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strniohoeee · 4 months

Note

Please could you write something based off 13 going on 30? I love your writing💕

Au Revoir

Pairing: Chris Sturniolo X Female Reader

Synopsis: Rummaging through her old collection of photos for a work campaign, Y/N enters a time capsule. And her one mission is to find the boy she once called her best friend☁️

Warnings⚠️: NONE, I lovedddd this idea sooo much, and I tried to make it as long and cohesive as possible LOLL. The whole wishing dust thing is a bit unrealistic, so I tried to make it as real as possible🤞🏽

Song for imagine: Vienna- Billy Idol, Crazy for You- Madonna

You’re gonna kick off

Before you even get halfway through

When will you realize, Vienna waits

For you?

“Enough with the embarrassing photos of me, I’m on a mission here” I said snatching the photo book from my friends hands

“What is even the project? I’m confused” she said rolling her eyes

“My boss wants us to be more authentic with our work. Our covers are becoming a bit too. What's the word?? Cliche? And unrealistic. So I figured I’d dip into my high school pile of photos” I replied looking through my pictures

“You’re a magazine company not a school yearbook committee” She replied laughing

“Okay…but we target towards young adults high school through college years” I said to her huffing

“Well how about your yearbook?” She suggested rummaging through the box

“Oh duh! Why didn’t I think about that” I said placing the photos down

She cracked open my high school and middle school yearbook. Slipping her fingers through the pages as she giggled.

Her mouth dropped and she gasped

“Holy shit” she said flipping the book around to show me

“What?” I said squinting at the book

“Chris sturniolo babes” she said dropping the book on my lap

I grabbed the book, ghosting my finger over the page. My mind immediately raced as the memories rushed in. I hadn’t seen or spoken to Chris in 12 years. I was 25 now and I honestly forgot all about him.

“It’s just Chris” I said looking up at her

“Yeah your ex best friend who’s famous with his brothers and living in LA just like you” she replied in a duh tone

“Okay? And?” I replied placing the year book down on my lap

“Well he’s also a photographer, so I’m sure he could really help you with this. I mean this project is due in a month. I say reach out to him” she said shrugging

“Reach out to him? He doesn’t want to see me” I said shaking my head

“Why not?” She said furrowing her brows

Flashback

*snap* *snap*

“Chris! No more photos please” I said laughing and pushing him away

“Off guard pictures are the best! They show their true beauty” he said looking down at his camera

“Yeah right” I said bumping his shoulder with mine as we walked down the halls

“Y/N! I heard you were having a party tonight, and we really want to go, but Ms. Teller assigned us this huge project due Monday” Jessica said coming up to us

“Oh man that sucks” I said opening my locker and looking at her

“Josh even said he wanted to go too, but he’s coming over to help us with this project” she replied twirling her hair

“Oh umm I can do the report for you guys and have it ready for tonight” I replied shutting my locker

“PERFECT! We’ll be there” she said winking

“Oh please” Chris groaned

“Shut up loser” she said snapping at Chris

“Whatever, Y/N I’m going to head to the main office to get my new assignment” he replied

“Do whatever you want Chris it’s not like she needs a play by play” Jessica said rolling her eyes at Chris, I giggled a bit before offering Chris a sympathetic smile

He rolled his eyes and walked away.

“Okay so we’ll be there by 7?” She asked

“7 is perfect” I replied smiling at her

She nodded her head and she and her group left.

I met up with Chris at the exit as we walked home together.

“I don’t know why you want to be their friend they’re just using you” he replied as we walked down the street

“No they’re not! They’re my friends” I said sucking my teeth at him

“Yeah and pigs can fly” he said rolling his eyes

We got to our houses that were next to each other.

“I’ll see you tonight?” I asked him

“You sure will” he said before winking at me

“Perfect” I said stepping onto my lawn

“Arrivederci” Chris said waving

“Au Revoir” I replied waving back

We parted ways and I got to working on Jessica and her group's report. Finishing within two hours and beginning to get ready for my party.

Chris came over at 6:45 and we went down to my basement. Put some music on and add the last bit of snacks to the table.

“Oh god you’re even dressed like them” he said looking at me fully

“Am not! I just like fashion” I said rolling my eyes

“Yeah sure” he said rolling his eyes

“Chris just play nice please” I said looking at him

“Will do” he said throwing his hands up

The bell rang and I jumped up heading upstairs to let them in. Jessica, her group and Josh came. I ushered them downstairs and we sat around talking, laughing and eating.

“Y/N I’m going to get my camera” Chris told me as I was talking to Josh

“Do whatever you want Chris I don’t need a play by play” I responded, everyone laughed and I smiled at their reactions.

Chris scoffed, stomping up the stairs and out the door.

“So Y/N how about we play 7 minutes in heaven. And you get to go first” Jessica said grabbing my hand so I can stand up

She walked me over to my closet, opening the door as I got in

“I hear Josh wants to go first” She said in a whisper

“No way” I said giggling

“Way” she responded

“Oh and before I forget where’s the report? Thank you so much for doing it” she said smiling at me

“It’s on the table by the stairs” I said, she nodded and shut the door

I stood in the closet while I waited for Josh. Anxiously waiting for him as I had my back to the door. Suddenly I heard footsteps and my heart started racing.

The door opened and I turned around

“What took you so-“ but I cut myself off once I realized it was Chris at the door

“Chris? Where’s Josh? Where’s everybody” I said pushing him out the way and stepping out

“They left” he said

“What did you do?” I replied in anger

“I didn’t do anything! They just left” He replied

“God Chris! Just leave” I said looking back at him

“What? What did I do?” He said concerned and saddened

“JUST GO OKAY I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN” I yelled at him and pointed to the stairs

Chris hung his head low and walked away leaving me in anger. That was the last time I ever spoke to Chris….

Flashback Over

“Let’s just say I wasn’t the nicest person ever” I replied shaking my head

“I’m sure it’s water under the bridge, but you’re about to be late it’s 11” she said looking down at her phone

“Oh shit” I said, jumping up and grabbing my phone, purse and keys.

Running out my apartment and to my car, hopping in and basically speeding to work.

I rushed up to my office placing my purse down and sitting in my chair. The phone calls and emails started as soon as I opened my desktop.

*knock* *knock*

“Come in” I called out as my fingers typed faster against the keyboard

“Good morning Y/N, I have some messages for you and Rachel wants to know if you’re still on for lunch tomorrow?” My assistant Vicky asked me

“Place them there for me, and yes tomorrow at 1:30 works perfect” I replied looking down at my calendar sitting on my desk

“Is there anything I can get for you?” She asked me

“Actually there is one thing! There’s this person I need you to find. His names Christopher Sturniolo, I need his phone number” I said to her

“On it” she replied before walking out the room

My mind raced as I tried to focus on my emails and calls. Maybe this was a bad idea? Contacting someone who I haven’t seen in 12 years especially after being a bitch to them made me uneasy. However my thoughts were pushed away when Vicky walked back in

“ so I found one phone number online and it happens to be his parents so when I called them, I told them that it was very urgent and that I was with debt collectors, so they gave me his phone number and his new address” she said handing me the paper

“Holy shit! You’re heaven sent! Thank you” I replied as I grabbed the paper from her hand

I finished my day of work at about 5, clocking out and rushing to the parking lot. I put in Chris' address and surprisingly it wasn’t far from me or my job. About 30 minutes?

Once I was on the freeway I started to have second thoughts, but there was physically and mentally no turning back now. After what felt like eons I arrived at the apartment complex. Super boujee might I add. I parked in the visitors area and looked for his building number

“Building 9” I said as I walked past 7 and 8

Opening the door and walking into the massive apartment unit.

“Whewww okay unit number 102, floor 4” I say with a shaky breath

I got in the elevator hitting floor 4 as my breathing got shaky. Stepping out and following the arrows to the 100’s.

“99,100,101,102” I replied looking to my right, fuck I thought

I slid the paper in my purse as I inhaled sharply. Wiping my sweaty palms on my slacks as I brought my fist up to the door.

*knock* *knock* *knock*

I stepped back a bit as I waited for someone to come to the door. Within seconds the door opened and my heart started racing even faster.

“Woah” he said confused

“Chris?” I said tilting my head a bit

“Yeah?” He replied confused as ever

“You’re so different” I said smiling a bit

“Yeah…” he stated as he scratched the back of his neck

“You don’t know me?” I ask a little hurt

“I mean I don’t blame you! I wasn’t the nicest, and I haven’t seen you or spoke to you in 12 years” I said rambling nervously

“Y/N….Y/N Y/L/N” he said as his face softened

“Yes! It’s me” I said to him

“Hey” he said

I immediately hugged him, not realizing what I was doing.

“Uhh come on in” he said stumbling back a bit

I let go of him looking at him shyly before stepping in.

His apartment clattered in cameras and pictures everywhere. Stepping further into his living room as I looked around

“Still taking pictures?” I said smiling at the wall

“Uhh yup helps pays the bills” he said awkwardly

“Uhh…hey Y/N why are you here?” He asked confused and blinking at me

“I’m sorry I just….I just came across our yearbooks and realized how long it’s been” I said tucking my hair behind my ear

“We’re not friends anymore, you can’t just drop by like nothing” he said laughing awkwardly

“We were so close” I said looking at him

“Yeah we were, but not anymore” he said furrowing his brows at me

“Oh god what have I done” I said stepping back

“No it’s okay, calm down” he said sensing my anxiety

“I…I think I need some air” I said breathing heavily

“Hey it’s okay” he said looking at me

“Oh my god I need air” I said realizing how dumb this was

“Let's step outside I’ll walk you to your car” he said

I nodded my head as I followed him out the door. Walking down to my car before stopping at the hood of it.

“I mean what happened to us” I said shaking my head

“I mean we went different ways you know” he said apologetically

“No I mean what really happened to us” I said shaking my head again

“You uhh went along with those girls and I went my way” he responded

“I was so stupid, I don’t even know why I did that” I said rolling my eyes at myself

“Listen we all fall down the wrong path and it’s okay” he said

“No it’s not, and I’m sorry” I said nodding my head at him

“Don’t beat yourself up over it” he said laughing

“I wish I didn’t fall down that path and be friends with those girls” I said to him

“Nah don’t worry about it” he said waving his hand at me

“I can’t believe it’s been 12 years since I last saw you” I said to him

“If it makes you feel better I think I saw you through a frosted window one time 2 years ago” he said smiling and to this I laughed nodding my head

“It was great seeing you but uhh I got to go” he said pointing behind him

“Yeah…yeah okay” I said to him

He began to walk away before I spoke up

“Chris?” I said

“Yeah?” He replied

“Arrivederci” I replied waving at him and he smiled

“I’ll see you” he said laughing

“Chrisss” I said to him waiting for him to answer

He laughed and rolled his eyes

“Au Revoir” he replied waving at me

Chris went his way and I went mine. Getting in my car and heading back home. It wasn’t until I was home that I realized I completely forgot to ask him about the photo shoot.

A few days went by and I was sitting at a bar finishing my drink. Taking notes for my new campaign before I decided to head out.

Stepping out onto the dewey street as I pulled my phone out to order an Uber.

“Y/N?” I heard, immediately turning my head and smiling

“Oh my god. Chris! Hi” I said cracking a wide tooth smile

“Hey” I said walking over to him

“Hey, how are you?” He said smiling at me

“I’m good” I replied

“Hey I’m sorry about the other day for the awkward interaction” he said laughing

“Oh that’s alright I bombarded you” I said shooing him

“But uh what are you doing here?” I asked him

“I’m actually uh, I’m actually here with my girlfriend” he said to me looking over his shoulder as I saw a girl stepping out of a store. She walked over to us smiling

“This is Bonnie my girlfriend” he said to me

“I’m Y/N” I said a bit shocked as I shook her hand

“Aww Chris told me all about you! It’s so nice of you to stop bye” she said blinking her hazel eyes at me

“Oh no Chris is the nice one! Talking to me after so long” I replied smiling

“Are you in the influencer world too?” I asked her

“Oh no, I work in a corporate position over at HLC” she said nodding at me

“Ohhh nice nice” I said nodding my head at her

“But it was so great to finally meet you” she said smiling at me

“Likewise! I’ll let you guys go. It was great running into you” I said waving at them before walking away

Walking two blocks down before ordering my Uber. Many thoughts running through my head. Girlfriend? Since when?? He was notoriously known for being afraid of women. I guess I didn’t really know him.

I went home that night with many questions in my head and a burning desire to see Chris again. I opted for stalking his instagram. Over 2 million followers and not a single photo of Bonnie. I guess he wanted to keep it private.

