#Danny grew a beard so he looks older

[hypewinter]

After Danny had officially moved in with Clockwork, he decided to do some dimension hoping. That's how he found himself in the DC universe and more importantly, how he met the Teen Titans.

It was meant to be a temporary friendship. He'd tag along with them on a few missions and then move on. But Danny found himself getting attached to this team. They quickly became like a second family to him and against his better judgement ended up joining the Teen Titans full time.

He was there during their many fights with Deathstroke. He helped them with the Judas Contract. He even played a critical role in beating back Trigon. Danny grew up alongside his friends and was more than happy to continue on the team when they reformed as the Titans. Danny truly loved his new life with his new family friends. But then the reset happened.

According to Clockwork, every so often, a reset happens within this universe. Origins get changed. Relationships get redefined. The timeline gets restarted. Everyone within the universe is given a new place. Sometimes even a new purpose. Everyone except for Danny, who was never a part of that world.

His friends had forgotten him. His spot on their team easily replaced by another hero. Danny was devastated. Clockwork had tried to comfort his ward, but Danny brushed him off every time. He assured Clockwork that he would be fine with time. After all, he'd already lost a family before, what was one more? Yet the ancient could see the boy withdraw more and more in on himself with each passing day. He couldn't bear it. So he made a rash decision.

The Titans had been suddenly transported to a weird domain. They found themselves standing before a massive clocktower. A vast expanse of swirling green surrounded them. They didn't even have time to process what was going on before the door in front of them was opening. A young man, around their age, stepped out. There was something familiar about him. No one could quite place it but it felt like they had all seen that stylized hazmat suit before.

The man's toxic green eyes widened in surprise. Then his form flickered into a small version of himself, a look of pain evident on his face. This form felt even more familiar, like the team was being bashed over the head with deja vu. The teen flickered back into a young man and this time, he was angry.

He yelled out for someone by the name of "Clockwork" and it wasn't long until a new figure appeared. He was older than the young man and wore a purple cloak. The Titans could see where he got his name from considering the giant clock in his chest.

The older man- Clockwork- went to speak but was quickly cut off by furious yelling. The young man was accusing him of doing something unnecessary as he pointed at the team. He hissed to send them back. Clockwork's form flickered to that of a baby who looked like he'd been scolded before settling on the form of an old man with a long beard. He wore a face of great sadness as he attempted to explain he was only trying to help but the young man would hear none of it.

The young man - Danny is what the team hears Clockwork refer to him as - repeated that Clockwork must fix his mistake and send the Titans back before turning and leaving without another word. The old man let out a feeble sigh as he watched the other leave. Then he turned back to the Titans.

"Would you like a cup of tea?" he asked.

It had certainly not been what the team was expecting him to ask them but if sitting down for some tea would give them some answers and better yet, get them home, then why not?

#dp x dc #dc x dp #dpxdc #dcxdp #winter's tales

[msfbgraves]

I hate the haircut Ralphie has in CK :(( It’s too severe for him!! It’s not that I don’t like shorter hair on him, but the parting is too neat and…harsh. He looks best with floppier hair like Naked in New York or The Outsiders interview, or hair that is fluffy and messy like the darling Teddy look. Let him be prettier, CK writers!! And speaking of hair, I actually don’t like the very tight ponytail Terry has. It looked good in KK3 with the slick gel, but now that he’s older it’s again, too severe. A looser ponytail would look better, like when he was fighting Robby, or let those nice waves free! Or, cut his hair short, and let him look like a distinguished Sugar Daddy. And finally, Johnny looks best with stubble and messy, “my life sucks” hair like in the first episode of CK. Let him look like a scruffy loser, it’s hot!

So in response to this, Nonnie, I went back to look at some pictures that Ralph has put out there of himself, and he seems to agree with you. Ralph's hair is always slightly more tousled, even when cut short! Ah, well, CK and its obvious anti-Daniel bias, I've decided to enjoy Ralph acting circles around that. It's mostly funny at this point (though I will not forgive them for making him a shitty father to Anthony. Even Ralph can't fix that). But hair - they're so afraid of making him beautiful, but I find that this lends layers to his character. Lemonade out of lemons amirite.

Johnny has only ever done anything for me scruffy too! No offense to Mr. Zabka, who is objectively very handsome and charismatic. But bearded Johnny is hottest Johnny.

That ponytail, I think even Terry in-story knows isn't his best look, but it means something to him - I have read fantastic analysis by @terrence-silver about how it honours his friend Ponytail in Vietnam, and it's how Danny boy knew him... in story, Terry did cut it short but grew it out again too. I find it plausible that Terry knows it isn't his best look but it means so much he doesn't care. TIG wears it shorter, anyway.

#cobra kai

[bluegarners]

Dick realizes he’s forgetting his childhood. 

~oOo~

It hits him one day. It hits him hard.

In reality, it must have been a gradual thing. An overtime thing. A steady decline thing that he just didn’t notice, like rain on eroding rocks. Chipping, chipping, chipping away and weathering it down into pebbles. 

But when he stops to actually look around, takes a moment to really think, it hits Dick hard. The wind knocked out of him, train plowing into him, upper cut to the jaw, mind reeling hard. 

He can’t remember what his mom’s voice sounded like. 

He remembers the old song she used to hum to him, can still dredge up the melody if he really tries, but he can’t remember what she sounded like. He’s almost sure she had a beautiful voice. Almost sure it was breathy and lower in pitch because she was a proud woman that used her voice for authority and rule. Sometimes, if he sits down and thinks exceptionally hard, he thinks even his father might’ve sung with her too.

Oh. Another thing.

He can’t remember the name of the cologne his father used.

It was something spicy, Dick’s sure. Something spicy that smelled like a mix of all the worlds best fireplaces and cinnamon sticks. It was warm, Dick’s positive of it, but sometimes he catches a whiff of vanilla and his mind goes back to his father on Sunday evenings when they didn’t have a performance, so maybe the cologne wasn’t spicy and Dick is just forgetting and remembering it all wrong.

That’s terrifying. How can he forget something as unique and special as his own mother’s voice or his father’s scent? What kind of son forgets something so pertinent to their parents?

He’s read articles about trauma messing with memories. Something about stress hormones going into overdrive, infecting and plaguing the fear factor and hippocampus that the brain just doesn’t recall anything. But he’s also read articles that say trauma enhances memory, that the adrenaline is just so prolific that it literally encodes the events permanently into the hippocampus rather than erase. 

He’s even read articles that victims of childhood trauma lose their innocent past completely in a blink. That they may even believe the events never happened and it was all just a dream.

But Dick knows he had parents. He knows that his father was a happy man, outgoing to the fullest and in love with life. He knows his mother made delicious pancakes straight out of the box and that she always used real maple syrup instead of Log Cabin. He knows that they were all very close and his parents never made him feel ashamed for being clingy or wanting to sleep in their bed after a nightmare or seeking comfort after yet another failed trick or flip. 

Dick knows. He remembers. 

But sometimes the details get fuzzy. Was his baby blanket, the one he knows his long dead nana stitched for him, blue or gray? Were there two rooms or just a bed and a couch in their tiny trailer? Did Pop Haly boom or rumble with laughter? He knows these things happened. How else would he even know he had a blanket or a trailer or the comfort of loud laughter during even louder performances? 

But for all his remembrance, for all his recollection, he doesn’t know if it’s real. If what he thinks are memories are but fond daydreams substituted for the blank spaces. He doesn’t have many pictures, but he’s got so many posters from Haly’s Circus. Enough so that his father’s face will never be confused with some stranger’s on the street. Dick has stared at all the bright colors for hours on end, and he knows exactly what shade of green his mother’s eyes were. He could pick out their colors in a forest and still know it wouldn’t be as close to what his mother’s eyes were like.

He knows faces. He remembers faces. He doesn’t remember who they were though. Who these people were and what they sounded and smelled like. What stories they shared. What family lineage they held.

He doesn’t remember what routine they were doing that night. He thinks it was a daring one, one they hadn’t done many times before hand because they wanted to make a good impression in Gotham. They were only going to be there for a month, Dick remembers that, but he can’t remember why it was so important to impress. 

He was up next. His father had just flung his mother into the air, twirling and falling, and then his father had caught her by the ankles and they were swinging through the air as if they had grown wings and learnt how to fly.

He was up next. Only nine. Nervous but excited. There were so many people in the crowd, but he can only picture a massive blob. Bright lights. His mother’s face. Green eyes. His father’s strong shoulders. Cinnamon carrying in the wind.

He was up next. He would leap out, flip twice, and somersault his way into his mother’s awaiting grasp. Then, they would float and trade off holds with one another and Dick would be the one holding his mother’s ankles and he would be upside down as well and then-

He was up next. He was up next and he could see his mother’s bright smile beaming towards him, his father’s reassuring grip on the bar steady, and Dick was tensing to make the leap and then-

The line snapped.

Dick thinks his mother might’ve called out to him as they plummeted. Maybe a cry for help. A startled yell. A gasp. A shriek. Terror.

Dick likes to think he remembered her calling out his name.

He doesn’t know if what he does remember is true or not; if his parents’ bodies actually crumpled like wet paper or if they snapped like dry wood. He remembers their descent, but maybe not, because Graysons were known for flying but his parents fell like they had weights tied to their legs. Sound escaped him, smell too, and maybe that’s his problem. Maybe he just can’t remember important senses like sound and scent, but he does remember the way the sawdust turned black.

They had all worn their favorite leotards that night. Red, green, yellow, bright and happy. He doesn’t remember why it was so important to impress Gotham. It just stained their uniforms anyway. Stained their livelihood.

He doesn’t remember how long he stayed up there, gazing down down down at his parents. Broken and bloody. There was white mixed in with the red, and a little bit of purple here and there, bright splotches of blue and pink, and it’s funny that he remembers all that because their leotards only had three colors. 

He blanks on the rest. Just knows that Danny Poteet shoved his face into his shoulder as the crowd disappeared, the mass of blobs and blurry faces fading. Mister Poteet was a nice man. He can’t remember what Poteet did, what his act was in the circus, but he’s pretty sure he had a long beard. Was that important? Was that even his name? Dick doesn’t remember.

And it angers him to no end that he can remember the organs that split their way through his parents leos, can probably name them now that he’s older, but not what his mother said to him as she fell. Not what his dad smelled like. Not what Danny Poteet mumbled to him as red and blue lights filled the tent.

He’s forgetting. Did he ever remember?

He wants to tell stories of his childhood. So badly wants to regale his brothers of his days in the circus. He can tell them all the working secrets of how twenty clowns fit inside a car meant for a baby. How fire breathers drank oil without it ever touching their tongues. How the strong man was actually just a pillow lifter with down in his suit. How strong and fast and beautiful the Flying Graysons were on the trapeze. 

He can tell all those things because they were simple and everyday and honestly common knowledge (which also scares Dick because what if he only “remembers” these things because he looked them up one day and just pretended that he always knew it because that’s how he grew up, that is how he lived, but what if he’s wrong-). More than anything though, Dick wants to tell them about his parents.

About Mary and John Grayson and how they were the kindest and most amazing people Dick ever knew. But he can’t. Not without lying, and his parents hated liars (he hopes they did, please, he hopes he remembers at least one truthful thing that he hasn’t made up).

So when Tim looks at him like he’s lost his mind when he says, “I think my dad smelled spicy,” or when Jason laughs at him when Dick tries to tell him about this baby elephant that might’ve existed at some point or when Damian only sighs when he tries to recall a story with so many holes and fragments that it’s just incomprehensible, Dick feels like crying.

How can someone just forget a lifetime of memories? How can he just lose the only connections he has to his parents like it’s nothing? 

Posters only go so far. Faded and hazy dreams of a melody that won’t leave his throat only do so much. Wisps of vanilla and burnt wood only taper the feelings of loss ever so slightly.

It’s not enough. It’s not enough.

He’s forgotten. He’s forgotten.

#Dick Grayson #Nightwing #Robin #Flying Graysons #Mary and John Grayson #tw:blood #tw:gore #cw:death #my fic #fanfic #so in conclusion trauma sucks ass #i hate realizing i've forgotten things from the past due to unfavorable circumstances and i cna only imagine that feeling is rampant #throughout the entire batfam #childhood trauma is like a requirement to be a robin and dick for sure got the short end of the stick #batfam #im kinda on an angst binge rn #angst #is #my #passion

[t00turnttrauma]

serenade-jtk

Glee Season 2 again. It's a problem, but the show has such good storylines.

Word Count: ~2119

“Isn’t there anything that isn’t covered in stupid hearts?” You grumbled, taking your coffee from the counter, and observing the hearts drawn on it. While the baristas were nice, polite, and always happy to help, you couldn’t help but feel that the hearts were a little over the top.

Jake scoffed. “It’s cute, don’t you think?”

You shrugged. “It’s cute, sure, but don’t you think it’s a little… much? I just don’t like Valentine’s Day. It’s a cheap way for Hallmark to sell greeting cards and chocolates.”

The coffee shop looked like baby Cupid threw up all over the room. Sweetheart candies were set up on every table beside cutesy coloring pages. Paper hearts were hung on strings from the ceiling. He looked around like he was enamored with the decorations, a glint of excitement in his eyes. Even as you walked out of the coffee shop with him, he was staring at the decorations dotting the store fronts.

“That’s just because you’re not in love.”

You scoffed, stirring your drink. “And you are?” Unable to read the expression on his face, you nudged him with your elbow. “What’s on your mind?” You teased.

“You have to promise not to laugh.” There was already a smile toying on your lips. “Seriously! I told Josh and Sam yesterday and they laughed in my face. I need someone in my corner.”

You nodded. “Fine. What is it?”

“I want to ask a girl out.” You perked up at this, excited to hear his plan. “And I need your help. After they stopped laughing, Sam and Josh said they would help me serenade her. Sam is probably asking Danny as we speak.”

A warm feeling crept up your arms. “Really? Who?”

“I think you might know her,” he winked.

The warmth spread across your cheeks, probably looking ridiculous. It felt ridiculous. You’d known Jake for ages, but he grew out of the girls-have-cooties stage and into the super-hot guitarist who doesn’t say much. Even though you could read him like an open book, his mysterious personality and the looks he gave only drew you further in. “Y/N, are you cold?”

He thought the blush was wind burn. You laughed it off. “Let’s just get to your place and start planning.”

Unsurprisingly, Danny was on board with the whole idea. It didn’t take long for Josh to show his support for his twin, patting him on the back and applauding him for being so bold. Sam was only joining in to see Jake-

“…profess his love for the soulmate who is going to reject him. After that, he’ll spend the rest of his life wallowing in self-pity before throwing himself into comic books and grow a neck beard.” The funny comment was met with amused chuckles and then a whap to the back of his head from Karen. “I think it’s sweet,” she tutted.

You brought the conversation back to the big plan. “And what song were you thinking?”

“That’s why I needed your help, Y/N.” Jake flipped through his notebooks. I have a list of songs but I’m not really sure what songs a girl would like.”

From the way you read the list and the excitement in your veins, you would think you were picking out an engagement ring. The list consisted of mostly older songs, ones that you knew by heart thanks to Jake.

“You should do Baby by Justin Bieber. Chicks dig that,” Sam said through a mouthful of Doritos.

“No,” you deadpanned. “If someone did that to me, I would punch them in the face.” You turned back to Jake, pointing at the song on the list that you always dreamed he would sing to you.

“The lady has spoken,” Josh said, searching the internet for sheet music.

The song was one of the first things that Jake had shown you, rambling on how much it meant and how he interpreted the music. Now, the two of you shared music, but no song could make you feel how that love ballad did. You spent all night with Jake, brainstorming ideas. His brothers had bowed out one by one, annoyed with his love-struck brother.

“What kind of chocolates do you like?” Jake asked. You were standing in his bedroom, trying to fix one of the multiple posters that was beginning to fall.

You thought about it, fighting a smile. “I really like Reese’s and the little Russell Stover’s packages.”

Jake nodded, writing it down. “What about dinner? Will you make reservations somewhere that you think is good?”

“Consider it done.”

The more Jake asked you about it, and the more relaxed he was, you couldn’t help but think it was for you. Here he was, preparing a declaration of love for a mystery girl, one that he told you he knew, and using all your opinions. He was asking about your favorite movies, foods, and songs. Considering how close he’s gotten, even in the weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day, you could feel yourself getting close to him too. For three days, you were convinced it was all a set up. That one day you would be in the hallway at school and turn the corner. Instead of him waiting for you like normal to walk to chemistry, he would be there with a guitar and flowers. It came crashing down in the Kiszka’s garage on Saturday night. After a short rehearsal, Karen sent Ronnie in with a tray of hot chocolate for everyone.

“So where is this happening?” Danny asked. “We have to get a ride, won’t we?”

Jake scratched the back of his neck. “I was thinking of doing it at the Gap at the Parkway Plaza. Mom already said she would take us.”

“The Gap?” You snorted. “Why there?”

“The girl I like is a sales associate there.”

And just like that, your mood was soured. The once sweet hot chocolate in your cup became bitter. You plastered on a smile. Not for Jake, but to hide the sadness and hold the tears back. Josh tried to explain that it wasn’t a good idea, but Sam egged him on. Danny agreed, thinking it could be better, but she would never expect it. When he asked for your opinion, you only nodded, trying to seem happy.

The holiday drew closer. With two days left until the big day, and knowing that the mystery girl was working, Jake dragged the entire group to the clothing store. Being the afternoon, it was busy with moms and their pre-teen children, trying to buy highly priced clothes that was being played off as cheap. Jake would be playing the guitar. After a dozen times rehearsing the song, he realized that he had no idea what to do with his hands. Josh tried to teach him but mimicking the mannerisms of his twin brother felt wrong. Sam and Dan would help him on their own guitars, providing him security if Jake’s fingers were to slip. This left you and Josh as the camera crew. Josh convinced Jake to let him film it, memories for their wedding ten years down the road. And if it didn’t work out, it would make a good submission for America’s Funniest Home Videos. Sam had gone in, standing by the men’s pants. Danny was waiting by the women’s tops. Josh was setting up the camera, trying to find the good spots to stand. He pointed her out to you through one of the windows

“That’s her. That’s Violet.”

Even her name is pretty, you thought.

The look in Jake’s eyes almost immediately changed. “I can’t do this. I should just ask her our normally.” He started to turn around, but you stopped him.

