#like a good qb does with a good football throw OKAY?? this is FOOTBALL ! ! OKAY ‼️‼️

[mister-supernova]

Trust In Me

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5

Pairing: Hope Mikaelson x Reader

“You’re joking. You’re telling me, ME,--your oh so dearest best friend in this universe--that you’re not going to help us play against the Timberwolves even though you’re a freaking tribrid? You have all the powerups you can get and you’re choosing not to use them! What kind of madness is that, Marshall?”

“Professor Saltzman doesn’t let any of you use your abilities anyways, so there’s no real point in me helping the team, is there?”

You feel your eyes roll so far back you're surprised they didn’t fall out, “Come on! Do you have any idea what kind of badass duo we’d be out there?”

“Nope and I don’t intend on finding-”

“We’d be unstoppable! Those asshat Timberwolves won’t know what hit them on that field! You have to play at least one game while you’re at school here! Please!”

Hope responds to your argument with silence and a look on her face that you clearly read as, I’m not playing no matter how much you beg.

You knew there wasn’t any way of getting through to her thick skin, so you accepted your defeat. “Okay, fine,” you huff, taking a seat right next to Hope at the edge of your bed, “You’re still going to cheer me on though, right? I mean, it’s the least you could do.”

She takes an agonizingly long time thinking of her answer while looking at the hopeful ‘puppy dog’ look in your eyes. The longer she took, the bigger you made your eyes which eventually broke Hope into giving you a heartwarming smile, “Yes, I’ll be silently cheering you on.”

You smile back, “That’s all I need, Marshall.”

The alarm tone from your phone jolts you awake from another one of your vivid dreams. After meeting Hope outside the Grill the other night, your dreams have become more realistic than ever before.

They’re almost beginning to feel too real. Maybe the clarification of you knowing Hope is real influenced your brain into putting her into more lifelike dream scenarios.

It didn’t surprise you that the topic of conversation in the dream was about the annual Stallions versus Timberwolves game since it’s happening today. Even though your team has been notorious for losing on purpose every single year, you still liked the not-so-friendly competition between the rival schools.

At this morning's assembly, you were happy to hear your new headmaster’s announcement about banning the ‘throw the game’ rule. Josie seemed to be the only teammate who was hesitant about the sudden change, but everyone else was ecstatic.

The thing that threw you off the most during the assembly was Vardamus assigning Landon as the quarterback. See, you loved the guy and he’s one of your good friends here at the school, but you know damn well that his athletic ability is as good as a decapitated zombie--on either half--and even that was saying much.

You weren’t just saying this to bash on your friend because he was proving your analysis of him correct on the field as the team was warming up. You and Josie were helplessly trying to help him catch the ball after a snap.

Thankfully she has more patience with Landon than you because at this rate it didn’t look like you guys were winning this game either.

“Sorry. Foster care didn’t have a football team.” Landon grumbles after having the ball bounce off his chest.

“At least you didn’t let it hit you in the face this time,” you shrug, earning a searing glare from Josie, “I’ll go warm up over here now.”

You quickly excused yourself and ended up jogging over to Lizzie who was sitting on the bench with a stack of books by her side. First, Landon is your quarterback for the day and now you see Lizzie reading right now instead of warming up.

“What’s going on here? I thought you’d be pissed at Vardamus for giving Landon your QB spot.”

“I’m on a different kind of mission today, Y/n,” she says as you watch her flip through a book of monsters and that gives you the information you needed to know what this was about.

Coincidentally enough, Lizzie also met a new and mysterious stranger the same day you met Hope. The two of you bonded for the past few days over your slightly similar situations which you felt was very weird but also kind of cool.

“There’s no way Sebastian is like us and I’m determined to figure out just what he is.”

“And you couldn’t do this--hm, I don’t know--after the game today?” You ask in urgency for her to play today, “I mean, seriously Lizzie, this could be huge for us.”

“What’s wrong with Landon being your QB?”

Your eyes widen in shock, “Are you kidding? Just look at him!”

The both of you direct your attention to Landon on the field as Josie hands him the football. You prepare yourself for disaster as he winds his arm back, but then you find yourself proven wrong as you watch the distance the ball was being thrown. It seemed to soar through the sky for what felt like hours before bouncing off of a window from the Timberwolves’ bus.

“Looks like he has the magic touch now,” Lizzie says knowingly before returning to her book while you continue to stare at the bus in shock.

Right before you decided it was the best time to look away, a familiar someone seems to catch your eye instead. Walking down the steps of your rival school’s bus was none other than Hope Marshall.

“No way,” you muttered to yourself, unsure if you should be happy to see her again or concerned that she’s on the team you’re playing against.

Absentmindedly, you slowly started drifting away from your spot by Lizzie and felt yourself being pulled in Hope’s direction. You had to get closer to clarify that she was who you were seeing and not some sick mirage you’ve created in your brain.

“L/n!” Dorian jumps in front of you, breaking your trance and blocking your path towards the opposing team, “Save any trash talk for the game. I don’t need you picking a fight with the other players before we even start.”

You had built yourself a reputation for these annual games and were known for getting kicked out due to foul plays off the field, “But Mr. Williams I was just-”

“That’s Coach Williams today, L/n. Back to your side. Go on!” He rushes you away and though you are strong enough to push past him, you’d rather play then be a benchwarmer for the rest of the day.

An annoyed growl rumbles in the back of your throat as you try to catch one more glimpse of Hope, but you were blocked by Dorian’s clipboard.

Josie can clearly see the longing anticipation in your eyes as you join your team’s side of the field. You looked like a lost kid in a mall looking for their parents, “Everything okay, Y/n?”

“Do you remember those drawings from my sketchbook this summer? The ones of that girl, but all you can really see are her eyes and hair?” You ask her in a hushed voice.

She nods, “Yeah, the one you said you’ve been seeing in your dreams.”

“Okay, well I met her the night of our first day back at school. She’s real and she’s here with the Timberwolves,” Josie furrows her eyebrows at you.

“So you met her before your dreams?”

“No. That’s the thing, I’ve never seen her in town before the other night and after all my dreams. I know for damn sure that I’d remember her being on our rival school’s football team given how many times I’ve tried kicking their asses every year.”

“Maybe she’s a new student this year? You very well could’ve seen her at the Grill this summer without even realizing it. Our brains only need to see a face once for them to show up in our dreams.”

“Josie, I swear on everything in my life that it’s-”

The referee’s whistle rings your ears as he calls for everyone’s attention, “Stallions! Timberwolves! Both teams meet in the middle for the coin toss!”

You and Josie sigh knowing that you’d have to put a pin in this conversation, “You ready?” She asks.

You nod, doing a few quick stretches since you didn’t get a lot of warm up time and to prepare yourself for seeing Hope again, “Yeah. Let’s do this.”

A wave of excitement filled your chest as you walked with Josie towards the middle of the field. The bashful smile on your face was hard to contain once your eyes landed back on Hope who you could clarify was very much real and very much here in front of you once more.

“Oh, wow,” Josie mutters with surprise from beside you.

“I told you I liked my chances, Marshall,” you smirk, gaining a small tight lipped smile from Hope in return.

“I guess today was your lucky day, then. Not for long, though,” she challenged, playfully squinting her eyes at you.

You lean your body slightly forward with a confident grin, “We’ll see about that.”

Your teammates share a confused look at the interaction they were witnessing between you two. “I see you’re... familiar with each other,” Hope’s teammate chimes in.

With a shrug you say, “We’re practically married. Isn’t that right, Marshall?”

Hope shakes her head at you, biting her lip to keep her mouth shut long enough for Vardamus to stand between your two teams and break your friendly banter.

With a little sprinkle of magic from Josie, your team won the coin toss with ease so the Stallions would be receiving the ball at the start.

“Okay, what was that?” Josie asks as the two of you walk back to your side of the field.

“What? Did you want me to call heads instead?”

“No! Not that. You and that girl.”

“I told you we met the other night,” you shrug, “and her name is Hope for your information.”

“That was not an interaction from two people who’ve only had one conversation, Y/n. Not to mention she really does look like the girl from your drawings. Are you sure you haven’t met before?”

“That’s what I was telling you and yes, I’m positive that I’ve never interacted with her prior to the other night. You think that if I hadn’t seen or met her at the Grill during the summer that we wouldn’t be best friends by now?”

“Well, you could’ve fooled me! I know you’re labeled as the social butterfly and all, but that must’ve been some long conversation if that’s how you’re acting around each other.”

You pause to think about it for a moment, “Actually it was only about ten minutes.”

“WHAT?!”

The conversation was cut short by the sound of the ref’s whistle signaling you all to line up for kickoff. You jog away to your position before Josie can interrogate you any longer and wait for the game to begin.

Stallions were able to use magic to their advantage and gain points within the first play which was something you never thought you’d see during your time here. As everyone repositions into defense, you notice that Hope is the quarterback for the Timberwolves.

“Okay, Y/n. I’m about to suggest something you may or may not like,” Josie says from next to you.

“Don’t worry, I got the QB,” you grin, gaining Hope’s attention. She notices the mischievous look in your eyes and almost looks as if she knows what you’re up to, making her a little nervous.

“Like it is, I guess,” Jo huffs.

Once the football reached Hope’s hands, you made a b-line towards her, quick to avoid any other players who were blocking your way. Careful not to crush her during the fall, you took Hope by the waist and spun the both of you to the ground.

Your tackle didn’t do much good given that she was still able to pass the ball. Whether it got to her teammate or not you weren’t too sure of at the moment because Hope’s body was literally tangled with yours.

With her one hand against your chest and the other keeping her propped up on the grass, Hope’s face was almost an inch away from you. Feeling her breathing heavily on your face, you oddly felt like you’ve been in this exact position before.

“Bet you enjoyed doing that, huh?” Hope speaks up, getting you to huff out a chuckle.

“Well it wasn’t the preferred way I wanted to take you out, per say, but a little bit, yeah,” you smile, getting her to laugh in return.

Being in this position with someone you’ve talked to so briefly should feel awkward, but for whatever reason it just felt right. If it weren’t for the fact that you were playing in a football match, you’d probably want to stay like this for a while longer.

Suddenly, Hope’s eyes widen as she quickly rolls off you and begins wincing in pain while grabbing at her ankle.

“Are you okay?” You ask while sitting up.

“Ah, I don’t know. I-I think it’s sprained,” she lightly groans, scrunching up her face.

“Shit, Marshall. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize that I-” you shake your head, pushing yourself to your feet before reaching out to help Hope up, “here, I can help take you to the nurse if you want.”

“It’s okay. I can find it,” she shakes her head and she takes note of the worried look in your eye knowing that you had hurt her, “Hey, seriously Y/n, it’s fine. I’ll be okay.” Hope squeezes your arm and gives you a reassuring look before limping off the field.

You watched as she walked away, furrowing your eyebrows in confusion. You were sure that you were careful while pulling her to the ground. Hope didn’t seem to be in any sort of pain for the first few seconds after tackling her.

“You know she faked her injury right?” Josie pops in out of nowhere, making your heart nearly burst out of your chest.

“Jesus, Jo,” you take a deep breath before taking in her inquisition, “And you think so?”

“Yeah and I don’t know why, but maybe you should keep an eye on her.”

“Why? Do you think she’ll steal some snacks from the kitchen?” You jokingly ask.

“Well, you started having dreams of her after Malivore was destroyed and now she seems to be oddly gravitated to this town and our school. I’m just saying that you should be a little more careful about trusting her so fast.”

Though you haven’t felt anything off-putting about Hope, Josie had an annoyingly excellent point. “I guess I’m on watch duty, then. Find a sub for me.”

It was shocking to see that Hope had gotten so far ahead of you that you weren’t even in running distance from her. Oddly fishy for someone who just sprained their ankle. Even as you walked into the school, there was no sign of her in the halls or the nurse’s office.

There was one thing that stuck out--a familiar scent that you had smelled in that vacant dorm room this summer. Only this time it was a lot stronger than when you first caught it.

Out of curiosity, you followed the smell just to see if it would lead you anywhere. Crazily enough, it didn’t take you to the vacant room like you thought it would, but to Landon and Raf’s dorm room instead.

Your eyes widen to the size of saucers when you see Hope sitting cross-legged in front of a map that she was currently dripping her own blood onto.

“Hope?”

She quickly turns around and stands, startled by the sound of your voice, “Y/n! Uh, I um, this isn’t what it--”

“Isn’t what it looks like? Right. Well, it looks like you faked an injury to sneak into the school. It looks like you forgot to mention you were a witch the other night. It also looks like you’re doing a locator spell in my missing friend’s room.”

Hope remains silent for a couple of seconds, almost taken back by the passive way you were speaking to her, “Okay, maybe it’s exactly what it looks like.”

You huff out a sigh in disbelief, letting Josie’s suspicions about Hope sink into your head now.

“I’m not here to hurt you or anyone else here, Y/n. I promise, I’m trying to help. Dr. Saltzman asked me to do a locator spell on Rafael so that I can help him return to his human form.”

You give her a questioning look, “We’ve been looking for a way to turn him back for months now. What makes you think you can?”

“Because I know more about the Crescent Wolf Clan than anyone else here.”

You raise a brow, “That wolf pack in New Orleans? If you know so much about it, wouldn’t that make you a…” then the realization sets in.

Hope sees that you’re still skeptical, “Look, I can’t explain everything right now, but I really need you to trust me, Y/n.”

Most of the context clues told you that trusting someone you’ve only known for less than a day was a terrible, terrible idea, but your heart wouldn’t let you believe that.

As much as you shouldn’t, you trusted Hope more than anything.

You exhale, “Okay, Marshall. I’m trusting you. Is there anything you need me to do?”

Hope gives you a grateful smile, “Keep an eye on Landon. There’s a werewolf-eating monster out in the woods and I have no idea if it will be after him, too,” she says, walking past you and into the hallway.

Again, you’re confused with even more new information, “Wait, there’s a what in the woods? And how do you know the monster would be after Landon?” Hope ignores your questions, continuing to speed walk in front of you, “Marshall!”

A lot of events took place within the next couple of hours. You did as Hope asked and watched Landon back at the game which seemed pretty boring at first.

Josie took you by surprise as you witnessed her break another player’s arm with a spell mid-play, but to be fair it didn’t look like she realized what she was doing until the damage was done.

If that wasn't physically violent enough, there was a huge mosh fight between both schools after the game was over. You tried getting out of the crossfire because the last thing you needed was detention for being involved in something you didn’t mean to be a part of.

That didn’t go as planned seeing as one of the Timberwolves was able to punch a mean hook on your right cheek before you could scramble out of there. Most of the redness faded by the end of the night, but it was still a little sore whenever you poked at it.

Hope was able to return Raf back to his human form just like she said she would. He explained how this “mysterious girl” saved his life then you and your friends gave him a warm welcome back to humanity.

After cleaning yourself up, you snuck out of the school’s building to find Hope sitting out at one of the piers where she told you to meet her before parting ways earlier.

You could tell she had cleaned up as well judging by the change of clothes and seeing that her hair was no longer tied up in braids, but now flowing down over her shoulders.

“Well, today was eventful, huh?” You speak up, groaning as you take a seat next to her.

“Oh, my God. Y/n, your face!” Hope exclaims.

“You know you can just call me ugly, Marshall. There’s no need for you to act all aghast about it.” You tease.

“No, I mean the gash on your cheek.” She reaches for your face to observe your wound more clearly.

You let her lightly trace along the edge of the bump, almost unfazed by the contact, “Oh right, that.”

“What kind of altercation did you get yourself into?”

You scoff, looking more hurt by the question rather than the punch to your face, “Bold of you to assume it was me who initiated the altercation, Marshall.”

“Well, you just seem like the type is all.” She looks at you with a teasing look in her eyes.

“What a kind and accurate assumption you have of me there, but for the record I wasn’t the one who started the fight. Everyone just started going at each other after the game and I got caught in the crossfire.”

There’s a very noticeable shift in Hope’s mood and you can tell that she was genuinely worried about you getting hurt. All she could think about was the last time you were caught in the crossfire and how it nearly cost you your life. You didn’t know that, of course, but you felt the need to reassure her.

“You’re cute when you’re worried, Marshall, but I’m fine. I promise, a punch to the face is like a slap on the wrist. You should know the healing process is quite fast for a werewolf.” You give her a knowing look.

Hope’s eyes widen in realization, making her finally pull her hand away from your face. “You caught onto that, huh?”

“I figured it out once you mentioned the Crescent Wolves. Raf only confirmed it when he explained how this mysterious werewitch saved his life,” Hope looks down at her lap looking like a kid who got caught in a lie, “Thank you, by the way. For bringing my friend back.”

She meets your gaze again, giving you a tight lipped smile, “You’re welcome.”

“You know it’s too bad you didn’t have me helping you out there. Given that we’ve got a pretty good thing going on here, we could’ve made a badass team.”

“You got punched in the face by a human. How do you think you would’ve stood against a monster that actively wanted to kill you?”

“That’s the whole point of being a team. One runs around failing miserably while the other pulls the weight.”

Hope scrunches her eyebrows together, “That’s literally not what being a team is supposed to be like at all.”

“Seriously?” You ask cluelessly, “Damn, well I guess I’ve been doing it wrong all this time.”

She laughs and for the first time you notice the way her eyes squint together when she really lets herself smile. It sparked a feeling in you that you hadn’t felt before.

“You’re just full of surprises today, aren’t you, Marshall?” You speak up in a playful tone, lightly bumping her shoulder, “Has our 24-hour friendship meant nothing to you? I mean, seriously, how could you not tell me you were a hybrid?”

Hope gives you an appalled scoff, “You didn’t tell me you were a werewolf. Looks like we both hid something from each other last night.”

You stare at her for a second, squinting your eyes as you analyze her, “Hmm. Touche, Marshall.”

She lets out another laugh and this time you swear you can feel your heart begin to grow.

Gosh, she’s really beautiful.

You wished you could say the words aloud. Part of you was surprised that you couldn’t given how bold you’ve been with Hope regardless of the little amount of time you’ve known her.

As much as you wanted to make some sort of move now, you felt you had to draw the line somewhere.

“Y/n, you’re staring.” Hope tells you in a voice that was just above a whisper.

You blink yourself back to reality, “Sorry,” you say with your voice just as hushed, “It’s just that… I think…” For the first time in your life you have no idea what to say. No witty comment or dumb remark.

You searched her deep blue eyes for an answer you couldn’t find. If anything you felt even more lost the longer you looked into them.

I really want to kiss you right now. Your mouth was open, but no words were willing to come out.

For a second you swore you saw Hope begin to lean forward, but the moment ended rather abruptly thanks to your cell phone ringer.

“Jesus,” you flinch yourself back into reality once again before picking up the phone, “Hello?”

“Y/n, where the hell are you? Vardamus has done a room check twice now and says you haven’t been answering your door.” Lizzie frantically asks you.

“I’ll be there in a second. Just cover for me if he’s still lurking in the halls and tell him I’m knocked out from today’s game.”

“Fine, just hurry your ass up!” She whisper-shouts before hanging up.

You let out a deep and exaggerated sigh, “Well, fun’s over, Marshall,” you grin sadly, “It’s pumpkin time.”

She returns a soft smile back at you, “I guess this is goodbye.”

“I’ll only say goodbye if it means we’re gonna say hello again,” you tell her as you rise to your feet.

“Well, then let's not say goodbye,” she says while you help her up, “Maybe if we just say goodnight instead, that's gotta mean we'll see each other again.”

You look down at her with a smirk, “That's all I need, Marshall.”

Hope rolls her eyes with a smile she couldn't contain. Just when you thought she’d walk away, she takes you by surprise as she presses a small kiss on your wounded cheek, “Goodnight, Y/n.”

You bite the sides of your cheeks to keep your smirk from turning into the goofiest looking smile you could possibly imagine, “Goodnight, Hope,” you say, finally turning back to make your way towards the school.

At this point, you couldn’t tell if the heat in your face was from the kiss or the punch.

~

taglist: @chicken-wang09 @trikruismybitch @sodangtired @idek-5

heyooo i know it's been a minute, but i hope you enjoyed this slightly longer chapter... again, i can't say how long it'll be until part 7 but i'll get to working on it as soon as possible! thanks for all your love and support for this series everyone, it really means a lot to me <3

#hope mikaelson #hope mikaelson x reader #hope mikaelson imagine #legacies #legacies cw #legacies imagine #legacies x reader

[ohpretty-baby]

my babysitter’s a quarterback • jjk

⇥ pairing: qb!jungkook x cheerleader!reader

⇥ side pairing: namseok

⇥ synopsis: after getting cheated on by the star of the hockey team, park jimin, your life (as expected) goes downhill. what you don’t expect is your parents being skeptical of whether or not you’re a good older sibling for your sister. you also don’t expect them to call jeon jungkook—the person you hate most—to babysit the two of you.

or, alternatively: jungkook babysits you even though the two of you are the same age.

⇥ genre: fluff, crackfic, angst, e2l, jungkook is stupid, jimin’s an asshole, hoseok’s a sweetie, namjoon is also a sweetie, reader is Stressed, pining, mutual pining

⇥ warnings: cursing, crude humor, mentions of cheating, divorce

⇥ word count: 30.0k

based off a request for @fan-ati--c​ (i hope you like it dear!)

a/n: hi everyone!!! this is my first ever lengthy fic, so pls have mercy on me. i had a lotta fun writing this, so i hope you guys enjoy!!!! much much much much MUCH love <333 (feel free to give feedback and your opinions!)

“Y/N, what has gotten into you?” Your mom gently places the tip of her fork on her plate, folding her hands together. Her words are stern, but she doesn’t raise her voice in order to save face. The air at the dinner table is dense and heavy on you, and the fact that your father and your little sister, Clementine, seem to have their eyes glued on you doesn’t help either. Clementine sniffles and the sound makes your blood boil.

You sigh, looking up from your phone to shoot a glare to your mother. You also send a glance of distaste towards your sister, which allows you to get a quick sight of her puffy eyes and runny nose. The prongs of your fork are poking your lips while you lazily chew the spaghetti stuffed in your mouth. Shrugging, you place your phone and the fork down, folding your hands in order to mirror your mom seated in front of you.

You stay silent, lips pressed tightly into a thin line, because you know she has more to say.

“Darling, you’re being extremely immature,” Your mom always had to give it to you straight, “You know that Clementine didn’t mean to upset you.”

As always, your mother is articulate and sharp when she speaks. Not once does she stutter, and after being her daughter for 17 years, you’re not entirely sure if she’s ever stumbled on her words before in her entire life. It’s indicative of her personality: intelligent, quick-witted, skilled, yet unbelievably blunt. From the way her patients praise her for constantly being compassionate and kind, you often wonder if your mom really is a psychiatrist or if she’s hired a clone to work in her stead.

It’s not that you hated your mom. You loved her dearly, as you did with the rest of your family. The reason why you seemed to always butt heads with her, though, is simply because you have a little too much in common with her (personality-wise). Your dad’s always said that you were a carbon copy of your mother, after all.

“All I’m asking is that Clem asks me if she can use my makeup,” You cough, a few bits of the noodles going down the wrong pipe, “You, of all people, mom, know how expensive lipstick can be. I need that for football games.”

It’s not a clear statistic, but it is a pretty solid fact. You always use facts in order to back up your arguments, just so that your parents can’t say anything in response. Sometimes it works. You’re still waiting for the day when you have something impactful to use.

“Well, you know that when she sees you getting all pretty,” She taps her fingers on the wooden table, “She wants to do the same, and as the-“

“As the older sister, I have to share,” You roll your eyes, and you shift your focus on Clementine, “Sorry, ok? I won’t get so mad next time.”

“Clementine, what do you say?”

“It’s ok,” She sniffles, wiping her eyes.

“No, dear. What do you say?”

“I forgive you, Y/N.”

You bite back the sarcastic comments you’re dying to say, opting to stuff your mouth with spaghetti instead. The rest of your family starts eating as well, and you keep your head low to avoid making eye contact with your sister. You love her with almost every bone in your body, but right now, you can’t tell if you want to throw your food at her or slap her with your ceramic plate.

Today, she took it upon herself to go through your makeup bag and steal one of your (again, highly expensive) lipsticks so she could slice it with a butterknife purely out of boredom. This all happened while you were taking a bath, and when you got into your room, you saw her sitting at your desk, lipstick chunks spread all over one of your old math notebooks. So of course, you yelled at her.

Then she cried. Then your mom made you apologize because you were upset that she wrongfully went through your stuff without permission. But that’s really how things have always been, ever since you were 5 years old and Clementine was just born. You’ve grown up constantly taking the blame for Clementine’s wrongdoings. It’s just how things work in your household, because your parents genuinely believe that she could do no wrong.

Apparently, being 12 gave you lots of perks.

“Y/N?” Your mother’s voice brings you out of your thoughts, “Y/N, listen to me when I speak to you.”

“Sorry, what’d you say?” You don’t care about matching your mom’s formality anymore, your cheek puffed up with more food.

“I was asking you how your day was.”

“Oh, just wonderful. Fantastic. Dandy,” You snap back, not really aware of what you’re saying as your words fly out of your mouth.

“What’s with your attitude, young lady?” She scoffs, then pauses a bit before speaking again, “Listen, I know that it’s tough, having to see Jimin-“

You slam your hands on the table, standing up. Your chair screeches awkwardly against the wood flooring of the dining room. Swallowing down the rest of your food, you try to soothe the hard lump forming in your throat.

“Do not try to analyze me. I’m not one of your patients. There’s nothing you need to fix about me, got it?” You raise your voice, staring her dead in the eye, “I just had a shit week and I very much do not need you to try and pinpoint whatever’s going on in my head.”

Your mother gasps, and only now does your dad decide to speak.

“Young lady, go to your room right now,” His words fall flat, and you scoff at him.

Your parents were complete opposites. If your mother was over analytical, your father could never read the room. Not because he was dumb, per say, but because he was always in his own little world. He always responded a little too late, felt things a second after they should be felt. That’s just how your dad thinks. He doesn’t mean to be mentally absent when all of you were at home, but he’s always been preoccupied with his work. That’s a big thing you’ve admired about your dad, how easily he can focus on one thing and ignore the rest. It’s one of the main reasons why he was so successful as an architect. Growing up, you would stay up past your bedtime just so you could be with him in his office. You’d watch how he could just sit down and create a multitude of building designs without getting distracted.

By the way he looks at you with a flash of guilt in his eyes, you can tell that he’s the only one that gets your reasoning. You can also tell that he knows how wrong it is for your mom to bring up your ex-boyfriend during dinner.

But because he wants to uphold his “authoritative” figure, he needs to “put his foot down”.

“I was planning on it anyway, thanks,” You grumble, storming off.

Once you reach your room, you slam the door—purely for dramatic effect. You throw yourself on the bed, getting out your phone and doing the first thing that pops into your head. You call Hoseok and he answers right away. A smile flashes on your face as you feel some relief from your anger.

“Hello?”

Jung Hoseok has been your best friend ever since you first stepped into your hellhole of a high school building. He was your saving grace. The only thing that kept you sane.

When you joined the Monarchs, the cheerleading squad of your school, Hoseok was the only person who talked to you during practice, even if he was a year older than you. An infamous characteristic of his is his big smile. His lips always resembled a widened heart, and he showed off his pearly whites wherever he went, exuding happiness that was extremely contagious. And if his smile was big, his heart was even bigger.

You know this because Hoseok immediately asks you “Is everything okay?” when he hears your shaky breath over the line.

You explain to him what had happened seconds prior to this phone call. Then your conversation spirals into you ranting about how your parents have been telling you that you’ve been a terrible sibling. It’s something insulting to hear, knowing that they’ve always made you take the blame for everything your sister does. It hurts even more that they can’t acknowledge the fact that getting through a breakup is hard for a 17 year old girl. They couldn’t even cut you some slack.

A pang of guilt hits you when you relay everything you’ve said to your sister over to Hoseok. Maybe you were somewhat in the wrong here. But could you blame yourself? You were going through a hard time, and it’s not unusual for someone who’s stressed to act out. Not to mention when the stressor is heartbreak.

During the beginning of September, you found Park Jimin, your past boyfriend of one year, and some other Sophomore on the cheer team making out in his car afterschool. It was now the end of October, but the memory haunts you in your every waking moment. The image of another girl pressed up on him, her skirt hiked up high enough so that you could see her spandex, flashes in your mind. In your head, you see Jimin running her hands all over the girl’s skin, purple splotches blooming on her neck and on his.

You shut your eyes, rubbing them violently as you try to ignore the painful truth: If you hadn’t decided to surprise him with some brownies you made for him that day, they would’ve done a lot more than just making out.

The notion makes tears prick your eyes, the familiar sting returning. You had been crying almost every night. Everytime you close your eyes, the same image of him and that girl appears and you can’t get rid of it at all.

You’re about to break down again, and Hoseok talks you through it. He allows you to vent, to let everything out, and he promises that the two of you will hang out after tomorrow’s practice. It gives you relief, something to look forward to at the end of the next school day. Tomorrow was Friday after all, and like you said before to your mom, your week was shit.

There had to be at least one good thing you could have this week.

That statement is short lived, however, because instead of sitting with Hoseok at your favorite diner with a strawberry milkshake in front of you, you’re sitting at your dinner table yet again, poking at pizza with a plastic fork. You stare at the grease stains on your paper plate in disgust, as the dining room is so silent you can practically hear the small ticks of the red second hand of the clock on the wall. 

What a great way to start the weekend. Friendless, boyfriend-less, and miserable. You look up from the greasy mess before you to shoot a glare to the person in front of you.

“Why the hell are you here?” are your first words to the boy.

“Your parents called me?” He responds, mimicking your questioning tone. You scoff at him.

Jeon Jungkook. The cocky, annoying as fuck quarterback on the football team who coincidentally sits behind you in Pre-Calc everyday is now sitting across from you at your dinner table. The boy who breaks off pieces of eraser chunks and throws them at your head just to annoy you while the teacher is giving a lesson. The kid who kicks your chair at least five times every single day just because he has fun getting a rise out of you.

You don’t know how exactly your hatred for him began, but it definitely started when you first became a cheerleader.

Popularity was never something that came easily to you. Many people don’t remember, but in Freshman year, the only time your class knew of you was when your name was called for attendance. You didn’t play any sports, nor did you participate in theatre or had any musical talents whatsoever. You were simply just, there.

This all changed when your mom suggested cheerleading. You did have a few years of solid gymnastic experience and you really had nothing better to do, so you decided to take the opportunity to sign up for tryouts.

It was hard, and you slipped up a lot of times, but the coaches saw potential in you. They told you that you’ve really got drive, and they praised you for continuing to get up and perfectly following directions when they asked you to execute an especially hard move. Eventually, you were accepted and once you had more time to practice, you had gotten the hang of cheerleading quite quickly. You ended up falling in love with the sport, working hard both on and off the field. You always got constant praise for your willingness to learn new things.

And with your new success on the team, you gained a reputation for yourself.

When, exactly, did Jungkook join the picture?

You’re not sure. He kind of forced himself in.

One day, you weren’t at your usual best. The sun was beating down on you harshly, which didn’t make things any better. The football team had been practicing with you guys, and it was obvious that many of the boys were ogling at the cheerleaders. They would nudge each, looking suggestively at the girls while whispering crude comments about them.

Jungkook, being the youngest and most energetic one on the team, had other ideas in mind. You see, he lived quite loudly and he was… Eccentric, to say the least.

His eyes were focused on the cheerleaders, pinpointing at anything that would be of use to him. He peered around intently, looking for any mess ups or mistakes that they had made. He would have made fun of anyone, really. Jungkook didn’t know much about the girls on the squad, so he really had no problem using their flaws to his benefits. He wanted to make his own team laugh, and that in itself was justification enough for Jungkook.

It was just unfortunate that you were his target.

Once he saw you topple over on the ground, he was ready.

“Hey, thunder thighs! Be careful out there!”

After that, you heard nothing but boisterous laughter from the football players. It was an immature insult, one ridiculous enough to enrage you. You wished you could’ve ran over to the other side of the field and just punched him the gut, right then and there. But his own coach and grabbed him by the ear, dragging him towards you so he could apologize.

It was a lame apology, and you could tell that he was trying everything in his absolute power to bite back the laugh he was holding in. You would've said something about it, but since Jungkook was more built than you and there were authorities present, you reluctantly accepted the apology, choosing to go on with your practice instead of letting it get to you.

And after that day, Jungkook has made it his goal to torment you whenever he sees you. Since he sits behind you in Pre-Calc now, that’s become his job every day.

Jungkook was taller than Jimin. He was a pretty attractive football player, too. You would give him at least that. But he was meaner than Jimin. A bigger asshole than Jimin. More annoying than Jimin could ever be.

Literally any good quality that you thought you could find in a guy, Jeon Jungkook did not possess it. Any kindness, sympathy, or even general decency in his heart was nowhere to be found.

He had messy brown hair, a smug grin on his face that you’d love to punch, and a lean body that you wish had gone cripple. Confidence wasn’t something that he had a lack of. In fact, Jungkook’s cup overfloweth with so much confidence to the point where describing him as merely confident would be a misdeed.

Narcissistic was the word. He was extremely narcissistic and obsessed with himself, which was indicative of the daily gym snaps he’d post on his Snapchat story. He was everything that disgusted you about guys combined and turned human.

Jungkook’s very presence could set you off, and you know that he lives off of that.

This is no different from your Friday night, as he’s gnawing on pizza right in your own damn house. He’s scrolling through his phone and you’re staring at him in disgust, while Clementine has already eaten and is now sitting on the couch, curled up with some sci-fi book she got from the store last week. Taking in his appearance, you inwardly cringe when you notice him lick the oil that has found itself on his fingers.

“There’s a napkin right next to you.”

“That would be a waste of paper,” Jungkook responds, licking away the last remnant of oil and marinara sauce on his thumb, “Gotta be eco-friendly, y’know?”

He wiggles his fingers at you, his infamous shit-eating grin appearing yet again. You hate the way his mouth tugs up to the right a little bit, how his eyes gleam mischievously since he’s so full of himself. If Clementine wasn’t in the house right now, you’re certain that Jungkook would’ve been on the floor, knocked out. You would’ve hit him with a frying pan, like in that one Disney movie Clementine loved so much. Or you would’ve hit him with your Pre-Calc textbook. That shit was heavy. You could knock him out cold with that. Give him a taste of his own medicine.

You roll your eyes at him, saying nothing and eating the rest of your pizza. You make a mental note to ask your parents why the fuck they thought it was a good idea to call over Jungkook on a Friday night.

But you know the answer to that already. They seem to believe that you haven’t been “responsible” enough for Clementine, which is weird, knowing that you’ve practically raised her all her life. Your parents have always been too busy to spend enough quality time with her, save for when they defend her at dinnertime.

So instead of having a civil conversation with you—or even asking if you were doing alright—they decided (without your permission) that a babysitter would be the best option for your little sister. And you still had to stay at home tonight because your mom asked you to “see if the babysitter is okay for Clementine”.

You’re not sure where the logic was in your parents’ thought process, but you did feel bad about your sister. She had warmed up to you a little bit after yesterday, but you know that she’ll stay closed off for a while. Not only to you, but to everyone else. You wish that your parents had known that. If they did, they’d be able to get that you’re probably the best babysitter for her. But no, they had to invite Jungkook over, someone who’s boisterous and annoying, and they probably expect Clementine to get along with him just fine. (And also, what had even compelled him to start a career in babysitting?)

So you decide to stay, just so she won’t be scared of being in her own house. You have been hard on her for a little bit after all, getting irrational and moody whenever she talks to you. It’s the least you could do for her. Despite everything, you still did really love her. 

She was your sister, for goodness sake!

“Hey, just a reminder,” Jungkook’s at your trash can, throwing away his plate, “Your bedtime’s at 10 tonight.”

It’s a stupid statement, and both of you are aware that the rules are for your sister. You can’t help but feel yourself heat up, though, when he sends a wink your way.

“That’s for my sister, you dumb fu-“

Your obvious response and insult combo is interrupted when you find Clementine standing in the doorway.

“Y/N?” Her voice is timid, shy, and her head hangs low when she speaks. She doesn’t like how there’s some random stranger in the kitchen.

“Yes?”

“Can we play Telestrations?” She keeps her eyes on you, and you feel yourself soften. It’s been a little bit since the two of you played anything together.

“Mind if I join in?” Jungkook says before you can actually respond to her. He shoves his hands in the pockets of his sweatpants, and Clementine blinks at him, stunned. All she does is nod, too afraid to verbally respond to your classmate.

You’re also stunned by his sudden change in demeanor. His cocky aura is replaced with a soft tone, smiling brightly at Clementine instead of smirking at you. He walks over to her, asking her where the board game is. She mumbles something quietly, something only Jungkook can hear, and he responds with an even more enthusiastic grin. He turns to you before they make their way back to the living room.

“You coming, or…?”

So that’s how you find yourself at your coffee table with your little sister and the most annoying person you’ve met in your entire life, getting ready to play a round of Telestrations.

All you can say is that your night definitely isn’t going the way you planned at all.