My finger hovered over the message button. Chewing the inside of my lip as my thumbs swirled around. I mean I don’t want his girlfriend to think anything of it, so I closed out the Instagram app and threw my phone to the left of me.

Groaning at this new found problem I was having. I decided to let it go and move on with my life. Too scared to reach out to him I decided to take a crack at the project again.

Confused on where to start as my living room was a mess of photos and photo albums of my life. I was now at 3 weeks and I was neck deep in work not even a single idea written down.

I decided to rest it for the evening and head to bed.

A few days later in a moment of weakness I grabbed my car keys and headed over to Chris apartment. Slowly punching myself for this crazy behavior.

Knocking on his door as I picked at my fingernails.

“Okay…you’re not pizza” he said laughing at me

“Want to go for a walk?” I asked him

“Sure” he replied grabbing his house keys and shutting the door behind him

We walked throughout his apartment complex

“I can’t believe you have a girlfriend” I said laughing

“What? What’s so shocking” he said laughing

“You were known for being scared of women” I said giggling

“And I’m 25 now, times have changed” he said laughing with me

“Is she your soulmate?” I asked him

“Ehhh I don’t believe in that” he said shrugging his shoulders

“Oh come on! Does she give you butterflies? Does your skin burn when she touches you?” I said bumping his shoulder

“Oh please I don’t believe that” he said bumping me back

“So what’s the real reason you came to me the other day?” He asked me

“Well I realized I wasn't a nice person to you and my friend convinced me to reach back out to you” I said half smiling at him

“Really?” He said looking at me

“Yes and I also may need your help” I said giggling

“There’s always a but with you” he said shaking his head

“It’s a Y/N guaranteed” I said shrugging my shoulders

“So what’s this you need help with?” He asked

“Sooo my company wants us to redesign our magazine for next month, and I only have 3 weeks to finish it. We’re trying to gear more towards the younger population. After looking through our yearbooks I had an idea, and it was an idea you’d help with perfectly” I said to him

“I’m down, that sounds awesome” he said nodding his head

“You’re amazing” I said hugging him and he reluctantly hugged me back

Chris invited me back to his apartment to eat pizza and brainstorm some ideas. As we sat in his living room sharing pizza my mind began to race

“Chris, do you ever wish you could go back?” I asked him

“I wouldn’t mind going back” he said laughing

“If you were given one do over,anything in your life, what would you do?” I asked him taking a sip of my drink

“Mmm nothing” he said swallowing the bite he just took

“Really?” I said shocked

“Really” he replied nodding his head

“But did you ever make a big mistake? One that could change your life? What about that?” I asked him

“Well I’ve made many mistakes, but I don’t regret any of them” he said wiping his hands

“How come?” I asked him getting a bit sad as tears threatened to come out

“Because if I hadn’t made them, I wouldn’t have learned how to make things right” he said nodding his head

At this moment I was feeling so much regret for cutting off my best friend since birth. We shared every birthday, every holiday and every event till we were 13. And of course it was me who had to ruin it. So I truly sat here fighting back tears.

I smiled at him before looking down and taking a sharp inhale.

“I’m sorry I treated you horribly” I said licking my lips and swallowing thickly

“It’s okay” he said offering me a reassuring smile

That night we brainstormed some ideas. We also caught up on life, even cracking jokes here and there. Even though we hadn’t spoken in so long it felt like we never missed a day.

Later that week Chris met me at a park.

“Chris you made it” I said standing up and hugging him

“I wouldn’t miss this for the world” he said hugging me back

“So here’s half of your payment and the rest of it will be when you finish” I said handing him a check

“Thank you” he said grabbing the check

“No thank you” I said as we walked over to the photo shoot set up

“However I looked at your magazine and my photography style is nothing like yours” he replied looking over at me

“Exactly” I said smirking at him

We walked over to the set up and began setting all the models up. Setting everyone up how we wanted. Throwing leaves and balloons as we laughed.

Stopping to look at the shots offering my advice on how certain people should be photographed. Chris listened to me intently and the photos came out awesome.

That night we had a photoshoot again and it was prom themed. Chris was taking pictures of this one couple and he just wasn’t liking the way it was coming out

“Hey let me show you something, it seems a bit fake. We want this shoot to be fun and authentic” Chris said to the guy

He walked over to me, grabbing me.

“Wrap your hand around her waist and have her place her head on your shoulder, get close like this and just sway to the music” he said to them as he swayed us around while placing my head on his shoulder

They readjusted their positions and really enjoyed themselves.

“Perfect! Just like that” he said as he snapped some photos

Offering a smile to me as I stood on the sidelines.

Two nights later Chris and I were in his studio looking at the developed photos. His gaze on me as I glanced at the photos

“God these came out beautiful” I say running my fingers over the photos

“Yeah they came out good didn’t they” he said as his was looking at me

“I love them, do you?” I asked him

“Yeah….I do” he said pushing hair behind my ear

My breathing hitch in my throat as I tried to ignore the gesture. Not realizing what he did Chris cleared his throat

“Uh it’s getting late we should uhh we should head home” he said standing up

“You know what I wish for right now? I wish to go on a walk” I said looking at him

“Uhhh yeah sure” he said grabbing his stuff as we headed out of his studio

We walked to the park that was across the way. Walking the track as we talked about everything. Mainly about the photos because I knew they’d be a hit at the office.

“You know I’ve had a really great time working with you this week” Chris blurted out

“Me too” I replied smiling at him

We stopped at a swing set, sitting down as we swung back and forth. Enjoying the silence and the wind rustling through the trees.

“Wanna know a secret?” I said as I glanced over at him

“Yeah?” He replied looking over at me

“You’re the sweetest guy I’ve ever known” I said smiling at him

He looked down, chuckling as he smiled. Nodding his head but not sure how to go about the flirty compliment I just dropped on him.

“Alright swinging competition” I said bringing the silence

“Whoever goes the furthest the other owes a drink” I said laughing

“A Pepsi” he said laughing

“Ouu upping the stakes” I said laughing at him and he rolled his eyes

“And dinner Friday night at 8” I said to him

“You got yourself a deal” he said laughing with me

“One. Two. Three” he shouts before we jump off

Us both landing in the sand. Me ahead of him as I rolled a bit and he rolled into me.

“UHHHH” he groaned

“Are you okay?” I said laughing

“Yeah yeah I’m okay. I should’ve ducked and rolled” He said laughing

He leaned up hovering over me. Staring into my eyes as the swings creaked behind us.

“Chris” I said in a whisper

Suddenly Chris leaned down connecting our lips together. Immediate butterflies in my stomach as his hand was placed on my cheek. The kiss set me back 12 years as my mind raced.

He pulled away sitting in the sand looking into the distance as I sat up laying my head on his shoulder. Smiling sheepishly as I drew shapes into his back.

I never knew I could grow feelings for someone after not seeing them for over a decade. And I for sure didn’t expect to grow these feelings so fast.

What Y/N didn’t know was that the young man was too feeling a certain way about Y/N. His mind raced and tried to figure out what this all meant. Did he really like her or was it just actions out of pure instinct? He just knew doing this to Bonnie was wrong.

However when her hands were placed on his shoulders while he worked in his studio. He got extra happy thinking it was Y/N, but when he was met with Bonnie he felt a sense of disappointment?

Sitting at lunch with her while he mind ran rapidly. Pictures and thoughts only of Y/N eating away. Constantly having to ask Bonnie to repeat herself. Explaining he was stressed with his current workload and couldn’t focus. To Bonnie it was true but to him it was a blatant lie….

Bonnie talking about eventually moving in with Chris. Planning all these future vacations. And all Chris can think about is doing all this, but with Y/N. Feeling immediate guilt at this.

However he realized that Y/N was in his past. Yes he did have a crush on her for as long as he could remember. But she chose a different life and different friends. Simply because she came back after 12 years doesn’t mean he throws away his current life for what once was.

Chris really needed to speak with Y/N about this. They had their dinner Friday to celebrate the redesign with his photos, but he couldn’t seem to bring up the fact that what happened was a mistake.

He had gone to her office Monday morning as she was out for the day starting a new project, and it just seemed like they couldn’t catch up with each other. Missed calls from both sides and unanswered messages.

Y/N really wanted to talk to Chris too about what happened at the swing set, so she decided to head over to his apartment. Smiling the whole time because she finally realized why she should’ve never left Chris. And all these feelings were hitting her like a ton of bricks.

She knocked at his door with a wide grin waiting as she heard feet shuffling on the other side of the door.

The door swung open and to her surprise it was Bonnie.

“Hi” I said taken back

“Y/N right?” She said smiling

“Yeah!” I replied back

“I was just looking for Chris I really wanted to talk to him about something” I said looking behind her into the apartment

“Oh I’ll uh tell him you stopped by when he gets back” she said nodding at me

“Gets back?” I asked

“Oh he’s getting us dinner right now” she said nodding at me

“Oh okay” I said before stepping back

“Well bye” she said waving at me

“Bye” I said looking back at her before walking off

No matter how much we tried to communicate it was like the universe wanted to keep us apart. I shook my head, getting in my car and breaking down. Upset over ditching Chris for fake ass friends, upset for not admitting my feelings sooner, and upset that no matter how I felt Bonnie was who he wanted to be with.

The following day I paced my living room contemplating if I should even try and contact Chris again. It was a clear sign that I was not meant to be a part of his life anymore.

After some time of biting on my nails and walking back and forth I said fuck it and grabbed my keys. Getting in my car and racing to Chris' apartment.

Furiously knocking at his door praying that it was Chris on the other side and not Bonnie. Chewing my lip as I waited for him to open the door.

The door swung open and I felt immediate relief

“CHRIS” I shouted hugging him as he hugged back

“Come in” he said before shutting the door behind him

“I need to talk to you” I said to him

“Me too” he said scratching his neck

“Since that night at the park my mind has been racing with many thoughts. Thoughts I couldn’t even manage to think of, but I’m in love with you Chris” I said to him

“I…” he couldn’t even focus on what to say

“Chris, I am not the awful person that I know I was. I don’t even know that person. And I’d like to believe that if you knew that you wouldn’t be with Bonnie, but with me instead.” I said to him

“I’m not going to lie. I felt things for you these past times together that I didn’t know I could feel. But I just realized that a walk down memory lane doesn’t change the path I’m currently on” he said

“And why not?” I asked as tears stung my waterline

“Because we both moved on. We went separate ways. I chose Bonnie and I can’t just forget what her and I have” he replied

It was like daggers to my heart as I let tears fall.

“Don’t cry” he said walking up to me

“No, it’s okay I’ll be fine” I said smiling at him

“I uhh I found this picture of us from middle school and I want you to have it” he said walking over to his coffee table

I laughed a bit and wiped my eyes. He handed me the picture over. It was the both of us sitting at the beach. His arm slung over my shoulder as I made an annoyed face. It was our go to pose.

“Thank you” I said wiping my eyes again

He looked at me before swallowing thickly.

“Y/N I…..I’ve always loved you” he said looking down

My breathing caught in my throat at this.

“Fuck it! I can’t fight this feeling anymore. I love you so much and I have never been so sure about anything in my life than right now at this moment. You came in at such an unexpected time, but I want nothing more than to be with you” he said walking over to me

“Chris…” I started but he cut me off

He crashed his lips to mine wrapping his hands around my waist as our lips clashed together. My hands caressing his face as I smiled into the kiss.

Pulling away I looked at him.

“I’m so glad to be back in your life Chris” I said smiling at him

“I wouldn’t have it any other way” he stated as he kissed my forehead

Chris and I have been seeing each other for 5 months now. Breaking it off with Bonnie wasn’t easy, but he knew it had to be done. We spent so much time rekindling our friendship and taking so many pictures that now we’re clattered along his walls.

Who would’ve thought reading out to someone after 12 years would have fixed years of torture. And to that I say

Au Revoir

The End

God damn my thumbs hurt from all this writing, but I hope you enjoyed this! I wrote this as I watched 13 going on 30. It’s my comfort movie😩😩. Were so close to 1,900 followers and I’m so shook I love yall 🥹🖤🖤

-J💅🏽

#sturniolo triplets #sturniolo x reader #sturniolo fanfic #sturniolo triplets imagines #christopher sturniolo imagine #chris sturniolo imagine #chris sturniolo x reader

69 notes · View notes

monrohakay · 3 months

Note

I would love to see hear more about your headcannon about nico

Have a good day

Oh my goodness, I could go on forever about him and what I imagine his backstory to be. I’m so sorry for how long this will be, but you’ve unleashed a can of worms and I thank you for that! So here we go!

It started with me being convinced that if Nico and Kai ever met, they would have a rivalry going on and Levi and Amelia would find it adorable yet slightly annoying cuz they get along so well. And Levi would tell Nico not to annoy his mentor’s partner, but Amelia would just laugh.