“Nope. You dragged our butts all the way here in the cold to do this and if you don’t, I’m going to end up buying a horrendous sweater.”

“Y/N-“

“Would you rather reimburse me for a sweater I’ll never wear or spend that money on a date with Rose?”

“Violet.”

“Whatever.” You patted his shoulder, pushing him through the electric sliding doors. “She’s going to love it.”

He took a deep breath, motioning to his brothers to start. You pulled the camera out, resting your arm on a clothing rack to keep the camera steady. During the three-minute song, Jake had loosened up substantially, no longer looking like a wooden board but rather a loose, experienced performer. Violet was walking through the racks, still trying to get the racks organized and presentable. She was visibly nervous, probably trying to keep her hands busy. Customers had silenced, watching Jake, Sam, and Danny play in unison. Josh had realized that Jake was serious and was walking around trying to get some good shots. You stayed at the same rack of khakis, still a little hurt by the fact that you weren’t in her shoes. Once the song ended, Jake stood there, waiting for a response. Violet shook her head, glancing at her manager who was walking away. She whispered something to him before following the manager. He nodded and walked over to you. You handed him his coat, hat, and gloves. He quietly put them on, leaving his brothers to take care of the instruments.

“It was too much, wasn’t it?” He asked. “I think I could have done with just the guitar.”

Or maybe not doing it at all, you thought.

“What do you think?“

“If she doesn’t appreciate it then she’s not the one for you, Jake.” Your leg was bouncing, trying to keep you warm. “You put your heart out there, and that’s all that matters. If Poppy doesn’t like it, then it’s her loss.”

He rolled his eyes. “You only say that when you don’t agree with something.”

“Maybe I didn’t,” you mumbled to yourself, looking for a means to escape. Sadly, you had no choice but catch a ride with them or else you’d be stranded in the plaza with no money for a few hours. Sam and Danny walked by, putting the guitar cases in Karen’s car. Josh climbed into the front seat, already showing his mother the video.

“Then why did you tell me it was a good idea?” He asked.

Trying to avoid a fight, you shrugged. “I thought it was, but for someone else who could actually appreciate you.”

Violet came out of the store, spotting Jake quickly. You took the sign, getting into the backseat of the van. Sam and Danny were in the back row, you behind Karen, and Josh in the front. The final spot was there for Jake. It only took a few minutes for him to climb in, slamming the rolling door shut.

“Got yourself a hot date?” Josh asked as Karen pulled away from the curb. He turned around to face his brother.

“Can we just go home?” Jake grumbled, crossing his arms, and sinking deeper into his coat.

The emotion in the van changed, knowing that the spectacle did not go as planned. You chewed on the inside of your lip, trying to figure out something to say to him. The look on his face as he stared out the window was painful. When Karen pulled up to your house, Jake got out, walking you to your front door like always.

“Can you cancel the dinner reservations?” He asked.

“Are you sure?” You asked, pulling your keys from your pocket. “We could go instead.”

He nodded. “I’m sure. I’m not in a very Valentine-y mood anymore. I just want to get the holiday over with.”

You opened the front door, bidding him a goodbye. The tears didn’t fall until after the door was securely shut and the mini-van was gone from your driveway.

You stayed home for the next few days, until after everything blows over. Jake did the same, barely responding to texts. Once the next school day rolled around, you went through your normal school day, seeing Sam once. Jake was waiting for you like he usually does. He barely said anything to you as he walked you to class. He stopped by the bathroom, pulling you lightly to the

“Why are you so quiet?”

“Do you really want to know?” You asked. “I thought you were going to ask me.”

The change in his expression made you want to run. “Are you serious?”

You couldn’t read his tone. “Yeah. You were asking me about all the candies and songs I like. The dinner reservations.” He pursed his lips, staring at the puddle. “I read the room wrong, and I apologize.”

“Don’t be sorry, Y/N.”

You felt your walls coming up. “Can we just forget about this?”

He nodded, picking up his backpack. “I’ll see you in chemistry.”

#jake #jake kiszka #greta van fleet #josh gvf #sam gvf #gvf #danny gvf #gvf fanfiction

[immortalonus]

Victorian AU 2: Jack

So, fun fact-I actually do know how to fully ink and color a work, it's just that my work flow is terrible for whatever reason and I rarely get stuff done.

I love his jacket, but not his eyes, face, and left hand, all of which are wonky. I think the biggest problem is that the face just doesn't read as Jack! Looking back at my initial sketch, it seems to mostly be an issue of his facial hair + the face is too round just in general. My man Jack needs more rectangles to look like himself :/

Oh well, at least he still wears orange.

The interesting thing about men's fashion is how little it seems to have changed over the centuries - take off the bowler cap, jacket, and switch the suspenders for a belt, and this clothing set wouldn't look too out of place in the modern day.

While facial hair was going out of fashion in the 1890s due to the rise of the Gibson guy ideal of a clean shaven, freshly cut young man coming into vogue, since jack is an older guy without much interest in haute couture of any kind, it would make sense that he'd be slow to switch out his mustache and beard.

A self trained expert in mechanics, Jack was born to an old, strict clan of exorcists who were expert in the use traditional exorcism and anti-ghost techniques. Jack grew up as the black sheep of the family, being too loud, too fidgety, and too prone to questioning his elders to endear himself to anyone.

Afflicted with a sense of wunderlust and a fascination with the science and innovation his kinfolk so disdained, jack set off as soon as he could, working as a traveling exorcist and itinerant preacher, spending every dime he made on machine parts and magazines of para-natural phenomena.

The only time he ever settled down from his wanderings was to study. Since he had no money to pay for tuition, however, he had to make due with a janitorial job, where he would make a point to clean something in the background whenever class was in. It was during this period that he met both Vladmir Masters, a low class student who took on massive loans in an effort to lift himself out of poverty, and Madeline Walker, a young lady who transferred from the university of Edinburgh to seek further education and opportunity in the United states.

The unlikely trio would become fast friends, for a time, all fascinated by the supernatural and the chance to apply modern science and techniques to these mysterious phenomena.

Unfortunately, this all fell apart in their final year, when an attempt at a real ritual to contact the spirit realm put Vladmir in a hospital and Jack, as the lowest status of the three, being forced to shoulder the blame and leave his position at the campus. Maddie would join him, forgoing her own promising career to join him on his adventures, eventually marrying him formally a few months later. they both felt bad for Valdmir, but with the man hospitalized and comatose with skin lesions all over his face, there was very little they could do.

By the time Danny and Jasmine are young teenagers, the two elder Fentons have settled down and made something of a name for themselves, being frequent guests of famous paranaturalists, hypnotists, and magicians, traveling from town to town hawking their famous Fenton wares and ghost-busting tonics (Sales improved dramatically when Maddie took jack's place as the face of the business.) Jack couldn't be happier, though he has begun to consider settling down for his family's sake, allowing his kids to make more stable connections and get the kind of solid education he himself was denied.

#Danny Phantom #Victorian!AU #Jack Fenton #art #digital art #full color

[georgemackayhey]

Worth Fighting For (Part: 3)

summary: You're entirely certain George is the one. So he hasn't got to put up much of a fight... but in a way, that's all he knows to do.

a/n: I've been so busy!? But like I said, I'm commited to this story so here's part three! Gotta build up that drama..... Some true blue (probably poorly written) boxing content is about to be unleashed. So I've got a question.... would yall mind if the next chapter was written from Georg's point of view? Please let me know!

w/c: 3k

Part 2

───※ ·❆· ※───

The end of another weekend like the one before was shifted by the excitement of a party. The kids had completed their run of the Peter Pan musical, and you made it out to see the last show. All the dances you'd thought up for the musical were made better by the kids who nailed each move, young and old. And when it was over you invited the lot to come to the studio to celebrate all their hard work. You bought sweets and streamers and played music and danced all night long.

And when the kids had packed up and headed home, little Louis was still lingering near the door, standing on his tiptoes to peer out of the glass. You stalled in the middle of your clean up to meet him.

"Your mom isn't here yet, huh?" You knelt to meet him. His big brown eyes looked up into yours as his bottom lip stuck out in a pout.

"Danny is supposed to come get me. He forgot." Louis whimpered, fighting tears. You commiserated and pulled the kid into a hug, assuring that his big brother couldn't have forgotten and was likely just running late. After a quick call to the kids mother, who assured she'd track Danny down and send for Louis, you kept the music playing and offered him an extra slice of left over cake. You even danced around a little more, and taught Louis a watered down fouette that he nailed in the first couple of tries.

But when you glanced up at the clock another hour had passed and the worry in your gut that you'd been trying to suppress was sprouting. As you thought of who to call, there was a knock on the door as it creaked open.

It was Geogre, who you were just as surprised to see as Louis.

"Figured you might want help cleaning up." George grinned, easing into the room. Since the night you spent with him, you stayed two more days in George's flat. When your power finally came back on, you didn't have an excuse to stay any longer, and Geogre let you leave without begging otherwise. The last thing he said to you was that he'd pop round the studio this weekend, to help clean up the party you were planning.

But you didn't take his word for it. You figured he was just offering a polite farewell. You figured you wouldn't hear from him for the rest of the week, and you hadn't. You knew George wasn't like the other people you'd been with. But you didn't expect him to be as good as your imagination made him out to be, either. Nothing ever was. So how, despite your other predictions coming true, did George keep surprising you?

But before you could smile back at the guy you hadn't stopped thinking of since you broke your bloody hand, a question flashed urgently to mind.

"Hey, do you have Danny's number?" You asked, when George's big blue eyes landed curiously on Louis, who stood clutching your bright yellow sweatpants despite having met the brooding blonde once before.

George pulled his phone from his pocket in a flash, after shooting you a sure look. The way you could read his eyes then sent a chill down your spine. You hadn't seen him since he'd made you feel at home in his very own bed. You weren't sure how to act, now.

But before George could raise his phone to his ear, Danny strolled in the door.

"Louis, I'm sorry." He seemed to pant, resting his hands on his knees as you felt the kid relax at your side.

"Nice of you to make it." You frowned, unable to greet him happily. Danny was a nice guy, but this wasn't like him. It cracked your heart to see little Louis so worried, even though he smiled as he ate his extra bit of cake.

"I lost track of time on my run. Cross my heart it won't happen again." Danny nodded to you, seemingly truly apologetic. The dark headed fellow ushered his kid brother to grab his shoes so they could hit the road. And after a polite farewell, Danny and Louis were gone. You and George were left alone.

"Danny started his run before I left the gym, today." George noted, turning his curious gaze from the empty doorway to you.

You didn't want to worry. But something wasn't right. You knew Danny well enough to know that. But not enough to gossip. So you nodded past your furrowed brow and moved to start cleaning up. George followed your lead.

"You didn't have to come and help. But it's nice you did." You noted. There wasn't much to do. Tear down the dozen streamers, toss the rubbish and turn the lights out. No sooner than you'd had the trash in the bin, George had yanked down the streamers, and left them to rest on a shelf in the far back corner.

"Well I left my bag in the gym, so I did have to come back round here anyway." He explained, walking toward you as you turned to listen, "And I did tell you I'd be by to help." George didn't quite smile, but you noticed the turn of his lip and recognized the way his bright blue eyes lit up. As he stalled a step away, you glanced down for a beat to hide your blush.

"Both excuses just to see you again, of course." Geogre's voice softened as his piercing blue eyes locked on yours. You bit your lip to stall from bursting into nervous laughter.

"Oh yeah?" You asked, a small chuckle escaping. George rose a brow, reached over to switch the lights out and nudged your toward the gym to collect his things. You shuffled along, perhaps too quickly, with your shoes in hand, and sat on the bench along the wall to slide them on.

You let out a sigh mentally cursing yourself for putting off buying cheap slide on sneakers, because tying these was a hassle in your current one handed state. George heard you grumbling, crouched without question, and reached for the laces of your shoes.

"Two more weeks in this thing, then I won't need you anymore." You chuckled, resting your nonfunctional hand in your lap. You got to take the brace off whenever you pleased, but your doctor recommended another 14 day's worth of support. That meant another 14 days of feeling terribly embarrassed for how long it took you to do most basic things single-handedly.

As he pulled your laces into a bow George said, "But I'll still be around, so you better get used to it." The sweet smile he gave you settled your soul and sent your heart into a frenzy all the same. Where did the two of you stand? Just then, the entry door jostled open.

"What are you two still doing here?" Barney asked, with a hand on his chest, startled to find folks in the gym at such odd hours, relieved it was only you two all the same. The older man let the door shut as he shuffled in for a chat, you presumed.

It was a treat to see him, as you hardly seemed to these days. It was like none had passed since your last chat with the owner of this place, your safe haven, as his crooked smile shone your way. Sure he was a little older and his beard was peppered with white patches, but he was still the brilliant supportive fellow who'd talked more than most of the gym and studio patrons to stick around and be their best selves.

"Just another late night." George shrugged, standing from his spot on the floor at your feet. You started reaching for your jacket as George grabbed the bag he'd forgotten.

Barney explained he'd stopped by to do some paperwork in his office. Apparently, some big annual event was coming up, where all kinds of fighters from nearby states worked toward winning the top title and a pretty penny. You listened to the old man's rambles and watched his eyes glisten as he spoke of the excitement of it all. You wondered what kind of boyhood dream he might have had of the event he spoke of so fondly.

George listened too, offering Barney small grins as he collected his things.

"I know you're weary these days... but don't you miss it?" Barney asked George in a cautious yet obviously hopeful tone.

"I've got nothing to fight for, mate." George let out a small laugh, sliding his bag over his shoulder.

"S'that so?" Barney asked. The room fell silent for a beat as you stood to leave, catching Barney's curious gaze set on you. But before you could leave, the old gym owner had more to say.

"I'm looking for someone to sponsor, George." Barney shifted in his place, glancing at the guy at your side.

"I'm a trainer. Why shouldn't I sponsor someone?" George countered. You stood watching the unexpected standoff, biting your tongue.

"Because you could win this whole thing. You nearly did before throwing in the towel." Barney grew passionate, the sparkle in his eye shining brighter. "Even after all this time, you're better than half the meatheads who've been working for this."

George nodded, but not in agreeance, only in understanding. In a flash, you recalled all the things he'd told you about boxing, so far. Why he loved it. Why he hated it. What it all meant to him. You had no idea what might have been running through his mind now, though.

"It would be a shame for all your talent to go to waste in your prime." Barney challenged. "And winning... it's a lot of money. You could by your future and call this whole scene off for good; leave this moldy gym behind and paint all day, or press your own books or whatever hobby retirees pretend to like."

Barney started to back away as his speech came to an end, reaching for the door to the hall. George reached for your hand, all the same. The only one he could hold. He'd never done that, before.

"Just think about it, yeah?" Barney finished, opening the door, raising his brow and locking eyes with George before shuffling away. "And turn the lights out, you hooligans."

You let a small laugh escape your lips as you were left alone in the gym once more. You bit your lip and glanced up to George who was stood, already looking to you.

"What are you thinking?" You asked in a hush, curling your fingers around his a little tighter.

"I think it's time we head home," George spoke with a shy grin. He stepped toward the door that hadn't shut all the way, and turned the lights out. You floated along in a love-struck haze, glancing at the glowing light from the end of the hall where lied Barney's office, and wondered what the morning would bring.

///

You stayed with George that night, and spent it like the ones before. You woke up and weren't afraid to scurry about the kitchen and make some morning meal. Sadie wove between your feet, meowing in response to some of your questions about where on earth the salt and pepper might be hiding. George awoke to the sound of the kettle whistling and padded in to find you'd set out an impressive spread of things Geogre hadn't even realized he'd had the stock to create with.

He poured your tea, saying something about how he wanted to feel like he was helping, and the two of you ate in a comfortable quiet. He asked about your week ahead, and you asked about his, and then you decided to see yourself out. Because you wanted nothing more than to stay right where you were, but you couldn't overstay your welcome.

George let you go without much more than a pleasant goodbye, and you wondered what the hell was going on. He obviously liked you enough to bring you home, more than once. And your own feelings were seriously sickening.

You tried not to worry much. In fact as you went about your usual routine, you felt glad that you'd gotten the chance to know George as well as you had. If nothing more came of your knowing him, you could only feel elated that you had, in some very lucky ways.

You tidied up your home, called your landlord to send for an electrician, and headed out to the studio. You taught kids to dance, and went to the local college to help the newly established cheerleading squad stick to a certain rhythm. You were talked into thinking up a program for the local nursing home, by one of the mothers who stuck around to watch you teach her child one on one. All the while, you tried not to worry when Louis wasn't showing up as often, and took his mother's word that his schooling was becoming more intense. And then you went home at the end of every day to something falling apart, much like usual. You'd come to treasure the bus ride to your place; the calm before the storm of stepping foot into the dingy old flat.

When the weekend came and ended, George was at the end of the hall, waiting for you. A routine you'd grown fond, and a little tired of. Would you be stuck in this loop with him, forever? You accepted his offer to DeAngelos with a grin, and felt bad that you couldn't invite him over to your place, in turn. Not if he enjoyed staying warm and didn't mind the sound of melting snow dripping from at least one place in every room.

"It's the holidays. What do you normally do for them?" George asked on another drive to your beloved weekend restaurant, at the end of another mundane week. Only this time, the town square was setting up fairy lights and plastic snowmen as Geogre drove by.

"Not much, these days." You shrugged, already dreading the coming week your landlord would be an ocean away, with his family, leaving you quite literally, in the dark.

"Good." George said. It made you laugh. He invited you to come and stay on Christmas eve. You tried to pretend it wasn't a big deal, but agreed in a hurried manner, in case too much silence set in and changed his mind to take back the offer.

So you stayed with him that night.

And then the next.

And the next.

And one morning you woke up and realized a whole week had passed, and you'd been totally unaware of anything besides George. Besides the way he'd taken to holding you close as you fell asleep. The way he'd wake earlier than you to make breakfast, even when you tried to beat him to it. Even the way he kept to himself, as you watched films or sat in the quiet of the same rooms. He'd shoot you a look with those crystal blue eyes and you'd feel dangerously right at home.

So one night, when the threat of another average work week was one sleep away, you got the guts to say something.

"I could tell you that my shower stopped working. And my ceiling is leaking. Or, I could just tell you I really like staying with you, anyway." You grinned, lingering in the kitchen doorway. George looked up from whatever he was so concentrated on making and said,

"Good."