He’s sitting criss cross applesauce on the carpet, extremely relaxed as you pass out the cards, the drawing pads, and the dry erase markers. You try to hide the scowl you oh so desperately want to show, but if Clementine sees you upset with him, she’ll definitely feel less safe with him.

You don’t know why you’re defending him, but here you are, attempting to be civil with him just to make sure your sister doesn’t feel as threatened as you do. You try your best not to start any fights with him, either. You’ve heard enough about people calling you a bitch at school. Ever since you broke up with Jimin, you’ve somehow been deemed the psychotic ex by all of your peers, because how could Jimin possibly do anything wrong?

You can’t tell what’s worse: the fact that everyone says you’re a bitch, or the fact that girls come up to you now, asking you for advice on your ex-boyfriend.

Sighing, you watch as Clementine rolls a four and chooses “This Side” of the cards. You internally groan when you look at the yellow side of the card. The glossy square seems to laugh at you, presenting what your subject would be.

How the hell were you supposed to draw “tunnel vision”?

Writing your name and the word on the first page, you mentally prepare for the challenge heading your way.

“Y/N,” Clementine calls for you, “Mine isn’t working…”

Jungkook hands his marker to her before you can, and he’s testing all the other markers in the box to see if they’ll work for him. You look at him accusingly, eyes asking him: “What the hell are you trying to gain?” He shrugs at you, a simple action that tells you:

“Sorry, I’m just a great babysitter.”

He quickly goes back to his own card, copying down the words with his new marker. You return your attention to your pad, figuring out how you were going to draw your word.

“Are you gonna set the timer, Clementine?” Jungkook asks, and she shakes her head.

“We don’t use it,” She responds in a mere whisper, and Jungkook can’t hear her.

“Huh?”

“We don’t use the timer,” You answer for her, “It’s more fun that way. You can take your time.”

He nods, and the three of you flip to the first page so you can start.

You draw—well, attempt to draw—a pair of glasses facing two strange rods. You squint at the doodle, examining it as if you had to guess what the answer was. The only possible answers you’ve come up with are that A.) You’re terrible at drawing, B.) Art is definitely not your future career, and C.) No one is going to be able to figure out your drawing, not even yourself.

“So, Clementine,” Jungkook starts, catching both you and your sister’s attention, “That’s a pretty cool name.”

“Thank you,” She doesn’t look up from her pad, too focused on her drawing.

“Do people call you anything else?” He prompts, going to work on his own pad as well.

“What do you mean?” “Like, nicknames.”

“Oh. My friends call me Tina,” She says, “Y/N calls me Clem, though.”

“That’s dope,” He pops the “p”, and the way his mouth moves is enough to annoy you.

“Yeah,” Is all your sister says, and it’s obvious that both of them are determined in making their drawings look good. You, on the other hand, are already done with your sad chicken scratch of a drawing, and you take the time to watch Clementine as she leans close to her pad, right hand clutching the marker tightly.

Like your dad, Clementine was able to immerse herself in a single task, but unlike him, she was incredibly skilled in multitasking. Sometimes, she’d read a book while having a full conversation with you, and she’d still remember the content of the chapter she was reading. It was a skill that you both envied and admired about her, how she could easily redirect her attention to one task while also still performing the second task flawlessly.

“You done already, Y/N?” Jungkook quirks a brow while he looks up from his drawing. You sneak a glance at your sister, who’s immersed in her drawing, before responding.

“Don’t push it,” You mouth out, folding your hands together on your lap while you wait for the other two to finish. Jungkook flashes an obnoxious smirk your way, and it takes everything in you to not kick him in the balls right now.

“I’m done,” Clementine announces, passing her pad to you. You pass yours to Jungkook, praying that he doesn’t say anything too terrible to you. He then passes his to Clementine, completing the circle.

“W-What?” Jungkook mumbles to himself, biting back a laugh while he examines your drawing. You internally groan. There was no use in hoping that he’d have mercy on you.

In an attempt to block out his bothersome snickering, you try to guess what Clementine’s word was. You feel part of yourself die inside, as you can already tell what she’s drawn. You write the word “deer” on the third page, after looking at the drawing one more time. In the short amount of time Clementine had given herself, her depiction of a deer was scarily accurate.

“Are you guys done?”

She has her pad lying on the coffee table while she drums her fingers on the surface. You nod, while Jungkook has his hand covering his mouth. He shakes his head, still trying to decipher your sad, sad drawing. Instead of making fun of you, he’s actually making an effort to figure out what your word was, eyebrows deeply furrowed while his eyes run across your pad multiple times.

You’d feel bad because you truly don’t have an artistic bone in your body, but seeing him frustrated by your doing slightly amuses you.

Jungkook takes a few seconds before taking a deep sigh and quickly scrawling something on your pad. You can’t tell if you’re excited or dreading what he put down for your word, but that doesn’t matter because now you have to draw Clementine’s guess of what Jungkook’s word is.

A frog?

How come everyone else’s words were so easy? And how are you supposed to remember what a frog looks like?

Biting your lip, you hesitantly put the dry erase marker on the pad. You stop when it makes the initial hit, a small dot appearing on the laminated surface. This is because Jungkook’s leaning over to watch you draw, his hair mere centimeters away from tickling your skin. When you freeze, Jungkook finally moves away, turning to face you.

“You need something?” You ask in an accusatory tone. He shrugs.

“I dunno. You look constipated, so I was curious,” He says, working on a new drawing. It’s another dumb yet excruciatingly annoying jab at you, and you’re baffled at how anyone could think that that was something of use to say.

Clementine giggles, and both you and Jungkook gawk at her in surprise. You feel a sense of betrayal, seeing as your own sister finds someone like Jeon Jungkook humorous. But she’s having fun, so maybe your dignity would have to be something to sacrifice tonight.

And your parents wonder whether or not you’re a good older sister for Clementine, as if you weren’t literally tolerating the person you hate most right now just for her. You steady yourself, being proud of your kindness to him so far. The fact that you’ve actually restrained yourself from knocking Jungkook out in itself is a surprise. You’ll be sure to reward yourself with something later.

You go back to your drawing, working on the small bumps for the eye sockets and the wide almond shape of the frog’s mouth. The frog looks incredibly awkward, its eyes a little too close for your liking. Did frogs have nostrils? Obviously, right? You draw two thin slits on top of its long line of a mouth, hoping that that’s what a frog’s nose looks like. It resembles a frog, and honestly you’re willing to take whatever you can get, so you close the pad, waiting for the other two to finish.

When everyone is done and all of the pads have returned to their respective owners, you get ready to present the devolution of your prompts. Clementine’s eager to go first, which puts a soft smile on your face.

She shows off her deer, and then your correct guess, and then Jungkook’s drawing. Quite frankly, you’re quite amazed at Jungkook’s depiction of the prompt.

There’s a cute deer standing on some grass with a few random flowers around it. Like Clementine’s, it’s quite realistic, keeping in mind of the limited time and resources you’ve all had. Jungkook’s chest swells in pride when the two of you stare at his drawing for a few more seconds, secretly admiring his handiwork.

“I didn’t know you could draw!” Clementine’s indirect praises increase his ego but you stay quiet, not willing to say anything too positive around him.

“You’re not too bad yourself,” Jungkook responds, pointing out how good her deer is.

Jungkook takes his turn to present, and even his frog is amazing. Then, he flips to your drawing, a failed imitation of a frog compared to Jungkook’s accurate one a few seconds ago.

“Tina,” The sudden use of the nickname confuses you. Since when did he think he could be this informal?

“Yeah?”

“Your sister’s not really the creative one in the family,” The corners of his mouth quirk upwards, “Don’t you think?”

Clementine thinks about what to say while Jungkook watches the steam coming out of your ears in pure delight. No matter how good of an artist Jungkook is, or how good of a babysitter he could be, nothing would ever make you want to be acquaintances with him, let alone being just civil with him. What makes matters worse is that Jungkook can easily get away with making infuriating jabs at you since your sister is here with you.

You also try not to think about how Jungkook is getting paid for tormenting you outside of school, because if you dwell on it for far too long, you don’t know what you’d do.

“Y/N doesn’t have to be good at that kinda stuff,” Clementine turns to you happily, “She’s already cool.”

You sheepishly smile back at her, and then she asks you to show your drawing pad now.

“Okay, so,” You clear your throat, “Uh, my word was tunnel vision.”

“...That actually makes sense now,” Jungkook nods, stroking his chin dramatically. He squints at the drawing as if he was in an art gallery.

“This is my drawing,” You flip the page, revealing your chicken scratch from before. Clementine bursts out laughing, and you can’t help but become a little annoyed at her reaction.

“How did you not get that?” She asks Jungkook, and you feel the anger bubble away and instead become replaced with smugness. Your sister still had your back after all.

“Hey!” He points at your drawing, baffled at your sister, “Look at that and tell me that you’d guess it correctly!”

“Um, yeah,” Clementine snickers.

“How?”

“It’s glasses. Vision,” You chime in, “Then those are tunnels. Tunnel vision, right, Clem?”

“Yeah!”

“What?!” Jungkook gawks while you give your sister a triumphant high five.

“What could you have possibly guessed?” You chuckle, turning the page out of curiosity.

Before you can see the word, however, Jungkook forcibly snatches the pad out of your hands. He’s no match to your quick reflexes, though, because you’re pouncing onto him, pinning him to the carpet so you can retrieve your stolen drawing pad.

You’re about to grab it, but then he grins at you, making you stop in your tracks.

Your eyes widen, realizing how you’re in an extremely close vicinity to him, his face inches away from yours. The two of you make unnerving, silent eye contact, each of you staring at each other’s face from time to time. It’s during this that you notice how big his eyes are, resembling Clementine’s drawing of the deer from before. You also notice the mole under his bottom lip and how his lips are naturally tinted a pleasant pink. Jungkook chuckles tauntingly at you and you come back to your senses. You’ve been staring at his lips far longer than you’d like to admit.

“Can’t get your hands off me, huh?” He whispers, winking at you. The pizza you had eaten 20 minutes ago crawls up your throat right away, and you immediately peel yourself off of him. Jungkook still has the pad in his hands, signalling a victory for him.

You cough awkwardly, returning to your seat and wiping away imaginary dust on your lap. You claw at some loose fabric of your sweatpants, balling up the material in your hands. Jungkook sits up as well, nonchalantly fixing his now messy hair. He remains unphased, even though you were literally on top of him a few seconds ago.

“He put Harry Potter and taquitos,” Clementine says, breaking the silence. Jungkook’s eyes shoot up to send her a glare with feigned annoyance, while you end up laughing a bit louder than you’d like to. Then again, anything to relieve the uncomfortable tension would work.

Jungkook’s cheeks are tinted a shy, light pink, while embarrassment is painted all over his face. It’s a lame situation to laugh at, one that you probably would never admit to anyone that you find it humorous, but seeing Jungkook flustered makes you the happiest girl in the world.

The night continues with Clementine bringing out all of the board games your parents bought you over the years. It’s fun yet unbelievably painful, having to cooperate with Jungkook just for the sake of Clementine. When you played Monopoly with them, you were always reluctant to give Jungkook money, even if it was fake. You were also reluctant to receive money from him, even if the action was beneficial for you and not the other way around.

He spends the night still making stupid jabs at you, some of them earning laughs from your sister. You suck it up and deal with it, because this is the happiest you’ve seen Clementine in a long time, so you just strain a smile and move on.

When it’s about 9:45 PM, the three of you stop playing board games since Clementine has to get ready for bed. You come up to her room so that you can say goodnight and tuck her in.

“Today was fun, Y/N,” She giggles while you pull the covers over to her.

“That’s good to hear, Clemmie,” You respond, placing a soft kiss on her forehead.

Before you shut off her light, Clementine grabs the bottom hem of your shirt.

“Y/N?”

“What’s up?” The scared look in her eyes tells you that you’re gonna have to stay for a little longer, so you sit down on the bed.

“Are mom and dad gonna be okay?”

At first, you’re shocked that Clementine had even noticed, but then again, she’s always been this observant. And she was 12 already. She wasn’t dumb. It was also obvious that the reason why your parents randomly decided to go to dinner tonight was because they were trying to iron out some issues that they’ve been having.

All you do is nod and ruffle her hair playfully. Another smile appears on her face when you kiss her cheek.

“Everything’s gonna be okay,” You say, although you’re not so sure yourself.

Recently, you’ve been having trouble sleeping as well. This was because your parents always start fighting whenever they see that Clementine is asleep. You don’t know what exactly they’re arguing about every night, but you’ve assumed that it must be money issues or something along the lines of that. Real adult stuff that they want to keep you two out of, but it’s so hard to ignore when they’re yelling at each other so loudly.

Clementine’s room is closer to the stairs. Of course it’s not a surprise that she’d notice there was something wrong with your parents.

“Do you think I…?” She mumbles out the question, but you don’t need her to finish the rest of it because you’re wrapping an arm around her, pulling her close to you.

“Don’t ever think that,” You say, sighing, “You didn’t do anything, ok? Mom n’ Dad are just fixing things between themselves.”

She nods, hugging you back.

“You should go to sleep,” You pull yourself off of her, placing yet another kiss on her head before tucking her in under the covers, “Everything’s gonna be okay.”

“Promise?” She sticks out her pinky finger and you chuckle, sticking out yours and looping it around hers.

“I promise.”

“Night, Y/N.”

You say goodnight to her, turning off her lamp and shutting the door. Now that she was attended to, you had to start cleaning up. You walk downstairs to see Jungkook sprawled out over your couch, lazily scrolling through his phone. You wish that the saying “Make yourself at home” never existed, since your parents have an affinity for using it, which in turn forces you to deal with Jungkook laying on your couch like a complete slob.

The first job you assign yourself is to tidy up the living room, and you stack up all of the board games together so you can put it in the random storage closet your house has. Jungkook, of course, doesn’t bat an eye at the fact that you’re cleaning up the house all by yourself.

An uncomfortable silence falls between the two of you. You walk over to the kitchen to have another slice of pizza while Jungkook acts like you don’t exist in your own house. Your stomach grumbles obscenely, even though you had a slice a few hours earlier.

It must be the stress. You do tend to be hungrier when you’re under a lot of stress, and today threw many annoyances your way.  

You check your phone and you realize that Hoseok texted you an hour ago.

[October 9, 7:30 PM] Hobi: Y/N i honestly think i’m gonna lose my mind?????????? Y/N? Y/N where tf are u i’m going insane holy shit text me when u get this PLEASE

Right away, your fingers move at the speed of light

[October 9, 10:30 PM] Y/N: omfg hobs you have no idea the shit i just went thru think i got three years taken off of my life anyways sry for the late reply what happened?

The iconic three dots and text bubble show up. You stifle a laugh. Hoseok must’ve been waiting by his phone for your text.

Hobi: i think i may have gotten myself into a date???

Y/N: a WHAT with WHO Hobi: yknow like mymanwhosnotreallymanbutheis yeah him Y/N: ur joking SPILL

You eagerly chew on the cold, stale pizza in your other hand as you wait for Hoseok to tell his whole story. Whether he’d be sending a voice memo or he’d just spam you with a multitude of texts, you never really knew. That’s just how Hoseok was.

But that didn’t really matter, because Hoseok had a date. With the kid he’s liked since the beginning of last year. Kim Namjoon.

Kim Namjoon, coincidentally in Hoseok’s photography class this semester, was easily the smartest person in the whole school. The teachers were more than heartbroken knowing that he’d be graduating this year. The students, more specifically the girls, were also saddened, because Namjoon was also quite attractive. He was tall, kind, and extremely smart, and because of this, he had earned the title as “The Package” by Hoseok. He was everything everyone ever wanted in one person. Accurately put, Kim Namjoon was a  full package.

Hobi: ok well like we have a project in photography class where we have to take pics of nature and i wanted to do the flowers bc yknow, easy A and since u couldn’t hang out today >:( Y/N: hey, not my fault my parents think that i’m a terrible sister

Hobi: yeah u have to tell me how that went but anyways i went out to take pics after practice and guess who i saw? namjoon

Y/N: aaaaAAAAAHHHH

Hobi: YEAH and then we were talking and stuff and it turns out that he’s doing flowers too and then he gave me HIS NUMBER Y/N: omfg,,,

Hobi: i  k n o w so like i think two hrs ago he texted me and we started talking and stuff and then he was like “yknow there are prettier flowers in the botanical garden downtown” and then he asked if i wanted to hang out next week so i said yeah Y/N: holy shit hobs

Hobi: yeah so it’s not really an official date but i’m counting it as one in my book

You hold back a squeal, though you want to scream at the top of your lungs so badly. You opt to just smiling from ear to ear at your screen as you continue to freak out over text.

Hobi: the only problem is that i have to pretend that i like nature :( but not only that…. like i have to know stuff

Now Hoseok’s begging you for advice on nature, and you mention that you also aren’t the biggest nature lover either. Hoseok tells you he’ll have to do some research on flowers and you think that he’s the funniest person you’ve ever met. 

Your brief moment of happiness is rudely interrupted, however, when you suddenly see Jungkook before you, standing across from you at the kitchen island.

“You’re still hungry?” He says, opening the box and grabbing the last slice.

“You’re one to talk,” You scowl, watching him take a bite from his pizza.

Jungkook leans on the island, which in turn causes him to be closer to you, since you’re also leaning on the same surface.

“You don’t really smile a lot, baby,” He teases, wiping off sauce from the corner of his mouth.

So there he was. The Jeon Jungkook you’ve known and hated so dearly. He’s always called you random pet names, simply because he knows how much you despise him. It takes everything in you to hold back the urge to cuss him out. The walls are thin and your sister might wake up.

“Don’t call me that, first off,” You spit, “Second off, why do you care so much?”

“Jus’ makin’ conversation,” His cheeks puff up as he continues to stuff his mouth with food.

“Like I give a shit,” You grumble, looking away from the chewed up food that you can see in his mouth. It’s so unfortunate that Jungkook thinks it’s a good idea to talk while eating.

“Wow, you’re so mean to me,” He takes a large swallow of his food and then pouts, “You’re killin’ me here, babe.”

Despite his seemingly sad words, Jungkook’s giving you a big, toothy grin. He winks at you for the umpteenth time tonight, and you try to think of all the ways to kill someone in silence. Right now, you wish that Clementine was awake, because it’s only around her that he seems to be somewhat decent towards you.

“You have a nice house and nice parents,” He says, more to himself rather than you as his eyes scan the tidy kitchen, “And your sister’s so nice. Why aren’t you?”

“Why are you such an asshole?”

“Why are you such a bitch?”

Some would say that 10 PM is too late to have a nonsensical argument with some douchebag quarterback from your grade, but here you are having a ridiculously heated dispute with Jungkook at 10 PM. Again, all of this is happening in your own house.  

You roll your eyes at him, and you wonder how you haven’t hurt yourself by the amount of times you’ve done that today.

The two of you eat pizza in angered silence, an uncomfortable situation you never thought you’d ever have in your entire life. Well, you’re a lot angrier than Jungkook, who’s got a smug, satisfied look on his face because he just thinks it’s so much fun to annoy the hell out of you. That makes you even more upset, which causes you to get angry with yourself because you know you shouldn’t let someone get to you like this. It’s a never ending cycle of negativity whenever you’re around him, really.

Soon enough, the faint, muffled sound of the garage opening is heard through the door, and you breathe a sigh of relief. That’s Jungkook’s signal to leave.

Before he leaves, though, he turns to you yet again.

“Thanks for the money,” He winks, “And the free pizza.”

The weekend goes by pretty slowly, but eventually, you end up in the classroom again.

Your school day is pretty much uneventful until you get to 5th hour Pre-Calc.

The busy click, click, click of mechanical pencils and the sound of scribbles from students’ writing are all you can hear after lunch. You follow their leads, hastily scrawling down your own notes on the lines of your notebook on your desk. Once you finally get into the zone of your note taking, you feel Jungkook lean in behind you. He’s so close that you can smell the cologne he uses, and the familiar odor sets off your flight or fight system.

Now that your parents have officially “hired” Jungkook as Clementine’s full-time babysitter, you realize that you’ll be forced to see him more often and have that strong, pungent cologne constantly wafting into your nostrils. You’re certain that you’d lose your sense of smell eventually.

If only Clementine hadn’t continued praising him after he left last Friday. Maybe then your house would actually be a safe haven for you. But no, now Jungkook is allowed to come and go into your house whenever your parents need him. (Again, as if they didn’t have a whole other daughter who was willing to take care of Clementine.)

But that’s another issue to worry about later, because Jungkook’s obnoxiously chomping down on his gum right in your ear. He’s so close that you can practically smell the watermelon flavor from his mouth, and you want to barf.

All you can think is: A.) Who in their right minds would ever actively choose watermelon gum over mint, and B.) Who would think it’s a good idea to chew on their gum so damn loud in the middle of class?

To both of those questions, the answer is Jungkook, plain and clear.

“Do you mind?” You hiss at him as you try to copy what the teacher has written on the chalkboard, “This isn’t a fucking ASMR channel.”

“Slow your roll there, baby,” His words come out in a teasing lilt, the pet name causing you to tighten your grip on your pencil, “First off, mind your business. Second off, I’d be an amazing ASMR youtuber, thank you very much.”

He’s imitating the way you talk to him, which makes your blood boil yet again.

“Well, you’re not giving me any chills.”

“I could if I wanted to.”

His statement causes you to freeze in your seat, mind racing as you try to think of a good comeback. Nothing appears, and you’re sure that if you were in the right headspace, you would’ve already had something good to say.

But you’re still going through heartbreak and the stress of dealing with your parents, so all you can muster to say is:

“You’re disgusting.”

Your words remind you of Friday night, which then makes you want the Earth to cave in under you and swallow you whole. You’re still dumbfounded at how Jungkook was able to come into your house without setting off all of the security systems your parents have installed there.

“Aw, baby girl,” The use of that pet name makes the digested lunch from 20 minutes ago crawl up your throat rapidly, “You really got me there! I’m so hurt, you know that? You’re so mean to me.”

You can’t see him, but you just know that he’s clutching his heart dramatically. Your whole body burns up in flames as you imagine the annoying smile on his face, the way it tugs to the right side a little more because he’s so proud of himself. He can see the steam pouring out of your ears, and all that does is egg him on.

Now he’s poking your back lazily with the end of his pencil, propping his head up on his elbow as he tries his hardest not to laugh.

It takes approximately ten seconds until you snap.

Once the pencil hits your back for the umpteenth time, you reach behind you quickly, snatching it and tugging it forcefully out of his hands. Without thinking, you hold the ends of the pencil between your fists and when your fists shoot up away from each other, the pencil breaks in half cleanly. You’re satisfied with the splintering ends of Jungkook’s pencil while he’s gawking at you, wondering how the hell you could have broken a pencil without any struggle. The smug smile is now on your face, but it quickly fades away when Ms. Lee turns to you and places her hands on her hips, a scowl on her face. You make eye contact with her and you immediately straighten up your seat, your breath hitching as you attempt to remain calm under her threatening presence.

You weren’t scared of many things, but Ms. Lee definitely made your skin crawl.

“Miss Y/N?” Her voice booms all the way to your seat in the back of the class, “Would like to share with the class as to why exactly you’re breaking a pencil in the middle of my lesson?”

“No, ma’am,” You quickly respond, your words coming out in a pathetic squeak.

You can feel the mischievous gaze Jungkook has on you, but you pay no attention to it. The teacher grunts, turning her back to the class and resuming her ever so important task of writing important formulas on the chalkboard.

You let out a soft groan and you noticeably slump in your seat, making Jungkookk chuckle.

“Nice save there, Y/N.”

“Fuck off, will you?” You toss the pencil halves back onto his desk, not wanting to have anything to do with any of Jungkook’s property. You made a mental note to wash your hands once class ended so you could rid yourself of whatever pathogens lurked on Jungkook’s pencil.

“Do you always have such a way with words?”

If you were in a private space with Jungkook, where his hands are tied and he couldn’t do anything to hurt you, you’re sure that he would’ve been beaten to a bloody pulp by now. You desperately yearn to have just one day where you can beat his ass.

But you frown, knowing that that day would never come.

“Do you always act like a pretentious dick?”

“Baby girl,” The name returns and you have never wanted to kill someone as much as you’d like to Jeon Jungkook right here, right now, in 5th Hour Pre-Calc with Ms. Lee, “If there’s anything to describe this dick, it’s certainly not pretentious, I’ll have you know that.”

“Wow,” You scoff, “Do you always have such a way with words?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact-“

“Miss Y/N and Mr. Jungkook!” Ms. Lee bellows, “I am teaching a lesson! Would you like to share-“

“No, ma’am!”

You keep your head low, continuing to copy down the notes on the board. Jungkook kicks the back of your seat multiple times throughout class, and the only thing you can think is:

How is this guy allowed to be around little kids?

Usually, when you see someone regularly in your life, your bond with them grows stronger. But with Jeon Jungkook, you’ve learned with each passing day that your hate for him becomes stronger and stronger. And it’s been exactly five weeks. You’ve kept track.

Because now that he’s your sister’s babysitter, he’s become a lot more involved in your life. At least, he’s become involved in Clementine’s life (which ultimately means yours as well).

And as a result, your parents have started going out almost every single night, save for when there’s a football game or when Jungkook is too busy with homework. This meant that he was at your house at least 3 times a week, sometimes even more, because he just loved being with your family and your family just had to feel the same way. Sometimes your parents would even ask him to drive Clementine home from school. 

(An issue that would easily be solved if they let you learn how to drive. But apparently that was absolutely preposterous.)

One thing you’ve learned about Jungkook is that he’s scarily good at acting. He’s amazing at being sweet to Clementine, offering to drive her home after school whenever he can and creating inside jokes with her all the time as if he wasn’t planning on ruining your life this whole time. Since he’s such a “good babysitter”, your parents have started having him come over for dinner, and almost every night you had to restrain yourself from starting a food fight with him. He was always polite to your parents, though, making easy conversation with them at the table but never even daring to say a single word to you.

If someone was on the outside looking in, they’d think that Jungkook was a good person. Like a superhero, however, when he was around you, he would take off his disguise and reveal what he really is: a conceited jock who only thought with his dick.

The only possible benefit of him taking care of Clementine is that you have a lot more freedom now. That freedom has turned into occasional hangouts with Hoseok on the weekend. You’d usually use any chance you could get of hanging out with your best friend, but you also didn’t trust the dangerous human being who was constantly in your house, watching her. As a result, you’ve chosen to stay at home with Clementine, babysitting her babysitter. You label it as being a protective older sister.

But as Jungkook annoyingly puts it, with his notorious, cocky grin:

“You really like my company, don’t you, babe?”

He couldn’t be further from the truth.

This is different from tonight, though, because you’re relishing in the overly sweet, artificial taste of the strawberry shake right in front of you. It tastes like relief, like some much needed freedom from your overbearing parents on a Thursday evening.

Today, they took it upon themselves to lecture you about your sleeping schedule, telling you it’s irresponsible to stay up so late. What they don’t get is that you’ve been working on an important paper for your AP Lang class while also helping one of your classmates with their own paper. It strikes you that they don’t realize how much schoolwork your teachers pile on you. And it infuriates you even more that they always jump to the conclusion that you’re a bad kid, even though you’ve constantly had good grades while balancing schoolwork with cheer. That notion’s always gone unnoticed.

Of course, this wasn’t a pretty sight to be seen, your parents arguing with you right before their dinner date, and coincidentally, right as Jungkook stepped into the house. You don’t know what his reaction was, but you presume that he was most likely stunned. The only time you’re ever truly enraged, bluntly saying whatever harsh comments come to your mind, is when your mom starts to belittle you. This was the first time Jungkook’s ever seen you this upset. Or articulate.

It was safe to say that things didn’t end well, you storming up into your room and slamming the door.

And, as expected, you chose to have a much needed diner date with Hoseok tonight. Clementine even encouraged you to go, saying that she’d be fine with Jungkook, but you couldn’t help but still be concerned for her safety.

“Y/N, stop checking your phone,” Hoseok whines, snatching it from you, “What’s got your panties in such a knot?”

You grumble in protest when Hoseok scrolls through your conversation with your little sister over text message.

The music from the old, torn down jukebox fills the diner, and you’re surprised that it still even works. That jukebox has been there ever since your parents were kids. Nonetheless, you enjoy the nice, cheery melodies playing from it. You kick at some random bits of fries on the floor, your beaten red converse still visible under the dark shadows of the table. The diner smells of fried food, a scent that you’ll happily breathe in everyday. There’s an elderly couple sitting at the other end of the diner, waiting for their waitress to bring them their food. The old lady waves to you, and you wave back, flashing a small smile her way.

“Y/N, Tina’s gonna be perfectly fine,” He says, creating a shooing motion with his hand, “It’s not like he’s going to kill her.”

“You don’t know that.”

“He literally loves her,” Hoseok takes a bite of his burger, some of the juice from the patty seeping out, “Yesterday he asked me to ask you what type of music Tina liked, Remember? Granted, he was too scared to talk to you. but-”

“Don’t,” You groan, stealing a fry as compensation, “Don’t remind me.”

“Hey, I don’t like him either,” He says, “But I’m just sayin’ that you don’t gotta worry so much. Your sister’s 12 already. She’ll be fine.”

“Yeah, but-“

“And technically, there would be no clear motive for him to do anything wrong because he’s getting paid,” Hoseok takes a fry for himself, “Why would he feel a need to get rid of his only source of income? That’d be ridiculous.”

You sigh, resting your head on the table in defeat. He was right. Even if Jungkook was a douchebag towards you, he wasn’t insane.

“Don’t do that!” Hoseok scolds, flicking your forehead, “Your menu was just on that table!”

“So?” You rub your forehead in a failed attempt to the pain Hoseok has just inflicted onto you.

“You know menus can have 185,000 germs per square centimeter?” He exasperatedly explains, pulling out some hand sanitizer from his backpack, “Or was it only 85,000…? No, I remember it being-“

“Wonder where you got that information,” You tease, wiggling your eyebrows while you cleanse yourself with Hoseok’s hand sanitizer. The tips of Hoseok’s ears turn red in seconds, and you laugh at his misfortune.

“You’re so lucky I love you,” He grumbles, hiding his face in his hands. You giggle, eating so many of Hoseok fries that he decides to order some more for you. That’s how your diner “dates” usually went, you only ordering a shake but then stealing all of Hoseok’s food.

“How’s that going, by the way?”

“He’s adorable, as always, but he’s really… How do I say this?” He pretends to search for the right words before deadpanning, “An absolute fucking idiot.”

“What?” The statement catches you off guard, and you almost choke on your shake.

“He’s so dumb, Y/N,” Hoseok hits his forehead with his palm, “So we’ve been hanging out a lot, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Then tell me why he can’t get the clue that I want him to actually ask me out?!” He groans, “Like, I’ve been trying to bring up prom, but he doesn’t get from the multiple times that I’ve said that I don’t have a date that I want him to ask me…”

Hoseok angrily chomps down on the last bit of his burger, while you’re still roaring in hysterics about how he finds Namjoon frustratingly adorable.

“I don’t get boys,” He pouts, “I really don’t. And I am one!”

“You can say that again,” You chuckle, sipping the rest of the shake in your glass.

The two of you catch up on everything you haven’t been able to share from weeks before, since school can provide only so much time for talking. When spending time with Hoseok, you realize how often you let the little things get to you. You tend to sweat the small stuff so much that you don’t realize all the good things happening to you. It was a nice albeit short break from reality, sitting with Hoseok in your favorite diner with your favorite strawberry shake and some greasy, delicious fries.

Eventually, you end up back at home at 10:30 PM. You come a little bit later than your assigned curfew, but it’s not like your parents would notice. They’d be home even later, since they’re stuck at your grandparents’ house. You snicker to yourself while you unlock the door, imagining the invigorating conversations they’re having over there.

The first thing you’re (begrudgingly) met with is Jungkook sitting on your couch, watching football.

“You’re home late,” He says, eyes glued to the screen. You kick off your shoes, letting them land wherever they want to, and you ignore him. You weren’t about to let anyone, not even Jungkook, ruin the fun night you had. It was too much for you to be constantly miserable.

Then, as if on cue, the smell of chocolate chip cookies wafts into your nose rather pleasantly.

“Did you guys bake?” You ask quietly, taking off your jacket. Jungkook nods.

You walk over to the garage door, where the coat closet is. Putting away your jacket, you smile to yourself. A cookie sounds amazing right now.

Grabbing some milk out of the fridge, you pour yourself a glass and take a second to really take in the beauty of the cookies. They’re perfectly browned at their edges, while their center is a light tan, and there’s a few visible chocolate chunks in all of them. Your mouth waters, despite stuffing yourself with milkshakes and fries. You place three cookies on a plate.

“I’ll be in my room,” You say as you walk up the stairs. You know Jungkook doesn’t care, but it’s been a force of habit ever since you were a kid.

When you reach your room, you quickly open the dormer window so you can sit on the roof.

If you were ever to meet the person who designed this house, you would give them a big hug and ask them to marry you, regardless of their gender. The dormer window and its alcove has been a safe space for you growing up, and you sit on the roof every time you need to clear your mind or if you just needed to treat yourself on an especially rough day.

You swing your legs outside the window, slowly moving near the edge of the sill until you’re comfortable. The brisk night air makes its way into your room, the wind pushing your hair gently in different directions. There’s a soft symphony of crickets chirping, and you take this moment to stare at the night sky.

A handful of stars shine in the pitch black sky, more than you’d see in the city but less than you’d see in the country. You make a silent prayer that one day that you’d be able to experience what a full starry night sky would be like.

Your plate of cookies and glass of milk is placed on the window seat. A cookie finds its way off of the plate, into your hands, and then into your mouth. The first bite is perfect, bits of chocolate and cookie crumbs left on your lips. You lick them eagerly, feeling nothing but euphoric as you take a sip of your milk.

“Never knew Tina could bake,” You hear a low voice behind you. It’s soft, but you still jump when you’re taken out of your cookie-intoxicated trance.

Looking up, you see Jungkook at your door, walking over to you. Your face is stuffed with mashed up cookie bits and some milk, and usually you’d be embarrassed, but you’re too tired to care, nonchalantly wiping off your faint milk moustache with the sleeve of your sweater.

“She’s great at it.”

“I know,” He chuckles before pointing to the window cushion, “Mind if I…?”

“If I said that I did mind,” You move your plate and your glass to the side so Jungkook has space, “What would you do?”

“I’d sit down anyways,” He jokes, doing just as he says.

“No point in asking, then.”

An awkward silence befalls the two of you, but that’s how nights with the babysitter went, unnerving pauses constantly appearing as he tries to figure out what to say to annoy you.

In fact, you’ve created a game out of these situations. You try to guess what he’ll tell you this time. Right now, you’re betting that he’ll mention something about your peach fuzz, or that you’re a fattie for having cookies late at night. He’s called you thunder thighs before. You wouldn’t put him past calling you a fattie.

“She talks about you a lot, y’know.”

You’re initially taken aback, but the night is too calming, so now you’re pulling your legs close to your chest, a soft sigh escaping your lips. You have your back turned to him, sitting on the window sill while he’s on the window seat, but you can feel his eyes on you.

“Really?”

“Yeah,” You hear him sniffle, “Didn’t know that you liked the Power Rangers so much.”

“Are you kidding me?” You turn around to face him, “That was my childhood.”

“Mine too,” He smiles, one that’s different from his usual smirk, “Favorite ranger?”

“Trini, easily,” You point to the Yellow Ranger plushie laying on your bed, and he chuckles.

“I personally like Zordon the most.”

It’s not something you’d usually laugh at, but Jungkook ends up cracking up at his own joke and somewhere along the way, you find yourself giggling at it as well.

Another silence comes, and you finish the rest of your cookies and milk while he fidgets nervously with his hands. If Jungkook was trying to have a conversation with you right now, he was failing miserably. It’s somewhat interesting to you, seeing him open his mouth to speak, hesitate, and then closing it out of the corner of your eye.

It’s kind of cute, even.

You blink, looking forward. What the hell were you thinking? Was the loneliness really getting to you that quickly?

“Tina made those for you, actually.”

“That’s sweet of her.”

“Yeah, um,” Jungkook scratches the nape of his neck, “She told me more about what happened earlier today.”

“Huh?”

“With your parents.”

“Oh.”

You imagine what Clementine must’ve thought, seeing your parents continue to yell at you for hours on end about your sleeping schedule. She hates seeing her family upset, and that probably made her sad for a while. You hope that she’s sleeping peacefully in her room right now, tucked away into a land of dreams.

“Yeah,” He mumbles, “I’m sorry about that.”

Involuntarily, you let out a scoff. Whether it’s directed towards him or your parents, you’re not sure. You are quite surprised, though. Since when did Jungkook ever apologize for anything? Since when did he ever feel bad?

“No need to be sorry,” You mumble, “Not like you did anything.”

Another silence, this time being accented with some awkward coughing.

“I mean, I think it’s sweet.”

“You think my parents getting on my back about sleep is sweet?”

“No, no, no,” He quickly sputters out, “I mean that your sister cares about you so much. I think that’s really sweet.”

“Oh, well, thanks,” You say, tugging the sleeves of your sweater over your hands, “That’s Clementine for ya. Sweet.”