We don’t know much about where Nico’s from or his family, except that he’s not out to them even thou he was out to people in his daily life and they can be really critical. So I imagine he grew up in a traditional Korean Italian home (cuz Alex Landi is Korean Italian, and I have person experience with homophobic Italian family members so I’m projecting). He’s a middle child with two brothers. He gives off competitive energy that comes with having siblings, and kinda seems like he’s used to being overlooked and fighting for attention, like a middle child.

His older brother (I’m going to refer to him as Siwon since that’s who I imagine his actor to be) is something his parents deem successful, I’m thinking a lawyer cuz I want Nico to have a totally different career path then him. He was an honours student, always top of his class. He has a beautiful wife (who he met in highschool), a son and a daughter on the way. His life is perfect in his parents eyes. He’s maybe two or three years older than Nico. Nico always felt like he was in his brother’s shadow, but he respected and looked up to him. I feel like their parents would constantly be comparing the two, like “Siwon was valedictorian, are you going to be?” and “Nico was nominated for homecoming king, are you nominated for prom king?”

His younger brother (referred to as Rowoon for the same reason as his older brother) is five or six years younger, and he’s spoiled by their parents. While they’re critical of the older two, the youngest is their pride and joy and they don’t mind him doing whatever he wants because the other two are successful enough. Rowoon loves Nico and idolizes him in almost the same way that Nico did with his older brother. But Nico is much kinder and receptive to it, and he’s always supportive to Rowoon. I think Rowoon would have much more natural talent and smarts, so he doesn’t have to work as hard as the other two and he has a lot less pressure. While the other two were expected to have a 98-100% average in everything, Rowoon’s sitting at like 95% and their parents are still proud of him.

Nico was raised with traditional catholic Italian and Korean views being shoved at him. So when he starts realizing he might like boys, it’s not exactly something he can come out and say or act on while he’s living with his parents. He probably wanted to go into sports, (likely baseball or soccer, but we’ll go with baseball cuz of his job with the mariners) rather then law or med school. He played baseball in highschool, getting scholarships to play for a few varsity teams. Only for his parents to push him to go to law school like Siwon, which he reluctantly agrees, figuring he can go in to sports law.

While Nico is in his last year of highschool, early on in the year, he meets this boy who he has a crush on. And they start seeing each other in secret. Until one night Siwon catches them, probably the cliche making out in Nico’s room when his brother barges in and freaks out. He kicks the boy out and tells Nico he needs to stop seeing him. Nico says he will as long as his brother doesn’t tell their parents and Siwon agrees, saying their parents can never find out. But having Siwon react in such a negative way ruins the image Nico had of him. So he decides he doesn’t want to go to law school, he wants to persue baseball mostly in defiance.

His parents hate that idea, and really push for him to still go to law school. He ignores them and does start to persue baseball in his undergrad, taking one of the scholar ships he was offered. He’s incredibly talented so while they aren’t happy, his parents still support him as long as he continues to be one of the best players on his team and maintains his high grades.

In his first year he gets an injury, something that requires surgery to fix. But the surgery goes wrong, and his career in baseball is over before it could ever really start. Despite pushing himself with physio and working as hard as he can to get back to being able to play, it’s just not possible in the time frame he would need for professional sports. He takes it incredibly hard, and while Rowoon is his major support system, his parents and Siwon treat it like a failure. So Nico decides to go to med school, to become an orthopaedic surgeon and make sure no one else has to go through what he did. His parents are ecstatic about the change, and it’s the first time he feels like they’re actually proud of him.

He quickly catches up, becoming top of his classes. He thrives in university, coming out to his friends and he’s genuinely happy.

But he still feels like he has to hide who he is when he’s at home and he hates it. He never has a boyfriend for long, because then he’d have to deal with bringing them home and coming out. It never mattered cuz he hadn’t met anyone he wanted to be with long term. But it’s still a massive part of his identity that he’s hiding from his parents and Rowoon, still scared they’d react in the same way his Siwon did. And while he would probably come out to his parents and risk it, he doesn’t want to loose Rowoon or put him at odds with their parents, especially while he’s still living with them.

So years later when he meets Levi, he doesn’t want to have to hide who he is in the only place he can be open. He’s hypocritical because he thinks Levi doesn’t have as much to loose as Nico and he sees it as wasted opportunity. And Nico doesn’t want to be that highschool boy his brother kicked out of his room all those years ago. He doesn’t want Levi to be ashamed of him like Nico was of that boy, and he doesn’t want the memories of being ashamed of himself and who he was to come back while Levi discovers his own sexuality.

Nico’s never had someone he cares that much about, never wanted to actually bring someone home to meet his parents or his brothers. But then he falls hard for Levi and suddenly it’s turning serious and he doesn’t know what to do about it. So he’s awkward and hypocritical and a pretty terrible boyfriend at times, but he is trying.

Then he accidentally kills a patient. And Siwon is showing up to make sure legally he doesn’t get in trouble. His parents find out through Siwon, and they seem disappointed which only adds to his pain. And Levi being overbearing while Siwon is in town doesn’t help, because he doesn’t want his brother to find out he has a serious relationship with a man. He’s also not good with emotions, or people seeing him when he’s emotional, which is why he pulls away so much.

And then the pandemic happens and he really misses Levi. He knows he’s not emotionally ready to commit to anyone yet, and they aren’t really good for each other at the time. But he figures if he can have Levi in any way he’s going to take it, cuz the world is a mess and he needs some kind of happiness. When Levi basically gives him the ultimatum of serious relationship or nothing, he chooses serious relationship. Because he doesn’t want to loose Levi, and it’s a huge wake up call that he really does care about someone in a way he never had before.

I think Levi pushing Nico away after he opened up to Levi hurt, really bad. Cuz Nico had never let himself be that vulnerable with another person, and he didn’t know how to cope with that. So he gave Levi the space that he wanted when he went through a similar experience. Not really realizing that Levi needed him to be there and to fight for them, until Levi told him. But even though he’s come so far and started to unravel his closed off, emotionless persona adopted by someone who’s parents didn’t let them be a child, Nico knows he can’t give Levi what he wants, not when he’s still dealing with his own internalized homophobia and inability to be honest with himself and his family. He thinks Levi deserves someone who is ready to be all in, and even though he thought he could be, that’s not him, not yet.

Nico saying his default is numb is really telling that he can’t process his feelings right away, he suppresses them. Which would make sense if he’s grown up with critical parents that expect him to be perfect all the time. He wouldn’t know how to deal with failure or rejection, because he’s never had the luxury of doing any of those things. Even loosing his ability to play baseball professionally wouldn’t have been a failure to him, because it led him to being a surgeon which his parents were much happier about. And I think that reflects in his relationships too, that when there’s any kind of conflict he just shuts down, he goes numb. He either gets overly agreeable or he pulls away from the situation entirely. And I think he started to realize that it’s not a healthy coping mechanism after his talk with Levi in the elevator.

So he jumps at the opportunity to leave and work for the Mariners. It’s a dream job, it’s one of the reason he decided to go to med school in the first place, and it gives him and Levi space to figure themselves out. It lets Levi experience different relationships and find himself, while Nico learns to deal with his emotions and not suppress them. But while he’s there, he finds out he hates it. He doesn’t like having to tell these athletes that their careers are over, he doesn’t like feeling like he failed him when there was nothing he could do. It reminds him of when he was going through the exact same thing. Even if his success rate is the highest it’s ever been, he still doesn’t think he’s good enough. Saving fifty patients doesn’t mean anything if there’s even one he can’t.

And then Rowoon finishes his undergraduate and moves out of their parents house. He goes to visit Nico and they have a long talk about what Rowoon wants to do with his career. He decided a long time ago that he wanted to follow in Nico’s footsteps and go in to medicine. And while he’s visiting, he sees that Nico’s background is still a photo of him and Levi, so Rowoon asks if that’s Nico’s boyfriend. And Nico is shocked because he didn’t know Rowoon knew. They have a heart to heart, and Nico realizes he doesn’t have to hide who he is anymore. Even if his parents aren’t happy with him, he has his little brother’s love and support, which is all that’s ever really mattered to him anyway. And even if he isn’t perfect, there are still people who will love him.

So he leaves his job and goes back to Grey-Sloan, mostly because he preferred it, but also with the hope that he and Levi can at least be friends again. He wins Levi back, and finally introduces him to Rowoon. And to show Levi he really has changed, that he really is committed to their relationship, he invites Levi to his parent’s for Christmas dinner. It goes over horribly, his dad almost kicks them out and only relents to letting them stay when his mother says they can at least finish dinner, as it’s the holidays. It’s worth it to see the look of horror on Siwon’s face when he says Levi is his boyfriend, and the look of admiration Rowoon gives him when he holds Levi’s hand as they say goodbye.

I think Nico coming back this next season will be him saying I was just trying to give you space, but I always loved you and I will always be here for you when you’re ready. It’s kind of a repeat of the last time they got back together, but I’m hoping it’ll stick this time and they can have their happy ending. If nothing else, I just want them to keep his personality somewhat consistent.

I’ll finish with my Kai vs Nico thing that started it all! We never learn where he went to school, or how old he is. We can guess he’s early 30’s when he’s first introduced (I’m assuming he was on track with the norm, so when he’s introduced, he’s in his fellowship and he’d be 30-31). What we know about Kai (thanks to my best friend who has an incredible memory) is they went to John Hopkins a few years after Amelia. E.R. is only a year older then Alex, which I’m taking to mean their characters are a year apart as well. So we’ll say Nico is 31 when he’s introduced, meaning Kai would be 32.

While they wouldn’t have much overlap if Nico went to med school at John Hopkins while Kai was going for their phd, they could have very well done their undergrad at the same university and that’s where I think the rivalry would have started.

Kai is smart as hell, and I have no doubt they would be top of their classes. I think depending on the class it would go back and forth, but I really do think Kai would be beat Nico more often and he would hate that. It’s a healthy rivalry, there’s no actual animosity. I see them both as fun and sarcastic people, so I think they’d have amazing banter. And someone like Kai being smarter then Nico wouldn’t bother him as much, because they just have this aura that makes them impossible to hate? Even thou Nico is really frustrated that someone scored higher on a test, he wouldn’t really be too hard on himself if it’s Kai that beat him.

Because I can see him being really upset with himself the first time it happens, and he swears it will never happen again. So he pushes himself even harder for the next test and he does beat Kai. And then Kai would give the most relaxed non-reaction, would probably even congratulate him, and Nico wouldn’t know how to process that. He’s be so used to Siwon taking any loss so poorly, that someone being almost happy for him beating them is too foreign for him to comprehend. It would be the first step to Nico relaxing a little bit on his perfect persona, and allowing himself to slip. Which sets him up for when we meet him in the show, he’s a lot more chill and easy going, but still guarded.

This is so long omg, I’ll start to wrap it up!

Flash forward to Nico and Levi dating, and Kai and Amelia dating (no they never broke up in my head, they’re happy and will be for the rest of their lives, it’s fine. But even if they did, they found their way back to each other like Nico and Levi). Every time Kai comes to visit Amelia, they bicker with Nico. And no one knows it’s light hearted except the two of them. It would stress Levi out, thinking Nico was fighting with his mentor’s partner. I like the idea of Levi going in to general surgery, so while Amelia isn’t wouldn’t be the head of his department, she will always be a mentor figure to him and someone he respects.

Flash forward again, Rowoon does follow in Nico’s footsteps and comes to Grey-Sloan for his internship. He starts off thinking he’ll go in to ortho like his brother but quickly finds he gravitates more towards neuro. And then Kai comes to work on a project with Amelia, and they pick Rowoon to help them out. And he loves the research aspect of their project. He starts looking into it more and more. And ultimately decides, with the help of Kai, to switch into neuroscience rather then complete his surgical internship.

Nico is of course devastated that his little brother chose to work with Kai over him. But he’s a good older brother and supports everything Rowoon does, even if it means listening to him talk about how amazing Kai and the research they’re doing is for hours.

That’s all I got. Thank you anon for asking about his backstory and thanks to anyone who read this far! I would love to hear your thoughts on his backstory too, or any general greys thoughts you might have!

