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#Mark my words now i think he’s the Eleventh Brother

the-cranck-hobbit · 1 year

Text

Shitty Day || Baby On Board OS

*Author's note : English is not my first language. This OS belongs to my Baby On Board Univers.

I’m taking requests :)

Pairing : none (for now...)

Warning : I almost cried writing this one. Is this warning enough ? Terrorist attack, injuries, burn injuries, angst, major charater death BUT happy ending

It was really a shitty day. Lexy Seresin was used to hard days, it was usual as a doctor at the San Diego Hospital Emergency. There were days harder than others. Like Halloween and its competition of pumpkin sculpture with chainsaw or winter and its flu epidemic. But today was really a shitty day.

It's been weeks that San Diego and more precisely Fightertown was under pressure. Everywhere in the country, there were terrorist attacks against Navy's famous places. With Fightertown and Top Gun on their sector, the hospital's staff knew that one day it’s gonna be their turn to handle this kind of crisis.

So when the Chief of Emergency Medicine brought together all the team for a special meeting and asked them to stay calm, they knew that the day had come.

Then he said the words : "There has been an explosion at Top Gun. The first injured are already coming. We are going to have a lot of injuries to handle today. It's gonna be an Hard Day. I know that some of you got friends and family at Top Gun." His glance fell on Lexy "But I know that you're all great professionals, and that you can handle that."

Everybody went to their tasks, making sure they had all the stuff they needed. Aaron - a former military doctor - and Rose - a newcomer but who already did her prove herself - took the helicopter to organize first-aid on site.

Lexy was already giving her order when the chief called her : “Steel !”.

It was the idea of Aaron, who served in the past with her brother, to give her “a call sign”. Steel because of her self-control in any situation. Nerves of Steel. Finally the nickname became a second name for her, and almost all her coworkers were calling her Steel.

Lexy turned around to look at her superior. Mark was a former military doctor too, he was used to this kind of emergency, and he already knew that this day was gonna be a true nightmare for his staff. And he knew that it’s gonna be worse for the ones who were personally involved.

“We don’t have any news of your mother for now. Are you sure it’s gonna be okay for you ?” Before she could answer, he added “I need to know which one I can count on today. So if you think that the involvement of your mother can affect your act, I want you to be honest with me.” Lexy lifted her head, raised her chin and looked at Mark right in the eyes, and he already knew her answer. It was the look of a Seresin on a mission. He knew it because he served with the father years ago. The Seresin were good, very good.

The wounded arrived without stopping. There were pilots, instructors, soldats, officers, even some civilians that were working in the office. There was no time to think about anything and Steel was glad for this. Jocelyn, one of the older nurses, kept an eye on her, on the order of the Chief.

The older woman knew the family for a long time. She was a young pediatric nurse when JJ - Lexy's brother - arrived, at the age of 10 months old, after the overdose of his mother, waiting for his biological father-not-ready-to-be. She knows Lexy during her childhood (a fall in the Kindergarden due to a reckless move, which resulted in a broken arm), during her teenagehood (supporting her baby brother who got a very bad flu) and now since she arrived as an intern at the Emergency before becoming an attending physician.

"Don't look at me like that, Joy. I can handle this." Lexy sight as she caught the nurse watching over her for eleventh time, as they prepared the room for another patient. A little calm between two storms. Joy answered with an innocent smile. "I know you can, Sweetheart. Did you hear someone say otherwise ?" Steel did her famous (and genetic) smirk, but before she could say anything, they both were called at the arrival of an ambulance.

This one was bad, very bad. A man with all his body burned. The burns were so bad that the poor man was unrecognizable. As soon as Lexy and Joy guided the paramedic to the emergency room, listening to their transmissions, the man agitated and moaned, unable to speak. Lexy looked at him and tried to be the most comforting. “It’s gonna be okay, Sir, we're gonna take care of you.” But the man was more and more moving. Lexy thought it was the pain, so her first instruction for the nurse in the room was to give morphine to the poor man.

As soon as it was done, she came to examine him. Still looking at his injury, she commanded. “I want a name ! And the surgeons, where are the surge’ ?!” Joy came to search the Dog Tag. “They’re all busy, doctor, it’s absolutely crazy upstairs.”

Kelly, another nurse, joined Lexy in the room. “I heard you’ve got burn victims, want a hand ?” Lexy noded, glad to have some back up. At this moment, Joy found the Dog Tag and said the name of the poor man. And during a second, Lexy’s heart stopped. Kelly looked at her, asking what’s the problem.

Robert Floyd. That was the problem. Bob, the burn man was Bob. The Bob with whom she grew up, the Bob she has known since her birth. The father of one of her best friends. Lexy composed herself. She is Steel, she promised to her chief that she could handle this mess, so she is gonna handle this. “He was my mother’s WSO.” She said with a cold voice. She turned toward Bob, who she couldn’t recognize. That was why he was so agitated, he was trying to call her, to tell her. “It’s gonna be alright, Bob. You listen to me ? I’ve got you.”

It was a shitty day. That was the thought of Rose Monaghan when the helicopter finally bring her back at the hospital. The big hangar and Top Gun was transformed into a true battlefield. Firstly, she was glad to be with Aaron, who already knew this kind of mess. But quickly, when she saw his face as soon as they land, she knew that he was as much affect has she was.

Seeing a battlefield in a distant country was a thing, seeing a battlefield at home was another one.

But it was not this vision that made her heart hurt for now. As she return to the ER, she knew that she gonna see Lexy. The young doctor and her became friend very fast. And she invited her some times at the Hard Deck, introduce her friend. And among her friends, their were Mason Machado, a childhood friend of Lexy, and new instructor at Top Gun. The same Mason that Rose had to amputate of his two legs some hours before, on the floor of the Top Gun’s hangar, to save his life. She knows that she didn’t have the choice, that it was the only way to save his life. But she couldn’t help but feel guilty.

The ER was a little more calm. Most of the injured were cared for. She found Lexy sitting in an empty emergency room. She looked exhausted, just as Rose. The red-haired doctor sat next to the dark-haired. With fatigue, her Scottish accent stood out. “Joy told me. I'm sorry about your mother's friend.” Lexy looked at her. “The Chief told me. I know you made the best decision for Mason.” They took the time to breathe and Rose talked again. “Did you see your mother?” Lexy sight. “Not yet. I know she is fine, just a little head injury. She is waiting for a scan but it looks like it’s not a big deal. I saw my father arrive. He tries to handle this bullshit from here, to be with mom. I want to see them. But I know that if I’m with them I’ll have to tell them. Tell them that I couldn’t save Bob.”

Rose and Lexy sight in the same breath. Rose looked at Lexy. “Let’s go ?” Lexy nodded. “Let’s go.”

When they arrived at the reception desk, Rose avoided Tara’s eyes. The young medical secretary was Mason’s girlfriend. She got the face of someone who just passed through a nightmare but was still standing. Because what other choice do they have ?

Tara told Lexy that Bob’s wife and daughter were arrived, and they were in Natasha’s consulting room. The young doctor took a deep breath and went to the room.

Finally, Tara put a hand on Rose's shoulder, forcing her to look up. “You saved him, and it’s the only thing that matters. I don’t care if he’s got legs or not, or if I'll have to push a wheelchair until the end of my life. Mason is alive. We’ve got a luck that a lot of people didn’t have today, and this luck it’s you.” Rose did her best to not cry and smile at her coworker and friend. Even if Tara was sincere, she couldn’t help but feel guilty. She will need time to pass through this feeling.

Lexy entered the room. Her parents immediately smiled at her, they knew that the day was hard for her, but they didn’t know how much. Marisol and Sofia Floyd, who were back at the door, turned around and smiled at her. They were genuinely happy to see her and Sofia approach her childhood friend. But Lexy couldn’t smile at her. Marisol was the first to talk, with her Brazilian accent. “Do you have some news about Robert ? Do you know where he is ?” Both of the women's eyes were full of hope.

Lexy took her professional ton, she needed it. Because in one minute she's gonna put their world upside down.

“I was the doctor in charge of him when he arrived. His wounds were bad… very bad. We did everything we could to save him, but it was too bad. I’m sorry but Bob died from his injuries.” As soon as she came to speak, Jake and Natasha looked at each other. They immediately knew how the sentence was going to end. But a part of them didn’t want to believe it. Bob ? Dead ? Impossible. Marisol and Sofia were both in shock and finally Marisol broke the silence.

“I want to see him, I want to see my husband.” Lexy sight, she was prepared for this request. “I don’t advise this. As I said his wounds were bad and… his face was hurt too. I don’t want you to have this last picture of him.” Sofia spoke for the first time. “What kind of wound ?” Lexy finally finds the courage to look at her friend but she didn't answer, so Sofia repeats. “What kind of wound did he's got ?” Lexy swallowed and whispered so quiet that it was hard to hear her. “Burn.”

Lexy heard her mother gasping and out of the corner of her eye, she saw her father took her mother in his arms. Finally both Marisol and Sofia realized what she said and Lexy couldn't do anything else but hug her friend when she burst to tears.

This day was really a shitty day. It was the beginning of the night when Lexy went on a storage room to stow some medical stuff. The ER was finally quiet, her mother was still in a room in observation but she was fine. Bradley and Line Bradshaw (Bradley’s daughter) took back Sofia and her mother home and stayed with them. Mason was in an intensive care unit, stable. The storm was behind them.

Lexy’s phone rang and she picked up, frowning as she saw an unknown number. “Doctor Seresin.” And then she heard the voice she needed to hear, she heard the only person who could calm her down right now.

“Hi Lessy.” As soon as she heard the little nickname her big brother was still calling her, Lexy finally cracked. Jake Seresin Jr hushed from the other side of the line, he did his best to comfort her through the phone. “Shh shh. Everything is fine, Lessy. You’re gonna be fine. I know you did your best. Do you listen to me, lil’ sis ? You did everything you could and you’re part of the best of the best. But sometimes it’s just not enough.”

Lexy sight and try to dry her tears. She looked like a child when she talked back, but she didn’t care. “I miss you, Jax. I want you to come back, please.” It was not often that her sister accepted to look so vulnerable. JJ wanted to take his jet and fly to her, to hug her and comfort her. He wanted to see his mother who he got on the phone a few minutes before, who he could hear the tears in her voice. He wanted to see his father who he could imagine overworking, having some call every minute. He wanted to be with Zach, being sure that his little brother wasn’t too anxious about the situation.

He wanted to be with his family and his friends who were living a true nightmare. But it was part of the deal of being a Navy pilot and he knew that. “I’m gonna be home as soon as I can, Lessy, I promise, ok ?” Lexy nodded with an affirmative noise.

She felt better after having heard her brother's voice, it was exactly what she needed. Finally JJ got the order to hang out, they said goodbye and Lexy went out of the storage, totally motivated again.

_______________________________

three weeks later

Rose was at the reception desk in the middle of the ER, doing some transmission on the computer when she saw Tara arrive from a consultation room, a big smile on her face. She called Lexy on her professional phone, asking her to come into room 4, for an emergency. The other nurse and doctor who were around the desk giggled. Rose knew that some mischiefs were coming. “What’s goin on ?” She asked Tara, smiling.

Before she could answer, Lexy arrived, crossing the ER as fast as she could without running. As soon as she entered the room, they could hear a scream of joy. Everybody laughs.

Aaron arrived. “I guessed this sound means that Skydriver is back in town ?” He looked happy about the news. Rose looked again at Tara. “Skydriver ?” Tara answered with a smirk. “It’s the call sign of JJ, Steel’s brother. He’s back from deployment and wanted to surprise her, so I helped him a little, making wait in a consulting room and tell Steel that there was an emergency.”

Rose understood. Lexy was often talking about her family and especially about her big brother. The giggles didn’t stop and Rose got the feeling that she was missing something, she looked again at Tara with an interrogation face. Tara laughs at the confusion of the new doctor. “You never had seen him, have you ?” The red-haired doctor shook her head.

Kelly came next to her. “He is a fucking living god ! So handsome, beautiful eyes, the body of a fucking greek god, and his smile… Don’t talk about his smile.”

Rose laught at her coworker's speech and looked at the other. All the women in the room were blushing, putting a lock of hair behind their ear, trying to look as natural as possible but being not natural at all. Rose looked back at Aaron. “It's a joke, isn’t it ?” Aaron laughed. “No, it’s not, Scottish. It’s the effect of a Seresin !”

Lexy arrived in the room like a storm and put her hands on Rose's shoulders. “Rose ! Darling ! My brother is back from deployment. Do you mean if I take my break to take a coffee with him please ?” Rose smiled at the plea face of Lexy and the way she spoke so fast and she agreed. Lexy did her transmission to her fast, everything was calm, and went to the locker to change her shoes and take her purse.

Some seconds later, Rose was back and her computer trying to focus and the field she was reading. In the corner of her eyes, she saw someone in front of her just on the other side of the desk. She looks up and finds herself in front of one of the most beautiful men she has ever seen.

His golden hairs were perfectly styled, he was tall and looked broad under his khaki uniform and his eyes were as blue as the sky. During a short moment, she forgot how to breathe. “Can I help you, Sir ?” The men looked down at her and politely smiled. “Thank you, ma’am. I’m just waiting for my sister.” Her look feld on the badge on his chest and read the letter “SERESIN”. She wided and understood.

“You’re Lexy’s brother, JJ is that right ?” The men smiled at her wider. And Rose could tell that Kelly didn’t overreact about his smile. It was genuine and shiny. She stood up from her seat and reached out to him over the desk. “I’m Rose Monaghan, I arrived about two months ago.” JJ shook her hand. “The Scottish who’s coming from New York ? Lessy wrote to me about you in mails.” Rose smiled back at him, finding again her confidence. “And I guess it was only bad things.” JJ let her hand down and smirked. “Absolutely, insufferable, lazy, irresponsible and totally ugly.”

Rose laughed and wasn’t aware of the look of some of her coworkers behind her back. “Well, I’m not that surprised.” She said back with a wink. JJ genuinely laughed. “I don’t know about the rest, but I’m seriously thinking about bringing her to the ophthalmologist.” Rose couldn’t help but giggled as a teenager. And she was laughing at Kelly a few minutes ago.

“Why do I need an ophthalmologist ?” Asked Lexy, surprising everybody by her sudden entrance. “Just a little joke, we’re going ?” JJ evaded. The two Seresin went out of the hospital, speaking with complicity. Rose composed herself, unaware of the glance in her back.

____________

Few days later

Rose was in the restroom, enjoying a little break with tea. Suddenly someone entered. The doctor was surprised to see JJ Seresin. She hadn't seen him since his return. “Hello, Rose isn’t it ?” Rose nodded. “I was searching for my sister.”

Rose wanted to slap herself as she felt her heart beating faster. Was she a bloody teenager ? “You should look in the storage room, on your left.” JJ nodded and thanked her.

He was about to leave the room before changing his mind. He was hesitating. “Lessy told me you were the one who was in charge of Mason during Top Gun’s attack.” Rose nodded.

Even if everybody - including Mason himself - told her that she made the right decision and thanked her for saving his life, she still felt a little guilty, she needed time.

And now she was worried. She knows that JJ and Mason have been friends for years and she was afraid that the blond haired pilot could be angry at her. After all, his childhood friend won’t be able to fly again. But JJ’s glance was soft when he looked at her. “Thank you for saving my best friend’s life.” And just with this little sentence and his warm voice, JJ left the room and Rose could feel a weight go away from her chest.

Finally this shitty day was behind them.

#top gun #top gun maverick #jake hangman seresin #natasha phoenix trace #hannix #hangman x phoenix #jake seresin #natasha trace #bradley rooster bradshaw #bradley bradshaw #robert bob floyd #robert floyd

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angelmichelangelo · 10 months

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Hello!! I have some turtle tot fic recs if you’re still in need of them!! Also just wanted to say that ur one of my favorite authors and I’m in LOVE with the way u convey emotion in ur works like the love feels so tangible between the boys and April and splinter and just!!! Ur so good at it and I am thanking u from the bottom of my heart for sharing ur talent and letting ur works be read 💙💙💙 ok now onto the fics!!

the pleasure, the privilege is mine by taizi (3/?)

Hamato Yoshi escapes from Draxum’s lab without mutating. This changes things by a lot.

Tie my shoes and count by twos by Frog_that_writes (3/6)

2 times each of the older brothers taught Mikey something.

"C'mon," he urged him. "You're gonna be walking like a champ in no time!" He stood, setting Mikey on the floor beside him gently, knowing that this would cause Mikey to make his favorite 'up!' gesture.

it’s golden hour somewhere by Dragon_Scales_and_Fairy_Tales (Marked as complete but author might come back and add to it)

Centuries ago, in a nearly-forgotten war, a member of the Hamato family’s bloodline was cursed by an enemy Death Oni.

400 years later, the curse is still unbroken. It goes like this:

Every generation– without fail, without interference, without exception and without cure– a child of the Hamato family is fated to die before they turn 16.

Everything is Figure-outable by minumi (1/? But can be read as a one shot)

Leo frets in front of him, looking between his brother’s mouth, his own hands holding a long cord of string and his brother’s crumpling expression as he stares at his bloodied fingers. He blinks at his brother’s mouth and stares a little bewildered seeing the loose tooth he was meant to be extracting still in his gums. Meanwhile in his hands... Oh no...

“D-Donbon? Um... I think, it’s okay, we can... maybe put it back?”

Frankenstein's Monster by TakingOverMidnight3482 (1/1)

It was very obvious, actually, Donnie realized as he figured out why Raph looked so upset. Every time they played any good guy vs. bad guy game, Raph was the big scary bad guy. He had to fight against them, and he always lost, because good guys always won.

Donnie realizes that Raph doesn't like always having to play the bad guy in their pretend games, and he's determined to fix it.

Lost and Found (Family) by ashtreelane (2/2)

April O'Neil, eleventh-grade level reader, dedicated member of the ecology club, and toughest third grader in Amberson Elementary school has been left behind on a field trip.

Left to wander the streets, April takes shelter in a shadowy alley, only to find that she's not the only one with that idea.

The rest of her life changes the moment she takes the small, three-fingered hand draped in a too-big orange hoodie.

____________________

Or, two lost kids are lost together. At least one of them knows how to get around New York.

Ok that’s all I’ve got!! I hope there’s at least one fic here that you haven’t read 🤞🤞 hope u have a good day/night 🫶

AH THANK YOU! that is so kind of you to say!! my heart is very very full with your lovely words! i’m so glad you enjoy my writing, it really it all the more fun and fulfilling to write and post those fics - so thank you <3

and thank you for the fic recs! i hadn’t heard of most of these so i’m excited to delve into these :3

#ask #fic rec

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libidomechanica · 7 months

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“Where be piercest shed that your mothers break”

A rispetto sequence

These are these Four who must straight and at last down his Cheek, and tirl’d at thy minde; my mother’s face again, she goes and doth glory; but once again with his hair, and louder come to a lively his suit none at a winsome wee thine own that now abideth faith torn, in the dreary pole so marks his blues band, for shame, in self indeed! Where be piercest shed that your mother’s break.

Were I often after, the quivering heart, soon life’s head upon our valleys shining frame her, world would not with Pearl, her fear my flower octave close doth dwelling years old; and a doubting myself the roofs. Though evening-sky, bare only wake with words masculine persuading roar, let’s given thee, o pity, and go; but when you departed up, intending; make speedeth.

He laid the first love unacquaintance of feeding world equal balance upon the wet fields! And Grace, the blouse you most night cooled been sae shy; for laik o’ gear ye lights and kissed against them mastered with she the city. So if, my dear, they problem, that relationship is that an Eleventh he halted on those got he reckless reeks. Heart, soon falters all; the sunset, while.

In. The gods in sundry shapes the noon-sun, with green-sickness, nectar from worse he fares. That once vowed the hills? If not I? Plays, as we reap in joy that sweet joy befalls me wandered to shepherds do, her face This story, let speak with myrrh and a crust, jutted the sense or wand’ring, thou dost, woe to fall, and something but Wisdom to any one especially do call me now.

As meaning to be though soon as he eats at me. The smiled Neptune, it had stol’n of blood quaffing your brother Secrets, sat Sulayman spoke— Though Ioy her stoopegallaunt Age them quick to your own, as herself, he took full of the Wytham flats, red loosestrife of her round. Our two bodies his plain at first, for the richest dye, through raigne, Lord of such music, sole enemie. Thrilled tree.

Then laughed at me. At them also, but tis madness the wooed with ceremony meet pour’d on her, so young Chevalier.—What is like, by now; I’ve watches his spreading of any. Their dams— how blest—but while sweet argument, too excel all or parch her hands of you, by which in our sweet kiss—you turn from thine alter’d from the stroked my wavering then to cadence of thy door.

She heads; unwrapping out, he said, How’s married all, she turned the first rose or if your equal grew. Palpitated to see me a thousand then avowed. He cried—and no more endears, bitter gale has done away. Sometimes pacem oh my bow, or a clanging like-hat relation did see, when descried full heaven, blue-bells trembled. Awake them moue; if two gold from the sea.

You must revenged for days, with you, so lustlesse meerely? Once from human feeling brere, for I have hard to moan and him harm. Embraced her this closest to me loving, not longing. Lines empaled, much loth to each greene, a goodly Oake cast him not the proud of the tide; the sun and Earth! Thus; thou die before she should see but all it be not the swete sonnes sigh. Said!

And the same, since our face easy to undertook to dispense: your light Salmacis, her dreams, all nature’s delights began to breeding cockatiels—clutch, and blue-bells is myne for complain about you push you the loth, which, light.—An’ Charlie, he’s my day to none. And you were empty and many a lustful gland, I see Tweed’s silver sicke-bed lies in think of ruth for the loved.

Out of the barbarous cheer, complete and caves! Terms, with gratitude; wise Head—clean Heart to stay his liege Lords of smoked rasp sound of the sent ambassadors with gold, all pleasure is not there by me releeued, and, to endure their heart, do anything with breathe outside of a dread to hear you are my heart in our hands. Long dallying lost sweet favour or deformed and darting smart.

But when the northern window’d heart was the sea nymphs and look’d thy paine. For will in his Highland dreams are on her as a wayward love me, after dying like-hat relation there is the floor, above that today is my buddhist my naked truth. And the sweet society of trumpets—Lycius blushing strings us to empty- handed grows with beauty’s grace; while the heart.

What daily tasted with the town of Sentiment, and two are nothing too-too kindly, shining shut of stately music picks up againe. Vessels, wine come down upon the Wheat-field, and shake. God grew fainted. She had force himself, that seems, as we rode, and, like any one especially do well that smell too much, the mountains, louder come to a room and gritty as silt.

And Cyril and picked on my father. And suddenly in the end of adder’s steeds, wherewithal an antichamber. And yet I am all Quarters up, furious is young: the lake lies be. But don’t know time’s thievish progress trees the window and I sit and sing a Navy drill, thoughts, remorse which die for the lovely he is born in flowers and fare they lay in fold.

You love; while one youth, and all this feet, and he, he rest. Fall ill or pageant at my foes choke on it and stricken, none right to shewe no succoure was begotten, bone bag man, what I knew not. Troubled hand light? No marueile Thenots Embleme. And in our houses or with the loom to another, humbly at you said Lamia, what cannot reach flowres for knee to-night!

Heart, do anything at his presently was won by charms, faded at my soul from out them deep in a thought mought mistake a nest doth keepe no noise and nubby, yours. The warmth with my hair: the first, came jasper stone when a lightheaded Bacchus’ pards—and He whom you o’er-green den the dead, they never again, that is colowred crimes accountenance into my favored hat.

The winter-eve is slight: and my mother, and like silver tincture by thy doors, those lampes of sheaves which we are the more the Berkshire hounds of every stroke, whose to be a rug—turned as someone hungry spellbound for amorous, as this. Yet she was endowed when only you art a fon, of the guy. Just as blight; but still with all these stanzas a life didn’t tell you’ve saved hill.

Credulous, with the lady, Dians peere, while at leave with his tyranny, and, tumbling pomp, nor changeable chamber that it is said to think they’re not there, but of him to retrace that is flown! The sea as mere controlled, bright daylight vpon a rock languish you nothing oh my bosom when thou ask the skies. That in a vale, is rescued. Thou the tongue trance, except where sole in pride.

#poetry #automatically generated text #Patrick Mooney #Markov chains #Markov chain length: 6 #148 texts #rispetto sequence

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jdgo51 · 1 year

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God's Whoever Policy

Today's inspiration comes from:

3:16: The Numbers of Hope

by Max Lucado

Editor's Note: It's #john316day! Text it. Post it. Tweet it. Say it to someone today: For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

"'John 3:16 is the most searched-for verse in the Bible according to BibleGateway. For more than a decade, March 16th has been a day for many Christians to share with people around the world the good news declared in the Bible in this one verse.

Will you join us in sharing it with someone today? Save the image above to your device and start sharing (+ find more social images at the bottom of this email!)

Finally, if you missed Max's 3:16 OBS last year, you can now go through the study at your own pace! Order your study materials today and get three John 3:16 art prints, lifetime streaming access to 5 study videos with Max, and other freebies! We pray that you are blessed by today's exclusive excerpt. Here's Max with more...

Sometimes I detect my favorite fragrance wafting from the kitchen: strawberry cake. I follow the smell like a bird dog follows a trail until I’m standing over the just-baked, just-iced pan of pure pleasure.

Yet I’ve learned to still my fork until Denalyn gives clearance. "Who is it for?" I ask. She might break my heart. "It’s for a birthday party, Max. Don’t touch it!" Or, "For a friend. Stay away." Or she might throw open the door of delight. "Whoever." And since I qualify as a "whoever," I dig in.

Thankfully for us, God’s gospel includes a "whoever" policy that’s always open for business.

For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. — John 3:16 NIV, emphasis mine

Whoever unfurls 3:16 as a banner for the ages. Whoever unrolls the welcome mat of Heaven to humanity. Whoever invites the world to God.

Jesus could have so easily narrowed the scope, changing whoever into whatever. "Whatever Jew believes" or "Whatever woman follows me." But He used no qualifier. The pronoun is wonderfully indefinite. After all, who isn’t a whoever?

The word sledgehammers racial fences and dynamites social classes. It bypasses gender borders and surpasses ancient traditions. Whoever makes it clear: God exports His grace worldwide.

• For those who attempt to restrict it, Jesus has a word: Whoever.

For those who attempt to restrict it, Jesus has a word: Whoever.

Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge Him before my Father in Heaven. — Matthew 10:32

Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. — Matthew 10:39

Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother. —Mark 3:35

Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. — Mark 16:16

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him. — John 3:36

Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. — John 4:14

Whoever comes to me I will never drive away. — John 6:37

Whoever lives and believes in Me will never die. — John 11:26

Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life. — Revelation 22:17

The downturns of life can create such a sad state of affairs that we wonder if God still wants us. But God’s "whoever" policy has a "however" benefit. Just ask Lazarus, the street sleeper with dogs licking his sores. There’s no need to clean up or climb up. Just look up. God takes you however He finds you.

This policy also features a "whenever" clause. Whenever you hear God’s voice, He welcomes your response. Sometimes we think the invitation has expired. We’ve waited too long. But just ask the last-minute vineyard workers in Jesus’ parable who were paid the same wages as the all-day workers: God offers eleventh-hour grace.

We may struggle with such a thought. A last-minute confessor receives the same grace as a lifetime servant? Doesn’t seem fair. But request grace with your dying breath, and God hears your prayer. Whoever means "whenever."

And there’s one more clause: whoever means "wherever." Wherever you are, you’re not too far to come home. Just ask the prodigal son.

We may lose sobriety, solvency, and sanity. We may lose jobs and chances, youth and vigor, idealism and dreams. But we never lose our place on God’s "whoever" list."'

0 notes

okay-j-hannah · 3 years

Text

You Really Like Hugs

Preference

Characters: Tenth Doctor, Eleventh Doctor, and Newt Scamander

Warnings: None... just that I would like a hug now 😂

Request: “Preference, 10th, and 11th Doctor and Newt Scamander with a mom friend reader who really likes hugs 💜” @memoirs-of-a-crow

~~~

Tenth Doctor

“I’m fine.”

“You’re always saying that.”

He limped about the console, a smug look on his face. “That’s because I’m right.” And when he caught the raised eye from his companion, he backtracked, “Well, usually right.”

(Y/N) peered at the way he held a stitch in his side – how he preferred to stand on one foot over the other. She mutely pointed at the set of chairs next to her, watching the smugness melt away.

“I really am fine.” He stumbled slightly on his way over to her.

“You keep saying it… but I’ll be the judge on whether it’s true or not.” She couldn’t help but scrunch her brows in a concerned way as she watched him struggle moving.

He kept his classic smile trained on his face as he stood before her, “Time Lords heal faster than you think.”

“And I’ll feel better if I know you’re okay.” She grazed his jacket and noticed him wince, “Move your hand; let me see.”

She didn’t look to see how he stared at her worried glance. He hesitated, not wanting to create more fear after they’d just escaped from it outside. But he reluctantly lowered his hand, revealing a film of blood on his palm.

(Y/N) gasped, a knot twisting in her stomach, “This is your definition of fine?” Her voice was angry despite the sadness in her face.

The Doctor didn’t like being the cause of it, “It’s not so bad. I’ve already started rapid healing.” He spoke quickly, moving to raise his dress shirt. There was a harsh red mark, slightly scabbed over and covered in dried blood.

(Y/N) had moved her hands to cover her mouth as he showed her the wound. And she kept her hands there regardless of knowing he was healing all right. The Doctor frowned, his eyes twinkling as he gazed at her.

“I told you I’m fine. Nothing a new shirt can’t fix.” His voice was soft now, no hint of smugness or exasperation. He knew what she needed without her uttering a word in response.

He held out his arms, twiddling his fingers. She lifted her scared eyes to his warm ones, “You always have me going half mad with worry.” And she fell right into his arms, holding him tight, “I couldn’t stand it if I couldn’t help you.”

Her hands bunched into his jacket, squeezing the life out of him. It made the Doctor smile, “You’re helping me right now.” He wound his arms more securely around her, grinning into her hair.

Eleventh Doctor

(Y/N) waltzed about the room, drinking and laughing. Everyone around took in her infectious smile and couldn’t help but join in with the party.

The lights were dim, the music raised to an almost uncomfortable level, and (Y/N) was having the time of her life. She twirled around, lifting her drink into the air and cheering towards the crowd of people gathering around her.

They egged her on, bouncing and dancing right alongside her – Amy was somewhere nearby dragging Rory by the arm. (Y/N) beamed, loving the atmosphere of everyone having fun.

Needless to say she was a fan of surprise parties.

The Doctor was under the entryway, observing from afar. He had a stupid little smile on his face as he watched his companion bob and weave through the crowd. He absolutely shined at the enjoyment in her eyes.

(Y/N) was always such a comfort to him, the longest companion he’s had yet. And it was about time he started returning the favor; she needed some more fun after the worry she had taking care of him.

Because that’s exactly what she did – she took care of him. What would he do without her constant fretting and annoying questions? Or without her chocolate chip cookies and welcoming hugs?

He needed to make sure she understood how much he needed her around.

It was almost startling how quickly (Y/N) danced her way over; he didn’t notice her leave the crowd.

“Doctor!” She yelled over the music, still keeping in time with the song. “This is one hell of a party!”

His eyes glittered, knowing full well that if his bowtie could twirl on its own, it would right now. “I’m glad you like it.”

“I love it!” And she flung her arms around his neck, pulling him close.

Though a fan of hugs, giving them frequently himself, the Doctor always paused before returning one from (Y/N). He saw them as an honor, a comfort, and it was always a skip in his heartbeats whenever he received one.

But he wrapped her up in his arms and lifted her lightly off the ground. A goofy smile plastered itself on his face, spinning her around once before putting her down.

“You are such a joy to be around, (Y/N). You absolutely deserve this.”

She graced him with a smile, “And you are such a charmer Mr. Fez Man.” And she settled against his chest, keeping him close. She was completely oblivious to how he rested his head against hers, closing his eyes and reveling in her loving embrace.

Newt

Newt stood there awkwardly in the corner, observant and distant from the rest of the dinner guests. He watched as his brother stole his best friend, capturing every ounce of her attention in laughs and smiles.

He kept his face unreadable, swirling a forgotten drink in his hands. He would never admit it, but he could do with one of (Y/N)’s hugs right about now. But apparently she was too busy falling for his arrogant, idiot brother.

Newt was never a big fan of parties, but made appearances for Theseus’ sake, and because (Y/N) enjoyed going out. She always wanted to check up on her friends and others she cared about.

Of course that’s why she was best friends with Newt – she was always checking up on him. She felt the need to take care of him and all the better because Newt was never good at making friends.

“Merlin, does he ever shut up?” (Y/N) came trailing over towards Newt, eyeing him suspiciously. He knew she was assessing how he was doing.

“My brother is fond of an audience.”

“Yeah, took me only four seconds to figure it out.” She laughed her glorious laugh and then quieted at the lack of response from her friend. But she knew exactly how to handle it, “I thought I’d escape and come over here. I’d much rather hang around you than Theseus any day.”

He couldn’t help but feel the corner of his mouth lift in a hesitant smile, “It’s not quite as lively over here.”

And she gave him a concerned look, waiting for him to meet her gaze. When he didn’t, she took the liberty to wind herself around him, wrapping her arms about his waist. She waited longer still until he returned the hug with light and shaky hands.

“I’m all right, (Y/N). There’s no need for hugs at a dinner party.”

She smirked into his chest, pulling away and feeling him drop his arms immediately. He always did that, trying to make sure he didn’t make her uncomfortable.

“You think that was for you?” she laughed, “That hug was for me. I knew you’d make me feel better.”

Newt flittered his eyes towards hers, gauging if what she said was just for his benefit.

“This hug, however, is for you.” She grinned, pulling him in again and giggling slightly into his chest.

He let out a slightly exasperated sigh, smiling despite himself. He wasn’t as cautious this time as he wound his arms around her shoulders.

~~~

Buy Me a Coffee?

Tag List:

@caswinchester2000 @aria253264 @bippity-boppity-boopa @emilythezeldafan

Remember to check out my tag list so you’re updated when a fic you like is posted on my blog! Tag List

#tenth doctor #eleventh doctor #newt scamander #tenth doctor x reader #10th doctor #eleventh doctor x reader #11th doctor #newt scamander x reader

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bvidzsoo · 3 years

Text

White Lilies

Author: bvidzsoo

Pairing: Jeon Wonwoo x female reader

Warning: swearing, violence, mentions of death, stalking, breaking in, borderline toxic relationship, allude to some mental health conditions but never named

Word count: 26, 815

Summary: Your brother, Kim Doyoung, works for the police. Ever since you finished high school, you moved away from home with him and now you live in a big city. You struggle with different things, but the worst one is the tendency to stalk others. And one day when you walk inside a coffee shop and come across a very handsome stranger, you can’t help yourself, he becomes your next target. Jeon Wonwoo. But he isn’t innocent, you find that out the hard way.

Taglist: @chal-kagyu @taeyongandfree @minkwans @itsdnguyenxoxo @rjsmochii

Unable to tag: @cheolliehugs @3rachaonlyfans @leahxxiong

A/N: Here it is! The spin off to Poison, it can be read as a stand alone, if not check out the mini-series: Poison. Minor things will make more sense. I hope it doesn’t bother you that I tagged you for this too, since it’s connected in some ways. Now, there’s things I have written in this oneshot that are totally not okay and I am very conscious of them, so please, if you ever come across a stalker or someone who harassess you, please report them, your safety is very important. But this is fiction, and I’m allowed to write whatever I want to. All the sentences in italics are the voices that Y/N hears. Enjoy now and don’t forget to leave feeback!

All mornings were usually the same, it was a routine I became accustomed to a long time again. Five years ago, actually, when Doyoung and I moved away from home. There is only a two-year difference between us, so it was easy for me to follow him, having been already done with high school. Doyoung completed the police academy and he was being promoted, brought to Seoul, so I packed up and left my old life in our hometown. Nothing tied me to that place, I never liked it there. My parents were hot headed and they always argued with me, trying to convince me to become a house wife, to find myself a wealthy man that would care for me and for our family. But it wasn’t what I needed; I had always been a free spirit. I liked to explore and disappear from civilization from time to time. Like in eleventh grade, when I sneaked out and disappeared for ten days, the whole city was looking for me. However, I was living in the woods, by the outskirts of the city, in a small hut with a nice, old lady. She moved there after she gave up her job, because she wanted a peaceful life, surrounded by nature only. When she saw me wandering around, she offered me some tea and I accepted it, surprised to see someone living there. The hut wasn’t deep inside the woods, but it still took me by surprise that a lady like her wasn’t afraid inside there all alone. I wasn’t a big fan of forests, but being surrounded by trees and the green scenery always calmed my erratic nature. It was hard for me to stay still sometimes, that’s why Doyoung and I would regularly go on runs, to try and use up my energy on something. In school, I didn’t do very well, but it didn’t bother me. I was able to finish high school and get a diploma, but I didn’t want to go to college. I found it a waste of time and money, I decided I would find something that I liked doing and would excel in it. And with the help of the old lady from the hut, I realized I had a passion for photography. I got my first camera from her, and ever since then I didn’t stop taking pictures. It became my passion and my hobby, it earned me money. I was known for taking nature pictures, sometimes even of animals, and I had my own little blog where I posted all of my works. Sometimes I’d have my pictures put up in galleries for expositions, I earned well during those events. The small house Doyoung and I lived in, was full of all the pictures I took. We lived in a homey, quiet neighborhood, deep inside the heart of the city. Doyoung earned well and my salary always fluctuated, that’s why I decided to stay with my big brother, at least until I had gathered enough money to live on my own.

The house smelled of bacon and peppermint tea as I opened the window of my room, letting the fresh morning air in. I was already dressed for the day, camera packed safely inside my bag, waiting for a call. I wore dark velvet cotton pants and an oversized grey sweater with a deep V, due to which it fell off my shoulders. Ankle high heel boots and a few necklaces I used as accessories complimented the look. It was becoming warmer and warmer outside, which was great, because I never liked wearing coats. Besides, I rarely needed them, I had the unusual trait of not exactly feeling the cold. I was always underdressed during winter and it scared some people, especially Doyoung because he had the impression that I’d catch a cold, but it’s just how my body was, always too hot. I checked my phone to be sure that Mark didn’t decide to text me instead of calling me, but seeing there was nothing, I closed the window and took my bag, leaving my room. I closed the door after me, a habit I had, and headed inside the kitchen. Doyoung was in his police uniform already, moving around quietly the kitchen.

“Good morning!” I called loudly, sitting at the table, with my chin in my hand.

“Good morning.” Doyoung greeted, quieter, and turned around with a plate and mug in his hands. He placed them in front of me and I grinned, thanking him. I took the fork and dug into my breakfast, humming at how tasty it was. Even if our mornings were always the same, the breakfast wasn’t. Doyoung always had something up his sleeves, either trying out new recipes he searched up late at night, or just trying to replicate mother’s old recipes. I took a sip of the peppermint tea and pursed my lips, giving Doyoung a thumbs up as he closed the stove and turned to sit with his own plate and mug in his hands. He chuckled and mirror my thumbs up, before starting to eat too. We ate in silence, it’s how we were in the mornings, quiet. It was the only time Doyoung could savor the silence, because it was the only time I was silent. My hyperactivity followed me through all stages of life, I still struggled with staying still…that amongst other things.

Doyoung cleared his throat and I glanced at him, before checking my phone again, “What are your plans for today?”

“Ah, the usual.” I answered with a smile, trying to look nonchalant, so that he wouldn’t realize I was lying, “I’ll just go to the park and take some pictures if I find something I like.”

Doyoung nodded and took a bite of his bacon, “Don’t you think it’s time to…find a more stable work?”

“Like what?”

“Getting employed at a studio, maybe? You know…you could go to weddings, birthdays…all kinds of events to take pictures.” Doyoung’s suggestion was friendly, but it still angered me. I left home because I didn’t want to hear the constant nagging of our parents, but here he was, doing the same thing.

“I’m a nature photographer. And I wouldn’t like working inside a studio, or whatever.” I said a little harshly, making Doyoung sigh.

“I’m not judging you or trying to tell you what to do,” He knew how I could react to these things, he knew how much anxiety my parents induced when they would try and tell me what to do with my own life, “It was just a brotherly advice, because I worry about you.”

“You don’t have to!” I exclaimed cheerily, my phone ringing at the same time. I shot my hand out to grab it and answered the phone, already knowing who the caller was.

“Target is getting ready to leave, he’ll be at the same Coffee Shop he was for the past week.” Was all the person said before I hung up, stuffing the rest of the food inside my mouth hurriedly. I scrambled up from the chair and clumsily threw my phone inside my bag, trying to chug down the peppermint tea at the same time.

“Who was that?”

“Just some person trying to sell me something—” A burp I couldn’t control surfaced and Doyoung’s eyebrows furrowed in displeasure, but I just gave him an apologetic smile, “I’ll see you after work.”

I pressed a hasty kiss against his cheek, then raced to my car and unlocked it, throwing my bag inside before getting in. I would have to get to the Coffee Shop before the target gets there, to choose a good spot. This is what Doyoung didn’t know about me. I wasn’t just a nature photographer, I worked together with his colleague, Mark, whose job was to gather information about the targets the police had. He was really good at it, but sometimes he couldn’t gather enough information by sitting behind a computer. That’s where I come in play, I go out and stalk his targets. A year ago, Doyoung had a gathering with the colleagues he was closer to and I was invited too. Mark got really drunk and I offered to drive him home, that’s when he started telling me about his work. About how he already almost got fired twice, because his information wasn’t good enough or it was lacking. And because I was always seeking new experiences and new adventures, I proposed to help him. Of course, he’d have to pay me, but I’d stalk the targets for as long as he’d need me to. Until all information that was needed was gathered for him, which he could turn into a report and pass onto the higherups. He accepted without a second thought in his drunken haze and I was beyond happy; but I asked him to keep it a secret, especially from Doyoung. If my brother were to find out, he’d definitely either lock me up in our basement or send me back home, both were things I wouldn’t be able to survive. And being in this city was good for me, it was big enough that it distracted me from my other issues. Back in my hometown, everyone knew almost everyone and it was too easy to find someone you wanted to know. Which was bad for me, bad for someone who had stalking tendencies. That’s why I have been working with Mark for a year now, I was just too good, no one ever discovered me or my identity. I knew how to stay low-key and I knew how to work around the targets without them noticing that someone was trailing them almost 24/7. Having this job, it distracted me from getting infatuated with anyone, I didn’t have the time anymore. And it was a lot more thrilling to be trailing different people each month. It was a distraction from the dark voices in my head, which tried telling me that the next man that appeared around the corner could have been the love of my life. Or the woman that I ran into at the flower shop, could have been my soulmate. I hated those thoughts, and I battled with them my whole life. I used to take medication, it silenced them while I was a teen, but it still didn’t stop me from stalking others. So, as I grew older, I stopped taking them and I started spending more time in nature, where I was alone. Photography wasn’t just a job for me, it was my own therapy.

Everything was set up perfectly, I grinned widely as I leaned back in my seat. My bag was on the chair next to me, the camera placed on the table. For this to work, I needed as many people as there were inside the Coffee Shop to see it. Thankfully, traffic wasn’t bad and I got here five minutes before the target. I sat close to the exit, from where I could see the whole shop well and could run away too if something happened. The target too was really transparent, he sat at the same table he’s been sitting at for the past week. Next to the big windows, behind his table there were a bunch of plants decorating the place and a painting of flowers was hung above it. Which was perfect for me, my plan was coming together. The target has already ordered his coffee, so now it was my time to do something. I took my wallet and walked up to the barista, having hung the camera around my neck. The weight of it was comforting, having worn it for so long, that it became something familiar. I smiled at the barista and looked over the menu behind her, acting like I was thinking of what I wanted, offering her enough time to take in my attire closely.

“I’ll have Caramel Macchiato.” Finally, I told her and she nodded, returning the smile, as I handed her the money.

“A name?” I was glad this wasn’t the barista who took my orders the other times, I didn’t want them to recognize me. I wouldn’t come to this Coffee Shop either way anymore after I was done with this job.

“Y/N.” I answered the barista and she nodded, passing the cup with my name written on it, to her colleague. She printed the receipt and handed it to me, her eyes falling onto my camera. As there was no customer behind me at the moment, she looked at me curiously.

“You’re a photographer?” She asked as the coffee brewer started making loud noises.

“A nature photographer!” I told her with excitement and the barista nodded her head, offering me a friendly smile.

“I tried it once, it wasn’t made for me.” We chuckled at her words and I just shrugged.

“It requires patience and technique, for sure.” I said and she nodded her head in agreement, “By the way…this floral arrangement—”

And then I turned my body sideways, eyes falling on the target. He was just a few feet away, I made sure to speak even louder, so that he would hear me, “The floral arrangement is so pretty! Do you mind if I take pictures of it?”

The barista thought about it as my drink was done and handed to me by the other worker, “I don’t think it’s a problem, go ahead!”

“Thank you!” I bowed my head a little and she bid me farewell. My plan was working, I just needed to do one more thing. So, with the most innocent expression I could muster up, I approached the target. I knew he heard the conversation between me and the barista, but I wanted to make sure he understood what I was about to do.

“Sir, excuse me—” I spoke softly, almost shyly, “Do you mind if I take pictures of this floral arrangement? You won’t be in frame at all.”

“Go ahead.” He answered me with a very uninterested shrug, the wrinkles around his eyes made him look older than the age Mark told me. I bowed my head and placed my Caramel Macchiato on top of his table, turning on my camera. I kneeled on one knee and started snapping photos of the plants, pursing my lips, trying to get the perfect angle. Then I rose to my feet, and took another one, the painting above it being included in the shot too.

“I’ll take some more from my own table, just letting you know…” I spoke up again, but the man wasn’t paying attention to me. I smirked a little, grabbing my drink from his table, cradling it in both of my hands. With a victorious look on my face, I turned with enthusiasm and took a step forward blindly. My body slammed into another body, and we both yelped loudly. Mine was high pitched, but the other one was deep and almost guttural. My heart started thumping in my chest loudly, taken aback by the accident, and hopeful that I didn’t spill my drink on my favorite sweater nor on the person I ran into.

“I’m so—” But when I looked up, I was left breathless. The man standing in front of me was frowning, looking over himself, to check if anything got spilled on him. Thankfully, the lid of the drink was put on really well and the way I was holding the cup stopped it from spilling out. The thumping of my heart became deafening and all I could see suddenly was the man standing in front of me.

He’s the one. Don’t let him slip past your fingertips.

The dark voice, however, quickly snapped me out of the state I almost got lost in. The target, I’m here on a very serious mission, Mark’s counting on me. But the man’s eyes would be forever ebbed inside my mind, I knew I would think about his sharp, fox like eyes before going to sleep tonight…or every night. Round glasses sat on his long nose and he pushed them up with his long fingers, they almost fell off at the impact. When his lips started moving, all I could see was the redness of them and how deep his Cupid’s bow was. Then I snapped out of it, eyebrows furrowing as I totally missed what he just said.

“Uh—I’m really sorry.” I said awkwardly, stepping back when I realized how close our bodies were to each other.

“It’s fine, you didn’t spill any on me…or you.” His eyes went to the sweater I was wearing for a second before he looked back up. His deep voice sent goosebumps down my skin and I very visibly shivered, but I wasn’t cold. The dark blue hoodie this handsome stranger wore seemed to be alright.

“Yeah, I didn’t spill it…” My mind felt like it was made out of gum, I had no coherent thoughts and it made me feel awkward. Taking a last glance at the handsome stranger, noting how his black hair was clumsily parted above his left eye, I bowed, and then willed myself to move away.

He’s everything you’ve ever wanted.

I walked back to my table and took a seat, taking a deep breath in. I can’t let myself get distracted. I run into strangers all the time; this handsome, deep voiced man wasn’t different at all. I couldn’t let the voices get to me, I had to focus on the target. So, I took a big gulp of my Caramel Macchiato and then looked at the target. He was tapping the table almost nervously, so I turned on my camera again and took two pictures of him, then one of the floral arrangement to make sure it didn’t look suspicious. I looked around the Coffee Shop and my eyes fell on the handsome stranger, who was laughing with the barista. What could they have been talking about? The jingling of the door snapped me out of my own thoughts and I watched as a tall woman, wearing a business suit, walked inside. Her hair was in a low ponytail and she looked fairly young, I almost lost interest in her, but then she sat across from the target. I took another picture of the floral arrangement and then snapped a bunch of pictures of the two, making sure the woman’s face could be seen well in all. There was movement in the corner of my eyes and I saw the stranger sitting at a table close to the front desk.

You should snap a picture of him too.

I cleared my throat and took another sip of my drink, the target and the young woman got up from their table, and I quickly went to grab my bag and pushed my camera inside. As I stood up, a name was called.

“Wonwoo?” And I saw the handsome stranger stand up and walk up to the barista to take his drink. Wonwoo, that’s his name. But I shook my head and waved at the barista with a cheerful smile as I quickly left the Coffee Shop, eyes narrowing to see the couple. To my luck, they were walking on the other side of the road, so I remained on this side and fished out my camera.

So, you’ll leave Wonwoo for that pathetic old man and the woman? He’s not more important?

I shook my head and snapped a few pictures as I walked on the sidewalk, getting to a cross. I crossed the road and cursed when they disappeared around the corner, I had to speed up; and threw the cup in the trash bin as I have finished my drink. I looked around once I turned the corner and panicked for a second, thinking I lost the target. But suddenly, I spotted them sitting on a bench in the park, so I headed that way. I started taking pictures of the river and the few birds sitting by the shore, then of the trees that have blossomed already. The white cherry blossoms were beautiful and I smiled to myself as a light breeze brushed my hair. Then I willed myself to focus again and turned the camera towards the target and the woman, who had decided to take a walk. There was a decent distance between them and I, and to anyone else, it would look like I’m taking pictures of the nature; which I was still kind of doing. The couple walked around for at least five minutes, and I decided to sit on a bench and watch them from there, putting on my shades as the sun was directly in front of me. I was just about to snap a picture of a little duck family, but the woman leaned in towards the target and I quickly started snapping pictures of them. It looked like she whispered something in his ear and then a kiss was pressed against the target’s cheek and the woman walked the opposite way they have come in. I snapped pictures of her alone too before turning back towards the target, who was on his phone. He was on the other side of the river, and I couldn’t have reached him in time, or follow him, my car was ten minutes away from here. So, I just continued snapping more pictures, and my eyebrows furrowed when someone got into the frame. The black hair covered the side of the picture, and I moved a little to the left, leaning against the trunk of a tree. I snapped pictures of the license plate and of the target as he got inside the car, seeing someone already inside of it. I smirked to myself as the car drove away and pulled my phone out, going to my contacts. I pressed the icon next to the name ‘Money Bag’ and it dialed the number.

“Anything?” Mark picked up on the first ring.

“A young chick showed up, but they split up and I lost both. My car wasn’t close enough.”

“That’s fine, where are you now?”

“At the park, by the river.”

“Okay, meet me in front of the town hall.” I hung up and placed everything inside my bag as I started walking back to my car, enjoying the weather and the warm sunlight. Spring was finally around the corner, it was the perfect time to snap pictures of nature, or at least, my favorite time. As a second thought, I took my camera into my hands and turned it on, curious of how the nature pictures turned out. I scrolled past the ones of the target and woman, and chuckled when the one with the ducks came into view. They were cute, people would like this. As I continued looking through the pictures, the ones where someone got into them, made me frown. I was about to delete them, but my finger paused. Black hair, sharp jaw, long nose, round glasses.

You know you can’t delete it. You can’t fight the urge, can’t you? Wonwoo’s the one, listen to us!

The town hall wasn’t far from the park, so I didn’t bother driving there. Besides, I liked taking walks. It helped with calming me, even though I was desperately in need of a run right now. After waking up, Doyoung and I go straight for a run, but I slept in this morning and I’m sure Doyoung woke up later too as he worked until late last night. He said his boss, Sana, was making him work extra hours because she was sniffing around a very powerful mafia leader. I was aware of the illegal things some people did, sometimes the people I had to stalk for Mark weren’t the brightest, I was well aware of that, but I was never offered information about them. It was Mark’s way of protecting me from harm, which I didn’t think did much. If I was caught, they wouldn’t care if I knew or not things about them, I probably would have been still tortured. Which is why I asked Mark to keep the details to himself, if I knew that I was stalking a mafia leader or some other gang member, I probably would’ve been too scared to go through with the procedure.

I was shifting my weight from one leg to another as I stood waiting around for Mark, pouting when I looked down at my wrist watch. I’ve been standing here for ten minutes; I was becoming really bored. I took my phone and sent a text to Doyoung, checking up on him.

From Doyoung: Just had my lunch break, I’ll be heading back to work. It’s possible I’ll be back late once again.

To Doyoung: No problem, I’ll leave some dinner for you.

From Doyoung: What are you up to?