It made you giggle.

"I wouldn't like to see you go." He added, before waving you over to try the recipe he'd been working on.

So you stayed with him that month. And you shared his bed. But nothing else had much changed. You went about your separate jobs and duties. You met up for dinner, and chatted over things you always used too. And then you'd go to sleep.

It perplexed you, but you knew better than to question what was going on between the two of you. And you were too scared of ruining a good thing by pushing to make it better so you didn't curl into his side unless he pulled you in first. And you didn't ask any of the millions of questions you had unless he'd approach the topic himself, and those times were more rare than anything.

And in between it all, there was the hell hole of a place you called your own apartment. On trips over to collect a new set of nightclothes or switch out the buckets that caught the numerous leaks, you didn't know what to do. This place was only worth it, because it's all you could afford. You still needed to save up for another year to even dream of moving. Even though it was a mess, it was all you had.

As you sat going through bills and junk mail, a knock came on your door. You rushed over to answer it, ready to give your landlord an earful. But your slimey, frail landlord wasn't looming in the doorway. Instead, you found George with a worried expression on his pretty sculpted face.

"I've been trying to call you for ages." He spoke, batting the hood of his jacket away and stepping past you, inside. He'd been around a couple times, but only to help you shut the broken window, and another to bring you back to his place. You hated to let him in, though you kept the place clean and in order, it felt as if you were living in a damp cardboard box.

"My phone died," You sniffled, wrapping your sweater a little tighter around your frame to beat the cold. You could have charged it, but sure enough as you plugged something into an outlet your power would have gone out. So you didn't.

You followed George's lead toward the kitchen where you'd only just come from. He took in a seat in the chair you'd been sat in sorting through the mail, and before you could pull out the other seat, George latched onto you. He pulled you to his lap without a word, and ran his strong hands along your arms in an effort to stop you from freezing. You dared not question it. You only settled against his chest and lost yourself in the feeling of George's embrace.

"What did you need?" You wondered after a while, keeping your head tucked against his shoulder. George kept his hands traveling against your arms, slower than before, but still. You could feel the rumble of his gentle response when he spoke.

"I wanted to ask you something."

You meekly encouraged George to go on, and stayed glued to his side. He stilled his movements to loosely wrap his arm around your middle.

"I've been thinking of what Bareny said." George spoke softly. You rose a brow and waited. After a beat of silence George asked,

"If I do it... if I say yes," George chose his words with great care, and you felt his fingers curl around the fabric of your sweater. "Would you be there?"

You had to peel yourself from him now. You had to see his piercing blue eyes lock onto yours.

"Of course I'd be there." You said, searching his face and the barely unchanged furrow of his brow.

"Why would you ask that?" You wondered through a small grin. Hadn't you made it obvious you were well attached to George by now? That you'd go any place he so much as nodded you toward following along?

He searched your face now too, keeping one of his fists balled around the fabric of your top, and the other of his hands wrapped around you.

"No one ever used to come." George shrugged. "Well, my dad just the once." You thought back to the photo framed in the hall of George's home, as he spoke to the tune of the drip of your ceiling. "But then he passed and... well there was no one. And that's why I stopped."

George explained that coming home to an empty house night after night seemed to make his aches and pains from all the fights seem even harder to handle. He said it wasn't worth it, hurting all the time. He said he wasn't sure if it was worth even thinking about now, but that he couldn't get Bareny's offer off his mind.

When he'd finished saying the most at once than he ever really had, you placed both hands, even the bandaged one, on either side of his face and felt George's arm tighten around your middle.

"Whatever you decide, I'll support you. I'll be there if you go. And I'll be here if you stay."

You watched George watch you with those brilliant eyes of his, and felt his calloused hands pull you ever closer toward him. You could tell, somehow, that George had already made up his mind. And you realized that even though you couldn't tell what was running through his head, that you'd managed to learn how to read him, and a wave of some kind of contentment washed over you.

And after stamping an assured kiss to his lips, George moved to stand, nudging you to do the same. Then he said,

"Get your things. Let's go home."

───※ ·❆· ※───

taglist: @haileymorelikestupid​​  @maria-josefin​​​ @imaginesandyeah​​​ @queen-bunnyears​ @okaymackay​

#george mackay #george mackay x reader #george mackay imagine #george mackay fanfic #Boxer!George

[stshyt]

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[katslitg]

Pairing: Rafael Aveiro x f!MC. (Casey Valentine.) Summary: In which Raf and Casey return back to work. A/N: I wrote this before the newer chapters were released, so it’s inaccurate lol.

"Dude," Elijah muttered as he kept his hand tightly on the game controller, making me roll my eyes.

"What? I told you to look behind you!" Bryce's voice could be heard from in the kitchen through Elijah's headphone.

I sighed, searching for my I.D. in the kitchen, “Damn it," I muttered, looking in every corner.

Jackie's voice made me snap out of it, “It's on the coffee table," The mocking tone in her voice made me roll my eyes.

"Thanks Jack, you could've told me sooner."

She grinned, "Where's the fun in that." The happy look on her face made me smile as well, “Ah, get in here!" As I wrapped my arms around her, I could feel her stiffen but slowly give into the hug.

"What has gotten into you?"

"I'm just glad that everything's back to normal. Well, mostly everything," I sighed looking at Sienna's closed bedroom door.

Jackie put her arm around my shoulder, “How about we do something to cheer her up tomorrow? I know we all have a day off,"

I nodded, “Yeah good idea."

Words couldn't express the amount of pain we all had felt that day. But especially Sienna. After all the tough times she had managed to get through at work, this one had pushed her over the edge.

"I'm gonna go shopping for groceries, and then go to her favorite bakkery. Do you need me to bring you something, too?" I looked up at Jackie, and shook my head, "Thanks, but no. All I need to do is get through this day at work and then we should find something to try and cheer Sienna up."

I knew it was impossible at the moment, but we should atleast let her know that whatever it is, we're here for her. Jackie had told me all about the way she had broken down the minute they got home that day.

After a short train ride to the hospital, I made my way inside through the ED’s door. While making my way to the elevators, I bumped into paramedic Jackson, one of Rafael's friends.

"Paramedic Jackson, nice to see you as always."

His eyebrow shot up in confusion as he looked at me, "Dr. Valentine, lovely suprise."

It was my turn to frown at the choice of words from the slightly older man in front of me, “Suprise?"

"Ah, my bad, I just expected you to still be at home on leave, after the whole incident."

I shook my head, a sad smile on my face, “No, I'm fine. Rafael was the one who got the worst of it. Well, after," I painfully gulped before continuing, “Nurse Danny and Bobby."

Paramedic Jackson nodded, a pained expression on his face, "I'm sorry."

"Thank you."

Sighs escaped both of our mouths as I looked down at the ground. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw paramedic Jackson look back at the ambulances.

"When do you start your shift?" He questioned, making me look at my watch quickly.

"Not for another 20 minutes, why?"

A mischievous smile grew on his lips, as his eyes looked me over, not very subtle, “What do you say we go get a cup of coffee together?"

A blush rose on my cheeks as he moved a little closer, “As lovely as that sounds, I think I should-;"

An obvious fake cough from someone next to us made him pull away a little. As I looked up to the person next to me, I realised it was Rafael. His arms were crossed and an eyebrow raised as he looked between me and his friend.

"Paramedic Aveiro," A mischievous grin grew on my face as I looked him up and down, his uniform tight on the right places, "It's an even lovelier suprise to see you,"

Paramedic Jackson chuckled, “I’m amusing l'm gonna be third wheeling here, so I shall take my leave."

Rafael and I bid him goodbye as he came to stand on the place where his friend previously stood.

"Dr. Valentine." He nodded, looking at my outfit, "You're back to work quickly."

"Same could be said for you. You know it's only been a week, right?"

“Well, what about you? I’m not the only one back in less than a week,”

"Yeah, but you were the one who got in a coma, so maybe, just maybe, you should slow down a little."

Without noticing it, Rafael and I had stepped closer to each other. I could see the stubbles of a beard up close, his gorgeous long, dark lashes and his plump lips.

"What? Cat caught your tongue?" I playfully spoke, noticing how he stopped talking. A deep chuckle left his mouth, “No, I was just waiting for you to stop staring."

A blush rose on my cheeks as let my hand run over my coat, trying to keep myself from getting to flustered.

A 'ding' could be heard from beside, indicating that the elevator had finally arrived. Rafael pointed his arm to the open doors, “After you,"

I could feel his eyes on my body as I walked in, making the butterflies in my stomach go crazy.

"I think we shoud talk," I spoke up as he made his way next to me again. His eyebrows raised at the suggestion, “Oh? What about?"

"A week ago, Sora broke up with you, because you said you had feelings for me. Is that," I paused, scared to find out but also too curious for my own good, "Is that still how you feel?"

He smiled, looking down at me. “Yes. Of course it is. I'm just mad it took me so long to realise but," He cradled my face with his hands, “It's you. It's always been you."

I sighed in relief, smiling up at him.

"Well, don't leave me hanging. How do you feel?"

Even though it was obvious how I felt, for some reason, Rafael needed reassurance. And I was glad to oblige.

"Of course I still want to be with you."

Rafael grinned to himself, a grin that told of accomplishment. His eyes scanned my face momentarily, but after some deliberation, he crashed his lips against mine.

I kissed him back instinctively, our lips moulding together with a quick pace that Rafael had set. He had me held in position, against the railing of the elevator.

A whine left my mouth as the warmth of his hands left my body, but I shivered when I felt his hot breath against my ear, “Well. This is my stop. See you later, Dr. Valentine."

#first fic pls im scared #open heart #rafael aveiro x reader #rafael aveiro x mc #rafael aveiro #playchoices #choices #oh #open heart fanfiction

[artificialqueens]

Tree House Kisses, Chapter 24 (Adorney) - Scorpio and Veronica

A/N: Click here for previous chapters. xoxo!

Chapter Summary: Adore faces some unexpected challenges on the opening night of Grease, and it causes her to think hard about who she can trust.

TW: homophobia

Chapter 24: Freddy My Love

On the day of the agonizingly slow tech rehearsal, by the time they got to the prom scene, everyone was a little exhausted, but they kept pushing through.

Courtney kept one eye on Adore and Raja as she and Willam marked their swing dance choreography. She rolled her eyes as Adore tucked a stray curl back into Raja’s hair, giggling as the senior slung an arm around her shoulders.

Courtney sighed and looked over at Roy dancing with Shangela, who was playing Cha Cha. She grinned, remembering his recent confession to her. When Mrs. Maguire paused the actors to work on a lighting cue, she sidled over to them, whispering, “Shangie, those were some killer moves!”

“Thanks! I try…” Shangela laughed, feigning modesty.

“And you look so cute in that dress. I love the way you look in red. Roy, doesn’t Shangie look soooo cute?” She smiled at them, fluttering her lashes.

“Uh, yeah, you look cute,” Roy echoed.

“Thanks guys…” Shangie gave them a slightly puzzled look and walked a few steps away to grab a drink from her water bottle.

Roy grabbed Courtney’s arm, hissing, “Stop that right now!”

Courtney widened her eyes, a mischievous grin on her face. “Stop what?” she asked innocently.

Glaring down at her, Roy insisted, “You know what. Seriously, knock it off.”

Courtney pressed her body against his, giggling. “You’re so uptight, babe…” She wrapped her arms around him, glancing over his shoulder at Adore and Raja again.

“Courtney…” he said warningly.

“Alright, alright, I’ll be good,” she promised, kissing him gently.

-

It was finally opening night of Grease and everyone was bursting with excitement and nerves. Thorgy ran around making sure everything was going smoothly as the cast members got into costume.

It hadn’t taken any time at all for Courtney to pull her hair into a curled ponytail, a pretty pink ribbon wrapped around it. She loved how cute she looked in the 50s get-up, and pranced around backstage swishing her hips, humming the songs and joking with the others.

Courtney propped herself on top of the vanity Roy was using, legs swinging as she watched Adore and Raja on the other side, helping each other get ready. Adore was finishing up her makeup, while Raja pinned Adore’s hair up for her wig.

“Ow,” Adore hissed, jerking away from the bobby pin Raja poked her with.

“Sorry, babe,” Raja kissed Adore’s shoulder.

“It’s fine,” Adore said, a sunny smile gracing her face as she stole a kiss from Raja.

“You guys are so fucking cute, it’s almost gross,” Jinkx said, leaning against the vanity to line her lips.

Courtney tore her eyes away, slightly annoyed. She watched Roy try to get his hair in a perfect Danny pompadour for a second before hopping down.

“Let me help, babe,” Courtney said, giving Roy a kiss, taking the comb from him and climbing into his lap. She combed Roy’s hair back on the sides, the gel in his hair a bit sticky under her fingers.

Courtney’s eyes kept wandering over Roy’s shoulder to Adore and Raja. Raja stood between Adore’s legs, Adore’s arms wrapped around the girl’s waist as Raja tucked stray hairs under Adore’s wig cap, making sure nothing would peek out. Courtney found herself trying to read Adore’s lips as she whispered something to Raja, the older girl only biting her lip and shaking her head in response.

“Oh, okay. That was my ear. Twice!” Roy grabbed at his ear, taking the comb from Courtney, a deep wrinkle between his brows.  

“I’m sooo sorry,” Courtney cooed loudly, wrapping her arms around Roy’s neck. “I didn’t mean to-- I wasn’t paying attention.”

Roy sighed, putting the comb down and leaning forward to kiss her cheek.

“What’s on your mind? You’ve been distracted all day,” Roy noted.

“Nothing.” Courtney shook her head, forcing a smile across her face.

“Really?”

Courtney nodded. “I’m just excited for the show. Excited for you to get on stage and kill it,” she said, giving him peck on the lips.

When she pulled back, she saw Adore gazing lovingly at Raja, laughing at the playful tiff going on between her girlfriend and Jinkx. She looked back to Roy trying to not let Adore’s infatuation with Raja annoy her.

“You look so good as a greaser,” Courtney giggled, completely oblivious to the fact that Roy had just admitted to being a bit nervous, hands rubbing up and down Roy’s chest. “Where’s your jacket?” Courtney started to move to get up.  

“It’s over there. Were you listening at all?” Roy frowned at Courtney who’d hopped off his lap to grab the jacket.

Courtney paused, jacket gripped in hand. “You said... That I look amazing in this outfit and you still wish I could have been Sandy.” Courtney batted her lashes playfully. She glanced over to Adore and Raja, their laughter a distraction.

Roy sighed to himself, deciding to let Courtney slide tonight, but made a mental note to try to get her to talk later, “You’re right, you in this poodle skirt is driving me a bit crazy,” Roy tugged her closer and Courtney might have squealed a little louder than necessary.

-

After Mrs. Maguire agreed to Adore’s unconventional character choices, it took shockingly few changes to the script to bring the “Marty is gay” subplot come to light. In fact, the changes were so subtle that it was probably possible for people to miss them in the early scenes. Her big solo in the sleepover scene was the first time she openly expressed attraction to girls, starting out signing to her fellow Pink Ladies (maybe focusing on Raja in particular).

As the music began and the lights dimmed, the spotlight came up on Adore. A “Woo!” sounded from the audience, that Adore knew to be her uncle. She took a deep breath and began to croon the song that by now was second nature to her.

“Freddy my love, I miss you more than words can say Freddy my love, please keep in touch while you're away Hearing from you can make the day so much better Getting a souvenir or maybe a letter I really flipped over the grey cashmere sweater, Freddy my love…”

After one last eyelash flutter in Raja’s direction, Adore made her way down into the audience, winking and shimming in front of cute girls. She spotted Fame, Trinity and Violet in the audience and blew them a kiss. Fame, of course, goofily caught it while Violet rolled her eyes.

“Freddy my love, Freddy my love, Freddy my lo-ove Freddy you know, your absence makes me feel so blue That's okay though, your presents make me think of you”

In their seats, mothers and grandparents scrunched their noses and pursed their lips in confusion and distaste as Adore went around flirting with girls. A few audience members shared glances and whispers as Adore continued to sing.

“My ma will have a heart attack when she catches-”

Adore sung to a cute strawberry blonde who giggled shyly.

“Those pedal pushers with the black leather patches…”

She leaned forward, hands on the girl’s shoulders, one knee on the arm of the seat, batting her eyes in what she and Mrs. Maguire had decided would be their chaste version of a lap dance.

“Oh how I wish I had a jacket that matches, Freddy my love”

The girl laughed as Adore winked and took her leg down.

“What kind of establishment is this-- allowing this homosexual filth in a high school play,” a middle-aged woman sneered loudly, grabbing her purse and moving to leave.

“Fr-freddy my love, Freddy my love, Freddy my love…”

When Adore heard the woman, she stuttered, but she didn’t stop singing. Until two more women got out of their seats, mumbles of sin and disgust on their lips. A bearded man followed, taking a small child with him.

Adore’s singing faded off; she stopped in her tracks, a confused look on her face as she watched several other men and women leave. People turned in their seats watching them and whispers waved through the crowd. Adore’s heart thumped against her chest, blood rushed through her ears as she watched those people leave with their families in tow.

Mrs. Maguire grew anxious when she saw that Adore had completely stopped.

“It’s okay, honey, keep going. Keep going. Don’t stop!” she hissed, hands motioning for Adore to continue singing. Adore’s wide eyes connected with Mrs. Maguire’s.

She tried to swallow past the lump in her throat, but when her mouth opened, no words came out. The crowd grew antsy, shifting in their seats. The air filled with tension and the pounding of her heart was all she could hear. Her stomach turned as she watched the last mother flee with her child.

Bonnie shifted to the edge of her seat, fingers tense around the armrest, ready to get up if Adore needed her to. Adalia, Bonnie’s mother, put a hand on her shoulder.

Trinity grabbed Violet’s thigh, looking at Violet with confused and terrified eyes, only receiving a shrug of annoyance because how the hell was Violet supposed to know what was going on. Trinity’s other hand squeezed Fame’s, the blonde's face scrunched up in embarrassment for her friend.

The other cast members scurried backstage trying to peek from behind the curtains. Courtney gripped Roy’s arm, her other hand over her heart, scared it would stop.

Finally, Adore came back to the moment. Hyper-aware that she was standing in costume in the aisles, her cue repeating-- waiting for her to pick up. She nodded to herself knowing she needed to finish. The play must go on.