“Like the fruit.”

“Yeah,” You chuckle, “Did you know her name means ‘mercy’?”

It’s a fact you like to share with anyone willing to hear.

“That’s really cool, actually.”

“Yeah, my mom chose that name because I was too mean when I was younger,” You shake your head at the memory, “She said that we’d need someone more forgiving in the family, so the name stuck.”

“I can imagine that.”

“Shut up!”

“Sorry, sorry,” He laughs, and there’s a beat of silence before he speaks again, “It’s nice, having dinner with you guys.”

“Dinner’s alright. Shockingly average,” You shrug, drawing out the last two words, “Why do you like it so much?”

“It’s nice to see you and Clementine together, I guess,” He runs a hand through his hair, “Things like that aren’t so simple for me.”

“What’s wrong with your home?” Your tone seems a lot more blunt and judgemental than you intended it to be, but Jungkook isn’t phased. He laughs at your question, even.

“Which one?”

You got the memo.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not a big deal. You’re not the reason why my parents split,” He says nonchalantly, but then he laughs at himself again, “You know, I have a little brother too. He’s a little bit younger than Tina.”

You turn around and stare at him, and you’re unable to hide the surprise in your face. The position of you constantly craning your neck just to talk to him is uncomfortable, so you sit on the other side of the alcove, pulling your legs to your chest once more.

“What’s his name?”

“Yeonjin.”

“Not trying to be mean, but I always thought you were an only child. You kinda give off the vibe,” You rest your chin on your knees, “How come he’s never with you?”

“I don’t blame you,” He says, “It’s ‘cause he tries to always be with our dad. He also hates my guts, so there’s that, too.”

“...Can I ask why?”

The warm glow of your bedroom light shines on one half of his face, while the dim lighting from outside paints his other half. You take in his appearance, how his hair has gotten messier every time he runs his hands through it, how his soft brown eyes are bouncing around your room, studying each poster and each picture that you have placed on your wall. He takes a sharp breath before speaking.

“I hate my dad,” He scratches his cheek, “Well, not really? I don’t know, it’s confusing.”

“I get that.”

“I caught him cheating on my mom, I think two years ago,” He bites his lip, “And y’know, I told my mom. So they split.”

You nod, listening intently to every word he says.

“Yeon doesn’t know that. I begged them not to tell him,” He says, resting his head on the wall and staring out the window, “So he thinks that I’m why they’re not together.”

It’s during that moment where you realize that you don’t know much about Jungkook outside of the classroom and your home. You try to imagine what he must’ve felt during that moment, seeing his own dad with another woman. Then, you think about what it was like for him to know that his brother still blames him and will continue to blame him for everything.

The conclusion you reach is that you can never truly know the pain that he’s going through.

“You know it’s not your fault, though, right?” You point out, “It’s your dad’s.”

“Yeah, can’t help but feel bad sometimes, y’know?”

“I mean, no shit.”

A few light, sad chuckles emit from both of your lips.

“Well, that was strangely freeing,” He hummed, “I think you’re the second person in our school who knows that now… I don’t really know why I shared that, sorry.”

You look at him. He’s still staring out the window, his Adam’s apple clearly defined since his head is leaning back. His black shirt stretches loosely over his skin, giving you a vague hint of the muscles underneath, and his sweatpants make him look… cuddly, almost. You don’t know why, but somehow he seems as if he’d be so comfortable to hug.

Even if he’s in basic clothing, he still seems to look good.

Your initial reaction to this thought is that it’s wrong, but you’re too tired to protest it. Instead, you’re focused on how shy Jungkook has gotten, how he avoids direct eye contact and slurs his words together, save for the occasional stutters in between his sentences.

“Don’t feel bad, that’s pretty heavy. You gotta let that shit out sometimes.”

“Yeah…” He says, more to himself rather than to you, “Can I, uh, ask you a question?”

“What’s up?”

“Why’d you and Jimin break up?” His eyes are on yours, and he’s immediately trying to take back his question, “I mean, you don’t have to tell me, cause that’s none of my business-“

“You’re good,” You chuckle, “He cheated on me.”

“Damn, I’m sorry, I never knew...” He frowns, “Y’know, everyone thought you were endgame.”

“Me too,” You replied, “But apparently not.”

It isn’t until you feel Jungkook’s hand on your face that you realize you’re crying. He gently wipes away the influx of tears falling from your eyes, not saying anything sarcastic or mean towards you. He’s just… there. Ready and willing to listen. He even shuts the window when he notices you shivering, a shocking contrast from his usual behavior towards you.

It’s the first time anyone other than Hoseok has asked you for the real story. The first time someone that’s not your best friend has actually taken the time to listen to the truth.

“You know that’s not your fault, either, right?”

He’s repeating your words, but for some reason they don’t sound so convincing to you.

“I dunno,” You sniffle, “Feels like it is.”

“Why would it be? He cheated on you. Not the other way around.”

You take a few moments to steady your breathing before you speak. You don’t know why you want to spill your emotions out to Jungkook, but under the moonlight and your bedroom lights, there’s a sense of security in opening up to him.

“This is gonna sound so fucking stupid,” You start, “And you better not tell anyone, or else I’m for sure gonna kill you right when I see you.”

“I promise, I won’t.”

“I’ve never… done it,” You cringe right when the words come out of your mouth, “I told Jimin that we should wait until we… y’know.”

“That’s perfectly fine,” He states, and you can’t help but be surprised at how understanding he could be.

“You don’t think it’s a little bit weird?”

“Nah,” He replies, “I also think it’s absolutely not a reason to cheat. There’s literally no valid reason in doing that, no matter how unsatisfied you are with your partner.”

“I guess so.”

The fact that Jungkook is getting mad in your stead makes you giggle.

“And plus, it was you. How do you cheat on someone like that?”

“What do you mean?”

Jungkook pauses for a minute, processing what he had just said.

“I mean, if I was Jimin- No, I mean, if I was me,” He gestures to himself, “Which I am, I would never cheat on my partner. It just makes no sense. You already have a whole ass person who likes you. I think I’d be happy enough with that already.”

“Yeah, you’d think so,” You add, and now it’s you taking a few moments before speaking again, “Um, thanks, by the way. For talking with me, and stuff.”

“Oh, no worries,” He smiles at you, “Just kinda wanted to see how you were doing because of earlier. You did look pretty upset before you left the house.”

You smile back, and it seems like he’s about to say something, but the sound of the garage interrupts him, signalling that it’s time for him to leave. He stands up from the alcove and grabs your empty plate and cup to bring downstairs.

“Hey, I’ll see you at school tomorrow, right?”

You both know the answer to the question but Jungkook asks it anyway.

“Yeah, of course,” You can’t seem to wipe off the grin present on your face, “There’s nowhere else I could be.”

If you had to go back in time and tell yourself that eventually Jungkook would start driving you home after school and that you’d actually enjoy his company, you’re certain that your past self you’d slap your future self in the face and say that you were insane.

And maybe the latter was true.

“You’re terrible at singing,” He snickers, trying his best to keep his eyes on the road.

You’d retort and say that he doesn’t know shit and you’re actually an amazing singer, but you’re too preoccupied screaming One Direction lyrics off the top of your lungs. You decide to just jokingly flip him off instead.

The band’s songs hold a close place in your heart, because their music was what brought you and your sister closer. Although you’ve somewhat grown out of their cheesy lyrics about love and youth, you had to admit that their music was extremely catchy.

And apparently Jungkook thought this as well, because he was quietly singing along to each song word for word.

“Didn’t know you were a fan,” You tease, and he’s caught off guard.

“I’m not…”

“I bet you cried when Zayn left.”

He doesn’t look at you, because he’s driving, but the tips of his ears turn bright red, and you roar in hysterics at his reaction.

“You know I very well could’ve just left you at school,” He’s got a smile on his face despite his harsh words.

“Oh, you’d never,” You reply, staring out the window and enjoying the basic scenery around you.

After the one night where Jungkook and you dumped all your emotional baggage on each other, you found yourself looking forward to him being in your company from now on.

At first, you only decided to be nice to him since he knew the fact that you were with Park Jimin—that bombshell of a boy—and you never got it on with him. It’s not something you’re ashamed of, but you know you’d hate it if anyone else knew, because the rumor that you were crazy would just then become truer and truer to them. So you became nicer, gentler with Jungkook. Plus, hearing his story made your heart sadden a little whenever you saw how excited he was to be with Clementine.

And somewhere along the way, between him walking you to your classes and buying a Poptart pack and saving one for you after school every day, you realized that maybe he wasn’t such a bad kid to be around. He seemed to like being with you a lot too, always offering to drive you home when you had practice and when you didn’t, he’d offer to get fast food with you before going home.

Maybe it was the solidarity of experiencing pain, or it very well could just be that you’re one of the only people who knows Jungkook’s secrets and he’s one of the only people who knows about yours. Maybe there’s some pity for each other present, or it’s simply just because the both of you are tired of constantly bickering whenever you’re within a 20 foot-wide radius of each other.

You could spend countless hours trying to draw a conclusion, and you’ve tried to, during the late nights where you can’t sleep where you’re tossing and turning around restlessly. But eventually, you end up falling asleep, always answerless to the paradox you’ve been trying to solve.

Whatever the answer was, you’ve stopped caring about it, because you deemed it useless to keep trying to find it.

“How’s the new routine going?” He asks, desperate to change the topic.

“It’s going, that’s for sure,” You chuckle, “I think we just need a little bit more practice and we’ll be good.”

One thing that you’ve learned about Jungkook after becoming his friend is that he loses his natural vulgarity when you know about his family history.

You noticed this when Hoseok came over to your house one night and Jungkook didn’t call you a demeaning pet name at all during the time being. He also never bothered the two of you, making some small talk with Hoseok before leaving to play Just Dance with your sister. (He bought her that game when he found out that you guys had a Nintendo Switch that you never use).

The first thing Hoseok said to you when the two of you went to your room and you closed the door was:

“Where the hell is Jungkook and what the fuck did you do to him?”

It was a comical night, Hoseok freaking out over the wonderful, ever elusive mysteries named Kim Namjoon and Jeon Jungkook.

Another thing you (and Hoseok) had learned about Jungkook is that, surprisingly enough, his best friend was the Kim Namjoon himself.

This happened that same night, when Jungkook knocked on the door and accidentally overheard Hoseok say his name. Jungkook’s initial reaction was:

“It’s you?!” He almost shrieked in disbelief, “You’re the one Joon has a crush on?!”

His words, of course, came with a shrill: “He has a crush on me?!” from Hoseok.

Through this rude awakening, Hoseok and you learned that Namjoon was the only friend Jungkook had. Apparently, he started tutoring Jungkook when Jungkook was about to fail freshman year. Jungkook said that Namjoon was the only reason as to why he survived his first year of high school, and because of that he never left Namjoon alone. Eventually, they had strangely become the best of buddies.

And being the best of buddies meant that he knew Namjoon’s secrets.

(Safe to say, it was a rough night for both Hoseok and Jungkook but a fun one for you.)

“How’s Seok and Joon?” Jungkook asks, out of the blue, and you can tell the question has been on his mind.

“Hobi’s waiting for Namjoon to make a move.”

“Ha, that’s funny.”

“What?”

“Namjoon’s waiting for him to.”

“You’re kidding me.”

“I honestly wish I was,” He chuckles, driving into your subdivision.

“It’s amazing how glaringly obvious the two of them are,” You sigh, “Hoseok made bracelets for him. Tell me that that doesn’t scream: ‘Oh hey, by the way, I like you!’”

“Yeah, Joon has so many pics of him on his Insta, you’d think they’d be dating by now…”

“They’re really, really oblivious.”

“Well,” He shrugs, taking a turn into your driveway, “It happens to the best of us.”

Jungkook walks out of the car, heads over to your door, and as usual he helps you out while reaching for your backpack and your cheer bag so he can carry them for you.

Clementine’s sitting in the kitchen, working diligently on her math homework.

“Tina!” Jungkook sings, setting down your bag on the couch. You walk over with him to her, and she has a bright smile on her face when she sees the two of you together.

“Hi!” She responds, “I’ve got something to tell you guys!”

“What is it?” You ask, sitting next to her and taking a peek at her worksheet. It’s something about fractions.

“I think I have a crush!”

“Holy-“ You stop yourself before you can say anything bad, “Uh, wow, Clem!”

“Yeah, wow…”

You and Jungkook look at each other with somewhat sad eyes. He may not have known her for as long as you have, but he feels the same, strange dull pain that you’re feeling in your chest.

Your little sister isn’t so little anymore.

Tonight was going to be a long one.

Late night conversations with Jungkook at your dormer window have become a regular thing.

It’s the moments where fatigue starts to really hit the two of you that you have the most fun with him. There’s no shame in what you say, and no judgement stemming from one another. During then, it’s just you, Jungkook, the occasional plate of pizza and snacks, and the moon.

“I can’t believe she has a crush already,” You muse, a hint of melancholy in your tone.

“She’s 12, Y/N.”

“That’s still too young, don’t you think?”

“How old were you when you had one?”

“I think,” You pause, sorting out your vague childhood memories, “In Kindergarten, maybe?”

“My point exactly.”

You curse under your breath as you’re obviously defeated. You hate when logic is used against you. Jungkook just laughs, performing his usual habit of rubbing his nose and jerking his head so his hair can stay out of his eyes. Both of you are leaning on either side of the alcove and the window is slightly open so that you can hear the regular music of crickets outside. A light gush of wind blows through, gently shifting around random strands of your hair.

Jungkook’s yet again scrolling through his phone, looking at funny memes on Instagram and sending them to the group chat titled: “Namjoon’s Angels” that he so cleverly named. Your phone buzzes multiple times, and when you turn it on, 4 notifications from the said group chat appear on your screen. They’re all from him. You look at the boy in front of you and he’s got a delighted smile on, eyes crinkled up into crescent moons while he’s so focused on whatever’s on his phone.

“We’re in the same room, Kook,” You say, showing your screen to him, and Jungkook’s a bit surprised at the nickname, but he quickly shoots you a fake glare before going back to his own phone.

“Those aren’t just for you, princess,” He retorts, tapping away on his screen, “Those are for Joon and Hoseok too.”

Your phone buzzes once more, and this time it’s a notification from just Jungkook.

[November 15, 10:40  PM] jeon.jk on Instagram *Sent a post* [November 15, 10:40 PM] jeon.jk on Instagram This one’s for you! :)

Upon opening the chat, you’re met with an obscure picture of-

[November 15, 10:41] y/nnnn_ beans? jeon.jk Beans.

You send him a questioning look, and Jungkook squeakily laughs, almost out of breath by how funny he thinks the picture is.

jeon.jk Do you not like it? I think it’s rather nice.

The most surprising thing you’ve discovered about Jungkook is that he’s quite the articulate texter, which is a weird juxtaposition from his usual character. It’s certainly the strangest thing you’ve known about him.

y/nnnn_ it’s quite off putting jeon.jk :(

“I’m right in front of you,” You declare, turning off your phone and putting it on the cushion. Jungkook rolls his eyes, but nonetheless does the same.

“But that’s no fun.”

“You’re so weird, you know that?”

“I like to think I’m pleasant to be around.”

It’s your turn to roll your eyes. He sticks his tongue out at you before looking out the window.

“Are you going to the football game tomorrow night?”

“Kook.”

“What?”

“I’m on the cheer team…”

“Oh,” His lips form a small, tight circle and then spread into a sheepish smile once he connects the dots, “You’re right.”

“Always am.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” He starts, “Anyways, did you get invited to the party after?”

“At Taehyung’s?” You ask, and he nods, “I did, yeah.”

“You gonna go?”

You bite your lip, deep in thought over the question. Hoseok got invited too, and he was begging you to go because you hadn’t talked to Namjoon enough, save for whenever he asks you where Hoseok is after school.

While it would be a good idea to come along and really start to get to know your best friend’s crush, you could already tell that it wouldn’t slide with your parents.

“There’d be no one to babysit Clementine,” You reason, “I mean I’d love to, but yeah…”

Jungkook visibly deflates, so much so that he looks like a cartoon character. You suppress a laugh, an apology coming out instead so that you don’t make him feel any worse.

“No, I get it,” He sighs, shoulders slumped down, “It’s no worries then. We’ll still see each other after the game, then, right?”

“If you really want to, sure.”

“I want to.”

You smile at him, and Jungkook mirrors you, a toothy grin flashing your way.

Your favorite moments with your unconventional, newfound friend are during the late nights, because of times like this. Around you and around him, the world is soft and light. There’s a calming simplicity when you’re talking to Jungkook, and your chest constantly feels light and fluttery. His lame jokes become funnier, and your words towards him become kinder.

Even though it’s dark, the nights seem to shed light on who the two of you really are and how you two really feel about each other.

There’s no malice, no ill intentions towards each other either. You like being there with him. Time isn’t an obstacle, which is something you’ve always felt slipped out of your hands like fine sand. The world just comes to a standstill, both of you trying to talk as much as you can before your parents come home.

For you, time has been a nuisance. You lose sleep while you hunched over your desk, working on assignments because the night is the only freetime you have. Because of that (and so that you can peacefully talk to Jungkook whenever he babysits), you simply just do your homework in the morning. Your alone time is always cut short, since you’re swamped with cheer, homework, and family obligations.

You hated how time ran out.

After all, your time with Jimin had run out.

But when you’re sitting on the cushion in your alcove with Jungkook, you slowly but surely start to adjust to the ever changing world around you. Sure, you feel guilty about constantly dumping your emotional baggage to someone you’ve just become friends with after two years of having pure hatred for them, but time and time again he’s always reassured you, telling you that he really didn’t mind you venting to him.

It’s not like Jungkook was your only option, since you always had Hoseok to rant to. But seeing Hoseok happy made you happy, and you didn’t want to ruin it by being a complete pity party.

So yeah, maybe Jungkook was the only option you had. You didn’t really mind either, since Jungkook had his fair share of problems that he’d talk to you about. There was no point in feeling bad at all, actually. There was a fair exchange of listening and venting between both sides.

You did find having an issue to restrain yourself around him. Everytime he spoke about his brother, you just wanted to jump into his arms and tell him everything was going to be okay. Even more so when his voice cracked and slowly turned into silent whispers and warbled mumbles. Your heart always broke when he would start blinking more and more so that his tears wouldn't come out. Sometimes, when things really got rough, he’d let a few ones fall, but he always followed it up with forced laughter and a strained smile.

It always made you wonder if he was hiding anything else from you.

“Wait, Y/N,” He says, raising a pointer finger up, “You can go to the party!”

“What do you mean?”

“Did you forget?” He asks, seeing how confused you are, “I’m Tina’s babysitter.”

“I didn’t forget that…?”

“I’m gonna be at the game, cause, y’know, I’m, yeah,” He explains, “Your parents are gonna have to stay at home regardless.”

You stare at him blankly as it registers in your head that there’s nothing stopping you from going to Taehyung’s infamous house parties.

“You’re right,” You mumble, “Sorry, I must be tired.”

“When’d you sleep last night?”

“Yesterday?” You stare up at the ceiling while you try to remember the other night, “4… I think?”

Jungkook shakes his head at you, ashamed.

“What’d I say about sleeping late?” He wags a finger at you, “You’re gonna ruin yourself if you keep doing that.”

“Okay, thanks, mom,” You snicker.

He then changes the topic, now complaining about the very same paper that you stayed up late to work on. You added on to his ranting, speaking your own mind as well.

The conversation is stopped abruptly when you hear knocking. Jungkook and you turn from each other to see your parents standing at the doorway. Neither of you had even heard the garage opening, or your parents walking upstairs.  

They’ve got tired, but happy smiles on their faces, and it comforts you knowing that they’re starting to iron out whatever issues they're going through. Your mom waves at you two and you echo her movements.

“Ah, I gotta go, then.”

Jungkook swiftly gets up from the alcove, grabbing his jacket that was resting on your desk chair. He greets you goodbye and then does the same with your parents, your dad walking him to the door. When both of the boys leave, your mom joins you, replacing Jungkook’s spot. She smells of steak and has a faint scent of wine about her. The relaxed, blissful state she’s in tells you that she’s intoxicated right now.

“Glad you had a fun night out,” You say, a soft smile on your lips.

“I quite like Jungkook,” She seems to not have heard your words, “Don’t you?”

“He’s nice, yeah.”

“He reminds me of your dad.”

She’s definitely a lot more drunk than you thought she was.

“Let’s get you in bed, mom,” You chuckle, standing up and helping her, “I think that’s enough for today.”

When you take her to her room and she staggers over to sit in her bed, you say goodnight to her. She responds, and you know very well that she’s most likely going to fall asleep with her dress on. You decide that your dad could handle that.

After getting ready for bed and crawling under your covers, your mind starts to wander, fixated on the idea of Jungkook and your dad being similar.

You can’t find a single distinct comparison between the two of them, but then your mind travels to the topic of your parents when they were younger. When they weren’t dating and they just knew each other as neighbors. Were they nice to each other?

Was there ever a time where they hated each other?

In between the many questions traveling through your mind, you start to enter the deep limbo of being half asleep and half awake. This doesn’t stop your curiosity about your parents story, as you see the two of them in your dreams. A young version of your mom bickering with your dad.

Then, it suddenly flashes to you walking with Jungkook in the hallways of high school, talking and bickering like you usually do.

Despite being heavily sleep deprived, you actually have a good night’s rest for once.

It’s Friday, which meant one thing and one thing only. It’s game day.

And although you complain about how sore your muscles are after practice and how you hate staying after school for so long, but when you’re sitting on the track, listening to the shouts from the student section and watching the football get tossed back and forth between players, you can’t help but be excited for halftime. You even become immersed in the sport, intently watching the boys tackle their way through the field. Half of the time you’re not completely sure about what’s going on, but you definitely were having fun sitting with Hoseok and watching the football teams brawl for a simple leather ball.

You had to admit it. There really was something magical about football games.

It was the way the grass smelt of rain and sweat, the way you could hear nothing but excitement from the crowds of students in the student section, the way that everyone was donning the school’s signature colors of purple and gold. The energy tonight is explosive, and you relish in every single section of it.

Your teammates are focused on the game and on themselves, making sure they remember the routines you have been practicing for months. But you, on the other hand, have separated yourself from the group of girls standing on the track and talking to each other. Instead, your focus is stuck on Jungkook.

Watching him on the field is like magic.

You don’t mean to, but your eyes follow him as he rushes past the opposing team, pushing past everyone effortlessly. He knows exactly when to keep the ball clutched closely to his chest or when to throw it to his fellow teammate, and he defends himself against the opposition, turning his back against them in order to protect himself from their tackles. It’s all like clockwork, like Jungkook could predict the other team’s movements. Even though you’re far from him, you notice the way he scans the field, so much so that you can see the gears turning in his mind. He’s got a whole map of the field and the teams in his head, creating a strategy right on the fly. All to get a touchdown.

Jungkook may be the big-headed goofball who used to enjoy annoying you, but he was a completely different person on the field. He’s someone determined and clever, and he doesn’t show off or become cocky when he’s on the field. Instead, he looks out for his own teammates and becomes a real leader.

You see this when Kim Taehyung, one of the running backs, gets tackled and crashes straight onto the turf, his helmet thudding quite loudly. Before Jungkook grabs the ball in Taehyung’s hands, he gives a quick tap on the running back’s helmet as a simple way of telling him that he’s doing a good job. To tell him to not give up and to get back on his feet. It’s a barely visible gesture that no one in the crowd would notice. It’s basically insignificant to… anyone, really. But you feel your heart soften when you figure out what the gesture meant.

Then you sit up, slightly, because his eyes meet yours and suddenly all the air in your chest has decided to leave. The crease in his eyebrows disappears and he’s beaming at you.

What amazes you is that Jungkook still has the ball secure in his hands, shoving his way through the hordes of players like they’re nothing.

You wonder what it’d be like to see Jungkook running up close. It’s hard to see from this distance, but you can see how the sheen of sweat glosses his skin. There was no doubt that he was muscular and you knew that, because you saw him every single day, but tonight his body is even more defined. They flex as he moves, biceps bulging because he’s clutching onto the ball so tightly.

You’re unaware of the way your thoughts travel to Jungkook being sweaty and hot on the field. Somehow it makes you feel like you’re betraying everything you’ve stood for by thinking like this, but instead of creating an even greater inner conflict between yourself and your conscience, you give up and continue to spectate the game.

(If by the game, you mean Jungkook.)

It isn’t until you decide to give him a small wave that he stumbles. He passes the ball to Kim Seokjin, the receiver, and quickly gets up on his own feet before he can fall on the ground. The opposition’s focus is now moved onto Seokjin, and so is Jungkook’s.

Seokjin reaches the end of the field. He scores a touchdown, and the crowd goes wild. The roaring sounds like music to your ears and you stand up, cheering along with your friends to congratulate your team. You beam when you see Jungkook running alongside the receiver, genuine grins on the boys’ faces. You feel proud, but you’re not entirely sure about what.

“We’re gonna kill it soon, Y/N!” Hoseok grins, and you mirror him, a happy smile on your face as well. He’s also too focused on memorizing the steps in his head to notice that you’ve been drooling over your little sister’s babysitter.

“I mean, duh,” You dramatically flip your hair over your shoulder, making the both of you giggle.

People say that cheerleading is such an outdated sport, but you actually loved it with your entire heart. You’ve created many lasting friendships with the girls (and Hoseok, of course) on your team, and the cheer squad was the exact reason why you had a somewhat reputation at school. It was basically the only thing that kept you going during the 3 years of high school you’ve gone through, and you’re sure that it’ll be the only thing keeping you sane for the rest of your years at this hellhole of a school.

Well, that was a topic for another day.

Because before you can have another existential crisis about the fact that you’re already on your junior year of high school—you haven’t figured out exactly what you want to do with your life—and that time has really slipped you by, the timer on the big, chunky, outdated metal screen ticks down. A bold, orange “0:00” appears, signalling that it’s halftime. The football teams slow down and head back to their respective sides, getting ready to take a break while the cheerleading squad gets ready for action.

When all of the boys are seated at their benches, some of them guzzling water or simply just catching their breath, you, Hoseok, and the rest of the girls make your way onto the turf. The speaker announces your team, staticky voice emitting from the speakers and filling the air.

It’s go time.

You all huddle in a circle, hyping yourselves up with team chants. It’s invigorating, being with all of your friends, getting ready to present the routine you had been trying to perfect for the past few months. You step into the circle, and the girls lift you up, throwing you up in the air. As you’re thrown, you let the force move you, your body twirling around. You land gracefully back into their arms, and the crowd goes wild once again.

The cheerleaders grab their pom poms that are lying on the turf and they get into position. Everyone places their hands on their hips, smiles forming on all of your faces as the crowd simmers down to get ready for the show. A beat starts from the drum line, and you all wave your pom poms in the air, the tinsel-like material sounding almost like rain as they swivel in circular motions. You scan the crowds, looking at all the different students sitting together.

Then your eyes meet, and your face falters.

Park Jimin is sitting in the bleachers, beaming at the Sophomore on the cheer team. You’re rudely reminded of her sitting on his lap in the back of his car, and your eyes become hazy as you try to save face.

“Don’t pay attention to him,” Hoseok whispers, “He’s not worth it.”

You nod, averting your focus from Jimin. This was the final football game of the season. You had to make the most of it, and you weren’t going to let him get in the way of it.

The cheer captain starts with a “5, 6, 7, 8,” and the rest of you follow her chants.

The routine starts with a high kick and a right punch up, followed with another high kick and then a strict order of arm positions along with a few more kicks that you all execute with style. Some of the girls move to the front, doing backflips to entertain the crowd. The flyers, bases, and spotters, get ready for extensions while the girls in the front keep the student section preoccupied.

Hoseok is assigned as one of your bases, and two other girls—a base and a back spotter—get into formation along with him. They lift you up carefully, steadying you right away as you're raised up. The other flyers are lifted up, too, and you sigh in relief knowing that everyone did their extensions easily. You flash bright smiles to the crowd and they all scream, cheering you on as well. Your combined shouts add even more energy to what was already an electric game.

The cheer is something cheesy about having more spirit than the other team, and the words are really cringy at points, but you don’t care. You’d shout them to the ends of the earth for all you cared. What mattered was the way the student section responded with almost double the enthusiasm. Kids are hollering, practically jumping out of their seats and yelling as they repeat the school’s signature lyrics. There’s nothing but pure excitement for the game, the football team, and the cheerleaders.

You’re lowered down for a few minutes by the bases only to be thrown up quickly. Keeping your stomach tight and your arms stiff, you fall back into the arms of the cheerleaders underneath you. It’s a perfect execution of a cradle, and you’re practically glowing with pride for your team. It’s obvious that the coaches would praise you all at the next practice. The crowd goes crazy for your team as well. Once you’re placed on the ground, it’s your turn to perform flips and high kicks, and you carry out the rest of the routine effortlessly.

Staring at the crowd, you take in how everyone is smiling at you and your team, impressed at the stunts you all pulled off in such a small time frame. Their eyes are shimmering with pride and you’re certain that their throats have gone raw from all their hoots and hollers. The night sky is painted black, but the atmosphere you’re in is far from dull. The crowds are colored purple and gold, matching your uniform and the football players’ uniforms. There are kids from different cliques, but they’re all sitting together and cheering, showing the solidarity a school could have.

You hold on to the moment for as long as you can, your chest heaving up and down as you pose confidently when the routine is done. Hoseok looks at you with immense pride and you do the same, both of you practically radiating out there on the field.

Eventually, halftime is over and you’re back to sitting on the track. You’re sweaty, but you don’t care. You know you did amazing and that was worth it.

A wave of uneasiness hits your chest when you see the sophomore rush over to her backpack to check her phone. She grins at her screen before running over to your coach, using some lame excuse so she can leave. After that, she rushes out, and you see Jimin following suit.

You plan to see what they’re doing, but Hoseok grabs your wrist, already knowing what you were going to do.

“Y/N,” His voice is stern, “I love you. Don’t.”

“But-“

“It’s not a good idea. You know that.”

“Yeah, I do.”

Some of your nerves fade away when Hoseok demands that you’ll get pictures with him, even if both of you are drenched in sweat. He reasons that it’s because you rarely have any pictures with him. But isn’t that the sign of true friendship? Not being able to have pictures because you’re either having too much fun together or the both of you look so ugly you can’t even bear to have a photo taken? You use that reasoning with Hoseok and he simply pinches your cheek, telling you that you’re insufferable and forcing one of your teammates to take your pictures.

When the game is almost done, the sophomore is nowhere to be seen.

You see your coach asking around the other girls, but they all respond with a shrug. Hoseok keeps you distracted by talking about the new friend group you’ve created with him, Namjoon, and Jungkook. Then, he starts to talk about Namjoon and the latest “date but not date” that they had last weekend. You realize you’ve never wanted to talk about Namjoon more than ever before.

While he’s gushing, you look at the photos you’ve taken with your best friend. A satisfied smile finds its way on your face when you see that they ended up a million times better than you thought it would. Hoseok also admires them while you swipe through the many new pictures in your camera roll.

“Told you it’d end up good.”

“Oh, whatever.”

You decide that you’d post your favorite ones, since you haven’t put anything new on your Instagram.

You tap on the app, planning to create a draft to post tomorrow. To your surprise, though, a new post from Jimin appears on your timeline. It’s a picture of the girl in his car. She has a bright smile on her face, her cheeks tinted a rosy pink.

Under the picture there’s a blue heart.

You’re reminded of all of the posts he had of you that had the exact same caption. You frown. Blue was your favorite color.

You go to his page, and all of your photos from before are gone. You’re frozen in your spot. Your mouth feels incredibly dry and a hard, rough lump forms in your throat. Your eyes start to sting, and the pain you thought you’ve forgotten about has come back twice as strong.

Hoseok notices this and you hand him his phone.

“Y/N… I’m so sorry.”

“I’m gonna,” You wipe your eyes and fan away the moisture so you don’t mess up your mascara, “I’m gonna go home after this.”

“Do whatever you need to,” He says, patting your head so you can rest your head on his shoulder, “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

You text your parents, asking them to drive you home.

The game is slow, dull, and boring, but after such an excruciatingly long wait, it finally ends. Once it’s over, you’re immediately walking out and making your way to your parents car. You ignore all of the students around you, pushing your way through them.

You also ignore Jungkook, who’s been running after you right when the game ends but loses you in the crowd.

When you come home, the car ride with your mom consisting of you breaking down and your mom comforting you, your mom quickly takes you to the bathroom, drawing a warm bath for you. She closes the door so neither Clementine or your dad can see the state you’re in, and she drops in a few drops of lavender into the steamy water. You hastily take off your uniform and your makeup, wanting nothing more than to get in the tub.

Shutting your eyes, you allow yourself to feel the warm water soaking your skin. The oil she added to the bath creates a pleasant scent to the steam, and your lips curve upward when you get a whiff of it. You rest your head against the edge of the porcelain surface, eyes getting hazy as the scent of lavender drowns out your senses. Your mother puts her hands through your hair, massaging your head with shampoo.

If your mother was being this gentle, this nice to you, then this was really serious.

When she plants a loving kiss on your forehead, humming sweetly, you feel your lip quiver. You were tired. This was your breaking point. You couldn’t take it anymore. Warbled, shrill sobs escape from your lips and you’ve lost all notions of self control. Your mom holds you close to her, indifferent to the soap suds and water soaking her shirt.

“Sometimes change is necessary for growth,” She says as you cry everything out.

“It hurts,” Your words come in between gasps.

“I know, darling, I promise you that you’ll find someone who truly deserves your love.”

“...Really?”

“Yes, and, you know, I already know one person who deserves it.”

“Who?”

“You.”

You hang onto every word she says, hoping that they’re actually true.

[November 16, 9:35 PM] Jungkook Hey, is everything okay? I tried talking to you after the game but I couldn’t find you Why is that? You don’t have to tell me, just wanted to know if you were okay I’ll tell Joon you say hi later tonight. He was really excited to hang out with you Sorry, I must be spamming your phone Anyways, just wanna say you did great tonight

Read at: 10:01 PM

[November 19, 4:02] Jungkook You didn’t show up to school today I think this is actually the first time you’ve skipped school Let me know if you need the homework or anything Read at: 4:10

You tap out of the conversation and put your phone face down on your nightstand. Tossing around in the bed, the sheets are uncomfortably hot around your sweaty skin. Your room is humid, since you’ve been doing nothing but lay in your bed for the past 3 days. Your eyelids slowly droop downward while you attempt to remove yourself from the throbbing pain in your head.

A slow, soft creak emits from your door. You open your eyes to see your sister, holding a tray with a cup of water and a grilled cheese sandwich. She still has her school clothes on.

“We ran out of soup,” She says, walking over to you.

You give her a weak smile, shifting over so she can sit next to you.

“Thank you, Clem.”

She sits up straight, expectantly watching you eat. She waits for your reaction, and your lips curve up naturally while you chew, she lets out the breath she’s unconsciously been holding in.

“Are you… doing okay?”

“I’ll be alright,” You nod, and then you roll up the sleeve of your hoodie to flex your bare arm, “Your sister’s strong.”

Clementine giggles and she leans back, resting her head on your shoulder. Her hair tickles your skin, but you don’t care. The grilled cheese in your mouth tastes absolutely amazing—most likely because you haven’t eaten anything since a bowl of soup yesterday.

“I never…” She starts, but then stops. You reassure her that she can tell you whatever she wants, and with a deep breath, she continues, “I never really… liked him.”

“Hm?”

“Jimin. I never liked him,” Her words lower into a nervous whisper. You wonder how long she’s been holding it in. She looks up at you once more, “Sometimes I could hear when you guys talked on the phone.”

Your initial response is to be angry, but there’s no point to. It wasn’t her fault that your rooms were so close to each other. Clementine scoots down so that she can rest her head on your chest, and you wrap your arms around her.

“He was kinda mean,” She sighs, “And I didn’t like how he talked to you.”

You nod. There was a truth in her words. You imagine what she thought hearing you cry behind a closed door, hearing you freak out because Jimin would end the call on you randomly when you mentioned Hoseok. Thinking back on it, Jimin was quite possessive when the two of you were together. Quite ironic.

“He’s like Gaston.”

“Gaston?”

“Yeah, full of himself,” She spits bitterly, and it’s the first time you’ve ever seen your sister speak negatively towards someone, “Only likes you ‘cause you’re pretty. Gets mad if you don’t give him something when he’s nice to you.”

Despite her dulled down description of Jimin, her words are a rude awakening for you. It’s as if you were roughly picked up and dropped into a cold, freezing bath, the frigid water creating an abrupt awareness of the reality of your past relationship. The reality was that Jimin was terrible to you, and no matter how many times you tried to label it nicely, tried to dumb it down so you yourself could swallow it easily, the truth is that whatever the two of you had wasn’t love.

It hits you that you really don’t know anything about love.

“You deserve someone better than Jimin.”

“You can say that again,” You chuckle, but Clementine cranes her neck and looks at you with burning eyes.

“No, I mean it,” She huffs, “He was terrible-“

“I know, I know, Clem,” You give her a light, reassuring smile, “But we’ll figure that out later, ‘kay? Right now it’s just you and me.”