To Doyoung: I’ll be going for a run in a few minutes, see you at home!

From Doyoung: Take care of yourself!

I smiled and as I looked up, Mark was walking towards me. I started waving at him with a big grin, my phone almost fell from my grip, but I managed to steady it. Mark was wearing dark jeans and a black hoodie, with a black baseball cap on his head. If this was him trying to be casual, he was failing.

“Stop drawing attention to us!” He said with a hiss as he came to a stop in front of me and I frowned.

“That’s not how you should treat someone so important to your team.” I said and Mark rolled his eyes, extending one hand. He was gripping some cash and I took it with a grin, quickly placing it inside my bag.

“Well, since you asked so nicely…” I said teasingly and Mark rolled his eyes again, I handed him the memory card, “Take good care of it! And don’t delete the other pictures I took; some came out really well!”

“I won’t.” He said with a grin and then looked down at the card, “Your job is done here, wait until I contact you again. You could go on a vacation or something.”

I laughed quietly, giving Mark a look, “Yes, captain, I might just do that.”

Mark shook his head before taking off with a wave, I waved back and then turned to walk inside the second-hand shop. I greeted the lady and told her I just wanted to change inside the cabin, so she left me alone. I changed my normal attire into my running one. Yoga pants and adidas, a black top with a fluffy hoodie over it. I pulled my hair in a low bun and stuffed everything inside my big bag, it’s why I carried it around. Random runs were the best, always exciting as I never knew where I felt like going for one. I smiled at the lady from front desk as I left the shop, heading for my car. The walk was quick because I tried to hurry up, excited to go for the run. Once I got to my car, I placed my bag inside and then locked it, having my phone and keys in the pocket of the hoodie. I headed back to the park where I took the pictures of the target and woman, and first did a little warm up. I stretched my legs out and back a little, and then started running. I took steady breaths as I ran down the path, my pace not very fast but not slow either. My heartrate picked up as I continued running and I marveled in the peace around me. The scenery brought a smile onto my lips as I ran past some couples; I willed my mind to stop thinking. It was a hard thing to do at first, I was always thinking of something, but I had to learn due to the dark voices that would sometimes push me into doing things. I could ignore them, now better than when I was younger, but it was still difficult. The problem was, they could drive me crazy, I couldn’t ignore them forever, and in times like those, I would disappear. Doyoung hated it when I did that, but I haven’t had an episode like that in long.

But you can’t stop thinking about Wonwoo. You want him, you know it. You can’t lock us away anymore, Y/N, we are here. Wonwoo wants you too. Didn’t you see the way he looked at you? He fell for you, Y/N, listen to us once again. Do it. Just ask Mark. He’ll find him in a second for you. You didn’t delete his picture; you have his name—

A loud shout left my lips as I tumbled over some rocks that were on the path, but thankfully I didn’t fall. My eyebrows furrowed as I crouched down to hug my knees against my chest. I can’t let the voices get to me. I can’t let one stranger fuck up what I built up with so much struggle. I couldn’t let a stranger rule my life. I wouldn’t let the voices get to me, no matter what. I was stronger than that. With a deep breath, chest rising and falling quickly, I turned around and started running back. The energy burst I had this morning seemed to have disappeared, which was a good sign. I would have to take a bath at home and then cook some dinner, edit the pictures I took today after Mark drops off the memory card and post them on my blog. Well, that settles it then, I smiled as I came to the end of the path. I slowed down to a walk and took deep breaths, leveling my breathing. I turned to walk on the sidewalk and felt the breeze brush my hair once again, making me shiver a little bit. My body was warm from the run and I concluded that sitting inside my warm car while I was sweaty was probably a better idea than spending more time outside, in the cold breezy weather. But my mind went numb when I saw the black-haired man sitting on a bench with a book in his hands. My feet were still moving, but it felt like I wasn’t in control of it anymore. The Universe was really testing me today. I bit my lower lip and unconsciously grabbed my phone inside my pocket.

No, the Universe is doing for you what you didn’t want to do, Y/N. He’s right there, sitting on that bench, waiting for you. How could you let this opportunity slip past your fingertips? You want it, so do it.

I didn’t realize it until it was too late, my finger had already pressed the button, a picture of Wonwoo having been taken. I hated myself for doing it, but it felt like all stress finally left my body. I felt at ease, I wasn’t fighting with my thoughts anymore, with the dark voices. In the end, I really didn’t have a choice but to fall back into my old habits. And I was doing so well, until Wonwoo showed up. What will Doyoung think if he finds out? I can’t be sent to a psychic ward again, it wouldn’t help. They never help; I hate the medication they give me. I can survive without them too. Maybe if I stalk him for a week or two, I can get rid of the voices and go back to how I was before meeting him. But I pressed the button again, another picture snapped of Wonwoo. I wasn’t walking anymore, I was rooted in one place, mouth hanging open as I gazed at Wonwoo in awe. I must have looked hilarious, crazy even, but I didn’t care. I couldn’t look away; I couldn’t even move. But then suddenly, he didn’t flip the page of the book like he was planning to do, instead, he looked up. And his eyes fell on me, as if he felt that I was looking at him, and I jumped. His furrowed eyebrows snapped me out of my delirium, his sharp gaze sent a shiver down my spine and suddenly I found myself running away. I didn’t care what he thought, I was ashamed that I let the voices control me; it was time I headed home. It would be safer for everyone else if I just stayed at home.

That’s our girl, you’re doing amazing.

The first thing I did once I got home was clean the house, my blood was boiling as I lost grip of the voices, which kept celebrating for I have taken those two pictures of Wonwoo in the park. In that rage, I deleted them from my phone and threw my phone in the trash bin I had in my room, slamming the door shut as I went to the bathroom to grab what I needed to clean the house. I turned on music, played it loudly too, blocking out the noises coming from outside, but the voices in my mind too. Due to my rage, I was done in almost two hours, it usually would take longer if someone tried to clean the house alone, we had a lot of stuff despite it not being a big house. Once I calmed down, I went to the kitchen and made some ramen, sweet potatoes made in the oven, and some seasoned pork. I went and bought beer for Doyoung and myself, and after putting them in the fridge, I decided to check my phone to see if anyone tried looking for me. It was six in the afternoon and I hoped Doyoung didn’t think that I was kidnapped…well, he’d actually know that. For my own safety, he installed an app on my phone that could track me. I only accepted it because I knew he worried a lot about me, Doyoung and I had a strong bond and the episodes I had always broke him mentally, I tried to be a better person for him too.

From Doyoung: I don’t think the ramens in the cupboard are still edible. Text me if you get home!

To Doyoung: Well, I cooked those ramens, so now they are edible! Sorry, I cleaned the house so I wasn’t around my phone…

From Doyoung: Cleaned the house? Are you feeling alright?

I chuckled at the fast reply, no surprise Sana made him stay plus hours if he hung on his phone while on duty.

To Doyoung: Don’t worry, I’m feeling perfectly fine! I hope Sana pays you well if you stay after working hours!

From Doyoung: Don’t worry about that, she stays with me.

To Doyoung: Oh! Someone’s getting it!

I laughed as Doyoung started typing back, imagining his angry and flustered face.

From Doyoung: Don’t be silly, Y/N!

To Doyoung: Okay, bye!

I laughed as I walked to the bathroom, turning on the warm water to have a bath. After the long day I had today, I deserved a warm, relaxing bath. I got a message from Mark, a thumbs up, and I knew the memory card was in the mailbox, so I quickly jumped into some shoes and ran outside to retrieve it. I locked the front gate, Doyoung had keys too, and then hurried back inside the house. I placed the memory card on my desk and then proceeded to undress while walking back to the bathroom. I turned the faucet off and threw some bath salts into the water, pulling my hair in a high bun. I shut the blinds of the bathroom and sighed, biting my lower lip. Would it be so bad if I asked Mark to look up Wonwoo a little bit? I wouldn’t try to do anything, I just wanted to know him better? I wasn’t doing anything wrong, right? I picked up my phone reluctantly as I sat on the side of the bathtub, easing my legs into the water. I went to my gallery and to the pictures I deleted, they didn’t get instantly deleted from my phone, they were stored there for another month before finally getting deleted off the device. I selected the two pictures of Wonwoo and sent them to Mark.

To Mark: His name is Wonwoo. Remember that favor you have going on? Return it by looking this guy up.

I threw the phone onto the clothing pile that was on the ground by the bathtub and lowered myself into the water, feeling bad that I couldn’t resist the urge. It was too easy with Mark, when I was a teenager, I would do everything by myself. It was thrilling to run after someone, watch them from a distance not knowing if they would notice you or not. And if they indeed noticed you, you could always play it off somehow. But this was safer, I couldn’t risk falling back into my old habits. It was like gambling or drugs…you needed rehabilitation from it, but the yearning never really goes away. I hated myself for doing this, but without the medication I so refused to take, I wasn’t strong enough. I wouldn’t admit that to others or myself, living in a lie was always easier. But tonight, I would allow myself to live in a fantasy.

· Name: Jeon Wonwoo

· Birth date: 1996. 07.17.

· Height: 1,82 m

· Siblings: Kim Mingyu, apparently they are both adopted

· Job: Chauffeur of a business man

· Places he’s frequently seen at: National library, Sunday Gym, Red Corner bookstore, various parks around his neighborhood, hiking trails around the forest, Soul BBQ, Sky Blue headquarters

· Car: red Mercedes CLS class

· Additional things I found about him: It seems like he has thirteen close friends, he lives with his adopted brother; but I couldn’t find the address anywhere. Surveillance cameras say that he usually goes to read in the park, by the river, and he drinks a lot of coffee. I’m pretty sure he wears glasses, but there’s few pictures of him wearing it. I’m sorry, Y/N, for some reason this is everything I could find about him. He’s got a clean record, and even the little information I gave you I could barely find. Something’s fishy, but maybe he really isn’t that interesting. I wouldn’t bother with someone like him. P.S. Don’t tell anyone I helped you gain information on him, they’ll fire me!

The birds chirping were the first thing I heard as I woke up, then the hurried knocks on my door. I groaned loudly, voice hoarse from having just woken up, and the knocking stopped.

“Get up, it’s almost 9 am!” Doyoung’s voice called from the other side of the door and I sighed, burying my head in my pillow, “I’m heading in to work later. I can drive you to wherever you want to go, if you want me to.”

That definitely got my attention as I raised my head, “Okay!”

I cleared my throat and jumped up into a seated position, looking around my bed. Printed pictures lingered scattered around the blanket and my laptop was on the verge of falling off, so I grabbed it and got out of bed. I walked to my desk and placed it on top of it, leaning against the edge of the glass. I looked down at the pictures that were on my bed and decided, that I would do this. I stayed up until late night to research myself as much as I could about Wonwoo, but he had no social media. I found a few yearbook photos of him, but they didn’t help with much. Mark was right, he seemed to be a very boring person…he almost felt like a ghost, like his real identity was buried deep down. And that was exciting, so, if Doyoung had already offered to give me a lift, I could just head to the Red Corner bookstore and check it out for myself. Hopefully, Wonwoo would be there. I still don’t know his schedule, but if I start lurking around the places Mark told me about, I can very easily follow Wonwoo around once he shows up.

After having breakfast with Doyoung, we both got dressed and I gave him instructions to the Red Corner bookstore and we were off, rolling down the busy streets of the city. My fingers were tapping against my knees in excitement as I tried to stay still, trying not to alert Doyoung that I was feeling excited about something. But he was my brother, and he noticed.

“I didn’t know going to a bookstore could make you excited.” He raised an eyebrow and I chuckled, shaking my head.

“It’s not that, I’m just in a good mood!” I tried to lie, but Doyoung just shook his head; I knew he didn’t believe me.

“So…now you suddenly like to read?” He asked with a teasing grin and I scoffed, turning to look at him.

“What do you mean?” I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms in front of my chest, “I always liked to read!”

“Fashion magazines, maybe.” I huffed and it made Doyoung laugh as he drove through an intersection. Once Doyoung was done laughing, he cleared his throat and briefly glanced at me.

“You wouldn’t be so excited about books unless you’re stalking someone.” I failed to pick up on the playfulness in his voice, the way he bit his lower lip to try and stay serious. My heart started suddenly beating really fast and my grip tightened around the seatbelt, my whole body became tense. How did he realize? Did he walk inside my room while I was sleeping? Was it something in my words that gave it away? Did I get worse at hiding my feelings? I could feel Doyoung’s gaze on me, but I couldn’t move out of fear. I was scared of what was coming next and ashamed. But then, Doyoung gasped and I had to look at him.

“I’m sorry!” He exclaimed, panic lacing his words, and I became confused, “I didn’t mean to say that—I—I worded that so badly, Y/N—”

“Oh,” I chuckled, trying to collect myself, “No, it was a joke! I totally get it!”

I couldn’t believe I almost gave myself away. He had no idea; he was just teasing me! I chuckled again, feeling at ease as I turned to look at Doyoung again. “Seriously, I totally got your joke!”

“I’m still sorry—” My laughter interrupted Doyoung and he just shook his head, still looking guilty.

“I could become an actress if my reaction made you react like this.” But in truth, my reaction was genuine and I was so thankful that Doyoung didn’t realize that. He could read people very easily, but maybe as he was driving he couldn’t focus fully, which was great for me. Doyoung sighed and he pulled up to the sidewalk, looking at the Red Corner bookstore, which was just across the road. I smiled and unbuckled the seatbelt; I pressed a kiss against Doyoung’s cheek then got out. He offered me a small wave before driving away. I took a deep breath and smiled, looking around the street. It didn’t look like a very busy neighborhood; a few people were walking here and there. To my right there were many narrow alleys that lead to the main road, and I took off down the street. Why would Wonwoo come to a bookstore in this side of the city if he could go to the big one at the mall? Wonderingly, I crossed the street and carefully approached the bookstore. It wasn’t open yet, so I figured I could go to the coffee shop I saw while Doyoung drove us here. The bookstore would only open in half an hour, I still had time. I walked down the street with a skip in my steps, smiling widely. I had a feeling today was going to be a successful day, but for that I needed Mark to leave me alone. I was hoping he wouldn’t get a new case for at least a week, the potentiality of following Wonwoo around without him knowing had me in a very good mood. Sleeping on the choices I took yesterday definitely did well, I wasn’t feeling as bad about as I was yesterday. Yes, it was still wrong what I was doing, but as long as no one got harmed, it wasn’t something very bad!

I entered the coffee shop and walked to the front desk, ordering my usual drink of choice. When it was done, I walked to a table and took a seat, it was by the window, and took a sip of the Caramel Macchiato. I watched the people who passed by and took another sip, relaxing in the chair, feeling content. The melody playing in the shop was pleasant and I bobbed my head to the rhythm. The bell chimed and I watched the beautiful girl that walked in, her hair was dark brown and wavy. She had bangs and she was tall, definitely a beauty.

You could follow her too, she’s your type. If Wonwoo backfires, you have an alternative.

I almost laughed out loud at the words whispered to me by the dark voices, feeling truly entertained. It was so easy to find someone, like I said, it could be literally anyone. If I found them attractive, nothing was stopping me from stalking them. But I shook my head, took another sip of the drink, and ignored the voices. I wouldn’t let them take full control over me. And as the beautiful girl waited at the front desk, my back straightened as a very familiar red Mercedes came into view. It was Wonwoo’s car. My heart started thumping quickly and for a second I didn’t know what do to, so I relaxed into the seat, trying to stay low-key. The beautiful girl saw my sudden reaction and she looked at me concerned, but I just smiled at her, trying to show her that I was fine. When she turned her back on me, I grabbed my phone and quickly went to the camera, snapping a picture through the window. Wonwoo couldn’t be seen, all windows of the car were tinted, but he didn’t get out. I quickly locked my phone when I heard the heels of the girl getting closer as she walked by me and I waited patiently until she was out of the shop before I sprung onto my feet. My knees accidentally knocked into the table and it took the barista off guard, I hurriedly went up to her and handed back the now empty glass, thanking her for her services. She gave me a funny look but I ignored her as I almost ran out of the coffee shop.

“Bye!” I called to her with a wave before exiting, and stopped for a second, taking a deep breath. Wonwoo’s car was still there, but I didn’t know if he was in there or not, so walking up to it would have been too risky.

Oh, here comes the fun we’ve been all missing.

My whole body was shaking in excitement as I thought of my next move, deciding to walk by the bookstore. I could peek inside and see if Wonwoo was in there or not, the windows were big enough to see everything from the outside. So, I started moving, fingers tapping against my palm anxiously, heart thumping wildly. This was always exciting, but also nerve wrecking. I had to move without being seen…or recognized. But, I was sure Wonwoo had already forgotten my face, I was just an ordinary, clumsy girl who almost spilled her coffee on him.

No, the image of your face has been forever printed into his mind, Y/N. He’s watching you, just like you are watching him.

I stopped walking, the woman behind me almost ran into me as she was taken off by my sudden lack of movement. She gave me a glare, but I ignored her. I was right in front of the bookstore and my heart was beating even faster. What did the voices mean? Does Wonwoo know that I’m stalking him? That can’t possibly be true…why would he…

Are you the only person that stalks in this world?

I shook my head and closed my eyes for a second, trying to block the voices. The thought of that creeped me out and I didn’t want to think about being possibly stalked. Then I mustered the courage and looked inside, seeing two girls at the front desk. No trace of Wonwoo, however, as I looked around the place. Not wanting to draw too much attention to myself, I walked by and rounded the corner, leaning against the red cobblestone wall. Well, if Wonwoo wasn’t inside, he must still be in his car. Which is bad, because Doyoung drove me here. I didn’t think I’d have success on my first day of keeping my eyes on him, so I didn’t find coming with a car necessary. But now, I regretted my decision. With a sigh, I took my phone in my hand and was about to search for a cab, but then I heard laughter. Deep laughter. Coming from around the corner. My heart skipped a beat as I peeked around the corner, he was standing there. Wearing light blue jeans and a turtleneck, his dark hair in his eyes and round glasses sitting high up on the bridge of his nose. I quietly exhaled, taken by the sight in front of me. Wonwoo laughed again, his voice was still deep, his laughter was short but warm. The way his lips pulled up into a huge smile it melted away the cold expression I’ve seen him have in the pictures I found of him. His eyes didn’t look as menacing anymore. Not even realizing that I was doing it, I snapped a few pictures, hopeful that I caught his smiling face. But he was with the beautiful girl, and she was touching his arm. So then does Wonwoo have a girlfriend? And it’s the beautiful girl from the coffee shop? It isn’t impossible.

You could have both…or you could get rid of one…

“Shut up!” I hissed, and quickly ducked back behind the red cobblestone wall, scared that they heard me. They were a good distance away, and there was noise on the street, but I could never be too sure. I hated the dark voices, especially when they suggested getting rid of someone. I could never do it; I didn’t want to. I would go too low, I would disappoint Doyoung so much. If I killed someone, he’d be the one putting me behind bars. I didn’t want to see the pain on his face, pain I caused for him. I didn’t want him to suffer or worry for me anymore, he’s had enough of it while we were still young kids.

The slamming of the bookstore door snapped me out of my thoughts and nervously, I peeked around the corner again, seeing Wonwoo walking away. He was headed towards his car, so I didn’t bother following him at first, but when he went past it without getting in, I grinned. He wasn’t leaving just yet, that means I can follow him around! Fixing my hair and keeping my phone in my hand for comfort, I took off after Wonwoo, keeping a safe distance between us.

And I had a very successful day. Wonwoo stayed in the neighborhood for three hours, just walking around. I snapped plenty of pictures of him, ones I would have to copy on my laptop the second I got home and delete them off my phone. He did go and had breakfast at a tiny local restaurant, which had amazing food by the way. They had some traditional cake that I haven’t eaten before, and I made a mental note to return there from time to time. Maybe with Doyoung, he’s always had a sweet tooth. Then Wonwoo went for a short walk in the park, before he went back to the bookstore. He came out with a book and then went behind the bookstore, to a playground, sat underneath a big willow tree and read. For two hours, he didn’t move from there. His hair was moved by the breeze from time to time, his lips pursed sometimes, and eyebrows furrowed every once in a while. His glasses kept falling off and he had to push them up every five minutes. I’m assuming when something was interesting or tense, he’d bite his lip or thumb, eyes running over quickly the words on the white pages. I took a picture and I was able to see the title of the book, ‘I’ll be gone in the dark’. So, he was into crime books, I looked up and smiled in his direction. He just became more and more mysterious. I was aching to know who he truly was, what he truly liked, I was yearning to hear his beautiful laughter again. And as if Wonwoo finally noticed that someone was watching him, he looked up. And he looked at me. We made eye contact, my heart started beating like crazy, my hands shook.

What will you do now Y/N? Isn’t this just thrilling?

But suddenly a tap on my knee made me jump. I looked down confused and saw a little boy grinning up at me. My eyebrows rose as I watched him; he had his hands behind his back.

“Hello?” I asked confused, glancing around to see if he was with anyone. A couple elderly people were by the entrance of the playground, chatting. He was probably with one of them.

“Hi!” The boy said shyly and I offered him a warm smile.

“Can I help you? Are you lost?” I asked him, making sure that he wasn’t here alone.

“No.” He shook his head with a chuckle, then looked down. I chuckled and looked at him confused; he was shifting his weight from one leg to another.

“You’ve been sitting here for a long time,” He suddenly said as he looked back at me, “Aren’t you cold?”

I didn’t know how to answer him, he took me off guard. What was a little boy doing, talking to a stranger?

“My jacket is thick, I’m not cold—”

“Do you like that man?” When the little boy suddenly pointed at Wonwoo, my heart jumped into my throat. I was praying he wasn’t looking my way anymore, and thankfully; he wasn’t. Actually, he was gone. Disappointment settled in and my eyebrows furrowed as I looked around, trying to spot him.

“He’s gone.” I whispered, standing up abruptly. My legs were sore, my ass actually hurt. I should have moved around, not sat there unmoving for two hours straight.

“This is for you.” The little boy chuckled and I looked back down at him; he was holding a little white flower. I took it from him confused, but he just grinned at me and then ran off. What a strange encounter that was. But after that, I went back to the bookstore, and Wonwoo’s car was gone. He had left. That meant I was done for the day, he could’ve been anywhere, and I was actually really cold. So, I called a cab and went home, changed and then went for a long run. I needed to clear my mind, block the voices that were so violently trying to dictate me my next move. I wouldn’t let them rule over me, I was the one in charge of myself and my actions.

After I got home, I showered and cooked some dinner, then I sat in the living room with the TV on as I copied all the pictures I took of Wonwoo onto my laptop. My cheeks felt warm as I looked at them again. I printed two, one where Wonwoo was smiling and one while he was sitting underneath the tree. The breeze had picked up and his hair was blown all around, he was pushing up his glasses, his lips in a tight line. The pictured offered me calmness and as I was looking at it, the front door got unlocked. Franticly, I closed my laptop and threw the two pictures into the folder I was using to store everything I had on Wonwoo. Doyoung looked tired as he walked inside and I was standing very awkwardly in the middle of the living room.

“Hi!” I called out loudly and he looked up, taken aback by my presence there.

“Uh, hi.” He greeted back, giving me a questioning look but I just giggled.

“I cooked dinner!” I tried to diffuse the awkwardness and Doyoung started grinning.

“Thank God, I didn’t have lunch today, I’m starving!” He said as he pushed his shoes off.

“It’s important to have lunch.” I said as I walked to the fridge, taking out the food I had prepared.

“Yeah, but according to Sana, so is raiding the Sky-Blue headquarters.” Doyoung said defeated and my eyebrows furrowed. Where have I heard that name before?

“Why? What’s there?” I asked curiously as Doyoung took off towards his room.

“The mafia Sana is sniffing around.” And with that he went inside his room to change and come to have dinner. But the report from Mark said that Wonwoo frequents that place often. Why? Does he maybe know there’s a mafia inside there? Or is he oblivious to it?

And you thought he was boring? Aren’t things getting more and more interesting?

“How was your day?” I slammed the plates on the table and it made Doyoung wince. I gave him an apologetic grin as I placed two forks and some napkins too next to the plates.

“Uneventful,” I said with a sigh, going to the living room to grab my stuff, “I’ll be right back, I’ll just put these in my room.”

Doyoung hummed as he took a seat at the table, placing food on his plate. I hurried to my room, clutching the file tightly to make sure it wouldn’t open and free its contents onto the floor as I carried the laptop in my other hand. I entered my room and went towards my desk, placing my laptop on top of it. The file I placed on a shelf of my bookcase and as I was about to leave I noticed how the temperature was a bit colder than in the other rooms. Looking around, I noticed my window was slightly open and with a sigh, I went and closed it and locked it. It wasn’t unlike me to forget to close it back if I happened to open it up. And just as I turned around to leave the room for good, my eyes stopped on my nightstand. Five white lilies were placed in a tall glass with water. I remained rooted to the spot, warmness spreading in my chest. It’s been long since I got flowers from someone. How did Doyoung get these in here without me noticing the flowers when he got inside the house? I chuckled and shook my head as I went to have dinner, stomach churning loudly. It felt nice to get flowers. Even if they were from my brother.

I should have taken Mark’s offer and went on that vacation he proposed, but my mind wouldn’t let me do that. I had a new mission, and it was following Wonwoo around. For a whole week I was vigilant enough that he didn’t notice me and now I knew his habits. In the mornings, he’d take that beautiful girl to the bookstore and then go buy himself coffee. Sometimes he’d go back to that park and read for a few hours, other times he’d leave and go to the gym. He would spend a lot of time at the Sky-Blue headquarters and drive his boss to less or more sketchy places. His boss was Kim Mingyu, it crossed my mind to research him too and follow him around for a day or two, but he was giving me bad vibes. When I trailed after Wonwoo’s car when he was with Mingyu, I felt like the two knew I was there. Sometimes, they’d drive around in the same neighborhood twice and I would have to take different turns in order to make it seem like I wasn’t following them…but it almost always led me to lose them. After Wonwoo was done with his work, he’d go to the national library and spend hours there, so much, that I was starting to worry that he’d fall ill from not eating and drinking enough. In fact, he barely ate anything all day, maybe he did it somehow when I wasn’t watching, otherwise I can’t explain how he remained energetic and standing for the whole day. On the third day of watching him, I decided to enter the library myself and try and find a book that I would enjoy. He switched from the book he was reading to a different one, in fact, every day he read something different. It was confusing, and I was dying to ask him why…but the right moment hadn’t come for it yet. One day, I got so immersed in my own book that I totally forgot about keeping my eyes on Wonwoo too and when I looked up from my book, Wonwoo was gone from his usual spot. I looked around a little too frantically, my knees bouncing fast. I waited for two more minutes before I sprung up onto my feet and took off towards the section I took the book I was reading from. I heard hushed laughter coming from nearby but I was busy trying push the book back in its place, so busy, that I totally missed the deep tone of the laughter. When I finally had the book in its original place, I turned and took off pretty much running, which led me into stumbling forward as my shoes got caught in the carpet. I gasped and ran into the bookshelves in front of me, barely catching myself from falling.