#greys anatomy #nico kim #levi schmitt #schmico #long post #like incredibly long #too long and i’m sorry #character backstory #nico lives in my head rent free #i could talk about him for days

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hwaightme · 1 year

Text

Your fan, Yeosang (part 1)

(part 2) (your fan ml)

📺 pairing: yeosang x talk show host!reader 📺 genre: romance, fluff, mutual pining, 📺 summary: a bulletpoint-style wordstream of what it would be like if yeosang was stanning you 📺 wordcount: 3.5k 📺 warnings/tags: language, yeosang lowkey writing fanfics, manhandling, wooyoung attacks, roommate gathering, mc yeosang, reader is a late night talk show host, exo and txt appearances, wooyoung has connections everywhere, yeosang always has a plan even when you think he doesn't 📺 taglist: @acciocriativity, @senpai-of-doom, @layzfeelit @jcngh0-hq @ficrecsiguess 📺 a/n: Hello there <3 guess who's next in line to stan? None other than Kang to the Yeo to the Sang!! Hope you enjoy, much love and big hugs, and any asks, reblogs and likes appreciated <3

All the way back, even from the stories of your childhood that your parents would tell you, you always had a thing for asking a lot of questions, without giving up until you got a response.

And you did not stop at "why is the sky blue", oh no, you would go right in and ask whoever you had picked to be your target questions along the lines of "why are good people good at giving love but not receiving it".

It was not because you wanted to annoy anyone, in fact, you never once got mad when someone brushed you off or openly expressed their distaste for what they called "your pointless chatter". Quite the opposite. You enjoyed getting into the nitty gritty of human emotions, really getting a feel for other people's energy.

In return, if you were able to make conversation and really connect with someone, you tried your best to be caring, attentive and selfless. You were the smiley toddler who waved at everyone. You were the kid in school who made sure everyone was included.

Although the more people you spoke to, the more not so positive experiences you got, you were not discouraged from pursuing a career in doing exactly what you loved. Talking, listening and learning all that you could about your interlocutors. You could not imagine your life without other people, and as such, ended up being the person who brought others together, and helped them rise to new heights.

First, it was broadcasting and radio clubs in middle school and high school, as well as earning the reputation of being the go-to host for talent shows. In university you had become the president of the Broadcasting & Journalism society, and had led your alma mater's socials and student-led news show to gaining recognition in national media for their quality, insightfulness, and a fresh, memorable feel.

All throughout your journey, you were driven by people and wanted to learn more about them. So when, while you were hopping between internships, you were scouted by a major media label to become a fulltime journalist and prospectively a show host, it was nothing short of the best thing to happen to you in your life.

Initially, it was a rollercoaster, with you being thrown around from one project to another, working in areas where you had to learn on the go - screenwriting assistant, director's assistant... truth be told you had no idea there could be that many assistants.

What had stuck to you were a couple of variety shows that you had the chance to see behind the scenes, along with a couple more formal interviews. The gears in your head started turning, as you watched the high profile figures, promoting themselves, going through the usual routines, doing aegyo and whatnot.

To you, celebrities were a sort of beautiful enigma, even though it initially seemed that their entire lives were available to the public - how wrong. Behind each persona was someone else entirely, and you adored catching glimpses of said realness.

This was exactly what had motivated you to propose the concept for your late night show "Late Night Dive". Dedicated to deep diving, and really getting to know idols, actors and the like, your show was all about the person. Not excessively curated, just pleasantly minimalist. Raw. Real.

Thanks to your prior experience in being a stand-in announcer for a twenty-four hour news channel (aside from what you had done while in education), you were no stranger to being in front of the camera, and having worked in enough departments to make strong connections, your boss agreed to give you a chance.

And now, here you were, going strong, having become a celebrity that interviewed celebrities.

---

And were watched diligently by others. Others like ATEEZ's Kang Yeosang.

Although he had continuous exposure to performing, speaking singing on stage, and had even become an MC for The Show, he never, not for one second, thought he had the right to rest.

He was always looking for ways to improve and to hone the skills that he considered lacking (even when his fellow members and ATINY would praise him). For Yeosang, there was no such thing as 'stop'.

Aside from upping his game quite literally whilst playing the newly released Aenigmata, and working together with Hongjoong and Mingi to improve his song-writing abilities, he was determined to be the next best MC and spent day after day working on it.

He took monologues and repeated them until he, nor his roommates, could stand it any longer. He went over cue cards to improve his memory and to combat his instinct to hide behind them and read whilst looking down. He listened to shows, paid extra attention to the MCs he worked with and those he interacted with through the group's promotional activities - anything was good in his books.

Yeosang knew how to listen, he felt deeply, he was always there for those closest to him, but he did not want to let his members down when it came to speaking and engaging in fun dialogues live. The desire to find his own style grew stronger, day by day.

It would be foolish to try and be like the others, he had concluded. And the members had told him the same during one late night conversation where Yeosang had brought up his concerns about being a talk show host. So, it was clear:

"I am Yeosang, and I am not like other girls." he had proclaimed, with a dramatic 'hair flip'.

He began to search for inspiration outside of standard variety shows and music award programmes, having grasped their methods well enough to emulate. For some time, Yeosang focused on competitions and survival shows, though it did not exactly bring him comfort, nor confidence. That was when it hit him - late night talk shows. They were entertaining, informative, and had a completely different feel.

And after browsing through popular lists and and making his own (only to cross items off again), pushing through his disappointment when he discovered that far too many of said shows were still obnoxiously loud and better watched at double speed, he had finally discovered one show that was exactly to his tastes: 'Late Night Dive'.

Intentionally toned down studio set, warm lighting that gave off a more 'homely' atmosphere, music used staying within the realms of rhythm and blues or smooth jazz, and you truly being the host. The show and you were a perfect match, so he was not surprised when after a bit of Googling he had found out that the show had been your initiative.

You were welcoming. The episode that had established 'Late Night Dive' as a sought-after promotion for various celebrities, with none other than EXO, had shown your deep understanding of their journey, their challenges, and nothing but utmost respect. You had a unique way of easing guests into the questions, and stepping away as soon as there was even a hint of tension.

It was as though you could see right into their soul, and was gently bringing the best parts to share, whilst encouraging the owner that yes, they were safe, and what they had to share was valid, and beyond beautiful.

Yeosang had no idea how to describe the feeling he got while watching some more episodes of your show. The way you guided the conversation and posed questions in such a manner that meant an individual had options (instead of being cornered into making a fool of themselves, for instance), had left him in utter disbelief.

He was used to surprises - the veering off-script for a gag, or for emphasising an error committed for comedic effect. This was entirely absent. In fact, during a particularly sensitive episode where an actress had divulged some details about her struggles while filming a new drama (information that had never surfaced before), you had explicitly asked for consent to air, and in a borderline therapeutic voice had commended the actress for what she had been doing.

You were a bringer of tranquility. You were there not for a superficial chat and waves goodbye, it seemed that every episode was a glimpse into a tale of life-long friendship. And this stunned Yeosang. You knew exactly what to say, even though he had not spotted any cards, nor any sign of reading from a screen at any point. Your heart was working for you, he was sure of it.

This was the style he wanted to learn.

To keep it on the low, he started his quest by allocating half an hour, every night, to what he called 'LND Time'. This involved him creeping away from the rest of the members, plugging his headphones in, and, notepad and pen in hand, noting down particularly well-phrased questions or statements that you had made.

Yeosang had also begun to enjoy writing down observations for what gestures that you did were effective in emphasising a point, which ones were done for reassurance, which ones were plain cute-

He was writing fan fiction about you wasn't he? While he was in the midst of processing the fact that he had, over the span of a few of weeks, had nearly filled out an entire pocket notepad with just you facts, and needed his brain to reboot, a voice right behind him made all his systems crash.

"What'cha writin'?"

So much for privacy. He thanked the lucky stars that he had the reflexes to slam the book shut and lie down on it before Wooyoung could see anything. Though he knew his friend would not let go of any suspicious behaviour that easily.

Especially not when your show continued playing on his phone, that was lying upright, and of course there had to be a close up of your gorgeous face, then and there for Wooyoung to see.

"OOOOH HOLD ON A SECOND!? Forget THAT question what are you WATCHING? CAN I JOIN?"

"My guy, didn't I tell you and Jongho to leave me alone for half an hour?"

"Now I am more than fascinated by what exactly you do alone in this room for half an hour!? Besides, it's been one and a half hours now, and I kind of live here too~" Wooyoung wiggled his eyebrows as he explained, and while Yeo was busy taking his earphones out and locking his phone for good measure, Wooyoung went in for a full attack.

He tackled Yeosang, and since he managed to use the surprise to his advantage, nearly pushed his friend off the bed with the notebook exposed.

But, in gains we trust.

And so did Yeosang. In a matter of seconds, he had Wooyoung flailing his arms and legs as he had been swung over his shoulder like a toga, and turned to 'kindly' teach his friend a new way of using the door.

The commotion had gained the attention of Jongho, who had been passing the time by belting 90's hit songs at the top of his voice in the living room - much to the delight of those he had been keeping as (hostages) an audience.

Claiming that his roommates had finally decided to hold an idol boxing match and that he had promised to referee, he placed his hands behind his back and ambled towards a now slightly open door, through which he could see Wooyoung pushing against the frame with his dear life.

"You are doing MMA in here wait let me grab the guys-"

"NONONONONO JONGHO SAVE ME!"

"And what will I get out of it?"

"....I'll clean the room?" Wooyoung offered, still suspended in midair, but, having wriggled a little way forward was on the verge of toppling onto the floor.

"Woo you'll do it anyway." Jongho replied, smiling just a tid-bit sadistically and crossing his arms.

He stepped into the room and shut the door with his foot, scrutinising the aftermath of the impromptu match. Nothing was on fire, nor was any furniture broken - so he was still going to have to share with two roommates.

In an act of mercy, Jongho decided that he was too bored to prolong the older member's suffering and motioned to Yeosang for attention.

"Put the guy down. And I don't mean like euthanasia. Even though he barks."

"HEY EXCUSE ME."

"I'll leave that pleasure to myself if you are going to act up."

"Okay brutal but thank you Jongho~" now finally back on his feet, the dazed member was shaking himself off and pressing his hands to his face in a feeble attempt to cool down.

"Now I know the real origin story of your hair. It was Yeo's doing wasn't it?"

"Yeah the blood flow really does something." Wooyoung agree, instinctively running his hands through his locks.

Yeosang had edged away from the two members back to his bed, to take the opportunity to hide the notepad somewhere, anywhere. He only had time to shove it under his pillow, but neither Jongho nor Wooyoung seemed to notice, as the former merely stated:

"Well good, now let's chat, gents."

Did Yeosang want to chat? No.

Did Jongho look done with everyone? Yes.

Did that mean he had to be at least a little bit considerate of his friend? Probably.

But did he want to though? No.

"What is there to chat about though?" he blurted, flopping down on his bed and stretching across its length, resting his head on his palms.

"Uh, well it's the room hogging for me." Jongho retorted, settling right across from him while Wooyoung sat at the foot of Yeo's bed.

"No such thing. I just need space."

"I don't have a problem with that dude, and you know I don't, but if you tell us why, that would be great." the maknae was persistent, and leaned in to click his fingers over Yeo's face a couple of times when he unceremoniously shut them to pretend he was in another galaxy.

"Jongho, he keeps notes." the redhead stage whispered, glancing at Yeosang, who looked like he was ready to exploit Wooyoung's choice of sitting too close to his legs.

"What notes?"

"Ones that he would kill me for."

"Kind of a cheap exchange, but makes sense."

"Boo that's rude-"

"The notes, Yeo? Songwriting?"

"Sure." finally seeing some sort of opportunity to steer clear of explaining himself, he took Jongho's question as a suggestion for a fib to tell.

"Smells like bullshit to me, my boy." but he forgot they knew him a little too well.

"Agreed, plus I saw a certain lady on a screen~"

There was no way of getting around this, but Yeosang was a man who did not give up that easily, so he resisted:

"No, seriously, it was a song! And that, well haha, uhm, a tutorial? Yeah."

"Sing the song then!" Wooyoung implored, patting his friend on his knee in encouragement.

"No melody?"

"What is it about?" Jongho joined back in.

"Uhh............ fried chicken." Yeosang was impressed by his own mastery. Truly, a one of a kind lie. Stellar. Award winning. At least the two looked a lot more accepting of his secretive warfare than before.

So he ended up being strong enough to make Jongho impatient and leave the room. The same could not be said for Wooyoung, who was now attempting to smother him by hugging out his soul.

"YEOSANG DON'T CONCEAL DO FEEL AND DO LET THEM KNOW! Well more specifically let me know because I can see you are super passionate about something and I really want to feel that passion with you because hey this is what brotherly bonding is about and I want to rejoice in the positivity and you have no idea how proud I am of you and so I really wanted to spend some time together just the two of us and really just wanted to say that you have grown so much and did you know that you have absolutely been slaying the episodes for your MCing gig-"

"Wait really?" Yeosang shot up, abruptly cutting off Wooyoung's stream of words.

After Wooyoung reloaded himself for a second, he half asked, half confirmed with an: "uh, yeah?"

"Like how, in what way? What aspects?