“Yeah,” She relaxes, resting on you again, “I’d like that.”

You pinch her cheek before speaking again.

“So, you wanna tell me more about the new guy?”

She hides herself in your embrace instantly. Her new crush, Lucas, seemed quite nice from what she tells you.

The rest of your day is spent with Clementine over board games, movies, and cookies, and from how she eagerly spills out everything to you, you realize just how much she’s held from you, afraid to bother you since you “had a lot on her plate”. You secretly promise her that you’d be there for her more, that you’d forever be a shoulder to cry on for her from now on.

It’s almost funny, how a breakup forced you into having a better relationship with your sister.

When the night falls and you’re in Clementine’s room with her, ready to say goodnight, she musters enough courage to say something else to you.

“I like Jungkook.”

“I know, so does everyone,” You reply, suddenly remembering the multiple text messages from him that you’ve ignored.

Would he be upset with you? You decide that you’ll deal with that later.

“I like the way he looks at you.”

“What do you mean?” You questioningly state, taking the covers and putting it over her body. Even though she’s already 12, you don’t think you’ll ever stop tucking her in. She doesn’t object, either, eagerly accepting your advances and pulling the covers over so only her head pops out.

“He kinda,” She yawns, “He looks at you different.”

“Different?” You chuckle lightly, reaching out to turn off her lamp.

“Yeah,” She slowly closes her eyes, “Like how Dad looks at Mom.”

You freeze in place at her words, but then you quickly shake it off. She was most likely dreaming.

“You must be tired, Clem,” You mumble, “You should sleep.”

“Yeah, I should.”

You leave Clementine so she can sleep peacefully. With the absence of her around you comes the presence of an underlying issue that you never noticed was in your life.

When did Jungkook ever come into the equation?

Returning to your habit of tossing and turning around uncomfortably in your own bed, your mind tackles the notion of what your true feelings are for Jungkook.

Was he a bad person? Certainly not, from what you’ve learned. Were you guys friends? Yes, you were, obviously, from all the conversations you’ve had at your window.

Staring at said window, you imagine Jungkook sitting there, with his wide grin and his tousled, chestnut hair. You can almost smell the scent of his laundry detergent on your nose. His laugh rings in your ears, soft, breathy chuckles sounding almost like a melody to you. You think of all the times he’s walked you to your classes, dropping you off to your room before rushing on over to his own class that was on the other side of the building. He’s never told you, but you know that he’s always late to class because of you. This revealed itself because you’d see Jungkook hastily walking over to the attendance office to get tardy slips for his teacher.

You chuckle at the thought. It never registered in his head that the office was in the hallway of your 6th hour, so whenever he gets a slip you’ll see him pass by your doorway.

An image of Jungkook with Clementine flashes in your mind when you close your eyes. You see him dancing goofily with her to some Spanish song you’re not familiar with, all so that Clementine will be comfortable dancing around him. You take in how he smiles at her, how he looks at her so happily, and how he’s so eager to embarrass himself because he just likes seeing her laugh.

Then, when you close your eyes, you see Jungkook looking at you. His eyes are soft, and there’s something there you can’t really describe. It makes you feel safe, makes you feel like you can put your guard down around him. You notice that whenever your eyes meet his, there’s a bright, warm smile on his face.

A light, fluttery feeling hits your chest, but it’s far too faint for it to be significant, you think. You brush it off as something trivial. Jungkook was your friend, and that was that.

He was nothing more and nothing less, thank you very much.

[November 20, 12:30 AM] Y/N sorry for not texting back haven’t been feeling well i’ll be back tmrw, tho you got time to talk after school tmrw? we could get burgers or something [November 20, 12:31 AM] Jungkook Of course, yeah It’s no worries btw, Y/N Just wanna know you’re okay. I’m driving you I’m guessing? Y/N yeah there’s no one else who will, lol

Going back to school is a little rough, and although you only missed one day, you were already toppled with absent work and new lessons that you had to teach yourself.

But every worry seemed to disappear when you finally got to the diner with Jungkook. During this, you explain everything to him, stuffing your mouth with the fries that you loved so much. Jungkook listens to every single word you say, gnawing down on his bowl of mac n’ cheese.

“That’s so shitty of him.”

You can sense the anger in his tone.

“Yeah, I don’t know,” You shrug, pulling your strawberry smoothie close to you so you can take a sip, “Not my place anymore.”

Jungkook redacts what he was about to say, only nodding as to make sure he doesn’t speak over you.

“Sorry about not responding,” You mumble, and he shakes his head profusely.

“No, no, I get it,” He smiles fondly at you, “Don’t be sorry. I’m here for you, okay?”

It amazes you how understanding he can be. Seems like just yesterday he was chewing gum obnoxiously in your ears, blowing bubbles and popping them in hopes that the sound would destroy your eardrums.

Jungkook fills you in on what you had missed yesterday, already offering to help you if you need any help. The two of you spend the time at the diner talking about anything and everything, and things somewhat feel normal for once.

You wish that everything could stay just like this in the diner, where Jungkook is sitting in front of you, cracking lame jokes left and right and you’re laughing so hard that you can’t even be bothered to breathe anymore.

A few weeks pass, and you’ve slowly started to adjust to the “new normal” of your life. But this was only because you had such amazing friends to help you out whenever you saw Jimin with his new girlfriend. Hoseok has been there for you and always will be, Jungkook constantly has new jokes up his sleeve that he’s constantly waiting to use, and even though you’re not that close with Namjoon just yet, you’ve learned just how kindhearted he is.

This is because when you told him the whole story of you and Jimin, he started sending you pretty flowers every single day. Those were Namjoon’s “cheer up” texts that gave you a soft comfort when you received them.

Slowly but surely, your regular diner dates with Hoseok have turned into full on hangouts with the other two boys. Jungkook would drive you, while Namjoon would take Hoseok. Usually, though, your hangouts would consist of you and Jungkook losing your appetites over how sweet Namjoon and Hoseok are to each other. There wasn’t one time where Jungkook wouldn’t roll his eyes to you when Namjoon would compliment Hoseok’s hair, and you’ve lost track of how many times you’ve lost it over Hoseok pinching Namjoon’s cheek whenever he teases him.

It’s still a complete shocker to the both of you that they’re only friends.

But you honestly wouldn’t change your new friend group for the world. Albeit sort of dysfunctional and unconventional, you all worked together nicely.

Things slowly came together piece by piece, and you felt that maybe your life would continue on peacefully, just how you wanted it to.

However, today is different.

After school, Hoseok asks you if the two of you can hang out one on one, just like before, and of course you agree, because you had to admit that you did miss spending time with just him. So you expect it to be a fun filled Friday afternoon with Hoseok. Maybe you’d hear him rant about Namjoon being clueless for the umpteenth time without ever acknowledging how oblivious he is himself.

What you expect, however, is very different from your reality, because when Hoseok and you walk out of the school building and into the parking lot, you’re met with a pretty sizable crowd. There’s kids, mostly boys, pointing their cameras and you hear multiple shouts and cheers from the crowds.

You’re about to stealthily dodge the crowd and head over to Hoseok’s car, but then a gap forms in between a few students and your jaw hits the ground.

“Fuck you,” Jungkook spits, his familiar voice confirming your suspicions.

The other boys spur him on, yelling out incoherent words that you can’t decipher. You grab Hoseok by the wrist and pull him over to the crowd.

Getting a closer look at the scene, you and Hoseok give each other a scared, concerned glance. Jungkook has Jimin on the pavement, landing multiple brutal punches across his face. Jimin, whose eyes have turned hazy, has blood coming out of his nose, and if Jungkook lands one last punch, Jimin is bound to have a broken nose (if he already didn’t).

It’s a good thing, though, that the principal suddenly appears, pushing past everyone and splitting the two boys up. Jungkook and Jimin are both sitting up now, tattered and beaten down. Jungkook wipes away the blood on his mouth, while Jimin tries to catch his breath, his chest heaving up and down heavily. His face is screwed up in agony and you wince upon seeing the newly formed black eye that he’s sporting.

Jungkook doesn’t look any better either. He’s got bruises all over him, and a handful of deep cuts and scrapes from falling on the ground. He has blood on his sweatshirt, and you can’t tell if it’s his or Jimin’s.

The crowd disperses, students not wanting to get involved with the authorities. You and Hoseok stay, however, because Namjoon appears out of nowhere, his arms crossed and a tired look on his face while he assesses the damage. The principal pulls them away by their collars in order to create distance from the three of you standing there. Once there’s a reasonable space between all of you, he begins to mouth them off.

“He made jokes about it but I never thought it’d happen,” He sighs, rubbing his temples, “I got the principle once I saw what was going on. I was too late.”

“What’s gonna happen?” You ask, voice coming out in a weak whisper.

“They’ll both be expelled for a little bit,” Namjoon strokes his chin.

“Expelled?” Hoseok gasps in disbelief, “Don’t you mean suspended?” 

“The fight’s on school grounds, and they were both deliberately violent,” Namjoon explains, “If Jungkook had only made a threat to do it, then he’d be suspended. Expulsions last much longer than suspensions, based on what the principal will think is a fit punishment for the kids.”

Leave it to Kim Namjoon to know the school’s rulebook like the back of his hand.

“What’ll happen with sports?”

“Now that, I’m also not entirely sure,” Namjoon answers, and you can see the gears turning in his head, “Let’s hope the coaches will even be willing to talk to them.”

Jungkook makes eye contact with you and although he’s tired, he seems to have sobered up. You stare at him with shocked, disappointed eyes, and he looks down at his feet, like a dog who just got scolded by his owner. He rubs his nose, taking a deep breath and choosing to just listen to what the principal has to say.

What could have possibly compelled Jungkook to beat Jimin into a pulp?

The next night you see Jungkook at your door, the bruises and cuts on his skin somewhat faint, but still apparent.

“Um, hi,” His eyes bounce around from you then to the ground, “Listen, Y/N, I-“

“What the hell is wrong with you?” You hiss at him, coming out of the house and closing the door behind you.

“What?”

“Don’t you realize what you did yesterday?” You say, “Because of that you got fucking expelled!”

“That’s what I was here to talk about,” He explains.

“There was literally no reason for you to do that, Kook.”

“Y/N, if you were there, you’d understand.”

“No, Jungkook, no,” You shake your head, “I get it, Jimin’s an asshole. That doesn’t mean you need to beat him up for it!”

“Y/N,” He sighs, visibly irritated, “If you would just let me tell you why-“

“There’s no point, Jungkook!” You throw your hands up in the air while you yell at him, “You’re expelled! Do you even know if you can play football anymore?”

He bites his tongue, giving you a perfect answer.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“Y/N,” He grabs your wrists, forcing you to look at him, “If you had just heard the things he said about you, you’d get it. Please, I just wanted to talk to you and apologize. Please don’t be mad at me. I didn’t mean to.”

He’s pitiful before you and you feel your anger rise.

“Y/N, he said such shitty things about you.”

“I don’t give a shit!” You retort, pulling away from him,  “I don’t need you beating up people for me, Jungkook. Do you really think I’m that weak?”

His eyes widen and he’s at a loss for words.

“No, Y/N, I never said that,” He reasons, “I just didn’t want him to talk about you like that anymore. You guys aren’t even together anymore. I was fed up.”

“Don’t you think there’s other ways you could handle that? Maybe you could, I don’t know, ignore it?”

“Y/N, please,” He pleads, exasperated, “I know this sounds stupid, but I really couldn’t handle it. I’m sorry, I just-“

“Do you really think I’m that helpless?” You scoff, “That I can’t handle when someone speaks of me badly? That you have to do everything for me?”

“No-“

“There’s something wrong with you.”

“I know,” He mumbles, “I couldn’t control my anger.”

“Yeah, that’s apparent,” You deadpan, crossing your arms, “I don’t need you to fight my fights for me, Jungkook. That’s not how it works.”

“I know.”

“No, you don’t,” You spit, “If you had known that, then you wouldn’t have done anything.”

It’s an awkward position to be in, fighting with Jungkook at your front porch in the middle of a cold, December night, but you’re too heated to care. You ignore how you can see your breath come out in a light fog whenever you speak.

There’s a thin covering of snow everywhere, and you’re glad that you consistently wear a hoodie and sweatpants as pajamas in both summer and winter. Some snowflakes are resting on Jungkook’s head, leaving delicate white, sparkling dots in his hair. Matched with his red nose and red ears, you’d almost say he was adorable if you weren’t cussing him out right now.

“Why would you even think that was okay? Why would you do that?”

“Y/N… I…” He sputters out, “I just…”

“You just what? You think I’m so weak that I can’t handle my own problems?” You roll your eyes, “You’re unbelievable, Jungkook. You really think that I’m that weak?”

“No.”

“Then what is it?”

“You don’t get it do you?” He scoffs.

“What do you mean?”

“I did it because I couldn’t stand to hear him talking shit about you.”

“Why couldn’t you? It’s not your issue. It’s mine, and quite frankly-“

“It’s because I’m in love with you, Y/N!” He yells out, then coughs once his confession registers in his head, “I couldn’t… I didn’t want to hear him anymore.”

HIs words make your breath catch in your throat. Your heart stops, and Jungkook stares up at you nervously. You step away from, shaking your head profusely.

“No, you’re not,” You breathe out, “You’re really not.”

“I know it’s super wrong to say this now, I just,” He scratches the nape of his neck, “I guess I felt that I needed to tell you.”

“You barely even know me,” You say, and you can’t explain why tears well up in your eyes. You wipe them away, “Go home, Jungkook. It’s late.”

You’re about to go back into the house but Jungkook’s words make you stop dead in your tracks.

“I know that you’re ass at drawing,” He prompts, “You’re also shit at singing, but you do both anyways, because you think it’s fun.”

“Kook-“

“You say that you don’t do much in your freetime, but I know that you spend all of your time hanging out with Tina whenever you can, because you care about her that much,” He states, “I also know that you secretly really like Monopoly, even though you’re fuckin’ clueless on how to play it. Most of the time you go bankrupt, but even then you’re happy playing that. You’re the only person I know who’s like that.”

You’re speechless as Jungkook begins to list off specific details about you that even you don’t know.

“You always try to twirl your pencil in class, but every single time you get embarrassed when you drop it on your desk and everyone looks at you.”

“Jungkook, don’t do this,” You turn around, “Listen, you don’t know what it’d be like to be with me. You wouldn’t like it.”

“Who says that?”

“Me,” You say, “I’m still confused about everything. It’d be bad for both you and me. And plus, what if I’m not over Jimin? You wouldn’t want that. You wouldn’t like being with me.”

“Are you trying to convince me or yourself?”

“Huh?”

“Because I’m set, Y/N,” Jungkook declares, “From the moment I really got to know you, I figured that I wanted you for the rest of my life. And I’ll wait for you for as long as you need me to.”

“There’s no way you can be so sure.”

“I can feel it, Y/N,” His words are desperate as he tries to reason with you, “It’s different with you. I’m different when I’m with you. I’m happy.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I do know, Y/N!” He shouts, “I’ve spent so many nights trying to figure out why the fuck I think about you so much until I eventually realized it. I wouldn’t have told you if I wasn’t sure about my own feelings.”

“You’re wrong, Jungkook.”

“Can you stop?” He snaps, “Stop belittling my feelings. Stop acting like you know shit about love, because you don’t. Your only relationship was with an asshole who cheated on you and talks shit about you even though he’s with another girl.”

Jungkook’s right. He’s absolutely right. You’re reflected on it, too. But you can’t help but become enraged when the truth comes out of his mouth.

“I don’t know shit about love?” You laugh bitterly, “Yeah, I don’t. And Jimin was an asshole. But you don’t know anything about love either.”

“At least I know what I deserve and what you deserve,” He says, “If you could just give me a chance to show you-“

“Show me what love is?” You interrupt, “Jungkook, how can you? Your own brother doesn’t even love you!”

You struck a chord, and you see that right when the words come out of your mouth. It’s only during then that you realize that using facts in your arguments aren’t always the best thing. Jungkook gawks at you in disbelief, his mouth ajar.

“I.. Jungkook, I’m really sorry. Stuff like that isn’t your fault,” You open the door and step inside, “I think that just shows we’re not good together. You should go home. It’s late. Goodnight, Jungkook.”

After that night and once Jungkook is done with his (mercifully given) 10 day expulsion, he finds a way to avoid you at all costs at school, going as far as to even switch seats with someone in the one class you have together. Your supposed “long lasting” friend group had ultimately split up, you and Jungkook giving each other the cold shoulder while Hoseok and Namjoon tried to find a good balance of seeing each other and you guys at the same time.

Jungkook no longer drives you home, and there’s now an empty seat at the dinner table that looms heavily on your conscience. Clementine hasn’t said anything, reassuring you that she’s happy just being with you, but you know that she’s having a hard time dealing with the situation as well.

His name is omitted in your house, and no one in your family asks about him.

Well, until now.

Because when your mom sits with you on your bed, asking what really happened, you cry once more in her arms, the guilt finally pushing you past your breaking point again. You tell her everything, and she holds you close, hushing you while you cry.

“Why were you so upset with him?”

“I don’t… I don’t know,” You say as you think about it.

“Do you still have feelings for Jimin?”

You reevaluate your sentiments toward Jimin, and what used to be feelings of love and pain have simply withered away into disgust.

“No…? I don’t think so.”

“So what was the real reason?”

“I guess… I guess it’s because he was expelled and that means he could be off the team. He shouldn’t be risking that for me,” The words come out of your mouth almost involuntarily, as if they’ve been waiting to reveal themselves to you, “And the fact that he says that he’s in love with me when he hardly knows me… It was such a stupid fight and I feel terrible.”

You hide your face in your hands, thinking about what you’ve said to the poor boy.

“Are you in love with him?”

Something stirs in your heart, and it scares you.

“I can’t tell anymore.”

“Well, only you know what’s best for you, and you’ll figure it out. We’ll be here every step of the way,” Your mom assures you, “Can I just say one thing, though?”

You nod.

“When two people argue over something that’s considered stupid or trivial,” She starts, “That usually means they actually care about each other the most.”

[December 19, 8:09] Clem Y/N Can you come pick me up from Charlotte’s pls? I wanna go home Y/N why? is everything ok? Clem Please just pick me up I wanna go home I don’t like birthday parties anymore

“Hey, mom,” You rush over to her, showing her your phone. In an instant, you’re driving over to Clementine’s friend’s house. Once you reach the place, you knock on the door, and upon meeting the parents, you say that you need to pick up Clementine for an “urgent reason”.

It isn’t until she closes the car door and your mom starts driving that she breaks down in tears.

“What’s wrong?” You ask immediately, and once she regains her composure she responds.

“They made me,” She gasps, “They made me tell Lucas that I like him. H-He made fun of me and rejected me in front of everyone.”

You and your mom look at each other with sad, knowing eyes.

Looks like there’d be a warm bath and a lot of tough conversations for Clementine in the near future.

While you mope around and recharge your mental battery during heartbreak, it turns out that Clementine does the exact opposite. She overworks herself in order to distract herself from the fact that she’s devastated.

You take note of this when you come downstairs and you’re hit with the smell of chocolate chip cookies for the sixth time this week. They’re your favorite, but if Clementine bakes any more, you’re bound to get sick of them.

You ignore that and grab a cookie anyway, shoving it into your mouth with delight.

“Do you like it?” Clementine asks, nervous. You nod, and she beams at you.

For something as simple as chocolate chip cookies, Clementine sure does put a lot of pressure on herself to make them perfect.

“Seok’s coming over later tonight,” You attempt to make conversation while she’s already looking through her phone for a new recipe to try.

“Ah, really? That’s great! I miss him,” She smiles, “I actually, um, I have plans today too.”

“Really? With who?”

“Mom already knows,” She says rather quickly, “I’m going out with a friend to dinner.”

Despite your curiosity gnawing away at you, urging you to ask her who this friend is, you stay quiet. This was something she needed, and if your mom was okay with it, then things should be fine.

Leaving the kitchen, you go upstairs to take a nice, long shower.

“Y/N?” You hear Clementine’s muffled voice behind your door.

“It’s open.”

She steps in, and you stare at her in awe. She’s wearing a light blue, off-the-shoulder dress and from the looks of it, your mom has done her makeup beautifully. Her hair is curled, waves gently framing her face. She fidgets with the silver clutch purse in her hands shyly, while she feels your gaze on her.

“Do I, um,” She gulps, “Do I look okay?”

“You look beautiful.”

She gets even shier, sporting a soft smile on her face. While she looks amazing, she still is unsure of herself, standing awkwardly as she tries to get used to wearing such nice clothes. You feel a touch of pain that comes along with the swell of pride in your chest when you see how beautiful your sister is. It’s such a shame, seeing how fast time flies.

“Do you know which shoes would look good with this?” She asks, “I don’t think my sneakers aren’t really ideal.”

“Oh, definitely not,” You tease, getting up from your bed, “We’re almost the same shoe size, right?”

“Pretty much.”

“Okay, you can borrow my flats then,” The two of you make your way to the shoe closet, and you crouch down to sort through the piles of dress shoes, “Unless you want heels?”

“Oh, no thank you,” She spews out, and you laugh. Even under all the makeup and fancy dresses you could put Clementine in, you could never change who she really is.

You grab a pair of light beige ballet flats. They’re rounded at the tip and have a black section at the too. There’s a thin, dainty elastic bow on both of them, and when Clementine sees them, she falls in love. Of course, you knew right away that she’d like them. There was no use in having her try on other flats.

“Thank you so much, Y/N!”

“Anytime.”

There’s a bright smile on both of your faces, and your conversation is interrupted when Clementine’s phone ring.

“Oh, I’ve gotta go,” She says, leaning in to press a kiss in your cheek, “Bye, Y/N!”

“Bye, Clem. Be safe.”

“I will!”

And with that, she’s out of the door and you’re left by yourself on this frigid Friday evening. You sigh, slouching down into the couch and turning on the TV. You can’t seem to remember a day in your life where you’ve been by yourself like this, both your parents and Clementine off to dinner at some fancy places you don’t know.

For the hundredth time this evening, you check the time.

 7:23. 

Hoseok would be here any minute, but right now you’re left to your own device.

It’s during then where your thoughts start to travel to the mess of your own life.

You mindlessly watch the cartoons that are playing on your screen while you reflect on your past mistakes. Jungkook continues to flash into your mind and you can’t help but wince every 2 or 3 minutes when you’re rudely reminded of your harsh words towards him. You cover your face in your hands, regretting every single moment of your life up till now. There was nothing that was going to bring back your friendship with Jungkook.

Why did you care so much? You shake your head as you try to sort out the discordant jumble of your emotions. There was no reason to care. You had only really gotten to know Jungkook this year. If someone was able to develop feelings for you that quickly, then certainly they weren’t real. Maybe Jungkook is in love with the idea of you. Or he’s incredibly bored and mistakes feelings of friendship for being in love. That’s usually how things play out.

So why were you bothered so much?

Why did you keep checking your phone to see if he would ever text you? Even now you’re tapping into your conversation with him, waiting to see if he’d type something out. Without thinking, you type a simple “I’m sorry” out. The words glare back at you, asking you why the fuck you haven’t sent them to him yet. You let out a tired sigh and delete them.

Although it’s childish, your mind’s first defense is to tarnish your version of Jungkook’s image. Jeon Jungkook was, in his core, a conceited, good-for-nothing quarterback who cared about no one else except for himself.

You groan, hitting yourself. Every single word in that statement isn’t true.

“What the fuck,” You whine to nobody in particular, curling up into a ball.

Why did Jungkook have to force his way into your life like that? Jungkook with his stupidly soft brown hair and his annoyingly pretty eyes. With his kind smile and laugh that you’d love to record and just hear on repeat for the rest of your days. Jeon Jungkook, the person you’d never expect to be your new best friend, but here he was, just popping up out of nowhere and disappearing without a trace. You curse his name over and over again. Why couldn’t you get his face out of your mind?

His infuriatingly attractive face and his built frame that always makes an appearance, no matter how loose his clothing is. It’s a whole repeat of the other night, where all your senses, all your thoughts, are nothing but him.

You hear his laughter. How it’s so sweet, so soft. You see the way his eyes crinkle up into pretty little crescent moons, how his toothy grin makes yet another appearance into your mind. How his eyes look so endearingly at you, like you could do no wrong in his sight. You think about reaching out to him. Maybe for a hug? You’re not so sure. All you can think about now, though, is how warm his embrace probably is. He’s always gentle with Clementine. There’s no doubt that he’s gentle and kind towards you now, too.

How would he look, laying next to you in bed? How would he look in the morning? Would he have even messier hair? Sleepy eyes? A lazy smile across his lips? Would he—

The doorbell rings, literally saving you from the grave you’re digging yourself. It wakes you up from your thoughts, making you realize that you shouldn’t be thinking of a friend like this.

You run over to the door, and when it’s open, you’re suddenly engulfed in Hoseok’s arms. You almost topple over, Hoseok being quite taller than you and stronger. He’s got a giddy grin on his face, and it looks like he’s just received the best news of his life. You have a confused, although happy smile on your face as well.

“Y/N, I’ve got so much to tell you!”

“Let me go make some popcorn,” You say, excited to hear the good news, “You got the movies, right?”

Hoseok takes off his backpack and pulls out three DVD cases.

“Obviously.”

They’re all cheesy rom-coms that are supposedly targeted towards teenagers, but are made by adults that apparently haven’t talked to a teenager in their life, despite having been one a few years earlier. That makes the movies all the better, though, because Hoseok and you like to take your time to nitpick all of the flaws in every single one. It’s a nice pastime with your best friend.

“Well, let’s get to it then!”

For the first time in forever, you can’t wait to torture yourself by watching shitty chick flicks with Hoseok.

“He did what?” 

“He kissed me, Y/N! He kissed me!” Hoseok squeals, and he almost drops the bowl of popcorn on his lap. 

The terrible movie is long forgotten.

“In the rain?” You ask, equally as excited, “Holy shit, Hobs, that’s like a movie!”

“I know,” He can’t wipe the grin off his face, “I was so mad at him before, ‘cause like, he just wouldn’t do anything! But then he kissed me out of nowhere!”

He‘s head over heels, dramatically leaning into the couch while pressing the back of his hand to his forehead, an over exaggerated performance of a faint.

“I feel like I’ve been struck by Cupid!”

“I think you’ve been like that a long time ago.”

“Shut up.”

“Just sayin’.”

Hoseok angrily grabs a handful of popcorn and shoves it in his mouth, the popcorn squeaking and crunching between his teeth.

“I hate that you’re always right.”

“Well, that’s not so true anymore…”

Your head hangs low, your vision on the screen now on your own bowl of popcorn. You grab a handful for yourself, using the action of chomping as a way to preoccupy yourself from the guilt.

“Hey, listen,” Hoseok wraps an arm around you and you rest on him, “It was in the heat of the moment.”

“Doesn’t make it right.”

“Okay, maybe you’re right there,” He chuckles, “But, hey, no one’s perfect. Jungkook was out of line. So were you. Stuff like that happens.”

“Why do I care so much?” You sigh, dejected.

“Because you like him,” He hums, almost nonchalantly.

“W-What?”

“You like Jungkook, Y/N.”

You stay silent, and Hoseok lifts you off of him so he can grab you by the shoulders.

“...Do you seriously not know?” His brows furrow, and you stare at him blankly.

“I think you might be wrong there, bud,” You give him a questioning look.

“Y/N, I love you. You’re an idiot.”

He stands up, and you’re still dumbfounded at his words. Hoseok reaches over to the coffee table and takes your phone. He clicks it on, the brightness causing you to squint. You take a mental note to stop having the brightness setting so high all the time. Once your eyes adjust to the lighting, you’re met with an image of Jungkook standing next to you in the living room, his arm around you while the both of you smile at the camera.

He’s got a tiara on and you have a fairy wand and a scratchy tutu wrapped around your waist, the tight elastic causing your t-shirt to bunch up in thick wrinkles. You involuntarily giggle to yourself when you see the picture. After playing a few board games with Clementine one night, she wanted to go into the attic and dress the two of you up in her old Halloween costumes. Of course, wanting to entertain her, the both of you granted her wishes.

And as if on cue, the smile from ear to ear that you’re sporting has dawned the realization on you.

“We’re just friends…”

“Y/N. I know you. You’ve been a bitch before. Without remorse,” Hoseok sighs, shaking his head.

“Hey!”

“All I’m saying is,” He puts his hands up in surrender, “Y/N, you know how good you are in arguments when you’re angry. You almost never feel bad when you use your words.”

“Okay, I’m not that bad-“

“Y/N,” He asserts, “Remember last year when you cussed that one Freshman out ‘cause he threw a french fry at me?”

“Yeah…”

“You went out of your way to sit down next to him and then proceed to tell him that if he disappeared, no one would notice.”

“I said that?” Your voice has only now become a pathetic little squeak.

“Yes, yes, you did,” He waves his hand after he speaks, “We’re getting off topic. What I’m telling you right now is that you’re blunt. Incredibly blunt. Like, holy shit, how can you say that? type of blunt.”

“I got that, but-“

“Not done,” He shoves the phone in your face even more, as to prove a point, “As we’ve seen before, you forget half of the crap you say. You never feel bad.”

You huff, not sure if you want to hear what Hoseok’s about to say next.

“Look at yourself right now. You’ve been moping over one sentence you’ve said to one boy for how long?” He wags the phone around, further emphasizing the said point, “And now you see one picture of him and you’re giggling like a dumbass.”

You sink back into the couch, the weight of everything hitting you way too strongly, too quickly.

“Well, let’s just say I did like him-“

“You’re fucking kidding me.”

“Just, just hear me out, okay?” You beg, and Hoseok tosses your phone on the table before slumping down on the couch, “So let’s say I did like him. Don’t you think I would’ve known by now?”

“Holy- Jungkook was right when he said you didn’t know shit,” Hoseok’s so close to losing it and killing you, “Have you seen the way you look at him?”

“No?”

“You’re insufferable,” Hoseok groans, whipping out his phone and scrolling through his camera roll. He taps on a video and he shows it to you.

On his screen, you’re sitting in the front passenger seat while Jungkook drives, both of you screaming out the songs on the radio from the top of your lungs. It was some cheesy song both of you hated but knew all of the lyrics to. You examine yourself in the video. When you look at Jungkook, there’s—yet again—another bright smile on your face, and there seems to be a twinkle in your eye. You cringe at yourself, hearing your voice and seeing just how wide your smile is, which causes your cheeks to puff up unflatteringly.

A hand reaches to your face when you notice how chubby it is.

“Where and how did you take that?”

“Remember when Joonie’s car broke down and we had to ride with you losers?”

“Oh.”

You think about that day. It was oddly suspicious as to how quiet they were in the car. Usually, Hoseok would’ve been nervously mouthing Namjoon’s ear off by then.

“Need I say more?”

You almost feel betrayed. Betrayed by how blind you’ve been, how stupid you’ve been.

“Well, it’s a lost cause,” You lament, “I fucked everything up. He probably doesn’t care about me anymore.”

“Not exactly.”

Hoseok swipes out of his camera roll and goes into Snapchat. He slides over to the Stories section and taps on one of the small circles. You’re met with yet another truth revealing image.

Took this kiddo out since some meanie broke her heart ;(

The translucent black bar almost laughs while Clementine smiles back at you—or, the camera, at least. She’s wearing the light blue dress from before and her hair has slightly gone flat, but is still quite wavy. There’s a huge plate of spaghetti before her, and she’s holding onto her fork with anticipation.

“If he didn’t care, why would he take the time to take Tina out tonight? He could’ve ignored her reaching out to him.”

While he is extremely right, you’re more focused on the situation itself.

“Why didn’t she tell me it was him taking her to dinner?”

Yet another betrayal tonight.

“I dunno, maybe it’s ‘cause you probably would use those pretty little words of yours towards her.”

“Am I really that scary?”

“Not all of the time,” He says, “But that’s ‘cause Jungkook makes you less high strung.”

“Hey, I’d watch what you’re saying right now-“

Hoseok wraps his arms around you, and he lets out a shaky, forced laugh. You don’t hug him back, but instead you let his embrace cool you down.

“You know I love you, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Anyways, more important than you planning out my funeral in your head right now,” He continues, “This is perfect for you.”

“What? The fact that my sister is going out on a date and I’m not is perfect?”

“No, no, you really are clueless, aren’t you? You poor, poor little girl,” He sighs, “This is a perfect opportunity for you to make amends with Wonder Boy tonight!”

“He just cares about Clem, not me, Seok,” You pout, “It’d be nice to, but he probably hates me.”

“Oh, but that’s where you’re also wrong!”

Once again, Jung Hoseok is pulling out receipts left and right with the sole purpose of proving you wrong. He goes into his text conversations and taps on a group chat between him, Namjoon, and Jungkook. You squint at the title.

“Therapy from Y/N’s Stubborn Ass?”

“Poor kid named it, not me!”

You roll your eyes, scrolling through the conversation. An odd clump of texts from Jungkook shine out to you the most. They’re all from the night of you messing up your friendship with him.

[December 6, 12:54 AM] Jungkook (Namjoon’s Stalker) I feel like I’m going insane I know I should be mad at her And I’m sure when I think about it properly, I will be But for some reason I don’t?

“Nice name for Namjoon.”

“Shut up and read the fucking texts before I lose it.”

[December 6, 12:55 AM] Joon Bug <3 Maybe you’re just tired, that was a lot to take in Hoseok yeah, but also try not to take it too hard. y/n’s kind of just like that. she thinks before she speaks and she gets way too angry for her own good. even more so if she cares about you.

“No need to call me out like that.”

“Trust me, Y/N, you needed to hear it eventually.”

[December 6, 12:54 AM] Jungkook (Namjoon’s Stalker) Yeah, you’re right It’s kind of cute, isn’t it?

The rest of the conversation is Jungkook praising you, adoring how “strong” you could be and how cute you were when you got upset. It’s a complete shift in mood from seconds ago, and obviously the reaction you were not expecting. The same fluttery feeling becomes stronger in your chest, so much so that it’s too obvious to ignore. You throw the phone back to Hoseok, not being able to cope with the heaping amounts of new information you’ve received.

“What time do you think they’ll get here?” You murmur.

“Soon enough,” Hoseok sighs again, this time in relief, knowing that you were finally going to listen to him.

You decide to ease some of your nerves by actually watching the movie, pinpointing the many beautiful flaws of the characters and the stories.

“Y/N?” You feel someone shake you, “Y/N? Wake up.”

You croak some incoherent grumbles, rubbing your puffy eyes. You cautiously open one of them, gauging how bright the lights are. Once you’ve adjusted, you blink to see Clementine above you. You sit up from Hoseok, who you’ve been leaning on for the past few hours and who’s still sound asleep.

Who knew criticizing three romance movies back to back would make you so tired?

“Hi, Clem,” You yawn, stretching out your arms, “How was dinner?”

“Great,” She giggles, “I actually have something for you, and you might be mad at me for it.”

“What is it?”

“Well, it’s more of a who, than a what.”

You nod, as Clementine helps you get up from the couch. In your sleep ridden daze, you forget about your urgency to talk to Jungkook and you also don’t recognize that she’s pulling you from your arm and walking you out the door. You only realize it when a brisk wind slaps you harshly in the face, causing your hair to become even more tangled than before.

Before you know it, you’re standing in front of Jungkook on your driveway and Clementine is running back into the house to find refuge in your best friend.

He’s dressed in a simple black suit, a white dress shirt neatly tucked into his pants. The thin, breathable fabric is tight against his skin, further showing just how built he is for his age. The scars and bruises have faded away completely, but you do see a bandage or two when his sleeve rolls up to scratch his nose or fix a piece of hair that’s out of place. His hair is neatly combed into a middle part, some of the hair fanning over his eyes. His hands are now shoved in his pockets, and he’s staring down at you, waiting for you to say something.

Small is probably the best way to describe how you feel when you’re in his presence right now. Underdressed, too, maybe, as you’re only clad in an old hoodie that has the name of a college you’ve never heard of, some thick, baggy sweatpants, and a pair of bunny slippers. Not to mention how messy your hair is and how your face is still puffy from the deep sleep you were in mere minutes ago.

“Um… Hi,” You wince once you hear how scratchy your voice is. This certainly is doing wonders for your image.

“Hey,” He responds, hesitant as well.

You bite your lip, trying to find the right words to say. You plan to confess to him, right here and right now, but another harsh wind hits you, causing you to shiver and clutch your arms around yourself to try to create some warmth for yourself. Immediately, Jungkook takes off his blazer and wraps it around you. He leads you to the trunk of his car, and once it’s open, he helps you get up there so you can sit.

Bless his parents for giving him an SUV.

The car trunk blocks out the outside wind, and Jungkook’s blazer gives you immense warmth. The scent of laundry detergent mixed with faint, pleasant cologne floods your senses, calming you down right away. Jungkook watches as you snuggle yourself in his clothes. His legs hang over the edge of the trunk while you curl up in a ball, leaning on one side of the car.

“I’m sorry,” You clear your throat, “For being an asshole.”

“It’s no-“

“No, don’t say that. It’s not something you can just brush over so lightly,” You look him dead in the eye while you speak, “I was terrible and I’m really sorry for saying such mean things to you. You didn’t deserve that.”