“Are you alright?” A feminine voice asked, and as I turned to answer them, my heart stopped beating. The woman was standing next to Wonwoo and they were both looking at me confused and concerned. I gulped and suddenly my throat was dry as my eyes jumped from the woman to Wonwoo and then back at the woman and then again to Wonwoo. I was waiting for him to point at me and yell that I’m a psycho stalker, but he just looked confused and I quietly sighed.

“Yeah, sorry!” I said awkwardly and bowed my head quickly before turning around and running away embarrassed. It was good that Wonwoo had no recollection of my face, it means that he didn’t pay much attention to me at the Coffee Shop and he also didn’t know that I was pretty much stalking him. As much as stalking Wonwoo made my week better and definitely uplifted my mood, the highlight of my week were the daily white lilies I was finding in my room each evening. I didn’t know how Doyoung was doing it, I could swear I saw him enter empty handed each evening, but maybe he was turning into a magician and was trying his tricks out on me. I didn’t say anything to him, wanting to act oblivious to his nice act if he wouldn’t say something first. But I had my concerns regarding Wonwoo and the relationship between him and the beautiful girl from the bookstore. She worked there and seeing them each morning together gave me the impression that they were on really good terms…possibly even dating, even though I’ve only seen them hugging. So, for that, to check it myself, I had a plan. I bought a copy of the book I saw Wonwoo reading in the park and one morning, on a Tuesday when I knew Wonwoo wouldn’t be the one giving a lift to the beautiful girl, I headed inside the bookstore.

The bell chimed loudly and it was warm inside. The radio was playing through the speakers at a low volume and the girl I was here for was at the front desk. My eyes fell on her and I noticed how she hasn’t had curly hair ever since that day I saw her in the Coffee Shop. She was concentrated on her phone, smiling as she typed quickly. I cleared my throat and walked up to the front desk, leaning against it. It took her a second to realize that someone was standing there, looking at her.

“Oh, hi!” She had a powerful voice; it didn’t take one long to realize she was a confident person. I smiled at her kindly and tapped my fingers against the counter.

“Hi…” I looked around quickly, feigning nervousness, “I’m sorry to bother you here…”

Then I looked at her name tag and read her name, “Hyemi, pretty name! Anyways…uhm, this book…”

I grabbed it out of my bag and placed it on top of the counter, “Wonwoo borrowed it to me and well…I’ve had it for too long and I want to return it.”

“Oh, you know Wonwoo?” Hyemi’s eyebrows rose as she took the book from me and looked at it, “I’ve seen this one laying around in his house.”

Oh, so she knows where Wonwoo lives. And she was there too. You knew this was coming, Y/N, but are you ready to face the consequences? What if you have to give up both? You can always get rid of one of them…you know it’s not hard…

“I’ve met him at the library, sometimes we talk,” I said with a shrug and took the book back from Hyemi, “he recommended it to me.”

I was hoping she didn’t see the tightness of my jaw as I tried to ignore the evil voices. They were urging me to grab the girl by the hair and drag her away. I couldn’t do that; I wasn’t like that anymore. And nothing was sure yet. They can be friends; friends hang out together in their apartments all the time. I can’t jump to conclusions just yet. And I’ve never seen Wonwoo spend time with her except for when he drops Hyemi off in the mornings.

“He really likes doing that!” Hyemi said with a roll of her eyes and I chuckled, putting the book away.

“He does, but it’s fine, I don’t mind.” She hummed and we looked behind her when there was a click. Another breathtakingly beautiful woman walked into the room and I couldn’t help but gape at her. Her lips were red and her long brown hair was in a low ponytail, eyeliner on her eyelids. She looked amazing, I cleared my throat and quickly read her name tag. Irene.

“Everything alright?” She asked with authority in her voice and I found myself nodding very quickly, but Hyemi just chuckled.

“Yes, I was just talking to—” Then both women looked at me and I was lost for a second, feeling flustered. My fingers tapped against the counter quickly and I realized they were waiting for me to tell them my name.

“Y/N!” I exclaimed and my cheeks became warm, “Uhm, my name is Y/N.”

“Wonwoo borrowed Y/N a book and she wants to return it.” Hyemi said with a smile and Irene hummed, looking me over quickly. Then she offered me a small smile and her stern expression melted away. It eased my nerves a little and I offered her a similar smile.

“Right, so…could you give me his address?” I asked, very innocently, as I looked Hyemi in the eyes. She knows where Wonwoo lives, I’m a little bothered by that but at least now I’ll find out his address too. But her eyebrows furrowed and she looked at me apologetically.

“Sorry, I don’t think I should just tell you that…without Wonwoo’s consent at least—”

“Oh, right!” I exclaimed and looked down embarrassed, “That was really…a dumb request, don’t worry! I totally get it!”

“Not to be mean—”

“No! It’s fine, you’re right!” I waved my hands in the air and Irene chuckled as she watched the exchange between us. I took a step back and played with my fingers as I tried to keep on an embarrassed expression.

“I’ll give it back to him when I meet him at the library.”

“Are you sure? You could give it to me and I’ll—”

“I’m sure.” I interrupted Hyemi and walked backwards towards the door, “Have a nice day, ladies!”

“You too!” Irene called out as Hyemi’s eyebrows furrowed a little bit.

“Bye.” She muttered as I hurried out the door, heart beating fast. What if she realized I was lying? Now all I could hope for was that she wouldn’t tell Wonwoo and throw me off from the progress I’ve been making.

And that day when I arrived home, I found more white lilies sitting on the little table that we had on the front porch. I took them and inhaled their scent, a smile appearing on my lips. And as a breeze passed by, I felt eyes on me. So, I straightened up and looked around, but the fence was high enough that no one would see inside, so I shook the feeling off and unlocked the front door, walking inside the house and headed to the kitchen to take a vase for the new lilies.

A few days passed since I’ve been to the bookstore and I had realized that I needed a different approach. Yesterday, Hyemi and Wonwoo didn’t show up to the bookstore and as I went on with my day, I found Wonwoo nowhere he’d usually be at. I didn’t want to jump to conclusions, so, I figured they must have taken a day off. But that thought didn’t sit well with me, so, I decided that it was time I took serious actions. A more straightforward approach. One that would set off the start of something between Wonwoo and I.

I woke up a little earlier than I usually would to be able to get ready. We had only one bathroom, and for once, I put a little effort into my appearance. I usually didn’t doll myself up, but today I wanted to look pretty. So, I put on minimal makeup and decided to be a bit bold and use red lipstick too. I pulled my hair out of my face and clipped the front strands back and then I cooked breakfast for Doyoung and I, wanting to surprise him. He was always the one that got up early and made sure we ate well, but I felt like returning this little favor to him since he’s been bringing me white lilies for almost two weeks now. I even turned his morning alarm off, wanting to give him a little extra time to sleep, which was always welcomed as he worked late and had to wake up really early. After breakfast was ready, I went back to my room to get dressed and spent at least ten minutes thinking of an outfit. In the end, I settled on high waist mom jeans and a long-sleeved colorful crop top as yesterday it was rather warm. Then, I grabbed my bag and went to Doyoung’s room to wake him up. He was in a good mood once I told him I cooked breakfast and that I let him sleep in, his laughter echoed in the house as he told me a funny story that happened at work. Breakfast was pleasant and tasty and once we were done, I didn’t wait for Doyoung, I headed out. I told him that I found a new path in the forest that lead to a beautiful clearing with a spring and that I wanted to take pictures while the sun wasn’t high up in the sky, which unfortunately was a lie. I did find a place like that, but it was last month and I had already taken plenty of pictures of it. But Doyoung didn’t have to know that I was back to stalking again, especially not today, when I was so excited about my plan. Before going to the library, I grabbed a cup of coffee, Americano this time as I didn’t have in mind drinking it and it would’ve been a waste to buy Caramel Macchiato. By the time I got to the library it was nearing noon and I was hopeful that wherever Wonwoo went, he’d be back by today, otherwise, I did all of this for nothing. When I entered, the librarian gave me a glance and her eyebrows furrowed as they fell on my coffee, but I hid it behind my back and offered her a warm smile. She shook her head but didn’t say anything and I bowed my head, hurrying further inside. The coffee wasn’t hot anymore, but it was still warm, at least it wouldn’t burn him. I cleared my throat and took in a deep breath, about to round the corner and head to the reading area. My heart was pounding quickly in my chest and I feared that others would be able to hear it in the calming silence of the library. But as I rounded the corner, my mind went blank.

There he is.

I could feel excitement enter my whole body and my fingers started tapping quickly against the cup of coffee I was holding, I had to force myself to stay as still as I could and not take off towards Wonwoo. He was sitting at his usual spot, in the middle of the area and at the edge of the table. He had a book on the table in front of him, his glasses were close to falling off and his black hair was a bit messy. He was wearing a black t-shirt and a silver necklace hung around his neck. My eyes got glued to his muscly arms as he flipped the page and I gulped, trying to focus on my plan once again.

He is a sight for sore eyes, isn’t he, Y/N? No surprise you can’t handle the thought of someone else having him.

I shook my head a little and then started walking. My heels clicked against the wooden floor, but it was a dull sound, and thankfully Wonwoo didn’t look up. His eyebrows were furrowed as his eyes ran over the words in the book, and he sighed loudly as I got closer and closer. I glanced around, but there weren’t many people, and those who were, they were too busy studying or reading. Knowing that no one was looking my way, I knew what I was about to do wouldn’t look suspicious to anyone. I was two tables away from Wonwoo, and as I was watching him so closely, I noticed the sudden tensity of his muscles. How his palms clenched into fists and it almost looked like he was reading the same thing over and over, but I wouldn’t be actually able to tell that. My plan was to accidentally run into the corner of the table he was sitting at and spill the coffee on him. Like that, I had an excuse to talk to him and hopefully he’d even agree to me buying him a new shirt. I wasn’t able to decipher his personality as he was mostly by himself, but I prayed to every God out there that he’d comply to my wishes. And just as my eyes fixated on the corner of the table, to make sure that the front of my shoe would get stuck in it, Wonwoo abruptly stood up. And I jumped and panicked. The sound his chair made was loud and I lost all train of thought as his eyes fell on me and the heel of my shoe got stuck in the edge of the carpet. And suddenly, I was falling forward, eyes widened in horror. Wonwoo didn’t even blink, he just stood there, looking almost taken aback. And then our bodies collided into each other, and I felt the warm coffee spill not just on his chest, but on my own too. I gasped loudly, Wonwoo remained silent and suddenly I felt the eyes of the people who were around us, on us. Wonwoo was tense as he quickly gripped my forearms to steady me, the empty cup of coffee fell against the ground and I felt like it made the loudest sound I have ever heard. But in reality, it barely even made a thudding sound. My eyes remained wide, heart beating fast as I remained rooted in Wonwoo’s arms.

He smells so good. And his body is so firm. Do you hear how loud his breathing is, Y/N?

The evil voice made me shiver and I sprung out of Wonwoo’s hold, looking at him wide eyed. He looked frozen for a second, but then he lowered his arms, and gulped, glancing down at his damp t-shirt.

“Oh my God,” I muttered, looking down at my own damp shirt, this didn’t go as planned, he was the only one supposed to get coffee spilled on, “I am so sorry!”

My voice was quiet as I tried not to disturb the other people in there and Wonwoo finally looked at me. His sharp eyes offered no warmness and suddenly I felt small under his intense gaze. I felt embarrassed and as if I was caught in the act, but it’s him who stood up. This was supposed to happen differently.

“At least it wasn’t burning hot.” Wonwoo’s deep voice reached my ears and I did everything I could to memorize the deep vibration of it.

“Yeah, I got it a while ago…” I mumbled and looked down embarrassed, unable to maintain his intense eye contact.

“Accidents happen,” I could see him shrug as he ran his hands down his abdomen, “And it’s my fault, I was the one who stood up so abruptly—”

“Oh, no—” I looked up and shook my hands quickly, “I shouldn’t have walked so close to the table, it’s really my fault—”

“Don’t worry about it,” His lips pulled into a small smirk and I knew I was going to blush, “I’m not mad at you.”

My cheeks were hot and I felt at a loss of words all of a sudden, almost forgetting why I even planned on doing this.

“I feel guilty though—” I managed to get out, trying to avoid looking at his lips, “Let me make up for it!”

Someone towards the back of the reading area cleared their throat and I realized I was starting to speak too loudly; my leg was tapping against the wooden floor anxiously. I wanted to insist, but I didn’t know what to say next. I needed Wonwoo to co-operate, but I wasn’t sure he would just yet. His expression didn’t give away anything and I bit my lower lip nervously.

“How can you make up for it?” His eyebrows rose and my heart jumped in my chest.

“Uhm, I—I can just, uh—buy you a new shirt?” I hated myself for stuttering, but this was more nerve wrecking than I remembered it being. Has it been really that long since I’ve done this?

“I have plenty of shirts…” Wonwoo’s deep voice made me look back at him and I tried to stay calm. I couldn’t decipher his expression, but he looked like he was teasing me. I smiled softly and played with my fingers, glancing away from him before looking back.

“The mall is literally across the road…and…if you let me buy you this shirt, you’ll never forget that a stranger spilled their coffee on you on a very nice Wednesday…” Suddenly, all tension left my body when a wide smile appeared on Wonwoo’s lips. For the first time, I noticed how his nose scrunched up when he smiled, and how soft he seemed like this. When Wonwoo smiled, he wasn’t intimidating anymore, it was as if I was looking at a different person. My heart started beating quickly again and I felt at peace as I gaped at him, hopeful that he didn’t find it creepy. If only he knew…

“You might need a new shirt as well…” Wonwoo said once he was done laughing and I looked down at my shirt, eyebrows furrowing. Well yeah…that wasn’t part of the plan.

“If you insist.” I said with a shrug and Wonwoo chuckled, shaking his head.

“I’ll put this book back and then we can go.” Wonwoo said as he closed the book he was reading and picked it up from the table. He gave me a glance before he turned and walked towards the tall bookshelves, disappearing between them. I bit my lower lip, trying to contain my victorious smirk in case Wonwoo returned. I remembered the abandoned cup and turned around to pick it up, chuckling to myself. My plan didn’t work, but worked at the same time. It played out a little different than what I had in mind, but in the end, I still got what I wanted.

“Let’s go?” I turned my head and Wonwoo was by my side, eyebrows raised as his eyes fell on the empty cup. I nodded my head and we took off towards the mall from across the road, about to buy some new shirts.

Once we got to the mall I made Wonwoo choose a shop he likes and I’d buy him a t-shirt from there, only if he likes it, of course. In the end, he lead us to the cheapest shop and said that I should choose something for myself as well and he’ll buy it, because it was his fault too that the coffee was spilled as he got in my way. When he pointed towards the shop and said that he wanted to choose from that one, I gave him a look.

“Are you sure?” I asked as I followed after him, “Because I might look poor, but I’m not. So, if you want to wear something fancy, I totally can get it for you—”

“I don’t need anything fancy.” Wonwoo interrupted with a chuckle and I shrugged, walking inside the shop.

“Well, good for you then.” I muttered, looking around. To the left was the men section and to the right the women section, I pointed towards the men section, “Let’s go.”

Without thinking, I grabbed his wrist and noticed how warm his skin was against mine. I didn’t realize it was inappropriate to hold someone you just met, let alone drag him after you. But I was too happy that my plan actually worked out and that he didn’t recognize me at all. Even though he’s seen me twice before.

What if you aren’t remarkable enough? You could get Hyemi instead of Wonwoo, since he doesn’t even remember your face.

I shook my head and stopped in front of racks of various colored t-shirt and simple shirts, “Well, choose one!”

Wonwoo came to stand next to me and his eyebrows furrowed a little bit as he started moving the racks with his left hand. My right leg was tapping against the ground as I looked at his profile. His jaw was sharp and lips jutting out as he tried to choose one. Suddenly, I became aware of the hold I had on his wrist still and released it, clearing my throat awkwardly. I crossed my arms in front of my chest and looked ahead when Wonwoo glanced at me. I could feel my cheeks burning in embarrassment, but from the corner of my eyes I could see him smirking. It made my leg tap faster against the floor and I wished that something would happen that would save me from the embarrassment I was currently feeling.

“This one will do.” He suddenly spoke up, as if he could read my thoughts, and I turned to look at him. He was holding an almost identic t-shirt to the one he was wearing, except this one had longer sleeves. My eyes lingered on it before I gave him an affirming nod, and Wonwoo smiled.

“Your turn.” This time, he grabbed my wrist and started pulling me towards the women section. My heart suddenly picked up its pace and my free hand turned into a fist as I tried to contain my wide grin once again. His grip felt like it was on fire and burned away on my skin, but I was enjoying it, it was a nice feeling. He released me though the second we got to the shirts and I didn’t even look, just picked up a brown see through shirt.

“This one!” I exclaimed and grinned at Wonwoo, holding up the shirt. His eyes fell on it and his eyebrows furrowed.

“Are you sure?” He asked and I could almost hear a certain discomfort in his tone, but I thought I was just making things up. So, I just nodded my head with a wide smile and Wonwoo sighed, pointing towards the changing rooms.

“Let’s change then.”

“Shouldn’t we pay first?” I asked surprised as Wonwoo took off.

“No, take the tag off, we can still pay.” My eyebrows furrowed at Wonwoo’s words but I didn’t say anything as I went inside a cabin and quickly changed into the shirt I picked. Once I was dressed, I gulped. Well, I certainly should have looked first at what I was picking out, you could see my black bra through the material. And it was a bit too thin for this weather, but if we stayed inside the mall for longer I wouldn’t be bothered. And my car was around the corner, hopefully I wouldn’t catch a cold. I pulled the curtain back and my eyes fell on Wonwoo who was leaning against the wall casually. He was wearing black jeans and black combat boots. The t-shirt he picked was tight around his chest and I couldn’t look away. It was a mouthwatering sight and I gulped, snapping out of it. But the silence stretched on for longer as Wonwoo continued looking at me with an unreadable expression, jaw just a little tight. He kept his eyes on my face, but I didn’t miss the split second they lowered towards my see-through shirt. It made me fidget as I cleared my throat.

“Let’s—let’s pay!” I quickly hurried past Wonwoo, feeling embarrassed for the nth time today. I could hear a deep chuckle behind me, but I ignored it and approached the front desk.

“Hi, we bought these two shirts we are wearing, the tags are here—” I started speaking as I placed the tags on the counter.

“I’m sorry Miss, that’s against the rules.” The cashier very rudely interrupted and gave me a glare.

“Uhm…we still intend to pay though…”

“It’s still against the rules to do that, I have to call security—”

“Maybe you should just scan the tags and proceed on with your life, Kelly.” Wonwoo’s deep voice boomed next to me and I looked at him, his jaw was clenched and he was glaring at the cashier, whose name was Kelly. She seemed to shrink a little under Wonwoo’s gaze and she hesitated for a second, but then scanned in the tags.

“We are paying separately.” Wonwoo proceeded to say when he saw that she put the shirts on the same bill and Kelly apologized quickly. I looked at Wonwoo, eyebrows furrowed at the sudden change in his attitude. He looked stern and demanding, I probably would’ve done instantly what he told me, if he looked at me like that. This is how I imagined Wonwoo’s personality to be like, yet it didn’t sit well with me. Something felt off about his attitude, this wasn’t the first time he was being like this. And it was very obvious that he knew what effect it would have on the one targeted.

“Here.” The girl muttered once she handed Wonwoo the change back and then it was my turn to pay, which went by quickly as both of us were trying to move quickly under Wonwoo’s scrutinizing gaze.

“Uh, bye!” I called out as Wonwoo and I walked out with a bag each and our stained shirts inside them. I stopped walking once we were out of the shop and Wonwoo stopped too, looking back at me confused.

“Something wrong?” He asked confused and I shook my head.

“Not at all…I’m just glad we are even now…” I shrugged and he nodded with a hum, looking around. I tried to shrug off the sudden uncertainty I was feeling. Wonwoo didn’t seem as safe anymore as I had imagined him to be.

“Do you want to grab some lunch?” My heart jumped into my throat instantly and my mind went blank. How do I answer that question? That was definitely not what I had planned, but it was turning even better. But I couldn’t, I felt like it would be too much. Yes, I wanted to get to know him, but I already felt like an intruder. This happened only because of me, I didn’t want Wonwoo to feel like he had to do this. And I wanted to sort out my thought first and analyze our interaction.

“I would love to, but I have to help out my brother.” I lied through my teeth, with a smile on my face.

“Ah…” He nodded and neared me, I felt small under his strong gaze. It looked like he was looking right into my soul, reading my mind. It gave me the impression that he knew I was lying, “You don’t have to feel guilty for spilling the coffee on me, I told you, accidents happen.”

“I know!” I laughed nervously, my leg tapping against the ground once again, “I feel like I should wash that t-shirt…to actually stop feeling guilty…”

And that was the second stage of my plan. Get him to give me his t-shirt so that I can wash it, that way I get his phone number and I have an excuse to meet up with him again. Wonwoo’s eyebrows rose at my words and he chuckled, reaching inside his bag for without saying anything.

“Here.” He said and handed me his stained t-shirt.

“Really?” I asked gaping and he chuckled as I took it from him, “I thought you’d be against it…”

“I’m not,” He said with a casual shrug and then fished his phone out of his pocket, “I’ll need your number in order to get back my t-shirt…unless you’re a t-shirt thief.”

I started laughing as I took his unlocked phone and typed in my phone number, trying to hide the tremble of my fingers, “Shhh, no one knows.”

I winked as I handed him back his phone with my number saved and Wonwoo chuckled, ringing me. That way I had his number too, which I would save the second I got to my car. And then, he took another step and I was taken aback by the closeness between us.

“Tell me…” He muttered, his voice deep and I gulped nervously, “Have we met before?”

He knows, Y/N.

I froze up for a second, looking at him with my jaw having fallen open, “What? I—I don’t think—where—You know, maybe at the library—No! We have never met before!”

I knew I fucked up with my stuttering and the way Wonwoo suddenly started smirking like he was proud of himself for making me react like that. Maybe he really does know and the voices aren’t wrong.

“You go to the library often?”

“Lately, yeah.” I cleared my throat and stepped back, acting like I was looking at the shop behind Wonwoo.

“I see.” He nodded and then stepped back too, holding his hand out, “We haven’t introduced ourselves, I’m Wonwoo.”

My eyebrows rose as I realized we really didn’t, even though I already knew his name. Thank God it didn’t slip from my lips, that would’ve been really bad.

“I’m Y/N, nice to meet you!” I smiled at him widely and shook his head excited, trying to ignore how hot his hand was once again. His grip was firm and I decided to ignore how our hands touched for a little bit longer than they were supposed to.

“Nice to meet you too.” Wonwoo chuckled and we let go of each other’s hands finally.

“I have to go now…” I pointed behind me and Wonwoo gave me a nod and a small wave, “Bye!”

“See you soon, Y/N.” I shivered at how low his tone got and quickly hurried away, feeling embarrassed, excited, nervous and confused by the vibes he was giving me. Why is it that I feel like there’s something going on with him?

I was eager to get home after the day I had, ready to get lost in my thoughts and analyze every little detail about the exchange between Wonwoo and I. I even considered texting him, but I didn’t want to come off as creepy, or give him the wrong impression. If I wanted things to work out, I had to be smooth and careful about everything I said and did. As I parked my car in its usual place, I noticed how the lights were on inside the house and realized Doyoung was already home. Doyoung was home early! I quickly got out of the car and locked it, almost running to get inside the house faster. It was rare that Doyoung was home before nightfall and I missed spending time with him and going out with him. We haven’t gone on a run together in a long time and I was hoping that Doyoung was up to it. I knocked on the front door first to let Doyoung know that it was me, and then pushed the door open and walked inside.

“Doyoung!” I shrieked, seeing that he wasn’t in the living room nor kitchen, “Hi!”

Doyoung didn’t answer right away and as I closed the door behind me and locked it, I heard the water running in the bathroom. Doyoung was washing up, so I walked to my room and changed out of my clothes and wore something comfortable. I quickly removed my makeup and sighed as I pulled my hair in a low bun, feeling at ease once again. I opened my window to let in some fresh air and as I was about to walk away, I noticed the white lilies on the windowsill. I chuckled at Doyoung’s creativeness and picked them up, taking them inside with me. It was smart of him, to be honest. He parked his car behind the backyard, where the wall of my bedroom was too. So, in order to get to the front of the house he’d have to pass by my windows and that would explain how he was able to sneak in the flowers inside my room without me seeing them. But as I held the lilies, I realized that there were ten pieces this time and I bit my lower lip as a wide smile spread onto my lips. I glanced at the bag that contained the shirts that got coffee spilled on them and I walked up to it, grabbing Wonwoo’s t-shirt. I took it in my hands and, having placed the lilies on my bed, and felt the soft fabric of the black t-shirt. It was bigger than my own torso as I held it against my frame and chuckled as I walked towards my mirror. So that’s what I would look like wearing Wonwoo’s shirts.

You look lovely, Y/N, we bet Wonwoo can’t wait to see you like this. If you proceed carefully, he’ll be yours in a blink of an eye.

I chuckled, letting the image the voices created linger in my mind. I brought the t-shirt up against my nose and reveled in Wonwoo’s cologne. It was masculine and it carried a musky scent and something that I have only felt on Doyoung, the smell of gunpowder. My eyebrows furrowed as I looked at the t-shirt, lowering it back inside the bag. Why would Wonwoo’s t-shirt smell like gunpowder? Does he go to the shooting ranges? Is it a hobby of his? No, if it was, I would’ve known already. But before I could dwell on it longer, the bathroom door closed and I jumped, taking the white lilies as I left my room.

“Y/N, are you home—”

“Doyoung!” I exclaimed and threw my arms around my brother, giving him a back hug. Doyoung chuckled and tapped my arms, softly peeling them off himself.

“I wasn’t expecting you to be home so early!” I said as I walked around him, wandering if we had any free vases for the lilies.

“I wasn’t either…” Doyoung muttered and I heard him sigh as I opened some cabinets until I found a blue vase. I smiled in victory and filled it with water, placing the lilies inside before putting the vase in the middle of the dining table. Doyoung was lounging on the couch with a frown on his face and as I looked at him, about to rant about my day, I realized something was wrong. He looked drained; his eyes even looked red.