"Weren't we talking about-"

"We passed that checkpoint, keep moving. In what way did I improve?"

Wooyoung's total confusion nearly made Yeosang chortle as he slid down to sit by him, but he was too eager to hear what his friend had to say.

"Well... there was this... thing you did. I think it was even off script? But you did it so naturally it was almost like dorm-Yeo rather than 'I am now on stage and I must be strict with myself'-Yeo. You just picked up on something one of the other MC's said and your words just flowed. You just flowed. And even how you were standing was slightly different. Dare I say, you looked a lot more comfortable in front of the camera!"

"Okay I will tell you what I was watching."

"What was so special about that compliment?"

"For the few weeks I've been hogging this room I've been training. And I have found the perfect teacher."

Wooyoung asked him to backtrack and explain in more detail, which he did, step by step. He recounted the search he had gone on, his motivations, and finally, how he had found you. With newfound confidence he took out his phone and showed Wooyoung a couple of his favourite clips, all while running a background commentary of why you might just be the best talk show host and interviewer of all time. If there was ever a moment for Wooyoung to melt, it would be now. Yeosang's enthusiasm and appreciation of your work was not only infectious (and completely well-founded), but also came right from the heart.

It was clearer than a blue sky that you had become Yeosang's hope in the MC world. He had not exposed himself fully, but Wooyoung could guess that his friend probably had done a deep dive on you already, and continued watching your shows exclusively not just because you were 'a good teacher'.

This man, was a fan. Likely a little bit (a lot) more than just that. So what did such an amazing friend like Wooyoung have to do, despite being manhandled barely twenty minutes ago?

Network. Find connections. And bring you two together.

"Yeo, how would it make you feel if you got to meet Y/N? Like, face to face?"

"I would probably forget my own mother tongue, but aside from that - I would just be grateful. I could pass her a note about how much she..."

"Means to you-"

"HELPED me, Woo."

"Yeah, whatever. But now I have a goal!" he rose up, fist raised as if he was about to start a revolution.

"Wait wait wait what are you trying here?"

"TO SET UP YOUR FUTURE, DUH! Now excuse me, I have some phone calls to make.

So, Yeosang's spur of the moment plan had worked seamlessly. He patted himself on the back as he watched an over-excited Wooyoung strut out of his room, already messaging someone and simultaneously calling an already-waiting Jongho over.

It was quite easy to get Wooyoong to be a perfect middle man if one were to act the at the right levels of mysteriousness. Since he knew he had been cornered, Yeosang decided to change strategies and get something out of his fellow members, who would undoubtedly get excited about any mention of him treating someone outside of the group with such care and attention (especially if he did not know them personally).

He played the part of 'I am shy and not revealing my secrets', then transforming that demeanour into 'you are the closest person to me so I am telling the truth and baring my heart to you'. And BAM, he could now hear Wooyoung shushing the other members as he was calling Yeonjun from TXT.

Yeosang was impressed, however, when it took his friend only three days to go through his connections, and through his connections' connections and find the ones that led directly to you. And to a meeting with you, to which you somehow agreed, though under an odd condition.

That someday, you could interview him.

"As MC to MC. As two people with a similar style and passion."

You were one two keep your finger on the pulse of media at all times. And when you heard what you knew to be a quote from an older episode of LND, said in a similar manner to yours, you simply had to speak to the MC who had done it. After all, you had a thing for asking a lot of questions.

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siriustaylorsversion · 1 year

Note

a gracie abrams x reader social media au PRETTY PLEAK!! face claim- savannah smith and the readers an actress

Obsessed

ahhh, omg i love gracie abrams! if you want something different, lmk. thank you for the request, always good to hear from people!!!

enjoyy <3

summary- both the reader and gracie being big fans of each other and crushing over each other... they meet at the eras tour and then fall in love! making music about each other and basically being obsessed with each other in the best way.

requests open!

buzzfeed

buzzfeed "I'm the biggest fan of y/n y/l/n, I mean... I LOVE HER SO MUCH NOW, and have since i was a child." - gracie abrams liked by yourname.official, gracieabrams and 109,300 others.

yourname.official 🥺💘

forever.more THE DUO WE NEVER KNEW WE NEEDED y/n.abrams changing into a fan account as we speak... grace.landers BRUH THEY'RE SO CUTE

gracieabrams I'm gonna go and hide now... I'M STILL OBSESSED WITH HER.

madelyncline GIRL- forever.more OH MY GOD, WTF 😭😭😭 swiftiearmy she's such a mood!!!

madelyncline This has somehow cured my whole life.

gracieabrams

gracieabrams you know i will never have the words. THE ERAS TOUR IS HAPPENING AND I WILL NEVER HAVE THE WORDS tayloswift Thank you. Thank you thank you thank you. Thank you. I love you. holy. shit. also, yourname.official knows I exist so now I can go die peacefully. liked by taylorswift, yourname.official and 490,400 others.

gracenation “only for a school project but a girl can dream right” and now u are here <3

forever.more if they get together, istg 😍😍😍

madelyncline They better.... stateof.gracie oH MY GOD, we all need a bsf like her...

yourname.official

yourname.official i am so ECSTATIC to finally be able to say that i got the tickets!! watching some of my biggest idols taylorswift gracieabrams and phoebebridgers live will definitely bring tears to my eyes... liked by gracieabrams, madelyncline and 2,009,700 others.

madelyncline What??!! tickets? plural? for me right?

gracieabrams can't wait to see you there <3

yourname.official OKAY I HAVE TO BE DREAMING- y/n.swiftie she REPLIED!! forever.more yourname.official where are YOU???? yourname.official error 304: user dead. I'M OBSESSED.

gracieabrams

gracieabrams How to function when your celebrity crush just admitted that they are a huge fan of you and you have to PERFORM in front of them?! liked by yourname.official, stateof.gracie and 300,900 others.

yourname.official i'm literaly obsESSED WITH YOU.

gracieabrams No, cause that's me. ILY stateof.gracie in oliviarodrigo's words, it's the start of something new... oliviarodrigo i NEED this in my life.

taylornation We say that's our baby, and we're proud 🥺

forever.more But like... THEY'D LITERALLY BE PERFECT.

e!news

e!news Watch out, our favorite actress couldn't stop mentioning our favorite singer when asked any question yesterday... Is this our newest celebrity couple? liked by gracieabrams, forever.more and 200,000 others.

forever.more SHE LIKED WTF?

gracieabrams 💕 forever.more AHHH QUEEN REPLIED

stateof.gracie i literally just died, dead.

graceneation MY FAVORITE QUEENS RULING THE MUSIC AND THE FILM INDUSTRY!

yourname.official

yourname.official OH.MY.GOD. liked by gracieabrams, forever.more and 2,008,900 others.

gracieabrams best.night.ever <3

yourname.official ummm 😏 gracieabrams NO- forever.more AYO WTF? gracenation y/n, no!!!

taylorswift My reaction exactly 💕

yourname.official thank you for just, EXISTING. gracieabrams and for would've could've should've... yourname.official beat that. yourname.official gracieabrams why you no love me? gracieabrams ew, don't quote that... forever.more OH MY GOD 😭

yourname.official added to their story...

gracieabrams

gracieabrams MY NEW ALBUM “Obsessed” OUT NEXT WEEK… “dear y/l/n?” out in 3 days...

It’s difficult to imagine these songs living anywhere other than my most secret places, but yourname.official reminded me that holding space for my heart's feelings in songwriting is kind of the whole point.

I feel an unbelievable amount of gratitude for the opportunity to have made this album. Writing this record allowed me to grow up in ways I needed to. It forced me to reflect and be accountable. It allowed me to walk away from versions of myself that I no longer recognized. It allowed me to let go.

There will never be enough words to describe the gift that is Y/n's love. She is one of the very few people in this world capable of making others feel safe to their core when they are exploring the parts of themselves that are most raw. Hope you like it! liked by yourname.official, gracenation and 800,700 others.

comments on this post have been limited.

hope this was good enough! enjoy your day/night!!

#gracie abrams #gracie #gracie abrams x reader #smau #gracie abrams x reader socal media au #celebrity #taylor swift #taylornation #savannah smith #savannah smith x reader #siriustaylorsversion

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kame-dori · 1 year

Text

Today on crossovers that no one asked for: Blue lock x Love Live! School Idol Project

see the original pics (and commentary) under

I actually only realized after I finished drawing the boys that kngm and rn work better as umi and maki respectively ;-;

So this is mostly because love live has no male characters and blue lock doesn't have any female characters (I'm sorry Teieri Anri) and also because it's just. so funny to imagine.

The way I see it, the muse members would be

Maki → Rin (Its); initially I put him as Umi but actually Maki makes more sense bc they're both standoffish and good at the stuff they do

Rin (Hzr) → Aryu; they're both kinda extra

Hanayo → Chigiri; mostly just bc of other relations..welp

Honoka → Isagi; bc MC. Sorry but that's basically it lmao

Umi → Kunigami; he was initially part of the team Z trio in 1st arc so it makes sense to pair him up with isg and bcr. Plus kngm and umi are both proper and stuff (kngm pre-wildcard tho, obv)

Kotori → Bachira; paired up with isg but not really. It's mostly that they have cute, cheerful personalities

Eli → Nagi; bc a genius and also him and reo are a pair so you can't separate them

Nozomi → Reo; bc he's a pair, like nozo and Eli. Plus nozo and reo are both purple!

Nico → Barou ; this was the easiest for me to figure out because. it fits so well. They both have terrible personalities and are unexpectly proper (good at cooking; clean freak)

#i am. not. going to tag all these characters because....good lord.#blue lock #love live! school idol project #love live #μ's #screentones #my art #the good thing about knowing how to do draw is that i can do stuff like this and no one can stop me

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riwrite · 4 months

Text

AU VERSE. : PROJECT SEKAI. kamui gakupo.

SCHOOL SEKAI. gakupo appears in the school sekai as a cool older brother/senpai type with a rebellious streak, but is also very sweet, caring, and has a bit of a tendency for clumsiness and innocent mistakes. there's a number of instruments he can play, but can more often be found simply singing. he's heavily influenced by saki and shiho's perceptions of their older siblings.

STAGE SEKAI. the bad boy idol archetype to mirror len's princely idol archetype, but only really embodies this onstage. his main role in the stage sekai comes to be giving the girls advice on balancing their lives and not getting lost in their work so they don't lose sight of having fun for themselves. he's influenced by older/experienced idols that used to help airi, shizuku, or haruka back when they were with agencies.

STREET SEKAI. a dancer/choreographer who comes to the street sekai to help vivid bad squad make their performances more dynamic. he's a bit of an enabler to any mischief in and around the cafe but knows when to step back and be reliable when he has to, and acts almost as a bridge in behavior between kaito and meiko. he's influenced a bit by everyone's imagination of how radder might have been when they were younger.

WONDERLAND SEKAI. he's not as much of a performer as the other vocaloids in the wonderland sekai, and prefers helping with production matters, such as costuming, props, backgrounds and environments, and lighting/sound, though it isn't unheard of for him to take supporting roles for the others. influenced largely by the sense of responsibility tsukasa feels as a troupe leader with the addition of rui's responsibility as director, this gakupo is the most down-to-earth vocaloid in this sekai.

EMPTY SEKAI. while he at first seems to be similar in personality to kaito or rin, it's quickly obvious that he's just got a resting angry face and is actually pretty lighthearted. this dissonance is influenced by mafuyu learning to feel and think for herself, and the emotions she's learning to put names to. he's very open with the circle and loves spending time with them.

#im pretty damn sure ive never actually posted this so. here it is!!#ive had this sitting in my brain since. checks when i drew this. last may apparently #‧ verses. / gakupo. → 「 project sekai. 」

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starsstuddedsky · 2 years

Text

Shall We?

gn reader x chan

summary: having a crush on your best friend made everything more complicated. would you be able to tell him how you felt, or will you be stuck in this limbo forever?

genre: fluff, tiny bit of angst, university au, sports au, non idol au

warnings: none, inaccurate soccer, both main characters are dumb?

wc: 6.3k

a/n: this is the first story I’m posting!!! it was really a gift for a friend but I enjoyed it a lot so hopefully y’all do too! thank you for reading :) i wrote it in first person bc second is kinda awk for me

title: Shall We? - CHEN

masterlist

I wasn’t the type to have crushes. I could count on one hand the number of people I’d ever admitted to having a crush on, and three of them were fictional characters. It wasn’t that I didn’t find people attractive - there were plenty of people in that category. Crushes just didn’t come easily.

That was why I couldn’t decide how to deal with the big fat crush I had on our school’s star forward, Lee Chan. I wasn’t used to having butterflies when I talked to him, losing focus in class, wondering what he was doing, dropping my phone when he posted (his second ever picture on Instagram) what could only be labeled as a thirst trap.