Jungkook nods, pressing his lips together into a thin line before licking them. A thin layer of saliva glosses his lips, their color a more vivid shade of pink.

“I’m really sorry, Jungkook,” You repeat, “I shouldn’t have said that.”

Your voice is clear even though your heart is beating violently against your chest, and even you’re amazed. Hoseok was right when he said that you were good with your words.

Well, up until now.

“Y/N-“

When he says your name, your words ungracefully sputter out of your mouth, displaying just how afraid you are. 

“No, I’m, like, really, really sorry,” You feel tears well up in your eyes, but you brave on nonetheless, “I get it if you don’t want to talk to me anymore, and that’s okay, I just-“

“Y/N.”

In a split second, Jungkook’s hands are cupped around your face. He stares into your eyes deeply, fondly, just like he always does. You blink back at him, eyes fluttering while you try to adjust to the proximity. It’s then where you see every single little detail on his face that makes him who he is. The little scar on his cheek, the moles lightly dotted on his skin, and the way his eyes seem doe-like, almost. You take it all in, noticing how your breaths have synchronized, cold fog coming from of both of your lips.

You almost forget how much you like the way he says your name.

“Listen to me,” He whispers, “I’m okay. You’re okay.”

“Really?”

“I forgive you.”

The tears you’ve been desperately trying to hold back have somehow found their way out, and Jungkook chuckles while his thumb wipes them away. His touch is gentle on your skin, almost ticklish, and he doesn’t say anything else but just continues to dry the tears falling from your eyes.

“Jungkook,” You sniffle, “You’re too nice for your own good.”

He shrugs, letting out a breathy laugh. It’s music to your ears, just like it’s always been.

“Only to the people I love,” He tilts his head to the side, “Other than that, I’m pretty selfish.”

You giggle as well, putting your hands on his and leaning more into his touch. Your eyelids flutter downwards, as you take the time to just feel him on your skin, to savor this moment for yourself.

“Do you still think I don’t know anything about you, Y/N?”

You open your eyes and look at him, as he expectantly waits for you to answer. For some reason, though, your words catch in your throat. You never seem to be able to speak properly around Jungkook. He sighs, taking your silence as a resounding “yes”.

“Your name is Y/F/N Y/L/N and you’re a junior in high school. You’re on the Monarchs cheer team, and your best friend is named Jung Hoseok,” He says, not taking his hands away from you, “You have a little sister named Clementine, who’s 12. Your mom’s a psychiatrist and your dad is an architect. Even though they’re always busy, they’ve been trying to find ways to spend more time together.”

The routinely symphony of crickets mixed with Jungkook’s voice and the scent of Jungkook constantly wafting into your nose almost makes you faint. The state you’re in is one of complete bliss, complete relaxation as his hands are warm and welcoming against your skin. You’d go to sleep if Jungkook wasn’t professing his love for you for the second time right now.

“You like One Direction, even though a lot of people think that’s cringy. You’re still a big fan of the Power Rangers, and Trini, the Yellow Ranger, is your favorite. You can be incredibly mean and you can say things out of line, but most of the time you just don’t think before speaking,” He smiles at you while he speaks, “Deep down inside I know you’re an incredible softie. And I know that because of how you treat Tina. And, ‘cause you’re a softie ‘round me too, even if you don’t realize it.”

“Oh, Jungkook,” You breathe out, a smile forming on your lips as well.

“You used to hate me, because I called you thunder thighs during practice, and rightfully so,” He mumbles the last part, and you giggle.

“Didn’t know you’d remember that.”

“Remembered it ‘cause I can never forget how angry you were that day,” He teases, “Anyways, you used to hate me so much. And I’ll be honest, you had every reason to. I didn’t like you that much either.”

“Ouch.”

He rolls his eyes at you.

“But then I got to know you, got to see how kind and genuine you are around people, even if you don’t see that,” He says, “Sometimes you say terrible things, but under that tough exterior, all you are is just a genuine girl who does her best to make the people she loves happy.”

“You’re hardworking, smart, and extremely funny,” He continues, “In and out, you’re a beautiful person. That’s the Y/N I know, and that’s the Y/N I love and I will be in love with for a long time.”

You sniffle, and Jungkook waits, afraid that you’ll start crying again. When you don’t, he takes a deep breath before talking again.

“You’re all I’ve ever wanted, Y/N,” He confesses, “Can’t you see?”

You shake your head, reaching out to grab him by the collar. You pull him in and press your lips against him, your whole body being set aflame and your lips telling him everything that you’re dying to say. There’s a faint taste of Jungkook’s watermelon flavored gum on your tongue (If you thought about it hard enough, there was a hint of pasta there as well). His lips are soft and pillowy against yours, and you feel as though you’ve waited for this moment for your entire life.

Who knew it would take your mom, your sister, and Hoseok to make you realize that?

Jungkook smiles against your lips, caressing your face lovingly with his thumbs. Your hand finds a way through his soft brown locks, combing through the strands that fall in between your fingers.

The sky is painted pitch black, save for the bright stars and the moon shining for the two of you, but your world is painted in deep shades of pink. Sure, it may be extremely cold because it is still December after all, but Jungkook’s lips feel warm on yours and that’s all the heat you needed to survive. You could stay like this forever if you could, if your lungs could take it.

However, that isn’t humanly possible, and after what feels like forever, your body reminds you that you still need oxygen to function.

You pull away, hands still in their respective place while the two of you meet eyes, chests moving up and down in sync. Your lips are slightly parted, mimicking Jungkook’s, and a silence falls on the two of you, but it’s not uncomfortable. It’s peaceful, as your world becomes nothing but Jungkook right at this moment.

“I love you,” both of you say at the same time, and before you know it, you’re laughing. Jungkook’s still stunned at first, but now he’s laughing just because you’re laughing and it’s contagious.

And in this moment, you feel safe.

Sure, you didn’t know a thing about love. You couldn’t even tell left from right at some times. But maybe that was okay. Maybe you didn’t have to figure everything out right now. Sitting with Jungkook in the trunk of his car, where the stars are beaming down on you and his coat is keeping you warm, is honestly all you need tonight. And maybe you still have some negative feelings you need to resolve from your past relationships. Maybe you had some issues in yourself that you needed to sort out, but that was okay, because Jungkook had his fair share of issues himself. And regardless of all of that, he was ready to risk it all for you. He was willing to learn and grow with you. Jungkook would wait for you as long as it takes. And you don’t need him to reassure you. You didn’t need to worry about it. You didn’t need to worry about anything, you realize.

Because now Jungkook’s walking you back into your house, offering to tuck you into bed and stay with you until you fall asleep, even though you’re 17 and you’re very well aware that you don’t need someone else to keep you company so you can sleep.

That doesn’t mean you’d decline his offer, though, as you lie in bed with him, snuggled up in his arms while he runs his hands through your hair. His dress shirt is scratchy against your skin, but you don’t care. Being with him is enough for you. 

“Are you still on the team?” You ask out of the blue, eyelids drooping down while your burning curiosity gets the best of you, “You didn’t get kicked off because of me, did you-“

He peppers your face in kisses.

“Coach and I are close, he gets it,” He mumbles against your skin, “Just gotta do a lot of his chores for the rest of the year and summer. I’ll be okay, Y/N.”

“Okay…”

“That’s not your fault, princess,” He chuckles, “That was mine.”

“Yeah, definitely,” You nuzzle your face in his chest, “Still upset you did that.”

“Oh, I know,” He places yet another kiss on your head, “But for you, I’d do it all over again if I had to.”

And as the two of you fall asleep soundly in each other’s arms, you’re unaware of the loving smiles from your family and Hoseok’s faces when they see you two through the slightly opened door.

Epilogue

A little more than a year has passed. You’ve kept track.

Life has thrown obstacle after obstacle your way, but you’ve overcome all of them so far, and you plan to do so until your last breath. Jungkook was right when he said that you were strong. It’s amazing how you didn’t quite exactly realize this until now. 

But this “strength” is long gone today, as you’re sitting on a fancy wooden chair, the soft cushion feeling good under you, in the middle of an Italian restaurant. The chandelier’s are dimly lit, shading your beige surroundings in elegant oranges and creams. You take a deep breath, trying to still your heart that's pounding violently in your chest. Your nerves work against every single word of the pep talk you’ve given yourself this morning, and you steady yourself, fidgeting with the silk, blue fabric of your dress that’s laying across your lap.

You look over to your right, and if you were stressed out, Jungkook was ten times worse, to say the least.

His right leg is bouncing up and down uncontrollably, and he continues to wipe away sweat from his forehead with a napkin, despite the fact that the restaurant is heavily air conditioned. His lips are formed in a tight, miniscule circle, and he’s also trying to steady his breathing, but he fails time and time again, hyperventilating right after. Every few seconds, he’ll pull out his phone and use his camera as a mirror, his fingers fixing the littlest flaw in his hair that his mind seems to create. His left arm is resting on your chair, the feeling of the thick material of his sleeve tickling your skin.

You sigh, watching how much of a nervous wreck he was, despite how amazing he looked in his tux.

“Still can’t believe you took Clem to this place before me,” You quip, and Jungkook is taken out of his trance, a smile falling on his lips once his eyes meet yours, “I think that’s a little unfair, don’t you?”

A miniscule portion of the tension in his body is gone while he’s thinking of what to say, not willing to miss any chance of responding to your jokes with something of equal (if not more) wittiness.

“First come, first serve, princess,” He chuckles, and you roll your eyes at him, punching his chest lightly. Once you’re quiet, he’s back to overthinking.

“Y’know, the fact that you’re more nervous than I am is saying something,” You hum, reaching up to poke his cheek so that he returns to Earth.

“I can’t help it…”

You smirk, planting a soft kiss on his cheek. His face flashes up, and he shakes his head at you.

“You’re crazy, y’know that?” He sighs, staring at you dreamily. Even now, he becomes head over heels when you kiss him out of the blue. The sight of him having literal heart eyes for you makes you giggle.

“So are you,” You respond, “But, hey, it’ll be okay, I promise. Nothing bad could possibly happen.”

“...Really?”

“Of course, Kook,” You place your hand on his thigh, giving it an affirmative squeeze, “Everything will be fine.”

“And if it’s not?”

“Well,” You click your tongue, “We’ll get there when we get there.”

He nods, most of the stress leaving his head. You take a sigh of relief, seeing how relaxed he’s become. Now he’s cracking jokes about anything and everything, and you feel a flutter in your chest. Jungkook was back to his normal self.

Well, he was until he suddenly froze in his seat while he was in the middle of telling you a funny story during practice. Your focus is turned away from him and you follow his line of vision. You’re met with a waitress leading a middle-aged man and a boy into the seating area. She scans the room and once she sees your table, she gestures over to you two, a bright, pleasant smile on her face.

Jungkook immediately stands up to greet the two of them, thanking the waitress for her assistance. He guides them to the table, and it’s only then where you get a good look at them.

You suppress a laugh. Jungkook definitely had his father’s nose.

So did his little brother, Yeonjin, who was the spitting image of Jungkook when Jungkook was 13. He even has the infamous bowl cut that Jungkook had when he was younger. The boy takes out the earbuds in his ears, unplugs them from his phone, rolls them up in his hand, and places the coiled up earbuds into his pocket of his trousers.

He stares up at you, almost in awe, and so does his dad, who’s looking you up and down. Jungkook’s father acts as if he’s dissecting a subject, taking you apart piece by piece and rearranging you in his mind so as to get a better understanding of your character. It’s times like these where you wish that mind reading was a skill.

Jungkook takes another deep breath. He then gestures to you, and you flash a polite smile to them, reaching out your hand.

“Um, Yeonie,” He clears his throat, “Dad, this is Y/N.”

There’s a beat of silence before he speaks again.

“She’s my girlfriend.”

“Nice to meet you, Y/N,” His father says, a soft smile appearing finally. He shakes your hand. Yeonjin follows his actions, shaking your hand with an obviously lesser amount of strength, but with the same eagerness all the more. You hide the uneasiness in your chest, knowing all that you know about Jungkook’s dad and his brother. And knowing that his dad doesn’t know that you know about him.

Nevertheless, though, you sit down with his other side of the family and make easy conversation with them while all of you look through the menu. Yeonjin points to one dish on the menu to his dad, and then whips out his phone and starts scrolling through social media. He doesn’t say anything, save for a soft chuckle or snicker when he sees a funny post on his phone.

You take a glance at Jungkook, who has become more composed than earlier. You take a few more glances, and Jungkook does the same. When you make eye contact, you give him a bright smile, and he mirrors you. You feel the back of his hand on your thigh, and you put your hand in his. He lets out a sigh, squeezing you and massaging your skin with his thumb. The action brings both of you at peace.

“So, Y/N,” His dad takes a sip of the ice cold water in his glass, “How did you get to know Jungkook?”

This time, Yeonjin actually looks up from his phone to stare at you with curiosity.

You smile at them sheepishly, wondering what exactly to tell them of your wild ride of a story with Jungkook. Maybe you could omit some parts here and there, especially the part about him getting expelled because of you. You’re not even sure if his dad knew that happened to him.

You gulp, and Jungkook squeezes your hand once more. Now it’s him making sure that you return to Earth. Your nerves are still set on fire, though, and you stammer out a few incoherent sounds while you try to find the right things to say.

This was definitely going to be significantly harder than having dinner with his mom.

a/n: hope you guys enjoyed!!! it had quite a bunch of cliches but i loved writing them nonetheless. i love you all :)

#fic: my babysitter’s a quarterback #fic: mbaq #bts fanfiction #bts fic #bangtan fanfic #bts fanfic #jungkook fanfic #jungkook fluff #jungkook angst #jungkook oneshot #bts jungkook fanfiction #bts jungkook fluff #bts jungkook angst #jeon jungkook fic #bts scenario #bts scenarios #bts oneshot #bts oneshots #jungkook oneshots

[ecoamerica]

Watch the 2024 American Climate Leadership Awards for High School Students now: https://youtu.be/5C-bb9PoRLc

The recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by student climate leaders! Join Aishah-Nyeta Brown & Jerome Foster II and be inspired by student climate leaders as we recognize the High School Student finalists. Watch now to find out which student received the $25,000 grand prize and top recognition!

#ACLA24 #ACLA24HighSchoolStudents #youtube #youtube video #climate leaders #climate solutions #climate action #climate and environment #climate #climate change #climate and health #climate blog #climate justice #climate news #weather and climate #environmental news #environment #environmental awareness #environment and health #environmental #environmental issues #environmental education #environmental justice #environmental protection #environmental health #high school students #high school #youth #youth of america #school

[halstudandruz]

Had Me By Halftime

*Not my gif*

Pairing: Kevin Atwater x Reader

Requested: Yes

Prompt: Based off the song Had Me By Halftime by Morgan Wallen

Warnings: Swearing

A/N: I know this game was on a Monday but we’re gonna pretend it wasn’t. Also I know there’s different rules to cornhole, but I did the 21 or bust version for sake of the story.

You were talkin' trash, we were tossin' bags

When I caught your name at a corn hole game

You and your friends had decided to tailgate at the Chicago Bears game. You were in your last semester of college and your group had collectively decided to forego buying tickets. Not wanting nosebleed seats, but knowing your broke college student bank account would not offer many other options. The parking lot was crowded with Bears fans; scattered Minnesota Vikings fans sticking out in the crowd. It was surprisingly warm for a Chicago October. You had just finished a game of flip cup and informed your friends you were going to get food from a nearby food truck, your best friend, Madison tagging along. You hadn’t made it far from your group when you made eye contact with a handsome man. Slowly walking you heard him talking to a man about the same age as him,

“Adam come on!” He exclaimed.

“I am not playing against him, he might as well be a pro.” The brown haired man shook his head.

“Don’t take it out on me cause I’m better than you.” Another good-looking brown-haired man from the group laughed shrugging and throwing an arm around a pretty blonde girl who wasn’t even paying attention to the men, already conversing with a group of girls. The handsome dark skinned man groaned seemingly pouting. Grabbing Madison’s arm you stopped her to pull her over to the group.

“You need a couple players?” You smiled gesturing to the corn hole boards.

“Actually yeah we do.” He nodded.

“Let’s roll.” You challenged taking your place by the board and picking up the orange bean bags. Madison sighed already reading your dirty thoughts about the man as she walked to the board opposite of you and the broad muscled man took his place next to you, gathering the navy blue bags. “Let me just get you a menu cause you’re about to get served.” You joked and luckily he let out an adorable laugh.

“That’s the best you got?” He sported a wide smile causing you to instantly blush.

“Yeah...sorry I’m not the best at trash talking. My game usually speaks for itself.” You shrugged, turning to throw the bean bag on the board Madison stood by. Watching it slide right through the center. Humming he looked at you impressed, gearing up when you threw him a seductive smirk.

“Let the games begin.” He grinned.

The game was close, full of playful banter, and maybe a little flirting from you and the man you now knew was named, Kevin. Luckily you and Madison came out on top thanks to Kevin’s partner’s accidental bust over 21 taking their score back down to 13.

“Ruz, you might want to take up a math class in your spare time.” Kevin teased, knowing he only aimed for the board because of his poor math skills.

“Shut up.” He attempted to throw a bag at him, but it fell short. “I’m never playing this game again.” Adam huffed, walking away.

“Don’t hate the player, hate the game.” You shrugged, winking at him.

Said "Girl, where you sitti'g? I got an extra ticket

It's right on the 50"

“Sorry. He gets a little competitive.” Kevin smiled, “Thanks for playing though.” He leaned against the side of a truck crossing his arms. Madison stood awkwardly a couple feet away as you two flirted with each other.

“Thanks for letting us. It was nice to do something other than a drinking game for once.” You chuckled gesturing to where your group was now playing beer pong.

“Where are you guys sitting?” He asked gesturing to the stadium behind him.

“Oh we actually don’t have tickets. Just here to tailgate.” You explained and his smile got slightly bigger.

“Well I actually have an extra ticket. It’s right on the 50 if you want to join me?” He offered.

“Thanks, but I don’t want to just leave my group hanging..” You contemplated looking back at Madison who was nodding quickly mouthing the word “Go!” Sighing you turned back towards him with a smile, “you know what. What the hell why not?” You pushed the tingling of your body deeper down at his happy grin.

You had a 16 home team jersey on

Singin' every word to the fight song

Had your airplane bottles from your purse out

“Okay. I have to ask. Why are you wearing that jersey?” Kevin asked, sitting down beside you.

“Because we’re at...a Bears game?” You looked at him skeptically, causing him to laugh.

“Obviously.. I mean why O’Donnell? I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen someone actually wearing his jersey.” He explained.

“Well I do like to be an outlier,” you joked, “punters never get the credit they should. Same with kickers. They deserve more love.” You answered.

“Good to know you’re not a bandwagon fan.” He said.

“We won one super bowl 35 years ago and we just benched our newly signed QB for a rookie. I don’t think there’s any wagon for someone to hop on.” You retorted.

“You got me there.” He agreed watching you pull a few tiny bottles of alcohol out of your small bag you had strategically hidden to make it past security.

“You a fan of fireball? I hate it but it came with the pack.” You asked, turning to see an amused grin covering his face. “What?”

“How in the hell did you sneak those in here?” He inquired.

“Can’t give away all my secrets on the first date.” You shrugged, wiggling your eyebrows. He took it from your hand nudging Adam who sat on his other side. Adam took it graciously.

“Hell yeah. We’re keeping her!” He exclaimed, twisting the cap off to take the shot.

The first half of the game was rough. Only lucking out with a safety in the first quarter.

“I hope to god Trubisky starts to prove he has more than just a pretty face.” You shook your head preparing yourself for the second half. You and Kevin had talked throughout all of halftime, and you caught him staring with a wide smile more than once as you might’ve got a little too competitive throughout the first and second quarter.

“I could play better defense than his line is. Kev, get down there you know how to tackle people.”

“He does realize he’s supposed to be throwing it to his own team right?”

“Fucking 2 yards isn’t gonna get you anywhere!” Were just a few things you remember spouting off.

“This is ridiculous.” You threw up your hands when Rudolph took it into the Vikings endzone.

With 5:33 left in the 3rd quarter O’Donnell took the field for the punt, but instead to everyone’s surprise the punt is faked and #16 puts up a pass to Cunningham who runs it in for the touchdown. “Oh my god!” You jumped up and down, “No fucking way! That’s my man!” You yelled pulling Kevin in for a hug who was in utter disbelief.

“I cannot believe that just happened.” He laughed, cheering with the crowd. The fans were hyped watching Barth kick it between the posts.

“Believe it baby!

Bear down, Chicago Bears, make every play clear the way to victory;

Bear down, Chicago Bears, put up a fight with a might so fearlessly.

We'll never forget the way you thrilled the nation with your T-formation.

Bear down, Chicago Bears, and let them know why you're wearing the crown.

You're the pride and joy of Illinois, Chicago Bears, bear down.” You sang along loudly to the Bears’ fight song roaring throughout Soldier Field. The second half was much more heated than the first, but unfortunately thanks to a successful kick from Forbath in the last few seconds the Vikings took home the win.

You would've thought that post-game

Kiss would've made me wanna make you mine

But you had me by halftime

Everyone was starting to file out of the stadium, Kevin’s group included.

“You comin?” Adam turned to you both.

“You wanna wait till the crowds disperse a little?” Kevin asked and you smiled nodding.

“We’ll be waiting for you.” Adam winked, a knowing smirk covering his face as he grabbed tightly ahold of Kim’s hand to lead her through the crowd.

“You would’ve had to keep a tight hold on me. I’m small and can get lost easily.” You joked, body frame tiny compared to his broad muscular one.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure I do regardless.” Kevin flirted, looping an arm around your shoulders to pull you closer to him.

“I told you. Punters and kickers, they don’t get enough credit.” You reiterated, “I mean how often does the game come down to a field goal? Too often in my opinion.”

“I can give you kicker I’m not sure about punters though.” He looked at you amused.

“Did you miss that play?” You scoffed.

“And how often does that happen? I’m sure you didn’t buy his jersey banking on that.” He replied.

“Yeah, alright. I just thought O’Donnell was better looking than Barth.” You admitted.

“You really know your football though.” He observed.

“I grew up with three brothers. It just came with the territory.” You explained.

“Three brothers?” He looked over at you, a faint look of fear appearing on his face.

“Yeah, I’m sure you could take any of them though.” You bit your lip squeezing his bicep to get your point across.

“Is that so?” He grinned face inches away from yours.

“Mhmm.” You hummed searching his eyes, begging him to make the move and he did. Closing the distant for a gentle, smooth kiss. His hand caressing your cheek to pull you closer. This is nowhere near what you expected your day to turn into when you got up this morning. You were just supposed to be tailgating with your friends too drunk for your own good. Instead you were seated inside the stadium making out with a guy you had just met this morning. Not that you were complaining, but what were the chances?

“Was that okay?” He asked lips still slightly brushing against yours and as an answer you gripped his face pulling him in for a deep bruising kiss that had him groaning low in his throat. Pulling away to get a breath you looked around to see very few people still seated, a warmth buzzing throughout your body despite the chilly fall air becoming more prominent.

“We better get out of here before we get in trouble.” You whispered. And he nodded tightly clasping your hand in his as you made your way out of the stadium back out into the parking lot.

Now every time the leaves start fallin' down

I get to thinkin' 'bout

5 years later

“Kev, can you check on the pizza while I get Carsyn dressed?” You asked after seeing your daughter stir from her nap on the monitor. Walking in her room you retrieved her from the crib. She was all smiles and giggles. “Well I take it you had a good nap.” You kissed her chubby cheek, attempting to flatten her bed head before laying her on the floor to get her dressed. “Daddy is just gonna be head over heels when he sees you. Not that he isn’t already.” You smiled trying to slide her tights on despite her wiggling legs. Succeedingly picking her up 10 minutes later. “Look who’s awake daddy.” You caught Kevin’s attention as he turned away from the stove to take her from your arms.

“You didn’t.” Kevin laughed, a smile wide on his face when he took his daughter into his arms admiring the outfit she was sporting. A blue tutu accompanied by an orange jersey that repped the #16, outfit topped off with a Chicago Bears bow. “Well don’t you just look adorable. Yes, you take after your mama.” Kevin laid kisses all over her face erupting numerous giggles from her. “Where’d you even find this at?” He asked and you knew what he was talking about without even turning around as you took the pizza out of the oven.

“I had to specially order it as one of those custom name jerseys. Seems they don’t make O’Donnell’s jersey for babies.” You laughed checking on the wings in the air fryer when a knock at the door interrupted. Adam and Kim strolling their way into the kitchen minutes later.

“Where’s my girl?” Adam asked, spotting her in Kevin’s arms. Carsyn immediately reached out for Adam. “There she is and aren’t you just the cutest Bears fan in the whole world?” He tickled her stomach taking in her outfit, “Gotta say [Y/L/N] it looks better on her.” He joked gesturing to your identical jersey.

“Joke all you want this jersey got me a husband.” You leaned up on your tippy toes to lay a kiss on Kevin’s cheek.

The rest of your crew arrived not too much later. Hailey and Jay bringing along their son who was a few months younger than Carsyn. This was now a football season tradition and you loved every minute of it.

All Tag List:

@corebore123 @scarletsoldierrr @hehurst23 @beautiful-bunny89 @ingie @halsteadsway @malrunaway @grettiwrites @inlovewith3 @wanniiieeee

#kevin atwater x reader #kevin atwater imagine #kevin atwater #chicago pd imagine #chicago pd x reader #Chicago pd #one chicago imagine #one chicago

[stonerbughead]

Maria watches friday night lights (#32)

5x09 ahhh my heart is singing for Chicago!Matt already

recap/flailing under the cut:

Ah it makes sense that East Dillon fell apart and ruined their undefeated record after the way that last episode went!

“Really??” As Jess and the maintenance workers are still cleaning up they turn off the lights??? No respect!

Ahhh they’re showing Luke and Vince arguing in the locker room interspersed with the actual game? This show is magic.

Eric found them arguing and kicked them out the field house lol

“That wasn’t a team out there, folks, it was a bunch of individuals trying...” fitting last radio sound byte before Eric throws the radio in the trash lol

OMG MATTS CHICAGO APT IS SO CUTE AND ADULT AND GROWN UP. He’s folding a blanket??? Fuck me up

She stayed all weekend and doesn’t want to leave?! Ok ok I see y’all but that does seem a little irresponsible, Julie.

Is Matt wearing a live strong bracelet? Lol sign of the times

“Look, we all know the problem: it’s Vince, he’s lost his team.” Ooooh good line to go into the theme song on!

“I suck at Texas history.” IS THAT AN ACTUAL CLASS IN TEXAS???? STOP IT. Stop it right now!!! This cannot be real!

“Baby boy is graduating, it’s the last time they’ll see me in the little lions uniform.” LOL Becky and Luke are cute

Ew it sucks that Luke can’t invite Becky out after this last home game with his parents but also who would want to go to dinner with his trash mom sooo I’m conflicted.

Eric wants Luke on QB today?! well then

Oh god Mindy feels like she’s gonna puke?? Oh no is she pregnant again??

“I could take your shift.” Oh Beckyyyy and Mindy is like, no no no lol

I cringe every time Vince’s dad talks to him about football. His mom seems to be cringing too in the corner...

Becky looks really cute waiting tables but yeeeesh she’s a teenage girl and a fully grown man is putting a dollar in her undies. Yikes! Although once she counted that $$$ she was like I AM WOMAN I AM POWER lol

Eric and Tami’s little walk and talks in school are so precious

Awww Becky used her tip money to get Luke a gift to wear to his dinner? “You know I get it because she kinda freaks me out too but you didn’t do anything about it.” Yeah that about sums it up.

Wtf Vince is turning on Jess now too?? She’s appropriately angry! “Yeah cause it’s never Vince’s fault huh? I can’t believe you! You’re really trying to blame me for coach being mad at you?” Ooooh she said it.

OH SHIT did Jess just dump Vince’s ass?

Aw Epyck being good with Gracie is so cute.

Julie and Matt look hot and very natural walking down the street together in Chicago. Aw and she feels like she fits here but didn’t at college. Be a city gal, join us!!! Lol

“It’s frustrating bc I miss you and I miss us, and tonight watching you with all these people it’s like you’ve moved on and it’s sucks.” Awww Julie and then Matt immediately kissed her to shut her up! “I’ve been waiting to do that ever since you showed up.” This is SUCH a romantic ass city kiss!

Honestly out of all the characters Matt and Julie are the ones I can see being city folks the most so that tracks for me.

Jess helping Luke with the plays instead of Vince, she’s such a good one.

Omg Matt and Julie are so cute in bed together, Matt again saying he missed her as he plays with her hair. 🥺

She’s gonna tell him about the TA thing right? Yep okay good honesty is important.

Awww Matt being so supportive and nonjudgmental! My heart! He’s such a good guy I’m dead 😭

“I hope this won’t freak you out, but I think you and I need to, um...we need to go get breakfast.” LOL I LOVE HIM HES SO CUTE god

Oh shit Eric’s benching Vince for not helping Luke! Man of his word, he does not play!

“The big deal is I’m an adult and you’re not.” Yeah Becky, Mindy’s argument seems pretty sound considering we’re talking about you, a teenage girl, working at a strip club. Just...wait till you’re an adult, gurl! You’re almost there!

Oh god Mindy’s irritable, is she preggers???

Anddd she does not seem happy about it....

Yeeesh Tami just slammed her head trying to break up this fight between Epyck and Laurel? Fuck

Yay I was right about Vince’s mom. “I think you maybe don’t have to take his advice all the time. You have a good head on your shoulders, use it, okay!” YES MAMA TELL HIM!!!

Omfg they’re gonna arrest Epyck for this even tho Tami is saying not to bc it was an accident??? Y’all really hate students of color with trauma, damn...the fact that Laurel thought it was okay to call Epyck a psycho in front of a lot of people too? School to prison pipeline in action, folks.

Aw Eric found Jess crying alone in the locker room 🥺 poor baby

We stan Eric. He told Jess not to apologize for crying and to “take all the time you need.” AWWWW

“I don’t wanna be your safety net.” Matt is right—Julie’s clearly avoiding stuff! “I wish you could stay longer, I wish you lived here but you...don’t live here.” He’s right! Gurl! Ugh being 18/19 is so hard!

Omg Billy’s excitement about Mindy being pregnant again is insane. He said “who cares?” about Mindy having to quit her job and she seems much more concerned than he does about the very real health care concerns.

“My boys can swim,” Billy says, putting THE PEE STICK IN HIS MOUTH?? I’m dead, Mindy just saying “I peed on that” and him removing it. WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS BILLYYY

Ugh poor Epyck :( this system has failed her! And poor Tami tried so hard.

Ah, Eric is getting turned onto the idea of not coaching teens but adults instead—fair!

Omg Luke stopped by Eric’s after 10 to say he’s too scared to be quarterback?? Oh babe.

Awww Senior Day is here. Look at Luke’s trash mom!

“How much time do you need? You’re not milking a cow out there!!” Lol

Yeeeesh now everyone’s chanting “we want Vince.” Ugh imagine being Luke rn

Why is Vince’s dad literally mad? Luke is doing well lol

Yesss lions win!! You did it baby! They’re going to the playoffs!

Oh geez and now Vince has to stop his dad from storming the field and cursing Eric Taylor out! Jesus.

Aww Luke getting his little victory kiss from Becky and bringing her along. His mom is such an asshole, she’s literally gawking at Becky. Bless the dad for being like “why not?”

“He kissed her. Did you see that he kissed her?” Ew Luke’s mom how do you think she got pregnant the last time...?

Aww and off Julie goes, hopefully this time to stop avoiding her problems in that lil blue car? FUCK ME UPPP matt pulling a classic move yelling and running after her, “Julie!!!!!”

“It’s all gonna be okay, all right? We’ll figure it out.” As they’re in the street?? With the I love yous and a truck honking?? Are you kidding me? How romantic...and then she has to get back in the car and drive away oh my HEART the romantic angst!

The episode ending in Matt watching her car drive away from him!!!! Art!

#maria watches friday night lights #mine #matt x julie #friday night lights 5x09

[tkmedia]

2021 Fantasy QB Sleepers

Finding value at the quarterback position during your draft provides a major edge. It’s tough to pass on flashy skill players in the early and middle parts of the draft, but in single-QB leagues, reaching for a quarterback often starves you or a premier wideout or running back. You can find good value on those positions in the later rounds, but it's easier to find a legit sleeper or breakout candidate at QB. Even if you prefer to draft a QB early, dipping down in the rankings for a potential steal late can pay off in the form of a trade once the season starts. The perfect picture of a sleeper quarterback is Justin Herbert last year. In single-QB redraft leagues, he was often undrafted, only to finish as a top-10 option at the position. Speaking of guys going undrafted, if you’re not in a deep league, be sure to keep an eye out for some of the sleepers below during the early part of the season. At least a few will be available on the waiver wire, so be ready to pounce if they have a hot start.This year's list features six players locked in quarterback battles. All have major upside if they run away with their respective jobs.  Tua Tagovailoa, Dolphins People were quick to write off Tua after a lackluster rookie season, but remember that he was coming off a serious hip injury suffered during his final year at Alabama. Although his rookie season wasn’t what many hoped, he did show off his ball placement and accuracy skills. The Dolphins went out and got him two receivers that excel in getting open deep, Jaylen Waddle and Will Fuller V. They play more to Tua’s strengths than DeVante Parker or Preston Williams. Tua already has experience hitting Waddle in stride, and they should pick up right where they left off. Mike Gesicki and Hunter Long are more than serviceable options at tight end, too. Put simply, Tua wasn’t set up for success in 2020. In ‘21 he is, and he could easily outperform ADP. Baker Mayfield, Browns Mayfield finished behind the likes of Cam Newton last season at QB17. It’s not that Mayfield doesn’t have weapons or isn’t a promising young passer; he just doesn’t get the volume. He’s in the Ryan Tannehill range of passing attempts.However, there's no shortage of firepower on the Browns’ roster, and Baker has shown capable of making big plays.PlayerProfiler.comranked Baker as the No. 2 quarterback in "money throws" last season (throws requiring "exceptional skill and athleticism" or "throws executed in clutch moments"). That can’t be ignored. With household names like OBJ and Jarvis Landry, the Browns offense always has the potential to explode. Behind an elite offensive line, Baker should sit comfortably in the pocket regularly. Additionally, the Browns offense will be among the league leaders in red-zone attempts, resulting in some easy passing touchdowns. He’s accurate and he’s not afraid to make big throws. Any increase in passing volume could mean a great year out of Mayfield. Daniel Jones, Giants Jones definitely has things going in the right direction. Saquon Barkley is coming back and Kenny Golladay is added into the fold. Whatever your opinion may be on KaDarius Toney, he’ll help the offense move the ball. If Danny Dimes can get the ball in the hands of his playmakers, he could enjoy a fantasy-relevant season, especially if he averages north of 30 rushing yards per game again. At his low price in drafts, he’s a low-risk, high-reward player -- optimal for a backup if you take a QB early. Jameis Winston/Taysom Hill, Saints Winston, with his newfound eyesight, has a ceiling as high as a top-10 QB. Assuming he wins the quarterback battle with Taysom Hill, a Sean Payton offense led by a gunslinger has a nice ring to it. If he limits his turnovers, he could easily see 5,000 yards passing with close to 40 touchdowns in a 17-game season. (Though Michael Thomas'ankle injury clouds the optimism a bit.)Even in his disastrous 30-INT season with the Bucs in 2019, Winston put up a QB3 finish. Of course, Winston could just as easily lose the starting job and Hill could be a top-10 candidate, like he was during his starting run last year,thanks to his rushing floor. Winston would be the higher-ranking, higher-reward player, but Hill would likely be more consistent if he winds up starting. Drew Lock, Broncos Lock, like Winston, is another ‘throw caution to the wind’ gunslinger, but he hasn’t had any past success, even with solid weapons around him. He completed just 57.3 percent of his passes in 2020 and hasn’t shown much promise. But as we know, crazier things have happened in fantasy football. Does Josh Allen turing into an elite passer in 2020 ring a bell? Lock has nowhere close to the rushing upside as Allen, but another year in Pat Shurmer’s offense could turn the tide. Shurmer isn’t a sexy name, but he did lead a 2017 Vikings offense that produced a QB7 season from Kirk Cousins. With the weapons around Lock, he surely has the potential to do something similar. Jimmy Garoppolo/Trey Lance, 49ers The Jimmy G era is coming to an end in San Francisco, but when? In the year the 49ers made it all the way to the Super Bowl, Jimmy G finished at QB14. With even more weapons now, his ceiling is even higher if hewinds up being the full-time starter for the 49ers this year. But that’s okay. According to FantasyPros, Garoppolo is coming off the board at an average draft position (ADP) of QB33. We could see an Alex Smith/Patrick Mahomes situation where Lance sits for a year to be groomed as the future starter. If that’s the case, Jimmy G will absolutely shatter that ADP. On the flipside, Lance has tremendous upside if named the starter early in the season. His rushing upside presents a solid fantasy floor. At NDSU, Lance posted 48 total touchdowns, over 1,100 rushing yards, andjust one interception. That’s not a typo. This suggests he won’t throw himself out of the game very often. He’s coming off the board before Garoppolo, and it’s probably a smart move to draft both of them if you draft either, depending on your league’s format. Justin Fields, Bears Fields could vastly outperform his QB19 ADP. He has the tools to be a stat stuffer, and his low ranking is an indication of the unknown. Mobile rookie quarterbacks have a solid floor, but his success will depend on how long the Bears coaching staff pretends Andy Dalton is worth keeping in there. If Fields wins the job early in the season, he could be the best guy on this list. Read the full article

[coachrivero]

SMU hatred week -

Check in here if your team has ever been screwed out of a victory and bowl eligibility at Gerald J. Ford Stadium. Now that all the Wave fans have checked in, let's have a common sense discussion about the American Conference football game this Saturday between the Tulane Green Wave and SMU Mustangs. Well... actually we'll get to that part later, first I need you to channel that SMU hate and let it flow through your body like the rivers of ancient Babylon.