“Don't keep your letters from me, I thrill to every line Your spelling's kinda crummy, but honey so is mine I treasure every gifty, the ring is really nifty You say it cost you fifty, so you're thrifty, I don't mind…”

As Adore hopped up to sit at the edge of the stage for the last verse, she made brief eye contact with Raja, then quickly looked away, knowing that right now she just needed to get through the song. She didn’t have any time for sympathy, or she’d fall apart, and she was so close.

“Freddy you see, you'll hold me in your arms someday And I will be wearing your lacy lingerie Thinking about it, my heart's pounding already Knowing when you come home, we're bound to go steady And throw your service pay around like confetti, Freddy my love Freddy my love, Freddy my love, Freddy my lo-ove Freddy my love, Freddy my love, Freddy my lo-ove…”

As Adore made her way back to the stage, a breath of relief had Bonnie falling back into her chair, blinking watery eyes, relieved that her baby was okay, angry at those disrespectful parents, and a sadness sitting in her chest.

Her mother and brother tried to assure her that Adore would be fine, but she wasn’t so sure.

-

As the lights and music faded, all Adore wanted to do was get the hell offstage and find Raja, but unfortunately, her girlfriend had exited off stage left, so she stumbled blindly into the wings, breathing hard, heading for the dressing rooms. Her heart was still pounding and her knees felt wobbly. Worst of all, she knew she still had the whole rest of the show to get through.

Courtney was the first one to run up to her, throwing her arms around her friend from behind, holding her close. Adore took a shaky breath, leaning back against her, tears burning in her eyes.

“I’m so proud of you, Dory,” Courtney murmured against her neck. “You were so good, even after all of that bullshit. I mean, you sounded amazing from backstage-”

Adore whirled around, cutting Courtney off.

“This is not about my fucking singing, Courtney!”

“No, I know, that’s not what I-” the blonde shook her head, taken aback, reaching for Adore’s hand.

“You just don’t get it!” she continued, tears now streaming down her cheeks. “Do you know what it’s like for someone to look at you and think that who you are is so offensive that they can’t even be in the same room? That they can’t even have their kids look you? No, of course you don’t!” Adore’s voice broke. Courtney would never understand. How could she? She was perfect. No mother would ever pull their daughter away from looking at her. Any mother on the planet would kill for a daughter like Courtney. A beautiful little blonde angel, with a perfect face and a perfect body and a perfect boyfriend.

Courtney looked back at her, that dumbstruck, wide-eyed expression, compounding Adore’s rage with guilt. “Adore, I-”

“Forget it! Cause you’ll never know what that’s like. So...it’s fine. You know, I just…”

“Hey…” Raja stepped over to them, putting an arm around Adore’s shoulders. Adore turned around and buried her face against the older girl’s chest.

Courtney swallowed. She wanted to protest, to tell Adore that she did understand, that she misunderstood, that nobody cared more than her, that her heart was breaking, that her words had come out all wrong, but she couldn’t say any of that. None of this was about her. So she took a step back, whispering, “I’m sorry…”

Raja continued to rub Adore’s back. Courtney backed off even more, watching as Pearl and Jinkx approached, were granted access to the circle, offering words of encouragement, making Adore laugh.

Mrs. Maguire came rushing up to the group. “Adore,” she began, clearly ready to give one of her famous inspirational speeches.

But Adore sighed tiredly, wiping her eyes. “Mrs. Maguire, with all due respect, let’s just move on. I can’t really handle a pep talk right now.”

The teacher put a hand on her shoulder. “Okay, honey. But are you okay to finish the show? Because if not-”

“Yeah. I’m fine.”

“Attagirl,” Mrs Maguire said, giving her a hug. “Let’s show these bastards some musical fucking theatre.”

-

Having Raja on her side saved Adore from losing it completely. Without explaining why, she immediately understood that her girlfriend wouldn’t want to talk to anyone during intermission, even her well-meaning friends and castmates. She guarded Adore’s privacy fiercely from anyone who approached, giving her the space to retreat into herself and process what had happened.

The anger and disgust had been awful—awful to see, awful to experience. But what kept Adore going was the auditorium full of people who had stayed. Knowing that her mother, her grandmother, her aunts and uncles, her cousins and friends, were all sitting out there, made her feel calm. When she felt like breaking down, like running away, she thought about them all out there. She could get through this performance, this terrible night. She could do it.

She was onstage for a lot of the second act, which helped keep her mind occupied. By the time the show ended, she was so emotionally exhausted that she didn’t even register the applause. Raja walked her outside to where her mother waited outside of the dressing rooms, holding a big bouquet of pink roses, pulling her into the tightest and most protective embrace she’d felt in a long time.  

“I’m alright ma. I’m fine,” Adore tried to assure her mother, trying to keep her tears at bay.

“You sure?” Bonnie pulled back, looking into big hazel eyes, “because I swear-”

“I'm fine. I'm fine, promise,” Adore insisted, moving to hug her grandmother, who exclaimed over how good she was, then accepted high fives and fist bumps from her cousins and uncle. She was grateful that none of them mentioned what had happened, none of them pushed her to talk about it.

At least, not until everyone was piling into the cars a few minutes later, when Bonnie put a hand on Adore’s shoulder and pulled her to the side.

“Dory, I just want to make sure you're okay. Really, baby. Because if not, I can-”

“Ma, it's whatever, it happened. Whatever…” Adore shrugged her shoulders, avoiding her mother's gaze.

“Baby, it's not ‘whatever.’ I know you,” Bonnie grabbed both her shoulders, making Adore look at her. “This world is filled with a bunch of ugly, nasty-”

“I just like really don't feel like talking about this right now. Maybe another time. I want to eat and spend time with my family. Okay?” Adore pulled away from her mother.

“Okay. Just never let people like that make you feel unworthy, because you…are perfect.” Bonnie wrapped Adore into another tight hug, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

-

Roy pulled into Courtney’s driveway, glancing over at her. She’d been uncharacteristically silent the entire drive home. Normally she’d be chattering away, musing about random topics or telling him stories about people they knew, emptying the entire contents of her racing mind, but tonight she was like a statue.

“Are you okay?” he asked gently.

“Yeah. I’m fine.”

He put the car in park and turned to face her. “You don’t seem fine.”

“Well, I have no right to be complaining tonight, so…I guess I’m fine.”

Roy frowned, searching for the right words. “I didn’t ask how you’re supposed to feel.”

Courtney stared straight ahead, blinking back tears. “Why are people so awful?” she finally choked out.

“Umm...I don’t...I don’t know.” He reached over and touched her hand, where her fingers were rubbing the charms of her bracelet.

A tear slipped down her cheek. “We worked so hard. She worked so hard. And they ruined everything. And why?”

“I...I don’t know, babe. But hey, it’s gonna be okay. Because she has us. You know? She has you. So-”

“You should have seen the way she looked at me. Like I was...like I was one of them.” Courtney let out a sob, breath hitching.

Roy swallowed, looking at her. “Court, you know...she’s not actually mad at you.”

Courtney turned her head towards him, nodding slightly. She crawled over the armrest and into his lap, burying her face into his neck. He held her close, stroking her back.

“It feels really shitty to make this about our friendship, with what she went through. But I feel...like something broke...and it hurts so much...and I don’t know how to fix it…” Courtney wept into Roy’s shoulder, tears soaking his t-shirt.

“I think she was just upset, and you were a safe person to take it out on,” Roy said. “Because she knows deep down that you’re gonna love her no matter what. I’m sure it’ll be okay tomorrow.”

Courtney pulled back, tear-stained cheeks shining under the streetlights. “You really think so?”

He cupped her face, gently brushing her tears away. “I really do.”

She leaned forward, kissing him. “You’re the best boyfriend ever.”

“I know,” Roy replied, flashing her a grin.

-

Adore shoved a few books in her locker, cringing when she heard her name. She’d intentionally come late to school, hoping to avoid whispers and stares, wanting everyone to forget about last night, move onto the next drama.

“Delano, I’m talking to you,” Violet repeated.

“Hey Vies,” Adore said tiredly, shutting her locker and sagging against the cold metal doors.

Violet crossed her arms. “What a bunch of bullshit that was last night, huh?”

“I don’t really want to-” Adore began, but she was cut off by Violet continuing, her words bitter.

“Just so you know, this is why I fucking hate straight people.”

“Violet, not all straight people are-”

“ALL OF THEM!” Violet spat.

“Even your parents?” Adore asked, raising her eyebrow.

Violet looked at her like she was an alien who’d just arrived on the planet. “Um, hi, are you new? I fucking hate my parents.”

Adore laughed. “Right. What about Trinity?”

Violet slammed her hand against a locker. “Shut up! Why aren’t you more pissed?! I fucking want to kill those bitches! How dare they?!

“Vies…”

“What?!”

Adore bit her lip, eyes filled with tears. “Of course I’m pissed. And...scared. And confused. But mostly I’m just…”

Violet put her hands on the sides of Adore’s face as the tears spilled down her cheeks. “Adore…”

“I’m sorry, I’m just, I dunno. They don’t even know me. How can they hate me so much?”

“That’s right, they don’t. And you know, we don’t know them too well, but we do know one thing…” Violet held her face gently, looked directly into her eyes. “You are better than they will ever, ever be. Don’t forget that.”

Adore sniffled as Violet gently wiped her tears away.

“Fuck them. They are nothing. Okay? Just...we just have to keep being better. That’s how we win.”

“Okay.” Adore let Violet pull her into a hug, the fierce, rib-crushing kind that only she could give, so tight it nearly took her breath away, both comforting and painful. They stayed like that for a few moments, until Adore was gasping for air and had to break away, giggling slightly. “Alright, alright, I’m good. You don’t have to suffocate me.”

Violet smiled. “Damn it, you’ve foiled my plan.”

There was a pause, “So, I guess this means you're talking to me again?”

Violet snorted. “I think you learned your lesson.”

“Hey Vies?”

“What?”

“I love you.”

Violet rolled her eyes, clearly uncomfortable now that their conversation had taken a sentimental turn. “Yeah, yeah, yeah...get your ass to class, you tardy bitch.”

“Copy that, ma’am.” Adore saluted, walking away.

“Oh, and Adore?”

“Yeah?” Adore asked.

“Me too, man.”

Adore smiled, blowing her a kiss, before taking a deep breath and heading to class.

-

Later that day, Adore sat nervously at Mrs. Maguire’s desk, fingers playing with the edges of her sleeves, trying to swallow down the uneasiness that rose up in her throat. She’d heard rumors that even more parents had come into school today to complain to the principal. Bob told her that one of them was Mrs. Lake, Darienne’s mom. She’d always known that Mrs. Lake was conservative, but she’d also known her since she was in second grade. The thought made her sick.

Mrs. Maguire sat down, soft blue eyes filled with compassion as she asked softly, “How are you doing today, honey?”

“Um...okay. Fine.” Adore bit her lip.

Nodding, Mrs. Maguire leaned forward on the desk, propping a chin up. “Yeah.” She heaved a sigh and then continued. “I know you said you didn’t want a pep talk last night, so I’m going to try giving you one right now. Is that alright with you?”

Adore nodded.

“It might not be one of my better ones, because...well, I’m pretty fucking pissed.”

Adore couldn’t help cracking a smile. It was always funny when a teacher swore.

“For the record, I’ve spoken to Principal Greene and agreed to give a more detailed disclaimer, but NOTHING in the show is changing. So there’s that. Everyone agrees that the show is perfectly acceptable. Your song, your whole arc, is one of the least offensive parts of this play. For god’s sake, Roy tries to date rape Alyssa, and then she gets back together with him, and punches another girl out for simply flirting with him. It’s like, a super problematic show that at no time tries to preach about morality, so this whole thing is incredibly stupid. But next year he wants a ‘family-friendly’ show, so I told him we’ll do something real sweet like The Sound of Music. Those PTA whores probably love singing nazis. Or a show about orphan abuse, that really gets them off.”

Adore laughed. “I’m digging this Riot Grrrl vibe, Mrs. Maguire.”

“You have no idea,” her teacher smiled, then said, “I’m so sorry you went through what you did, Adore. Truly. But I have to tell you, that the way you handled yourself - it was one of the bravest things I have ever seen in my life. You must have been terrified. And...I wish I could tell you that this is the last time you’ll ever face that kind of ignorant, pointless bigotry. But...it’s not. And, sometimes it will get easier to stand up to. Sometimes...not. But what you need to know, is no matter how many people are there looking at you with that dumb fucking hateful look on their faces...there are so, so many more who love and support you. Who have your back.”

A tear rolled down Adore’s cheek. She couldn’t help thinking about Courtney, how she’d pushed her away. That sick feeling in her stomach clawed it’s way back up into her throat.

“What you did on that stage was incredible. Because you told all of those people that they couldn’t break you. But Adore, if you hadn’t been able to keep going with that song, that would have been okay too. Because sometimes, we have limits. And that’s why we have friends, and classmates, and communities, to back us up. You follow me?”

Adore nodded again, not trusting herself to speak.

“Don’t ever be afraid to ask for help, honey. Sometimes the strongest thing to do is to admit when you need a hand. Okay?”

“Okay.” Adore managed to whisper.

-

Mrs. Maguire had called the whole cast and crew in early for Friday’s performance, and as they filed into the auditorium for the meeting, Courtney felt dread gnawing at her insides. She had managed to avoid Adore all day at school, trying to give her some space, and the thought that she was still mad - or even worse, still in pain, weighed heavily on her.

But when Adore’s eyes met hers, they lit up with happiness, and she ran over, throwing her arms around her. Relief flooded through Courtney’s entire body as she hugged her back.

“Um…” Adore cleared her throat. “Sorry for being such a basket case crybaby last night. I didn’t mean-”

“No, you don’t have to...come here…” Courtney blinked back tears of joy, pulling her in for another hug. “It’s okay…”

“Thanks,” Adore said simply, laying a head on her shoulder.

“They’re not making you change it, are they?” Courtney asked. “Because if so, we should protest! We can make signs, and march over to the district office, and-”

“Okay, chillax, dude. No, we’re not changing it. But Mrs. Marguire did say that Greene wants a family-friendly show next year, so we’re probably gonna have to do Sound of Music or some lame shit like that.”

Courtney’s eyes lit up and she clapped her hands, then off Adore’s scowl, covered her face, a little embarrassed. “Sorry...I like The Sound of Music…”

Adore shook her head. “You fucking nerd. Come sit with me…”

Courtney grasped Adore’s hands, skipping after her happily to sit down for the meeting.

#rpdr fanfiction #scorpio #veronica #adorney #adore delano #courtney act #bitney #rajadore #viadore #bianca del rio #raja gemini #shangela laquifa wadley #violet chachki #lesbian au #high school au #angst #fluff #tw homophobia

[g-othboiclique]