The worst part was that he was my best friend. I’d known him since kindergarten where I ironically swore to hate him for ruining my art project. I couldn’t escape these feelings, no matter how recently they’d come upon me. I glared at Seungkwan, who sat next to me on the sofa. It wasn’t fair that the athletes got better dorms when all they did was kick some balls around, but I stopped complaining out loud when I realized I had enough friends that lived in the athlete dorms that I could stay in their rooms (with actual bathrooms!) as much as I wanted.

“First of all, you’ve been in love with him at least since freshman year,” Seungkwan said. “That’s being generous, actually, it was probably middle school. I can’t be sure it wasn’t elementary school. Maybe it was love at first sight, actually, no, I take it back, you guys are probably soulmates.”

“Are you finished yet?”

Seungkwan laughed. “All I’m saying is that I have been saying that you have been in love with him for years.”

“But I haven’t!” I punched his arm when he scoffed. “I’m serious! These feelings are new and weird and I don’t like them, and Chan is one of my best friends- actually, he is my best friend because you’re being annoying.”

“I take offense to that.”

“Good, you were meant to,” I said. “Now shut up and let me rant. I really like him, Seungkwan, I can’t even think about him without my stomach getting butterflies. There’s no way he hasn’t noticed how weird I am around him, and just can’t imagine my life without him in it.” I buried my face into a pillow. “Why does my stupid heart ruin everything?”

Seungkwan patted me on the back. “Don’t you think you’re being a little dramatic?”

“I have been friends with Chan my entire life,” I said, raising myself from the cushion. “I think it’s worth being dramatic over.”

“What if it were me? And we were fighting and you were worried we would never be friends again?”

“Ew, gross,” I said automatically. “No offense, but I’d be glad to be rid of you.”

“First of all, you can’t say no offense and expect it to cancel out the meanest thing you’ve ever said to me. Also, I don’t believe you at all; who else have you told about your little crush?”

“No one,” I mumbled.

“That’s what I thought.” Seungkwan sounded smug. “Now, I’m going to assume confessing is out of the question?”

“Don’t even joke about it,” I hugged the pillow against my chest.

Seungkwan whipped his phone out, snapping a picture. “Sorry, I’ve literally never seen you this vulnerable, and I’m going to need blackmail at some point.”

“You are the worst, I gave you the best blackmail in the world, do you really need a picture, too?”

“Oh, yn, I can never have enough blackmail.” Not for the first time, I was scared of Seungkwan.

“Can’t you just give me advice?” I asked. “Weren’t you known for being the love doctor or whatever in high school?”

“First of all, I was not called the love doctor, that sounds weird, please never call me that again,” Seungkwan said. “And it was a lot easier to give advice to people that weren’t both my friends. I think I have to be Switzerland on this one.”

“You’re worthless,” I said, sliding onto the floor.

“Wow, I was just about to offer you food as compensation,” Seungkwan sighed.

“Did I ever tell you that you are my best friend in the entire world?”

Having a newly realized crush on your best friend apparently doesn’t excuse you from going to all of his games, no matter how strangely nervous it made you. Normally I came early to say hi during warmups (a tradition that began during the preseason because Chan forgot something every other day, but spending so much time with two teammates meant that I got to know pretty much the entire team). The thought of trying to act like everything was fine in front of the entire team, including Seungkwan, who would undoubtedly tease me, made me sick, so I texted Chan, telling him I needed to do homework but would be there in time for the game.

It technically wasn’t a lie, but all I did was I sit in my dorm, staring at the door, watching the seconds pass by one at a time. I wondered if he would even notice if I wasn’t there.

“Don’t you have to go?” My roommate asked. “The game starts in like five minutes.”

When I didn’t answer, she said, “You’re usually at every game like half an hour early. Is everything okay?”

I shrugged. “I’m that predictable?”

She smiled. “Did you and Chan fight?”

“No, nothing like that!” I paused. “Wait, why did you ask about Chan?”

“You’re going to be late,” she said, turning back to her desk.

I was torn between questioning exactly why she thought something happened between me and Chan or going to the game. I decided going to the game would at least involve less conflict.

I had to sprint to the stadium so that I wasn’t late, for once grateful Chan made me train with him every once in a while. Luckily it was one of the regulars checking tickets, and they waved me in as soon as they saw me sprinting.

I made it to the fence line just as they finished announcing the lineup for the opposing team. I didn’t need his number to pick him out, at the far end of the field, swaying back and forth a little, tapping the toe of his left cleat to the ground and sliding his foot forward until it was flat on the turf, then doing the same with his right. I couldn’t see him clearly from this far away, but I still knew his eyes were closed, and he was taking a slow deep breath, the same routine he’d performed since he first started playing soccer.

I’d seen him in his uniform since the beginning, but in the last few days, something had changed about the way he looks, as if I was only just now noticing the toned muscles in his arms, the way the uniform was loose yet still showed off shoulders that I knew from experience were firm and perfectly fit for my head. How many times had I rested my head on those shoulders without feeling a thing? Why was everything different now?

They were halfway down the lineup when he turned to the crowd. I watched him as his head turned slightly, scanning the stands, then lowering his chin and looking along the fence line. I could see the moment his eyes passed over me, fully expecting him to continue looking at the crowd. Instead, he stopped, holding my gaze despite the fact that I could barely see him. I froze when he smiled and lifted his hand in a tiny wave, forcing myself to wave back.

I was a grinning idiot, even when he forgot to pay attention to his own name and Vernon had to push him forward when his name was announced. He hastily waved towards the crowd, though I could have sworn his eyes were still on me.

The team went into a quick huddle, whispering among each other for a few seconds, then chanting the school mascot until the entire crowd took it up and the noise was deafening. I had always been curious about what they said in those huddles and finally remembered to ask a few weeks ago.

“Usually it’s just, like, ‘let’s get this done,’ or repeating something coach said about the other team,” he said. “But every once in a while it’s something dumb.”

“Like what?”

“Like jokes and bets between us,” he said, taking a sudden interest in the forks at the restaurant. We had gone out to eat after they lost their first game of the season.

“What was it today?”

He shrugged, shoving the food on his plate around. “Nothing interesting.”

As soon as the referee blew the whistle everyone was moving. It might look like chaos, but I’d seen enough soccer to know that it was an organized dance, how, much like all sports, there were patterns that were followed. My eyes followed Chan as he jogged ahead, waiting for someone to pass him the ball. Our team had taken control of the ball first, one of the seniors, Joshua, dodging around their defense before passing the ball across the field to Jun, the left forward.

Chan was in a good spot to score, the defense mostly focused on Jun, all he had to do was get the ball to him. I could feel the tension building, not just on the field, but in the crowd, as Jun dodged them again and again, then suddenly kicked the ball straight across the field. It looked like the ball wasn’t going anywhere, sliding across the fake grass without anyone from either team to stop it. And then Chan was there. Even I had lost him while watching Jun and the ball. He seemed to have come out of nowhere, kicking the ball as hard as he could before any of the defenders could react, sending it soaring up, the goalie reaching in vain, the ball soaring just over his hands and into the top corner of the goal.

The crowd erupted into cheers, myself the loudest of them all. Chan sprinted back to the home side of the field, grinning like an idiot. He ran past where I stood on the fence line and I could have sworn he winked at me. The rest of the team half tackled him as if he’d scored the game winning goal, chanting, “Dino! Dino! Dino!”

I frowned. Where had they learned that? As far as I knew, I was the only one to ever call him that. I supposed it wasn’t a big deal that other people called him by that name, but it still felt strange. I didn’t like that something that was ours was suddenly shared.

The referee blew his whistle and they finally reorganized themselves. Scoring a goal so early on could be dangerous, encouraging them to relax and let their defenses down. As they spread out on the field, I didn’t notice any of that. Chan was focused from the second the referee blew his whistle and the game play started again. I glanced at the team, and they all seemed equally intense.

I tried to think of why they were so focused. Were they playing a rival? The other team was good and a win would count toward their conference ranking, but it wasn’t anyone I thought warranted this level of focus. Maybe they were still upset that they lost the game last week, though they’d swept the tournament they played this past weekend.

The rest of the first half was uneventful, neither team able to score. Chan and Minghao, another forward, both came close but the balls were stopped by the other team’s goalie. Jihoon, our own goalie, only had to stop one ball. Everything else was stopped by what we affectionately called the Great Wall. Mingyu and Seungcheol were the main defenders, and were famous in our region for rarely letting a ball through our defense.

After the quick break, the teams returned to the field, switching sides. Now Chan would be closer to my side, running most of the offense almost in front of me. As soon as the whistle was blown he was moving, running right past me. I was probably imagining the smell of his detergent as he passed me by.

About half an hour in, I thought they might be able to score, but Chan lost the ball to one of their defenders and it was sent halfway across the field to their midfielders. Seungcheol and Mingyu did a good job, but even they weren’t quite able to stop the other team from pushing them down the field, closer to our goal. I held my breath as their forward got a good kick on the ball.

People tended to underestimate our goalie because he was pretty short. They didn’t know how quickly Jihoon could move, how good he was at anticipating where the ball would be kicked. I wondered if he was consciously aware of what he was seeing or if it was all instinct now. He made snagging the ball out of the air look easy, hanging on to it until the outfielders were back on the other side of the field.

Chan passed by me again as Jihoon threw the ball across the field, staying just in front of the defenders. They passed the ball around, not able to get past the defense, but also not giving up possession. Five minutes passed, then ten, and still neither team scored. We were still up by one, but as the time ticked down, the other team grew more desperate.

At 4 minutes and 47 seconds, they pushed through the defense. One of their forwards swung his foot back to kick the ball but turned slightly at the last second, slamming his foot into Mingyu’s shin. The taller boy dropped to the ground, but no whistle was blown, and the forward got a shot off. Jihoon couldn’t quite get to the ball and it just barely made it in.

1-1

While Seungcheol, the captain, and the coach shouted at the referee at the blatant foul that wasn’t called, the rest of the team regrouped. Mingyu had gotten up after a couple seconds, and from where I was looking he looked fine, though clearly mad. The referee gave Seungcheol a yellow card and he finally backed down, and our coach called a time out.

The crowd began the usual chants, though there was more passion after the horrible calls. When I was in the stands, I was normally screaming along with them, sometimes even leading them. I didn’t have any energy tonight to join in.

The time out wasn’t nearly long enough to cool them down. I could tell by the way they stalked back out onto the field that most of them were still mad, and I couldn’t blame them. The second the referee blew the whistle they were on the attack, sending the ball down the field recklessly fast. Chan was moving better than I’d ever seen before, anticipating where the defense would be and dodging before they even moved into position. The ball was passed to him quickly, though he immediately shot it off to one of the midfielders.

The lower the time got, the more desperate each team was. We somehow still held control of the ball for two full minutes, still unable to get a shot off.

At 2 minutes and 13 seconds, Chan had the ball again. He was moving like everyone else was stuck in quicksand, dodging the defenders and driving a path towards the goal. I could feel that he was going to get past them, going to score, and then he found and opening, swinging his foot back and-

And he got slammed to the ground by one of their defenders. This time the referee couldn’t ignore it, blowing his whistle. I was pretty sure there was about to be a fight, but I couldn’t look away from Chan, who was still on the ground. I could feel my heartbeat in my throat as I waited for him to get up, for him to move. He was only a few feet away from me. The idiotic part of me wanted to hop the fence and jump onto the field but what would I do? Yell at him until he woke up?

His back was to me and the longer he went without moving the more scared I got. Had he hit his head? Was something broken? I desperately wanted him to do something to at least show he was still alive.

Jun and Minghao, the other forwards, got to him first, kneeling next to him until the trainer finally reached him. I was vaguely aware of Mingyu and Seungkwan holding Seungcheol back as he yelled at the other team, but I couldn’t look away from Chan. From my angle, I could only see him reach his arm out, but I felt like I could finally breathe again. He was alive, at least.

The trainer spoke to him for a minute or two, then apparently decided he could be moved. Jun and Minghao helped him up and half carried him off the field, setting him on the table the trainer had set up to treat the athletes. It was foolish, but all I wanted to do was run over there, to see with my own eyes that he was okay.

After another time out, this time by the other team, the game started again. I couldn’t pay attention to anything, only watching Chan from across the field as the trainer made him go through yet more exercises, finally gesturing for him to follow her to the athletics building. I tried to decide if that was a good thing or not. It meant that he was well enough to walk on his own, but what did she need in the building? Did he need specialized treatment?

I had given up on paying attention to the match. The second half ended with the score still tied but all I could think of was Chan, suffering alone.

