, making him wrack his head for what he could have possibly done.

He shakes his head slightly, still unclear on the anger being directed at him. At this point he had been in more arguments over the course of this supposed vacation than he had in months, maybe years. He was getting rather drained.

“Are you that fucking dumb?” Charlotte's voice is almost bewildered, shocked that he could be so naive, “You fucked up, big time, and now you don’t even remember? God that's even worse.”

Then it hits him, Y/N has talked to her. He’s not necessarily shocked, they tend to tell eachother everything, but he was hoping he could work it out with her before it became front page news around the house. He opens his mouth to speak but Charlotte doesn’t let him.

“You can do whatever you want with whomever you want, I won’t ask questions, but how dare you do that to Y/N. You absolute fucking asshole.” She scoffs as she shakes her head.

“Everything seemed fine, she seemed okay and then all the sudden it wasn’t. I didn’t realize how bad it was going to be.” He tries to explain.

“Seriously? That’s not the point, you shouldn't have done anything in the first place. Not only is she one of your best friends, your fucktoy was still in the goddamn house!” Charlotte exclaims, still keeping her voice down to not attract attention.

“Fuck, I know, my timing was horrible but she just always looks so goddamn perfect. Everytime I see her I can’t keep my eyes off of her, I want her all the time and I don’t know I took a chance and she didn’t seem to particularly reject it.” His voice is almost sarcastic as he finishes his sentence.

“Her pushing you away and not speaking to you was a green light to you?” Charlotte scoffs with disgust.

“I mean up until then, everything seemed fine, she seemed into it, then everything just flipped.” He tries to reason.

“Have you ever considered that she wasn’t thinking straight? That you, being you, may have clouded her judgment? The second her brain caught up she pushed you away Lewis.” Charlotte argues, disgusted that he’s trying to share the blame with Y/N.

“How the hell is that my fault?” He asks, baffled. 

“How is it not your fault?” Charlotte throws back at him.

“Okay, so you’re saying that because I’m Lewis Hamilton she let me just about fuck her but then she realized she didn’t want to? I think we’re pretty far past Y/N being amazed by the fact that I can race a fucking car.” His voice is sarcastic, he’s becoming more defensive, clearly done with his friend meddling in the situation.

“No Lewis, it’s not the fucking fame or the racing. It’s the goddamn charm that you turn on every single second you’re around her. You flirt with her like it’s your job, you’re constantly finding ways to be close to her or touch her in some way. You act like a boyfriend half the time and then turn around and go fuck some random model for a week. You can’t have both and you need to realize that before you hurt her even more. You’re confusing her and she doesn’t fucking deserve it.” Charlotte lets out a deep breath at the end of her rant, staring directly into his eyes to make her point.

He takes a moment, taking in what Charlotte just said before speaking, “I don’t know how to not be like that with her. It’s just natural, I don’t know why but anything else would feel so… foreign I guess.”

“Ah so trying to fuck her was just what? Natural? You just couldn’t help yourself?” Charlotte rolls her eyes, disgusted by her friend.

“No, I mean, I don’t know. Fuck. It just felt like the moment, I realized a while ago that I kind of wanted more and it just felt like the time to finally act on it.” He tries and fails to defend himself.

“Lewis, if you want more, try, I don’t know, asking her out? Telling her how you feel? The way to fucking act on it is not fingering her out of the blue just because she’s infront of you in a fucking swimsuit.” Charlotte hisses at him.

“What you wanted me to go up to her and say ‘hey I really want to fuck you’. Charlotte, be real, we would be in the exact same situation.” Lewis laughs cynically.

“You don’t just want to fuck her and we both know that Lewis. You’re allowed to have goddamn feelings once in a while.” Charlotte says, sounding almost defeated.

He pauses, swallowing heavily. He knows she's right, he cares about Y/N much more than he would care to admit. It’s not that he doesn’t want her to know, it’s that he doesn’t know how the hell he would tell her, and now it feels like that ship has sailed. He fucked everything up and he’s well aware.

“First of all, let it be known that if she wants to toss you to the fucking curb and never speak to you again, I will fully support her on that, I’m not groveling on your behalf. Second of all, you hurt her more than I think you realize and you need to put in some goddamn work if you think you’re coming back from it. She told me last night that she wanted to go home, she doesn’t even want to be around you Lewis.” Charlotte tells him sternly.

“She wants to go home?” He asks quietly, his voice cracking, the reality of the situation truly setting in.

“Yes Lewis, she does. She’s questioning every single second she’s been around you, she barely believes you ever even wanted to be her friend, that this was all some fucking long game to you, and I don’t blame her.” 

That hits him like a ton of bricks. He would never want Y/N to second guess anything about his friendship, all of it has been genuine. He truly cares about her, loves her so deeply in ways he can’t even process. Never throughout the friendship has it ever been a game, he needs her in his life, however he can have her.

As if Charlotte can read his mind, she speaks up one last time, “If you want to keep her around in anyway shape or form, you have a lot of fucking work to do. Talk to her because she doesn’t deserve to feel used. Fix it or you’re going to lose her and I’m not going to stop her.”

With that Charlotte leaves the room, leaving Lewis to sit at the counter in silence. He feels ashamed and broken, so scared that he may have permanently lost one of the most amazing people he has ever met, all because he let a cloud of lust overshadow his emotions. He can’t lose Y/N, but he knows in order to keep her, he has to come clean, and that terrifies him. For a man scared of so few things in life, the one thing that paralyzes him, is realizing he just might be in love with his best friend.

Y/N

“Good morning sleepy head.” Charlotte's light voice sings through the room when she notices you’re finally awake.

“Hi.” You groan into the pillow, making her laugh.

“C’mon, get up, we’re going on a hike.” She says, swatting at your leg in attempts to get you out of bed.

“You really don’t know how to get me out of bed.” You laugh, rolling over to finally look at her.

She’s showered and dressed, clearly having woken up much earlier than you.

“Oh stop, it’ll be fun, it’s beautiful out.” She continues to convince you.

You don’t respond, just roll over once again and burrow further into the pillows.

“You have five seconds to get your ass out of bed before I call in reinforcements.” Her voice is playfully stern.

You let the five seconds pass, hoping to have called her bluff. Much to your dismay, she was dead serious.

“Miles! Come get Y/N’s butt outta bed.” She yells out the door, much louder than you were ready for first thing in the morning.

“Coming dear.” You hear him yell down the hall before his loud footsteps quickly approach.

“Come on, up ya get.” He says, pulling your blankets back, making you curl into a ball to try to preserve your warmth in the air conditioned room.

He just laughs, attempting to grab your ankle and pull you out of the bed, making you kick him right above his groin, a narrow miss.

“Close call,” He chuckles, “okay, you leave me no choice.”

You're confused for only a moment before you feel his arms wrapping around you, quite literally removing you from your bed and throwing you over his shoulder. You let out a shriek, hitting his back as he walks you down the hallway to the kitchen.

“Well that’s quite the wake up call.” You hear Lewis laugh from somewhere in the room.

“Put me down.” You whine, not entirely amused at your abrupt removal.

“Fine, fine.” He huffs out behind a laugh, finally placing you on one of the bar stools, “Coffee?”

“Cocaine.” You joke through a groan as you burrow your head into your arms against the counter top in front of you.

“I mean that could be arranged but I think coffee may be a better option for eight o'clock in the morning.” Lewis laughs.

You peek your head up just enough to see him placing a mug in front of you, giving him a small smile of appreciation before properly sitting up. You’re slightly confused at how normal he’s being, almost as if nothing ever happened. Part of you enjoys it but the other part of you is still beyond angry at him, you can’t decide which one you want to win. When you finally take a sip of your coffee you almost want to roll your eyes, it’s exactly how you like and you immediately know he made it.

“I would like to make it known that hikes are not something I consider a vacation activity.” You say, hoping maybe you can dissuade them.

“You and I both, it’s only Lewis and Char that want to go.” Steph says, giving them a look. You can tell she has also only just gotten out of bed.

“Well I hope you two have a lovely time.” You say with an exaggerated smile, looking at the both of them.

“Oh come on, you guys will love it once we’re there.” Lewis argues with a smile.

“Maybe, but I also love the pool that's outback and that doesn’t require climbing a mountain.” You fire back at him.

“It’s not even a mountain, more like a big hill.” He tries to reason, not quite convincing you.

“A big hill with bugs and snakes.” You continue to argue.

“There’s bugs and snakes outback too,” He points out, making you groan, “and there’s a gorgeous waterfall and a big swimming hole at the top of this big hill.”

That finally piques your interest, growing slightly warmer to the idea.

“Eat something and go get ready, I want to head out soon.” Charlotte says, knowing they’ve won the argument without her even needing to join.

You do as she says, quickly eating a bowl of fruit and finishing your coffee. You don’t speak to Lewis anymore but you're still slightly confused by the interaction, unsure why you let it be so normal. You decide it must be that subconsciously you didn’t want to make a scene in front of your other friends, you just hope he knows that all is not forgiven, not even close. As you get ready, you go to put on a swimsuit under your clothes. You grab the first one you see in your bag before freezing, looking at the swimsuit in your hand makes your stomach churn, it’s the one you had worn the other day, the one Lewis had apparently liked so much he decided to make a move on you. You quickly grabbed a different one, something much more modest, not wanting to show more skin around him than necessary. You hated that you felt that way around him all of the sudden, usually you wouldn’t care, he and Miles were always your hype men making you feel even more confident about whatever you chose to wear. Never had you felt the need to cover up around him but you couldn't help it. You hated that he now had the power to picture exactly what was under your suits bottom, that’s not something your best friend should know, if that's actually what he is.

When you finally arrived at the trail you couldn’t help but be annoyed that Lewis had been right, it was absolutely gorgeous and you hadn’t even started the hike. He had also been right that it was more like a big hill than a mountain and for that you were grateful, you were still drained from everything that had occurred over the last few days and a proper hike wasn’t something you had in you. As you started the trek you found yourself walking slower than the rest of the group as you admired the surroundings, taking everything in. The tree's canopy was letting through only dappled sunlight and you could hear frogs and birds all around you.

“Hey, slow poke, you comin?” Miles’ voice snapped you out of your trance, looking up to where he stood with his hands on his hips and a teasing smirk on his face.

“Yup, sorry.” You said as you jogged up the hill toward him, winding you slightly.

He took note of your struggle, laughing at you, “You gotta start training with Lewis and I, we’ll whip your ass into shape.”

“Oh fuck off, I’m perfectly fine.” You said as you caught your breath. You were in pretty decent shape but being friends with professional athletes, that didn’t cut it at times like this. 

He just laughed at you as you made your way up to the group that had slowed down to wait for you. 

The hike itself was uneventful and rather short. You were still amazed by the beauty around you as you kept to yourself, your friends joking and laughing ahead of you. Miles stayed with you for the most part, he kept looking at you out of the corner of his eye as if he was checking on you. It seemed like he could tell something was up with you. When you finally made it to the waterfall you were at a loss for words. It was stunning, almost majestic, so powerful it drowned out all the sound around you. As you looked around, you saw Lewis drop his stuff, already taking his shirt off. He noticed you looking at him, offering you a tight lipped smile. You didn’t return it, looking away from him quickly as you found a place to put your own things. It took only a few moments before you heard a large splash from behind you, followed by another shortly after. When you turned you saw that Lewis and Miles had both promptly jumped directly into the water, completely drenching themselves and Steph who was standing at the edge. She did not look amused as Lewis attempted to apologize through a fit of giggles. Her response was to jump into the water after him, landing almost on top of him and taking him underwater with her. He came up from the water, sputtering slightly with a shocked look on his face before bursting into another fit of laughter. You silently thanked her for the accidental payback for the day at the beach when he threw you into the wave. You watched for a moment as he played around with your friends in the water, he looked like a kid without a care in the world and for a moment you wondered if the situation between the two of you bothered him at all. How was it so easy for him to act like everything was perfectly fine? Miles called out to you, telling you to join them. 