Andy was waiting for Ashley, who had wanted him to go to the gay pride parade. Ashley knew that Andy was gay, but he didn’t know that Andy had a huge crush on him. Ashley was as straight as a flagpole though. “I don’t want to, Ash,” Andy said swatting Ashley’s hands from his face. Ashley had painted a tiny rainbow flag on his cheek and he was trying to do the same to Andy. Ashley was holding both of Andy’s hands in one of his and trying to paint a rainbow on his face with the other one. “You’re gonna do this whether you want to or not, Biersack. Besides, you’ll look adorable,” Ashley said. If Ashley would think Andy would look cute he’d do it, but he was still going to put up a fight, just for fun. Andy tried to get up but was pulled back down. Ashley straddle Andy’s lap and looked him in the eyes. “Please!” He begged. “Just let me paint a rainbow on your face. Look I did it, and I’m straight!” Andy gave in. He let Ashley sit on his lap, which he was secretly enjoying a lot, and paint a little rainbow on his left cheek. “I hate you so much right now,” Andy murmured. “So much, Ashley Purdy!” “Naw, you love me,” Ashley teased, smiling at Andy. Their faces were so close together. Andy was holding five colorful cans of face paint and Ashley was holding the one he was currently working with. Andy was calmly resting his fists on Ashley’s thighs, and watching Ashley face closely as he admired the concentration of the older boy’s working. He seemed so concentrated on making the perfect little rainbow for Andy. “Can I have the green one?” Ash said, screwing the top onto the tiny plastic container that held the yellow paint. Andy handed him the green and took the yellow in his other hand. “This is taking to long,” Andy complained. He wasn’t really complaining about Ashley being so incredibly close to him, he was just excited to leave, more now than he was before. “Stop whining, you baby,” Ashley teased, tickling Andy's sides lightly. “I’m not whining, I only said one thing,” Andy grumbled. Ashley giggled at his childlike behavior. Andy liked that he made Ashly laugh and smile. He did find him amazingly beautiful and astonishingly handsome. “Why do you want to go to the parade anyway?” “I don’t know, I just thought we would have fun, and I thought it would be weird to ask the other guys because they’re all straight,” Ashley continued painting the green. “And you,” Ashley bopped Andy’s nose, “need a boyfriend, which shouldn’t be too hard ‘cause your a cutie.” He grinned. “I need the blue.” Andy thought about if Ashley was aware of how much he was teasing him. Sitting on his lap, and being all adorable, even calling him cute. He was driving Andy absolutely insane and he had no clue what he was doing. “What if I don’t want a boyfriend yet? I don’t know that I’m ready,” Andy said. The question was only partly a lie. He desperately wanted a boyfriend. But he wanted Ashley. “That’s why I’m taking you to the parade, to see if there is anyone you might like,” Ashley had finished the blue and was onto the purple. Andy was almost sad that Ashley time on his lap was almost over. “What if I don’t like anyone there?” That was a lie too. Ashley would be there. “C’HYPERLINK "note-insight.2c3ca038-66a9-3fc8-fce6-b6683c0a2a29"mon, Andy. There’s gotta be a silver lining,” Ashley said. “Even if you don’t find anyone we can still have fun. And if someone is hitting on you, and you want them to stop, you can always just grab my hand or swing your arm around me, okay?” “Yeah, thanks,” Andy smiled. Ashley smiled too. “What if I meet a guy who wants to top?” “Oh God, Andy! Let’s go!” Ashley said getting up and offering a hand. Andy was grinning and sniggering as if he had won some sort of imaginary award of mischief. - When Ashley and Andy got to the parade a few guys were looking at them. One guy, who looked about in his forties, and also looked like drug addict came up to them. “You boys together or can a take one a yous home wit meh?” He said in a gruffy, country accent. “Nope we’re married,” Ashley said panicking and wrapping his arm tight around Andy’s waist. “That’s alright, I’cn deal wit two a’ya,” he said, he smelled like rotting fish and his breath smelled like beer and cigarettes, he was missing half his mouth of teeth and his white shirt had stains all over it. “Yeah, our sex life is just fine with the two of us, thanks,” Andy said pulling Ashley away. “How did that creep even get in here?” Andy whispered after they were far enough away. “I don’t know but he’s still looking still looking at me,” Ashley said peering over his shoulder. Andy instinctively, and protectively, pushed Ashley over in front of him a little bit. Ashley was still holding Andy’s hand and he had a death grip on it. Andy was walking them to a food truck to hopefully get some tacos. And had stopped being a vegan when he and Juliet split up. Andy laid for two meals and he and Ashley went to sit down at some picnic tables that lined the sidewalk. They HYPERLINK "note-insight.eabe4ad2-2863-580c-4762-56a4005c7fee"sat next to each other and looked at a the crowd of people. “Hey, Ands, what about him? He’s got tattoos and he wearing a Black Veil shirt,” Ashley said pointing to a tall boy who HYPERLINK "note-insight.eabe4ad2-2863-580c-4762-56a4005c7fee"sat alone. “I guess he’s kinda cute, but I-“ “Then go talk to him!” Ashley encouraged. “Come on, he obviously likes you or he wouldn’t be wearing that shirt.” “But what if he’s, like, a crazy super fan, who wants to kidnap me?” Andy said, avoiding the real reason why he didn’t want to talk to the boy. “Do you want me to go talk to him for you?” Ashley offered. He’s obviously totally oblivious to the fact that and just wants to kiss his perfect lips. “Sure, Ash,” Andy said. He was a little hurt because he knew Ashley would never like him the same way. He was straight after all. Ashley got up and started walking through a few people and over to the boy. “Hi,” Ashley smiled. The boy looked up at him and his smile grew. “Umm hi,” he said. “So, I came here with my friend and he thinks your cute, but he was too shy to come talk to you, so I did it myself,” Ashley grinned. “Oh, I have a boyfriend already. I’m just waiting for him to get here,” he smiled apologetically. “Oh, okay. Sorry,” Ashley smiled. “Hey, can I get a picture with you, I kinda like your band a lot,” “Yeah totally,” Ash smiled for a picture and then left on his way back to find Andy. Some muscular guy with a beard and no shirt was talking to Andy. He was smiling and laughing. Ashley smiled hoping his devious plan had worked. Meanwhile Andy’s converHYPERLINK "note-insight.eabe4ad2-2863-580c-4762-56a4005c7fee"sation went like this: “So are you here alone?” The guy asked. He was short and buff, with a blond beard and hair that came down to his shoulders. “Umm no I’m actually here with someone,” Andy smiled. “Well, I’m Danny. It’s nice to meet you,” he smiled looking at Andy’s eyes then his lips, and back to his eyes. “Hi, Danny, I’m Andy,” Andy said grinning. “So what are you into? I mean like, in guys, and sex?” Danny asked. Andy laughed. “I’m not really looking for a boyfriend,” “That’s a shame, your so cute. I like your voice,” Danny said. Andy could tell he was trying to be seductive. “You know, you look so strong and handsome, and your so tall. I’d love to take you in the bathroom and see your not so little friend, that is if you don’t mind.” “Like I said, I’m not looking for a boyfriend. I already have one, he was just going to the car to get the phone. He left t in there, so if you don’t mind, I’d like to go see if I could find him.” Andy scolded the man before walking off. He knew exactly where Ashley was. He saw him spying. “What about that boy with our shirt?” “He’s already got a boyfriend. What did you walk away from that other guy?” “He was trying too add to get in my pants,” Andy murmured grabbing Ashley’s hand. “I want to leave. So far everyone has either been a creep or taken.” “Alright let's go,” Ashley said, and they walked back to the bus, which wasn’t too far away. They held hands the whole way until Andy spoke. “We’re not there anymore, you know you don’t have to god my hand anymore,” Ashley last go and Andy kinda wished he hadn’t said anything. “Sorry,” Ashley giggled. “No, it’s fine,” “Oh,” When they got back to bus, Jinxx, CC, and Jake were all piled up, asleep on the couch. “Should we wake them up?” Ashley whispered. “No, let's leave them,” Andy said snapping a few pictures. - Later that night while Andy was in his bunk, he heard Ashley softly singing. He smiled to himself and listened to his sweet voice. And then he heard him sniffle and lightly sob. Andy’s smile had faded, and he wanted to get up from his bunk and go to Ashley’s. He wanted to hold him, and kiss him, and cuddle him while telling him that everything would be okay. He pulled his curtain back just a little. “Hey, Ash, are you alright?” Andy cooed soothingly. “I’m fine,” Ashley muttered. He pulled his curtain away too. Their bunks were right across from each other. Ashley’s eyes where red and glossy. His cheeks were puffy and wet. His lips curled down into a frown. “Your not fine, honey, your sad. Come talk to me,” Andy said. “I guess I just feel really guilty because I know someone who I care about a lot is hopelessly in love with someone else, but that person doesn’t like them back and probably won’t,” Ashley didn’t mean to, but he made it painfully clear that Andy needed to move on. “But this person is just assuming that the other one has a crush on them and is hoping it isn’t true, because he loves that person dearly, and doesn’t want to lose their friendship.” Andy let the tears fall, he wasn’t even trying to stop them any more. He was going to admit it. And he was building up the courage to do it now. When he had talked himself into it, he said it. “I’m hopelessly in love with you, Ashley,” Andy cried. “I’m sorry Andy. I am so fucking sorry!” Ashley exclaimed. “I love you, but I’m straight, I don’t like guys. And it’s not you-“ “It’s alright, Ash,” Andy whispered, closing his curtain. Ashley hated how broken Andy sounded. They both silently cried themselves to sleep. And the next HYPERLINK "note-insight.3fd450df-5e09-bdde-66cf-f098cd05148b"morning was hell. - “You wanna come with me to get HYPERLINK "note-insight.cd1d4ab9-c973-6114-6846-e9c603f46a04"breakfast?” Ashley said. He was trying to fix Andy. “No, no, I’m fine. You can go,” Andy said. He crossed his arms over his stomach. ‘Ashley doesn’t love me because I’m too fat.’ He thought. “Oh, okay, see you later,” Ashley left. He didn’t want to go without Andy. That was his whole motive for going to HYPERLINK "note-insight.cd1d4ab9-c973-6114-6846-e9c603f46a04"breakfast. So he just walked around for a while. Sound check didn’t start until HYPERLINK "note-insight.6eb8da63-2fb5-6fc9-7f92-a5478fa1856d"5:00 because they had a late show today. It was only 10:30, and Ashley didn’t typically get out of bed until HYPERLINK "note-insight.334507dd-4cfc-9e8b-6be4-82ac3968e41e"1pm. Andy spent the majority of his alone time in the bathroom that HYPERLINK "note-insight.3fd450df-5e09-bdde-66cf-f098cd05148b"morning. He hadn’t eaten much anyway, but he didn’t want it to stay in him. Andy and Ashley didn’t talk for HYPERLINK "note-insight.2c3ca038-66a9-3fc8-fce6-b6683c0a2a29"months, and when they did, it would be small things, or something that was absolutely necessary for them to say to each other, and absolutely meaningless.     Andy had been restricting everything he ate, calorie limits becoming lower and lower, fasts becoming longer, and purges growing. His list of safe foods shrunk to a mere nothing.     Ashley and the rest of the band had noticed a change in Andy, mostly Ashley, but they all brushed it off. Ashley noticed Andy grimacing at the sight of himself, taking less pictures, and eating less. Andy always had quite a fondness for himself, and Ashley always knew this was true, but as of late, Andy seemed to dislike his appearance or even hate it.     Andy did indeed hate is appearance, and everything about him that pushed Ashley away. He thought if he was thinner, he would be more attractive to Ash. But even deep down he knew that wasn’t true because Ash was still straight and Andy was still a man. - Ashley had walked by the bathroom around ten minutes after lunch with the band. He heard Andy puking and he was alerted for the well being of his friend. Little did he know, Andy was shoving his fingers down his throat to make it happen. All for Ashley, his love for Ashley kept him going. “Hey, are you alright?” Ashley asked cautiously, tapping his knuckles on the door. “Yeah, I think I got food poisoning or something,” Andy said panicking. He flushed the toilet and rinsed his mouth, popping in a piece of bubble-mint. He opened the door and walked out, but was pulled back by the wrist. “We ordered the same thing and I feel fine, why are you making yourself sick?” Ashley whispered. Everyone else was on the bus too, and Ash didn’t want them to hear. “I-uh, I don’t know that it was from lunch, I’m not making myself sick though,” Andy chuckled nervously and swallowed a lump in his throat. “Andy, take your shirt off,” Ashley said calmly. “No I-“ “I didn’t ask,” Ashley repeated, tears and anger in his eyes. Andy’s head hung as he pulled his shirt off. A single tear rolled down Ashley’s cheek, he could see the bones in Andy’s chest, his ribs were very prominent, and his pants hovered over his waits, elevated by his protruding hips bones. “Andy…” Ashley reached his fingers out to Andy’s ribs. “Your not even here. There is none of you.” Ashley was crying now. A lot. Andy felt like he couldn’t breath. “I’m sorry,” Andy whispered. “I didn’t mean for it to go this far.” “But, Baby, your too thin,” Ashley cried. Andy’s breath hitched in his throat, did Ashley just call him baby? “Come eat, please.” “No. I’m t-“ Andy stopped himself. “I’m not hungry.” “I never, ever, saw this in you, Andy. Why?” Ashley murmured. “For you, Ashley. I love you, and I know it won’t happen, but I just want you to love me back!” Andy had tears now, lots of them, falling down his face, running down his neck. Ashley grabbed his face and kissed his lips. Andy put his bony little fingers around the back of Ashley’s neck and kissed him back hard. “You big fucking idiot, Andy,” Ashley whispered. He rested his forehead against Andy’s “Of courses I love you!”

[cresendium]

Running P.9

Can’t risk showing yourself when it isn’t needed 

The next day you received apologies from Danny about his behaviour. Not being difficult about it you accepted them and patted his back. “It’s fine, don’t worry about it. We all make mistakes” you smiled making the others smile as well.

Somehow weeks passed quite easily and as time passed you noticed that every time there was a ghost, Danny Phantom would solve it. A lot of times Sam and Tucker were also present, but Danny Fenton was not. Your suspicion grew but didn’t dare question them. Right now it was peaceful, no drama, no problems, just friends having fun. But the feeling of something being hidden from you was strong and was slowly eating at you.

One Friday morning you came downstairs and found your brother sitting at the table with a cup of coffee. It was an odd sight since Luciel was often gone or just standing, you barely saw him actually sit and take his time to relax. A smile tugged at your lips as you said a good morning and prepared breakfast. You made two plates of pancakes and put one in front of your brother and sat opposite of him and began eating. Luciel gave a gentle smile and put his coffee down. “Thank you” he said before he began eating. You glanced up at him. He looked a bit like Danny Phantom with his white hair and green eyes, but his face was older, he had a small black beard on his chin and his fangs were slightly more pointed. His face had a stronger jawline making him look more masculine. “You should stop staring, any other would find it odd” he stated without looking up from his food. You gulped and coughed out, half choking on a piece of pancake and then laughed at your own silliness. “Yeah I know, that’s why I don’t stare at others” you said continuing to eat. He looked up and chuckled. “Say (y/n), why don’t you take a day off today? I’ll take you through the ghost zone and introduce you to some contacts I’ve made” he said as he watched you. You looked up seeing his empty plate and smiled, knowing he had enjoyed it. “Yeah, that sounds like fun” you smiled, “but don’t you think the weekend is more suitable?” you questioned curiously. This made him frown, “are you looking forward to going to school?” he questioned.

You kind of did. It was fun hanging out with Danny, Tucker and Sam. They were becoming really close even though both parties hid something from each other. You knew Luciel questioned about it since he knew exactly what was given at lessons in school and that it was already programmed in both your brains. “I quite like it cause my friends are really nice” you said looking down shyly. Luciel let out a pained sigh, “I’m sure you noticed, but they hide something from you” he stated and you nodded in response, “But I’m also hiding something from them” you stated. “That may be true, but your past makes it reasonable. I don’t see why that ghost kid can’t tell you he is just as much a halfa as we are” he grunted. You looked up wide eyed. It was like he put a small gear into your brain making the whole machine work. “That makes so much sense! And it’s the black haired, blue eyed guy right?” you questioned just to be certain. Luciel nodded and looked confused as you squealed excited. “May I know why you are so happy?” he asked. You rolled your eyes, of course Luciel wouldn’t understand, “that means that I can become closer one day! Since at least he will understand” you smiled finishing the last of the pancake. Luciel frowned and stood up making you flinch by the mere force of his presence. He walked around the table and stood next to you. “Will he? Really? Will he understand the distrust in humans? The hate towards hospitals and laboratories? Will he know the pain of a cold metal table and a knife tearing through your skin?” he said with a dark, stern voice. You bit on your lip. “of course he can’t. Only you will…” you whispered looking down sadly. Every scar, every mark on your body burned by the mere memory of it all.

Luciel sighed and gently put his arms around you. “I’m sorry little fairy, I just don’t want you to get your hopes up. Humans are cruel beings, halfa’s are still partly human” he said gently, his presence lessening and feeling more like the comfortable brother you knew. Leaning into the touch and smelling his familiar scent filled you with a new found calm. “I know. I won’t get my hopes up, but if I get hurt I always have you” you smiled and hugged your big brother back. “Naturally” he chuckled, “now how about we leave for a fun day in the ghost zone?” he smirked. You gave a happy nod and took Luciel’s hand. He held yours tightly before his eyes turned from mere green irises to whole green eyes. And so, off you were, flying towards the closest natural portal and going to the ghost zone.

#dannyphantom #danny phantom #sam manson #tucker foley #fanfic #xreader

[ask-me-about-datlof]

Thank You, Friend - Chapter 3

This chapter is slightly shorter because life has been pretty hectic and I’m back at uni now and I had to complete some uni work before I could start writing this chapter, but it’s here and on time! Yay!

You can read this chapter and all previous chapters on AO3 if you want to check it out there!

There’s an almost kidnapping in this chapter (if you might find that upsetting) and also some mentions of being tied up, but otherwise it’s quite a light-hearted chapter.

Lewis was feeling particularly stressed as he walked along the quiet street, terraced houses and cars lining either side of the street. There was a light drizzle in the air, not unusual for the damp climate of Datlof, and the rain did nothing to improve Lewis’s mood. He’d just left a particularly difficult interview where the interviewer had jumped on every tiny mistake and blunder that he’d made, and hadn’t allowed him to finish hardly any of his sentences. Lewis knew that the interview would loose him some supporters, something he didn’t need right now. Doug Drumpf was trailing behind in the polls at the moment, claiming that all the negative polls were due to ‘fake news’. Meanwhile, Lewis and James Black were almost neck and neck in the polls and as the election date grew closer, he was becoming increasingly stressed. It didn’t help that he was still almost single-handedly running Yoglabs, and he frequently had to sort out financial matters, or figure out solutions for the many problems that kept arising. However, on the positive side of things, he and Hannah had gone on a number of dates, and a couple of days ago Hannah had asked Lewis if he wanted to take things a step further. And of course he’d said yes. The media hadn’t yet got a hold of the information that he and Hannah were a couple now, but he figured it wouldn’t be long. They weren’t exactly keeping it secret. Simon had teased Lewis no end when he’d found out that Lomadia and Hannah were the same person. The dwarf found it hilarious that the vigilante had decided to start dating Lewis. Even Lalnable had chuckled slightly when he found out.

The rain started to fall slightly heavier and Lewis frowned at the grey clouds up above him. He didn’t have a proper coat or an umbrella with him, meaning that he’d turn up at Yoglabs completely soaked. Another thing to make his day worse. Although Hannah had said she might drop by Yoglabs later, she said she wanted to see what Yoglabs was like. A large group of men rounded the corner at the end of the street, laughing and joking among each other. Lewis caught sight of a couple of golden charms hanging from the mens’ ears and he recognised them as a group of werewolves. They hadn’t noticed Lewis, they were too busy laughing among each other. A white van, with a black top hat painted on the side, started driving slowly along the street, passing by the group of werewolves and heading towards Lewis. He eyed the van grumpily. The van was approaching a puddle and if he got splashed, he’d be even more miserable than he already was. The van slowed down slightly, as if the driver was looking for a specific house number on the street. It was only when the van came to a complete stop and the back doors opened that Lewis began to think that something was wrong.

Two men jumped out of the back of the van, one was tall and rather thin with short black hair, and other other was of a slightly thicker build with ginger hair and a ginger beard. They both had pale skin and the ginger one was holding what looked remarkably like a wand, with the tall one holding a coil of rope in his hands. The two men began running towards Lewis and without hesitating he drew his sword.

“Look at this scrub, Ross, he thinks he can take us on with that thing?” The ginger man called out as they ran towards Lewis. The tip of the wand he was holding began to glow red and a few sparks began shooting out of it.

“Looks like he’s still living in the dark ages!” The tall man, Ross, replied. Lewis didn’t have time to respond or even think about how he was going to defend himself when the ginger man held up his wand and a beam of red energy came shooting out of it, hitting Lewis square in the chest.

“A direct hit!” The ginger man called out as Lewis tumbled to the floor, his sword falling from his grasp as the wind was knocked out of him and the red energy swirled around him, clouding his vision.

“Have you got him yet?” A third voice called out from the direction of the van.

“Not yet,” Ross began speaking but he was drowned out by the ginger man’s loud response.

“Just a minute, Trotty, we’ve got to tip him up good and tight first! Now I know you’d like to be the one tied up, but you’ll just have to wait!”

“But I can’t, Smith, I’m really impatient! I just want to be tied up!” Lewis had rolled himself over and was trying to sit himself up, the red energy that was still swirling around him making it feel like he was trying to move his body through treacle.