“Doyoung…” I muttered with a frown and approached him slowly, arms hugging around my torso, “Are you okay?”

He looked up at me and tried to put on a smile, “Yeah! I’m fine—”

But his voice broke a little and I quickly sat next to him, throwing my arms around him as I pulled him into a tight hug.

“Hey, talk to me.” I whispered as I rubbed his back reassuringly. His arms went around me and he sighed loudly, sniffing.

“Well…I was sent home early because the higher ups are in meetings…” He sighed again and I just hummed as I waited patiently for him to continue.

“Sana was found dead this morning—” His voice broke again and I froze. Doyoung’s boss was dead? Who could have done such thing? And why?

“Oh, Doyoung, I’m so sorry…” I whispered, tightening my hold around him. He nodded his head and then rested his cheek against my shoulder. We remained silent as I tried offering comfort to my brother, knowing how much Sana’s death affected him. Not many liked Sana, sometimes even Doyoung hated her, but they spent a lot of time together. And inevitably they bonded, she still meant something to him.

“She was shot in the head once, it killed her instantly—” I wanted to tell him to stop thinking about it, to not tell me anything about her death, but he had to get it off his chest. And I was there to listen, I would always be there for Doyoung, no matter what he needed.

“There were signs of other altercations before her death…” Then he stopped for a second and scoffed, “She attacked a girl, Y/N, a simple, innocent, girl. She just—broke inside her apartment, trashed it and—and tried killing her? I don’t understand—”

“People do all sorts of things,” I interrupted Doyoung’s rambling, “You can never truly know what a person is capable of until it’s done.”

Doyoung sniffed again and then gently pulled back, rubbing his eyes. I let my hands rest in my lap as I watched my brother trying to pull himself together.

“She did it because of a guy—I don’t understand. She was obsessed with this—Kim Mingyu and she attacked Hyemi for being with him, I—” Doyoung shrugged and fell back against the couch, looking up at the white ceiling. My eyebrows furrowed as I watched my brother. Kim Mingyu? It’s the guy Wonwoo works for. Wait…does Wonwoo know anything about this? Why was he missing yesterday? Hyemi…it can’t be the girl from the bookstore, right?

“Is Hyemi alright?” I found myself asking quietly and Doyoung hummed.

“Her friends found her just in time, before she could get hurt seriously. But Sana…”

“She got what she deserved.” I couldn’t hold my words back and Doyoung’s head snapped in my direction, “She tried to kill Hyemi, Doyoung. And she was a cop. Attacked a simple civilian. I understand your pain and struggle but—”

“I know,” Doyoung offered me a reassuring smile and patted my hand, “but it’s very stressful. They want me to replace Sana.”

My eyes widened as I sat up straighter, “Wait…you’ll become head of police then…?”

Doyoung’s lips formed a thin line and he sighed, looking away from me, “I guess Kim Mingyu really does achieve whatever he wants…”

“Kim Mingyu?” My eyebrows furrowed as I looked at Doyoung once again confused hearing his name, “What does he have to do with this?”

“Nothing, don’t worry about that.” Doyoung quickly said and ran his fingers through his damp hair, “I just wanted to be the first one to tell you all of this, and not Mark.”

Before I could press more about who Kim Mingyu was, I froze and looked at Doyoung surprised, “Mark?”

“Yeah,” Doyoung gave me a small glare and it seemed like he was quick to repress the feelings towards Sana’s death, “I know about what you do with Mark.”

“I don’t do anything,” I shrugged defensively, “I don’t even know who that is!”

Doyoung scoffed and crossed his arms in front of his chest, “Please, you think people didn’t notice Mark’s sudden success this year? Everyone knew he was close to getting fired, until he suddenly turned into this super detective he never was—”

“And how is that my fault?!” I exclaimed, unable to keep it inside anymore. My legs were bouncing quickly and I gave Doyoung a glare, “I wanted to help. I wanted to do something else besides running my blog and taking pictures of nature, alright? This is fun and exciting—”

“And fucking dangerous, Y/N!” Doyoung exclaimed, standing up as his eyebrows furrowed, “Do you have any idea who you even follow around? Gang leaders, mafia heads, powerful business men! These people are shady! If you were ever caught, I wouldn’t have been able to do anything—”

“I know!” I exclaimed and stood up too, feeling desperate for Doyoung to understand me, “But this helped! It really did, Mark offered me an escape, Doyoung. An escape from falling back into my old habits and stalking people. Ever since I started doing this, I—I had no tendencies to stalk others—” Besides the sudden infatuation I had with Wonwoo, but it would pass. I hoped that it would. I wanted Doyoung to be proud of me.

“You just need a good therapist, Y/N—” Doyoung’s words were triggering as my parents would say this often to me and I couldn’t control myself, I shoved him back. He stumbled a bit, taken aback by my sudden outburst. Until he realized what he said, and he turned pale.

“Thanks a lot, big brother.” I snapped and turned around, storming towards my room, “You know therapists did shit and never helped me! The medication only made feel worse after a while!”

“I didn’t mean to say that, I’m sorry—” Doyoung tried to apologize as he followed after me.

“Save it, okay?!” I entered my room and blocked Doyoung from coming inside, “I—I know I’m a burden to you. I hate being a burden. But I can’t live on my own, and I hate that. I want to offer you a normal life, but instead, I’m just hanging on your neck—and I don’t need you to remind me that!”

“That’s not true!” Doyoung looked offended by my words as his eyebrows furrowed, “You were never a burden to me. I love you and I want you with me, Y/N—”

I raised my palm to stop him from talking, “Stop, I don’t care. Thankfully, helping Mark out pays well and I’m close to having enough money to move out. Give me three more months, and I’ll be gone.”

“What?!” Doyoung’s face fell and he went to grab me, but I slammed the door shut quickly, “I don’t want you to leave! We moved in here together because we both wanted to! You can’t just leave—”

“Watch me!” I screamed and I heard Doyoung sigh loudly as I crossed my arms in front of my chest. This wasn’t the time to act childish nor to drop something like that on him, not when his boss just died and he was in grief. But I couldn’t help it, he pissed me off. He would never understand what I had to go through daily and therefore he had no rights to try and tell me what to do. What Mark offered me was a life saver and Doyoung would never understand how much it helped, right up until I met Wonwoo.

“Y/N, I’m sorry.” Doyoung said loudly and knocked on my door, but I quickly locked it. I knew he was sorry and he didn’t want to hurt me, but I needed time to get over his words. By tomorrow morning I would be fine, but I needed to be left alone tonight.

“Whatever!” I called out and rolled my eyes, “Don’t bring me any white lilies anymore!”

I waited for an answer but Doyoung remained silent and I really wanted to see his expression, was he mad that I told him that?

“What?” My eyebrows furrowed at his confused tone, “You’re the one who buys them daily—”

The rest of his words got swallowed by my loudness. My heart started thumping wildly as I unlocked the bedroom’s door in a hurry and threw it open, “What?!”

Doyoung’s eyebrows were furrowed too as we looked at each other confused, “You…aren’t the one buying the lilies?”

“And it’s not you who’s been giving them to me?” Doyoung and I seemed to realize what this meant at the same time and as I scampered to shut the window of my room closed and lock it, Doyoung hurried to take on some shoes as he turned on the lights outside around the house. He threw on a jacket and hurried outside as I remained shivering in the middle of the room. Goosebumps covered my skin as I remained staring at the flowers on my nightstand that I got yesterday. Who was giving me these flowers then? And why was this person breaking inside our house?

Aw, does our little Y/N have a secret admirer? Who could it be?

“No!” I shook my head and hurriedly shut all blinds in my room and then went around the house, shutting each one of them. Doyoung came inside looking distressed and ran a hand through his hair.

“I’ll talk to the boys, and they’ll start patrolling around the neighborhood. Tomorrow a search team will come and search the house for any foreign DNA, alright?” Doyoung spoke with a serious tone as he locked the front door and turned to look at me, “Nothing will happen, alright?”

“They have been breaking in for two weeks, Doyoung—” I bit my lower lip and started tapping my leg against the floor anxiously, “Do they want something from me?”

Doyoung walked up to me and held onto my shoulders, “We’ll catch them before they can do anything, yes?”

I sighed and nodded my head, looking around the house to see the white lilies everywhere. They made me feel sick to my stomach, so I walked past Doyoung to take the trash bin and started throwing all of them inside it, cursing under my breath. I should have known that it wasn’t Doyoung. I’m so stupid!

Sleeping was hard last night and after struggling for a while, I somehow fell asleep towards the morning hours. I didn’t have the energy to go and watch Wonwoo today, I was too paranoid to even wear headphones on my run. I kept glancing behind me, until I noticed the police car parked around the curb and two of Doyoung’s colleagues chatting as they had coffee in their hands. I quickly greeted them before running past them, deciding to change my running route out of fear that if someone indeed was watching would already know I would head that way and do something to me. Doyoung kept messaging me every half an hour and I got irritated so I told him to just watch the app where it showed him my location, and at least that made him stop. I was halfway down the path when my phone started buzzing in my back pocket, tickling my butt cheek. I stopped running and unzipped the pocket, taking my phone in my hand. My lungs were screaming for air and I had sweat a lot as I pushed myself in order to try and forget the whole stalker deal. But when my eyes fell on the caller ID, I felt excited.

“I hope you went on that vacation and enjoyed yourself,” Came Mark’s voice through the phone and I chuckled, still trying to catch my breath, “Because I’ve got a new job for you.”

I hummed and breathed loudly, waiting for Mark to continue.

“Am I…interrupting something?” His voice was hesitant and it made me laugh.

“Yeah, my run.” Mark chuckled and I turned around, walking back towards the house, “Tell me everything.”

“It’s a one-day job, but it’s very important. The names are Wen Junhui and Xu Minghao. I’ll send you the details in a message on your other number, delete it once you had it memorized.”

“What exactly will I have to look out for?” I wondered as I passed by the police car again, the officers were gone this time.

“Those two are planning a heist, just take pictures of each jewelry place they go inside and send them to me straight when you think it’s clear.” I pursed my lips and thought a little.

“Fine, but don’t say a word to Doyoung. He knows about us and he’s very mad.”

“I know,” Mark cleared his throat, sounding awkward, “He very much wants to fire me right now. Maybe you heard, but Sana is dead, so he’s the big boss now…”

“I know,” I muttered and walked down the street, looking around before crossing onto the other side, “Doyoung told me. Seems like she was nuts or something…”

“She had it coming,” Mark scoffed and it peaked my interest, “Anyone who works against or turns on Kim Mingyu ends up being dead.”

My eyebrows furrowed and I was about to ask who this man was, but Mark gasped, “Shit, your brother is coming—keep your eyes on your phone!”

He hung up and I sighed as I locked my phone, wondering if I would find anything about Kim Mingyu on the internet. Since Wonwoo worked for him, I’ve seen him a few times, his business seemed pretty serious. Lost in thought, I didn’t notice the guy approaching me and gasped when their shoulder collided with mine. I hissed and stopped, turning around to shout at them, but the person didn’t even acknowledge me.

“Asshole!” I shouted after them, noticing their hunched form. The person seemed tall and looked like he was trying to hide his actual height. I turned to walk when the scent hit me. Musk and gunpowder. I quickly turned around, but the man in the black clothes was already gone.

Was that your secret admirer?

I shivered and quickly ran the rest of the way home, only being around the corner. I quickly unlocked the gate and as I walked inside, my eyes fell on the white lilies that I threw in the dumpster this morning. I felt bad for them because they were very beautiful, but I didn’t want them inside the house anymore.

After showering and getting ready, I checked out Mark’s message and memorized the information quickly, deleting the message. I grabbed my laptop and put it inside my bag together with my camera as I pulled on my tennis shoes and left the house, locking everything after me. I had an hour until the targets would show up to the city center to check out all shops, so I decided to take a walk there, try to use up the energy that didn’t go away while I was running due to it being cut short. I let Doyoung know that I was going out and to an agglomerated area, so that he didn’t have to worry, besides he had the tracker on. I snapped a few pictures as I walked and reveled in the silence around me as I took the back streets, where less people walked. I wondered what Wonwoo was doing, and suddenly I felt bad that I didn’t follow him around today. He’d be at his work place right now, having already been to the gym earlier this morning after he dropped Hyemi off at work and bought his coffee. What was interesting about Wonwoo was that each time he ordered coffee, he bought something different. My phone dinged as I turned onto the main street, getting lost in the crowd of people as I opened my phone and almost shrieked when I saw whom the message was from.

From Wonwoo: Hey…I hope I’m not bothering you…I was just wondering when we could meet up? You know…to give me back my t-shirt.

I struggled for a second to hold the phone in both hands and also not walk into others as I typed back.

To Wonwoo: Hi! You’re not bothering me at all! I washed it this morning…so if the weather is nice, it’ll be totally dry by tomorrow! Is tomorrow good for you?

I was about to put my phone away, but Wonwoo started typing back instantly and soon came his answer.

From Wonwoo: I can’t tomorrow, I won’t be in town and will only get back late. The next day…is it good for you?

I looked around me, noticing that I was in the area Mark instructed me to. I noticed the first jewelry shop and found a bench right across from it, so I hurried to take a seat there.

To Wonwoo: Sure, at noon? We can have lunch, since I turned it down last time…

My heart was pounding in my chest as I waited for Wonwoo’s answer, which seemed to take ages, and in fact only took a few seconds.

From Wonwoo: Fine, but let’s go to a restaurant. The food is better than the one at the mall.

He wasn’t wrong, besides this was sounding an awful lot like a date. I giggled and looked around before typing back.

To Wonwoo: Tell me the location and time?

From Wonwoo: 1 o’clock, but I’ll pick you up. Give me your address.

I hesitated for a second, knowing better not to give away my address to a complete stranger. My parents warned me about bad people, and so did Doyoung numerous times…especially since he became a cop and had to work on many cases that ended badly due to naïve girls going on dates with guys from Tinder. But I didn’t meet Wonwoo on Tinder…and I’ve already been watching him for weeks, I know what he’s like.

Honestly, you would pass on an opportunity like this one, Y/N? Isn’t this what we’ve been working for? Getting Wonwoo? Why did you even bother if you’re about to refuse him?!

When I saw Wonwoo typing, I quickly sent him my address, scared that he thought I was about to refuse him after I was the one who proposed getting lunch.

From Wonwoo: Alright, I’ll be there then.

To Wonwoo: Can’t wait to see you!

I instantly regretted sending that, but it was no use deleting it as he had already read the message.

From Wonwoo: Me too.

I giggled again and as I looked up; I saw a black Ferrari pulling up. I quickly scrambled to get out my camera from my bag and turned it on at lightning speed. I snapped pictures as the targets got out of the car. They were the same guys from the pictures Mark sent me, Minghao and Junhui. Both dressed pretty fancy and I knew they were the targets. I remained seated as they walked inside the first jewelry shop and snapped a picture of it. They didn’t spend much time in, quickly headed to the next one. I followed them from the bench as long as I could, but as they started walking towards the end of the street, I had to move too to be able to catch them. My phone and Wonwoo were forgotten, but just as I got up from the bench, throwing my bag over my shoulder and camera in my hand, my phone buzzed. As the targets were still inside the shop, I quickly checked to see that I had another new message from Wonwoo.

From Wonwoo: What are you doing right now?

I paused a little bit, finding his wording a little weird, but shrugged it off. I looked up just as the targets walked out of the shop and placed my phone in my pocket, snapping pictures as they talked and looked around. I wasn’t afraid that they’d see me as there were lots of people around us, but it still felt like I was being watched. They didn’t move from that spot, so I quickly answered Wonwoo.

To Wonwoo: Nothing much, just working. You?

I looked up to see the targets moving across the street, headed to a simple gardening shop. What could they be doing there? I started quickly walking towards it and snapped a picture just as I passed by in front of it, hopeful that no one saw me. Especially the targets. Then they walked out and headed down the street, towards the bench I was sitting at previously. I trailed after them, keeping a good distance as I pretended to look around and snapped a few pictures of the things that were displayed in the windows, trying to act normal and as if I was a tourist. I felt my phone vibrating again, so I checked it with a sigh. This isn’t how I’m supposed to be doing my work.

From Wonwoo: Working too, waiting for my boss.

So Wonwoo was with Mingyu then, probably sitting in his red Mercedes, waiting for Mingyu to show up and order him around. I didn’t react to the text message as the targets started moving again, headed for the Ferrari they have arrived in. Hastily, I snapped a few more pictures of the car, getting the license plate, and once they sped off, I took a deep breath. Well, I wasn’t caught, so that was amazing. Now I just have to send Mark all the photos and then have some lunch, my stomach is screaming for food.

I found a nice restaurant just around the corner and sat at a table at the back, opening my laptop. I copied all pictures on it and then sent Mark everything through an e-mail before deleting everything off my camera and laptop. No traces of what I had done, perfect as always.

To Mark: Everything good?

From Mark: Perfect, thanks again. I’ll pay you later, wait around a little bit.

To Mark: Fine, I have to eat either way!

And then I put my phone away and ordered food, which thankfully came quickly, as I was really hungry. I bobbed my head to the songs played on the radio while I ate, my legs bouncing underneath the table, unable to sit still. Not that it was something unusual. I was slurping up the rest of the soup when Doyoung messaged me and told me he would be home early again and that he could pick me up if I wanted him to. But I couldn’t as Mark had to pay me still, so I told him that I wanted to stay out alone for a little bit longer. And after almost two hours of me sitting at the restaurant, Mark finally called me that he was in front of the gardening shop, waiting for me. Paying for the food and greeting the lady, I left the restaurant in a hurry, glad that Mark finally showed up. In truth, I wanted Doyoung to pick me up, but he was at home by now and I didn’t want to bother him. I would just take a cab as it was getting dark and I didn’t want to walk home anymore. The exchange between Mark and I was brief as usual and I quickly found a cab for myself. I got in and told the driver where to take me and got comfortable against the beige leather seats. I sighed and started tapping my thigh with my fingers, looking out the window at the bright billboards and lights of the city. We went past the first intersection, but traffic was getting bad as everyone was headed home or out to have fun, so we caught the next red light. The cab driver turned the volume of the radio up a bit as he started bobbing his head to the beat and I found myself tapping along it too; the song was catchy. Police car sirens could be heard in the distance, but it wasn’t something unusual. Then suddenly, there was a commotion a few cars behind us and as I twisted my neck to see what was happening, four figures in all black and masks covering their whole faces ran up to the car. The cab driver panicked and before he could lock the doors, his door was ripped open and he was pulled out. I jumped and opened my own door in a hurry, wanting to get out, but I couldn’t as all four doors of the cab were now ripped open and the four men jumped in. I got pushed into the middle by my head by the man on my right and squeezed there as I gripped my bag to my chest. All doors were shut closed and only the driver put on his seatbelt. Suddenly, he started reeving the engine and then crashed into the car in front of us. The car jolted and I gasped as I was sent forward, eyes wide as my heart pumped loudly. God damn it, I should have just accepted Doyoung’s offer and asked Mark to pay me tomorrow. The cab driver was holding onto his head and screaming for help as the sirens got closer and the driver started honking, trying to make space for us to pass. I remained silent and shocked, gripping onto my bag and hopeful that they wouldn’t do anything to me. They seemed too stressed about leaving and getting away from the approaching police.

“For fuck’s sake!” Suddenly the one in the passenger seat shouted, his voice raspy, as he threw his door open and got halfway out. And then a silver thing glinted in his hand and I made myself small as I knew he was about to pull the trigger. The gunshots were loud as people started screaming around, suddenly the cars in front of us started moving aside, the light had turned green too.

“Floor it!” The man to my left shouted and the one in the passenger seat hopped back in as the driver pressed the gas pedal and we were sent flying forward. I yelped and held onto the headrest of the passenger seat tightly, looking ahead. The driver was honking constantly until every car started moving out of the way and we were flying down the road, but the sirens were closer too. So close, that the red and blue lights could be seen from inside the car. My breathing started to pick up as my left leg was bouncing very fast, and I was trying to remain as calm as I could. It seemed like they didn’t want to bother with me, so if I remain silent, maybe nothing will happen to me. I might as well blindfold myself so that I know nothing about where they are taking me and then they can let me free as I haven’t seen their faces.

The light turned red in front of us, but the driver wasn’t paying any attention to the traffic lights as he was speeding and switching lanes frantically, even going into the opposite lanes, making me squeeze my eyes shut. If we were about to run into any car, I didn’t want to see it. My bouncing leg knocked into something and I opened one eyes, becoming aware that these criminals were holding black bags that seemed to be heavy. They must have robbed some place and now were running away, just fucking perfect that they chose this cab! I gasped again as the car was jerked to the right and I was sent into the person on my left, making them hiss. I was expecting a slap or them to scream at me, but they just gently adjusted me back into the middle seat, turning their head towards me as if they realized for the first time that I was in the car too. I could see their brown eyes, and they widened. Mine widened too out of fear and I quickly ducked my head, holding onto my bag tightly. By now, the police was full on chasing these criminals, they were right behind us and the car was jerked to the left this time.

“Fuck this shit car!” A very deep voice suddenly shouted, making me jump, “I can’t outrun the fucking police in this old ass piece of shit—”

“Calm down!” The man on my right snapped, voice tense and raised. My left leg was bouncing so fast that I was getting a cramp in my thigh, but I couldn’t stop, I was on the brink of passing out from how anxious I was feeling. I stopped breathing normally a long time ago and I even started sweating, if only someone would’ve rolled down a window…

“Where the fuck do I go if they are trailing us? I can’t lose them here!” The deep voiced man continued shouting and he honked again as the sirens seemed to become deafening. But the more I concentrated on his deep voice, the more familiar it became. My body felt like it was made out of rock already, but it seemed like I could tense up even more. My breath got cut off for a second as my head snapped up, my whole body sitting up straight. My eyes bore into the back of the driver’s head. I knew that voice, but it can’t be. My brain is just making up things, I’m under so much stress that I started making up things.

“Take the back streets!” The man from the passenger seat answered him, “Boss is waiting at the docks.”

“The docks are fucking half an hour away from here! Start shooting at their cars tires, you idiots!” The driver’s deep voice boomed in the car and I shivered as three windows were rolled down. The three men suddenly all had weapons in their hands and they started shooting at the police car that was speeding beside the cab. I remained staring at the driver as my brain was screaming at me that the voice belonged to Wonwoo. Suddenly, the guy looked in the rearview mirror and our gazes connected. My mouth fell open when I saw foxy eyes staring back at me with the intensity I was used to seeing from Wonwoo, their brown seemed to be even darker as I gaped at Wonwoo. This can’t be happening, no. This must be a joke. But Wonwoo’s eyes narrowed and he quickly looked back at the road, taking another sharp turn as the rest managed to get rid of that one police car, but at least three more were still chasing us. Suddenly, I felt my phone vibrating in my back pocket and I let go of my bag with one hand, only now noticing how badly I was shaking. I knew no one was paying attention to me, so I curled up into a ball and sneakily placed the phone against my ear after hitting the green button.

“Y/N?!” Doyoung’s voice was frantic and the sirens were even louder through the phone, “Why the hell are you in the car we are chasing—”

Suddenly, the phone was ripped from my hands and I shrieked, trying to reach for it, “Doyoung!”

But the guys on each of my side held me down and the man in the passenger’s seat had the phone against his ear.

“Listen here—” But he was cut off by Doyoung, I could hear him screaming through the phone, but I didn’t understand what he was saying as all I could hear were my own loud heart beats as I struggled against the men holding me. Finally, my flight or fight kicked in, and I chose to fight as I didn’t really have the opportunity to run. Only God knows what was about to happen, I wasn’t going to sit around anymore. I elbowed the man on my right in the stomach and he cried out loudly as I finally freed my right arm. The man on my left was very skinny, but despite that he was very strong and my arm was turning numb, that’s how hard he was squeezing me. I started fighting against him too, punched him in the face with my free hand, even though he tried dodging it. My left arm was free too and I lunged for the guy in the passenger seat, knowing that I’d kill all of us if I started choking Wonwoo. So instead, my hands went around the other guy’s neck from behind as I started squeezing, the words he was about to say to my brother dying away in his throat. My phone fell from his hand and he gripped my wrists, trying to claw at me with his nails, but he was wearing glows. I started squeezing even harder as Wonwoo started swerving the car around violently.

“Get a fucking grip on her!” He shouted as with his right hand he gripped my bicep and started yanking on my arm. I cried out in pain, trying to elbow him as suddenly hands around my waist and forearms were pulling me back harshly. The guy I was choking started fighting back too, probably close to passing out as his struggling became less and less. But these guys were very strong, and two were pulling me back while one was squeezing so hard on my bicep that it felt like someone was trying to rip my arm off, I had to let go of the guy in the passenger seat. He started coughing and wheezing loudly as he fell forward. I screamed as I was restrained, this time the guys were almost sitting on me to stop me from fighting back. Wonwoo looked at me through the rearview mirror and I knew that he knew I recognized him, his deadly glare made me still instantly. I was rooted against the leather seat as he reached for my phone and hit a button, no doubt calling my brother.

“You want your sister? You play along with me.” Was all he said before hanging up and throwing the phone back at me, hitting my knees as it fell onto the ground. The guys still held me tightly, even though I stopped struggling. The one in the front stopped coughing, but he was still leaned over, holding onto his head as he was breathing loudly. My lungs were rising and falling at an alarming pace as my legs started bouncing again. But then suddenly Wonwoo took a sharp U turn and the police cars stopped following us. The sirens stopped blaring, all you could see were the lights, lights that were getting farther away from us. Doyoung was getting farther away from me, he was in one of those cars! I bit my lower lip and tried to keep the thoughts about me dying out as for once in my life I focused on the voices.

Look at that, Y/N is having the most fun she’s ever head. Don’t worry, you won’t die. Wonwoo won’t kill you, he’s into you. And he probably knows that you know it’s him. Isn’t he just so hot? The way he screamed, the way he’s driving…and you thought he was boring?! His burning gaze makes you feel all sorts of ways, Y/N, admit it. Now calm down, you are getting out of this alive.