When you jumped in the water it was much deeper than you had expected, going much further down than anticipated. You came back up, sputtering much the way Lewis just had. You shook your head while you treaded water, enjoying the coolness of the fresh water.

“Good?” You heard Lewis ask, much closer to you than you had expected, you hadn’t seen where he was when you first jumped in.

You nodded before he swam away from you, when he stopped you could tell he was standing even with his chest still submerged in the water.

“It’s shallower over here.” He called out to you, beckoning you over.

Against your better judgment you paddled over to him, wanting to be able to relax instead of treading water the entire time. When you made it over to him you noticed that he was right, the water was still deep but you were able to stand flat footed, the water coming up just above your shoulders.

“Having fun?” He asked softly, his voice slightly unsure.

Once again you nodded, still not entirely sure how to navigate a casual conversation with him.

“Good, I’m glad.” He said with a soft smile.

He stood there with you for another moment, staying silent as he looked up at the canopy of trees above your heads. You admired him as he admired the view. His braids were loose, pushed back from his face with the water they had been soaked in, there were a few droplets of water just barely dripping from his beard, his necklaces danced in the sunlight from where they hung around his strong neck. You watched as his prominent Adam's apple bobbed when he swallowed. He brought his head back down, looking over at you, catching your stare but not acknowledging it as he usually would.

“Beautiful.” He said quietly. The way he said it made you feel like he was talking about more than just the view but all you did was agree, also talking about a little more than the view.

“It is.” You nodded.

You didn’t stay with him much longer as Charlotte called over to you to make you come explore the waterfall with her. She gave you a look, checking that you were alright as you approached. You just nodded, telling her not to worry about it as you joined her in making your way around the back of the waterfall to find Miles. You all enjoyed the water for more than an hour before deciding it would be best to head back to the house. You felt more content than you had in the last twenty four hours but still unsure of how to navigate your relationship with Lewis. You knew you needed to talk to him but that was one of the last things you wanted to do at the moment. However soon enough, you would have to pick yourself up and confront him, you owed it to yourself at the very least.

#lewis hamilton #lh44 #f1 x reader #lewis hamilton fanfic #lewis hamilton imagine #lewis hamilton x reader #lvis44 #driver x reader #f1 drivers #f1 fanfic #sir lewis hamilton #team lh44 #lewis hamilton smut #lewis hamilton x you #formula one #f1 x you #f1 fic #f1 x y/n #formula 1 #sweet escape #lh #f1 fandom

[autismprotocol]

TMAGP Theory Board (S1 EP 7)

Dang that episode was a RIDE Hope everyone had a relaxing week because after the newest protocol episode I am screaming!! so lets get right to it

What Happened in Episode 7: Give and Take

Celia seems to know something about the powers with her references to the buried and the flesh in the opening conversation with Alice

Celia recognizes Chester's voice!! since the introduction of Celia's last episode, I wanted to see how she would react to hearing Chester and Norris and we got that in this episode. It's safe to say that Celia recognized Chester's voice as Jon. This piece of evidence makes me almost 100% sure that this Celia is the same Celia/Lynne from Archives

Jon is Back!!! after Chester's statement (more on that later) we learn that Sam has been getting emails from someone named Jon. He also mentions it in an internal email. This helps support the theory that Jon and Chester/FR3-d1 are fused somehow which is what I (and a lot of the fandom) have been thinking. This leaves me with a lot of questions how else can Jon communicate through FR3-d1 with the outside world? Are Martin and Jonah sentient as well? Also, my big question is if this is the first time Jon has been able to signal to the OIAR Staff or if he has been trying to get them to listen since he manifested in the world and Sam was the first one to notice him or is this his first attempt to make contact. I'm interested to learn more about how Jon will continue to influence Sam. I think he's either trying to warn Sam about the OIAR's true intention or is he looking for some way to escape FR3-d1 and needs Sam's help.

This week's statement involved a place called Hilltop Centre branch of the Oxford people's trust. if you were like me and my roommate all your lore alert bells started ringing the moment Hilltop was mentioned. for people who are new to the Magnus Universe Hilltop Road is a major location for avatars (usually web-aligned ones) and also was the childhood home to the desolation avatar Agnes Montague. Hilltop is a big deal in TMA. Hilltop Centre being located in Oxford also lines up nicely with where we know Hilltop Road is located. I'm interested to know if we will hear anything about the house at 105 Hilltop Road being student housing because if that is true then we can connect the statement giver Anya Villette From MAG 114 to being from protocol's world. if that's true there could be a way to get to the Archive Universe through the gap in reality (a wormhole that exists where the house was built) Anyways definitely will have to listen for any more mention of a place called Hilltop in Oxford 

Gwen was promoted by Lena to external liaison and is officially "In" It's time to learn the OIAR's secrets! after doing some research into the job title of external liaison it seems that Gwen is almost gonna be acting as a messenger between the OIAR and another party which is unclear at this time. my guess is it has something to do with Starkwell which was the private military contractor that was mentioned in Episode 4 but that's just a guess and me trying to fit in pieces that have not found a snug place in the lore yet. could be someone else (I'd love to hear your thoughts)

Remember our Buddy Klaus from Episode 4 who we thought was killed by Lena? turns out Klaus is still alive we learn through Gwen and Lena's conversation, that Lena was paid by someone to kill Klaus but failed.

Colin is more paranoid than ever! could be because of the eye or the institute but he does not want to be near technology right now.

Ooh boy that was a lot I'm still reeling from this episode so I'll leave it there for now. honesty I'm most stoked to hear Jon's back in the story and excited to see what role he'll play in Protocol.

Hope you guys have a wonderful week ask box and comments are always open and I'll be back next week for the episode 8 debrief/theory crafting

-Echo

#augustus tmagp #chester tmagp #gwendolyn bouchard #jonathan sims #lena kelley #norris tmagp #the magnus protocol #tmagp #lena kelly #sam khalid #samama khalid #alice dyer #colin becher #hilltop road #tmagp spoilers #tmagp theory #chester and norris #celia ripley #klaus tmagp #fanart #theory board #martin blackwood #jonah magnus #the magnus pod

[cryptocism]

i was gonna ask how inertia II (helped superboy prime fight the teen titans) fit in the too many thads AU cause i originally thought he was an thad/bart clone but? he's just some dude? i feel like your (fantastic) fic gave him as much mind as the comics

truly that version of Inertia is such a mystery to me GOD i have so many questions. like, he isn't paid much mind within the actual narrative bc there's like 8 different fights happening all at once and Superboy Prime is the main antagonist but, straight up Who Is He.

like in the span of #98-100 there's a couple things that do get confirmed about him

for instance:

"After this is over, I gotta talk to them about this costume they gave me, I mean - green? It's the color of a turtle. Talk about Irony." - "This Inertia hasn't got a clue. He doesn't know that the last speedster to wear that costume killed me. I got better. But the scars run deep."

New Inertia says "they" gave him the Inertia costume. Who is "they"? Superboy Prime? CRAYDL? Someone else?

Bart concludes that New Inertia doesn't know how the previous one killed him. I assume just based on New Inertia's irreverence? But unclear.

"Inertia killed Bart, but that's not the same one. He's two inches taller. No doubt the costume choice is deliberate. Bart only has a few buttons, so it's easy to push them."

Tim notes in his narration that this Inertia is two inches taller than the last one. Why? What purpose does that serve?

Superboy Prime has proven himself capable of making clones, given the gaggle of Kon clones that show up in this fight, but if he made New Inertia to be another clone of Bart or of the previous Inertia, why the physical difference?

Even Bart can't figure out if this guy is a clone or not:

"What's the deal with all these clones? Is that Inertia one too? Or just another speedster?"

Which is kinda wild because although there is a wide selection of speedsters in present, Bart knows pretty much all of them. And even if this is a Random Guy With Superspeed, what would compel him to be here, fighting Bart?

And before any questions can be asked or answers can be given, Bart gets a lil lost in the trauma sauce (can't really blame him) and kicks the shit out of New Inertia

"I died. That happened. Inertia was the catalyst for it. He delivered the fatal blow. But I'm back, and this isn't the same Inertia, right? This is real. I've played out this scenario in my head over and over again. And every time, it felt better and better. Inflicting pain. Destroying him. Avenging myself." "So much anger - radiating like the sun. A dark, black sun. Bart is seething with rage." "It's what he deserves."

the "it's what he deserves" line always gets me. because they've already established this is a New Inertia, he literally hasn't done anything except fuck around causing trouble along with the rest of Superboy Prime's posse. anyway Bart obviously has lots of baggage surrounding Inertia, with the actions of one bleeding onto the other.

(fun fact Raven's description of Bart's emotions being a dark black sun informs a lot of the imagery in chapter 21 of Frequency)

"I... I could've killed him." "But you didn't. You controlled your emotions." "Yeah. See, Raven - we all got our demons inside."

AND THAT IS THE LAST WE SEE OF THIS GUY. Where does he go after this? Is he still unconscious after the fight or does he get away while they're going after Superboy Prime? Who does he go back to? Who The Hell Is He? Fuck you they gotta punch Superboy Prime so hard he ends up in purgatory.

Then of course the run is over, the universe is rebooted, and we get New 52. So all these questions will presumably remain unanswered forever.

But Canon Things About New Inertia Include:

he's "new to this"

not the previous incarnation of Inertia

two inches taller than the previous Inertia

received the Inertia costume from someone else, only referred to as "they"

working with Superboy Prime, but with zero on-panel interactions with either Superboy Prime or any of the other villains who have joined the fight. the degree of familiarity is unclear if not nonexistent.

irreverence regarding his predecessor implies he doesn't know the full history of what went down between Inertia and Bart

may or may not be another clone

gets the shit kicked out of him

it's so frustratingly vague lmao.

so yeah i took that and ran with it to inform Six's traits and backstory: The "they" who gave him the costume becoming CRAYDL, the other Six's, (and Project Inertia more generally). His height because he's slightly older than the previous Inertia was.

Follows-up on the previous Inertia's antagonism with only vague knowledge of what actually happened. Underestimates Bart's feelings on the topic. Joins up with Superboy Prime, not because of loyalty or familiarity but because going solo is what killed the old guy. Irreverent, uncommitted, overconfident. Tends to get the shit kicked out of him.

and then to follow up on this fight, Six's "first" meeting with Bart becomes his own weird revenge quest over that one time Bart kicked his ass. mostly just wanted the closure there, and for Six to have held a grudge about it for literal centuries bc it is funny 2 me.

my motivation for writing Frequency came from a frustration at the contradictory/unexplained/unexplored plot points and storylines specifically surrounding Thad/Inertia, this whole thing being a major one. At its most basic, Frequency is just my attempt to weave the disparate elements of canon into a cohesive narrative.

#asks #reversedumbrella #got carried away with this one lmao i just #i still dont know why this new guy showed up or what he was even doing there #its gonna eat at me forever #the multiple clones theory is a very convenient explanation that nonetheless remains fanmade #frequency fic

[darkestcorners]

polarity | 05 yandere!jungkook au

pairing: yandere!jungkook x (f) reader

genre: yandere

warnings: 18+ , toxic relationships, unhealthy and obsessive behavior , mentions of mental health, manipulation, blackmail, cheating,

word count: 13.1k

summary: Your best friend’s new boyfriend becomes infatuated with you…

Parts: 01 | 02 | 03 | CS | 03 JK | 04 | 05 

A/N: So sorry for the delay but my wifi was doing me dirty again. Hope you guys enjoy !:) ALSO this is not edited yet so forgive me .

—

Neither of you said anything at first, not a single greeting or question was uttered. You both stood there, letting your eyes wander over each other in curiosity for god knows how long.

There was still one thing that stood out though. How the woman’s gaze kept returning to your necklace.