“We promise we’ll treat you like shit while you’re tied up later, Trott. Hold up, matey, you’re not going anywhere yet!” Smith said as he reached Lewis and fired another spell from his wand and Lewis was knocked back down to the ground, his forehead hitting the tarmac and making him see stars as a wave of nausea overwhelmed him.

“You’re firing them off everywhere, Smith!” Lewis heard Ross’s voice over a ringing in his ears as he lay on the ground and a moment later he could feel rope being tied around his wrists.

“I just can’t help myself! I just have to unload my power!” Lewis’s head lolled to the side as he was pulled up and dizziness washed over him.

“Guys, look out!” Trott’s voice called out and a moment later curses filled the air and Lewis was dropped down to the floor, his head slamming against the tarmac once more and with a burst of stars and pain, Lewis blacked out.

“For the last time, Jacob, no you can’t offer him weed when he wakes up!”

Lewis slowly opened his eyes, a headache pounding around his head. His vision was slightly blurry, but he could make out a number of people standing around him, some apparently staring down at him. He blinked and suddenly the world was a lot clearer, and he caught sight of the golden moon charms dangling from ears and he realised that he was surrounded by a pack of werewolves.

“Hey, Danny, he’s woken up.” One of the werewolves, a young man, spoke up, looking over his shoulder at someone.

“Great! Hey, dude, do you want some painkillers?”

“Jacob, no!” Multiple people called out, reaching out to stop a lanky werewolf with long black hair and pale skin jumping forwards towards Lewis. The werewolf who had been called out as Jacob now found himself in a tangle of arms as his pack mates stopped him from getting any closer to Lewis.

“Aw, come on, guys!”

“Jacob, back off!” A commanding voice spoke out and reluctantly, Jacob disentangled himself from his pack mates and took a few steps back. “I’m sorry for that drama.” Lewis then caught sight of the speaker, an older man with short brown hair and a stubbly beard. His skin was surprisingly tanned for someone who lived in Datlof, and his eyes were a bright green. A golden moon charm dangled from his ear, shining and twinkling as it caught the light. The werewolf crouched down beside Lewis so he wasn’t speaking from a great height. “How are you feeling?”

“A little shaken up. But I guess I’ll live.” Lewis replied. He moved to sit himself up and he found the werewolf’s hand on his shoulder, gently holding him down.

“Take it easy, you might be feeling alright now, but you hit your head pretty hard.”

“Right, yeah…” Lewis reached up with his hand and felt a small fabric bandage over his forehead. He inwardly groaned when he realised that the bandage was in the same place where he had injured himself in the crash. Repeatedly hitting his head on the exact same spot couldn’t be healthy.

“You must be wondering where you are. And why you’re not in a hospital.” Lewis glanced around the room he was in, and for the first time noticed that he was in what was apparently a normal house and he was lying on a sofa turned makeshift bed. There was a small TV opposite the sofa that Lewis was lying on, sat on top of a large pile of books and the walls were covered in small printed pictures of groups of people, some of the people in the photos he recognised as some of the people who were standing around the room now.

“A little curious, I guess.” The werewolf smiled.

“Well I’ll explain. I’m Danny, the alpha of this pack. And this is the house where most of the pack members stay.” Danny gestured around at the room and the werewolves who were standing around smiled and nodded. “As for why you’re not in hospital, we generally get turned away from most hospitals so it’s easier for us to deal with any injuries here.” Lewis frowned as he listened to Danny. He knew the discrimination against werewolves was bad, but he hadn’t realised it was that bad.

“You’re not allowed in hospitals? Even if you really need their help?” The werewolves in the room glanced about at each other. Danny shook his head slightly.

“Nope. Most hospitals here in Datlof refuse to treat any werewolves, and anyone who has been injured by magic too. It’s stupid, and it means a lot of people here suffer needlessly.” Lewis’s frown deepened.

“That’s got to change. You can’t just deny someone help because they’re a werewolf!” Danny shook his head ruefully.

“Well, you’re a minority here in Datlof, thinking the way you do. Although I’ll say I am glad that at least someone cares about us.” Lewis sighed.

“I’ll do something about it. If I get elected.” He mumbled, still frowning slightly. A quiet murmur ran around the room as the werewolves suddenly realised who it was they had lying on their sofa.

“Dude, you’re gonna be the next mayor!” Jacob said, suddenly bounding up to Lewis and crouching down beside Danny. Danny frowned over at Jacob. “That’s awesome!”

“Might become mayor. If I win.” Lewis replied, thinking back on the terrible interview and the polls. Jacob flapped his hand in the air dismissively

“Sure you’ll win! You’ve got my vote!” The other werewolves in the room began nodding and agreeing with Jacob. Lewis couldn’t help but grin.

“Well, I think thanks are in order for helping me out back there, but I should probably get going.” Lewis said, thinking back on how he needed to get back to Yoglabs before the place descended into utter chaos. Before anyone could stop him, Lewis sat himself up, the sudden rush of blood around his body triggering a pounding headache and setting the room spinning. He gasped and held a hand to his head as he closed his eyes tightly.

“Are you alright?” The concerned voice of Danny asked, replaced a moment later by Jacob.

“I could give you something if you’re in pain, y’know.” This comment was quickly followed by the sound of a hand hitting a head and a muffled ‘ow’ coming from Jacob.

“Don’t rush yourself. You got quite a nasty cut on your forehead, and like I said, you hit your head pretty hard.” Danny said gently as Lewis slowly opened his eyes. The sudden intensity of the headache was beginning to fade slightly.

“Yeah! You’ll get a nice scar there, bitches love scars!” Jacob called out, grinning up at Lewis from where he was sat on the floor. Danny ignored him.

“I’ll be alright. I think something like paracetamol will help, but I’m sure I’ll be fine.” Lewis said, moving his hand away from his head and tentatively standing.

“Rachael, go get some water and some paracetamol.” Danny called out to the werewolf that was closest to the door of the room. She nodded and darted away before returning a moment later and held out a glass of water and a couple of small pills to Lewis. He took them and swallowed the pills down with the water before handing it back.

“Thanks.”

“No problem.”

“Well thank you for all your help, I greatly appreciate it.” Lewis said, smiling around the room at the werewolves. They returned his smile. Danny stood up next to Lewis.

“Here, I’ll show you the way out.” He led Lewis over to the door as Jacob waved from the floor.

“See you around!” Danny rolled his eyes.

“Don’t worry about Jacob. He seems immature and irresponsible, but he can be very mature and responsible when he needs to be. He was actually the first one to notice what was happening to you, and he just instantly ran over there to help.” Lewis smiled slightly. They had reached the front door and Danny stopped for a moment, grabbing Lewis’s sword from an umbrella stand. He held it out. “Here you go, you probably want this back.”

“Ah, thank you! I’d forgotten about it!” Lewis said, taking his sword from Danny and returning it to its rightful place on his belt.

“If you need any help, don’t hesitate to ask us. We’d be happy to help you, or your friends.” Danny said, smiling at Lewis. Lewis returned his smile.

“I will. You’ve helped me out a lot today, and I’m really grateful. And if you or your pack need any help, please don’t hesitate to ask me.” The two shook hands before Danny opened the door and Lewis stepped outside into the grey drizzle.

“Take care now, alright? And take it easy with that injury.”

“I will.” Lewis replied, raising his hand in farewell as he walked along the street.

#Lewis Brindley #Werewolves #Hat Films #Yogscast #Datlof #magic #thank you friend story #creative writing

[chasingthecosmos]

Call Me But Love

Fandom: Doctor Who Rating: T Pairing: The Doctor/Rose Tyler, Twelfth Doctor/Rose Tyler (The Doctor/Clara Oswald, Twelfth Doctor/Clara Oswald) Chapters: 7/40 Read on AO3 here.

“‘Oh, dear. Looks like we might have picked up an extra passenger,’ the Doctor grumbled to himself. His gaze raised to Rose’s once more and she was struck by the sheer intensity of it and the way that he managed to look at once so familiar, and yet so different from what she was used to. ‘Best find something to hold on to,’ he warned her ominously.”

A Season 8 & 9 AU centering around Rose Tyler and her newly-regenerated Doctor as they both struggle to maintain their relationship in the face of some unknown force that seems to be drawing them together. Will they be able to solve the mystery of who is pulling the strings before it’s too late?

This is a direct sequel to “By Any Other Name” and might be a bit confusing if you haven’t read that first. Tags will be updated as I go.

Rose knew immediately that she had been traveling for too long with the Doctor when the sheer normalcy of Coal Hill School instantly began to grate against her nerves.

However, the headteacher who greeted her (Mr. Armitage, as he introduced himself) seemed very excited by her list of references and the extensive CV (which had somehow been sent to him without Rose's knowledge) filled with experience that Rose herself had never actually completed. The entire interview process felt extremely forced, and Rose found that she had to fight to remember how normal people spoke to one another and lived out their day-to-day lives as she attempted to pretend to be an average, twenty-first-century mid-twenties school teacher.

The whole situation made Rose extremely nervous, and she found that she was unconsciously bracing herself at every corner, waiting for whoever it was who was pulling the strings on this odd operation to suddenly reveal themselves and explain why they had designed for her to be a teacher, of all things.

Still, if she was really going to go through with this whole plan as the Doctor seemed to think that she should, she was at least pleased to find that Miss. Clara Oswald appeared to be an English teacher - the one subject that Rose felt that she had a relatively firm grasp on.

About half-way through her tour of the new school, Mr. Armitage was leading Rose through the mingling adults in the staff room when he suddenly pulled her up short next to a tall, young man and announced, "Ah! Here he is! Clara, I want to introduce you to Danny Pink. He's new, just like you - teaches maths. Danny? Clara Oswald."

The young man next to them suddenly turned and Rose smiled in warm welcome as she took in his soft brown eyes and kind smile. He was tall, just like the Doctor, but he seemed to be more solidly built and had dark skin and a closely-shaved beard. All in all, Rose had to admit that he was quite handsome, and she didn't doubt Mr. Armitage in the least as he teasingly accused the young man of being a "lady-killer".

"I am not a 'lady-killer'," Danny insisted with a somewhat-strained smile.

"Don't worry, I've met plenty of those before," Rose assured them both with a playful smirk. "I think I'll be able to handle myself."

"Why don't you show Miss. Oswald around a little and help her to get better acquainted with the school, Danny?" Mr. Armitage suggested brightly. "I figured that since you're so new yourself, you two might get all well."

"I don't know if I ..." Danny attempted to protest, but he was quickly cut off as the headteacher completely ignored him and turned back to Rose once more instead.

"Right, then - I'll be off," he stated as he took up Rose's hand in a firm handshake. "Please let us know if there's anything at all that we can do for you, Miss. Oswald. I so look forward to hearing from you. You know how to contact me - we'd be happy to have you whenever you're willing to start!"

The older man bustled off before Rose or Danny could get a word in edgewise, and when the two of them met eyes again, the young man flashed her a small, apologetic smile. "So ... what subject will you be teaching?" Danny asked slowly in an attempt to break the awkward silence that had fallen between them.

"English," Rose replied easily. "If I decide to take the offer, that is. And you teach maths, right?" She smirked as she lowered her voice, leaned in conspiratorially, and added, "Never been too good at the subject, myself. I have a friend who normally insists on doing all of the science and maths."

"'A friend'?" Danny repeated curiously as he led her out of the staff room, holding the door open for her politely as he gestured down the hallway in the direction of whatever sort of tour he planned to take her on.

"Yep - a friend," Rose agreed, her smile turning cryptic as she patiently allowed him to lead the way further down the hallway. She wasn't about to divulge any more information about the Doctor than was strictly necessary - not to any of this lot, anyway. She still didn't even rightfully know what was going on in this strange school or why she had been so purposefully summoned here. She decided that it would probably be best to keep information about her bondmate and their unusual life together a secret for now.

"So ... how long have you been working here, then?" Rose asked curiously, eager to learn a little bit more about the history of the place and the teachers who worked here.

"Just a few months, really," Danny replied with another small shrug. "I was in the army, before. It's been a while since I've gotten to teach. I'm looking forward to a bit of ..."

"Normalcy ...?" Rose supplied helpfully when the young man's words trailed off and his brows began to furrow over his dark eyes in a clouded expression that she knew only too well from spending time with the Doctor.

"Yeah," Danny agreed, flashing her a small, shy smile. "'Normalcy' ..."

"Well, doesn't get much more 'normal' than this ..." Rose continued conversationally as she glanced around the mundane, nondescript school hallways. "I can't remember the last time I was in a school like this. Brings back a lot of memories ..." Not all of them memories that she could necessarily talk about, either - as images of bat-like krillitanes suddenly flashed through her mind.

"So this is your first teaching position, then?" Danny asked, instantly bringing her back to the present and the many strange occurrences that had led her to Coal Hill School.

"I ... suppose you could say that," Rose replied awkwardly, unsure of how to answer such a question when "Clara's" history was still largely unknown to her.

"It's not as hard as it looks," Danny assured her breezily.

"No ...?" Rose asked, flashing him a doubtful look out of the corner of her eye. After all, she could still remember what she, herself, had been like when she was a teenager all those years ago. She couldn't imagine that times had changed that much in the British schooling system.

"Alright, there are some things that can be pretty difficult," Danny admitted with a small sigh. His eyes grew distant for a moment as he seemed to consider the specific "difficult" students who he was attempting not to name out loud, but when he turned back to Rose, he was smiling again as he added, "But it can be fun, too. The other teachers here are all pretty supportive. In fact, there's a party tonight that they're doing - it's like a 'going-away' thing for one of the other teachers that they're putting on. I wasn't going to go, it's just a small, casual get-together, but ... I don't know, maybe you would want to ...?"

His boyish nervousness brought a smile to Rose's lips despite herself as she watched him struggle for words. It all just seemed to add to the strange, pervasive normalcy that appeared to permeate this place and time, and she was struck by how it made her feel like such an outsider. These day-to-day human tasks and trials just weren't something that she did - not anymore, not in a very long time. It was strange to her that she no longer seemed to fit into her own planet and time when she had an alien husband and a time ship that were both waiting to whisk her away.

"Sorry, but I think I already have plans," Rose admitted with a small, sympathetic smile. She didn't miss Danny's disappointed exhale as she added, "You should still go, though. It sounds like it's going to be a good time. And since you're such a ... 'lady-killer', I'm sure you won't be shy of company."

"I'm not ..." Danny insisted exasperatedly.

"Yeah, okay, sure," Rose dismissed him teasingly. She recognized the front doors as they approached them and quickly put an end to their tour of the school as she broke off from Danny and prepared to leave. She figured that she had gotten about as much information from this place as she could - which wasn't much, if she were being honest - and she was ready to return to the Doctor and their own version of normal.

"Seriously, though. You should go," Rose insisted encouragingly as she turned to flash the kind young man one last parting smile. "Go and have a drink on me."

"What about some other time?" Danny asked, the question surprising them both as it seemed to fall from his lips without warning. "You and me, we could go get a drink together ... Nothing fancy, just a casual ..."

"Date ...?" Rose finished for him once more as he seemed to continue to struggle to find the right words. "Sorry, but I don't think so," she replied with another teasing smile. "I wouldn't want to make anyone jealous. Can't have rivalries springing up on my first day."

Danny rolled his eyes at her, but his smile remained hopeful as he watched Rose disappear through the school's front doors. Rose didn't even have the chance to begin to consider how she was going to deal with that lingering look before she practically ran headlong into the Doctor, who appeared to have been waiting for her directly outside of the front doors and stood there as unmoving as a statue as she jumped and stuttered to a stop before colliding bodily with him.

"Sorry ..." she gasped in shock before realizing who exactly it was who was standing before her and recovering herself. "Oh, it's you," she murmured cheerily. "Have you been waiting long?"

"Yes," the Doctor replied plainly, his expression very near a scowl as he stared down at her in silence for a moment before turning on his heel and adding, "You were taking too long, so I've been knocking about the future a bit. Found a dalek and a space hospital, thought I might need a second opinion for the job, so I popped back to pick you up."

Rose followed him dutifully back to the TARDIS as he ranted, her breath hitching on the easy way that he spoke of the daleks, his calm veneer not fooling her in the least as she felt out the jittery uneasiness of his thoughts.

"Why were you smiling, by the way?" he continued breezily as he pushed through the TARDIS doors and didn't bother to pause and hold them open for her as Danny had.

"Was I?" Rose asked in startled confusion. "No, I wasn't ..."

"You were smiling at nothing," the Doctor insisted over his shoulder as he continued on to the console controls and didn't bother sparing her a second look. "I'd almost say you were in love, but to be honest ..."

"'Honest'?" Rose interrupted, leveling a dubious look in his direction that he ignored as he circled the central space before her.

"You're not a young woman anymore," he finished pointedly, flashing her an irritated look that Rose didn't feel was entirely deserved.

"Are we seriously going to start comparing ages, now?" she demanded, her tone growing slightly acidic as she raised her chin in stubborn defiance of his glare.

"Just don't want you going out and bringing home strays," the Doctor grumbled under his breath as he returned his hard expression to the console controls before him.

"What, like you do?" Rose snapped in irritation. When he failed to come up with a retort to that, she crossed her arms over her chest as she squared her shoulders in his direction and demanded, "Do you really think I would do that? Do you have so little faith in me?" Realization dawned on her in waves and Rose's glare melted into shocked surprise as she tentatively prodded against the edges of his thoughts and added, "Wait ... are you jealous right now?"

"'Jealous'?" the Doctor scoffed in frustration as he finally turned to look at her properly once more. "Me? Don't be silly ..." But there was no denying the way that he was quickly hoarding his thoughts away from her once more, clearly eager to keep his inner insecurities to himself.

"I can't believe this ... You're actually jealous, aren't you?" Rose insisted, a disbelieving look crossing her features as she fought to determine whether she was more annoyed or pleased by this new information. She shared a lifelong telepathic bond with the man, for heaven's sake. He clearly didn't ever have to worry about her running off with another man. But the fact that he was so concerned about keeping her to himself still filled her with hope that maybe he would stop trying to abandon her at every turn.

"Rose, I am a two-thousand-year-old alien from space, I don't do 'jealous'," the Doctor snapped stubbornly.

"Could have fooled me with those big, sad eyes and the grumpy old frown," she teased, her tone coming out a bit sharper than she intended as she continued to war between amusement and annoyance.