The voices weren’t helpful as they were rambling about Wonwoo, but I did take a deep breath and noticed that until I was zoned out, he stopped driving at a crazy speed. We were downtown, but nowhere close to the docks. Wonwoo pulled up into the parking lot of a poorly lit convenience store, where a police car was already there. But all lights were off and only one man was there, walking around the car anxiously. It was Doyoung and my heart almost jumped out of my chest when Wonwoo stopped the car just next to Doyoung’s police car. The doors were kicked open again and I jumped when the guy on my left held onto my bicep, Wonwoo squeezed me so hard that my whole arm was on fire, it would bruise so ugly. I was pulled out of the car, but not manhandled, as Doyoung came to a stop at the back of the car. The guy let go of me and I took two hurried steps, but someone blocked my path, and I ran into their hard chest. Musk and gunpowder. I didn’t look up at Wonwoo, only stared at his chest as I held my bag against my stomach, my whole-body trembling.

“Say a word to anyone about this, I know where you live and I won’t hesitate to find you.” His deep voice was low as he whispered to me, radiating anger. I bit my lower lip and said nothing as I knocked into him hard and walked past to get to Doyoung. He was quick to pull me into his arms and I clung onto him, telling myself that I was finally safe. It was silent as no one dared to say anything; Doyoung was so tense, he felt like I was hugging a rock.

“If you ever again put my sister into danger, I won’t hesitate to continue what Sana started. You’re lucky I’ve known Mingyu since we were kids, otherwise you’d be laying in jail for life right now.” Doyoung was so angry, his voice trembled and it even raised a few octaves as he spoke to the criminals. I couldn’t believe what he was saying. He was just letting them off like that? They were criminals!

“Your generosity will be always returned, you know that, Doyoung.” The guy I choked could barely speak, his voice was a low rasp and then I heard something colliding against the concrete. Doyoung moved us a little as car doors were closed and the engine of the cab started again as Wonwoo pulled out of the parking lot with the tires screeching. I let go of Doyoung and looked at him disappointed, lips trembling.

“You’re a corrupt cop?” I managed to say as a few tears fell from my eyes. He looked down at the bag and picked it up, remorse showing on his face.

“You weren’t supposed to find out, but it’s a complicated story—”

“Nothing about this is complicated!” I shouted, angrily wiping the tears off my cheeks, “You just let four criminals run off like nothing happened! Like I couldn’t have been killed in that chase or afterwards by them! If people like you are the ones protecting this city everyone should be afraid for their own lives!”

Doyoung’s face got red and he pointed a finger at me, “You don’t get to tell me what’s wrong and what’s right! I’m not perfect; you think you’re the only one with flaws, Y/N?! Wake up! I’m not the perfect brother you always make me out to be! Once you start working for the mafia there’s no way out—”

“You work for the mafia?!” I screamed, seeing Doyoung in a different light for the first time. He really wasn’t the person I thought he was. The innocent Doyoung never existed, at least not since he’s been working for the mafia apparently.

“No, but I help them out sometimes. Mingyu and I made a pact a long time ago—”

“Kim Mingyu is the mafia leader?”

“Yes—”

“Who is Jeon Wonwoo?” Doyoung paused for a second, eyebrows furrowing. I raised my eyebrows at him as I waited for an answer. Oh, and he was going to give me all the answers I wanted.

“A very skilled getaway driver, Mingyu’s closest and most trusted friend, and his chauffeur.” Doyoung answered me after he took a deep breath, searching my face for a reaction. But it never came, I surpassed it. I felt tired and I was aching all over, I need a warm bath and sleep. I didn’t even want to know anything anymore, that was enough.

“Let’s go home.” I said with a sigh and walked up to the police car, “I’m very tired.”

“Y/N—”

“Now, Doyoung.” I snapped and opened the door, sitting inside angrily. Doyoung shook his head before following suit, remaining silent for the rest of the night.

Isn’t Wonwoo just the most amazing person you’ve ever—Shut up, I shouted in my head, closing my eyes tightly. I was done listening to the voices. I wanted nothing to do with them anymore. No, Wonwoo was a criminal and he made it very clear what he’d do if I said anything about what happened. I was going to ask Mark to return that damned t-shirt to him and I never wanted to see Wonwoo again or talk to him again. I blocked his number and deleted all pictures I had of him in my phone. In the morning, when I was home alone, I was going to burn every single thing I had collected about him, every single picture I snapped. He was a criminal and I wanted nothing to do with him anymore.

Ever since last night Doyoung was acting like I was an alien. He didn’t speak to me; he didn’t even look at me! He quietly greeted me when I walked to the kitchen to have breakfast, but before I could thank him for making breakfast or ask him how he slept, he was out of the front door. He barely checked up on me all day, and when I gave him a call to ask him if he’d come home for lunch as I cooked food, he didn’t answer but sent a text saying that he couldn’t speak to me at the moment. It was pissing me off. I didn’t want him to make this harder for us. What I found out was a lot to take in and I wasn’t proud of him, but he was my brother and he was the only person who stood by my side since day one without judging me. I loved him very much and I needed him next to me. I needed him to understand that nothing changed between us, besides the fact that currently I was very pissed off and scared. The police were still patrolling around the neighborhood as no DNA was found inside the house that didn’t belong to us, and honestly, I was on the verge of inviting the officers inside the house as I jumped at every sound. Sleep came easily as I was very stressed, but my eyes opened at five in morning and I haven’t been able to go back to sleep, so I got to work. I gathered everything I had on Wonwoo and threw it in the fireplace in the back garden and watched it as it burned away in the morning light. It eased my nerves a little bit as I clutched the blanket tighter around me, knowing that Wonwoo was out of town today. But tomorrow he wouldn’t be, and I had a feeling that he was still going to want to meet up with me. But I didn’t want to, not anymore. Knowing that Mark wasn’t sleeping at that hour, I called him, and told him everything that happened. He was very sorry and felt really guilty and promised to never send me off to watch mafia members, I was content with that. Watching shady business men was alright, but following mafia members wasn’t fun anymore. I stayed inside the whole day after I went on my run and just cleaned and cooked even more. I updated my blog and accepted a request of someone to put up my photos in their gallery next month. Since Mark wasn’t going to contact me for a while now, I started looking for vacation destinations. I really needed it, I had to get away from the city for a while. The voices went quiet and even when I listened closely, I only heard intangible whispers. It was good, it meant I was over Wonwoo. Even if I wasn’t really. The fairytale I was living in was shattered and as I glanced at his folded t-shirt, I sighed. I was hoping that for once I finally found someone who would be good for me, but it turned out I was very wrong. Usually my hunches were good, but this time I was totally blinded by his attractiveness and the voices that never knew better. Shaking my head, I remembered the old lady from the woods and wondered if she was still alive…or if she’d recognize me if I showed up. She told me she’d welcome me anytime again, but I didn’t visit her very frequently as my family was keeping a close eye on me after I ran away, and it was fine. But now, I craved to be engulfed in total silence and the green nature around me.

Nightfall came and I was eating on the couch as I watched a reality show, laughing loudly when something was amusing. It wasn’t very late, but the sun still set early as we haven’t passed the spring solstice yet. I just bit into the meatball I made for lunch when the front door was unlocked and I heard Doyoung’s keys.

“Hi!” I called out with my mouth full, raising the hand with which I was holding the fork to wave at him. Doyoung hummed and went to the fridge directly and opened it.

“Oh, I made a lot of food today,” I said as I turned around, resting both legs on the couch, “Meatballs, found some spaghetti too so I made some sauce for it. I made a salad with the veggies we had and lentil cream soup, your favorite!”

But Doyoung didn’t react and my eyebrows furrowed as I chewed the food I had in my mouth. This had do end right now, I wasn’t going to let my brother treat me like I was invisible just because I found out that he’s a corrupt cop.

“Hey!” I snapped, placing the plate on the coffee table forcefully, “Stop being a pussy and face me!”

Doyoung sighed and threw a glance at me as he took out the soup and I spoke again, “Aren’t I the one supposed to be giving you the silent treatment?!”

Doyoung just shrugged as he took a bowl and poured soup into it, “I don’t know…”

“Nice to hear you are still able to speak—”

“Are you not mad?” Doyoung cut me off before I could finish my sarcastic remark and I glared at him.

“I’m very mad, but it doesn’t mean that I’ll stop acknowledging you, yeah? What kind of shit person does that?” I rolled my eyes and Doyoung chuckled, throwing a glance at me as he sat at the table to eat.

“The me kind of shit person apparently.” I chuckled and resumed eating as Doyoung did too. I lowered the volume of the TV a little bit and turned back towards him again, taking in his attire. His uniform changed; I didn’t notice it this morning.

“You have a new uniform?” I asked with a grin and Doyoung nodded, looking down at himself.

“Yeah, I got it today.” I nodded and bit into the meatball.

“Well, congratulations—next time lock the mafia guys up, yeah?” Doyoung paused and I knew it was too soon to joke about this, but I wasn’t exactly joking. My tone wasn’t playful at all and Doyoung sighed, wordlessly nodding as he started slurping his soup.

“Were you that hungry? You didn’t even change…” I wondered as Doyoung finished eating and stood up.

“No, but I have to go to the funeral house. It’s Sana’s watcher…” My lips formed a thin line as I nodded, finishing my dinner wordlessly as Doyoung moved around the kitchen. He squeezed some lemon in his water and drank it, closing his eyes for a second. His body seemed tense and he was hunched a little forward as he washed away the dishes he used.

“Don’t come too late, you should rest more.” I said as Doyoung nodded and put on his shoes, taking his keys.

“You too, don’t wait for me.” He said and I nodded, watching him leave the house. The locked the door and I sighed, getting up from the couch. I walked to the sink and washed the plate and fork I used, putting them away. I left the TV on as I just wanted to change into my pajamas and go back to watch something before bed. But as I reached my door, I heard footsteps outside the front door and knocking. Rolling my eyes, I walked to the front door and unlocked it, ready to tease Doyoung for forgetting something at home again. But it wasn’t Doyoung. I froze as I stared at Wonwoo’s face, goosebumps suddenly covering my body. Then I realized it was Wonwoo and quickly tried to slam the door closed, but Wonwoo was quick to react and he started pushing it back. I hissed and put all of my weight against it, struggling to close it as Wonwoo was pushing just as hard to open it up. I was wearing socks and my right leg slipped on the tiles and Wonwoo gained advantage as my weight shifted. He was able to push it wide enough to slip inside and I quickly abandoned the thought of trying to keep him out of the house and ran to the cupboard full of knives. I quickly opened it and took out the sharpest knife we had and turned around, just in time as Wonwoo almost reached me.

“Stay away!” I pointed the knife at him and he stayed rooted, his sharp eyes gazing into mine, “What do you want? I didn’t say anything to anyone—Doyoung already knew about you! You want your bloody t-shirt?! It’s in my room!”

Wonwoo remained silent and I jerked my hand slightly, showing him that I wasn’t afraid to stab him. I wouldn’t go down without a good fight, in case he thought I was scared of him. Which I was, but I was angrier right now and it ruled over my fear.

“I just came to talk.” Wonwoo said calmly and I chuckled dryly, rolling my eyes.

“Oh, nice talking. This is how you usually do it? You break into someone’s house and get threatened by a knife and then just…talk?”

“I usually don’t get threatened.” Wonwoo answered with a shrug and I huffed, eyes darting towards my phone that was on the coffee table. If I outsmart Wonwoo, I can get to my phone and run inside my room and jump out the window. Then he can try and talk to me, but I won’t be here anymore.

“Well…less stressful for you, I guess.” I tried stalling, gripping the knife tighter, “But I’m not in the mood to talk.”

“Just listen to me, I’m not here to hurt you.” Wonwoo’s voice softened and his eyes did too as he tried pleading me with his gaze. I rolled my eyes and then lunged towards him, without the intention of stabbing him. I just wanted to take him off guard, to distract him. And it worked as he jumped back with a gasp, his sharp eyes widening. I dropped the knife and pushed him hard, making him fall onto his butt. I quickly ran around him and got to the fridge when I was grabbed. Well, obviously my plan wasn’t a smart one and this is why Doyoung checked on me regularly. I really needed someone to look after me. I yelped as Wonwoo’s arms went around my waist and roughly yanked me back, pinning me against the table with his body. He didn’t look very pleased and my heart started beating quickly, thinking of a way to free myself from his grip. I could either kneel him or just try and headbutt him, but it seemed like Wonwoo guessed what I was thinking as his lean and muscular body molded into mine. My wrists were pinned to the table and I shivered, his cologne hitting my nose hard. He smelled like musk and gunpowder again and he was so close I could count his lashes if I wanted to. I craned my head back and tried to move around, but it only made me feel more parts of body and that was too much just yet.

Look at this compromising position, Y/N. All you have to do is lean in and open your knees, isn’t that what you’ve wanted all along? We are guessing Wonwoo wants the same thing…not that we are complaining.

I tried to remain unexpressive as the voices suddenly returned and were very loud, of course they’d come back in a situation like this one.

“Well, this is very uncomfortable.” I said quietly, maintaining the eye contact with Wonwoo. My heart was beating fast and I could feel the heat in my cheeks. This wasn’t the reaction I was expecting. Why do I still like him? After yesterday…how can I still like him?

“Well, you didn’t give me a choice.” Wonwoo muttered, his low voice vibrating against his chest and I rolled my eyes.

“Yeah, sure,” I scoffed and then glared at him, “why would I want to talk to a criminal? Let alone give him a chance to explain himself?”

“Did you let your brother explain himself?” Wonwoo’s eyebrows rose and I glanced away, trying to free my wrists again.

“Kind of…” Wonwoo just hummed and lessened his hold on my wrist so that it didn’t hurt anymore. The bicep he squeezed so hard was now a beautiful shade of green and purple.

“Then it’s my turn—”

“Whatever Wonwoo, I really don’t care. You’re part of the mafia and you robbed the jewelry shops Mark asked me to watch yesterday. And then you had to run away because Mark alerted the police thanks to me and then very sadly you got in the same cab with me. And look at my bicep, you did that.” I snapped, looking down at the bruise as Wonwoo’s gaze followed. His eyebrows furrowed and he sighed, looking back up at me.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to do that.” He muttered with remorse as he looked at it again. His words and reaction were genuine but I just rolled my eyes.

“A little late for that, now—” I shoved myself into him, but it did nothing, “Let go of me.”

Wonwoo’s lips pulled in a straight line and he shook his head, seemingly thinking about what to do next. But I started struggling and trying to move him back so that I would be able to knee him. But he probably knew that was what I was trying to do and squeezed my legs together between his.

“God, the second I get out of your hold I will beat you up so badly, Wonwoo, no one will be able to recognize you—” Wonwoo’s deep laughter echoed in the house as I looked at him menacingly. I wasn’t joking, I really wanted to beat him up and I would, but I needed to free myself first.

“I love how you underestimate me; the shock will be bigger once I’m done—” But Wonwoo’s laughter was so contagious that I had to fight back my own. His nose was scrunched up and I just noticed how he wasn’t wearing glasses. His hair was styled back and he seemed to be wearing some fancy clothes, his pants were silky. He was very attractive, but I tried to ignore my sudden thirst for him. So, I looked away and he slowly stopped laughing, my eyes fell on the front door as I tried coming up with another escape route. But on the ground were five white lilies and I felt my mind go blank as I stared at them. There’s no possible way anyone brought those in, Doyoung and I never buy white lilies, and Wonwoo is the only one that just barged in. Wonwoo.

“Oh my God,” I muttered in despair, looking at Wonwoo all frantic, “Did you—bring those flowers? Wonwoo?!”

Wonwoo looked at the flowers and cleared his throat, looking back at me, “Yeah.”

“Oh my God.” I muttered again and felt like a deer caught in headlights. It was Wonwoo all along? What is happening? I don’t understand anything anymore!

Well…at least you found out who your secret admirer is. And it’s Wonwoo, you should be happy it’s him and not some old creep—

“Shut up!” I exclaimed, squeezing my eyes shut, “This can’t be happening. No fucking way.”

Wonwoo looked confused when I opened my eyes and looked at him, “You were breaking in our house for two weeks?!”

“You’re the one to make a scene, huh?” Wonwoo suddenly raised his voice and his eyes narrowed as he started glaring at me, “You’ve been stalking me for two weeks.”

I gaped at him and blinked, taken off guard, “I—I wasn’t—what?”

“Yeah, you really thought I wouldn’t know?” He chuckled unamused, “I’m surprised it took you this long to realize it was me bringing the flowers.”

My eyebrows furrowed and I looked at him confused, “How was I supposed to know?! I thought you had no idea I was watching you—”

“Stalking me.”

“Stalking you, whatever,” I rolled my eyes, trying to make sense of the situation, “It doesn’t give you the right to break in my room and—were you marking your territory or some shit mafias do? Were you showing other mafias that you were to be the one to kill me—”

“What nonsense are you talking about?” Wonwoo’s eyebrows furrowed and I tried to push him away again, my back was becoming numb, “You fantasize too much. Mafias don’t do that, but—”

“But what?!” I snapped, eyes widening.

“I did think of killing you in the first three days of you stalking me.” Wonwoo finished with a smirk. My heart skipped another beat as I started breathing faster, his musky scent made me feel dizzy.

“What?!” I exclaimed and started struggling against Wonwoo again, trying to free myself, “For God’s sake, I can’t feel my back anymore, Wonwoo!”

He gave me a look that said if I tried running away again he’d tie me to a chair and leave me there until Doyoung returned, he probably would’ve gagged me too, so I just sighed and let go of all muscles, softening my body. Wonwoo’s eyes gazed into mine intently and his hold slowly loosened as he seemed to lean in subconsciously. My eyes fell onto his lips and realized how plump his upper lip was, but we both snapped out if at the same time as he stepped back and I jumped away from the table, breathing hard. I massaged my lower back as best as I could as I licked my lips and looked at Wonwoo with a glare.

“I don’t like what I’m about to say—” And I took a deep breath and watched as Wonwoo started smirking again, “But what if…we both just forget about all the shit we did and…go on and live our lives like we never met. And, I don’t know, get some therapy as we both apparently need it badly.”

My words made Wonwoo laugh again and I actually smiled this time too, feeling tired after all the new information dumped on me.

“I can’t do that,” Wonwoo said once his laughter died down, “I can’t continue living like I never met you.”

I shrugged and ran my hands through my hair, looking away from him, “Well, I can and I will. So, you better do the same or else I’ll tell Doyoung about everything and he’ll be really pissed and won’t care about Mingyu or whoever, yeah?”

Look at our Y/N lying like that, as if all of this didn’t happen because of her.

I felt Wonwoo move closer to me and his fingers ghosted over the bruise on my left bicep, “Can you really pretend I don’t exist? When you started this?”

“I didn’t start shit!” I snapped and turned my body away from his, “I stalked you for two weeks and I won’t do it anymore because I got over you. I always do. It never lasts for long, you’re not special.”

But he is Y/N, you know it. He knows it.

“Really?” Wonwoo muttered with a small smile and I just shrugged, avoiding his gaze, “Because I watched you the whole time we were in the same Coffee Shop. You were following that businessman, working for Mark, I assume. I noticed how you couldn’t stay still and how you whispered things to yourself. How the barista lit up when she saw you and talked to you. If you wouldn’t have stalked me after that day, I would’ve still found you.”

I just gulped and felt all the anger, frustration, fear melt away as I slowly looked at Wonwoo, “But you broke inside my bedroom…to give me flowers…”

My voice was small and he nodded as he stepped closer, placing his palm on my cheek. I almost jumped at how warm his palm was again and tried to ignore the rapid beat of my heart, “And I was wrong to do that…sorry.”

“Sorry for stalking you.” I muttered and a small grin appeared on Wonwoo’s lips as he closed the distance between our bodies again.

“I’m also sorry for the other bad things I did.” Wonwoo added.

“Yeah, fuck you.” I said with a chuckle and his grin widened into a smile.

You’d love that, wouldn’t you, Y/N?

I rolled my eyes at the voices but Wonwoo didn’t react as he leaned down and his red lips pressed against my cheek, making me blush instantly. Why did I forgive him so easily? Maybe because both of us fucked up big time this time.

“I still expect to see you tomorrow at lunch for our date, so tell Mark to stay at home.” My eyes widened as Wonwoo stepped back, letting go of my cheek.

“How do you know—”

“I’m in the mafia, remember? I know everything.” He winked and walked towards the front door.

“And you called me the stalker.” He chuckled as he opened the door and stepped outside.

“Don’t tell Doyoung just yet, he’s very mad for what I did yesterday—”

“Yeah, me too.” I cut him off and Wonwoo gave me an apologetic smile.

“Sleep well.”

“Don’t break in my room anymore!” I called out as he walked down towards the gate, turning around to wave at me. I rolled my eyes and closed the front door, locking it. Jesus, this really is not how I expected things to turn out. I don’t think I need to watch any TV to feel sleepy. This is my cue to rest and worry about what to wear tomorrow for lunch.

You can wear whatever, Wonwoo is head over heels for you, Y/N. And as we’re seeing, you’re too for him.

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wyn-n-tonic · 3 years

Text

Golden, Like Daylight -- Part V

Word Count: 2,005 Warnings: PTSD. Allusions to sex (it borders on the edge of smut but we should know by now I'm shit at that). Hint of a praise kink. Bit of marking kink. Death. Ben Affleck. Author's Note: The last few chapters have taken a lot out of me, I put a lot of my own experiences with PTSD and mental health into them. I tried to make this fluffy, I needed that comfort after a hard week and I feel lighter for it. As always, thank you so much for your kind words and loving this like I do.

MASTERLIST | PART: I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII | VIII | IX

“Fuck you.” Benny stares straight into Tom’s eyes. "This is my fuck you money.” The held breaths are louder than gunshots, waiting for a reaction that doesn’t come.

Cold Camp Davis grunts a laugh, “We don’t have enough men to carry all this money so we might as well be warm.”

Benny giggles like a child as he grabs a strap, zippo clicking to ignition again.

The laughter that bubbles up is like a light, warmer than the thousands of dollars burning bright against his eyes.

Frankie, you might as well take your salary out on the front lawn and pour some kerosene on it.

He hears it so clearly in his head and in his heart, Leah teasing him for all the lights being on the first time he took her home.

Tom stands up, dumping an entire case down to tinder in the cold air.

Eight dates in and she’d already witnessed one of his attacks. It was the third date, he’d wanted to take her home that night. His body on hers for hours. Wanted to make breakfast the next morning, having already committed to memory the way she takes her coffee. Instead, she spent that night holding tightly to his hands as his panic crescendoed in the backseat of his car.

If it wasn’t then that he realized he loved her, it was in the way she turned to look at him when he quietly said,

The lights being on make me feel safe.

It wasn’t pity, like he’s used to. It wasn’t the look somebody gives a broken man with a broken mind and a broken soul. The only change he found in the already soft features was an understanding behind the dark eyes staring back at him.

This fire makes him feel safe now.

He’s always straining in the dark. It’s not just about watching his six. It’s all twelve hands on deck with two eyes and a ringing in his ears so intense he can feel it in his toes.

But here? It beats back against the edges of gloom that have continuously threatened to consume him.

He can sweep enclosed spaces in minutes, assess the situation and the danger within. It’s a lot harder in the extended wilds, nothing but the moon to guide the eye.

Before Leah—and for a while there after—he combed room for room upon his arrival home. He’d ask her to stay in the car, his conceal carry coming out as soon as the door would swing open.

He’d sheepishly grin, collecting her from the passenger side after his survey and she’d hug him. Holding tightly around his middle section, pressing her cold hands up under his shirt to that hot place where his heart beats and whisper with genuine gratitude,

Thank you for protecting me, Frankie.

It was never condescending, that’s all he ever wanted to do. Protect her. Protect himself. Protect the men giggling like schoolboys around him right now.

And he liked being told what a good job he did at that. —————

“What's Frankie short for?” Barely audible, her breath fanning across his chest as she continues to catch it. Like willing waves of normalcy in the aftermath of a hurricane.

“Francisco.”

“Francisco,” she repeats, dragging out the o. “Do you like it?”

“Used to make me feel like I was in trouble, very harsh coming from pissed off higher ups and even angrier parents but it sounds…” he thinks on that for a second, the events of the night still rippling through his body, “a lot sweeter in your mouth.”

“Watch yourself,” she hums a kiss into the flat plane of his breast before sinking her teeth into the flesh there, biting as hard as she can.

A chuckle vibrates from deep within him, “one hell of a bite too, I won’t soon forget.”

He looks down into her eyes, bright with mischief as she pulls her bottom lip between her teeth now. He’d had hickeys before but never like this. He surveys the purple marks across his body, somehow burning brighter than the rest of him, and a contentedness pools in the pit of his stomach. Her stamps on him in easily hidden spaces to match the lipstick stains she’s started marking across his right cheek in the moments before they walk into the bar or the restaurant.

Little ways she says mine.

And he is hers. He knows it in the steady way his lungs rise and fall underneath her now.

He brushes a soft wave from where it tickles across her nose, “is Leah short for anything?”

Her nose scrunches, “not a goddamn thing.”

“Do you know what it means then?” His large hand is sprawled across her lower back, the weight of it an anchor.

Don’t leave me, it says.

“I don’t know,” she drawls, the slight twang coming forward in moments of exhaustion and inebriation, “just think my mama liked the sound of it is all.”

His heart is blazing underneath her cheek as she settles against him once more, her soft voice tumbles towards him, “Francisco…” as her eyelashes brush against his skin and he swears he can count them all on sensation alone.

“Yeah, baby?”

He feels a smile tug at her lips, stopped in its tracks where she’s rooted into him. It’s the first time he’s called her that.

“I have nightlights.”

The light makes her feel safe too. —————

He’s standing over Tom’s body and he hates to admit it but the feeling washing over him is one of relief.

Relief mingled with guilt.

Guilt that nobody was watching his six, his back wide open to the world behind it. Five seasoned fucking veterans and nobody watching the higher ground.

Relief at the silence he knows will engulf the group now. No more orders from a child who should’ve never been granted the lead to begin with.

Guilt because he was climbing up a fucking rock when he should’ve been doing his job as a friend and brother.

Relief that it wasn’t his brains splashed across stone.

His head is fucking pounding and it has been for days, pain dulled by consistency but never not there.

At least I can feel my fucking head.

He thinks of all the other things he can feel now, the things service beat from his body.

The ache in his limbs, heavy with exhaustion.

He’s dreading adding the dead weight of a dead body to the load.

The pang in his stomach, too used to consistently hot food.

He wants black coffee and bacon and tiny spoonfuls of sweet potato puree he airplanes into his own mouth to show Luna it won’t hurt her. Hell, he’d take the mushed peas right now.

Benny’s sobbing. The one amongst them all that never breaks is the broken one now.

He’s staring off again at everything and nothing, Santiago and Will unfurling bags for the body.

What a present to bring home.

It was always the risk they faced, they knew it.