“I’m sorry, you are?…” She was the first one to speak, you were yet to form the appropriate response to acknowledge her and explain what you were doing in her son’s apartment.

You debated what you should tell her. The truth? It was out of the question, you were naive but not that naive. The first time meeting her and you immediately jump to accuse her son of blackmail and tell her everything wrong with him? Those were dangerous waters, you still didn’t know if what Jungkook told you about his family was true or not.

There was so much left unclear and so much yet you didn’t know.

“I-,” You take a step back, further widening the door open. “I’m Jungkook’s girlfriend.”

The lie sat surprisingly well on your tongue, as if that’s exactly what you truly were now. You supposed it was, not willingly but that’s  the title he would undeniably give you.

His mother doesn’t seem as shocked as you expected her to be despite the way her eyes widened momentarily, and her mouth opened slightly as a gasp left her.

“Oh!” She told you, her face relaxing as realization slowly seemed to hit her. “Yes, of course. He told me about you.”

He had?

You can’t help to be taken aback, not expecting Jungkook to actually mention you to his mother. How long had she known about you? Was it a recent thing? You wondered if Jungkook had already fed her too many lies , convincing her that he had formed a normal relationship with you.

The thought made you uneasy, how far had Jungkook planned this exactly?

“O-oh, really? I’m sorry I wasn’t expecting you.” You glance behind you, awkwardly shifting your gaze as you try to figure out what to do next. It felt unnatural and you weren’t sure how to go about any of this.

Had Jungkook been so confident that he  didn’t expect you to tell his mother any bit of the truth or about his demented actions? Or did he simply not care?

“Please, come in.” Feeling like the outsider , you moved to the side as the woman gave you a smile and slipped past you. Her heels clicked against the floor and echoed throughout the entire apartment.  You shut the door gently before taking unsure steps behind her.

The food she had brought in the tupperware filled the air in no time, overpowering the scent of the breakfast that Jungkook had placed for you on the counter. She set the container next to your food before flashing another smile, a tight lipped one that was arguably weaker and more hesitant.

“I apologize , I didn’t want to meet you this way. “ She tells you as she takes a look around. “ I assumed Jungkook would bring you over for dinner to our house eventually..”

You wanted to ask her so much, your curiosity was threatening to overflow  but you had to force yourself to reel it back in.

“U-Uh yeah, I’m sorry. I just, I didn’t even know Jungkook had said much about me to you.” You explain as you cross your arms over your chest and stand awkwardly on the other side of the counter. “ He left to go run an errand, he won’t be long.”

She nods in understanding. You begin to wonder how often his mother visited him, he gave the impression that he wasn’t close to her anymore for obvious reasons but if they truly had that bad of a relationship, you assumed she wouldn’t be showing up at his apartment with a home cooked meal for him.

You could feel Jungkook's mother stare at you again, her eyes going downwards as she took in your attire. A bubble of embarrassment took over you, not only because you probably looked like a literal mess but because you somehow thought she just knew of the activities you had been up to all night. It almost made you feel shameful.

“He actually hasn’t told me much about you, he’s only mentioned you occasionally but I had no idea you two were that serious.” His mother says to you and when you don’t immediately reply, she quickly voiced her regret.

“Unless you aren’t that serious, I apologiz-“

“No! No it’s okay, we are.” You confirm, just finishing up digging your grave.

Her face relaxes, giving you a sympathetic look.

“I’m glad. My son is a bit private, even with me, so I don’t really know what goes on much in his life.” She adds as she stares down at the tupperware container.

“There’s plenty in here for you too by the way. don’t be shy.” She motions down to the food as you take a seat, realizing that standing still like a statue isn’t going to help the tension.

“Thank you,” You force out a smile. “You two are close, then?”

As soon as the words leave you, they feel rude and invasive which makes you stumble over your next sentence.

“I-I don’t mean to intrude, he just hasn’t told me much about his family.”

Her face doesn’t give away any discomfort by the question.

“Don’t worry, you’re not.” She assured you as she fixed her gaze on you. “ I don't know what my son has told you exactly but no, we aren’t as close as I would hope.”

At least that part was true, your thoughts whispered to you.

Perhaps Jungkook wasn’t a complete liar but you couldn’t yet be convinced , there were certain doubts still in place. What you had found in his bathroom was just one of the many hidden parts of him.

“Jungkook can be difficult but I suppose I can’t blame him. “ She continues as she turns, her eyes landing on the upper cabinets.

You listen intently, her words catching your attention as you watch her pull out a plate.

“It was my fault, I spoiled him too much. I gave him everything he wanted until I noticed how much I was ruining him so I stopped.” Her words remind you of what Jungkook had told you on Christmas, now it seemed like you were finally hearing his mother’s side of the story.

“The change was drastic but our family therapist urged me to fix my bad habits with Jungkook so he wouldn’t end up with bad behavioral issues. “ She states nonchalantly, as if she wasn’t discussing some intensely private matters with you. You wondered if she probably assumed Jungkook had already told you this. 

She takes the lid off the tupperware and scoops up some of the hot food onto the plate. You can’t help but notice the way her hands slightly tremble as she does so.

“He really was the sweetest boy, he was so clingy to me always. I had quit my job completely  since the moment he was born so I spent all my time with him. “ Once she finishes pouring a good amount of food on your plate, she clicks the lid back on.

“But as he grew older, I noticed he had formed some pretty bad separation anxiety.”

Separation anxiety.

You took the plate she handed over to you, distractingly picking up the chopsticks as you nodded along to her words. She took a long pause, leaning over the counter and rested her chin on the palm of her hands.

“It was normal, you know? The therapist told me it happened to lots of kids. Especially  since he was an only child,  he had all my attention.” His mother smiled fondly as she said it, her eyes were sincere and twinkly at the memory.

“But our therapist told us that we needed to fix that, Jungkook was an angel with us but he started having some behavior issues at school. Not listening to the teachers and having tantrums about wanting to go home, he hated leaving my side.” She chuckled breathlessly, rubbing her temples.

“So I did what the therapist said, I stopped giving him everything he wanted. I also went back to work and that helped me balance the attention with my own life.”

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary with her words, you thought. To you, it sounded like a normal parent doing the best for their child and some regular family issues but then you wondered why Jungkook had such a more negative and dramatic view of it, had it impacted him a lot more than his mother realized?

“My husband hated the idea, he wanted me to stay home and give all my attention to Jungkook. “ You took a bite out of the delicious food she had given you, trying not to seem too put off by what she was telling you.

“He had an old fashioned mindset. He still blames me for Jungkook resenting me until now but he doesn’t understand, the therapist told me Jungkook had an almost unhealthy attachment to me and that it would cause problems later in his life if I didn’t try to fix it then.” She sighs, looking genuinely upset but she quickly masks it with a sad smile.

“But I feel like Jungkook is finally letting go of  the past, you know?” His mother tilting her head at you as her fingers played with the ends of a paper towel in front of her.

They even shared similar mannerisms, you thought to yourself in dark fascination.

“ Lately, he’s been visiting more often and I do wonder if it’s because of you.”

You nearly choke on the food in your mouth when she says that. You let out a cough, swallowing down the last bits of rice.

“Me?” You ask her with an evident confused expression.

She nods, her eyes lingering on your neckline again.

“That necklace. My son gave it to you, didn’t he?” Her tone is inquisitive but light. There is no doubt she’s an attorney, she held that intimidating yet persuasive stance to her.

You can’t hide your shock  as you peer down at the dainty butterfly pendant.

“Yes…how did-“

“It was mine, well it used to be mine.” She gives you another long stare and a smile tugs on her lips. “ My husband gave it to me when we first started dating. I told Jungkook I’d pass it down to him for him to give to the love of his life.”

“Granted, I told him that when he was only about 13 so he laughed in my face and told me I should just keep it instead because he’d never love someone as much as he loved me.”

You could practically feel the blood draining from your face. The food in your stomach threatened to come right back up.

“Of course this was before we had gone to those therapy sessions and he ended up resenting me completely not long after that so I thought he had forgotten about it.” She laughed, looking a bit stunned at her son’s erratic behavior and how he managed to remember something so seemingly insignificant.

“It gives me so much hope, you know?” His mother beams suddenly, her expression fully morphing into one of pure happiness. “My son finally is starting to talk to me more, little by little. It must be this positive change in his life.”

She was referring to you.

She thought you were the positive change in her son’s life that was causing him to finally start to rekindle his relationship with her. You wanted to laugh at the thought but you couldn’t even completely deny it with full confidence. Could that be partly true? You supposed it was strange that Jungkook had a strained relationship with her all these years and suddenly starts talking to her more and visiting her more often the moment he formed this sick relationship with you.

Or was it just a coincidence? You didn’t know what to think anymore.

Why you would have any sort of impact on him bettering his relationship with his mother was beyond you.

“You…you think that’s because of me?” You had set the chopsticks down, giving his mother your full attention.

“I mean, yes.” She nodded, knitting her eyebrows. “ You seem like a sweet girl, it could be that he’s simply needed that love and encouragement from someone in his life to push him to get close  with his family again.”

You didn’t know what to say to that, your mouth hung open slightly .

“I apologize, I didn’t mean to put this amount of weight on your or anything but I’m just so glad my son is happy with you.” His mother rushes out the words, standing straighter. “In return, he’s probably just naturally been wanting to change and get close to me again.”

“Love does that to people, you know.” Her eyes meet yours and you can’t see any deception in them, she truly meant what she was saying to you.

Love.

You don’t know why you would doubt it, his mother seemed so heartbroken when she was explaining how much Jungkook had turned against her when she thought she had been doing the best for him. It seemed as if she was desperate to finally have some of her son’s love back and for them to be close again.

It wasn’t as if you were a mother so you couldn’t exactly judge her. You knew it must have been hard for her, she clearly seemed to want the best for her son, as any mother would.

It made you feel bad for him, and you knew you were nearing dangerous waters with those types of feelings surfacing inside you. But somehow the image of a young Jungkook being left so  confused by the drastic decision of his mother’s attention being taken away was slightly heart shattering.  From what his mother said, this likely happened when he was thirteen so just at the start of his preteen stage, it had probably made things even more difficult for him to cope.  He was only a young boy.

Vulnerable and helpless.

You pushed the pitiful image away, scolding yourself.

It was concerning how much you were willing to sympathize with Jungkook, no matter how sad some parts of his childhood were. This was the person who had you blackmailed and cornered into being his girlfriend. This was still the guy who came in and shattered your relationship with your best friend .

He also showed you the true colors of your best friend, your thoughts reminded you bitterly.

“I really hope I didn’t scare you off with that, I just got too caught up in the moment.” His mother’s voice brings you out of your inner turmoil.

“No no, it’s okay. I understand.” You reply to her with a reassuring smile. “ I’m glad to know more about him.”

She nodded at that, a new expression taking over her soft features.

“You’re pretty quiet, I always thought my son would go for the opposite.” 

Her comment sits uncomfortably with you, not knowing exactly what she meant.

“Really?” You reply instead.

“My son is just really strong minded at times, he's a lot to handle so I just imagined he’d go for someone that would keep him in line. More outgoing or bold perhaps.”

You can’t help but wonder what she would’ve thought if Eunji was in your place. She seemed to fit the description better, no matter how much Jungkook denied ever liking her you couldn’t deny that they looked like they fit each other.  You also can’t help but wonder that if maybe Jungkook would have given Eunji more of a chance, he would have actually fallen for her instead.

That scenario would have been a dream come true for you a few weeks ago, it would have been your saving grace, even if it meant you’d have to completely resign to Eunji’s love forever and watch her be in love with someone that wasn’t you.

Now though, that scenario made your stomach turn for a completely different reason.

You found yourself scared at the realization that you didn’t like the thought of Jungkook preferring Eunji.

It made a familiar burning sensation bubble  inside you, a feeling you thought you could  only ever feel in regards to Eunji in the past when you saw her kissing and flirting with anyone.