The Doctor braced his hands against the console before him as he glared at her from under his thick, heavy brows and allowed a moment of silence to fall between them. As his keen eyes watched her, she could feel his presence in the back of her mind, still hesitantly feeling her out as though he weren't exactly sure how to communicate with her anymore.

"Rose, I need something from you," he muttered darkly as he carefully regarded her. "I need the truth."

"Okay ..." she agreed slowly, her hands falling to her sides as her thoughts immediately softened, ready to accept whatever it was that he would ask of her. She still wasn't about to let the Doctor get away with treating her with so little faith and trust, but the intensity in his expression and the desperation in his tone immediately called out to her and silenced all else for the time being. She tilted her head at him in wonder as she realized suddenly, "You're scared ..."

"I'm terrified," he agreed with a small, rueful sigh.

"Of what?" Rose asked cautiously.

"The answer to my next question, which must be honest, cold, and considered - without kindness or restraint," he replied, dropping his gaze from hers as he took a deep breath and continued, "Tell me: am I a good man?"

#doctor who #dw #fanfiction #fanfic #doctor who fanfic #doctor who fanfiction #the doctor #rose tyler #twelfth doctor #twelve/rose #twlevexrose #the doctor/rose #the doctorxrose

[kazephantom]

Iron Fist thoughts part 6

Ok, so, in Iron Fist, a martial arts master has shown up, who taught the Coleen Wing character, except he looks barely older than her, has the exact same hairstyle as Danny Rand, and yes, he is white too. He even has a beard too, like Danny. Now he feels problematic.

And he leads a school and has a collection of ancient weapons. See, he's problematic because unlike Danny, he has no explanation. Oh wait, he does have an explanation, and it sucks. He just "grew up in monistaries and dojos" and then one day he got a film of an old Iron Fist, and somehow became a master of it?

#Iron Fist

[gokinjeespot]

off the rack #1154

Monday, March 6, 2017

 Another successful Capital Trade Show with my partner Chris yesterday at the Jim Durrell Recreation Centre. Saw a few more folks that I haven't seen for a while stop by our table. The next one is on April 2 and we hope to be there.

 Congratulations to Brent for 32 years of comic book goodness at The Comicshop in Vancouver. He and Keith continue the proud traditions that Ron Norton established and I wish them many more years to come.

 America #1 - Gabby Rivera (writer) Joe Quinones (pencils) Joe Rivera & Paolo Rivera (inks) Jose Villarrubia (colours) Travis Lanham (letters). Marvel is really loading the racks with female heroes these days and the latest to join the ranks with her own solo book is the leader of the Ultimates. I don't read that book so excuse my ignorance about this woman. The last time I saw her was when she was a Young Avengers team member. Gabby starts this off by having America go to college which was very similar to the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #1. We do get a peek at her civilian life as America breaks up with her girlfriend before leaving for college. I thought she was a jerk about it and that started me into not liking her much. Then she meets up with an old Young Avengers teammate and a time travel element is added. That's when I said "hasta la vista, baby". I'm not hip enough to enjoy this book but I think the cool kids will like it.

 Savage Things #1 - Justin Jordan (writer) Ibrahim Moustafa (art) Jordan Boyd (colours) Josh Reed (letters). This is more up my ally. A dangerous dark ally where you could be attacked by a government sanctioned homicidal maniac. The flashbacks show us Cain and Abel being recruited as boys and the present shows them exposing the bad guys they used to work for. Both were part of a covert team of killers that did the government's bidding. I want to see what they're up to now.

 Rat Queens #1 - Kurtis J. Wiebe (writer) Owen Gieni (art) Ryan Ferrier (letters). Yay, the Queens are back on the racks. What happened to Violet's beard? Doesn't matter because that great camaraderie that the Queens have is the same as I remember and that's why I like these gals so much. This new adventure has them fighting a giant Canada Goose with amazing powers. Whoa and zut alors, I can't wait to see what happens next.

 Totally Awesome Hulk #1.MU - This Monsters Unleashed! Tie-in has three short stories and the main reason that I grabbed it off the rack to read is because of the first one called "Flawless Victory" is by Bryan Edward Hill (writer) Ty Templeton (art) Mat Lopes (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). Ty and I go way back and I always enjoy his work. If you're a comic book geek like me you should check out his blog at https://tytempletonart.wordpress.com/bun-toons/. He posts almost every week and his stories are a lot of fun, just what comics books should be. The second story "Mind Over Monster" by Bryan Edward Hill (writer) Ricardo Lopez Ortiz (art) Rico Renzi (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters) has Hulk saving South Korea from Xemnu, he of the spiral eyes. The last story "Math is Magic" by Leah Williams (writer) Jahnoy Lindsay (art) Esther Sanz (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters) features Maddy Cho trying to find help with fighting the Leviathons that are landing on Earth and destroying everything. Maddy contacts Lady Hellbender the Monster Queen but what the monster collector tells her does not bode well for Earth. I liked how Jahnoy tried to mimic Frank Cho's style when drawing Lady Hellbender.

 Riverdale One Shot - This features four of the Riverdale teens and boy are they different from the old Archie gang. If you haven't watched the TV show on the CW network this might get you to tune in. "Archie" by Brian E. Paterson (writer) Elliot Fernandez (art) Thomas Chu (colours) John Workman (letters) will shock you with the affair with Ms. Grundy that you may have heard about. "Betty" by Britta Lundin (writer) Jim Towe (art) Glenn Whitmore (colours) Janice Chiang (letters) has my guilty crush Ms. Cooper going to L.A. for a summer internship. "Veronica" by James DeWille (writer) Thomas Pitilli (art) Andre Szymanowicz (colours) John Workman (letters) surprised me again because she and her family are Hispanic. "Jughead" by Will Ewing (writer) Alitha Martinez (pencils) Bob Smith (inks) Andre Szymanowicz with Thomas Chu (colours) Janice Chiang (letters) changed my attitude towards Archie's best friend. I won't watch the show because I don't like who they cast as Betty. They had a chance to usurp Winnie Cooper from The Wonder Years as my biggest TV Cooper crush but they failed. I would definitely read another comic book about these guys though.

 Royal City #1 - Jeff Lemire (writer & artist) Steve Wands (letters). I really like Jeff's stories. Trillium amazed me with some of the ways Jeff used his art to tell that story. Essex County made me feel very Canadian. Old Man Logan made me care about Wolverine again. Here we have a story about a family with one missing sibling and it's hard to categorize. At first I thought it was a ghost story but it's much more than that. The Pike family seems typical but their brother Tommy makes them unique. This gets added to my "must read" list.

 Doctor Strange #18 - Jason Aaron (writer) Chris Bachalo (pencils & colours) Al Vey, Tim Townsend, John Livesay & Victor Olazaba (inks) VC's Cory Petit (letters). The answer to "where's Wong?" is revealed. This is a team-up with the Mighty Thor and because Jason writes both books he gave Thor another new cool super power to help save lives and made it look natural. It's very far fetched but it's neat that he thought it up. Now the task of saving Wong from the villain Mr Misery starts in earnest.

 Superman #18 - Peter J. Tomasi & Patrick Gleason (writers) Patrick Gleason (pencils) Mick Gray (inks) John Kalisz (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). Part 1 of "Superman Reborn" gets deeper into two mysteries that have been teasing us since Rebirth started. The other Clark Kent and the hooded guy with the scythe. I really like the new Superman family with Lois and Jon and I hope DC doesn't go back to the single Superman. If they do, I want a new book like Marvel did with Peter, Mary Jane and Annie. I hated when Marvel unmarried Peter and Mary Jane.

 Paper Girls #12 - Brian K. Vaughn (writer) Cliff Chiang (art) Matt Wilson (colours) Jared K. Fletcher (letters). It's handy to have a universal translator. There's got to be an app for that now right?

 Clone Conspiracy Omega - there are three complete stories in this finale to the most recent clone kerfuffle. "Collateral Damage" by Dan Slott & Christos Gage (writers) Cory T. Smith (art) Justin Ponsor (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters) sets Ben Reilly the Scarlet Spider up with his new solo book out April 26 where he chases after himself. Huh? You have to read "Give Us a Wink" by Peter David (writer) Mark Bagley (pencils) John Dell (inks) Jason Keith (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters) to find out what I mean. And finally "King's Favor" by Dan Slott (writer) Stuart Immonen (pencils) Wade von Grawbadger (inks) Richard Isanove (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters) sets up the return of Spider-Man's greatest enemy. How are they going to explain that comeback?

 Batman #18 - Tom King (writer) David Finch (pencils) Danny Miki (inks) Jordie Bellaire (colours) John Workman (letters). It's good issues like this one that reward me for sticking to a book the I like through some weaker issues. The fight between Batman and Bane juxtaposed with the evolution of each man as they grew older intensified the growing anger of the villain with each page. I can't wait to see the next phase of Batman's plan.

 Hawkeye #4 - Kelly Thompson (writer) Leonardo Romero (art) Jordie Bellaire (colours) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). I was thinking about benching this book once this first story arc ended but Kelly snuck in a special guest star right at the end there that made me want to stick around for the next arc. I wasn't really happy with how Kate defeats the super villain but what happens to the guy later made up for the feel good solution.

 Champions #6 - Mark Waid (writer) Humberto Ramos (pencils) Victor Olazaba (inks) Edgar Delgado with Nolan Woodward (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). I thought the Freelancers weren't going to be that bad after teaming up with the Champions last issue but Mark establishes that they are a bunch of douche bags this issue. Wait until you see what these bullies have lined up for the good guys.

 Unstoppable Wasp #3 - Jeremy Whitley (writer) Elsa Charretier (art) Megan Wilson (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). I really like Nadia's personality and Jarvis is a hoot. I need fun comic books like this to balance all the doom and gloom that's out there on the racks.

 Monsters Unleashed #4 - Cullen Bunn (writer) Salvador Larroca (art) David Curiel (colours) VC's Travis Lanham (letters). Even more super heroes fighting giant space monsters. I know this might be boring for some fans but the kids love it and I loved the art.

e

[artificialqueens]

The Ballad of Violet and Pearl (Chapter 9) - Scarlet

A/N - set mostly in the 1950’s, the idea came from Jinkx’s song ‘The Ballad of Johnny and Jack’ and influenced the story. Also influenced by Thelma and Louise. ‘Ballad’ in the 50’s was a term used for a love letter.

This is the second to last chapter! The first part is a series of flashbacks.

TW - Loads more angst I’m afraid and violence and Matt being an asshole in general. The next chapter gets much happier and fluffier I swear!

Chapter 9

Matt went back to the bar, half hoping Danny might have come back here but he hadn’t. He sat at the bar, ordered a whiskey and told the bar tender to keep them coming. He never should have brought Jason along on this crazy ride. Everything that had happened over the last few years was his fault. He’d dragged Jason into his mess and that wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair for Jason to have suffer because of Matt’s mistakes.

————————————

Florida

December 1951

Matt watched him over his paper from his booth in the diner. He was stood at the counter next to Delta who was also eyeing him up but for completely different reasons. Delta was eyeing him up because she was a man eater and the man was extremely gorgeous, even Matt thought so. But that’s not why Matt was watching him. Matt was watching him for the big wad of cash he was flaunting. It had piqued Matt’s interest. Maybe he’d have to keep an eye on this guy.

For the next few weeks Matt sat at his booth and watched the guy. He was a big guy, bearded and tattooed and also, clearly loaded. Matt had noticed the car he drove, the large watch adorned on his wrist; he knew the signs. But he also knew he wasn’t supposed to be thinking about these things. Pearl had been dead for some months now and although Matt missed her greatly he knew it was for the best. Life without Pearl had been calmer, safer. He hadn’t had to worry about constantly looking over his shoulder anymore which was so nice. But he was also in the need of money. Desperately. Usually his marks were a lot older, a lot older. But this guy had the goods and Matt wanted, no, Matt needed the goods. So he started formulating a plan. He just had to keep it from Jason.

————————————

January 1952

Pearl smoked a cigarette getting a little impatient as she leant against the wall round the side of the diner. She had to make sure Jason wouldn’t see her, despite the darker wig she knew he’d recognise her. The wig was more for the purposes of hiding from the fuzz. She looked surprisingly different just wearing a different hair colour and the few tweaks she’d made to her make-up. Matt had taken his septum ring out after he’d killed off Pearl, he’d never much liked it on him, so that helped her disguise. She flicked the cigarette on the floor and stamped on it with her pump. She was getting impatient now, the cigarette butts piling up proved that. She’d been planning this for weeks but for the plan to work the guy actually needed to leave the diner. She lit another cigarette just as she spotted him. She was stood right by his car to make sure she wouldn’t miss him. He was pulling his keys from his jacket pocket when he spotted her. She gave him a half-smile as he looked at her. He smiled back and came closer.

‘Hey there doll.’ He eyed her up and down and his smile grew. Pearl had taken a leaf from Violet’s book to ensure she would catch his attention. She was wearing a sinfully tight pair of leather pants that had involved a whole new level of tucking, a lacy bralette showing off her stomach and a white fur throw around her shoulders. She’d contoured the life out of her chest and padded the bra as much she could. She had long dark press on nails that matched her lipstick and big diamond earrings that hung down to her shoulders.

'Hi.’ She smiled dragging on the cigarette.

'What’s a beautiful lady such as yourself doing hanging around out here alone?’ He raised an eyebrow at her. Pearl licked her lip and flicked the cigarette to the floor. She came close to the guy and put her hand on his shoulder and moved her lips to his ear.

'I’m looking for trouble.’ She whispered. When she pulled back the guy was smirking sexily.

'You might have found it.’ He held out his hand, Pearl took it. 'I’m Boomer. Boomer Banks. I’m new around here.’

Perfect, then he’ll have no idea who I am.

'Pearl. Pearl Liaison. I’m sure I can show you around.’ She winked at him as he kissed the back of her hand. It was as easy as taking candy from a baby. And boy did she have a sweet tooth.

————————————

March 1952

It was a year to the day that Pearl had died she realised as she sat in the passenger’s seat of Boomer’s car. They’d seen a lot of each other the last few months. She was yet to get her hands on his cash but she did some have shiny new toys. In exchange for blow jobs, Boomer brought Pearl all the jewellery she could desire. Once she got everything she wanted out of him she would sell it all. She spent most of her time with Boomer, working her way into his life, preparing for the day she would take it all. He’d tried to get into her pants on numerous occasions but she kept telling him she wanted to wait and would placate with him another blow job. It would all be worth it when she got her wind fall. She just had to bide her time.

Boomer drove them out of town to the beach. Pearl’s tuck had to be tighter than ever to look like a convincing woman in a bathing suit. She was sure Matt would never have full use of his member again after this. Pearl adjusted her sun hat as Boomer lit a blunt. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer.

'You look so good right now babe.’ He blew the smoke right in her face and Pearl had to try and hide her annoyance. Boomer leant closer and kissed her, his beard rubbing hard against her chin. She always worried he would take her make-up off with that thing. She could taste the weed on his lips, she always could. Boomer was a bigger stoner than she was. He sat back and took another pull before handing it to Pearl. She just smiled and took it. When the blunt was finished Boomer’s lips found hers again. He pushed her back into the sand and climbed on top of her as he kissed her. Pearl had to try and focus on other things because Boomer was attractive and she always worried about getting hard when he kissed her. It would be especially difficult to hide in this bathing suit. But it was worth it if she got her hands on his cash. And she would. It was only a matter of time.

————————————

April 1952

Matt had had to lie to Jason a lot recently. He didn’t like doing so but it was going to all be worth it. He had Boomer well and truly on his hook. He was sure it would only be a matter of time before his plan came to fruition. Pearl had managed to start taking bits of money where she could and with it Matt had brought his beautiful Buick. Jason had of course been sceptical when he’d seen it. Matt met him from the diner that day, stood proudly by his new baby. Jason stepped outside and frowned immediately.

'Where the heck did you get the money for that?’ He folded his arms, eyeing Matt up like he already knew the answer to that.

'Bank loan.’ Matt shrugged. 'Let’s go for a drive!’ He jumped in the car, hoping Jason would drop it.

'What the heck kind of bank would give you a loan to buy a car?’ Jason was still on the sidewalk staring at him.

'What’s with the third degree? Quit bashing my ear and get in.'

'You didn’t do something stupid did you Matt?’ Jason unfolded him arms and he looked a little scared.

'Course not.’ Matt scoffed. 'Now come on. You’ll love the way the wind feels in your hair.’ He smiled at Jason in such a way Jason forgot all his reservations.

'Can I drive?’ He grinned as headed to the passenger’s door.

'Over my dead body.’ Matt laughed and he fired up the car and drove like a bat out of hell.

————————————

June 1952

Things were bad. Matt and Pearl had both fucked up. She’d gotten too carried away, she’d let her guards down. Rookie fucking mistake. Pearl had started getting her hands on larger amounts of cash off Boomer but the two of them were also growing closer. Usually she did a really good job at stopping their make out sessions before they went too far. Not this time. And now she and Matt were paying for it.

They’d been in at the park, Boomer had taken her for her a picnic. He played the hard bastard role well but it hadn’t taken Pearl long to see through it. He was surprisingly romantic and sweet. He’d been more than ok that Pearl wanted to wait, as long as he got frequent blow jobs anyway. Pearl might go as far to say that she was falling for him. He wasn’t her type, not really, but there was something about him. She’d stopped getting disgusted when he kissed her and started wishing he’d do it more often. She felt happy around him and for once it had nothing to do with the money. So when he’d kissed her and laid her back in the grass she melted into him. She got rid of his shirt and ran her fingernails over his hard, toned abs. He ran his fingers through her wig and kissed her with such ferocity it made Pearl feel as though she was on fire. So when his hand trailed up her thigh and to her panties she let it. She let his hand slide inside her panties too. And then everything went wrong. His hand went between her legs and almost immediately snatched away. Boomer sat back, his face completely unidentifiable.

'What. The. Fuck.’ He punctuated his sentence with deep breaths. Pearl’s eyes went wide and she shuffled back from Boomer. For a second she thought maybe he’d understand. Maybe he’d fallen for her to the point he wouldn’t care what was between her legs?

'I uhm…it’s complicated.’ She bit her lip. Boomer’s face suddenly went bright red.

'Complicated? Do you or do you not have a pussy?’ He spat and Pearl’s hopes went straight out the window.

'Uhm…well…no.'