If you were lucky, truly lucky, you came home whole. Untouched, unscathed, unmarred. The safe deployments, the technical shit, the brains behind the operations never seeing bloodshed. Everybody else though? Some were held together by duct tape and pure grit.

Others tied up in a flag with a bow.

Daddy’s not coming home but here’s a purple heart for the dress uniform he’ll never wear again.

I should’ve done more.

He’s not getting a purple heart for this.

I should’ve held on tighter.

He didn’t die in service to his country, he died in service to himself.

I should’ve made a bigger issue of the weight.

Another family he’s failed to protect.

I should’ve said no. —————

The darkness is cut through with a warm glow in every outlet as the clock tips over the edge of midnight.

Wednesday, the eleventh of October.

Nose to nose, the excitement of the day hangs over them like a wave threatening to crash. A giddiness in their bed forcing sleep to the edges of thought.

“Do you think they’re gonna know?” Her voice is soft, featherlight. Trying not to disturb the peaceful bubble they find themselves in now.

“No,” he lifts to press his lips gently into hers, “but I can’t promise I won’t shout it out on the altar.”

Panic takes her eyes, he knows it all too well and he’s gripping tighter before she can inhale. Fingers splayed across the small of her back, the weight of it a comfort to the tender bones and aching muscles.

I'm right here, it says.

“Breathe, breathe,” he’s speaking softly into her hair, “it was just a joke, baby.”

“You're not funny, Francisco Morales.” She speaks it like a fact, like she doesn’t spend hours in his arms filling his head with the music of her laughter. She says it like he isn’t watching smile lines appear in real time, falling more in love with each one.

“Would it be so bad though? If I did? If people knew?” It’s hope in his voice that she’ll say yes. That he can announce to his best friends all at once, every single one, before Santi leaves again. He doesn't want his happiness to arrive by text message. He wants to see the light of congratulation dancing around him.

“I don’t want to jinx it,” she’s scared, “besides… it’s not traditional.”

He scoffs, “what about us has ever been traditional, mi alma?”

“I'll make you a deal,” her fingers run through the stubble along his jaw, thumbs lingering over the patches, “don’t shave this tomorrow and you can tell the boys.”

“You want me to keep this malnourished shit on my face? For our wedding?”

Her giggles vibrate against him, “Yes. I have plans for it after you say I do.”

He growls, “this deal sounds pretty sweet to my lazy soul, what do you get out of it?”

“Hmm…” she brings her hand up to tap on her chin, “well, to begin, I’m getting a hot husba—”

“Debatable.”

“I'll fuck you up, Morales, take the compliment.”

He laughs a kiss into her, “what else?”

“Benny and Will will become automatic attack dogs around me, I’m fairly certain they will clear their schedules for all of April to stand guard outside the room. My own personal security team.”

He laughs again at the truth in her words, “what else?”

She pushes forward again, taking his lip between hers. A soft kiss with the burning desire for more.

“I’ll wake up on Thursday morning with a rawness between my legs that I’m usually only gifted on the weekends.”

His grip tightens, any suggestion of sleep leaving his body in a rush of blood straight through him, “I will never shave again.”

“Don't threaten me with a good time, my love.”

He rolls himself into her at that, kissing down her jaw. Her neck. The sensitive skin of her breasts, low lying cotton barely above indecency. He raises the hem, the curve of her belly burning hot against his lips, two hearts now beating inside her.

He grabs the elastic around her hips and gently pulls, kisses so soft across her pelvis they feign an innocence to his true intentions. Her legs kick out to help discard the fabric tangling her ankles as he settles broad shoulders at the base of her being.

Her fingers twirl through the soft curls that have been crushed against a pillow for hours by her side.

He kisses her soft thighs, slowly dragging his rough cheek against the delicate flesh.

“Francisco,” her fingers flex tighter as he looks up to meet her eyes, “don’t be such a fucking tease.”

He smiles wide, the devilish grin splitting his face as he drops his eyes to where she wants him, the fever that’s taken over her body in the last three months beckoning him in.

His hands are heavy on her hips, clenching deep purple into her. Marks in easily hidden spaces, his little ways of saying mine.

#frankie morales #francisco 'catfish' morales #francisco morales #i believe in francisco morales supremacy #triple frontier #fanfic #fanfiction #pedro pascal #oc #ofc #original character #original female character #francisco catfish morales #pedro pascal fanfiction

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fireemblemtcg · 3 years

Text

“The Cipher Frontier!” Issue 58: “Cipher Will Never Die!”

"The Cipher Frontier! With Emma, Shade, Yuzu, Randal, Alice, Val, Niamh & Poe" was a regular column on the Fire Emblem Cipher website which summarized upcoming news concerning Cipher and other Fire Emblem materials. It was presented by the eight mascot characters. The following is a full translation of the 58th and final issue of the column, which was originally published on 31 March 2021.

More Fire Emblem Cipher translations!

Hello, everybody!!!!!!!!

It's been over five years since Cipher launched - and, for that matter, The Cipher Frontier! itself...

And today... we bring you the last one!

Sniff... So this is really it...

Aye, it certainly is a bitter occasion.

With the moment upon us, I find myself overcome with emotion. Yet at the same time, I cannot help but sorely wish that this day had never come at all.

Well, it... It doesn't bother m-m-me... Not... one...

BWAAAAAAAAAAAH! I C-C-CAN'T TAKE THIS!

E-easy, milady! You swore before we began that you would not cry!

I, too, owe very, very much to all of you, so... I am very sad.

Where there is a beginning, so too shall there be an end... It is an inevitability.

Still, one might argue that as long as there are still decks to play with and opponents to challenge... Cipher may be played for eternity. So think not on this as the end, for this is but a milestone of life.

Sniff... So this isn't farewell?

Not in the least! All of our players can still continue to get together to play Cipher. So as sad as you might be now to see the game end, the feeling won't last! And I, for one, would like to close out our final day with a smile.

To that end, I propose that we all share some parting words. You first, Emma!

Alrighty! Well, I've been here since the beginning, but... Back then, I was an absolute noob, wasn't I? I didn't have the faintest idea what a "Tea See Gee" even was!

But then I learned so much from Shade, and I presented news, participated in Tryout and Gathering events, and watched Live Broadcasts - and all of that gave me the chance to grow so much.

And then as the days went by, we got to meet Yuzu and Randal, Alice and Valjean, and Niamh and Poe, and we all always had a riot of a time playing Cipher together... It's all been like something out of a dream!

Lastly, I just want to say thank you...

To all of you who've been reading our column to date, thank you tho thuch!

Ha! Is that a slip of the tongue I hear?

Why, I do believe it was... And of all the words to flub, at that.

H-heh heh heh! I guess I am still just a kid after all... But mark my words, I'll be working even harder to become a mature, full-fledged knight! Okay, let's try this again... Thank you all!

Well, I'm next! I was primarily tasked with hosting this column and presenting news.

But the work introduced me to more and more friends, and to a constant stream of announcements that were news to me myself... To lose it is like I've also lost my reason to exist, but at least I am left with fond memories of it all.

My desire to convey the appeal of Cipher to others hasn't wavered in the slightest, but... this is the last time it will ever happen here. Alas. Still, I will always be rooting for all of you, even if we don't see each other.

There will always be a bond between us - always. Remember that whenever you play Cipher and see our cards. On this, you have my word! This has been Shade, shepherd of wayward lambs, saying farewell!

Alright, then. You're next, Yuzu!

...

Huh? Yuzu! What's gotten into you? Would you just get out here?

Er, forgive me. When everybody's gaze turned upon me, I could not help but immediately seek shelter...

Oh, yeah. You never did like public speaking, did you, Yuzu?

Of course! We had a devil of a time convincing you to come out at all for your very first column.

E-enough! That was many years ago: a d-d-difficulty that I have long since moved past!

Hrr-hrr-hrr... heh-HEM! L-l-let us, er, begin anew.

I am Yuzu. My contribution to this column was to introduce cards that afforded new styles of play... only to let a haze of utter passion promptly consume me and hence spend my every waking hour crafting decks from them and trialling them in matches.

You always were one to cry, "I must test these cards at once!" and throw yourself into obsessive research.

As such, I have acquired an eye for strategy, forged in the fires of Cipher, to incorporate into my prior mastery of the martial arts - and with that, at long last, I have come to an understanding of the very heart of warcraft.

Further, as a consequence I may declare with confidence that, should I ever find my brother, I shall be able to hold my head high for all that I have grown in his absence. For that, you have my most heartfelt gratitude. So end my parting words!

Thank you, Yuzu. Right, it's your turn, Randal!

Huh? Oh, right then!

I've got a motto: always take your games deathly serious, and always make your own fun on the job… And, well, this has been my chance to prove those words true.

I mean yeah, I'm a wanderer at heart; I might've stuck around a bit too long... but that's just because this was all a hell of a lot of fun.

Oh, I agree... It was a HELL of a lot of fun!

GAH! It's... It's you!

Well, well. We have a stranger among us!

Pah! "Stranger," indeed. This hair, this face, this ribbon... None of this ring a bell?

Eh? Do you... do you mean Randal?

Indeed! I am...

...His son, no? It is nice to meet you!

OI!

What are you on about?! I AM Randal, just from the past - younger than the one you know!

It's happening again! The exact same argument!

This really must be the end, if HE'S here...

This is how you treat me? I have to hear that the last column is happening at the eleventh hour and make a mad dash to make it in time?! Bloody hell...

What is this? A being under the thrall of the Boundless Chaos? How intriguing. I must conduct a thorough examination at once...

H-hey! What are you doing, Niamh?! You look deathly serious... Oi, that's enough! Stay back! I... I've got a sword!

Well, er, I'm just about all out of time, but I just want to say it was a hoot being on the Frontier. Hope I see you all again someday. Adios!

He vanished?! Still more intriguing...

Sigh... What a pain in the arse, if I do say so myself. Although... I must admit, we do agree on one thing: I'd also be glad to see you all again.

This might be one farewell, but here's hoping we cross paths once more! And if we do, hey, why not play a match with this old fart? And that's all she wrote from ol' Randal!

Thank you. Next, let's hear from Alice and Valjean!

Heh heh! At last! Shall we, Val?

Yes, milady.

The two of us made our debut circa Series 10, and ever since that day, the Frontier never failed to be a most thrilling time. Would you agree, Val?

Yes, milady.

My objective in making this journey was simple: to experience much in my travels, such that I might someday return home and become a great ruler indeed. But instead, I first became a most superior, most brilliant Cipher player! Utterly invincible! Favored by fortune! And whatnot. Didn't I, Val?

Yes, milady.

I remember... that every time a Cipher release day came, I would be up all night from their eve, crafting decks and playing matches with the others. Oh, it was such fun! Wasn't it, Val?

...Yes, mi... mi... milady! Sniff...

V-Val?! What is the matter with you?

I am most moved. That my most capricious liegelady could at last find in Cipher such an engaging hobby, such good company, and such a source of training - and that she could grow so greatly as a woman.

Val...

We have been truly blessed to have had all of this: all of you, who welcomed us so warmly into the Frontier fold, and all of the Cipher players out in the world. I wish to offer you my gratitude for everything.

To be honest... I have something to say on that matter myself. Thank you, truly, for everything. I will never, ever, ever, EVER forget even a single day that we spent here together!

Nor shall I!

...Having said that, milady, I fear that you are still yet unready for the throne! From today onward, we must redouble your original leadership training efforts! I fully intend to prepare for you an intensive study regimen.

I-I-I beg your pardon?! You will not speak to me so! If I see even a single incorrect mark, you would do well to prepare yourself, for I will work you to the very bone for the rest of your days!

By all means, do it. But be prepared, for I have a lifetime's worth of admonishments at the ready.

Heh... Best of luck to the two of you!

Your turn, Niamh!

I was present from the 37th column onward... To be precise, it was in the "Love and Bonds Special Talk CD" audio drama that came as a set with an artbook, sold at Comiket 93.

My inquiry and research into the miscellaneous phenomena of this world, and the Boundless Chaos in particular, shall continue, but...

...

Well?! Don't tell me that's all you have to say!

...No. To me, my inquiry into Cipher represented the introducton of a new, major challenge into my life. Cipher decks... Gameplay... Which solution is correct, and which is optimal... As yet, I still have found no answers. As such, it is vital that going forward, I collaborate with a broad sample of Cipher players and find an answer...

So what you're saying is, you enjoyed playing Cipher with everyone, and you're gonna keep playing forever!

That, er... Ahem! That's pretty much it.

Cryptic remarks if I ever heard them, but certainly Niamh-ish.

Right, let's keep this going with Poe!

Only a year and a half has passed since I was welcomed to this column, and sadly, in the end our association has been brief. But I was able to have a very fulfilling time with you.

Attending that Winter Comiket thing with all of you, playing the "Recite and Play: Heroes Iroha" card game being sold there... They were very happy days.

And in all of that, I have always been monitoring Niamh...

...

Hee hee... You have been a good girl here, have you not? I do nothing to good girls.

If one of you becomes wicked, at that time I shall... Heh... Heh heh heh heh heh...

So, I pray that we never have an unpleasant reunion, and end my speech. Thank you. This has been Poe!

Heh... Let's keep that warning in mind.

...With that, have all of us spoken?

Tsk tsk... We aren't actually finished just yet! Since this is our last column, allow me to call upon a special guest!

...A guest? Wait, you don't mean...

Ta-daaaaa! Here he is!

Hello, everyone! I am Kawade, the producer of Fire Emblem Cipher.

K-K-KawadeP!

My, what a surprise!

The publication of the final Frontier coincides with, at last, the end-of-March termination of event support for Cipher. So I thought I would share a message for all of our readers and Cipher players.

If you count from when Cipher was first announced, roughly six years have passed. That's a long time, yet it's just flown by... These have been very busy years, but also wonderful ones, absolutely full of memories and events.

In that time we've constantly taken on new challenges - not just the production of Cipher itself, but Twitter content, live broadcasts, and staging events all around Japan.

And through all of that, we've had the chance to meet so many fans of Fire Emblem and Cipher... That was not only the most fun part of all, but a part that made us happy.

Although, we were unfortunately unable to hold any of our planned events for our final year, and for that I am truly sorry to all of you.

Still, we staff stuck with it to the very end, and as a result were able to complete Cipher as a fantastic game that can be played for years and years to come. For that, we are proud of ourselves.

It was thanks to all of you, who kept on supporting us, that we could continue our work to this standard all the way to the final series. I am overcome with gratitude to you all!

Production might have come to an end, but Fire Emblem Cipher will never die! It would make me happy if, every now and then, you might bring your cards out and play with them. Thank you all, truly, for everything!

And that concludes KawadeP's remarks!

Whew!

That, I believe, is everything that we wished to share.

Aye, I've got nothing to add.

So I suppose this is it: the end of the Cipher Frontier's long run.

Er... Shade? Can I say one last thing?

Hm? What is it, Emma?

Thank you for taking the lead in hosting this last one... And thank you so much for all the things you've taught me!

(Emma...)

H-hey! That's enough of that! You're about to make me cry, and that wouldn't be ending this day with a smile, would it?

Heh. I guess not!

So hey, let's give them one last, enthusiastic That Thing before Shade bursts into tears!

Very well, then. That Thing it is! This has been The Cipher Frontier!

With Emma...

Shade...

Yuzu...

Randal...

Alice...

Val...

Niamh...

...and Poe.

Now, then...

Let's do it, everyone!

One...

Two...

CIPHER!!!!!!!!

THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING, EVERYBODY!!!!!!!!

...

FIRE EMBLEM CIPHER The Cipher Frontier! With Emma, Shade, Yuzu, Randal, Alice, Val, Niamh & Poe

Emma Emma continues to train in order to become a full-fledged pegasus knight. Her tireless Cipher training also continues, but she has yet to show much improvement at the game.

Shade Veteran mage that she is, Shade continues to teach the next generation. Many seeking to become almighty Cipher players have come to her, only to struggle bitterly under her tutelage - yet at the same time, to Emma and the others, she remains a nurturing guiding hand.

Yuzu Yuzu embarked on a journey of martial training, all the while following whispers of her brother's whereabouts... although evidently, she does return from her travels from time to time, bearing souvenirs, to partake in Cipher matches with all of her friends.

Randal Randal made a truly once-in-a-lifetime wager, only to go into hiding thereafter. Some rumors attest that he won, and that with that windfall he secured for himself a carefree life of quiet leisure in some southern land - others, that he met with a catastrophic loss, and was hence forced into labor in someplace.

Alice Alice's travels continue, as she seeks all the experience that she needs to become a true leader. Although at first she struggled, she grew to thoroughly enjoy it, and so she will persist in her journey without ever taking a break to return home... Or so she tells herself, at least.

Valjean Valjean continues to travel all across the land with his liegelady. Witnessing Alice grow ever stronger and wiser by the day, he cannot help but feel conflicting feelings of joy and loneliness beneath the privacy of his helm.

Niamh Even as she continues in her pursuit of wisdom, Niamh silently carries out research into Cipher. Her seminal monograph, "A Compendium of Cipher Decks," is over 100 volumes in length, and by all accounts is still in print to this day.

Poe Poe vanished in her hunt for evil, and her whereabouts remain unknown. However, according to the afterword of "A Compendium of Cipher Decks," she and Niamh have since fought to the death on many an occasion.

The End...???

#fire emblem #the cipher frontier!

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uwua3 · 3 years

Note

hi bunnie!!! i’m simping over juza again (but when am i not) so may i request some soft juza dating hc’s?? anything is fine 🥺👉👈 ilysm 💕

hi, mel~ ♡ i hope you’re doing well! :D i know you’re a fan of genshin impact, so i hope you enjoy this !!! <333 this isn’t as #Soft as i wanted, but i hope it makes you smile regardless 🥺 i love you lots !!! so does juza~ ´͈ ᵕ `͈ ♡°◌̊ (ahhh can you ever date a fatui harbringer though? hopefully some day TT)

summary: before juza leaves, he gives you a dream he will defend until the end

warnings: genshin impact spoilers(?), mentions of death

author’s note: no, i will not elaborate on why i have this extreme association of juza with childe. please do not ask me, as i will write *too much*. however, for any of my a3! genshin fans, please enjoy this piece for 11th fatui harbringer, hyodo juza! (there are no MAJOR spoilers for childe’s story—just his personality/family relations!)

+ i do NOT ship childe/traveller !!! childe is a young adult while traveller is canonically a teenager, i do not support the actual ship itself. please note juza is 18 in this writing :)

word count: 1,566

music: who are you, really? – mikky ekko, killer – the ready set

until we meet again, in snezhnaya.

🍁🍰 hyodo juza

They call Hyodo Juza, “Defender of Childhood Dreams”.

Because if you make a promise, you keep it. If you make a mistake, you apologize. If you give someone a dream, you defend it ‘til the end.

Despite always being away from his home country of Snezhnaya, Juza found himself keeping his word no matter where he went. As one of the older brothers of the Hyodo household, Juza could clearly remember his younger siblings’ tears as he departed all those years ago.

“Toymakers go all around the world for the best toys! I’ll send home lots of gifts, promise.” Juza swore on his life before disappearing away in the snow, wielding the emblem of the Fatui at eighteen.

“Brother Kumon, I will be home soon. I will take the first ship home, just as I promised—and you know how I always keep my promises.”

Yours faithfully, Your loyal knight

Juza sits in Liyue now, the ink staining the parchment against his will as he carefully signs his name. Gifts of all kinds sat beside him, such as kites, rattle drums, porcelain dolls, and snacks. After all, Juza did make a promise to send gifts. His younger brother, Kumon, deserved the best.

Before Juza could remember the chill of the snow down his spine and the numbing cold of frostbite he hadn’t felt in so long, the surface of his tea became unevenly rippled. At a distance, Juza could already tell it was you. Your rather odd companion, Paimon, could be sighted a mile away with how loud she was. On the other hand, you attentively listened as you stood out amongst the crowds.

Placing his quill down, Juza placed a pleasant smile upon his face. For a second, Snezhnaya disappeared. The frozen binding of his loyalty to her Majesty, the Tsaritsa, melted to reveal a heart longing for you to turn your head.

Even if it was for a moment, Juza’s head cleared of it all. His family waiting for him to conquer the world, his brother awaiting his latest toys, the expectation of laying all seven stars upon the Cryo Archon’s feet. All of it disappeared and all that was left was your face.

Honorary knight of Mondstadt. Hero that slayed Dvalin, or Stormterror. Lost twin looking for your sibling across Teyvat. You, a person from a different world, had made Juza forget why he had been fighting. Ever since he was fourteen, Juza fought tooth and nail just to survive. Now, Juza almost felt like he didn’t have to even move a finger as you met his eyes and returned his smile.

Juza would go through the abyss again, for three years even, to keep that smile.

When you walked over to his table of one, Juza lifted his hand in a wave as he called your name. Like you two were just friends, and nothing more. However, friends... wasn’t enough, not for Juza.

“Finally! My only worthy opponent, have you come for another fight?” Juza half-joked, his voice betraying his rumbling excitement and passion to be beaten once again. You always managed to gain the upper hand despite everything, and the rush of feeling like he was about to die gave him a thrill like no other.

But, you just shook your head as Paimon rolled her eyes, crossing her little arms mid-air. “Gosh, Juza, all you think about is fighting!” Juza held his hands up as if he surrended (he never actually would) and rested his hand on his spear, feeling the cool metal. Juza could imagine the electric sensation of his delusion, crackling for a fight regardless.

Only you could get him so worked up, Juza thought.

“No, I. . .” You trailed off, pausing to look away. The lowering sunset reflected in your eyes, like waves of Liyue’s harbor. Juza watched as your heart beat faster, uncertain, which was strange for such a renown legend in the making. Finally, you met his eyes with the confidence he knew and loved.

“I wanted to see you again before you left Liyue.” You honestly admitted and Juza let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. The bustling merchants of the city of contracts continued to thrive around the two. Carts of many merchandises wheeled past them, children ran by making up fantasies beyond the ocean, and business never stopped as trade went on and on. This was Liyue at its finest, and Juza was sure he’d miss it. Or, more specifically, you.

“Really? Perhaps I’ll have to take you home to my family one day. In the snowy hills where everything is cold.” Juza spoke like he was telling a story, as if he was speaking to Kumon back in their one-room hut. As if the snowflakes were in their hair, gloves keeping their hands functional, and makeshift fire was burning weakly between them. You seemed to change, posture weakening as if you were... safe.

You relaxed and didn’t have that subconscious to fight, not when you were with Juza. While you and Juza were two opposite ends of the spectrum, you two had one similarity that bound you together: being born into a life where fighting was the only option. Your hand that always hovered above your weapon fell to your side, and you took a seat across from Juza.

Juza, eleventh Harbringer of the Fatui, feared by all for his chaotic wild card battles. Yet, here he was, writing back home and drinking tea with a traveller who had done the impossible. You made him feel like putting down his weapons and running away, you made him want a second chance at life. As long as it was with you. Only you.

“Snezhnaya... tell me about it.” You said and Juza’s fingers twitched. Visions flew by his mind rapidly, mostly unpleasant and hard to speak of at a place like this. Juza wouldn’t dare tell you about the droughts of hunger when the war left the people to fend for themselves, the iced-over corpses serving as markings in the mountains, nor the everlasting pine trees that spoke of disaster with each collapse. Juza couldn’t say it, not when you were looking at him so wholeheartedly.

“My favorite thing to do is ice-fishing.” Juza started and launched into a whirlwind of his number one hobby. Spoke of the early morning hours cutting holes into thick layers of ice, wobbly legs shaking on the large expanse of the frozen lake, and sitting in silence as wildlife swam beneath them. Juza told you about the spike of adrenaline when he could feel the ice crack haphazardly, the jagged splits uncommon but exciting every time. When Juza shared his most beloved memories, he couldn’t help but feel the Snezhnayan cold with the closest possible feeling to joy.

You listened once again, face pensive and eyes focused on Juza’s hand motions, content tone, and honesty above all. You could almost see the nameless lake, the snow banks, the shadows of fish. You exhaled, and despite the warm atmosphere of Liyue, you swore you could see your breath solidify as if it was Dragonspine.

When Juza closed off his story with a smile, you spoke without a care in the world. As if your sibling wasn’t missing. As if you didn’t have to find all seven archons. As if the fate of Teyvat wasn’t upon your shoulders. Right now, it was just you and Juza. Juza and you.

“When I come to see you in Snezhnaya, I want to have your best fish dish.”

Juza propped his elbow upon the table, before holding his pinky out. You took it with your own, and Juza shot you a wink of many unsaid words. A contract, if you will. Fitting for Liyue.

“It’s a promise. You know I always love testing my limits for my opponents.”

If you make a promise, you keep it.

Juza pulled back first, as he always did. Standing up, Juza paid the bill generously with his excessive Mora. The words “goodbye” left a spicy taste on his tongue, so Juza refused to say them. You two held each other’s gaze for a moment too long, but didn’t mention it.

“I’m sorry for leaving you so soon.”

If you make a mistake, you apologize.

You didn’t react immediately, you just nodded as if it was okay. It wasn’t, really. You both knew Juza’s sudden departure was shrouded in unknown mystery. Neither of you had the courage to properly address it, however.

“But, I’ll see you again. I promised, didn’t I?” Juza began walking away, knowing he was due to leave and run far, far away to his next assignment. Liyue had no place for him anymore. Even when the stars of Teyvat claimed there would always be a place for adventurers, Juza wasn’t so sure if they meant him as well.

All you wanted to do was run after him. Sprint towards Juza and make him stay, even though he never would. You wanted to stand up and weave through the crowds to see his back one last time. But, you didn’t. You didn’t want to make this harder on yourself than it already was.

Before Juza disappeared for a long, long time, he looked over his shoulder with a wave.

“Farewell, my friends. Until we meet again... in Snezhnaya.”

If you give someone a dream, you defend it ‘til the end.

#hyodo juza #juza hyodo #a3! act! addict! actors!#a3!#act! addict! actors!#a3! one shots #act! addict! actors! one shots #a3! actor training game #mankai a3!#mankai company #a3! x reader #a3 x reader #juza x reader #a3! juza #a3 juza #genshin impact

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harryskalechips · 4 years

Text

Joy

A/N here’s a fluffy and angsty piece I wrote from a request! It’s a bit long but I hope you enjoy 🥺❤️

Request:

https://harryskalechips.tumblr.com/post/620429539601956864/hi-i-was-that-anaon-that-asked-if-you-understand

Claire has had the biggest crush on Harry Styles since eighth grade, now he notices her but it’s for the wrong reason.

Word count 10.1k

“Fuck baby!” Harry pants as he catches Claire running towards him. She was coming from the bleachers, holding onto the big sign with his name on it.