Now, that ugly feeling of jealousy was not for her but for Jungkook.

“But I like you,” His mother added in a whisper, almost playfully as she raised an eyebrow. “ You kinda remind me of myself when I was your age.”

That made you feel even more bewildered, a mix of emotions ran through you , each one too contradicting to dissect.

“Jungkook told me you used to suffer from anxiety, “ You comment gently, swallowing thickly. “ I do too.”

“Is that so?” She seemed a little surprised by the sudden reveal, but she processed it fairly quickly. “ Well, it looks like we are quite similar.”

“I bet my son takes good care of you then, he was also so sweet to me when I used to have panic attacks.” She comments and you don’t why that brings you comfort.

Deep down, you were afraid Jungkook had possibly lied about that just to feed into your weaknesses.

“Yeah, he does.”

He does.

You weren’t as reluctant to admit that to yourself as you should’ve been because it was simply true. He did provide comfort to you in those moments of terror and uneasiness. But he was also the one who caused so much of those feelings. He was the one who had cornered you, the one to push you into his life without asking or caring for your willingness.

Was it fair to say Jungkook knew how to give you the sensation of safeness you longed for while also being the one to so easily rip it away?

He could be two things at once, you supposed.

Two things could be true at once. No matter how contradicting they were.

——

You were left staring at the wall in silence for far too long after Jungkook’s mother left with a chaste excuse of being late to a meeting and you reassured her you would tell her son that she came by. Picking at your nails, your eyes danced across the living room, the silence would’ve been uncomfortable if your thoughts could let you rest but they never did.  You soon came to realize that you were never truly alone but  your mind always proved to be bad company.

The dishes were washed and you tried to tidy up the room to kill some time, not to mention you felt the responsibility to do something while you were staying here.

Glancing behind you, you eyed the plastic container. The food his mother had brought was sitting on the counter, and you were tempted to warm it up before Jungkook came home. It would surely be cold by now.

You untangled yourself from the curled up position you had been in on the sofa and crossed over to the kitchen. A part of you felt like you were intruding and that you shouldn’t touch any of his stuff but the other part of you felt ridiculous for even thinking that. Jungkook had practically forced you into his home, the least you could try to do was get comfortable in it.

It wasn’t as if he would mind you heating up food for him, would he?

You put the container in the microwave and your fingers twitched over the buttons until you clicked on the desired time.

Wandering off to the side, you turned your head down the hallway. Curiosity seems to get the best of you, that or your restlessness that you couldn’t put a stop to. You walked a few steps forward until you came across a room you had not yet explored. The door wasn’t fully closed and it only took a slight push of your fingertips to crack it open. The first thing you saw was a monitor planted onto a wide L-shaped desk that wasn’t  occupied with much. It was organized with regular stationery.  The room wasn’t as spacious as the others and you quickly realized this must’ve been Jungkook’s office where he got most of his work done.

Much like the rest of his apartment, nothing stood out much. The walls were blank here, no pictures hung up and it was minimalist in its appearance. You eyed the couple of folders on the desk, with some papers sticking out at the end and a coffee cup right beside them. You let yourself walk fully into the room, with your arms tightly crossed over your chest.

It was apparent that you didn’t exactly know what you were looking for, or why you were even looking for something. But after finding those pills in Jungkook’s bathroom, you couldn’t help but feel that you really didn’t know him at all. It wasn’t as if a certain medical condition was something he was obligated to tell you but you found it strange how he didn’t bring it up when he was so open about your anxiety disorder. Did he simply not find it important for you to know? You supposed it didn’t change anything but you felt a bit paranoid about him even more now.

It made you wonder what else Jungkook had not told you about. Was there more to him that you should know? After meeting his mother, it was clear to you that Jungkook had technically not lied to you but had simply given his side of the story. Was it possible that he was genuine in his feelings and that not everything he told you had an ulterior motive? 

Was it possible that you may have made a misjudgment on his overall character?

But of course, you couldn’t forget the obvious. Your eyes met the corners of the walls, searching for a little red dot that resembled the one of the night you first spent with him. To your surprise, there was none. Craning your neck, you inspected every inch of the room with alert eyes.

You let out a sigh as you mindlessly near his desk, your hand landing on the mouse. The movement caused the monitor screen to light up, a dark background popped up with a white bar that demanded the password to unlock it. Biting your lip, your fingers hovered over the keyboard. It took you a while to remember it but you did, you had recalled Eunji mentioning Jungkook’s birthday a few times and despite your unreliable memory at times , you managed to track it down.

Typing it out, you shakily clicked the arrow but it didn’t go through.

“Obviously..” You let out a dry laugh at your stupidity. Jungkook was not dumb enough to have his birthday as a password.

Why were you even doing this? What were you hoping to find on Jungkook’s work computer?

You didn’t know but for some reason you felt the urge to explore every area of his life. It felt unfair to you how he seemed to know everything about you, to know how even your own brain worked but yet you didn’t seem to know some mindless details about him.

A door slamming shut broke you out of your daze and you flinched, quickly pressing the backspace button.

“Shit.” You cursed, not even wanting to risk Jungkook catching you snooping through his things.  Backing away, you quickly slipped out the room and made your way back down the hallway.

Turning the corner, you saw Jungkook’s familiar figure next to the kitchen counter, he let his keys drop and turned his head to you with impeccable timing as you were just emerging from the entryway.

“Hi.” You say in a higher pitched tone than usual, you clear your throat almost immediately and watch his eyes trace behind you for a mere moment before he gives you a smile.

“Hey baby,” He drawls, holding his smile. A dark folder is held in his hands.

“Good news, everything is fixed.”

He hands it over to you and your hands greedily open it, feeling your heart hammer against your chest as you look over your transcript and a paper that holds the name of another university that isn’t your own.

“Your record will stay clean, they forgave your plagiarism accusation with no issues. Now all that is left to do is for you to apply to this new university.” He runs a hand through his hair, casually walking back over to the kitchen counter.

“God, I’ve been starving all day.” You hear him grumble, from the corner of your eye you watch as he picks up an apple but then just tosses it back over into the pile of fruit.

Your eyes return to the letters on the papers, eyebrows knitting together as you read  what seems to be enrollment information of a college you wouldn’t even dream of ever attending.  Jungkook nods over to the paper in your hands, tapping it with his index finger.

“Much better upgrade if you ask me. You can apply online today, I already told them to email your transcript over with a few….extra recommendations.” He explains with a knowing look, a sly smirk playing on his lips.

“But…if they forgave my scandal,” You begin, confused. “ Why must I transfer schools?”

Jungkook’s shrugs, “ I figured you wouldn't keep attending a place where there’s likely rumors spreading about you already. “

Rumors?

You had thought about that when they told you about the accusation, you remember thinking everyone already knew and would treat you badly because of it. I mean, who would want to befriend a student accused of plagiarism? It filled you with embarrassment.

“I’m sure nobody knows though.” You reasoned, not fully believing they could’ve figured it out so quickly. Besides, how would they possibly know?

Jungkook tilts his head, seeming to consider your words.

“You’d be surprised how quickly gossip spreads.” He tells you instead with a tone that entailed he already knew all about the college experience.

“I also figured you wouldn’t want to deal with Eunji anymore.”

You look up at him in surprise, eyes widening despite your attempt to keep your expression neutral. It’s a rookie mistake because Jungkook evidently takes notice,his dark eyes studying you.

You’re reminded of his threatening words this morning before left.

I never want to hear you even mention her name.

If Jungkook still felt so threatened by Eunji still, why was he the one bringing her up now?

“I mean, she likely has spread rumors about you sleeping with her boyfriend already. “ He frowns, a distasteful look morphing on his face. “ and it’s not as if you can deny them.”

His words hit you harder than you would’ve preferred and they answer the mental question. It was nothing new, you had already tormented yourself with the same thoughts since the night you first slept together. It’s not as if you expected Eunji to keep her mouth shut either, not with the way things had ended.

Yet hearing the words out loud from him was almost like confirmation of the less than ideal reality you faced.  It made you feel sleazy, gross and like some type of home wrecker. If it made you feel like this now, you couldn’t imagine how you would feel having complete strangers talking about it, much less if they threw insults about it your way.

It was like you could already hear the taunting whispers of gossip.

What a slut.

I can’t believe she did that to her best friend.

Trash.

They were so close, I wouldn’t have expected that from her.

You knew it shouldn’t matter to you as much as it did because it would simply be a fleeing moment in your experience there. Your peers would forget about it in a few weeks, the only people who would truly remember it would be Eunji’s friend group that you had not even interacted much with before. But your stomach still churned at the thought of those stares filled with judgment, those well-deserved dirty looks from left and right.

“She’s a bitch but she has a big circle of friends, she’s pretty and likable. “ Jungkook continued, not breaking his stare. “And you have to admit she’s in the right, at least from an outside perspective. “

A burning feeling thunders inside you.

“A-Are you taking her side or something?” You can’t believe the words that leave you but you can’t help but feel defensive.

You didn’t like the way he seemed to be implying she was right, that she wasn’t the bad guy here and that it could be you instead.

His eyebrows scrunch together, a low chuckle leaving him.

“What?” He asks in disbelief. “Of course not baby. “

You swallow, “Well, that’s what it sounded like…”.

His fingers trace below your jaw and you keep your gaze down.

“I’m just saying she will make your life hell there.” The words don’t comfort you but they do make you recoil at the possibility of him being completely right.

“Can’t be worse than what she already has done to me.”  You shake your head, crumbling the papers in your hands.” She’s such a fake person, I can’t believe I never saw it.”

I can’t believe how blinded I was by love, you think to yourself.

Jungkook doesn’t respond, he merely stares at you with an unreadable expression. His eyes slowly trailing down your face.

“Don’t you agree?” You can’t help but ask, not knowing how to feel about the look he was giving you.

Maybe it was your own paranoia but he always seemed to be eager to insult Eunji, his silence now made you want to shout at him for some reason. Just this morning , he was evidently pissed at the thought of you possibly texting Eunji and having any lingering feelings .  You figured that he’d take this moment to jump at attacking her again, to take as another opportunity to rub in your face how much of a bad friend she had been.

It was ludicrous really, you didn’t know why your emotions were running so erratic. Even worse, you didn’t know why you felt such a need for him to agree with you.

He raises an eyebrow, a few seconds pass before his lips tilt upwards.

“I can’t believe it…” He states, mouth forming into a full grin as his thumb caressed your cheek.

You frown.

“You’re jealous.” Any little space between you two disappears in an instant, his free hand lands on your hands that had curled into fists clenching your papers.

His eyes peak down.

“You’re actually jealous.” He whispers down at you with a beaming glint in his eyes.

“What?” You reply. “No I’m not.”

You’re not, you deny to yourself.

It wasn’t jealousy, right? That was impossible. Those feelings were not meant for Jungkook and they never could be. Not for someone like him. But it was if he could see right through your hesitance, through your bluff. Your eyes lock on his lips as he shakes his head.

“No?” His hand wraps around your waist, pulling you into his chest despite your frustration.

“Then I guess you wouldn’t mind me raving about how beautiful Eunji is, how interesting she was…how sexy she looked on top of me everytime we fuc-“

“Shut up!” You hiss at him, pulling yourself away from him instantly.

The image of them together sneaks its way into your head and you absolutely loathe it. It makes you feel sick for all the wrong reasons.

“You’re disgusting.” Jungkook doesn’t seem bothered by your jab at him, in fact, he seemed to be having the best time of his life watching how upset you were.

He feigns a pout, grabbing you by your waist again and this time you try your best to push against him but you fail . His grip is strong around you as you hit his chest.

“Here I was thinking you were still stuck on some pathetic puppy love for her but it’s the opposite isn’t it? You want me to hate her as much as you do now.” His nose touches yours and you can’t escape his gaze, you can’t free yourself from the heavy truth in his statement.