“Screw it,” I muttered. I pushed off the fence, walking towards the building with long strides. I’d been there more than a few times with Chan while we were hanging out before practice, sometimes wandering the building but often while he got treatment in the trainer’s office. Sometimes it felt like I was around Chan so much that I might as well be a part of the team.

I knew exactly where the office was. A week ago I wouldn’t have been nervous making this trip. I probably wouldn’t have left the stands at such an intense match, though I might have been a little worried. Everything had changed so quickly. I could feel adrenaline coursing through my veins as if I had been the one on the field playing.

I got to the trainer’s office and froze. Normally I would walk in without a thought to it, but I was suddenly not sure of anything. What if he just wanted to be alone? Or what if he didn’t want me there?

I decided I would at least rather see that he was alive. I knocked once then opened the door.

“Yn,” the trainer said with a warm smile. She’d been so happy when I told her I was interested in athletic medicine, inviting me to come with Chan whenever I wanted. The whole summer she’d been hinting at a relationship between me and Chan, despite both of our protests.

I waved, looking for Chan. He was laying on one of the tables on his stomach shirtless, wires hooked up to something on his back covered by ice packs, his eyes closed, looking like he was asleep.

“Is he okay?” I asked softly.

“Oh he’s fine,” she answered. “And he’s not sleeping, I don’t know who he thinks he’s fooling.” His eyes flicked open and he glared at her.

“Well, I need to see if anyone else decided to get hurt while you get pampered,” she said. “I’ll be back in like five minutes, so just don’t die.” Chan gave her a thumbs up and she was gone.

I pulled a chair next to his table, leaning against the side. Chan’s arm only a few inches away from mine.

“Did we win?” He asked before I had a chance to say anything.

“That’s seriously all you want to know? You’re not even going to tell me if you’re okay?”

“That’s not an answer.”

“Fine,” I said, “I have no idea, it went into overtime so I came here.” He was silent. “Are you okay?“ I asked again.

He let out a dramatic sigh. “I got the wind knocked the fuck out of me. Seriously, I’ve been hit before but that hurt. You need to check my chest for shoulder marks later.”

My cheeks flushed at the thought of being in front of him while he was shirtless, and I was happy his face was pressed into the leather cushion. I’d seen him shirtless plenty of times, but thinking about it now…

“What’s this?” I asked, brushing my fingers lightly on the wires, trying not to think about brushing them against the bare skin of his back.

“Stim,” he said. “My back was sore from getting knocked into the ground by that asshole and I just thought it would feel nice.” He turned his head at an awkward angle so that he could look at me. I could only meet his gaze for a few seconds before I looked away.

“Do you think it’s over yet?” He asked, breaking the silence that lasted for nearly a minute.

“You could have gotten seriously hurt and you’re still more worried about the game? Are you sure you didn’t hit your head?”

“Hey I am concussion free!” Chan said. “She did the test and everything. I just- I want to know if we won or not! It’s important that we don’t lose to assholes that body slam people!”

He was right, but I had known Chan for too long. He was lying.

“Besides, since when have you been worried about me?” He turned so that he could see me. “When I almost broke my wrist two years ago you said you would rather die than miss the end of the game.”

“That was playoffs!”

“We were up by four goals!”

I opened my mouth to argue back, but he was right. I was different now. I just didn’t have the guts to tell him why.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I know I’m not always the best friend to you.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Chan said immediately, brushing his hand against mine. He looked so uncomfortable trying to face me while laying flat on his stomach. I slipped out of the chair, sitting on the floor in front of the table so that he could look straight at me, trying not to think about how he almost held on to my hand.

We stayed like that for a moment, Chan staring into my eyes and me staring right back. In the end I couldn’t take his gaze, looking down at the tile floor and realizing the pattern was really fascinating, even if it was clearly from 1990.

“I’m sorry,” Chan said. “I’m not upset about something from two years ago. I just… I want to tell you something but I don’t know if it’s right and they said I should do it when it’s right but I have no idea what that means, and then they said that maybe it wouldn’t ever be right, so I just… I don’t know.”

I could feel all of my courage crumbling as I looked back at him, dark eyes filled with an emotion I couldn’t decipher. I felt like he could see right through me.

“Chan…” I said. “You’re my best friend. I’ve known you for so long I don’t think I know who I am without you, and I think that’s what really scares me. You’re like this weird carrot that’s grown next to my carrot and we’ve coiled around each other and they exist on their own as separate carrots, but if they aren’t together, it just looks lonely.”

I peeked at Chan and he was frowning. Not my best metaphor. “I’m trying to say that I don’t like who I am without you. You mean everything to me.”

“You mean a lot to me, too,” he said slowly.

I groaned. “You’re not getting it! I’m trying to tell you that I like you, Chan!”

He quiet for a moment. “Yn, did you just confess to me while I’m laying on a table after being knocked out?”

“When you put it like that…” I stared at my hands. So that’s what I felt like to ruin everything.

“Yn.”

I wondered if I could successfully vanish, maybe start a new life raising sheep in Mongolia.

“Hey,” Chan said, reaching his hand out to brush against my cheek. “You’re an idiot.”

“I feel so much better,” I said, burying my face in my hands. “Thank you for that.”

“Please look me in the eyes for this,” Chan said. As much as I wanted to dig a hole and rot away in it, I couldn’t deny him this, especially not when he was using such a gentle yet firm tone. I forced myself to meet his eyes, finding comfort in the familiarity, even if I knew everything had changed and it was my fault.

“I have been trying to tell you I like you for months and you do it in pretty much the least romantic way possible,” he said. “Seriously, there are electrical impulses being shot down my back.”

“I take it back, I feel nothing,” I said, standing up.

He laughed, that stupid, infectious laugh that never failed to make me smile, reaching out and catching my hand. “Can you give me like five seconds to at least be sitting upright?”

I nodded, still facing the door so that he couldn’t see my smile.

“I might need some help, actually,” Chan said after a moment. “This stuff is kinda stuck to my back.”

I turned to him, taking in the situation. He’d gotten the ice packs off but the pads for stim were stuck to his back. This wasn’t the first time I’d helped him with stim, in fact I’d done it for half the team (albeit usually on their knees or shoulders). Helping Chan now, my cheeks were probably bright red, fingers tingling every time they brushed against his skin. The four pads came off easily and I stuck them back onto the plastic they normally were stuck to, turning off the machine and putting everything back where it should be. When I turned around, Chan was sitting up rolling his shoulders back. If my face wasn’t already a tomato it was now. Chan laughed as I looked anywhere but at him.

“You’re not going to check for shoulder marks?” He asked. He was probably batting his eyes and pretending to be innocent.

I glanced him over, trying hard to force my eyes past his bare chest, then tossed his shirt at him. “Shoulder mark free.”

“Are you sure, because you didn’t look very hard and-”

“Oh my god, Chan, just put on the shirt!”

He laughed, pulling it over his head. “You’re so easy to tease.” He caught my hands when I tried to step away again, gently tugging on them so that I was facing him while he still sat on the table.

“Yn,” he said softly, running his thumbs over my knuckles. “I had a whole plan of how I was going to tell you how I felt. We’d go to that cafe, or sometimes I planned it for the library, and once I even planned to try to tell you on the field. None of them worked because every time I saw you I couldn’t figure out a way to get the words in my heart out so that you could hear them.” He held my gaze and I knew he wasn’t lying. I hadn’t lasted a week with these feelings. How had Chan been able to stand it?

“I really, really like you,” Chan said. “And I-”

The door was slammed open and all of a sudden the room was filled with noise. I let go of one of his hands as half the team came streaming in. With the hand he still held, Chan pulled me closer to him until I was shoulder to shoulder with him, lacing his fingers with mine.

“Chan you’re alive!” Seokmin shouted.

“Yeah I was going to go to the light but I remembered you guys are hopeless without me.”

“Hopeless?” Soonyoung laughed. “Just for that I’m not telling you who won.”

“I don’t think that matters anymore,” Jeonghan said, gesturing to me and Chan.

“Hey!” Seokmin shouted. “That’s cheating!”

“What’s going on?” I whispered in Chan’s ear.

“I’ll explain later,” he whispered back, then said to everyone, “I appreciate your concern for my love life, but seriously, did we win or not?”

Seungcheol leaned against the counter with a smug smile. “You think we’d let a team like that win?”

Chan grinned, turning to me. I hoped he couldn’t hear how loud my heart was beating when he turned his gaze on me like that. “Yn, will you go on a date with me?”

I forgot about the team who were hollering around us, forgot about the game, forgot about everything except me and Chan. “Of course.”

Chan only let go of my hand once as we walked back to the apartment, and it was only to let me put on his sweatshirt. As soon as I pulled my arms through the sleeves, his hand was back in mine. It should have felt weird to be this intimate after a lifetime of friendship. It felt like we should have been like this from the beginning.

“You’re sure you feel the same way?“ Chan asked.

“If you ask me one more time I’m going to change my mind,” I said.

“I’m sorry,” he said, squeezing my hand. “I had resigned myself to being your b-f ‘best friend,’ not b-f ‘boyfriend.’”

“First of all, Seungkwan is my best friend,” I said.

“Um, wrong, I’ve known you for longer.”

“That’s not the point but I have a feeling you’re going to win this one so I’m just going to give up now.” I turned to look him in the eyes. “But seriously, how long have you liked me? And don’t you dare say from the moment I met you or some bullshit because I know that’s not true.”

“No, I’m not that dramatic. I think the moment I realized it was at graduation.” He smiled at the memory, pausing on the sidewalk.

“Do you remember how we went straight from the ceremony to the beach and that first night we stayed up all night talking about the future and we watched the sunrise over the water?” He waited for my nod. “I remember listening to you talk about your life plans and realizing how lucky I am to know you, and then realizing that I couldn’t imagine my life without you in it.

“Do you know how magical you looked watching the sunrise? I know it’s the cheesiest line ever, but you really were prettier than the sunrise and ever since then I haven’t been able to think of anyone but you.” Chan smiled and my heart felt like it was going to explode. I leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips, then suddenly felt shy, turning and continuing to walk. Chan didn’t move until I was tugging on his hand.

“Your turn,” he said after a few moments passed and the heat in my cheeks had finally died down. “When did you realize?”

“Last week,” I said. “Right before you left for the tournament you asked for a kiss goodbye, and I thought it was just a joke but then I spent all weekend thinking about your lips and about how that’s definitely not best friend thoughts, and then I started thinking about you and then I realized that for everything in my life I go to you, and you are the only person in the world who knows how to make me smile when I am having a horrible day, and you don’t complain when I’m being mean or grumpy, and you are the only person I could ever see myself spending the rest of my life with.

“I know it’s not as romantic as watching the sunrise with you and maybe you think these five days aren’t long enough to feel anything as strong as you, but, Chan, I swear I know my heart and you are the only one in it, and the only one that will ever be in it.” It was terrifying to say these things out loud, but I turned to Chan and he had the biggest smile on his face.

He stepped closer to me until there were only a few inches between us, bringing one hand to my cheek. “Can I kiss you?” He asked so softly I almost didn’t hear it.

I nodded, closing my eyes as he leaned closer, nose brushing against mine, and it was not a gentle kiss like mine had been. His hand slid to the back of my head, the other one finally letting go and slipping to hold my waist. I wrapped my own arms around his neck, pulling him as close as I could.

Chan pulled away first, though his arms stayed wrapped around me. “Feedback?”

I laughed, burying my head in his chest. ‘Feedback’ was always for class presentations, or how I thought he did in his last game. “Only if you tell me why your team calls you Dino.”

I disentangled myself from his arms, lacing our fingers back together and beginning to walk again.

“You better not be mad about that because it’s your fault,” he said, catching up to me easily. “Seokmin and Soonyoung saw you spamming me with those dinosaur stickers while we were at an away game and I had to explain to them that you made the nickname when we were six and already a cruel monster.”

“It’s not my fault you cried unless you brought your stuffie to school with you.”

“Don’t you dare tell them that part!” He said. “They’ll never let it go, it’s bad enough I have Seungkwan holding it over me.”

I laughed. “You haven’t explained what was going on in the training room either, by the way.”

“Right.” I glanced at him and he avoided my eyes.

“What is it?”

“It’s embarrassing,” he whined.

“More embarrassing than getting dumped fifteen minutes after the relationship started?”

“You wouldn’t,” Chan said and he was right, but it still worked because he let out a dramatic sigh and kept walking. “Do you remember last week after we lost and we went out to eat and you asked me about what we say in the pregame huddles?” He waited until I nodded to continue. “Well, apparently my crush was obvious to everyone other than you and Seokmin and Soonyoung specifically were determined to ‘help’ me confess so they thought it would be funny to say ‘when we win Chan has to tell yn how he feels,’ but then we lost and someone said that maybe we just weren’t meant to be and it was a joke, but I’ve been overthinking it since then.