Boomer shoot up and grabbed her wrist, pulling her up to.

'You’re a fucking man?’ He asked her, holding her wrist tightly.

'Well I mean…I suppose you could say-’ she was cut off by Boomer shoving her hard. She stumbled a little in her heels on the grass but managed to steady herself.

'You’re fucking dead faggot!'

'Don’t call me that.’ Pearl knew it wasn’t the time to be arguing but she and Matt both hated that word.

'Shut up.’ He advanced on her and pulled the earrings he’d brought her clean from her ears. There was blood, Pearl saw it. He ripped the necklace he brought off from her neck too and grabbed her roughly by the shoulders and shoved her back into a large tree. He practically ripped the wig from her head and then his big meaty hand was on her face and smudging her make-up. Pearl couldn’t help herself when she started to cry. She stood there as Boomer started ripping the clothes clean from her body, as though he wouldn’t believe it until he saw for himself. When he was done, some kind of male/female hybrid stared back at him.

'You are so fucking dead.’ He spat and grabbed her roughly by the arm and threw her down into the dirt. He kicked her in the side a couple of times when she cried and whimpered. But it was only going to get worse. She saw him reach behind him and untuck his shirt. She knew what was coming. She just managed to get upright as Boomer was pulling the gun from his waist band. The first bullet landed right by her foot as she started to run, not giving a second thought to what she must look like. The second bullet flew passed her head and she screamed a little, quickening her pace. She managed to kick her shoes off as she ran which allowed her to go faster.

'You won’t get away that easily! I will find you and when I do, I’ll kill you!’ He shouted after her. She could still hear the gun firing and bullets flying through the air. She had no idea how she escaped without getting hit but she knew one thing for sure. If she didn’t get the hell out of this town she was going to die.

A week later Matt sat in the diner, his nerves still on edge. Boomer hadn’t been back in which he was glad of; that didn’t stop him being terrified everywhere he went though. Katya had taken his order with a side of comments about his demeanour that he’d tried to ignore. Every time the bell above the door chimed Matt jumped out of his seat. He had to get out of here, Boomer would find him eventually, the town wasn’t that big. And when he found him, he was going die. His nerves were so rattled he didn’t notice Jason come over and slide into the booth.

'I should have known I’d find you here.'

His eyes shot open and his heart started hammering again. His eyes met the dark brown ones of the man who had just joined him in the booth. Matt clenched his jaw and reached over the table and slapped him in the arm.

'Jesus Christ, are you trying to give a guy a heart attack?’ Matt flicked his ash in the ash tray.

'Katya said you were twitchy today. What’s got your panties in a twist?’ Jason laughed and took the cigarette from Matt’s hand before dragging on it. Matt swallowed and briefly looked around the diner again.

'Nothing, I’m fine. Katya needs to keep her goddamn mouth closed.’ He grumbled. 'I didn’t think you got off until two anyway?'

'Quiet day.’ Jason shrugged, sucking on the cigarette. 'You’ve been here every day this week.'

Matt frowned and pulled his cigarette case back out and lit another one.

'Since when are you keeping tabs on me?’ He picked up his mug and took a sip of the blacker than black coffee.

'Just an observation.’ Jason took a final drag on the cigarette and stubbed it out in the ash tray.

'I like it here.’ Matt shrugged.

'Sure.’ Jason rolled his eyes. They fell into silence after that and soon Katya brought Matt’s food over, thankfully without a side of comments about his disposition this time. He ate his food while Jason stole his fries. Once Matt finished they both lit new cigarettes. Jason was staring at him.

'Something’s bothering you.’ He told Matt.

'I’m fine, jeez what’s with everyone today?'

'Every time the door opens you look about ready to jump out your skin. What’s wrong Matt? You can tell me.’ Jason’s facial expression softened. Matt bit his lip and looked briefly back over at the door.

'I can’t.’ He whispered. 'I wish I could, but I can’t.’ He dragged on the cigarette. 'Jason, how long have we known each other?’

'Uhm, I don’t know. Like twelve or thirteen years I guess?’ Jason frowned, was Matt trying to change the subject.

'You’re my best friend right?'

'Of course I am.’ Jason’s frown grew. 'What’s going on?’

'Hypothetically, if I were ever to say to you, I need to you get in the car with me and drive far away from this place and never look back, what would you say?'

Jason was frowning so hard it hurt his head. Matt’s face was a picture of fear. It scared Jason.

'Hypothetically, I’d say yes bitch let’s go.’ Jason shrugged. Matt swallowed and nodded taking another drag on the cigarette.

'In that case,’ he leant forward on the table. 'I need you to get in the car with me and drive far away from this place and never look back.’ He awaited Jason’s reaction. Jason finished his cigarette and pulled his hair down from its bun he always wore it in for work. He ran his fingers through it.

'Yes bitch, let’s go.’ He shrugged

And the rest was history. The rest was already written in their ballad. Maybe one day Matt would find it in him to thank Jason.

————————————

October 1956 - Colorado

Matt eventually stumbled back to the motel. He’d had time to think, really think and he didn’t like that. Matt tried his best not to think at any cost. But he’d gone over everything in his head from the day he’d met Jason when he was just five years old. He’d thought about the first time he and Jason had dressed up as Violet and Pearl, he thought about Jason’s mom’s death and the promise he’d made her. He thought about the promise Jason had made Ru. He thought about Naomi and Courtney, getting Naomi pregnant, the car accident, the baby that was never born and their break up. He thought about Jason proposing to Courtney and Matt wreaking her car. He thought about Violet and Pearl’s deaths, the car in the ravine, the papers. He thought about Boomer and barely escaping with his life. He thought about Billy Ray, about Ivy. He thought about all the bad things he’d done in his twenty-two years. All his sins, his mistakes and wrong doings. But mostly he just thought about Jason.

Jason was sat crossed legged in the middle of the bed with the ashtray in front of him and a blunt between his lips when Matt let himself back in. He could tell by Jason’s blood shot eyes that wasn’t his first of the night.

'Oh look,’ Jason scoffed. 'The wanderer returns.’ He rolled his eyes and sucked on the blunt. The words that came out of Matt’s mouth were not at all what he expected to say. But after all his thinking he’d decided it might be about time to start atoning for his sins.

'I wrecked Courtney’s car.’ He said with a small shrug and sat in the chair at the dresser. He lit a cigarette. Jason almost dropped the blunt on the bed. His eyes went wide as he stared at Matt.

'Excuse me?’ He hoped he hadn’t heard him right.

'It was me. I trashed her car.'

'What? Why?’ Jason stared at him in shock. It had been years, why was Matt telling him this now?

'Because I saw you propose to her. And my mind kinda went hazy and the next thing I remember the car was trashed and my knuckles were bleeding. I mean I don’t remember doing it, but I guess I must have done.'

'That’s why you didn’t show up at the diner.’ Jason ran his fingers through his hair. 'Fuck.'

'Yeah.’ Matt dragged on the cigarette.

'Why are telling me this now?'

'I don’t know. I guess I had time to think. I’ve done a lot of bad stuff in my time and most of it I can’t do anything about. Nothing is going to make them better. But I guess this is one thing that I can at the very least apologise for. So I’m sorry.'

'It’s not me you should apologise to.’ Jason scoffed.

'Well I can’t exactly show my face in Florida right now Jason so this will have to do.’ He told the brunette sternly. Jason swallowed and continued to drag on the blunt while Matt smoked his cigarette. After a while of silence Jason sighed.

'I guess I have something I should apologise for too.’ He spoke quietly half hoping Matt might not hear him. Matt stubbed out the cigarette and looked at him inquisitively.

'Yeah?'

'Yeah.’ Jason swallowed again and prepared himself for what Matt’s reaction might be. 'It was me that hit Naomi with the car.’ He held his breath. He saw the colour drain from Matt’s face. He saw his chest heave in and out as he took deep breaths. He saw his hands clenched and unclench, his nostrils flare and unflare.

'You…you…no. No you wouldn’t do that.’ Matt shook his head. He wished he didn’t believe it. He wished Jason was lying.

'I did.’ Jason croaked. He moved over to the edge of the bed and sat on it. 'I don’t think I meant to. I saw her in the road and I swear to god I hit the brakes but the car didn’t stop. It went faster.’ A small tear rolled from his eye.

'It went faster? Then you were on the accelerator?’ Matt shot up angrily.

'I don’t think I’d do that! I meant to hit the brake!’

'You hit her and left her in the middle of the road! Fucking hell, all these years I’ve felt guilty for what I did to Court but my god!’ Matt yelled, pacing the room. 'She could have lost the baby!’

'But she didn’t!’ Jason jumped up too.

'She could have done.’

'Oh don’t pretend you ever cared about that baby Matt!’ Jason had a flood of anger wash over him. Sure he knew Matt wouldn’t take this well but Jason wasn’t responsible for what happened to their baby. That was all on Naomi.

'What?’ Matt spat. 'Of course I fucking cared! How can you say that? Not a day goes passed when I don’t think about that kid! They would be five now. I don’t even know what it would have been. It keeps me awake at night Jason! Would I have had a little girl or a little boy? Would they look like me? Would they be smart, funny, would they be good? How the heck can you say I didn’t care?’ Matt hadn’t realised he’d started crying. His unborn child was a sore spot for him.

'Because you let her abort them! If you cared you wouldn’t have let her do that!’ Jason was still yelling. He wasn’t caving just because Matt was crying.

'Let her? Let her?’ Matt yelled even louder. 'I didn’t let her do anything of the sort! She didn’t tell me she was having an abortion. She went to the clinic and she got rid of our baby without even talking to me about it! That’s why we broke up, because I couldn’t stand to be in the same room as that fucking bitch!’ He was practically screaming at this point. He turned to the wall and rammed his fist into the plaster. The wall crumbled a little but that didn’t stop Matt. He hit it a second time, then a third. Jason noticed the blood after the third punch which made him spring to action. He grabbed Matt’s shoulders and tried to pull him into a hug to calm him but Matt shoved him backwards. Jason stumbled and fell to the floor with a thud.

'Don’t touch me.’ Matt still sounded angry but his voice was lower and he was still crying. Jason had no idea. He’d always just assumed Matt and Naomi had come to the decision together. He should be angry at Matt for shoving him but given the circumstances he wasn’t. He stood back up and grabbed some tissue from the side before tentatively handing it to Matt.

'You’re bleeding.’ He whispered. Matt stared at the tissue for a moment before taking it and wrapping it around his knuckles. 'Why did you never tell me?’

'I didn’t want to talk about it. I was afraid I would act…like this.’ He slumped back into the chair and lit a blunt with his good hand. Jason sat back on the edge of the bed.

'Is that why you had to leave? Did you…did you do something to her?'

'What? No!’ Matt frowned. 'I stayed out of the bitch’s way after we broke up. Don’t get me wrong I could have hurt her. But I didn’t.'

'I’m sorry I hit her.’

'She deserved it.’ Matt shrugged.

'Why did we have to leave Matt? It’s been four years and you’ve never told me.’ Jason forward and put his hand on Matt’s knee. Matt dragged on the blunt staring over Jason’s head.

'I pissed off the wrong person.’

'Who?'

'His name was Boomer Banks. I watched him for a while flaunting his cash about the place and I wanted a piece of it. I revived Pearl and I started getting close to him. Only problem was I actually started to like him and I let my guards slip. When he found out I was a man he tried to kill me, I managed to get away but he swore he’d find me and finish the job. I had to leave before he did.'

'I knew you were still doing Pearl.’ Jason took his hand off Matt’s leg and sat back. 'I just knew it. I knew no bank was dumb enough to give you a loan.’ He rolled his eyes at his own stupidity.

'I always fuck up without you. When I don’t listen to you, bad things always happen.’

'I’ve been telling you that for years.’ Jason chuckled a little. Matt dropped the blunt in the ashtray even though it wasn’t finished and stood up. He came over to Jason and crouched down in front of him.

'I’m better with you. You make a better person Jason. You complete me.’ His tears started falling again and it was so weird because Matt didn’t cry a lot and this was twice now. He cupped Jason’s face. 'You and me, we work together right? We’ve always worked together I was just too stubborn to see it.’ He moved closer and his lips brushed Jason’s. Jason melted a little, the way he always did when Matt kissed him. But then, suddenly he pulled back from Matt’s hold.

'Matt stop.’ He pushed Matt back a little. Matt stood up with a frown on his face.

'I don’t want to.’ He shook his head and pushed Jason back to the bed. He climbed on top of him and kissed him again, grinding his hips into the brunettes. It took all of Jason’s will power to push Matt away again, rolling him off him.

'I said stop.’ Jason sat up.

'Why?’ Matt frowned.

'I don’t want you.’ Jason stood up, backing away from Matt.

'Yes you do.’ Matt chuckled a little. Jason never turned him down.

'No.’ Jason felt his own tears brimming. 'I don’t want you after you’ve been with him.'

Matt stood up now too and came closer to Jason. Jason backed up into a wall as though he was scared of Matt.

'Jason, Danny was just fun. He didn’t mean anything.’ Matt placed his hands on Jason’s shoulders and tried to kiss him again but Jason turned his head away.

'It meant something to me. It hurt me Matt. A lot ok? I don’t want his sloppy seconds.’ He pushed Matt a little but Matt didn’t budge.

'You don’t mean that.’

'Yes I do.'

'No.’ Matt shook his head and moved his hands from Jason’s shoulders to his face. 'You want me. You always want me.’

'Not this time.’ Jason shook his head.

'You can’t do this.’ Matt snarled a little, his grip on Jason’s face getting a little tighter.

'I can do what the fuck I want. Just face it Matt, you fucked up ok? You ruined whatever it is we had. This is on you.’ Jason shoved him again. Matt still didn’t move. 'Let me go.’

'Not until you admit you want me.’

'Let me go.’ Jason repeated.

'No.’ Matt shook his head. Jason had flashbacks to the night at the bar when Matt met Ivy and how that had almost ended for her. He didn’t like this side of Matt.

'Matt you’re scaring me.’ Jason whispered.

'You’ll get over it.’ Matt kissed him again but Jason couldn’t handle anymore, he was a little afraid of what Matt might do. He took the chance to knee Matt in the crotch and Matt let go of him, stumbling backwards, cursing and gasping for air.

'What the fuck?’ He panted, doubled over.

'Do you even remember Billy Ray?’ Jason spat, angrier than he’d ever been. Matt caught his breath and allowed the pain in his groin to subside before he replied.

'Of course I fucking do.' What a dumb question.

'Then how the fuck can you do this?’ Jason spat again. 'He forced himself on you Matt, god knows what would have happened if I hadn’t come along! If you remember that, how the heck can you do that someone else? And it’s not like this is the first time, or have you forgotten about Ivy?’ Jason folded his arms and shook his head.

'Fuck you. I’m nothing like that sleaze.’

'Take a look in the fucking mirror Matt.’ Jason laughed. 'Right now you are no better than him. I think in a way you might even be worse! At least you were a stranger to him, at least it wasn’t his best friend he was forcing himself on!’

'I wasn’t forcing myself on you!'

'No? What would you call it then?’ Jason unfolded his arms.

'You wanted me! I just needed to remind you of that.'

Jason bit his lip and shook his head.

'No Matt, I didn’t. Any decent person would have stopped when I said I didn’t want it.'

'Don’t try and make me out like I’m some kind of bad guy. You’ve never said no before Jason. You usually want me. You’re the one that’s being a fucking a head fuck!’

'Are you for real?’ Jason practically gasped. 'Are you actually blaming me for this?'

'You never say no. Jason or Violet. You’re both whores, why wouldn’t you want it now?’

Jason couldn’t stop himself slapping Matt hard across the face. Matt groaned at the impact and Jason made a run for the door. Matt stopped him by grabbing his wrist roughly.

'You aren’t going anywhere.'

'Let go right now.’ Jason clenched his jaw and tried to sound angry. He didn’t want Matt to know how scared he was.

'And what if I don’t?’ Matt snarled.

'What the heck has happened to you?’ Jason couldn’t control the tears as they started to fall. 'Take a step back Matt and look at the situation. This isn’t you, not the Matt I know anyway. You’ve changed since we’ve been gone. I haven’t noticed it until right now, it happened so gradually but you have. I never in a million years thought I would be scared of you. I never in a million years thought I would…that I would…’ he choked a little on his sobs.

'That you’d what?’ Matt growled still holding his wrist.

'That I’d hate you. But I do. I really fucking do.’ Jason pulled at all his strength and managed to break free of Matt’s hold. He shoved Matt out of his way and ran to the door. He flung it open and stared running.

'Jason! Jason goddamnit get back here right fucking now!’ Matt yelled after him. Jason stopped for some reason and turned back to Matt who was advancing on him across the parking lot. 'Good boy.’ Matt smirked. Jason slapped him again, harder this time.

'I’m done Matt! I’m out, I am fucking out!'

'What does that mean?’ Matt growled again.

'It means I’m going back to Florida, as far away from you as I can. The fuzz aren’t after Jason, I don’t need to run anymore.'

'You’re not leaving me. I’m not losing you.’ Matt grabbed his arm again and held it so tight Jason yelped a little. The look in Matt’s eyes was one Jason had never seen before.

'You already lost me.’ Jason tried to tug free but Matt’s hold was too strong this time. 'Let me go.’

'No.’ Matt tightened his hold.

'Let me go.’ Jason repeated.

'No.'

Jason swallowed and dug in his pocket with his free hand. He pulled out his lighter and sparked it so the flame came to life.

'Let go or so help me god I will make you.'

'Do your worst.’ Matt smirked. He’s not leaving me a choice, Jason told himself. He took the lighter and held the flame to the skin on Matt’s knuckle where he’d punched the wall. Matt screamed in pain and let go of Jason’s arm.

'Son of a bitch!’ Matt yelled.

'Serves you right.’ Jason spat and then he was running again. He heard Matt calling out behind him. Jason kept running. He had nothing left to say; he had nothing left to give. Matt watched him go and all his previous anger seeped away. He hadn’t even made it back to the motel room before his tears started to fall. He collapsed to the bed in a ball and cried heavily. He’d ruined everything, just like he did best. He could have prevented this, he should have prevented this. But things were never going to be the same again, and it was all Matt’s fault.

#pearlet #pearl liaison #angst #tw violence #tw anger #scarlet #rpdr fanfiction #tbovap #queen au #1950s au #historical au