“You’re too cute baby but you should know by now that I don’t give a fuck about anyone else but you.” He breaths, his eyes darkening and you don’t have time to react before his lips press against yours.

Against your better judgment, you relax against his hold and let his mouth claim yours.

By the time he pulls away, you’re out of breath.

“I think you’ll love a fresh new start at a new university,” He tells you as your eyes flutter open.

Your stomach dips, the pitter patter of your heart intensifies.

“With no Eunji and no reminders of her betrayal…” A stray piece of hair is tucked behind your ear, a habit of his that you have just become aware of. “ or yours.”

Jungkook was so confusing to you, that's one thing that never seemed to change.   Sometimes he said the sweetest and most reassuring things to you, sometimes you felt like you could see his controlled demeanor crack. In very rare moments that his vulnerability shined through, he seemed like just a scared boy.

Other times, it seemed like he enjoyed placing so many doubts inside your head, like he took pride in being able to install so much insecurity and fear in you. His words didn’t sound intentionally malicious but why did they feel it?

“Unless I’m wrong?” His lower pitched tone made you look back up at him. His hand had stilled on your hair, his lips a straight line.

“Unless you really want to see the person who said so many horrible things behind your back everyday.” He cocked his head, eyes drifting away from you.

“And who knows? Maybe your presence will upset her enough to leak that tape herself.”

You bite your lip, shaking your head at the thought.

“I couldn’t save you then baby, no matter how much you begged me. It would be out of my control.” Jungkook states firmly, giving you a warning look as he taps your cheek.

Another habit of his.

You blink away your tears brimming at your eyes. “ I’ll transfer.”

Perhaps it was cowardly of you to give into him, to give into the doubts and insecurity but all you wanted was a bit of peace. You were exhausted, so incredibly exhausted with the panic that ran through you, with not knowing what to expect next and feeling so out of place. You didn’t want to return to school, yearning for some normality just so Eunji could take out her anger and vengefulness on you.

If anything , you should be the one seeking revenge . But you suppose you already had, you took the love of her life away from her.

That would have stirred up some guilt in you before, it should’ve now but you felt hollow. Numb. Eunji didn’t seem to evoke any of the deep feelings you spent years feeling for her anymore. It was starting to feel like you actually managed to rip her out of your heart completely, replacing the love for her with pure emptiness.

Thinking about her feels draining now.

The satisfied look on Jungkook’s face is momentarily disrupted by the  loud beeping sound of the microwave which makes him  flinch his head towards it.

“Are you cooking something?” He asks, letting go of you and crossing over around the counter.

“No,” You respond warily. “Uh, your mother stopped by earlier.”

He pauses in his steps, glancing back at you with a questioning look. You follow behind him like a lost puppy, awkwardly shifting to his side.

“ My mother?”

He didn’t sound upset.

That was good, wasn’t it? You felt like you were walking on eggshells again. Was his mother still a touchy subject? She had given the impression that their relationship wasn’t as bad as it used to be but you weren’t sure how much of that was true on Jungkook’s end.

You nod at him, giving him a nervous smile.

“She brought you food , I was warming  it up for you.”

He opens the microwave, taking a look at the heated food before glancing back down at you.

“For me?” He placed a kiss on your forehead, pinching your cheek with his thumb and to your surprise, it feels like it’s the first time you don’t shiver at his touch. “That’s so sweet of you baby.”

It seemed like he was mildly shocked at your small act of kindness. You supposed it was a tad out of character after all. It wasn’t like you ever went out of your way to show him kindness except for when you had been trying to fool him.

The thought of him thinking you were being disingenuous crossed your mind immediately.

“I wanted to.” You inch closer towards the counter. “ I mean, you’re letting me stay here so that’s the least I could do, I guess.”

“I also washed the dishes and tidied up a bit, I hope you don’t mind.”

He closes the microwave after placing the food in front of you both and gives you a perplexed look.

“I don’t mind at all.” He frowns. “I want you to feel at home here, just like I want you to stay here. This is your house as much as it is mine now.”

His eyes are on you again as he leans forward, the dark curls tickling his forehead.

“You know it bothers me when you say stuff like that, as if I physically forced you into my house.” His fingers play with the lid of the tupperware. “ Like you’re some charity case to me… because you’re not. The only reason I had to say those things to you is because of how blind you’re being.”

“So your solution to everything is blackmailing me?” You lift your gaze to see his eyes sharpening.

He bites the inside of his cheek, obviously not liking the truth being thrown back at his face.

“Yes,” The lid is thrown to the side, the smell of the spices filling your nostrils again. “ At least until you realize how much you need me like I need you.”

You blink at him in awe of the audacity he always manages to have.

“Jungkook-“

“What did you and my mother talk about?” He cuts you off with another glare.

The question evokes a few seconds of uncomfortable silence and it leaves room for the inevitable tension to make its way through. Your fingers start to twitch, the flighting feeling that is a regular guest in your body makes its hourly appearance.

“N-Not much, she talked about you mostly.” You say, making sure your voice didn’ waver and he catches your hand when you attempt to move away from his side.

He keeps you in place, fingers wrapping against your own. 

“What about me?” He didn’t sound curious but he didn’t sound interrogative either.

You think over how much to tell him, what if his mother didn’t want him to know about your conversation? Would she mind? What she has said was personal, very personal. She had revealed a big chunk of Jungkook’s past and his traumas, how his childhood had impacted him. Would he find offense to her saying that to you? Your head hurts with the endless possibilities of ways this could go wrong for you.

“About how much she misses you…how you guys seem to be getting closer now.” You say with a tight-lipped smile and watch him simply study you, awaiting more details.

“S-She thinks it’s because of me. That I’ve been a …positive influence.”

“Really?” He hums, looking down at the food in front of him that he still hadn’t touched. “ I suppose she’s right, you know? Ever since I met you, I’ve been in a far better mood.”

His eyes twinkle, a more upbeat playful look taking over him and you feel the atmosphere slowly shift. The tension lingered but it seemed like a distant cloud now, making its way out of your vicinity.

“I didn’t realize you had told her about me.”

He nods, sending you a relaxed grin.

“Why wouldn’t I? I figured I’d at least have to tell her about finding the love of my life. She’s still my mother after all, whether she acts like it or not.”

The love of my life.

You swear your heart stops momentarily hearing him say those words. You couldn’t get used to them and you’re afraid for the day that you might.

You want to tell him that he shouldn’t throw that word around, that he couldn’t possibly love you. But if you knew Jungkook even a little, you knew it was unwise to deny his love for you. Or more so his obsession.

“She also said she was kinda surprised that I was with you..” You rambled on causing him to raise an inquisitive eyebrow.

“Was she rude to you-“

“No! No..It’s just, I think she was shocked because we seem so different.” It was taking a lot of strength to withhold so much information, you wanted to ask him so much. You wanted to confirm what she was saying, to ask Jungkook himself what was his fascination with you, to deny what you were already brewing inside your mind.

You wanted him to deny your doubts, to tell you that what you had concluded wasn’t true and to bring some sanity back into you. Because if what you suspected was true, his feelings for you truly did run much deeper than you already feared.  It scared you that it could all be connected to his mother. It was something you didn’t want to come to terms with, your entire body squirmed with the possibility of him attaching himself to you to the point of no return, to the point where he could turn against you if you made even the slightest mistake his mother had once made.

It was more concerning how you didn’t want to be like his mother, you didn’t want him to think you would abandon him.

The fleeing thought left as quickly as it came and your entire body squirmed at what you had just admitted.

No.

Something was wrong with you.

He was starting to get inside your head, mess with your perception of him. It was a known manipulation tactic, right? These feelings couldn’t be good, and they couldn’t be real. You couldn’t let yourself start to make room for him in your heart but it was as if he was forcing himself in without any warning.

“Really?” He bites his lip. “ I guess we are but that’s what I like about it. None of my exes  compare to you.”

Exes.

That sparks another storm of curiosity.

“Were they all like Eunji?” Or were they all like you?

Jungkook paused, fingers playing with yours as they traced the skin of your palm.

“More or less, I don't really remember. “ He tells you. “Why does it matter?”

“I just feel like I don’t know much about you.”

He cocked his head to the side, eyes squinting slightly.

“What’s with the newfound curiosity, baby?” He rasps. “ Did my mother already fill your head with my sob story about how traumatic my childhood was because of her?”

You’re thrown off by his bluntness and his spot on prediction. Your fingers tremble restlessly under him as your breath hitches.

A smirk tugs at his lips.

“Seems like she did.”  He brings your hand to his mouth, leaving a firm kiss. “Having a change of heart?”

You want to scoff, hating how his words cut right through you because he’s not completely wrong.

“I-It was just a question.” You pull your hand away, stepping away from him.

He looks amused as if he’s holding back a laugh and turns his attention back to the container.

“Did you eat?” He swiftly changes the subject and you nod as you make your way towards the other side of the counter, opposite of him.

You watch as he picks up the pair of chopsticks, motioning the food over to you.

“You should eat more, you probably spent days eating only ramen at that motel.” He comments as he picks up some of the meat and holds it to your mouth.

A little taken aback, you hesitate before taking the bite.

“I’m already full.” You manage to say between chews.

He ignored you, pushing the food towards you as he walked over to your side with lazy steps. A sigh leaves him as he brushes up against you, his arm coming to wrap around your waist.

You’re pushed against his chest, his chin resting on your inner shoulder. The action sends a shiver through you but you undeniably enjoy the warmth of his body. Part of you wondered why he still had that type of effect on you despite being with him in the most intimate way possible already.

“Is there anything else you’d like to tell me?” He mumbled against you, his breath hot on your ear.

The image of his pills you found in the bathroom flash through your head, painting an unfortunate picture. Suspicion makes its way through you.

Did he know? He couldn’t possibly know and you decided against bringing that up right now.

Was he referring to something else? Your thoughts wandered off to the texts on your phone. Hoseok. You were positive he didn’t know about that either, he hadn’t looked through it and he had thought it was Eunji.

You shake your head, fingers tapping against the counter in rapid motions.

“No..I don’t think so.” You made it clear to sound confused.

He hums against you, his other arm sneaking around you and hugging you tightly.

“No?” He repeats, laying soft kisses on your neck.

Falling silent, you crane your neck, allowing him more room for his lips to explore your neck and your eyes shut tightly. The feeling of his mouth against your skin was making you feel hot all over, the pleasure seeping through every inch of you. Your breath quickened and you let out a gasp when his teeth grazed your earlobe, his hand sneaking to palm the swell of your left breast.

He pulls away abruptly, his fingers lingering on your lower waist as he moves back.

“Finish eating, I have some work to finish.” He whispers gently, sending you a smile before he fixes your hair over your shoulder.

You swallow thickly, he doesn’t give you a chance to reply as he turns on his heel and makes his way down the hallway. You’re left a little shaken up, with a familiar feeling pooling at your core. Scolding yourself again, you bring your nails back to your mouth, biting away the nerves.

You let your head fall, your free hand touching the spots where he kissed you and your fingers slowly slip to wrap around the necklace on your neck.

What should be over is still drilled under your skin, you could feel him all over you even when he was nowhere near you anymore.

Glancing down, you stared at the container in front of you, boring holes into it as another observation crossed your mind. One that you weren’t sure held any significance.

“God, I’ve been starving all day.”

Yet Jungkook had not touched his mother’s meal for him at all. Not even one bite.

—-

The days went by rather quickly and not as dragged out as you initially expected them to be. Despite spending the week mostly inside Jungkook’s room reading and preparing yourself for the transfer of schools , you found yourself almost falling into a routine. The mornings were filled with that anxiousness that had gotten gradually worse every day. You tried to ignore it at first but it was impossible . It would resurface every other hour at the most random times. The panic attacks were becoming a more regular occurrence and you knew exactly why.