“Then today, Seungcheol said it, and I think it was supposed to be a joke but everyone took it really seriously and I don’t know, I really felt like if we didn’t win today then maybe we really wouldn’t ever work out.

“But then you showed up and confessed to me in the least romantic way possible and I realized how dumb I was,” Chan said, grinning.

“You’re kind of an idiot,” I said.

“Yeah, but I’m your idiot,” he said, leaning into me.

“You’re ridiculous.” I tried unsuccessfully to hide my smile.

He snuck closer, pressing a kiss to my cheek, then wrapping his arm around my shoulders and pulling me closer to him. I couldn’t think of any more insults to throw at him, so I leaned into him.

“So, are you going to give me feedback on my kissing or not?”

“I’m not sure, I think I need to try again before forming an opinion.”

Chan laughed, turning to face me with a smile that could break hearts. “You better pay attention this time.” He kissed me and I was floating.

When I finally pushed back, he raised his eyebrows expectantly.

“Two out of ten, honestly, I’m disappointed, I thought you could do better than this,” I said, pushing his arms off of me before I could react and sprinting away.

“Hey!” He shouted. “I’m still handicapped! I got knocked out today!” Despite his protests, he caught up to me easily, wrapping his arms around me from behind, pressing a kiss to my cheek.

“Want to try again?”

“Hm, nope,” I said, giggling when he wrapped his arms even tighter.

“You are so lucky I love you,” he said, pressing another kiss on my cheek. I wondered if he noticed that he let the word slip. I settled my hands on his arms, holding him to me just as tightly as he was. There was a gentle breeze in the air, the streetlights warm and cozy, and I decided I would spend the rest of my life like this, me and Chan, together.

#🌟 stars galaxy #seventeen #seventeen x reader #svt #svt x reader #dino #lee chan #dino x reader #lee chan x reader #fluff #svt fluff #seventeen fluff #svt reader #seventeen fanfiction #seventeen fanfic #soccer boys!#chan x reader #dino fluff #chan fluff

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animebw · 3 months

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So I've been musing over the differences between Sunshine and School Idol Project over the past few days of semi-hiatus, and I think a few stray thoughts have clicked together. There's a subtle but critical difference in the way these two shows carry themselves, a difference that ultimately explains why I enjoy SIP more. And it comes down, believe it or not, to realism.

Like, let's be clear, all iterations of Love Live are farcical melodramas first and foremost. You are not gonna catch me calling any entry in this franchise a nuanced and grounded take on the human condition. But there's a subtle, meaningful degree of realism in SIP's character writing that just isn't quite there in Sunshine's cast. The girls of Muse, on some level, all come off as believable, if exaggerated, teenagers within their circumstances, while Aquors' characterization leans a bit more, for lack of a better descriptor, "anime quirky." As much as I love most of these characters, I'm always conscious of them as characters in a way that SIP mostly manages to avoid throughout its run.

To explain what I mean, let's compare the student council presidents, Eri and Dia. Now, neither of these characters are my favorite member of their respective franchises. But it's worth noting that when I look at Eri, I don't just see a character who is a student council president. I see a girl who is a believable student council president. Eri is mature, she's sensible, she's got a strong work ethic, and while she has her flaws, she's a natural leader who clearly feels comfortable taking charge and handling difficult situations (which makes Honoka's arc in the second season all the more compelling as we see her struggle to live up to that example). If I met her on the street and didn't know her already, it would probably only take a few minutes of conversation for me to assume she held some kind of leadership position. I don't have to stretch my imagination to wonder how a person like her could be a student council president, because it just makes sense that someone like her would be drawn to a role like that. It feels natural.

That is not the case with Dia.

Dia is, quite simply, a mess. She's overly intense, deeply insecure, quick to anger, and seems to consider dealing with other people an extremely difficult hurdle to overcome. If I was meeting her for the first time, I would assume her hobbies were sports or something else competitive before I pegged her for a leader. Which is not to say you can't write characters who don't quite fit the roles they carry out! But with Dia, it's not just that she doesn't strike me as leadership material; I don't see her as someone who would want to be student council president. I can't picture her looking at the kinds of tasks and responsibilities this job entails and saying, "Yes, this is the path I want to pursue. This is what makes me happy." Student Council President is a title she wears, but it doesn't feel like a life she lives, or a life she even wants to live. And we barely even see her do any council work in the first place, so it's not like we have a sense of how she operates in this position. There's just very little connection between the role she supposedly carries out and the character we're presented with.

Point is, when I look at Eri, I have no trouble believing that her journey in life naturally brought her to this point. When I look at Dia, I find myself asking how someone like her ended up pursuing this path when it feels like by all rights she should've landed somewhere else. It feels like "student council president" is a character trait slapped onto her rather than a natural extension of her as a person. She is a "student council president" not because it makes sense for who she is, but because "student council president" is a popular archetype in anime, so this show must have a "student council president" as well. And it just requires that extra bit of suspension of disbelief to buy into that Eri never demanded of me.

Yes, it's a minor detail. One might even call it a nitpick. But it's paying attention to those little details that made SIP's cast so easy to buy into. It's the difference between Maki being a rich girl who's family owns some vacation houses and Mari somehow becoming the goddamn school director while she's still a teenager. It's the difference between Nico's gremlin energy coming from a very recognizable brand of turbo-geek toxicity and Yoshiko just being so overwhelmingly chuuni. Not to mention how SIP grounds its characters' lives in subtle, genuine imperfections, like Nico's family situation forcing her to take on more adult responsibilities, or Rin's complex over her perceived lack of femininity, or Nozomi struggling to form lasting relationships after changing schools so much. As absurd and over-the-top as Muse's members are, there's a truth to the way they exist in their world that truly makes them leap off the screen. And as much fun as Aqours cast is, that subtle grounding just isn't there. They're quirky and lively and pull at my heartstrings, but they exist solely as fun characters, not as people I feel like I could genuinely get to know and share a connection with.

#anime #tabw #the anime binge watcher #love live #love live!#love live! sunshine!!#2013 aniwatch

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starstuddeddsky · 2 years

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Shall We?

gn reader x chan

summary: having a crush on your best friend made everything more complicated. would you be able to tell him how you felt, or will you be stuck in this limbo forever?

genre: fluff, tiny bit of angst, university au, sports au, non idol au

warnings: none, inaccurate soccer, both main characters are dumb?

wc: 6.3k

title: Shall We? - CHEN

“Are you finished yet?”

Seungkwan laughed. “All I’m saying is that I have been saying that you have been in love with him for years.”

“I take offense to that.”

Seungkwan patted me on the back. “Don’t you think you’re being a little dramatic?”

“I have been friends with Chan my entire life,” I said, raising myself from the cushion. “I think it’s worth being dramatic over.”

“What if it were me? And we were fighting and you were worried we would never be friends again?”

“Ew, gross,” I said automatically. “No offense, but I’d be glad to be rid of you.”

“No one,” I mumbled.

“That’s what I thought.” Seungkwan sounded smug. “Now, I’m going to assume confessing is out of the question?”

“Don’t even joke about it,” I hugged the pillow against my chest.

Seungkwan whipped his phone out, snapping a picture. “Sorry, I’ve literally never seen you this vulnerable, and I’m going to need blackmail at some point.”

“You are the worst, I gave you the best blackmail in the world, do you really need a picture, too?”

“Oh, yn, I can never have enough blackmail.” Not for the first time, I was scared of Seungkwan.

“Can’t you just give me advice?” I asked. “Weren’t you known for being the love doctor or whatever in high school?”

“You’re worthless,” I said, sliding onto the floor.

“Wow, I was just about to offer you food as compensation,” Seungkwan sighed.

“Did I ever tell you that you are my best friend in the entire world?”

It technically wasn’t a lie, but all I did was I sit in my dorm, staring at the door, watching the seconds pass by one at a time. I wondered if he would even notice if I wasn’t there.

“Don’t you have to go?” My roommate asked. “The game starts in like five minutes.”

When I didn’t answer, she said, “You’re usually at every game like half an hour early. Is everything okay?”

I shrugged. “I’m that predictable?”

She smiled. “Did you and Chan fight?”

“No, nothing like that!” I paused. “Wait, why did you ask about Chan?”

“You’re going to be late,” she said, turning back to her desk.

I was torn between questioning exactly why she thought something happened between me and Chan or going to the game. I decided going to the game would at least involve less conflict.

“Usually it’s just, like, ‘let’s get this done,’ or repeating something coach said about the other team,” he said. “But every once in a while it’s something dumb.”

“Like what?”

“Like jokes and bets between us,” he said, taking a sudden interest in the forks at the restaurant. We had gone out to eat after they lost their first game of the season.

“What was it today?”

He shrugged, shoving the food on his plate around. “Nothing interesting.”

1-1

The lower the time got, the more desperate each team was. We somehow still held control of the ball for two full minutes, still unable to get a shot off.

I had given up on paying attention to the match. The second half ended with the score still tied but all I could think of was Chan, suffering alone.

I decided I would at least rather see that he was alive. I knocked once then opened the door.

I waved, looking for Chan. He was laying on one of the tables on his stomach shirtless, wires hooked up to something on his back covered by ice packs, his eyes closed, looking like he was asleep.

“Is he okay?” I asked softly.

“Oh he’s fine,” she answered. “And he’s not sleeping, I don’t know who he thinks he’s fooling.” His eyes flicked open and he glared at her.

I pulled a chair next to his table, leaning against the side. Chan’s arm only a few inches away from mine.

“Did we win?” He asked before I had a chance to say anything.

“That’s seriously all you want to know? You’re not even going to tell me if you’re okay?”

“That’s not an answer.”

“Fine,” I said, “I have no idea, it went into overtime so I came here.” He was silent. “Are you okay?“ I asked again.

He let out a dramatic sigh. “I got the wind knocked the fuck out of me. Seriously, I’ve been hit before but that hurt. You need to check my chest for shoulder marks later.”

“What’s this?” I asked, brushing my fingers lightly on the wires, trying not to think about brushing them against the bare skin of his back.

“Do you think it’s over yet?” He asked, breaking the silence that lasted for nearly a minute.

“You could have gotten seriously hurt and you’re still more worried about the game? Are you sure you didn’t hit your head?”

“Hey I am concussion free!” Chan said. “She did the test and everything. I just- I want to know if we won or not! It’s important that we don’t lose to assholes that body slam people!”

He was right, but I had known Chan for too long. He was lying.

“That was playoffs!”

“We were up by four goals!”

I opened my mouth to argue back, but he was right. I was different now. I just didn’t have the guts to tell him why.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I know I’m not always the best friend to you.”

I could feel all of my courage crumbling as I looked back at him, dark eyes filled with an emotion I couldn’t decipher. I felt like he could see right through me.

I peeked at Chan and he was frowning. Not my best metaphor. “I’m trying to say that I don’t like who I am without you. You mean everything to me.”

“You mean a lot to me, too,” he said slowly.

I groaned. “You’re not getting it! I’m trying to tell you that I like you, Chan!”

He quiet for a moment. “Yn, did you just confess to me while I’m laying on a table after being knocked out?”

“When you put it like that…” I stared at my hands. So that’s what I felt like to ruin everything.

“Yn.”

I wondered if I could successfully vanish, maybe start a new life raising sheep in Mongolia.

“Hey,” Chan said, reaching his hand out to brush against my cheek. “You’re an idiot.”

“I feel so much better,” I said, burying my face in my hands. “Thank you for that.”

“I take it back, I feel nothing,” I said, standing up.

He laughed, that stupid, infectious laugh that never failed to make me smile, reaching out and catching my hand. “Can you give me like five seconds to at least be sitting upright?”

I nodded, still facing the door so that he couldn’t see my smile.

“I might need some help, actually,” Chan said after a moment. “This stuff is kinda stuck to my back.”

“You’re not going to check for shoulder marks?” He asked. He was probably batting his eyes and pretending to be innocent.

I glanced him over, trying hard to force my eyes past his bare chest, then tossed his shirt at him. “Shoulder mark free.”

“Are you sure, because you didn’t look very hard and-”

“Oh my god, Chan, just put on the shirt!”

“Yn,” he said softly, running his thumbs over my knuckles. “I had a whole plan of how I was going to tell you how I felt. We’d go to that cafe, or sometimes I planned it for the library, and once I even planned to try to tell you on the field. None of them worked because every time I saw you I couldn't figure out a way to get the words in my heart out so that you could hear them.” He held my gaze and I knew he wasn’t lying. I hadn’t lasted a week with these feelings. How had Chan been able to stand it?