I really hate SMU... like a lot. Their fight song is super annoying (especially if you give up lots of points and they play it constantly). Mustang fans eat caviar at their tailgates and put cauliflower in gumbo. Their school is best known for cheating so blatantly that the NCAA was forced to step in and shut down the football program. They have like 400 D1 transfers on their roster, and last but certainly not least, Craig James killed 5 hookers while at SMU.

If Tulane is going to avenge those fallen hookers and win this game, they will need to contain AAC leading passer Shane Buechele. The former Texas Longhorn QB has thrown for 3,446 yards and 30 touchdowns and leads the conference in nearly every passing category. His favorite target James Proche (member him.... 😔 ) leads the AAC with 13 receiving TD's and is second in receiving yards with 1,068. SMU is the number 1 passing attack in the conference (328 ypg), but can also be effective running the ball when it needs to be. Senior RB Xavier Jones has the most rushing touchdowns in the conference (13) and is second in rushing yards (1,124). Long story short SMU's offense is really good... like top 10 in the NCAA good. It's probably too much to ask of Tulane's defense to stop them, but maybe the Wave can slow them down. Tulane's defensive unit hasn't exactly set the world on fire this season, although statistically they aren't terrible. Out of 130 FBS teams the Wave ranks 51st in total defense and 55th in scoring defense. Despite getting burned in the secondary at times the Wave still ranks a respectable 39th in both passing efficiency defense and passing yards allowed (206.9 ypg). Okay... those figures may be a little skewed due to playing 2 service academies, but numbers don't lie! (although sometimes they can be misleading). Let's just throw out the Army/Navy games and assume Tulane is around the middle of the pack in passing defense. It doesn't greatly help our cause, but at least it gives us a fighting chance in this game. Playing SMU without a serviceable pass defense would give us about the same shot as hooker surviving in Craig James' room in 1982. One of the major keys to this game is forcing turnovers, which the Wave hasn't done all that well this year (13 turnovers gained, -3 margin). This starts with creating havoc up front and pressuring Shane Buechele. If the Wave allows him to stand comfortably in the pocket and go through his progressions against their man defense, they will suffer the same fate as those 5 hookers who lost their lives at the hands of Craig James.

SMU is essentially UCF with a better offense and a worse defense. The Mustangs aren't that good at all on defense really, but I guess you don't have to be when you're scoring 45 points a game. Let's look at the defensive numbers for SMU - Total Defense: 91st. Scoring Defense: 103rd (33 ppg). Rushing defense: 30th (124 ypg). Passing efficiency defense: 98th. Passing yards allowed: 124th (302 ypg). Once again it's hard to always trust numbers because of the fact SMU plays in so many shootouts, forcing their opponents to abandon the running game and throw downfield to try and keep up. Clearly the Mustangs are no defensive juggernaut though and Tulane should move the ball on them. The Wave boasts the nation's #27 offense (454 ypg) and the #13 rushing attack (252 ypg). The problem Iies in Tulane's tendency to come out flat on the road and dig themselves into a hole early. If the Wave falls behind and has to depend on its 95th ranked passing offense things could get ugly, like the decomposing remains of a hooker in Craig James' basement. Justin McMillan is a gamer and I have the utmost respect for him, but he is not Peyton Manning. His game is quick run/pass reads, dump offs to his backs, short to intermediate safe throws, and rolling out the pocket, not traditional pocket passing. McMillan has a few bad habits including not setting his feet and staring down his primary receiver. These two things will often lead to interceptions. Tulane absolutely cannot afford to waste possessions and give SMU any more of them. Hopefully the Wave can just run it down their throats and keep their explosive offense on the sidelines. Tulane's offense has cooled off slightly since the torrid pace in the first half of the season, but they seemed to regain some of their groove against a good UCF defense. I know the Wave has dropped 4 out of the last 5 games, but I was actually somewhat encouraged by their performance against the Knights. They seemed to play with a bit more energy and urgency than in previous weeks. It also showed me that Tulane does have the talent to compete with SMU, provided they come out of the locker room ready to play.

Most people aren't giving the Wave much of a chance in this game though, and let's be honest... it is not an ideal matchup for us. Tulane's defense really struggles against passing offenses and SMU is the Popeye's Chicken Sandwich of passing offenses. Anything can happen in college football though and you still actually have to play the game. Can we win? Yes. Like I said, Tulane has talent, winning this game is certainly not an impossible feat. Also keep in mind that SMU just got eliminated from AAC West contention and may be going through the motions. Will we win? Probably not. I really do hope we pull it off (obviously), but at this point in the season you are who you are. Tulane hasn't played a complete game on the road all season and I don't forsee that changing in game 12. If the Wave comes out lifeless against a team like SMU they could find themselves down 4 touchdowns before they put their chinstraps on. Prediction time:

Tulane 40

SMU 49

#tulane #rollwave

[ecoamerica]

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[the-read-option]

Clash of the Tight Ends

beI’ve been joining a lot of Dynasty leagues lately, one of these being a tight end premium league. Now, I will freely admit to being a tight end streamer who would pick up a guy with a good matchup and spend my draft picks elsewhere in every league so suddenly finding myself valuing tight ends was a weird place to be.

I was way behind the curve with my knowledge of established tight ends for a deeper format as I’ve never needed to worry about these guys on a longer term basis.  But hey, after a weekend poring over numbers and depth charts the way I do at other positions, I think I have identified some guys who could be ready to take the leap into relevance (albeit only in deeper formats for some names).

For this list of guys, I’m excluding the top 20 Tight Ends on Yahoo’s projected points. All rankings in PPR. Rookies will be at the end.

21-30:

#28: Chris Herndon:  Last season, injuries and suspension saw Herndon drop in lists this year with his drop to TE112, but this is a case where recency bias can mean we’re getting a better player later in the draft than they should be available.  Herndon is entering his third year in the NFL and the narrative coming out of the Jets are that he will take over the starting reins. In Dynasty formats his age is worth mentioning too, as he is 24.  The peak age for tight ends in fantasy is between 25-27, so getting him for the duration of that period is a great fantasy asset. Even in redraft formats, Herndon has value as in his rookie season he finished TE16. 

31-40:

#40: Will Dissly:  Okay it took a lot for me to skip Sternberger, but here is why I did. In the league that prompted me to write this article, Dissly went in the 13th round. Yes, this is another guy with injury concerns. Yes, Greg Olsen is ahead on the depth chart but we’re drafting dynasty here and guess how old Dissly is. Yes, 24.  The golden age. He has only played 10 games in the last 2 seasons but in 6 of those games he scored over 15 pts. In this format, he isn’t your TE1 but Olsen has his own injury concerns and I’m willing to bet on Dissly’s talent winning out.

41-50: 

#46: Jeremy Sprinkle: It was tough to find a guy in this 10 who really stood out to me. This is more about the opportunity than the player, but at this stage in your draft, 40 TEs have gone off the board. At this stage you aren’t getting the high floor guys, at Tight End those guys have long gone.  These players are rolls of the fantasy dice and hoping it comes up 6.  Sprinkle for me is one of those players. He has the starting job, but has only once had more that 4 targets in a game. His snap percentage is very high, so with Davis and Reed no longer on the roster, can Jar-Jar Sprinks become the established TE1 of the Football Team era. Also he definitely wants people to use that nickname. Oh by the way, he is 25.

51-60:

#55: Nick Boyle:  Volume is king in fantasy. Jackson loves his TEs with Andrews getting 98 targets alone.  Boyle got 43 as TE2, there aren’t any other teams who target TE as much and all it would take is an injury to elevate Boyle to Andrew’s target share.  Now, sure, Jackson targets Andrews because of what he does with the ball, but mid season you won’t draft up a new offense to cater for an injury, so it is likely Boyle would initially take Andrews role. 

Unranked guys: These guys are outside the top 75 TEs but I think their value will only go up:

Josh Oliver: Tyler Eifert and Josh Oliver have 2 things in common.  They both play for Jacksonville and they both have injury history.  Eifert has the job, but 2019 was the first year since 2013 that he played all 16 games. Josh Oliver should hit training camp healthy and I’m waiting for those reports by anonymous couaches saying he looks good in training. 6′5″, 23 years old, even if Eifert lasts the year, Oliver is poised to take over in dynasty formats and like we covered above, these are dice rolls at this stage.

Drew Sample.  24 years old. TE1 for what should be an ascending offense.His ankle is healthy and ready to go.  On my boards, Sample would be higher than Oliver but this former 2nd round pick has the ability to take this role on and everything I see coming out from the coaches says his star is ascending. If he takes the job on and wins it, he could find himself in the top 20 TEs and at this price that is worth it.

Hale Hentges: You have to love an UDFA who not only makes a roster but finds their way to the pitch as a rookie.  Hale did that, snagging 8 of 14 targets for 103 yards and a single touchdown. Worth noting that 7 of those targets came in week 16. As above, with Davis and Reed gone, the Washington Football Team have 2 young tight ends ready to go this season.

Rookies:

Adam Trautman: Every year, there are players you grow attached to during the draft process and refer to as ‘my guys’. This year for me, the 2 were Minnesota WR Tyler Johnson and Adam “The Merman” Trautman. Now, we all love a tight end with a basketball background but when you throw ‘former high school qb’ into the mix then I’m rushing to the podium. Coming out Dayton, his small-school background is a concern as you can’t trust his numbers or compare them to somebody playing in a tougher conference but while watching the combine I noted down that I loved the effort he threw into the reps. Give me a guy with a chip on his shoulder and I’ll give you the Saints starter as soon as next season.

Harrison Bryant: Kevin Stefanski offenses run a lot of 12 personnel, but with Austin Hooper and David Njoku (currently) on the roster, Harrison’s path to the field is a little blocked right now, but this is dynasty and Njoku is already making noise like he wants out. The new look Browns will be a heavy running team with 2 TEs on the pitch most downs and if either Hooper or Njoku get injured, Bryant will more than pull his weight.  this is a stash for the future, but the Browns may be the deepest at Tight End in the league right now.

Devin Asiasi: When you get drafted by the Patriots at a position of need, in year’s past you would be very highly touted but I’ve yet to see the fantasy steam train pick up speed on Asiasi.  Dalton Keene was taken a round later but figures to be a special teams player at first who will find the field by his versatility.  Asiasi wasn’t a big name tight end but is athletic and quick. Blocks well yet only has 1 season with solid production. Has areas he needs to work on but frankly every tight end does as there are so many elements to the position.

Anyway, I hope this leaves you a bit better armed for your drafts and let me know who you are keeping an eye on in these deeper tight end formats.

Cheers!

Dave

[goldeanboy]

flashback; july 10th 1976

@leeveit

lee was doin’ oil paintin’ today. kind of a therapy—they were one of the first things she learned. or, rather, taught herself. long before school. her daddy bought them for her when she was ten years old. she thought her heart might burst she was so excited. 

 she’s full to burstin’ today, too, except it’s all ‘cause of dean. she’s happy for him, excited, but the thought of seein’ him off into a new life, the kind she dreams of every night... it’s a lot to handle. and obviously she left every rational thought behind in bed when she woke up this morning. now she’s got the wanton feelings she’s been pressin’ down ever since he told her he got signed. 

 she’s proud of him. more jealous than she wants to admit. and filled with a weird little happiness, all tangled up in the back of her spine, that she can’t get rid of. 

 she s’poses it ain’t the worst feelin’ she could have about all this. and she breaks into a giant grin when she sees him walkin’ down the sidewalk towards her. she hops off the porch and runs over, barefoot in the street, and wraps her arms around him. who cares if she’s covered in paint? “hey, how excited are you!! big city kid now, all fancy,” she beams up at him, the happy feelin’ expanding. “I’m gonna see you on tv real soon, aint I?”

dean hollis doesn't get nervous, it's never been his style. and no one could prove otherwise, because even if he did get nervous, no one would ever be able to tell. and on the off chance that he might've been slightly nervous walking up the holmes' driveway, even a vampire who could hear his heart in his chest wouldn't notice anything off about his heartbeat. until, of course, he looks up and catches lee as she flings herself at him. 

 she's grinning and it's terribly hard not to grin back, though it does sink his heart a bit. he's leaving and no one has any idea for how long, so why is she smiling? why is he smiling? 

 "yeah, alright," he laughs, wrapping one of his arms around her head, smothering her face into his shirt before releasing her. "so you're gonna watch me on tv then?" he teases, wiggling his eyebrows at her. "is it for the football or 'cause i'm a babe?"

lee’s known him long enough to know that look on his face. when he puts on a little extra dean hollis brand charm and confidence. it means he’s been thinkin’ too hard ‘bout how big a change this whole thing is. 

 but it’ll be good for him. she knows it. maybe... she could come visit. might make her jealousy even worse, though, and she doesn’t ever wanna ruin this friendship. nobody knows her like dean. 

 she rolls her eyes, blowin’ lose hair off her forehead. her ponytail never stays when she’s paintin’ especially not on her porch. “‘course I am!” she scoffs and playfully pushes his chest. she knows full well he won’t even budge. “the football, dummy. it’s common knowledge you’re a babe.”

dean flashed his award winning smile that no one in letum falls could understand how he still had after so many years of football. "so both, got it." 

"by the way," he pulled his varsity jacket out from behind his back. "i wanted to offer this to you. my dad made me offer it to susanna first, but she looked at me like i just asked her if she wanted to wrestle a pig in the mud so-"

“obviously, both,” she said, leanin’ back against the rickety wood at the end of the stairs. she slid her hands into the big pockets of her paintin’ overalls and stared up at him with a softer smile. she was gonna miss him. 

 he suddenly sprung his varsity jacket on her and her mouth dropped open. “you can’t give this to me!” she protested, but she was already taking it out of his hand. “are you sure you don’t wanna take it with you? i mean, i know you’re finally gettin’ outta here, but... this is special.”

"yeah i can," he chuckled as she took it. "nah, i don't wanna lose it and they're probably gonna give me a new one anyway. i mean if you don't want it i can give it to candace or annmarie, but they'll most definitely destroy it..."

“no!” she said, a little too quickly, coverin’ with a big smile and holdin’ the big jacket into her chest. “can’t have this gettin’ used and discarded, can we? i’ll take care of it for ya.” 

 besides... she wanted it. a little piece of him to remember every day when she saw it hangin’ on the back of her door. or when she could wear and pretend they were hangin’ out like old times. “i’m really proud of you, dean. no punchline. i’m gonna miss you, and i’m jealous as hell, but i’m so happy you’re gettin’ outta here.”

"good, i 'ppreciate it." his grin softened slightly as she spoke. he put an arm out on either side of her, leaning his against the railing. "don't you worry your pretty little head, i'll be back... and my offer to join me still stands," he hummed, knowing full well that she wouldn't leave bez, not anymore. he'd take them both if he could

“‘course,” she said, genuine. it wasn’t often somebody could get a response outta lee that wasn’t sarcastic or plain rude... but dean was different. they know each other better’n that. 

“oh, please. worry ‘bout you? you can handle yourself, QB,” she teased. but she had to just shrug and pretend she didn’t think about going every day, every second she was with him. “nah, i’m happy here. what more could a girl need?”

"wow, that was almost a convincing lie," he snorted. he was supposed to be on the road in twenty minutes but he couldn't leave with this unresolved issue hanging over his head. his eyes bounced back and forth between hers. this was proving to be much harder than he'd anticipated.

"you know, i don't hafta go if you want- need me to stay..."

she sighed, shakin’ her head. “the more i say it, the more true it’ll be, right?” she tried for a bright-side outlook. didn’t usually work. but she smiled despite herself when he offered to stay. 

“you can’t stay for me. or anybody. you’re not givin’ this up.”

dean shrugged, knowing no matter how many times she tried to convince herself she was happy, it would never happen here. but he didn't have the heart to confirm that. he lowered his head so his eyes were level with hers. 

"you're not anybody. i'll stay if you want me too."

she shook her head, only lookin’ at him for a second before castin’ her eyes down. she had her chance. it wasn’t meant to be. she was stuck here for now.

 she pursed her lips and met his gaze defiantly. “you’re goin’. don’t make me run you outta town myself.”

he was wasting time. he knew he had to get moving. “so there’s no reason you’d maybe want me to stay then? like i don’t know... feelings or something?”

she raised a brow, startin' to feel like he was lookin' for a reason not to go. wasn't like dean to be scared. couldn't be, this was a huge opportunity. a dream. feelings? "i-" she closed her mouth again, suddenly gettin' serious. "say what you're tryin' to say, dean."

he knew that he wasn't going to be able to dance around it, that she'd see right through him. and she did. 

 "straight to the point. right." 

 his mouth opened and his watch started to beep. he groaned, looking down at the ground before pressing the button to get it to stop. if he was going, he had to go now. 

"hard as it is to believe hadley, there's something more important to me than football and i'll ditch all that-" he shook his hand in the direction of his car, "for it."

her lips twisted as her mind raced, more with every word. his watch went off and she only felt more rushed, more like somethin’ was... ‘bout to happen. ‘bout to go wrong. “and...  what’s it?”

he leaned a bit closer to her. "i think you already know the answer to that." he didn't have time for his own shit. he didn't need to be smooth, he needed to spit it out.

lee started to harden, jaw tightened. she was mad at him. why was he tryin’ so hard to stay? why now? “I told you to be straight with me, so get it over with. what’s so important you’d throw away everythin’ and stay in this godforsaken town, huh?”

 she was afraid of the answer. it was conceited to think it might be you, wasn’t it?

why was she getting mad? he was the one who would be throwing his career away. but he kept his cool, like always. "well let's see, i'm asking you about your feelings and if you need me to stay so i think it's safe to assume it's you. jeez, why did they give you the last name holmes when you're clearly not a very good detective."

lee started to work her jaw. she shouldn’t be offended by what is basically a confession of love. is that what this is? he loves her? she raised a hand and put it back, not quite sure what to do with herself.

“well, that’s-“ she pushed his arm away and stalked off a few steps. what was she s’posed to say? “that’s not fair. it can’t be my fault you stay. you’re bein’ stupid! you’re just lookin’ for a reason to stay here ‘cause... I dunno! are you scared? what is it really?”

this was going almost as badly as dean had thought it would. "jesus lee, why can't it be that? what is so hard to believe?" he was raising his voice and he hated doing it, especially negatively. he took a breath and lowered his voice. 

"i'm not lookin' for excuses to stay, i have plenty of those that would have been much easier than this-" he gestured at her. "but those aren't worth it." he ran a hand threw his hair. "you're really gonna make me fuckin' say it aren't you? i love you, okay? i love you and i'll stay here with absolutely no remorse if you want me to."

she stared at him incredulously, shakin' her head. why was he doin' this now? no matter how he was feelin' in the moment or whatever bullshit he was tellin' himself, this wasn't fair. how'd he expect her to respond? "it's hard to believe 'cause you're my best friend and i can't understand why the hell you'd throw everything away for- for me! whadda i got that you can't find anywhere in the world?" 

 "don't say it- hey! stop sayin' it!" she wanted to curse herself out or maybe even cry, but she swallowed it all down and steeled herself. tell him to go, lee. right thing to do. tell him to go. "you can't make me do that. that is not fair, dean. just... get in the goddamn car and go make somethin' of yourself." if he still thinks he loves after seein' all the world has to offer, then... he'll be crazy, but... he can come find her then. after he's had a chance to get outta dodge.

"i'm not makin' you do anything!" he rubbed his forehead, his frustration growing by the second. "do you understand what happens if i go?! do ya?! if i go, i'm goin'. i don't know when i'll be back- if i'll be back, how long they're going to sign me for! it could be years, lee. if you're okay with that then-" he shook his head and held his arms out in surrender, "then i'll go."

lee clenched her jaw tight and let him get it all out. this was not how she’d expected this goodbye to go. she’d wanted to give him a big ole hug and wave him down the street. but this...? was mean. 

 she felt betrayed. how could she put it on her whether he turned his life around or not? but she kept her voice level. “i get it, dean. it’s like startin’ a new life. and you deserve it, ‘cause you’re good, and not just at football, and you worked hard for this so, yeah... i’m okay with you goin’.”

dean wasn’t sure what he expected. but even though he assumed she’d tell him to go, he’d thought the confession of love might at least be mutual. his watch started beeping again. he pressed it again, this time turning the alarm off permanently. “so that’s it? fine. whatever you want lee.” 

he wasn’t sure what to do at this point. she didn’t seem to see him as more than a friend so he definitely wouldn’t be kissing her. was he supposed to hug her even after this conversation? he lingered a few seconds to make sure she had nothing else to say or do before he spoke. “guess i’m leavin’ then.”

lee was gripping her hands like an old lady, channeling all the stress of this moment into her fingers. she shook her head, trying not to scoff. this wasn’t what she wanted. why’d he have to do this now, when he was leavin’? lee’d gone all these years thinkin’ he was her best friend, but he was in love with her? and he waited to tell her ‘til he was gonna leave for who knows how long? it wasn’t about her. it wasn’t her choice. if it was, she’d be boltin’ no matter how she felt. 

this was too big of a chance to waste. even if she loved him too. but she couldn’t tell in five minutes when he sprung it on her like that! so she didn’t have a choice. and now he’d prob’ly never talk to her again. 

 “good luck,” she said after a moment. “you’re gonna be great.”

she didn't move and he took that as a cue to leave. "yeah.... that's what they keep telling me so i guess it's gotta be true," he mumbled as he backed toward the car. he opened the door to his car and got in. he looked at her one more time as he closed the door. the engine had been running this whole time and he'd forgotten. "bye."

#read more because it's on the long side #not because of triggers #i think #c;lee

[terrellscriptz-blog]

TKOTH ep 2 ZEE DEE BOB HAIRCUT

The kidz on the hill

By Terrell Matthews

La’Rose Productions

3/31/2019

Episode 2: The Zeee Teee Bop HairCut!

Characters Brandon,Dad,MOM, uncle Charlie, Tez

Backstory summary of episode

Brandon dad gets a visit from his uncle who played football and ran track with his dad when they were kids so he is like family so they call him uncle Charlie he also lives with his dad for a few years after he had hard time in his family so Brandon’s grandpa took him in as his own. Uncle Charlie visits the home and dad and Charlie start to reminisce and drink thinking about the past and old times they had on the playing field. Tez and Brandon are brothers and actively fight and argue constantly boys will be boys right. While telling stories Brandon comes across a photo from dads and uncle Charlie past and notices a stylish hair cut . The adults ultimately decide to use Brandon as their lab rat and live through him to relive their youth by bringing this old retro haircut back problem is uncle Charlie has been drinking enough to be tipsy even if he did know how to cut hair drinking wouldn’t have enhance his skillz. Brandon Reluctantly goes with the flow even though it’s against his better judgment and decides to let uncle Charles cut his hair , even though it got to point where it really wasn’t his choice it was really the adults just using him to relive their glory days by being back some nostalgia or at least trying to. Brandon tells his brother about the hair cut and Tez knows this will be entertaining after not acting interested Tez joins them in the kitchen to witness the action , as well as live stream it for lifetime personal records. As they get started Brandon starts to see bigger chunks off his hair fall down and he doesn’t know if this is. Kemal or if he is just parold and seeing bigger chunks than usual in his mind.Brandon’s mom never let him grow his hair past a six month period it would get to a nappy can’t handle stage , so since he was approaching the 6month period of this grow cycle he knew he could possible grow beyond that. The vision was starting to fade as more hair started falling i just want the top left long Unc remember that . Tez is recording and having a ball laughing and entertains hisself cracking up with laughter just watching the whole disaster unfold he starts to encourage the uncle to make it better sarcastically but in turn really making it worse. At the end of the hair Brandon sees it and is terrified all those months flushed down the toilet he was highly upset . Tez his brother in full laughter and can’t contain it , uncle Charlie still not aware of the wrongdoing thinks he did a great job even though he is a bit tipsy. The end

THE ZEEE TEEE BOP HAIRCUT

Enters uncle Charlie , a family friend of Brandon’s dad since childhood. Brandon and tez are in the front room playing games on the tv his dad is in the kitchen when uncle Charlie arrives

UNCLE CHARLIE

Beys boys? How have y’all been

TEZ

Good

BRANDON

Good uncle , what you been up too

UNCLE CHARLIE

You know same o same o I’m going to let y’all finish y’all game where’s y’all dad

DAD

(Yells back from kitchen) I’m back here coon , come on back

As uncle Charles walk back to the kitchen the boys turn their attention back to their game the dad and Charlie catch up in the background as their voices fade

BACK TO LIVING ROOM ON THE GAME

In the background you can distinctly hear bits and pieces of their convo of the good ole days

BRANDON

Hurry up and choose your team you taking to long

tez

Chill bro your being impatient

brandon

You can’t spell impatient

TEZ

You slow

BRANDON

Your the one in the slow classes not me , you in my grade and suppose to be in one aheaaa....

MOM

Y’all better cut it out now!!

tez

See whAt you did

brandon

Aight relax man let’s get to this game you still trying to customize stuff let’s start it already

tez

Why would they have the option to do this stuff if they didn’t want us to use the specific feature

brandon

Your trippin

tez

No your tripping

brandon

Aight you trip and play this alone I’m about to go see what dad is doing

tez

Do you fam , they make cpu boys just for this type of occasion peace out Brodie (sarcastically)

brandon

Whatever man

tez continues to play the game customizing his features unbothered as brandon gets annoyed and leaves Into the kitchen

TEZ EXITS AND ENTERS KITCHEN

Dad and uncle Charlie are at the table with a beer talking and reminiscing about the good ole days they played ball together and ran track .

DAD

You remember that one game , when you leaped right up and caught it right over billy Robinson

UNCLE CHARLIE

Man that was a great play, the way the qb James tossed it right back to you on the RB toss and you faked that run by the time they realized you were about to throw it it was to late , good ole bill knew something was up and was the sole man in the area

dad

Sole man in the area ! Listen to this son, then your uncle Charlie

At this point Brandon has heard this story countless times but his dad and uncle tell it like it’s the first time ever telling it to them

DAD CONT

Look at me I look at him we both nodded I threw that bad boy right smack over him floating stride for stride with your uncle he leaps as billy tries to leap bills was fast so he got their right as your uncle came down with it but it was to late

UNCLE CHARLIE

Too late , I was already in the end one hahaha

Dad

Already in the end zone hahaha

They both clink beers and chuckle together

BRANDON

(Looks over at the both of them shakes his head and joins in on the laughter) great story y’all were some bad boyz bad in the day on the field and on the track huh

Dad

You already know son,

UNCLE CHARLIE

Check this out, I found a old newspaper clip with your dad and I back in the day look (hands Brandon phone with picture and news paper clip)

BRANDON

That’s dope Unc , oh snap I see that y’all are fresh with the matching haircuts

Dad

Yeah you like that huh

UNCLE C

Yeah our dad your grandpa use to hook us up for the games It’s called the city top fade

BRANDON

Ooo word , that’s nice

Dad

You know your uncle could “hook” you up if you wanted now

UNCLE C

Yeah you know I’m nice with clippers I use to cut your dads and my hair in high school

Dad

Go wash your hair and comb it out and I’ll get my clipper and set up in the kitchen for your uncle when your ready

BRANDON

Okay dad

Brandon exit kitchen enters living room

Brandon is a little skeptical at this point but that doesn’t stop him from going to his brother to get his advice on the matter. Brandon hair has been growing for some time now and it’s getting difficult to tame so the offer is deff being considered.

BRANDON

I know you are not still customizing your team

TEZ

And if I am ?

Brandon

I’m not even going to start with you , why uncle Charlie about to hook me up bro , he said he would give me this hair cut they had when they were younger gpa use to give it to them. It’s called the city top fade it’s super fresh bro

Tez

On what

BRANDON

On everything well you see ima go wash my hair and comb it out then he going to start in The kitchen I been needed a touch up on my hair too you kno I been trying to grow out the top for the longest but mom always make us cut it smh ridiculous

TEZ

Yeah I know right straight a shame but if it turn out coo I’ll be next for sure

BRANDON

Aight cool I’ll let him know that when I get back down , I’m too excited bro I can’t wait

Tez continues game and Brandon runs upstairs pick out hair and wash it . He returns back down after 10m or so

BRANDON WALKS INTO KITCHEN

Dad

Son your all set to go

UNCLE CHARLIE

Alright let’s do it ain’t nothing to it but to do it

BRANDON

(Starting to have second thoughts says) .. uhhmm Unc you sure you know what you are doing

UNCLE CHARLIE

Yes boy I am sure don’t question my sssskillz

By this time dad and uncle Charlie have had about 3 beers each and working on their fourth beer in one hand and clippers in the other after uncle Charlie finishes his sentence with skills he does a little shimmy dance move which further and confirm Brandon suspicious of uncle Charlie being a little tipsy Brandon sits and leans back reluctantly as Charlie drapes a sheet over his front side to protect his clothing from falling hair debris

HAIRCUT STARTS

BRANDON

What are you looking at ? Aren’t you suppose to be on the game

Tez

Don’t worry about me I’m here to watch and “admire uncle Charles skills” who know I might just learn something . ( Tez says this sarcastically and smirks, unnoticed by the adults)

BRANDON

Yeah okay you think you funny

Dad

Let the boy watch ,

UNCLE CHARLIE

Yeah , you worry about just being still , let him learn a thing or two from a pro( feeling admired)

Tez

Yeah worry about yourself

BRANDON

It’s cool , (Brandon sits still and plays on his cell phone)

Tez

What’s up live we live baby my little brother getting his hair trimmed up by a pro my Unc check him out y’all

Numerous comments are laughing anticipating the mess up of the uncle and and pointing out the slur speech of the adults and beer and know it will be a disaster , as Tez persist on instigating the matter making it worse

TEZ

Dang Unc that’s tight , make sure you get that spot right there too, dang bro you about to have all the ladies

UNCLE CHARLIE

Isn’t he tho , I told you I was nice now let me finish

BRANDON

Is is really coo bro or you just saying that I can’t tell from your face if your playing or not

TEZ

Your fresh bro I’m telling you , even everyone on love saying so

At the point dad has left to the bathroom and started talking to mom upstairs Brandon doesn’t know to be worried or excited but the anticipation is eating him alive he sees chunks of his hair falling as the clipper passss but doesn’t know if he is imagining bigger pieces falling than what is actually being cut out and falling he is tripping at this point

UNCLE c

Alright B all done

Tez

(Trying to hold in laughter) this the finish product y’all (chuckles) what’s y’all think y’all let him know in the comments I’m about to tag him in it

BRANDON

Aight I’m about to go look y’all playing

Tez

Go ahead bro

Brandon gets up hair falls off the sheet that’s draped around him onto the floor, and heads to the bathroom to check the mirror

Tez

(Laughing in background)

BRANDON

What In the world is this!!!

Tez

What you don’t like it

UNCLE CHARLIE

You don’t like it ?

BRANDON

Uncle Charlie no offense but what were you doing I said I’m growing my hair and to keep the top there’s patches everywhere on my head

UNCLE CHARLIE

It doesn’t look that bad B

BRANDON

Unc you been drinking so you don’t really see clear look at my head this is crazy

Brandon’s phone start to buzz from notifications , he’s being mentioned in tons of comments from the live stream his brother Tez was recording during the haircut so all of his friends seen it happen live he’s instantly embarrassed

BRANDON

Really Tez YOU!!

Tez

Chill bro it ain’t that deep your hair can grow back it don’t look that bad

BRANDON

Why would you

Tez

You want me to get next to help you feel better ?

BRANDON

Ignores Tez

TEZ

I’ll go next bro I got you , hey Unc can I get next up

BRANDON

You forreal

TEZ

You got me Unc

UNCLE CHARLIE

Yeah I can get you , unc Charlie stay with the skillz get in the chair

Tez walks over to chair sits down ,

UNCLE CHARLIE

You ready

Tez

Yeah (deep inhale exhale) Shake head

Uncle Charlie clippers start up buzzzzzzzzz, Tez looks at Brandon looks at uncle Tez jumps up

Tez

Sssiiiiiiiiikkkkkkkkkeeee what I look like getting a zzzzzzzzzeeeeeeeeeeee teeeeeeeeeeeee booooooopppp on the top of my head like this fool

The end

#tvscripts #script #tvscript #laroseproductions #terrellmatthews #scriptwriting #tv series #tv show #writing

[flauntpage]

Flying High Again – Ten Takeaways From Eagles 32, Texans 30

A lot of NFL teams can’t put one decent quarterback on the field, but the Eagles have two that are pretty damn good.

It’s why they won the Super Bowl in February and it’s why they’re still alive for a playoff berth heading into week 17 of this season. The pretty damn good backup was able to step in for the pretty damn good starter, and the Eagles have now won four of their last five games.

That’s my top takeaway. It’s the rare positive outlook from me, the anti-Negadelphia if you will. Is it posi-delphia? I don’t know. That doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, but the only thing that matters is that the Eagles head into the season finale with a chance to sneak into the playoffs as a 9-7 wild card team. That seemed inconceivable as recently as 15 days ago.

Of course you would like for them to “control their own destiny,” but they don’t, and wins against the Rams and Texans might only serve to reignite the “what if?” flames that were originally sparked during bogus early season losses against the Vikings and Panthers and Bucs and Titans. Go figure that they’d struggle against some utterly average teams while knocking off a pair of 10-win clubs in consecutive weeks. That adds to the bitterness for sure, because they should have taken care of business back in October and November.

But they’ve still got a chance, and it’s possible to appreciate both Carson Wentz and Nick Foles at the same time without automatically going into some sort of “quarterback controversy” type of hot take on social media or sports radio. God forbid Eagle fans be grateful for what each player has contributed over the past two seasons, but if you want to argue with your friends or family or total strangers on Twitter, I won’t stop you.

1) Big **** Nick

471 yards is the most an Eagles quarterback has ever thrown for.

Ever!

The previous mark was set by Donovan McNabb back in 2004, when he slung it for 464 against Green Bay. Also, this was Nick’s fourth 400 yard passing game, which is also an Eagles record, and his 120.4 passer rating is the 9th-highest single-game mark of his career, the best number he’s logged since last year’s NFC Championship game.

Foles was also 8 yards short of passing Pat Mahomes for the highest single-game total this year, which happened in the 54-51 Chiefs/Rams barn burner a few weeks ago.

The fumble and the interception were the two blemishes on an otherwise stellar game. Nick finished 35-49 with four touchdowns and the pick, and again this week he hit on some deep balls that Carson simply wasn’t trying in weeks prior. Last week Nick was 3-5 in passes thrown 20 or more yards down the field, and this week he went 2-4 in that category, according to NFL Next Gen Stats:

(I counted that green dot on the far left as 20 yards. Looks like it’s maybe 19.8 yards? Close enough)

And what you can say about the final drive? He led an 11 play, 72 yard foray down the field to score the game-winning field goal. He only went 2-6 on the drive but connected on massive 19 and 20 yard completions, which, combined with a penalty and some effective running, got the Eagles close enough for Jake Elliott to do the rest.

I’m not sure what it is, but Nick just has that quality in him, that clutch factor when playing for this team. Consider the fact that he did all of that after getting absolutely obliterated by Jadeveon Clowney, and it makes it even more impressive.

2) When pass/run ratio doesn’t matter

50 passes and 22 runs on the day, which wound up being lopsided because of the nature of the game and the necessity to throw in the fourth quarter.

Therefore, whenever anyone gives you that statistic of, “the Eagles win blah blah amount of games when they run the ball X amount of times,” you know it’s generally bullshit. Yesterday is the perfect example.

Even if you take away the final three series, when the Eagles were leading by two touchdowns, the split would have been this:

40 passes, 16 runs

That includes a QB sneak as well, and it gives you a 71% to 29% pass/run split. They basically built a two score, second half lead while throwing the ball 71% of the time, so tell me again about how Josh Adams needs to see more of the rock. He doesn’t. The whole point of finding a 60/40 split is that it just allows you to balance out the play book and throw different things at defenses while allowing your offensive line to get moving in the run blocking game, but otherwise there are just too many variables to make blanket statements about run/pass split.