You had run out of your meds days ago but you still had not mentioned it to Jungkook. You weren’t sure why you were holding onto that small piece of dignity you had left. Making him purchase your prescription just made you feel like you were going to fully be depending on him and it would rip away all little control you had left.

But yet he was the person that comforted you every morning. He was the one to calm you down, whisper that you were okay over and over again until you believed it. He was the one to bring you the tea that always made you sleepy. He was the one to hold to his chest, turning on the TV and switching through the shows until he found one that peaked your interest.

You were right in thinking that Jungkook noticed every small detail, he proved it more to you everyday.  He was so attentive , clingy almost but not the point where he suffocated you. He had let you have your moments alone during the day, leaving to go work at his office or at times you would see him just lounging around in the living room.

You were waiting to get sick of him, to feel so overwhelmed and cornered like you thought you had felt every time you had been with him before. You were waiting to feel that same uneasiness and fear you always had but that seemed to be diminishing as the days and nights went by.

The girl in the mirror that stared back at you felt foreign, not only because she looked drained beyond belief but because of the flaky bumps on your face. You had a tendency to pick at your skin whenever you felt incredibly anxious which happened to be nearly everyday now. Your meds had helped with that but ever since you stopped, the habit came back stronger than ever and last night had been your tipping point.

Not enough air.

Not enough air.

That’s what your brain kept repeating to you. The bathroom walls seemed to be closing in on you, the tiles were blinding and you swore your vision felt blurry. You didn’t know where it came from but you supposed you never did.  You had been brushing your teeth, just finished texting Hoseok another excuse as to why you had to postpone your cafe meeting to another day yet again. To your luck, he was rather persistent and it would’ve been cute if you had not been blatantly lying to him in the first place.

Before you knew it, your toothbrush fell out of your shaking hand and your heartbeat skyrocketed. The reflection in the mirror didn’t even feel real, nothing did when you were in this state.

“No no.” You mumbled to yourself, backing up against the door as your hands shook uncontrollably.  Convincing yourself you were okay was the goal but unfortunately you were rarely ever successful.

Your mouth dried as you tried to swallow repeatedly. Running your fingers through your hair, you let out a sob and let yourself slide down the door. This was going to pass but it would take a while.

A long while.

You brought your knees up to your chest, your breaths came out uneven and hurried.

The knock on the door only made your heart beat even faster, as if that was even possible.

“Baby?” Jungkook’s voice rang through the other side of the door.

You didn’t reply, you only scooted over when you heard him rattle the doorknob and eventually swing it open. It took him a second to process the scene, his doe eyes widened before he sprung into action.

“Hey hey, what’s wrong?” He demanded kneeling down immediately, concern washing over this face as you flinched at his touch on your shoulder.

“I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe!” The sobs left your mouth and each one seemed to shatter his heart because he shook his head and placed both his hands on your shoulders.

“Baby, you’re fine. You’re okay, I promise.” He said but his voice sounded distant as you continued to rapidly shake your head in denial.

“No! I can’t! I-I can’t.” You wheezed, taking another deep breath that didn’t feel like it was allowing enough air inside your lungs.

“Yes you can.” He firmly stated, his grip tightened around your shoulders, face lowering to yours as he met your teary gaze.

“You’re breathing just fine, if you couldn’t breathe you’d not be as conscious as you are right now.” More tears left you as you nodded your head at his words despite your mind still convincing you that he was wrong.

“But it feels like I can’t!” Your hands moved over to your face, your body in need of releasing the unwanted energy so you went to pick at your face, nails scratching down a part of your cheek until Jungkook’s hands yanked them away from you. He held both your wrists in one hand while he used the other  to wipe away your tears.

“Stop that, I said you’re fine. You need to take deep breaths.” He instructed and just like last time, he imitated the action, breathing in and out as you copied him.

However, this time it didn’t seem to be working.

“No! N-No.” Your breaths quickened again despite how much he assured you that you were doing good.

“Baby, stop it. Stop it.” Jungkook ordered as you tried to escape his grasp but he only pulled you towards him. You let out a scream as you gave him another tug in your desperate state and managed to free one hand from his strong grip. You used that hand to throw a hit at his chest, it didn’t do much to waver him so you went up a bit further but he shifted, causing you to throw a punch directly at the side of his jaw.

He shut his eyes at the impact but didn’t flinch back, barely reacting to the blow.

“S-Sorry, I didn’t mean that!” You whispered, voice breaking slightly. “Just let me go! Let me go!”

His nostrils flared and for a moment you think he'd lash out at you but he doesn’t. He lets out a sigh instead and catches your hand again, tugging it forward.

“Shh it’s okay, baby.”

“I-I didn’t mean to hit you I swear! I’m sorry.” You swallow in another hurried whisper as you start to taste the tears on your lips.

“You didn’t hurt me, I’m fine. See?” He leans down to meet your eyes again, craning his neck so you can see his cheek. “I’m all fine.”

You nod, another whimper leaving you as you shut your eyes tightly. You hated feeling like this.

“You need to breathe with me, okay?” He stated. “You need to listen or else I’ll have to take you to the hospital.”

That made another wave of sheer panic run through you.

“The hospital? N-no, why? I’m okay, “ You said with pleading eyes, you relaxed in his grip a bit, your fingers curling around his white t-shirt instead. His hair was still damp from the shower and you felt a few droplets of water hit the top of your head.

“I’ll breathe, I’ll breathe.” You reassured as you started taking deep breaths again, your hands still trembling against him.

The last thing you wanted was to be at the hospital. You couldn’t fathom that, you knew what they would think, where they would likely recommend you heading to.

“Good, breathe with me. You’re going to be fine baby, you’re just fine.” Jungkook nods, wrapping both hands around you and laying your head against his chest.

You stay in that position for what seems like hours, breathing in and out until you finally feel the air return to your lungs. Your heart still pounds against your chest but it slows with every new breath and you feel like you might actually pass out this time but not from panic, from pure exhaustion.

The tears dry on your cheek and you're left with nothing but a runny nose that stains Jungkook’s shirt. He continues to run his fingers through your hair, shushing you everytime he feels your breath quickening again and forcing you to listen to him talk about the day he first met you, everything he liked about you, every little detail he had noticed ever since you moved in with him.

He cracks jokes even, ones you try to not find funny but fail to. It earns a smug smirk from him when he looks down to see you breaking into the slightest grin.

The memory slips away as you turn the faucet on and rinse your toothbrush. You felt incredibly vulnerable, more than you ever had been. Last night made you realize how much of yourself you had revealed to Jungkook, it felt even more intimate than sex. Not that you hadn’t indulged in plenty of that with him as well.

“The tea is ready,” The sudden voice makes you jump back, turning your head to see Jungkook leaning against the door frame with a mug in his hands.

“Jumpy?” He mumbled as he handed you over the mug with a grin.

You take it from his hands, hoping to wash away some of the exhaustion from last night.

His grin drops when he notices the marks on your face, a frown taking over his handsome features.

“We need to buy an ointment for these. ” His eyebrows furrow as he runs a long finger along your cheek, inspecting them further.

Embarrassment bubbles inside you as you pull away and take a long sip of the tea.

“They’re fine.” You swallow down the sweetness. His eyes follow your movements .

“You’re too pretty to be marking up your face.” He says in a scolding tone, glancing down at your hands. “We need to work on how you manage your anxiety.”

It was almost insulting that he sounded like a  therapist in this situation given the ironic circumstances. That made you remember what you had been avoiding bringing up the past two weeks.

“I wanted to ask you about something…” You start, drifting your gaze from him. There was something about him that always seemed to carry an intensity when he looked at you that you couldn’t stand to look at for long.

He raised an eyebrow, urging you to continue.

“I…I saw some pills in the medicine cabinet,” You point behind you casually, chewing on your lip. “I’ve heard they can be used to treat…certain conditions like bipolar disorder or BPD.

His eyes shifted over behind you, towards the medicine cabinet and if you were expecting his face to give away something , it didn’t. His expression remained relaxed, no signs of being upset by you snooping through his things.

“Yeah, I have BPD.” He nods.” I have been diagnosed since I was a kid.”

You can’t help but be surprised at his calm demeanor . You expected him to be upset at you for looking through his things and prying into his health because who wouldn’t be? The more you knew about him, the more contradicting he seemed. When you thought you had him a part of him figured out, he proved you wrong again. Were you just never truly aware of his actual personality? Jungkook had not seemed to lash out once the entire time he was with you but yet you had made a complete villain out of him already.

“Oh.” You reply , eyeing him. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to go through your things.”

He gives you a tight-lipped smile in response, leaning against the doorframe again.

“It’s fine,” He replied nonchalantly before he glanced behind him.

“I made breakfast, we should go eat before it gets cold.”

“Right, yeah.” You nod, walking past him and making your way out the bathroom. He followed behind you as you both walked out the room and into the hallway.

You passed his office as always and as always, your eyes lingered on the half creaked open door. Eyes boring into the little glimpse of his monitor. It was killing you to not be able to go through it, you didn't know why you felt such a need , a pull towards the room. It almost made you feel like some insane crazy girlfriend who threw her boyfriend’s things but you couldn’t help the itch.

It made you feel even crazier that Eunji’s words rang through your head every time you passed by it.

There’s something seriously wrong with him.

You thought you knew what she had meant but now you weren’t so sure you did. If Jungkook was capable of acting like a complete saint around you, making you even question if what he had done to you had even happened in the first place then you could only imagine how convincing he was towards Eunji, to someone he didn’t even like.

What had Eunji had been referring to? There was no way she knew of what Jungkook had put you through. Of how he had blackmailed you, how he formed you into making the worst betrayal.

Or had she? Had she suspected? Had he made some sort of slip up?

Was there more to this that you didn’t know? Those thoughts kept you up every night, they ran through your brain over and over again.  They were almost as infuriating as Hoseok’s texts, asking you how you were , what you ate and how your day was going. You knew the best thing you could do was to block him, you would be doing him a favor but for some reason, you couldn’t let yourself do it. The guilt would eat you up alive every night too if you did that.

You broke your stare from the door and finally entered the kitchen, seeing a plate of bacon and eggs at the counter. Without a second thought, you poured a glass of orange juice in an empty cup and turned to give it to Jungkook.

The action was small, simple and domestic. But you saw the bright glint in his eyes, a smile quickly taking over him as he grabbed the cup and gave you a kiss on the cheek in return.

“This is how I always wanted it to be, you know?” He tells you as you lean over the counter to grab his plate and put it beside him.

“Hm?” You reply distractedly.

“You at my side, always. It’s how I always want it to be, I want us to be happy.” His voice is closer now, and you realize he’s right next to you. You look up to see his soft gaze, a rare look of vulnerability flashing through his features. . “You make me happy.”

You wonder how he’s capable of saying these things after what he saw last night, a complete meltdown like that would send almost any young guy his age questioning the entire relationship but Jungkook didn’t seem to mind at all. It was like he didn’t see any flaws with you, as if even your flaws made you perfect in his eyes.

It was concerning and you knew it wasn’t healthy but why was it so comforting?

“I’ll make you happy too, I promise.” He stared at you with that same pained look he had the first night you spent together ever since you moved in, the night when he asked you if you thought you could ever love him. It was the look that made every instinct in you want to hug him and tell him he didn't need to feel that way.

You blinked at him, eyes wide at his entire confession.

“I’ll make it so that you never even think about somebody else,” He whispered slowly, voice dropping an octave.

You were afraid that was already happening but perhaps not in the exact way he expected.

You started to back away but he stopped you, hand landing on your waist as he peaked down at you.

His lips tilted upwards as he took notice of your attire.

“Have I told you how much I love these little skirts of yours baby?” His hands tugs at the ends of it , making you let out a yelp at the exposed skin he caused by his wandering hands.

He chuckled, a playful yet mischievous look drowning his eyes. His half lidded gaze continued to completely eye fuck you as your thoughts ran off to a completely different route that promised a horrid ending for both of you.

You felt his arms wrapping around your waist, the familiar hot feeling returning to your face as one of his hands snaked under the skirt and palmed your inner thigh.

However, in the midst of your undeniable pleasure you couldn’t help but glance back at the hallway, your mind unable to escape Eunji’s haunting last words to you.

“W-Wait,” You tug his arms away from you.

He lets you go and shifts next to you.  His overgrown dark curls messily brush up against his forehead and he pushes them away as he tilts his head down at you with a questioning stare.

“Not now.” You say and you realize it’s the first time you have actually rejected him since you moved in.

It seems to shock him as much as it shocked you, his eyebrows knitting together as a few seconds of silence pass. But then his face returns to the familiar neutral expression you’re used to, a smile plastering on his lips instead.

“Okay,” He simply says with a quick nod, sitting next to you as he hands over a fork to you.

You let out a shaky sigh, not liking the tension you unknowingly created because it’s obvious that Jungkook noticed a shift in you in that second.

——

It was a mistake. You knew deep down that you shouldn’t even be thinking about this. 

While you got dressed, you kept telling yourself to back out of the idea. Sometimes you wondered if you had a thing for self sabotage because every decision you made only seemed to dig you into a deeper hole than the last.  

Despite that, you threw your bag over your shoulder and took one last look in the mirror before heading out of the bedroom. It was weird how much this place was starting to feel like an actual home to you. Your mark on it had been placed on it without much thought, it started with tiny things like suggesting your preferred candle scents to Jungkook and now it ended in you picking out certain decorations that you thought fit the apartment better. 

In a way, you thought the flowers in the kitchen and living room added some life to the dull interior. The pictures of your parent’s on Jungkook’s  nightstand made it feel more homely. Your makeup in his bathroom added a more feminine touch maybe, your scent all over his sheets made you feel like you were in your own house back with your parents. You suppose you didn’t mind his scent either though, his cologne lingered on your clothes as well so perhaps you weren’t the only one leaving a mark. 

You gripped your bag tightly as you emerged into the living room, shivering at the cool temperature that Jungkook always insisted on having. 

He was sitting on the couch, a laptop in his lap as he deeply concentrated on whatever was on the screen. But once he noticed you, his head immediately turned your way and scanned the bag around your shoulder. 

“Hey,” You give him a small smile and watch his gaze still glued on your bag until he slowly meets your eyes at last. 

“Going somewhere?” He asks, ignoring your greeting. 

Things had not been awkward like you had suspected they would be after that scene you pulled on him the other day. You thought that he had noticed something in you , that he may be suspecting something off with your behavior but everything had gone back to normal. 

Well, as normal as it could get. 

“Um yeah,” You glance towards the door. “I, uh, just thought I’d get some fresh air. I haven’t been out in nearly two weeks.” 

The lie felt natural. It was partly true after all, you were always the type to prefer staying inside so with the lack of college classes, you had not felt the urge to leave the apartment much at all. That with the added anxiety you always tended to feel in public didn’t help either. However, you would start classes at your new university in a few days so it was best to start to get used to people again. 

What better way to do that than to visit Eunji. 

You almost laughed at your idiotic self, the last person you should be meeting is her and if Jungkook found out where you were headed, you were afraid that eerily calm demeanor he had exhibited this entire time would break in that second. 

Jungkook’s eyes darkened slightly, his once soft gaze sharpening at your words. You could see the clear mistrust in them. 

“You haven’t mentioned wanting to go out, we could’ve planned something.” He tells you, closing the laptop in his lap as he sits up straighter. He was dressed in his usual work attire, which you didn’t tend to see him much in since he preferred more casual clothing. 

But earlier today he had a meeting at his father’s company and he was dressed in a button up black shirt with equally dark dress pants with a belt that hugged his waist. 

“N-No, it’s fine. I just want some alone time, it’s no big deal.” You keep your voice steady, trying to sound as casual as possible. 

“Right,” He nods, licking his lips. “Where are you planning on going?”  

“Um, just around the park. I’ll probably just sit there and read a book for a while.” You start making your way towards the door and hear him lift himself off the couch behind you. 

“Don’t be long, I don’t want you being out late at a park alone.” His words are firmer this time, no room for gentleness. 

You turn back at him, “Yeah I know, I’ll be back soon.”  

“Baby.” His voice causes you to halt in your steps again. 

 You expect him to call out your lie. Your heart drops for a moment, anticipating his next words being a direct insult of a condescending reminder of how stupid you were for trying to fool him. 

But instead he simply reminds you of the obvious. 

“Make sure to answer your phone.” 

 —— 

You have to admit you felt a lot more sane and in control this time around. It didn’t take any hesitation to knock on Eunji’s door despite how terrible of an idea this was. The warning signs kept blaring inside your head, demanding you to turn on your heel and leave. 

Glancing down at your phone, you make sure that there is no possible way of Jungkook seeing your location. You turned it off immediately after leaving the apartment and you had never shared it with him in the first place but to be sure, you double checked that you weren’t sharing it on any social media platforms or with anyone in your contacts. While you tapped to exit out of an application, it was taking longer than necessary for it to close and you frowned. Your phone had been freezing up lately and acting slower than usual. 

You sighed as you placed it back into your pocket. Despite how much you felt compelled to leave by your better judgment, you  couldn’t let things go unfinished. It felt wrong to let things end like they did. It felt wrong to let things go like they did. In a way, you feel like you didn’t do yourself justice in the way you handled the situation. 

The door in front of you swung open and you braced yourself for the wrath that you were about to be faced with. 

Eunji looked as good as ever, you should’ve expected nothing less. It was clear that what had happened impacted you far more. Her long hair sat beautifully below her waist and her skin practically glowed, you’re remembered why you had been so infatuated with her for so long in that moment but you’re also remembered that you felt absolutely nothing now. 

Seeing her should’ve made your heart face again but you’re glad to find yourself simply observing her instead of admiring her. 

Her eyes immediately glared at your presence, her stunning face twisting in annoyance. 

“What the hell are you doing here?” There was the tiniest bit of surprise layered underneath all that anger. 

“I’m not here to fight with you,” You made it clear despite the bubble of anger inside you growing. Instantly you are cruelly faced with the reminder of betrayal and her lack of remorse. 

“I need to talk to you about Jungkook.”

Eunji’s eyes darken further and a scoff leaves her lips.

“Are you serious right now? What made you think I’d even want to see your face again?” 

Her words aim to cut you deep but you feel hollow. Empty. It reassured you that your love for her no longer took up a place inside your heart.

“I don’t care what you want,” You say through gritted teeth. “This is important, I need you to tell me what you meant when you said there was something wrong with him.” 

You watch as her eyebrows furrow, her fingers tightly gripping the edges of the door. 

“What happened? Did you realize your Prince Charming isn’t all that great?” She sneers, inching closer to you. “ Are you regretting fucking my boyfriend?” 

You want to scream the truth to her, to tell her that you were the one who knew all along how demented her supposed perfect boyfriend was. It enraged you that she still had the audacity to blame you for this, to see you as the bad guy when all she had done was ruin your friendship and ignore you when you had warned her. 

If only you knew how much I regret, Eunji. 

“No.” You smile at her. “ That’s the part I’d never regret.” 

Pain flashes through her eyes, and you watch as she tries to blink away the tears forming in them. Her lips are set in a straight line as she watches you with the most resentful look you had ever seen on her face. You can’t lie and say it didn’t tug something inside you. That was the type of look that nobody with a beating heart was immune to.

“Fuck you, Y/n.” She whispers to you, her face now only inches away from you. “ I hope he really does ruin your life.” 

You ignore the dread that fills you with her words. “ Tell me what you meant.” 

“What did you see in Jungkook that made you say that?” What did she know? 

A spiteful smirk tugged at her lips, knowing how much it was eating you up brought her some satisfaction. It made the experience a little less horrible for her.

“And why would I tell you that?” She asks, feigning a look of obliviousness. “I think it’d be much better for you to figure it out yourself.” 

You felt like ripping out your hair and for a second you considered throwing your promise out the window and completely lunging at her. This time there was nobody holding the either of you back.

“God damn it Eunji! Tell me what you meant!” You raise your voice, the clear frustration making its appearance in your crazed expression. 

Eunji’s eyes scan your face, looking a bit alarmed by your lash out. You didn’t blame her, she had never seen you this way and you couldn’t even say you recognized yourself either. You let out a loud sigh as you run your hands over your face.  

“Forget it, I should’ve never fucking come here.” You snap at her and turn on your heel, hating how belittle you felt even when you were meant to have the upper hand. 

Was this how it was always going to be? You tried to have a backbone for once and she managed to throw you down beneath her once again. It resembled your relationship with Jungkook , with how he mentally always seemed to be ahead of you and no matter how much you would try to one up him, he came out as the winner time and time again. 

“Y/n!” You groan as you hear Eunji call out your name, turning to look back at her.  

You sent the dirtiest look her way as she peeks out the doorway and gives you a look full of pity. 

“Ask your little boyfriend what he was doing walking into Professor Clark’s classroom a few weeks ago.” 

 ——

The walk to the apartment was nightmarish. You feel your throat closing up before the elevator even reaches the desired floor and you’re seeing nothing but red as you make your way through the extravagant corridors. 

Eunji’s words were not what you were expecting at all. For a second, you didn’t know if you should’ve believed them but you knew better. 

Life was truly playing a sick game with you at this point. Why did everything feel like it was a plot to specifically ruin your life? Why did the people who were meant to care for you turn into your worst enemies? It felt unfair, so incredibly unfair. 

What had Jungkook been doing with Professor Clark? 

In his classroom? Eunji couldn’t have been referring to what you had initially thought. That she may have seen him when he went to go sort out your accusation. No. She knew what she was saying to you. What she was implying.

What had he been doing at your college in the first place? 

And most importantly, why did you keep asking yourself these questions like you didn’t know the answer already? You think back to your plagiarism accusation, to how you remembered how vital it was to never plagiarize and that you had never once done it in your life. You think about how the entire situation played out, how odd it all had been. How you ran to Jungkook for help. 

How easily he offered a solution, how easily he had fixed the situation. 

It couldn’t be a coincidence, could it? 

Was Jungkook really willing to go this far? Had what he had done not been enough?  

You felt sick to your stomach as you neared the apartment door, your key card sliding with ease as you swung it open. Your legs felt wobbly as you made your way inside, not even knowing how you were going to go about this. 

“Baby, you’re home.” Jungkook’s voice greets you as you walk further inside, the door shutting loudly behind you. 

His figure appears before you, a hard look on his face as he presses his lips onto yours in a quick firm kiss. Your jaw clenched as he pulled away. 

“We have a guest.” He informs you roughly, eyes boring into yours as he flashes you a forced sickly smile that you had not seen on him in what feels like ages.

It throws you off completely that you physically stumble to the side a bit.

Your entire body stiffens at his expression and your eyes trail over behind him to see the person sitting at the kitchen counter. 

Hoseok.

—-

#yandere!jungkook #jungkook yandere #jungkook #jungkook x reader #yandere!jungkook x reader #jungkook x oc #jungkook angst #jungkook scenarios #jungkook x y/n #yandere bts #jungkook fic #bts scenarios #bts fanfction #jungkook au #jeon jungkook #jungkook fanfic #yandere!bts

[journeytomonkiekid]

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[buckychristwrites]

Could This Be | Chap. Two | j.t.

Summary: One minute, you're single and working for AFC Richmond as the team's medic. The next minute, you're in a fake relationship with the team's handsome striker who you know next to nothing about..

Word Count: 2.8k

Warnings: Cussing. Fake Dating

A/N: I hope you guys enjoy :)

Masterlist | Could This Be Masterlist | Main Blog

All eyes were on you, although they would occasionally jump to Jamie as well. 