Plus, Houston’s defensive strength is in the trenches anyway, and here’s a good exchange between Doug and Jimmy Kempski that sort of sums it up:

Q. You had a lead for most of the game, but the pass/run ratio was pretty lopsided. Was that because they were depleted at corner? (Jimmy Kempski)  DOUG PEDERSON: Did you see their rush defense today? 35 yards rushing the football. It was hard.

Q. I’m not criticizing. (Jimmy Kempski)  DOUG PEDERSON: Okay. I thought maybe we needed to run the ball more or something. [Laughter] That’s a tremendous defense now. That’s a great group. That front seven, eight guys with their safeties, they do a really good job. They create different angles for our offensive linemen. So some of the things that we’ve been able to do in the last couple weeks, they just kind of took us out of it. I knew we were going to have to run the ball late in the game, even when we were up by 13 there, 29-16, I felt like we could get a little momentum, run the ball, make them use time outs and maybe we could finish the game at that point, but we didn’t do it. It was just great defense.

For what it’s worth, last week Doug Pederson went with 51 shotgun looks for Nick versus 8 under center looks. This week he used shotgun 63 times and again only went under center 8 times, so nothing super different there. The Eagles are a shotgun squad and they run almost the entirety of the offense from those sets. That’s the base for their RPO game, and while they do fire off the occasional screen from under center, yesterday both screens came out of the shotgun.

3) Calling audibles

The 83-yard touchdown pass to Nelson Agholor was actually not supposed to happen. Foles audibled out of it:

I saw a unique coverage that they play. We had a play in our arsenal that wasn’t the one that was called, and I felt like I had time on the clock to check it and really take a shot with some speed with Nelly. We were able to execute it. Nelly made an amazing play to finish it off with a touchdown. It was really all of us being on the same page, recognizing the coverage, understanding how to run the route, and the line gave me time to throw it. It was awesome.

Pederson confirmed that the original play was a pass, and added this:

It was a coverage check that he saw, something Houston had been running earlier in the game. He saw it, got to a play that would attack that coverage and great protection and allowed him to get the ball down the field.

I’m probably going to need the all-22 film to get the best look, but for whatever reason, the Texans use a safety to kind of double down on the weak side of the field, where Alshon Jeffery is lined up. On replay, check out how the 60/40 safety kind of cheats up here in a nickel look:

Nick Foles finds Nelson Agholor for a HUGE touchdown!

(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/UdVAYVcWSc

— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) December 23, 2018

That allows the Eagles to move the second safety with a post pattern and then you’ve got Agholor 1v1 with Tyrann Mathieu without any safety help over the top at all. Houston plays a lot of zone, and the linebackers just sort of hold here, so Nick obviously saw this look earlier in the game knew he could get “Nelly” down the field with inside leverage while using Zach Ertz to pull the second safety out of the way:

Maybe later this week I can go through the film and try to see where Houston showed that coverage earlier in the game. Nice read, nice audible, even better pass.

4) Scissors

There were a couple of key plays on the game-winning drive, but I think the best quote was from Zach Ertz, on the 20-yard third down grab that he made to keep the chains moving:

“It was just kind of a scissors corner route that we always have, post by number one, I had a corner, and Darren was in the flat. I had been taking a lot of inside releases against him, so I kind of sold the inside release and threw him inside and I think he kind of ran into the linebacker. Something happened where my feet got tangled up so I was kind of off balance and Nick just kind of laid the ball out there and allowed me to run under it. I was able to stay in bounds and make the play. I tried to get out of bounds in that situation.”

Yep. This is a really nice design, and I think they ran the same thing earlier, or something very similar, on their first 4th down conversion of the game:

This is actually more about sealing off the linebacker responsible for the runner coming out of the backfield. Ertz does a really nice job, as he says, selling the inside here, and while he successfully picks off the linebacker, both players actually fall down, leaving Sproles open, but also springing Ertz even further down the field.

Check it out:

  Huge play to put the Eagles in field goal range. Well designed, well executed.

5) Record setter

Sunday, Ertz set a new record for the most single-season receptions by a tight end.

The Eagles’ PR staff put together the notes in their post game email, so I will courtesy them and drop the information in here:

Zach Ertz now has 113 receptions in 2018, surpassing Jason Witten in 2012 (110) for the most receptions by a TE in NFL single-season history. Ertz, who led the Eagles with 12 receptions, posted his franchise-record 10th career game with 10+ receptions. He became just the third TE in NFL history to accomplish that feat, joining Tony Gonzalez (15, 1997-2013) and Witten (11, 2003-17).

Ertz moved past Brian Westbrook (426, 2002-09) into 3rd place on the Eagles’ all-time receptions list (currently 434), behind Harold Carmichael (589, 1971-83) and Pete Retzlaff (452, 1956-66).

Ertz, who tallied his 11th career game with 100+ receiving yards (5th of the season), moved into 9th place on the Eagles’ all-time list for receiving yards (currently 4,812).

Ertz recorded his 5th career multi-TD game and now has a career-high-tying 8 TDs this season (also 8 in 2017), which are tied for the 2nd-most by a TE in Eagles history, trailing only Pete Retzlaff in 1965 (10).

It took Ertz 89 games over six seasons to reach those numbers.

Assuming he continues on a similar trajectory, he’s slated to break Carmichael’s receptions record in three seasons. He actually might get there sooner. He would need 77.5 receptions next season and the following season to reach Carmichael’s 589, which is not inconceivable. Even in 2015 and 2016 he caught 75 and 78 passes, so the record will fall at some point.

6) NFL “officiating”

Jesus H. Christ, was it bad.

In no particular order:

The missed facemask call on Foles was outrageous.

The roughing the passer call on Brandon Graham was one level below outrageous.

The roughing the passer on Clowney was iffy. I honestly don’t think there’s anything wrong with that hit, but if you think his head is lowered there as he makes contact with Foles, then you could make a case that he’s breaking the rules. Honestly, if that was called against an Eagle and not a Texan, I think there would be a ton of complaints.

Alshon Jeffery threw an illegal screen on the second Ertz touchdown catch. He literally just ran straight forward into the defender and made no move to disguise the pick at all.

I think the helmet contact penalty on Tre Sullivan was a good call, same with the roughing on J.J. Watt, who hit Foles in the head while trying to bring him down. The unnecessary roughness on Cre’Von LeBlanc I though was somewhat of a borderline call, because he hit the ball carrier with his shoulder as that guy was going to ground. Those are weird plays, aren’t they? It’s hard to pull out of those at the last minute if the offensive player is dropping his head or trying to avoid contact.

7) Auxiliary battles

Some good, some bad:

won time of possession, 34 to 26 minutes

-2 turnover margin

9-16 on third down (56.2%)

4-4 on fourth down

allowed Houston to go 3-10 on third down (30%)

lost 9 yards on 1 sack

1-2 success rate in red zone

11 penalties for 105 yards

They against crushed a team in time of possession, but that -2 turnover margin was a killer, as were the penalty yards, which were almost double what they’ve been over the past three weeks.

Those third and fourth down numbers are the reason they won the game. Foles was just phenomenal playing “situational football” throughout, and the line’s ability to protect him yesterday outside of one sack and the fumble was a big deal.

8) Doug’s best call?

I thought he really nailed his fourth down play calls.

The wheel route to Sproles was perfect. The play action pass to Dallas Goedert, complete with pre-snap motion, would have gone for a touchdown had he not slipped. Ertz ran a brilliant route on his first touchdown catch.

I also thought the draw play on the final drive really caught Houston off guard after the Eagles threw the ball seven times in a row to chunk their way down the field. There was no better time to throw them for a loop with a delayed hand off type of design.

It was just really nice stuff all around from Doug yesterday, who looked like the 2017 version of himself with aggressive decision making and calls that made a lot of sense when factoring in down, distance, and the time remaining on the clock.

9) Doug’s worst call?

Going for two when you’re up 13-9? That’s really the only one that comes to mind.

I guess the idea there was to extend the lead to six instead of four, which would force Houston into two field goals to tie the game. Or, if they score a touchdown, that would also put a little more pressure on the kicker to hit an extra point to go up 16-15. I’m just not sure it was necessary at the time, and they could have used that point in the fourth quarter, when Houston scored to take – you guessed it – a one-point lead.

10) Can’t be bothered in the broadcast booth

I kind of like Ian Eagle, but Dan Fouts seems like another color guy who is just sort of there, another guy who treats the game like it’s just another day at the office, as if he’s working some sort of 9-5 job.

That manifested itself I think in the goofy exchange where they were talking about Big V and didn’t attempt to say his first name. They sort of laughed it off to the tune of, “I’m not even gonna try to pronounce his name.”

Yeah? Well isn’t that your job?

Imagine if a home builder said, “well that nail is way up there, I’m not even gonna try hammering it in.” Two years later, the house falls apart because dude was lazy and/or inattentive to detail.

Imagine if an electrician, like Tom Cudeyro, said, “yeah I guess I could connect these two wires, but I don’t feel like it.” And then the lights in your brand new house simply don’t work.

Or, imagine if a paralegal said, “yeah, well I’m just going to omit this line about beneficiaries because I’m trying to hit my lunch break at Chipotle.” Then, when you croak, your kids can’t get your money because this person didn’t feel like finishing the task at hand.

See how dumb it really is?

Plus, it’s really not that hard if you go over it a couple of times:

Halapoulivaati Vaitai.

Ha-la-pool-ee-va-tee.

He played in the Super Bowl last year, so it’s not like the dude is brand new. He didn’t just sign yesterday.

They also borked the name of Boston Scott in the first half, calling him “Austin” instead. Otherwise everything about the broadcast was suitable.

Happy holidays. Enjoy whatever you celebrate – Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or maybe a Festivus for the rest of us.

The post Flying High Again – Ten Takeaways From Eagles 32, Texans 30 appeared first on Crossing Broad.

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[mushville-blog1]

College football picks for week 12

The ship that is my college football, season has been righted and I’m no longer taking on water after a 3-1 ATS (despite writing Alabama was playing at home when they clearly were not) week 11. Back over .500 at 35-34-2, so now I need to close out the season strong to get to the 60% mark. Money-line dogs went 1-2 with Auburn cashing. This week is a pretty meager slate of games, with the SEC heavyweights and some ACC teams (Clemson, FSU) playing the pistol whipping a bunch of blind kids portion of their schedule. Fear not, I found a few games I really like. My money-line picks this week happen to be two of my ATS games as well, so that’s less reading for you. You’re welcome. Let’s get to the picks: Buffalo (-20, o/u 56) @ Ball State – Thursday Night game Okay, yes, this is a terrible game and the fact it is on TV says a lot about the state of our planet right now. Just because two teams suck, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t profit off them. Forget the spread, focus on the total. In Ball State’s last 4 games against MAC opponents, they have given up 63, 56, 58, 56 points. That was against the better half of the conference, but if you follow me regularly, you know my stance (and research) on the MAC. The talent gap between top and bottom of the conference is small, so if your defense sucks against Western Michigan, Toledo and Northern Illinois it will suck against EMU, Akron and everyone else. Buffalo is part of that everyone else and averages 30ppg in MAC play, so assume they can score more against this wretched defense. Play the over 56 and just check the score during college basketball. SMU @ Memphis (-12.5, o/u 75) - Line has been fluctuating between 11.5 and 13, but I locked it in at 12.5, so that’s the line I’m using. Memphis still has a ton to play for, so a slip here all but ends their season. If they beat SMU and ECU it puts them in the AAC title game and a likely rematch with UCF. If they win that game, they are likely going to be playing in a New Year’s six bowl game. SMU is bowl eligible and even in their losses has been a very tough out for the better teams in the AAC. This is a very dangerous game for Memphis, but with so much to play for, I expect a typical Tiger showing at home. Lay the 12.5 with Memphis. Fresno State (-2.5, o/u 41.5) @ Wyoming - Line opened with Wyoming a slight favorite, money moved to Fresno. Wyoming is a different animal at home and is playing really good football as of late. They’ve won 3 in a row and still have a very long shot at winning the Mountain West Mountain division. Wait a second, The MW division names are Mountain and West? That’s ridiculous, can we get better division names for my favorite conference. How about change the Mountain division to the Gunslingers and the West division to the Cattle Rustlers. Fresno leads the Rustlers division (these division names are going to ruin my day thinking about how stupid they are) and needs to win one of their last two (they play Boise next week) to win the Rustlers division. I don’t think they get the win here, which means it comes down to next week at home vs Boise State. Side note: if they do win the Rustlers, they would play Boise State the following week in the conference championship game. Take Wyoming +2.5 and they are my first money-line dog pick at +115. Army at North Texas (-3, o/u 58) - I told you this wasn’t a great slate of games, but this one was on my radar last week as one I was interested in if the line fell my way. Army is coming off a win against Duke where they held on for dear life at the end. They don’t throw the football at all, everyone knows what they are going to do on offense and it makes no difference as they just move the ball down the field running that stupid triple option. If you have no idea who North Texas is, allow me to save you a Google search: They are in first place in the Conference USA West division, they are 7-3 overall, their campus is in Denton, TX, their nickname is Mean Green and their mascot is Scrappy the Eagle (of course it is). They were also not the fictional school from Necessary Roughness, the 1994 film starring Scott Bakula, Sinbad and Kathy Ireland. That was Texas State University, a fictional school not to be confused with the actual Texas State University Bobcats, who changed their name in 2003 from Southwest Texas State University. Ok, so now you know who they are and are not remotely pissed that you just spent 11 seconds reading that nonsense, let’s get to actual football. As far as this game goes, Army has played equal or better teams than North Texas and those teams wilted under Army’s boring, monotonous running game. I think North Texas does too, so give me Army +3 and the money-line at +120. Arizona @ Oregon (-2, o/u 75) - In the 10 minutes it took me to write that crap about Scott Bakula, this line moved from Pick ‘em to Oregon being favored. No problem, it really doesn’t change anything for me. I’ll save you the suspense and tell you I’m playing the over. Oregon won’t be able to stop Khalil Tate and I’m not sure Arizona will be able to stop Oregon, who likely gets QB Justin Herbert back from injury. So the over is the play, but wait, there’s more. This line is going to keep moving (in my opinion). I lean on Arizona winning this game, so right now that gets me +105. A lean isn’t strong enough for me to part with my money, so I’m going to wait and see how this plays out. If I can get The Cats as a money-line dog around +120 or higher, I’ll take it. Otherwise, I’ll stick with the over and enjoy the fireworks.

#north texas mean green #army football #arizona wildcats #oregon ducks #Fresno State Football #wyoming football #memphis tigers

[watchingthesuperbowl]

Notes taken during Super Bowl XXXVI

PREGAME

This is a Sky Sports simulcast of a Fox production. No more Channel 4, it appears.

The Sky Sports pre-produced open is just absolutely awful. The guy is using words that don't mean what he thinks they mean.

Sky Sports open: "They are underdogs personified, led by Tom Brady, a backup quarterback who nobody had heard of before he stepped out of the shadows to get a grip on a team of unknowns and has-beens to become overachievers." Dude, he threw for 369 yards and four touchdowns while winning the Orange Bowl as a starting quarterback when he was at Michigan. If you hadn't heard of him, you weren't a football fan.

Patriots are one of the biggest underdogs in Super Bowl history. 14 points, it appears.

"Kurt Warner was the Cinderella story of the 34th Super Bowl. Is Tom Brady to be the Cinderella story of the 36th?"

Sky Sports package about the Rams. This is actually well-written and well-conceived. They should have let this reporter do the cold open. Martz discusses the offense. Martz runs plays based on what the defense does. They break down the winning play in XXXIV. Trips right, single coverage with a safety. They knew the safety would help on the slot receivers, leaving Bruce one-on-one.

Drew Bledsoe: Not surprised at how well Brady has played. I've seen him in practice.

Bledsoe: Didn't like losing my job due to injury. Didn't agree with it, but we're in the Super Bowl now.

Bledsoe: We're friends, but it's awkward sometimes and changed our relationship.

Bledsoe drives a Mercedes, Brady drives a Dodge Ram pickup truck.

Bledsoe: Impressive to see how well Brady prepares, and his preparation is meticulous. Has as good a command on what we're doing and what the defense is doing as anyone I've ever seen.

Back to the Sky Sports studio. Analyst calls Brady "What'shisname".

Analyst: Brady has a bad ankle. I'm the Rams, I blitz him. And if Bledsoe comes in, I blitz him too. Brady is nervous. He could be great, and he could be real bad. They've got Bledsoe if he's bad.

Oh, hey, there's Paul McCartney. He's performing before the game. Fox runs a graphic describing him as a 13-time Grammy winner, as if he needs an introduction. "Okay, everybody clap your hands for freedom!" He does a song about his rights given by God to live a free life. It's apparently called Freedom and is his response to September 11, 2001. It's sort of garbage, and I say that as someone who loves most of McCartney's work.

Now a bunch of Patriots sound bites about Belichick. This is a Pam Oliver Fox package, chopped up and rebuilt.

The studio "expert" is apparently Mark Collins, former Giants DB. I am decidedly not a fan of his media work.

Patriots WR Terry Glenn is holding out, may not get a ring if New England wins.

One-on-one interview with John Madden, which is awesome. Madden says the Rams are the better team, but the winner is always the team that plays better on the day. Both interviewer and Madden say special teams may be big for the Patriots.

Madden describes Rams offense as the best ever assembled. I'm not going to say he's wrong, but IMO the Niners were better circa Super Bowl 29. This Rams offense is awesome, though.

Introductions: Rams offense. 40% of the starting offensive line played in the MAC, so that's cool. Pat Summerall doing the introductions.

Introductions: Patriots. They come out en masse, not introduced individually.

Star Spangled Banner: Boston Pops and Mariah Carey

Coin Toss: Roger Staubach and George H.W. Bush. Rams win the toss and will receive.

Rams beat Patriots 24-17 in Week 10.

Dick Stockton and Darryl Johnston in the booth, apparently. I think this is a Sky Sports-specific commentary team for this game.

FIRST QUARTER

Yo Murphy back to receive the opening kickoff. A big deal is made of his time with the Scottish Claymores. Heck of a return, out to the Rams' 39.

Fox using the umlaut in Tom Nutten's name. Cool.

Rams doing Ram things, across midfield quickly and nearing field goal range within the first minute.

2nd and 18, Warner goes deep into double coverage to Torry Holt. Apparently Holt beat CB Tebucky Jones and Law was there to assist. Drive stalls at the New England 40. John Baker will punt, and for once this strategy pays off. He kicks it out of bounds inside the 5.

First play for the Patriots, Brady to Troy Brown for 21 on a slant. That's very Rams of them.

Brady is the third QB to lead his team to the Super Bowl in his first year as a starter. Kurt Warner and Vince Ferragamo (both Rams) are the other two.

Johnston: When the Patriots go shotgun formation, left guard Mike Compton plays center and center Damian Woody plays left guard. They've been doing it all year. He's never seen that before. Neither have I.

Patriots stall near midfield and punt. Ken Walter, one of two recent NFL players to go to Kent State and not play football there. (Antonio Gates is the other.)

Patriots in their third Super Bowl, all in New Orleans.

Four of Warner's first five pass attempts have been to Holt.

Cool play alert: Running back Marshall Faulk lines up as a wide receiver, then goes in motion and runs a jet sweep.

Warner converts a third down in which he's pressured and improvises a pass. One play later, they're across midfield.

Huh. Rams run a middle tight end screen. Johnston says the Rams have used that play all season long and it's one of their favorites. Mike Martz knows more about offense than I do, but that seems like an ugly play.

Rams stall just inside the New England 35. Jeff Wilkins comes on to attempt a 50 yard field goal, and it's right down the middle. 3-0 Rams.

Cutaway: Trainer working on Kurt Warner. Cramp? Back muscle issue? The commentary team doesn't even reference the shot, so I have no idea. 

Team that scores first in the Super Bowl is now 25-10.

Patriots go three and out. Defensive end Grant Wistrom with great coverage on running back Kevin Faulk to prevent a third down completion.

Stockton: People are talking about Marshall Faulk as if he's one of the greatest, or maybe even THE greatest of all time. Pump the brakes, Dick. He's great, but he's not Brown or Payton. Rookie LaDainian Tomlinson is about to replicate Marshall Faulk's career, albeit without the Super Bowl ring.

Quarter ends with Rams on top 3-0.

SECOND QUARTER

First quarter stats: Rams 89 total yards and 5 first downs, Patriots 50 and 2.

Sky runs a graphic of World Bowl champions.

Third and 15, Warner throws to Az Hakim, who's surrounded by four Patriots defenders. Two of the Patriots crash into each other and Hakim gains some additional yardage.

Wait, did the Rams just call a quarterback draw with Kurt Warner? They did. Bananas. It gains five yards on 2nd and 10. After an incomplete third down pass, Jeff Wilkins is on and misses a 52-yard field goal wide left.

Third down, Brady deep for David Patten. Knocked away by Kim Herring, who won a ring last year with the Ravens. Doesn't matter. Holding, defense, first down.

Patriots don't accomplish much and punt. Rams will take over at their own 20.

Coming up at halftime, a live performance from U2. "Music" from Barenaked Ladies, which means it's...not live? I dunno.

First and 10 Rams from their 39. Warner under pressure, tosses it up, a terrible throw under pressure and Ty Law picks it off. He's gone with a pick six. 7-3 Patriots.

Stockton: Patriots felt like if they could get out of the first quarter with the game close, they'd be in good shape.

Johnston: Nobody beat the St. Louis Rams this sesaon. They've beaten themselves when they lost.

On a first down play, Az Hakim makes a catch past the first down marker but inexplicably runs backwards behind the marker. Second and inches, but a run is stuffed on second down and Warner throws incomplete on third down. Hakim blew it. Rams will punt.

A promo for www.NFLJapan.co.JP. Huh.

Stockton: There is no question the Patriots have stolen the momentum.

Marc Edwards getting the ball here. Three touches for the fullback on this possession.

Fox graphic: Fewest points the Rams have scored this year in the first half: 9, twice.

Promo for NFLEurope.com. Sky shows video of Kurt Warner as an Amsterdam Admiral.

Patriots punt and the Rams take over with 1:52 left in the half. They're deep in their own half of the field.

Inside handoff to Az Hakim! Clock running, Rams at their own 20 with around 90 seconds left before halftime.

Warner completes a pass deep downfield to Ricky Proehl, who almost immediately fumbles. Terrell Buckley recovers and runs it back to the Rams 40 or so. If you're a Rams fan, you're beginning to feel some indigestion.

Patriots driving in the two-minute drill. A big third down run from Kevin Faulk makes it first and goal from the 8 with 36 seconds left.

First down, Brady throws into the end zone to David Patten, who makes an incredible falling, off-balance catch. Perfect throw, perfect catch. This is a stunning turn of events. The Rams were two-touchdown favorites.

They're going to review it to make sure he had the ball and was in bounds. He did. It's a touchdown. 14-3 Patriots. This is the Rams' largest deficit of the year.

Rams take a knee after the kickoff. It's 14-3 New England at the half. The team leading at halftime is 27-7 all-time in Super Bowls.

 HALFTIME

U2 performs. "Beautiful Day". Then a tribute to September 11, 2001 victims as they play "MLK" and "Where The Streets Have No Name". Victim names are projected onto a screen behind the band and scrolled. U2 lost me in the early 90s and has never really gotten me back, but they absolutely nailed this halftime show. Perfection.

Back to the Sky studio. Mark Collins shows off his Super Bowl rings.

THIRD QUARTER

Patriots receive the second half kickoff. Decent return to the 30 or so.

A couple of big runs from Antowain Smith to start the half and the Patriots have moved into Rams territory.

The drive stalls near the Rams' 45 and Ken Walter will kick it away. Rams take over inside their 20.

After a penalty, the Rams have a 1st and 18 from their own 8, but they take care of it right away. Warner hits Hakim, who weaves through defenders for a first down. Next play, Warner to Bruce down the middle of the field, and they're out to the 50.

That's more or less where the Rams' first drive of the half ends. They'll punt. Patriots take over near their 15.

New England feeding Antowain Smith. 17 yards on the first play of the drive. He's gotta be up near 100 yards now, midway through the third quarter.

End around! David Patten for 22. Looked for a moment like he might score.

Smith: 14 rushes, 84 yards. Now 15 for 85.

Drive stalls near the Rams' 35. They punt, and it goes into the end zone. Net of 15 yards. Whee! Belichick was thinking field position, I assume.

Stockton: Rams' deepest penetration is to the Patriots' 32 yard line.

Promo for American Bowl 2002 in Osaka: Washington vs. San Francisco. The first preseason game of the year, next August.

Marshall Faulk beginning to heat up. Rips off a couple 8-12 yard chunks outside. Rams get to midfield.

Patriots defense looking a lot like Belichick's Giants in XXV. Allow catches, but no yards after the catch.

Warner with a terrible throw, picked by Otis Smith, who returns it to the 33. Torry Holt fell and Warner was throwing to a spot.

Run/pass option to Kevin Faulk, but he's sacked. I guess it'll go down as a three yard rushing loss, but that was a sack. He wanted to throw. (As it turns out, this was recorded as a sack.)

Another trick play with Kevin Faulk. Direct snap to the running back as Tom Brady acts like the snap went over his head. Nearly enough for a first down, but sets up Adam Vinatieri for a 37 yard field goal. Got it. 17-3 Patriots, with 1:18 left in the third.

All 17 Patriots points have come off of Rams turnovers.

Video of Adam Vinatieri kicking for the Amsterdam Admirals.

Johnston: I like the calm St. Louis is showing on offense. They don't seem shaken, there's no sense of panic despite a 17-3 deficit.

Rams out near midfield again after a couple of completions. Third quarter ends with New England up 17-3.

FOURTH QUARTER

Team that's ahead after three quarters is 30-5 all-time in Super Bowls.

Third and 6, Warner finds Hakim across the middle to convert. They're unside the 45. Next play, Kurt Warner scrambles, buys time, and somehow finds Ernie Conwell for nine yards.

Rams still not panicking, doing their thing, taking their time. This is a big drive, but they're not forcing anything.

BIG play to Marshall Faulk coming out of the backfield. He gets man coverage against Mike Vrabel, which is a huge mismatch. Gets to the 9. First and goal.

Warner throws into traffic on second down. Lawyer Milloy nearly picks it off. Not a great throw. Next play, nearly picked off again. Ty Law probably should have had that ball for the Patriots. Bruce was running a fade route and never looked for the ball.

The Rams will go for it on fourth down, needing two touchdowns in the next 10:29.

Rams have scored on 37 consecutive Red Zone possessions. 27 TD, 10 FG. Last time they didn't score was against New England in Week 10.

Fourth down, Warner can't find anyone open and scrambles, eventually decides to take off and run with it. Tackled at the 1 yard line and fumbles. Tebucky Jones scoops and takes it 97 yards for a touchdown...but there's a flag on the field. Defensive holding. First down, Rams. Huge, huge play. Replay shows Willie McGinest essentially tackled Marshall Faulk while Faulk was trying to run a pass pattern.

First down from the Patriots' 1, Faulk up the middle, stuffed.

Video of Paul Tagliabue with a personalized FC Barcelona jersey. It's soccer, Paul. It's sort of like football with no hands.

Second and goal, Rams spread the defense and Kurt Warner waltzes in on a quarterback sneak. I don't think I've ever seen a quarterback sneak up the middle from the one yard line where the QB goes in basically untouched. 17-10. Rams are alive.

Daryl Johnston and Nick Halling chat about FC Barcelona playing exhibition games in the US. Halling snarkily asks Johnston if he'd go to the games and Johnston emphatically says yes. He says soccer was the first sport he played. Halling is audibly surprised and a bit impressed.

Patriots go three-and-out. They'll punt with 7:55 left in regulation and the Rams down by 7 points.

It's a good punt, and there's a penalty on the Rams. St. Louis will start at its own 6.

Rams convert a third down inside their own 10 with a clutch pass from Warner to Bruce. It's only five yards, but it's good enough for now.

2nd and 10, Warner with a beautiful pass downfield to Ricky Proehl. The Patriots blitzed and paid the price. Rams nearly out to midfield, needing a touchdown to tie the game. Less than 6:00 left in regulation.

Huge sack on second and 10. Willie McGinest sacks Warner for a loss of 16! Rams now facing 3rd and 26, around 4:00 on the clock, no timeouts.

New England calls its timeout. Wow. That's odd. They're giving Martz and Warner time to think. Neither team has any timeouts left.

Stockton: This would be the second-biggest Super Bowl upset of all time, behind the Jets in Super Bowl III.

Neutral zone infraction on the Patriots. Five yard penalty. 3rd and 20 or 21 from midfield. Warner throws into traffic. Incomplete to Torry Holt.

Rams will...punt? Okay. They'll punt. It goes into the end zone. 3:44 left, Patriots with the ball, Rams have no timeouts and might not get it back. 17-10 New England.

Smith run, loss of 2. Clock will be under three minutes before the next snap. Dump pass to Smith, gain of 4. Clock will be below 2:20 before the third down play. Pitch to Smith, gain of 2. Two minute warning, Patriots to punt.

Holding against the Patriots on the punt. Penalty declined. 30 yard punt gives Warner great field position on their own 35.

Complete pass underneath to Az Hakim, who shakes a tackle and gets an additional 12 yards. They're inside the 40.

Now it's Yo Murphy! A swing pass for 12, getting out of bounds. Yo was lined up in the backfield and it confused the defense.

Next play, a fade to Ricky Proehl, who gets away from Tebucky Jones and weaves his way into the end zone. The Rams are an extra point away from tying this game. They get it. 17-17. This could be the first overtime Super Bowl in history.

Johnston: "The only question is, did St. Louis score too quickly and give New England too much time?"

Good coverage on the kickoff. Troy Brown tackled inside the 20. 1:21 left, tie game.

Johnston: The Patriots have plenty of time and a great kicker.

First play, dump pass to J.R. Redmond. Patriots at their 20 as the clock ticks under 1:00. Another short pass down the middle to Redmond gets 10. They spike it and stop the clock with 0:41 left. 2nd and 10 from their own 30.

Another pass to Redmond, this time for 11. Clock stops because he got out of bounds. 0:33 left.

Vinatieri's long is a 55 yard field goal. Postseason long is 46.

Brady rolls and throws to...nobody. Rams sideline freaking out because it probably should have been called intentional grounding. The call is not forthcoming. Brady was inside the tackle, but outside of where the tackle originally lined up.

Now Brady finds Troy Brown for 23 yards. Clock stops at 0:21. Ball at the Rams' 36. Would be a 53 yard field goal right now.

Brady to Jermaine Wiggins, a dump pass over the middle. Clock ticking at 0:15, this is tempting the fates...They have to spike it. 10...9...8...7...they spike it with 0:07 left.

Here's Adam Vinatieri, trying to win it. He's never missed a kick indoors. 48 yarder. GOT IT! The clock runs out and New England wins, 20-17.

POSTGAME

Stockton: This is the most dramatic Super Bowl game ever played. Did dude see the one two years ago? Because that was every bit as dramatic.

Johnston: Great representation by NFL Europe today. Vinatieri and Warner.

Stockton: Patriots lost three of their first four games, their quarterbacks coach had a heart attack, and then they lost their starting QB (Bledsoe) to injury. Won the Super Bowl anyway.

Stockton and Johnston both talk about how fitting it is that the Patriots would win the first Super Bowl after 9/11. *insert wanking motion here*

Sky Sports studio host: AFC East had lost its last eight Super Bowls. I don't wanna talk about it.

Studio analyst Mark Collins: Doesn't matter if there's one week off before the Super Bowl or two weeks off. All you're doing in the extra week is going to parties and getting free stuff.

Collins: Game-tying touchdown was an illegal pick play that wasn't called.

Collins: Vinatieri has to be the MVP. Only Patriot who stood out. Otherwise, everybody played very well but nobody was great.

Patriots owner Bob Kraft: New England fans have waited 42 years for this day and we're world champions. Happy to be associated with coaches and players who put team first. Talks about "this time in our country" and the "spirit of America". "We are all Patriots", he says. I can't speak for anyone else, but I was a Ram that day.

Bradshaw: People thought you were crazy when you traded a first round draft pick for Bill Belichick. Kraft: Best deal I ever made.

Belichick: Credit to players and coaches, and if we played next week, we'd still be the underdogs.

Belichick: Decided we needed to cover receivers more than rush Warner because he gets rid of the ball so quickly.

Belichick: We have two good quarterbacks - three, with Huard - and you can't have too much depth at QB.

Brady: Incredible. This is what happens when guys believe in each other. Gives credit to all his teammates. Dream come true.

Brady named MVP, wins a Cadillac Escalade. Says it's a team car and everyone's using it. Bradshaw says Brady will pay the taxes on it.

Vinatieri: Never been so proud to be a member of anything in my whole life.

Promo for NFL Europe coverage. April 13, Barcelona Dragons at Scottish Claymores.

Closing montage: U2, Beautiful Day.

#super bowl #super bowl xxxvi #rams #patriots #nfl #football #st louis rams #st. louis rams #st louis #st. louis #new england patriots #new england

[junker-town]

Why picking a QB in the 2017 NFL draft is an even bigger gamble than usual

Look at the numbers, and it’s clear these prospects aren’t anywhere near sure things.

The 2016 NFL draft proved two things about quarterbacks:

Quarterbacks are really hard to project.

You can’t make a guy a top prospect simply by drafting him at the top.

Over the last 10 drafts, 43 quarterbacks have been picked in the first two rounds. Of those 43, two were among the NFL’s top 10 in Football Outsiders’ DVOA rating this past season: Matt Ryan and Derek Carr. The other eight were either top picks selected before 2007 (Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger, Alex Smith, Aaron Rodgers) or players picked further down (Tom Brady, Brian Hoyer, Kirk Cousins, Dak Prescott).

Fifteen quarterbacks were drafted in 2016. One played really well, and one played at a level slightly worse than the average QB. The others either struggled or never saw the field.

The No. 2 rookie QB on the field was also the second selected: Philadelphia’s Carson Wentz (minus-12.9 percent DVOA). Makes sense, right? But the best rookie QB was the eighth taken; Prescott (plus-31.5 percent DVOA) was selected by the Dallas Cowboys near the end of the fourth round and was probably the NFL’s third-best quarterback.

The worst semi-regular starter in the league was the No. 1 overall pick, Jared Goff.

Gaining a franchise quarterback is regarded as the fastest path to success.

But finding that guy is almost impossible, and so many teams with top draft picks rush the process.

Looking at college numbers before last year’s draft, Goff didn’t stand out from his peers in any major way.

Goff was able to get the ball downfield while taking few sacks. That's good. The main red flag: shouldn't the No. 1 pick check more boxes? He's lanky, his Combine stats and completion rate were okay, he threw a few too many picks, and he offers nothing from a rushing standpoint. Is that a guy you want to trade away your draft for?

One more red flag? From a stat standpoint, it's not immediately evident that Goff's better than the rival from down the road, Stanford’s Kevin Hogan.

Goff was a borderline first-rounder who ended up with Andrew Luck-level expectations. That was unfair to him, and it might have stunted his growth. Goff is entering only his second year, and plenty of QBs have struggled before figuring things out. It would be silly to think of him as a bust already.

At the same time, the No. 1 pick is always going to face a higher bar than Goff was going to be able to clear right away.

Over the last four drafts, teams picked only 2.3 first-round QBs per year; in the 11 drafts before that, that average was 3.1.

You could use this tiny data point to argue teams are starting to show more restraint.

Of course, there’s always a sucker. Or there’s always a desperate team that can’t bear the thought of passing on a potential franchise guy, even if it knows the odds.

Of the eight quarterbacks picked in the first round over the last three years, five have gone in the top three. After the top three, only six quarterbacks have gone in the rest of the first two rounds.

So are there any statistical standouts for 2017, or are NFL execs going to overthink their way into over-drafting QBs again?

We’ll start with the basics. Here are some rate and average stats for what I'll say are the top 22 quarterbacks in this year's class. This includes Dan Kadar's most recent top 15 (signified by the "SBN Rank" below), plus another seven.

At first glance, there are no standouts, and that could be either good or bad, depending on the patience of your general manager.

Your top two prospects probably deserve to be the top two QBs (but not top two picks).

I think it’s clear why Clemson’s Deshaun Watson and North Carolina’s Mitch Trubisky are regarded as the top QBs, and this data backs up that they should be near the top. Despite each playing against quite a few good defenses, they produced strong stats.

Watson, the preferred choice of most college fans, had a fascinating tenure.

He completed a high percentage, but few went anywhere; he averaged 12.1 yards per completion in 2015 and 11.8 in 2016.

His low sack rates fit the profile of a quick-passing efficiency guy, but he threw more picks than other prospects.

His ability to scramble for 5 yards on third-and-5 was second to none, but he lacked the explosiveness of a true dual-threat guy.

If he were to struggle in the pros, it would be because he might not have a single elite skill.

Trubisky played in the same conference and, as a passer, was equally efficient and slightly more explosive. He threw far fewer picks, too. But he took more sacks and was even less of a run threat.

Odds are, at least one will turn out to be a strong NFL quarterback.

But does Watson or Trubisky really stand out from the rest of the pack that much?

What happens if we combine some of these rate stats with Combine measurables? We get these radar charts.