You opened your mouth and immediately closed it again. Your brain felt like it was stroking out, unable to process the information you had just been given.

You? And Jamie? Jamie Tartt? The Jamie Tartt? The footballer Jamie Tartt? Striker for AFC Richmond Jamie Tartt? Former Lust Conquers All competitor Jamie Tartt? The idiot standing next to you Jamie Tartt? Jamie Tartt, whom you didn’t even know the birthday of, or really anything else about him? That Jamie Tartt?

The room began to spin slightly, but it wasn’t from any alcohol. Your mind was painfully overwhelmed as it ran a million miles a minute. Everyone was silently waiting for you to speak, Keeley’s eyes like daggers as she stared at you. You glanced over at Jamie, who was the only person in the room who couldn’t seem to look at you. 

Your mouth opened, locked and loaded with denial at the ready…

“I guess the cat’s out of the bag.”

What?

Why are you going along with this? You asked yourself. It was unclear.

The collective gasp that filled the back yard felt rehearsed. Everyone began looking at each other in complete surprise. When you looked at Jamie, he was also staring at you, stunned, as if he expected you to deny it just as much as you expected yourself to. Realising what you had just said, you scooted closer to him, as if to stand in solidarity. Swallowing hard, you tried to come off as more confident than you felt.

“It’s true,” You declared. “Jamie is my boyfriend.” Jamie said nothing, instead wrapping a hesitant arm around your shoulders and pulling you close to him. You wondered if you looked as stiff as you felt. It seemed that everyone began to talk at the same time.

“We are so happy for you too! Why did you not tell us?”

“Two of my favourite people, together and in love. What a beautiful world we live in.”

“Since when is Tartt a good liar? How did you hide this from us?”

“I think the better question is why?” Keeley interjected, her arms crossed over her chest. It was clear that she wasn’t handling the news as kindly as the others.

“I don’t know,” You said, feeling like it was the only thing you could say that wasn’t a lie. “I was afraid. And I didn’t want things to change, with you or with anyone. I hated the thought of being another footballer's girlfriend.” 

Been there, done that, assumed you would never do it again. 

That’s what you get for assuming, apparently.

Keeley picked at her chin as she thought about this, before rushing forward and grabbing your hand. Jamie’s arm slipped away from you as she pulled you inside without a word. The crowd within the house had thinned momentously, and you wondered if it had to do with the kitchen drama that was now ensuing in the yard. She led you up the stairs and into the bathroom, where she closed and locked the door. A long time passed with her just staring at the closed door. It made you want to throw up. Her eyebrows were knitted together when she finally turned to face you. 

“Can you please explain this to me?” She asked you in a quiet voice.

“Keeley…” You said, desperate to tell her the truth but knowing you had dug your own grave. “I’m so sorry.” You began to pull at the hem of your shirt. “It just… it just happened. I didn’t know how to tell you.” Part of you wondered if you should be concerned about how easy it was to feed her this lie. 

“I guess I’m just sad you didn’t tell me sooner, but I am over the moon for you,” She admitted with a softening face. “Jamie is wonderful. He’ll treat you better than he ever treated me when we were together.” You shifted as you tried not to look uncomfortable. 

“He’s changed because of you though,” You reminded her. She rolled her eyes.

“Well, at least one of us gets to reap the benefits of my work, then.” The both of you laugh, her placing a hand on your forearm. When you settled, she looked at you with her big, caring eyes. “I just have another question to ask.”

Having a feeling where this was going, you nodded. She took a deep breath.

“Are you sure you’re ready for something like this?” Her voice was soft, tender, and you could tell this was her biggest concern. She glanced at the sink counter before looking back at you. “It just wasn’t that long ago that… you know who happened. And you had said you wouldn’t date another footballer. I just-”

“Oh no,” You said, waving your hand to stop her from talking. If she said anything more, it would become clear that you absolutely were not ready for anything like this, which was why you hadn’t wanted anything like this. But you shoved those feelings down and plastered an all too reassuring smile on your face. “It’s… it’s different this time, I think.” Your hands shook anyway, and you had to shove them in your pockets to hide them.

“Obviously,” Keeley said with a chuckle. “Jamie would never.” She didn’t elaborate, but she didn’t need to. You already knew what she meant, and you already knew she was right.

“Are we okay?” You asked her, the pain in your chest from this whole encounter seeming to worsen. The idea of risking your friendship with Keeley over a lie for Jamie was absolutely ridiculous.

“Of course we are, babe,” She assured you, grabbing your hand and giving it a firm squeeze. “I just want you to be happy.” The tension released, your muscles happy to finally relax. You squeezed her hand in return, giving her a wide smile that she returned before pulling you into a hug. “But you still owe me an explanation on how this all happened!” You forced a slight laugh.

“Maybe another day?” Maybe in a few weeks when you actually had an explanation to give. For now, you were so stressed over everything that had transpired over the last half hour that you felt the need for another drink. She released you, and you gave her another smile. 

“It better be another day soon,” She said with a hint of warning in her voice. “I want every last detail. You nodded with feign enthusiasm.

“Let’s go back to the party, yeah?” She nodded, turning and leading you out of the bathroom, your wrist in her hand. 

Before going back outside, where it was dark now, you found Roy and Sam in the kitchen. Sam was pouring another drink for himself while Roy was taking a sip of another beer. They both looked up at you and Keeley as you entered. Even though Keeley joined her boyfriend, his arm wrapped around her and a kiss planted on her forehead, you could feel Roy’s eyes following you. It was hard to ignore, but you pretended not to notice as you poured yourself another, much stronger drink. 

“So,” Roy said, making you flinch at the break in the quiet. “You and Tartt.” 

If there was anyone on the planet that you didn’t want to talk to about this subject, it was Roy Kent. The wish that the floor would swallow you whole intensified. Biting your lip, you continued to make your drink.

“Me and Jamie,” You replied, failing to hide the strain. He responded with a noise that was a mix between a grunt and hum. Keeley hit his chest lightly.

“Don’t push her, Roy,” She chastised. “It was probably very stressful for them to finally tell us. We’re happy for them, right?” Roy nodded. You allowed yourself a glance at his face, and when you saw the scepticism, you immediately wished you hadn’t.

“It just seems very random,” He continued, leading Keeley so the two of them were moving closer to you. Sam was looking between you and Roy, his face thoughtful. 

“Love does seem very random, does it not?” He asked, his head tilted as he made eye contact with Roy. “It seemed random to the rest of us when you and Keeley got together.” At that moment, you wanted to kiss Sam all over his lovely face. You didn’t have any answers for Roy’s questions. It was all just as random to you as it was to him. 

You went to flee to the back yard, when a random thought crossed your mind. You turned back and went to the fridge, assessing the assortment of beets before grabbing one and letting it close. As you passed, you exchanged a look with Roy. He was glaring at you suspiciously, while you were trying to match that energy in your own stare. In the end, you were glad when you were back outside in the cool, evening air. Throwing your drink back, you took a few hefty drink.

You wandered over to Jamie, who was sitting in the same lounge chair you had claimed not that long ago. Handing him the fresh cold beer, he gave you a surprised look before taking it from you. 

“Thanks,” He said, all smiley as he looked at the bottle. “Even got me favourite.” You looked around at the other Richmond players, who, despite building a fire in the pit in the middle of the yard, were still all throwing glances yours and Jamie’s way. 

“I guessed,” You mumbled before making your way to the chair at the opposite side. Without warning, Jamie grabbed you, gently pulling you down into the same chair he sat in and pulling your back against his chest.

“Gotta sell it,” He mumbled in your ear, breath hot against your skin. 

The tension had returned to your body in full force, your chest rising and falling heavily. How did this happen? Why did you agree to it? Why were you suddenly so afraid?

“We’re gonna have to talk about this at some point, you know,” You mumbled to him. He wrapped an arm around your upper chest, his palm pressed flat against your clavicle. Your skin was on fire at the feeling. “This situation you got us into.”

“I know,” He mumbled. You wondered if he was enjoying this. There weren’t any signs that he was hating it. “I’m sorry. She started talkin’ about another blind date, and I told her I was seein’ someone. She asked who and… I dunno. Your name slipped out.” Your face didn’t change as you listened, eyes still on the fire that the others started, which had now grown pretty large. 

“When I said to lie, I didn’t mean about me, goofball,” You joked, trying to create some ease, more in yourself than anything. You felt the laughter shake in his chest despite that it was silent. 

“I just panicked. It was stupid.” 

The door creaked open and Keeley walked out, followed by Roy. You averted Roy’s eyes as he walked over to the chair next to you and Jamie, the same chair he had occupied before, and took a seat once more. 

“This is weird,” Roy remarked to the two of you. The rest of the team were talking amongst each other. 

“Is it weird enough that you need to make comments like that?” Jamie asked, tapping his fingers against your chest. “Or could you try acceptin’ the happiness of your friends?”

Roy didn’t respond, deciding to let out a low growl instead while refraining from looking at either Jamie or you. You continued to say nothing, instead focusing on keeping your breathing normal. Which was incredibly hard, due to the fact that the panic had already risen to critical levels. The only thing running through your mind was leaving. Though you hadn’t been at the party for as long as everyone else, the evening took a turn that was more draining than you were prepared for.

You grabbed your drink and finished it with a single gulp. 

“I think I’m gonna head home.”

Everyone watched you as you stood up, brushing your hands on your trousers before looking around at the faces. With a wave, you smiled before saying, “Sorry about the announcement earlier. I’ll see you guys later.”

Keeley stood, walking over and giving you a kiss on the cheek and a tight hug. 

“I’m so happy for you, babe,” She assured you. You sighed, probably coming off as relieved to her, but you knew it was the exact opposite. Pulling away, you gave her one last smile before walking a little too fast through the backdoor and through the house. It was empty now. It was probably safe to assume that Keeley and Roy had asked the rest of the party to leave prior to returning outside.

It wasn’t until you got to the door to the front yard that you noticed that Jamie had gotten up and followed you inside. Pulling your hand away from the doorknob, you turned to look at him. His hands were behind his back, and he looked down at the floor, seeming to become bashful underneath your hard stare.

“Sorry, I-” He swallowed. “I thought it would look weird if I just let you leave.” You glanced around the room for a moment, gathering your thoughts.

“Roy is right,” You told him. “This is so weird. We go from never speaking to suddenly, we’re together? A couple?” Your shoulders flew up in an intense shrug before falling down once more. “It doesn’t make sense, Jamie. We have to-” You sighed as you stared at his crestfallen face. “We have to tell them the truth. Or say we ended it. This is insane. Expecting me to go along with this is insane.” 

You turned to leave, ignoring him when he called after you. 

The tears began the second you were in your car. The drive wasn’t long, but it sure felt like it was when you were crying the whole way there. Every light seemed to turn red, which upset you even further. By the time you pulled into your driveway, you placed your head on the steering wheel and let it all out. The hyperventilating was intense, so intense that you were having a hard time getting it under control.

You hadn’t been touched like that since…

No.

You wouldn’t do Jamie the disrespect of comparing him to that.

Still, the feeling of it was so disarming. Your hand went to your neck, rubbing at the skin in an attempt to get the burning to subside. 

Fucking worthless, ain’t you?

You rushed inside, fumbling with your keys through your shaky hands. Before you knew it, you were running to the bathroom, throwing the shower on and tossing your clothes on the floor. Your hands went right for the soap and the cloth, immediately lathering yourself up to try and wash away the memory of the hands on your skin. 

Not Jamie’s, anyway.

Just the memories his touch brought back.

You must’ve scrubbed three or four times before your skin stopped burning. Even still, you stayed under the hot water, pressing your forehead against the shower tile. 

It was clear now that this game with Jamie had to end.

If this was how you reacted to a fake relationship, how could you ever again handle a real one?

~

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#jamie tartt #jamie tartt x reader #jamie tartt fanfiction #jamie tartt imagine #tedlassosource