Clockwise from the top, I've attempted to take you from physical attributes to efficiency to explosiveness/risk/decision-making to mobility. I love radars as easy-to-understand visuals that combine style and quality. A large surface area doesn't automatically make you better than someone with a small surface area, but if someone checks a surprising number of boxes, it makes him worth reassessing.

Physically, both barely meet the bar of your Typical NFL starting quarterback. Watson measured at 6’3, 221 pounds, while Trubisky was 6’2, 222. Trubisky’s hand size is smaller than NFL GMs would like.

The bottom line: Yeah, these are probably your top two guys and could provide decent value as long as they aren’t selected too high.

Let’s check on the latest rumors to make sure no one’s thinking about picking Trubisky at No. 1. Oh. Hey, Cleveland.

If you’ve got one of the top 10 picks, address some other need with your first pick and rest assured: there will be interesting QBs available later.

This year’s crop is full of quarterbacks with undeniable upside and terrifying downside. Maybe that’s the case every year, but among the fivesome of Nathan Peterman, DeShone Kizer, Patrick Mahomes, Chad Kelly, and Joshua Dobbs, you’ve likely got (in some unknown order) three busts, an average QB, and a star. Good luck finding the gem.

Peterman is skinny, and he isn’t much of a runner (from a frequency standpoint, anyway). He also wasn’t particularly interested in the safe throw. But over the second half of the season, there might not have been a more exciting quarterback.

After playing things close to the vest (he was 11 for 15 for 91 yards against Penn State), he let ’er rip. In Peterman's last six games, he completed 85 of 148 (57 percent) for 1,630 yards, 16 touchdowns, and five interceptions. The result: A high pick rate, a low completion rate, three losses ... and a three-game span in which Pitt scored 175 points. He threw five touchdown passes in an upset of Clemson, then completed just nine for 251 and four touchdowns in a 76-61 shootout win over Syracuse.

DeShone Kizer is another quarterback who enjoyed swinging for the fences. He didn’t avoid sacks or picks, and his interception rate wasn’t as strong as you’d like. But he’s got a gorgeous arm and big-play capability, via either pass or rush.

Fast-rising Patrick Mahomes II was the only player in the green in every passing category in the chart above. He also has a small stature and small hands. That might scare some teams away, as will the reputation associated with quarterbacks who ran versions of the air raid in college.

Chad Kelly was maybe the most fearless QB in college over the last couple of years. He averaged 13.5 yards per completion in 2015-16, and when he ran, he looked for someone to bowl over. He can throw it as far and as hard as you could possibly want, and his upside was on display in two games against mighty Alabama. In his two starts against the Tide, he completed 44 of 73 (60 percent) for 761 yards, six touchdowns, and no picks, and his Rebels scored 86 points. In that span, the rest of the SEC averaged just 13.3 points per game against Bama.

Oh, and Kelly threw seven interceptions in a three-game span in 2015, and his college passer rating was a below-average 123 during a three-game losing streak in 2016.

Few players manage to go from drastically overrated to drastically underrated during the same season, but that’s what Dobbs pulled off. He fumbles too much (which, combined with his small hands, creates a massive red flag) and makes random mistakes. But when he isn’t glitching, he’s doing incredible things.

Would you prefer someone a little steadier?

If the thought of choosing the wrong high-risk guy is giving you nightmares, you’ve got lower-ceiling, higher-floor options.

Brad Kaaya is tall, skinny, and immobile, but he completed a solid percentage and rarely threw to the wrong team.

Penn’s Alek Torgersen was maybe the best in the draft when it came to making smart passes and scrambling for necessary yardage. He’s also of smaller stature and played in the FCS Ivy League.

Are you just in the mood to say “Screw it!” and roll the dice?

Antonio Pipkin threw for 10,941 total yards and 88 touchdowns as a four-year starter at Division II Tiffin; he also rushed for 2,200 yards in that span ... and averaged 7.3 points per game for Tiffin's basketball team in 2014-15.

Somebody take this guy, please. I want to see what will happen. Entertain me. Be my guinea pig. Yeah, he threw two interceptions in the Senior Bowl. Pick him anyway.

[packernet]

New Post has been published on https://www.packernet.com/blog/2017/09/24/packernet-predictions-week-3/

Packernet predictions: Week 3

As we prepare for week 3 of the 2017 NFL season, Packernet has decided to put our predictive powers to the test. Each week we will give you our picks and see how we stack up.

*Special guest predictions by Tecmo Bowl*

Record through 2 week

Jon 20-9 (70%) Ryan 19-10 (69%) Tecmo 17-12 (59%)

Baltimore Ravens (2-0) vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-1) Line: Ravens by 4. Total: 39

Ryan’s Pick: Jaguars

The Ravens seem to be the better team but their 2-0 record came against the Bengals and the Browns, two of the worst teams in the NFL. The Jaguars aren’t great either but they are certainly the best defense they’ve faced.

The question for me simply comes down to whether the Jaguars offense can put up enough points. In my opinion 20 points may just do it in this game.

Bortles is a wild card but he’s played really well in London so I’m putting my money where it should never be, on Blake Bortles.

It should also be noted the Ravens entire team is on IR at the moment.

Jon’s Pick: Jaguars

I don’t think Baltimore is anything special, and for some reason, Bortles is 2-0 in London.

Tecmo Sim: Ravens 21 Jaguars 17

The Ravens scored more points but Bortles threw 0 interceptions. Who really won this game?

Cleveland Browns (0-2) at Indianapolis Colts (0-2) Line: Browns by 1.5. Total: 41

Ryan’s Pick: Colts

Incredibly tough call but I like the Colts ability to stop Kizer more than the Browns ability to stop Brissett. Add in the fact that the Colts are at home and it’s enough for me to give them the edge.

Jon’s Pick: Browns

Talk about a toilet bowl matchup… and I don’t mean the joke about taking the Browns to the Super Bowl, this is just an awful game. I don’t have a reason for my pick, just a gut feeling.

Tecmo Sim: Browns 14 Colts 16

It’s a horrible game but someone has to win. T.Y. Hilton has a great game going for over 150 yards.

Pittsburgh Steelers (2-0) at Chicago Bears (0-2) Line: Steelers by 7.5. Total: 44

Ryan’s Pick:Steelers

Even if the Steelers implode and are unable to get Bell or Brown going, I still can’t imaging the Bears winning. I’m not even sure how they score points. It’s real bad for the Bears right now who are, in my opinion, more than happy to tank the season with Glennon, load up on picks in 2018, and try again next year healthy with their new stud QB.

If that’s isn’t what they’re doing, I’m not sure why.

Jon’s Pick: Steelers

Markus Wheaton might be back this week, but that doesn’t mean Chicago suddenly got good.

Tecmo Sim: Steelers 34 Bears 30

Something about this score seems right. Seems unlikely the Bears could possibly put up 30 but their ability to keep a game close and lose it in on the last drive is what the Bears do.

Miami Dolphins (1-0) at New York Jets (0-2) Line: Dolphins by 6. Total: 43

Ryan’s Pick: Dolphins

I’m tempted to take the Jets in an upset here but I think a narrow win is more likely. The Jets are terrible but Miami isn’t exactly a top 10 team. Their offensive line is terrible, their quarterback and wide receivers are mediocre, and their defense outside of Suh and Wake really aren’t any good.

Still, there is nobody on the Jets that I think is capable of having a big game outside of maybe Jermaine Kerse and his quarterback is Josh McCown.

Assuming Ajayi is healthy, he should be able to destroy the Jets defense, and there isn’t a single defensive back on the Jets defense able to cover Parker and Landry.

Jon’s Pick: Dolphins

The Jets look so bad so far, that they seem to be in danger of matching the 2008 Lions right now.

Tecmo Sim: Dolphins 24 Jets 21

The game is probably a little closer than most would expect but the Dolphins Jay Ajayi gashes the Jets for 125 yards.

Denver Broncos (2-0) at Buffalo Bills (1-1) Line: Broncos by 3. Total: 40

Ryan’s Pick: Broncos

For 2 straight weeks I’ve bet against the Broncos and they’ve done nothing but come back and win. Based on their performance so far in 2017 they are making the case for being the best team in the NFL.

The Bills defense might be scary for those that are concerned Anderson and Siemian are a fluke but consider the alternative. Are the Bills really going to be able to score on the Broncos?

Jon’s Pick: Broncos

Buffalo can’t seem to get anything going offensively. Denver is better in every way.

Tecmo Sim: Broncos 14 Bills 17

Another big upset, LeSean McCoy runs for 174 yards. The Broncos offense sputters against a stingy Bills D.

Houston Texans (1-1) at New England Patriots (1-1) Line: Patriots by 13.5. Total: 44

Ryan’s Pick: Patriots

I wish there was a way I could make this seem like a tough call but it isn’t. The Patriots are struggles against the run and the Texans defense may be enough to give Texans fans hope for a brief period of time but it certainly won’t last.

Jon’s Pick: Patriots

If Houston could score points, they might be able to win this game, but they can’t, so they won’t.

Tecmo Sim: Texans 20 Patriots 23

Gillislee goes down with an injury but not before putting up over 100 yards rushing. The Patriots pull out a close one.

New Orleans Saints (0-2) at Carolina Panthers (2-0) Line: Panthers by 5.5. Total: 46.5

Ryan’s Pick: Saints

If the Saints were at home I would feel better about this but I’m still comfortable with the pick. So far that Saints lose to a red hot Vikings team and a furious Tom Brady coming off a loss. I’m not sure how many teams in the NFL come out of those games better than 0-2.

The Panthers on the other hand beat the 49ers and the Bills. I think most teams are 2-0 after that stretch. Granted, the Panthers allowing just 6 points through 2 games is impressive but what happens when one of the better offenses in the NFL comes to town?

The Panthers won despite only scoring 9 points last week after losing Greg Olsen in the second quarter. I’m not sure they have enough to win this game, even against a terrible Saints defense.

Jon’s Pick: Panthers

Carolina is allowing three points per game so far. I don’t care who they played, that’s incredible to allow only 6 points through two games. I think there’s a lot of room for their run game this week, too.

Tecmo Sim: Saints 23 Panthers 28

Michael Thomas gashes the Panthers for 150 yards but it’s not quite enough to bring the Saints out of the gutter.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-0) at Minnesota Vikings (1-1) Line: No Line (Bradford). Total:

Ryan’s Pick: Buccaneers

If Bradford was playing this would be a pretty tough call. Unfortunately for the Vikings, he isn’t and Case Keenum is their backup. Keenum at this time is fighting the good fight for worst QB in the NFL. It’s a tough race that I don’t think he can win but his 54.1% completion percentage (worst in the NFL) should help.

Conversely, although the Vikings have a formidable defense, their corners are struggling and will have to face Mike Evans and DeSean Jackson. Best of luck fellas.

Jon’s Pick: Buccaneers

Minnesota sans Bradford is Minnesota sans a win. Tampa takes this one pretty easily, I think.

Tecmo Sim: Buccaneers 13 Vikings 31

Bradford out, Cook under 50 yards rushing, Latavious Murray the top receiver, and the Vikings win with 31 points. A $1 investment would make you a millionaire with a bet like that.

Atlanta Falcons (2-0) at Detroit Lions (2-0) Line: Falcons by 3. Total: 51

Ryan’s Pick: Falcons

At first I was determined to pick the Lions. They look like a team on fire with a legitimate offense that was going to be real tough to beat in the NFC North.

All that may be true but the Falcons are just a better football team and there’s no real way around it. I don’t believe in the Lions run game and anything you can say about the Lions ability to throw the ball can be said more so about the Falcons.

The Falcons run, pass, and defense better than the Lions. Even on the road I take the Falcons.

Jon’s Pick: Lions

Call me crazy for picking against them every week, but I think this is the week they finally lose. Detroit can keep pace scoring, and they haven’t lost half their starting roster, like the Packers had last week.

Tecmo Sim: Falcons 28 Lions 30

Julio Jones does his best impression of Aaron Rodgers putting the team on his back going for over 200 yards receiving. In the end, Stafford’s surgical performance (91% completion percentage) is enough to put the Falcons away.

New York Giants (0-2) at Philadelphia Eagles (1-1) Line: Eagles by 6. Total: 42.5

Ryan’s Pick: Eagles

Although I want to give respect to the Giants defense, they aren’t shutting anyone out. They gave up 19 to the Cowboys and 24 to the Lions. Not horrible but when your team is struggling to put up 10 points in a game, it matters very little how good your defense is.

Eagles have plenty of offense to outpace the Giants anemic offense. They also seem to get the better of the Giants more often than not.

Jon’s Pick: Eagles

The Giants have been totally lost during the first couple of weeks. I don’t think Beckham can hide all of their offensive problems again this year.

Tecmo Sim: Giants 17 Eagles 31

I had a hunch to play Sproles in daily fantasy this week and Tecmo having him go for 168 yards might just be the sign I needed… No I’m not kidding.

Seattle Seahawks (1-1) at Tennessee Titans (1-1) Line: Titans by 3. Total: 42

Ryan’s Pick: Titans

Seattle was only able to put up 9 points on the Packers and followed it up by scoring 12 against the 49ers. The team should be 0-2 but the defense was able to hold the 49ers to just 9 points.

The Titans aren’t the 49ers and holding the to 9 points is beyond unlikely. They are much closer to the Packers than the 49ers but with a better defense.

Although I’m concerned with the Seahawks tendency to heat up as the season goes on, it’s only week 3. I think the poor offensive play continues on the road against the Titans.

Jon’s Pick: Titans

Seattle can’t get anything going on offense. Their defense has been okay, but Tennessee can score points in bunches in the right situation. I think they can score at least 17, and Seattle has shown little to indicate they can match that output.

Tecmo Sim: Seahawks 21 Titans 42

The Titans exploded (Murray and Davis over 100 yards) and the Seahawks imploded (Wilson 3 interceptions). Pretty much sums this up.

Kansas City Chiefs (2-0) at Los Angeles Chargers (0-2) Line: Chiefs by 3. Total: 47.5

Ryan’s Pick: Chiefs

The Chargers only lost by a combined 5 points in 2 weeks. Their ability to win this game exists but the Chiefs have a ton of weapons and the Chargers really don’t at this point.

In order to win this game the Chargers will need to stay in front of the Chiefs and I don’t think they have the defense to make that happen.

Jon’s Pick: Chiefs

I heard only 25,000 fans showed up for their first home game… pathetic. San Diego finds ways to lose. I think this will be close, maybe the Chargers even lead for significant time, but then it draws close and they choke it away, yet again. It wasn’t Mike McCoy’s fault that the team couldn’t win games, they’re just losers

Tecmo Sim: Chiefs 7 Chargers 28

Tecmo keeps predicting a spectacular crash to earth for the Chiefs. Perhaps this is the week.

Cincinnati Bengals (0-2) at Green Bay Packers (1-1) Line: Packers by 9. Total: 46.5

Ryan’s Pick: Packers

The Bengals have the worst offensive line in the NFL right now and Dalton is playing the worst football of his career. They have yet to score a single touchdown and are heading to Green Bay to play Aaron Rodgers at home in September. Not a recipe for success.

Oh, and the Bengals are the only NFL team Rodgers hasn’t beat.

Jon’s Pick: Packers

Until Cincinnati dumps Marv Lewis and Dalton, they’re going to continue to be a joke of a team. That has nothing to do with this week, but it’s the truth. Even banged up, Green Bay is better than Cincinnati.

Tecmo Sim: Bengals 20 Packers 28

The game wasn’t pretty. Montgomery was the top rusher and didn’t hit 40 yards, and Rodgers barely surpassed 250 yards but Jordy was an unstoppable force. Let’s all hope he’s playing Sunday.

Oakland Raiders (2-0) at Washington Redskins (1-1) Line: Raiders by 3. Total: 54

Ryan’s Pick: Raiders

The Raiders are 1 of the top offenses in the NFL. The Redskins are having success on the ground but can’t throw the ball to save their life. When the Raiders run up the score the Redskins will be forced to abandon what they do well and turn to what they don’t.

Jon’s Pick: Raiders

Washington has looked awfully shaky through two weeks, while Oakland looks like a Super Bowl contender. This one feels obvious, almost too obvious… but I’ll take the obvious here.

Tecmo Sim: Raiders 30 Redskins 27

Crabtree again leads the team in receptions and yards. I’m not sure if he’s benefiting from Cooper drawing all the attention or if he’s just legitimately the better option but he has been on fire.

Dallas Cowboys (1-1) at Arizona Cardinals (1-1) Line: Cowboys by 3.5. Total: 47

Ryan’s Pick: Cowboys

Their records are the same but these teams are not even close in talent level. The Cowboys loss came at the hands of an incredibly talented Broncos team. The Cardinals lone win came in overtime against the Colts. They nearly went 0-2 at the hands of the Colts. Let that sink in.

There is a part of me that is concerned about how the Cowboys young stars will respond to a loss, especially considering the way Ezekiel Elliott acted. If this was against another team I might bet on the Cowboys to lose in an upset but against the Cardinals there is just no way.

Jon’s Pick: Cowboys

Dallas got embarrassed last week, something Arizona is accustomed to feeling, so it seems. I think Dallas will play with something to prove, and look closer to the team we saw vs New York instead of Denver.

Tecmo Sim: Cowboys 21 Cardinals 17

It was close but was it really? The Cardinals are just awful in 2017.

[accuhunt]

Friday Countdown: Bishop Amat needs win in worst way; South Hills-West Covina battle for Cameron

Arroyo-Schurr preview: There’s no question about it, according to Arroyo High School football coach Jim Singiser. A lot can change in 10 months. The last time Singiser’s Knights saw Schurr, they were able to pull away for a 42-28 win in the second round of the playoffs last November. But when the two teams meet again on Friday in a key nonleague game, Singiser is expecting a much, much better opponent.

Aram’s featured previews Bishop Amat (0-2) at JSerra (2-0), 7 p.m.: The Lancers take on their second Trinity League opponent in three weeks. The first one didn’t go too well, but that was against national champion in-the-making Mater Dei. Amat then hit the road to Chicago last week where it managed just six points in a 13-6 loss to Loyola Academy. This road trip won’t be as bad, but it is a road trip. Do the Lancers have their sea legs back enough to to get what would be a sexy win for the resume? The offense better be better.

Glendora (1-1) at Charter Oak (2-0), 7 p.m.: Glendora is still in search of some offensive threats in addition to QB Bryce Wooldridge. The Tartans mustered only a touchdown in last week’s loss to Damien and figure to have an even harder time against Charter Oak’s defense on Friday. Once the Chargers got rolling last week, Colony was no match. Glendora better try and keep the pace of this game slow. Won’t be easy because the Chargers’ defense know who it has to stop and won’t worry about much else.

Los Altos (2-0) at St. Paul (1-1), 7 p.m.: The Conquerors leave Hacienda Heights for the first time this season and what they’re walking into is an angry den of Swordsmen, who lost last week against Montebello. When you’re St. Paul, that’s never supposed to happen. Los Altos has been heavily favored in both of its games this season and took care of business in both. The Conquerors have a lot of new faces but appear talented yet again. St. Paul cannot afford another loss to a public school that, in theory, it should be favored to beat.

South Hills (2-0) at West Covina (0-2), 7 p.m.: The Bulldogs have managed just 14 points in eight quarters of action this season. That’s got to change, and quick, before the season gets away from them. The Huskies won’t be very accommodating, though, as second-year head coach Matt Bechtel is looking to cross becoming king of Cameron Avenue off his list. South Hills hasn’t won a game in this series since 2013 and Bechtel figures to take no prisoners on Friday making sure that changes.

Walnut (1-1) at South El Monte (2-0), 7 p.m.: The Mustangs winning The Branding Iron game over rival Diamond Bar cannot be understated. Because, in theory, if you’re able to beat Diamond Bar, then South El Monte should be no problem. Well, nothing can be taken for granted with Walnut just yet. South El Monte has run over its first two opponents, but on Friday they play a team with a pulse. Standout Eagles running back Sal Tovar is going to have to run wild in this one. No more of this under 20 carries stuff.

El Monte (1-1) at San Marino (1-1), 7 p.m.: This one is interesting in the sense that San Marino will be going up against the kind of offense it ran last season while employing the kind of offense that El Monte ran last season. Sorta. Anyway, the Titans are back to a fun-and-gun team, it seems, and they posted a 2015-esque showing on offense last week in Compton. El Monte’s defense won’t be able to offer much resistance, but that’s okay because the Lions’ offense is going to try and keep the ball for half-a-quarter at a time.

South Pasadena (1-1) at Duarte (1-1), 7 p.m.: The Tigers didn’t look half bad in last week’s loss to Santa Clarita Christian. It’s safe to say new/old head coach Jeff Chi knows what he’s doing, even if the roster is on the small size. Duarte has had both ends of the spectrum this season, either winning by 30-something in a shutout, or being shut out by 30-something in a loss. The Falcons have the athleticism edge, but so did Rosemead against South Pas and look how that turned out.

Mission Viejo (2-0) at La Habra (1-1), 7 p.m.: Last week was more like it for the Highlanders, who routed Tesoro to get their first win of the season and erase the bad taste from Week 0’s stinging defeat against Upland. Just where does all that get them against a Diablos squad that could be every bit as good as Upland was, or vulnerable enough for La Habra to throw a scare into the Orange County hierarchy. The La Habra defense had better be on its best behavior as Mission Viejo has 80 points in eight quarters of action.

St. Francis (1-0) at Pasadena (0-2), 7 p.m.: The thinking was that Pasadena played well enough in Week 0 at Buena Park that Maranatha last week would be no problem. Instead, tiny Maranatha knocked off big old Pasadena. If the Bulldogs can’t handle the type of private school team that Maranatha is, then what’s going to happen to them against St. Francis? Knights fans had to love seeing junior QB Darius Perrantes fire six touchdown passes in his debut.

Friday’s games and Robledo’s predictions Alhambra at Temple City — TEMPLE CITY Azusa at Maranatha — MARANATHA Bassett at Rowland — ROWLAND Bishop Amat at JSerra — JSERRA Bosco Tech vs. Glenn at Excelsior Adult School — BOSCO TECH Cantwell-Sacred Heart at Salesian — SALESIAN Covina at Diamond Bar — COVINA Damien at Claremont — DAMIEN Diamond Ranch at Ayala — DIAMOND RANCH El Monte at San Marino — SAN MARINO Ganesha at Jurupa Valley — JURUPA VALLEY Garey vs. Workman at Los Altos — GAREY Glendora at Charter Oak — CHARTER OAK Hart at Arcadia — HART La Canada at Kaiser — KAISER La Mirada vs. Mater Dei at Santa Ana Stadium — MATER DEI La Serna vs. Mira Costa at California — MIRA COSTA Los Altos at St. Paul, 7:30 p.m. — LOS ALTOS Marshall at San Gabriel — SAN GABRIEL Mission Viejo at La Habra — MISSION VIEJO Monrovia at Don Lugo — DON LUGO Mountain View vs. Gladstone at Citrus College — MOUNTAIN VIEW Nogales at Wilson — NOGALES Pasadena Poly at Brentwood, 3 p.m. — BRENTWOOD Riverside Poly at Bonita — BONITA Pomona at El Rancho — EL RANCHO Rio Hondo Prep at California Military Institute — RH PREP Saddleback Valley Christian vs. Baldwin Park at Trabuco Hills — BPARK Santa Fe vs. Northview at Covina District Field — NORTHVIEW Schurr at Arroyo — SCHURR Sierra Vista at Gabrielino — GABRIELINO South Hills at West Covina — SOUTH HILLS South Pasadena at Duarte — SOUTH PAS Southlands Christian at Western Christian – WC St. Francis at Pasadena — ST. FRANCIS Walnut at South El Monte — SOUTH EL MONTE Los Angeles Jordan at Keppel — JORDAN

Friday Countdown: Bishop Amat needs win in worst way; South Hills-West Covina battle for Cameron published first on http://ift.tt/2w0EToM

[flauntpage]

Flying High Again – Ten Takeaways From Eagles 32, Texans 30

A lot of NFL teams can’t put one decent quarterback on the field, but the Eagles have two that are pretty damn good.

It’s why they won the Super Bowl in February and it’s why they’re still alive for a playoff berth heading into week 17 of this season. The pretty damn good backup was able to step in for the pretty damn good starter, and the Eagles have now won four of their last five games.

That’s my top takeaway. It’s the rare positive outlook from me, the anti-Negadelphia if you will. Is it posi-delphia? I don’t know. That doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, but the only thing that matters is that the Eagles head into the season finale with a chance to sneak into the playoffs as a 9-7 wild card team. That seemed inconceivable as recently as 15 days ago.

Of course you would like for them to “control their own destiny,” but they don’t, and wins against the Rams and Texans might only serve to reignite the “what if?” flames that were originally sparked during bogus early season losses against the Vikings and Panthers and Bucs and Titans. Go figure that they’d struggle against some utterly average teams while knocking off a pair of 10-win clubs in consecutive weeks. That adds to the bitterness for sure, because they should have taken care of business back in October and November.

But they’ve still got a chance, and it’s possible to appreciate both Carson Wentz and Nick Foles at the same time without automatically going into some sort of “quarterback controversy” type of hot take on social media or sports radio. God forbid Eagle fans be grateful for what each player has contributed over the past two seasons, but if you want to argue with your friends or family or total strangers on Twitter, I won’t stop you.

1) Big **** Nick

471 yards is the most an Eagles quarterback has ever thrown for.

Ever!

The previous mark was set by Donovan McNabb back in 2004, when he slung it for 464 against Green Bay. Also, this was Nick’s fourth 400 yard passing game, which is also an Eagles record, and his 120.4 passer rating is the 9th-highest single-game mark of his career, the best number he’s logged since last year’s NFC Championship game.

Foles was also 8 yards short of passing Pat Mahomes for the highest single-game total this year, which happened in the 54-51 Chiefs/Rams barn burner a few weeks ago.

The fumble and the interception were the two blemishes on an otherwise stellar game. Nick finished 35-49 with four touchdowns and the pick, and again this week he hit on some deep balls that Carson simply wasn’t trying in weeks prior. Last week Nick was 3-5 in passes thrown 20 or more yards down the field, and this week he went 2-4 in that category, according to NFL Next Gen Stats:

(I counted that green dot on the far left as 20 yards. Looks like it’s maybe 19.8 yards? Close enough)

And what you can say about the final drive? He led an 11 play, 72 yard foray down the field to score the game-winning field goal. He only went 2-6 on the drive but connected on massive 19 and 20 yard completions, which, combined with a penalty and some effective running, got the Eagles close enough for Jake Elliott to do the rest.

I’m not sure what it is, but Nick just has that quality in him, that clutch factor when playing for this team. Consider the fact that he did all of that after getting absolutely obliterated by Jadeveon Clowney, and it makes it even more impressive.

2) When pass/run ratio doesn’t matter

50 passes and 22 runs on the day, which wound up being lopsided because of the nature of the game and the necessity to throw in the fourth quarter.

Therefore, whenever anyone gives you that statistic of, “the Eagles win blah blah amount of games when they run the ball X amount of times,” you know it’s generally bullshit. Yesterday is the perfect example.

Even if you take away the final three series, when the Eagles were leading by two touchdowns, the split would have been this:

40 passes, 16 runs

That includes a QB sneak as well, and it gives you a 71% to 29% pass/run split. They basically built a two score, second half lead while throwing the ball 71% of the time, so tell me again about how Josh Adams needs to see more of the rock. He doesn’t. The whole point of finding a 60/40 split is that it just allows you to balance out the play book and throw different things at defenses while allowing your offensive line to get moving in the run blocking game, but otherwise there are just too many variables to make blanket statements about run/pass split.

Plus, Houston’s defensive strength is in the trenches anyway, and here’s a good exchange between Doug and Jimmy Kempski that sort of sums it up:

Q. You had a lead for most of the game, but the pass/run ratio was pretty lopsided. Was that because they were depleted at corner? (Jimmy Kempski)  DOUG PEDERSON: Did you see their rush defense today? 35 yards rushing the football. It was hard.

Q. I’m not criticizing. (Jimmy Kempski)  DOUG PEDERSON: Okay. I thought maybe we needed to run the ball more or something. [Laughter] That’s a tremendous defense now. That’s a great group. That front seven, eight guys with their safeties, they do a really good job. They create different angles for our offensive linemen. So some of the things that we’ve been able to do in the last couple weeks, they just kind of took us out of it. I knew we were going to have to run the ball late in the game, even when we were up by 13 there, 29-16, I felt like we could get a little momentum, run the ball, make them use time outs and maybe we could finish the game at that point, but we didn’t do it. It was just great defense.

For what it’s worth, last week Doug Pederson went with 51 shotgun looks for Nick versus 8 under center looks. This week he used shotgun 63 times and again only went under center 8 times, so nothing super different there. The Eagles are a shotgun squad and they run almost the entirety of the offense from those sets. That’s the base for their RPO game, and while they do fire off the occasional screen from under center, yesterday both screens came out of the shotgun.

3) Calling audibles

The 83-yard touchdown pass to Nelson Agholor was actually not supposed to happen. Foles audibled out of it:

I saw a unique coverage that they play. We had a play in our arsenal that wasn’t the one that was called, and I felt like I had time on the clock to check it and really take a shot with some speed with Nelly. We were able to execute it. Nelly made an amazing play to finish it off with a touchdown. It was really all of us being on the same page, recognizing the coverage, understanding how to run the route, and the line gave me time to throw it. It was awesome.

Pederson confirmed that the original play was a pass, and added this:

It was a coverage check that he saw, something Houston had been running earlier in the game. He saw it, got to a play that would attack that coverage and great protection and allowed him to get the ball down the field.

I’m probably going to need the all-22 film to get the best look, but for whatever reason, the Texans use a safety to kind of double down on the weak side of the field, where Alshon Jeffery is lined up. On replay, check out how the 60/40 safety kind of cheats up here in a nickel look:

Nick Foles finds Nelson Agholor for a HUGE touchdown!

(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/UdVAYVcWSc

— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) December 23, 2018

That allows the Eagles to move the second safety with a post pattern and then you’ve got Agholor 1v1 with Tyrann Mathieu without any safety help over the top at all. Houston plays a lot of zone, and the linebackers just sort of hold here, so Nick obviously saw this look earlier in the game knew he could get “Nelly” down the field with inside leverage while using Zach Ertz to pull the second safety out of the way:

Maybe later this week I can go through the film and try to see where Houston showed that coverage earlier in the game. Nice read, nice audible, even better pass.

4) Scissors

There were a couple of key plays on the game-winning drive, but I think the best quote was from Zach Ertz, on the 20-yard third down grab that he made to keep the chains moving:

“It was just kind of a scissors corner route that we always have, post by number one, I had a corner, and Darren was in the flat. I had been taking a lot of inside releases against him, so I kind of sold the inside release and threw him inside and I think he kind of ran into the linebacker. Something happened where my feet got tangled up so I was kind of off balance and Nick just kind of laid the ball out there and allowed me to run under it. I was able to stay in bounds and make the play. I tried to get out of bounds in that situation.”

Yep. This is a really nice design, and I think they ran the same thing earlier, or something very similar, on their first 4th down conversion of the game:

This is actually more about sealing off the linebacker responsible for the runner coming out of the backfield. Ertz does a really nice job, as he says, selling the inside here, and while he successfully picks off the linebacker, both players actually fall down, leaving Sproles open, but also springing Ertz even further down the field.

Check it out:

  Huge play to put the Eagles in field goal range. Well designed, well executed.

5) Record setter

Sunday, Ertz set a new record for the most single-season receptions by a tight end.

The Eagles’ PR staff put together the notes in their post game email, so I will courtesy them and drop the information in here:

Zach Ertz now has 113 receptions in 2018, surpassing Jason Witten in 2012 (110) for the most receptions by a TE in NFL single-season history. Ertz, who led the Eagles with 12 receptions, posted his franchise-record 10th career game with 10+ receptions. He became just the third TE in NFL history to accomplish that feat, joining Tony Gonzalez (15, 1997-2013) and Witten (11, 2003-17).

Ertz moved past Brian Westbrook (426, 2002-09) into 3rd place on the Eagles’ all-time receptions list (currently 434), behind Harold Carmichael (589, 1971-83) and Pete Retzlaff (452, 1956-66).

Ertz, who tallied his 11th career game with 100+ receiving yards (5th of the season), moved into 9th place on the Eagles’ all-time list for receiving yards (currently 4,812).

Ertz recorded his 5th career multi-TD game and now has a career-high-tying 8 TDs this season (also 8 in 2017), which are tied for the 2nd-most by a TE in Eagles history, trailing only Pete Retzlaff in 1965 (10).

It took Ertz 89 games over six seasons to reach those numbers.

Assuming he continues on a similar trajectory, he’s slated to break Carmichael’s receptions record in three seasons. He actually might get there sooner. He would need 77.5 receptions next season and the following season to reach Carmichael’s 589, which is not inconceivable. Even in 2015 and 2016 he caught 75 and 78 passes, so the record will fall at some point.

6) NFL “officiating”

Jesus H. Christ, was it bad.

In no particular order:

The missed facemask call on Foles was outrageous.

The roughing the passer call on Brandon Graham was one level below outrageous.

The roughing the passer on Clowney was iffy. I honestly don’t think there’s anything wrong with that hit, but if you think his head is lowered there as he makes contact with Foles, then you could make a case that he’s breaking the rules. Honestly, if that was called against an Eagle and not a Texan, I think there would be a ton of complaints.

Alshon Jeffery threw an illegal screen on the second Ertz touchdown catch. He literally just ran straight forward into the defender and made no move to disguise the pick at all.

I think the helmet contact penalty on Tre Sullivan was a good call, same with the roughing on J.J. Watt, who hit Foles in the head while trying to bring him down. The unnecessary roughness on Cre’Von LeBlanc I though was somewhat of a borderline call, because he hit the ball carrier with his shoulder as that guy was going to ground. Those are weird plays, aren’t they? It’s hard to pull out of those at the last minute if the offensive player is dropping his head or trying to avoid contact.

7) Auxiliary battles

Some good, some bad:

won time of possession, 34 to 26 minutes

-2 turnover margin

9-16 on third down (56.2%)

4-4 on fourth down

allowed Houston to go 3-10 on third down (30%)

lost 9 yards on 1 sack

1-2 success rate in red zone

11 penalties for 105 yards

They against crushed a team in time of possession, but that -2 turnover margin was a killer, as were the penalty yards, which were almost double what they’ve been over the past three weeks.

Those third and fourth down numbers are the reason they won the game. Foles was just phenomenal playing “situational football” throughout, and the line’s ability to protect him yesterday outside of one sack and the fumble was a big deal.

8) Doug’s best call?

I thought he really nailed his fourth down play calls.

The wheel route to Sproles was perfect. The play action pass to Dallas Goedert, complete with pre-snap motion, would have gone for a touchdown had he not slipped. Ertz ran a brilliant route on his first touchdown catch.

I also thought the draw play on the final drive really caught Houston off guard after the Eagles threw the ball seven times in a row to chunk their way down the field. There was no better time to throw them for a loop with a delayed hand off type of design.

It was just really nice stuff all around from Doug yesterday, who looked like the 2017 version of himself with aggressive decision making and calls that made a lot of sense when factoring in down, distance, and the time remaining on the clock.

9) Doug’s worst call?

Going for two when you’re up 13-9? That’s really the only one that comes to mind.

I guess the idea there was to extend the lead to six instead of four, which would force Houston into two field goals to tie the game. Or, if they score a touchdown, that would also put a little more pressure on the kicker to hit an extra point to go up 16-15. I’m just not sure it was necessary at the time, and they could have used that point in the fourth quarter, when Houston scored to take – you guessed it – a one-point lead.

10) Can’t be bothered in the broadcast booth

I kind of like Ian Eagle, but Dan Fouts seems like another color guy who is just sort of there, another guy who treats the game like it’s just another day at the office, as if he’s working some sort of 9-5 job.

That manifested itself I think in the goofy exchange where they were talking about Big V and didn’t attempt to say his first name. They sort of laughed it off to the tune of, “I’m not even gonna try to pronounce his name.”

Yeah? Well isn’t that your job?

Imagine if a home builder said, “well that nail is way up there, I’m not even gonna try hammering it in.” Two years later, the house falls apart because dude was lazy and/or inattentive to detail.

Imagine if an electrician, like Tom Cudeyro, said, “yeah I guess I could connect these two wires, but I don’t feel like it.” And then the lights in your brand new house simply don’t work.

Or, imagine if a paralegal said, “yeah, well I’m just going to omit this line about beneficiaries because I’m trying to hit my lunch break at Chipotle.” Then, when you croak, your kids can’t get your money because this person didn’t feel like finishing the task at hand.

See how dumb it really is?

Plus, it’s really not that hard if you go over it a couple of times:

Halapoulivaati Vaitai.

Ha-la-pool-ee-va-tee.

He played in the Super Bowl last year, so it’s not like the dude is brand new. He didn’t just sign yesterday.

They also borked the name of Boston Scott in the first half, calling him “Austin” instead. Otherwise everything about the broadcast was suitable.

Happy holidays. Enjoy whatever you celebrate – Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or maybe a Festivus for the rest of us.

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