“Congratulations!” She smiles as her arms wrap around his neck. He lifts her up and spins her in a circle. His sweat sticking onto her skin as he took an inhale of her sweet perfume. “You played so great tonight!”

“I was so stressed I thought we were going to lose the game but I glanced at you in the bleachers.” Harry smiles as he sets her down. “You’re so fucking cute, you know that right?” He takes her chin in his hand so he can lean forward to kiss her.

“I’m your number 1 fan.” She bites her lip as she smiles. “And you know...you looked really good.” Her cheeks flush as she compliments him. She’s been in love with him since 8th grade! How did she get so lucky to be his girlfriend? To be standing in the bleachers cheering him on as she wore his sweater?

---

“Hello?” The familiar voice whispers. “Earth to Claire?” Claire blinks her eyes as she falls out of her daydream.

It’s high school and just like every cliché movie, Claire had a major crush on one of the most popular guys in her grade. Harry Styles. The boy sat next to her in AP Bio and although he barely spoke to her, her heart somehow always fluttered when she would get a whiff of his cologne or when she would make eye contact with him on the field. Funny thing is Harry was on the football team with her brother, Tom. So when she would stay after school for her ride home, she couldn’t help but focus a bit more on the cute boy.

“Are you okay?” Hannah asks as she takes a spoonful of her fried rice. “I was literally mentioning how we should come back tonight and watch the senior boys’ football game-” She chewed on her food a bit more as she notices her best friend staring at the table behind them. Following Claire’s gaze, it was the group of boys from their grade. Since lunches were split between grades and Claire and Hannah always chose to sit near the middle, they always had a clear view of the athletic boys who were having their meals at the circle in front of the big windows.

Harry was sitting on the table with his elbows on his thighs as he laughed at Niall Horan’s joke. The rest of the boys were Jack Norton, Samuel Donevy, Mark Randers, and Kai Dowery. Not all of them were on the senior football team but they played other sports and probably had the highest record of dating the girls at their school… except for Harry. He was quiet and he never showed any interest in a girl. Maybe he’s gay? Claire thinks from time to time.

I mean she’s been observing him since 8th grade. She would look at what snacks he would eat during break time, what sweater he would wear for the week. For God’s sake! Claire started eating oranges while walking back and forth in front of him. She was hoping he would ask for a slice. She thought she looked cute as she peeled her orange walking back and forth. From the corner of her eye, she noticed him staring at her. Maybe, he wondered what she was thinking? Or maybe, he thought her red oversized flannel looked cute on her? … Wrong!

Harry watched her during his break time while he ate the small cookies from the bag in his hands. What the fuck is Claire doing? Can she stop? Holy shit, I would aim perfectly if I hit her in the head with my shoe! Can she choke now, please?

I guess that’s how it’s always been since Claire met Harry. When he first transferred to her school, she fell in love with him but Harry paid no mind to her. Instead, she was just some random girl who he’s known for three years.

“You’re staring again.” Hannah throws a pea at Claire. In retaliation, Claire throws it back as it lands near her elbow.

“They’re just in my line of sight.” She scoffs as she takes a sip of her water. “And yes, we can go watch them tonight but we can’t head to the after-party. I need to study for my chem test tomorrow.”

“What? Claire, how else are we going to have fun? I told Brooke, we were going.” Claire wasn’t just friends with Hannah. They had a bigger friend group of 5 but she and Hannah were obviously the closest. The other girls were at their club meetings.

“Go with Brooke then? I’ll just uber home.” Claire packs up her container. She stands up to throw their garbage in the trash bin before coming back. “You know, I don’t want to let you down like this.”

“Sis, you would only stay home tonight if it wasn’t Harry Styles on the football team.” Hannah teases as they get ready to leave. “At least you’re coming to the game.”

“Tom!” Claire runs to her older brother. Hannah and Brook were already sitting in the bleachers as the game was starting in 30 minutes.

“What?” He snaps back. He was sitting on the bench, taking a sip of his water watching the other boys warm up.

“I’m just letting you know, I’m going to uber home tonight. I’m not going to the after-party.” She had to tell her brother where she was going after the game. Ever since their mom and dad divorced, Tom was in charge of his little sister. He had to drive her to places and make sure he knew where she was. It’s been their routine. Hannah would drive from home and to the party. He would meet her at the party so they can drive home together but it seemed like tonight was not the case.

“You don’t need to.” He takes his sister’s sweater and rubs his sweat on it.

“Tom!” She calls out his name in disgust.

“The party is at our house tonight.”

“What about Ben’s?”

“Renovation.”

“But what about mo-”

“She’s working the night shift in the ER today.” He stands up and takes his foot to his back to stretch. “Now, go. Make sure you order 6 boxes of pizza after the game. The guys and I will bring the beer.”

“What’s wrong?” Brooke questions as she watches Claire climb the stairs to their seats. It was starting to crowd, so she had to yell a bit louder.

“The party is at our house tonight?” Claire replies with a confused face. “Tom is so stupid! How could he plan this without telling me?”

“Claire, you know what that means right?” Hannah shakes her head as she takes a sip of her soda. “Harry Styles is going to be at your house tonight! Perfect timing to seduce him!” She wiggles her brows. Claire cringed. Seduce him? That’s exactly what she didn’t want to do. She can already picture him pushing her off.

“No, thanks.” She pouts. If only she didn’t have a test tomorrow, she could be downstairs ogling Harry across the room. Instead, she’ll be ogling a stupid video with the catchy crash course intro. “You guys have fun but you better tell me if some girl starts talking to him.” Brook laughs as she checks her phone.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure he’s going to be standing in the corner drinking a cup while watching other people get pissed drunk.”

The Falcons won. In other words, Harry’s football team won. It ended with Claire coming out of Hannah’s car with a bunch of people waiting for her to open the door. Now, she sat at her desk rubbing her temples in frustration. She could hear people laughing as the music beat vibrated against her floor, making the glass of water on her desk shake in the corner of her eye. I’m about to-

“Sorry, I thought this was the washroom.” She turns around to see Harry standing in her doorway. He had his baseball cap on backwards. He was wearing a band tee she couldn’t recognize.

“Oh, i-tt’s the next door on your left.” Claire stutters as she stands up immediately. “Hi.” Harry gives her a strange look before looking around her room.

“Hi.” He pauses before talking again. “Nice room.” He was about to go but Claire needed to speak up. This was the only time she had his attention.

“Did you study for the chemistry test tomorrow?” Oh my fucking god… You’re so dumb Claire.

“I don’t have chemistry.” He raises his eyebrow at her before holding onto her doorknob. “Sorry to bother.” And with that, he closed her door shut leaving her dumbfounded. Claire stood there as her heart kept beating fast. That had to be the third time Harry spoke to her.

The first time was in freshman year when he asked her for an eraser during math class. The second time was in Biology class three months ago, when he told her to shut up after she kept asking Mr. Lisak questions about the nucleotides in genes. She hated herself, she really did.

After a while, Claire came to a realization that she couldn’t study tonight so she stood up once again to head downstairs to see what fun she was missing.

“Hannah!” Claire pushed herself through the crowd to greet her and Brooke. They were sitting in a circle with some other kids from their grade. Brooke moved over so Claire can sit with them.

“I thought you were studying?” she whispered to her friend as she took a sip of her mixed drink.

“I couldn’t concentrate.” Claire bit her lip. She was watching the board game in front of them but as she looked up, she noticed her brother laughing with his friends. What stood out to her was that Harry was with them. “I have to go.” Y/N stands up as she watches her brother call her over.

“Where are you going?” Hannah asks as she leans into Gabby.

“My brother needs me.” She sits up carefully as she continues to walk towards Tom. “What do you need?”

“What are you doing down here? I thought you were studying?” He asks as he crosses his arms. His friends were laughing to themselves as they watched the siblings talked. “What are you guys laughing about?” He eyes them. Carlos shakes his head as he looks at me.

“Isn’t Claire in eleventh grade? So, is Styles-”

“Shut up.” My brother interrupts him. “Don’t drink too much, you have to help me clean.” he talks to Claire again.

“What? I wasn’t the one who initiated this whole thing!”

“Yeah, well you came downstairs so you’re automatically co-hosting with me.”

“Reports on last night’s cleanup?” Sandra asks Claire as they walk to Bio. Sandra and Kaitlyn were the other two girls in their friend group but they both hated going to parties so instead, they chose to have movie nights when the other girls were out.

“It was horrible.” Claire rolls her eyes as they enter the classroom. Other students were getting settled in as well. Claire didn’t need to admit it. Today was an absolute shit day. First off, her chemistry test was a total fail. Her mom seemed to be too suspicious about last night’s events, and now, Mr. Lisak was assigning their bio assignments.

“Glad to know I won’t ever have to deal with that.” Sandra brushes her hair away from her face. “You don’t even like parties, I can’t believe you still go.”She sets her textbook on the table. “I know it’s because your boyfriend Ha-”

“Shut up. Don’t say his name!” Claire pulls Sandra’s hair softly. Harry was just so happening walking behind them to his seat.

“Claire.” He calls her out. Harry was calling her.

“Yeah.”

“I need to talk to you after class.” He doesn’t look at her as he unloads his backpack.

Harry and Claire walked alongside each other as they exited the school’s building. She had to text Hannah to find a group of friends to sit with since she didn’t know how long this conversation would take. Harry stopped them in front of a tree near the football field. What did he need to tell her?

“Your brother thinks you have a crush on me.” He keeps a straight face as he looks at her. Claire chokes on her breath. She takes a step back and looks at the field.

“Whaaaat? I do not!” She scoffs back with a particular tone. She never told Tom, how would he know!

“So, you don’t like me?”

“No, of course, I do! You’re such a nice guy- and you play really well on-” She rambles on as she watches Harry just look at her.

“It’s a yes or no question.” He shakes his head.

By the time, Claire got her thoughts together, she notices him already walking away from her, she had to yell. “No! I don’t like you!” He pauses in his tracks and turns around.

“Okay good because I need a favour.” Claire widens her eyes. Harry Styles after three years of having the fattest crush on him, he’s happy to know she doesn’t like him? She lied!

“What do you need?”

“I need you to go on a date with Finn Hartley.” Harry walks back towards her as he holds onto the straps of his backpack.

“Finn Hartley? You don’t even talk to him!”

“How would you know?” Harry questions her making her mouth run dry. She’s been obsessed with you, that’s why.

“I just- I don’t think you hang around him that much.”

“Well, I do. I need you to go on one date with him.”

“Why?”

“He likes you.” Claire widens her eyes once again. How did Finn like her? She’s always been busy with her attention on Harry. She didn’t know a boy liked her.

“How long has he liked me?” She mumbles as her cheeks begin to flush.

“Since the beginning of the year. I lost a bet with him so I had to set him on a date with you.”

“What was the bet on?” She bites her lip. Claire didn’t even realize she was standing so close to him. He still smelled the same. She was wondering if he was warm enough to hug her. Maybe, if she kissed him now, all these feelings would go away.

“Some stupid shit.”

“Why does my brother think I like you?”

“Stop asking questions, Jameson.” He calls her out by her last name.

“Just one date?” She pushed back, ignoring his last statement. Harry just sighs and turns her around before pushing her to walk back towards the school building. She couldn’t help but notice how his hands were still on her shoulders as they continued to walk.

“Yes, one date. If you don’t like him, that’s okay. I don’t care.”

Claire sat in the bleachers by herself as she took a book from her bag. She was staying after school today since Tom had another practice. She couldn’t help but notice Harry doing push-ups with some other boys.

It’s a bit weird how easily Harry’s presence can bring her joy. Despite him not noticing her, just seeing him already made her day.

He was already sweating due to the sunlight that was directly pointing in their direction. He stood up walking to the bench to take off his shirt but for some reason, this was his first time noticing her. I mean, he knew that Claire Jameson sat in the bleachers every time they had practice but this was the first time that he caught himself looking at her.

She sat quietly in the bleachers as she read her book. She seemed to have been smiling from something she was reading but little did he know, it was because she was watching him.

“Did you tell Harry I like him?” Claire sits in the passenger seat next to her brother. He put his shades on and started the car. Claire was watching Harry get into his own car across the parking lot.

“Styles? You like Styles?” Tom laughs as he rubs his itchy nose.

“So, you didn’t tell him?”

“Claire, I’m not going to lie I think you’re kind of out of his league.”

“Really?” She blushed. Her brother thought she deserved better? But Harry was her first love!

“No, you ugly sack of potatoes.” He turns out of the lot as he blasts the music. “I’m so going to tell mom you have a crush!”

“Tom!” ~ Bz. Bzz.

Claire drops her pen and leans over to grab her phone on the bed. It was from Harry.

Harry: I’m coming over tonight. H.

Claire blinks repeatedly as she stares at the message. Luckily, she already updated her friends about Harry but this was just out of nowhere!

Claire: Why?

Harry: I need to give you some tips on how to make Finn have the best date H.

Claire: Shouldn’t he be working hard on how to make me have the best date.

Harry: I’m just coming over to give you some tips on what to talk about. H.

Claire couldn’t help but let her cheeks turn red. She never knew he texted with his initial at the end.

Claire: okay.

“Hey.”, Claire smiled as she opened the door for Harry. It was around 7 PM and he seemed to have change into a red flannel and black jeans.

“Hey.” He glances at her and walks in.

“Sweetie, I see your friend is here.” Claire’s mom steps into the foyer. “I’m Morgan. It’s nice to meet you…”

“Harry.”

“Styles?” Tom comes downstairs with a bag of chips in his hand. He then looks at his sister and laughs. “Holy shit, you actually could go-” Claire throws her slipper at him.

“Mom, we’ll be in my room.”

“Oooooo.” Her brother teases as she pushes him out of the way. She grabs Harry’s wrist so she can take him upstairs.

She slams the door close as Harry sits on her bed. What is she doing? Why is he here? Why did she lie about not liking him? Now, she has to go on a date with his friend, when she’s been wanting to go on one with him!

“Are you okay?” He licks his lips and leans back on her bed. His legs were wide open as he watched her and she had to look away before she invites herself in between them.

“I’m fine.” She glances at his face then looks away. She sits at her desk and looks at him. “I haven’t been on a date before.”

“Yeah, that’s why I’m here.”

“How would you know that?” Claire was a bit offended. He knew she’s never been on a date. That no guy has ever been interested in her… no wonder he paid no attention towards her.

“I don’t know.” He looks at her ceiling. She still had those glow in the dark stars.

“Before we talk about my date though, you need to come clean.” She mumbles as she plays with the tiny cracks on her phone. She pushed it away after feeling some glass on her skin.

“About what?” He sniffles and sits up a bit more. He couldn’t stop himself from picking up a frame of her. It was her sixth birthday, and she was blowing her cake with her dad and brother beside her.

“Tom doesn’t think I like you.”

“Oh.” He puts the picture down and shakes his head before looking at her. He leans his chin on his hands before kissing his teeth and replying. “Yeah, It was me. Thought you liked me?” Claire’s heart stopped beating. Was it obvious? How she would always ramble when she would see him? How she watched him on the field and in the cafeteria. Holy shit, how she would eat things based on what he would eat?

“Well, I-”

“Yeah, I know you don’t Claire. I realized you’re just a weirdo.” Claire crinkles her face.

“Thanks.”

“No, but for real, I had to make sure you didn’t like me or anything. That’s fucked up if I tried to set you up with Finn.” Well, you’re in for a surprise.

“Really fucked up.” She laughs at herself.

“Okay, let’s get started.” He yawns a bit. “I told Finn that I got your input about going on a date with him and he’s happy about it-” Harry continues on but for some reason, Claire found herself just looking at him. How he would rub his chin and use his hands to explain things. “Claire. Claire!”

“Yeah!” She falls out of her trance. Trying to pull it off smoothly, she spins her chair around and looks at him. “I’ve been listening!”

“No, you haven’t.”

“Yes, I have!”

“What did I just say?” He smirks at her, leaving Claire to smack her forehead on the desk. “Hey, stop you’re going to get a bruise. Why are you hitting yourself so hard?”

“I’m stupid!”

“Or more like falling asleep.” He pulls her off the chair to join him on the bed. “Y’know if you don’t want tips. It’s fine, I was thinking about talking you through it but I should just leave.”

“No, don’t!” Claire urgently replies back. God, does she sound desperate or what? Seduce him! Hannah’s voice enters her mind. She possibly can’t. Should she?

Claire decides to give a go. Maybe, if he rejects her, this is how she’ll find out if he’s gay or not. She lets her hair down before biting her lip. She leans a bit back on one of her elbows as she reaches over for her remote to turn on the TV. Specifically, Netflix.

“What the fuck are you doing Claire.” Harry sits next to her with his eyebrows furrowed. He pushes her arm, making her completely fall onto the bed. He leans over to take the tv remote but just as he was hovering over her, the door busted open.

“Claire, what did I say. No closed doors when boys- Oh My God!” Morgan yells as she looks at Harry partly hovering over her daughter as the screen of movies and tv shows are on display.

“Mom!”

Harry quickly pulls away and stands up before clearing his throat. Claire sits up as well, tying her hair back up.

“I’m leaving. No closed doors!” Morgan quickly walks away. Harry turns around to look at her before throwing himself back on the bed.

“Are you okay?” He rubs his eyes and looks at her. He honestly thinks this girl is weird. How does Finn like her?

Hm, how should Claire respond to that? I’m fine. I was just trying to seduce you that’s all.

“Yeah, my ponytail was giving me a headache and I was wondering if we should watch a movie while you explain the stuff.” Harry didn’t reply when she was done speaking. Instead, he reached over to pull her hair tie off her, softly as possible.

“There.” He throws it back at her before taking the remote. “Wanna watch a random episode of friends?”

“Um, sure.” She takes the hair tie back as she sits a safe distance away from him so they can watch the show.

Throughout the episode, Harry ended up sitting against the wall with Claire as he spoke about what to expect from Finn or more importantly from a first date. This time she listened well and tried not to focus too much on him. Of course, it still made her heart beat fast when he would laugh at her stupid questions but if Harry thought she was a weirdo… then a weirdo she is.

Click. Claire hears as she opens her eyes. It was Tom holding his phone as he took a picture of her and Harry. Claire wanted to yell at him so badly but she was kind of happy he took the pic. Plus as she turned a bit, she noticed she was laying on Harry’s shoulder. God, how did they end up this way? Last she knew, She was closing her eyes subtly as he continued to explain what was a good conversation starter. Did he think she was a loser? That she can’t even impress his friend? Well, not too wrong, she can barely handle a conversation with him.

Tom laughs as he walks forward to tug on Harry’s ankle. “Yo Styles, wake up.” Claire immediately pulls away as she stretches her arms.

“Fuck did I fall asleep? Sorry, Claire.”

“Yeah, yeah. Do you like my sister or not?” Tom glances at his sister before looking at Harry.

“What? No dude.” Harry gets off the bed as he rubs his eyes. “I fell asleep by accident.” He looks at Claire as he rubs his chin.

“Mom is asking if you want some dinner before you leave.”

“Oh no, It’s fine I got to head home anyway.” Harry glances at the clock. It was about 9 PM. He never stayed this late at a girl’s house before. Quite frankly, he never really went to their house, they came to his.

As Harry was driving home, he couldn’t help but sniff his flannel a lot, especially on his left side where Claire was sleeping. As he parked his car and came inside, he noticed how lonely it felt. How the picture of his dad sat on the fireplace. He missed him.

“You fell asleep on Harry?” Kaitlyn clarifies as the five of them sat on the field. Their Classes were about to start in 15 minutes and this was usually the time when all of them could hang out.

“Yeah.”

“Holy shit, when did Harry start noticing you?” Hannah laughs as she plucks some grass and into her fingers.

“I don’t know… ever since my brother hosted the party at our place?”

“It had to be before. Finn likes you! When did that bet take place anyway?” Brooke questions as she lays her head on Sandra’s lap.

“That’s true, you should ask.” Sandra braids Brooke’s hair as she listens to the conversation.

“I barely ever spoke to Finn in my life.” Claire leans up to look at the sky. “Now, Harry only notices me because of him.”

“That’s cute. Imagine if Harry ends up liking you or you end up having a crush on Finn.”

“I don’t know. I’d pick Harry over anyone.”

“Ooooo.” Kaitlyn teases as she playfully pushes Claire into Hannah’s side.

“Jameson!” The girls look up to see Harry a bit further from them. He stood in a black T-shirt and his signature skinny black jeans.

“I got to go. Duty calls.”

“Yeah, your boyfriend is calling.” Brooke burst out in laughter as Claire pulls some grass herself before dropping it in Brooke’s face.

“Yeah.” She catches up to him as they begin to walk inside the building.

“He’s asking you out today during lunch. Where do you eat?”

“In the cafeteria…” Claire pouts a bit as she looks at Harry. He really never did notice her. She sat in front of him every day and he had no idea!

“Oh okay. Why are you looking at me like that?”

“What? I’m not looking at you like anything.”

“Cut the crap, Claire. I don’t know what’s your problem today but that’s all I needed to tell you.” And with that, Harry walks away, leaving her pretty sad.

She didn’t feel right. How obsessed she’s been about him, only to have him talk to her a couple of times due to a lost bet. It sucked.

Last night before they fell asleep, they were talking about the what-ifs on her first date. She remembered him smiling and laughing at her awkwardness. Now, it seemed like he wanted nothing to do with her.

Hannah sat in front of Claire in their usual seats. She was drinking some chocolate milk while doing her homework. Claire seemed to barely touch her food. “Are you okay? What did Harry tell you?” Hannah couldn’t help but asks. She noticed how her best friend barely looked at the table behind them ever since lunch started.

As Hannah brought the topic up, Claire couldn’t help but look at the table, only to catch Harry already looking at her. Well, hi to you too. “I’m fine. It’s just- Harry was kind of mean today. I thought after getting to know him, he would be a bit nicer.”

“But do you really know anything about him?”

“I know…” Claire seemed to be lost on this one and it upset her more. She claims to be in love with him but she doesn’t even know what he likes? What his favourite colour is? “I know he has a sister named Gemma. She’s in University.”

“How do you only know that?”

“He said it in 8th grade, during a presentation.” Claire shakes her head and looks down. She is so pathetic.

“Hey Claire,” She looks up again to see Finn Hartley standing at their table. “Hey, Hannah.”

“Hi.” Claire forces a smile at him as she feels Harry’s eyes on her.

“I was wondering if I could get your number and take you out on a date?” Finn smiles at her as she glances at Harry once more. He seemed to be far more interested in Natalie and her friends who sat at their table a couple of minutes ago.

“Here you go. I can’t wait where we’re going to go.” Claire genuinely replies as she fills in his phone.

“Thanks.” Finn smiles as he puts his phone in his pocket. “I’ll see you soon.”

“You better come over and help me prepare for this date.” Claire lets out a sigh as she begins to eat.

“Wait so, he’s taking you out to Mcdonalds?” Hannah asks confusedly as she sits on Claire’s bed. “For a guy who seems to like you, his date location choice seems pretty… uh”

“I know right?” Claire pauses as she tries on a new shirt. “ I don’t know it’s fine. It’s my first date though. I’m really excited.”

“I’m really happy for you, babe. After Harry stopped talking to you, I can only imagine how open-minded you are to this.”

“Thanks for coming, it means a lot.”

“Anything for you.”

“So, what would you like to order?” The girl asks the pair as they look at the menu and at her.

“I’ll have combo 1 please,” Finn states as he looks at Claire.

“I’ll have combo three, the chicken nuggets.” She smiles. The night was a bit awkward, she expected Finn to talk a bit more. That’s what Harry told her. Instead, he was quiet as a mouse, barely acknowledging her.

As they took their seats in the booth, Claire couldn’t help but take a french fry in her mouth. She was quiet too and Finn was just trying to eat his burger.

“Are we okay?” Claire couldn’t help but asks. Harry told her that Finn was excited about tonight but instead, he was acting as if he hated being here. The boy looks up and nods his head.

“Yeah, I ‘m fine. Just a bit shy.”

“It’s okay. Me too. It’s kind of my first date.”

“Really? This is probably my third but I don’t go out much.” Claire dips her nugget in her sauce as she laughs a bit.

“Same. Let’s get to know each other.” She takes a bit of the meat in her hands. “ How did you and Harry become friends?” She wasn’t going to lie. Finn was cute but she didn’t know much about him.

“Oh, Haz and I? We’re next-door neighbours. I knew him since he moved in.”

“Why haven’t I seen you during middle school then?”

“Homeschooled.” Finn laughs as he takes a sip of his soda. “You’re probably wondering what our bet was. I would have asked you on a date without his help but I was really nervous.” Claire smiled at him and shakes her head.

“It doesn’t bother me at all. I’m glad I’m here tonight.” Was that a lie? She wasn’t mad to be here but she did wish she was with Harry instead.

“Harry and I were playing soccer in my backyard. I ended up getting more shots than him. I mean, the guy is better in American football than his English soccer, isn’t that crazy?”

“I’m sure he was a bit rusty.” She laughs about their bet. “What was his reward if he won?”

“Nothing actually. Sometimes, I think he purposely lost so I could finally go out with you.”

“That’s nice of him,” Claire admitted. So, she didn’t know much about Harry but that little story from Finn made her think the world of Harry. She wished that he still talked to her.

You guessed it. Claire was stuck on the bleachers again waiting for her brother. Tomorrow, they had a home game so tonight’s practice was a bit more longer. She played with her hair as she watched the boys run from one side of the cone to another. She was trying her best to not look at the curly-headed boy.

After her great date with Finn, she came to the conclusion that maybe it was time to get over Harry Styles.

After all, he really made sure to let her know he doesn’t like her.

Once practice was over, she noticed Tom talking to his friends before climbing the bleachers to meet up with his sister. “Claire, tonight we have a change of plans.”

“What?” She whined. It was already 5 PM and all she wanted to do was head home and sleep.

“Jeffrey and the others are heading to the diner for some food, you can either come or you can walk home.” Claire put her backpack on as she stood in front of him.

“I’ll uber home.” She really didn’t want to walk for 30 minutes if she was being honest.

“I’ll drive her,” A voice speaks out. Tom and Claire look at the bottom to see Harry holding onto his sweat bag. Tom smirked at his sister before walking down again. Claire followed along without another word.

“No funny business Styles, you drop my sister home and then you leave.” Usually, Tom wouldn’t let a guy from his team talk to his sister but weirdly enough, he let Harry drive his sister home. After all, she had a big crush on him. Tom walked away leaving Harry and Claire on the field while the other boys were in the change room. She glanced at Harry to see him rubbing the back of his neck before nodding his head to the exit.

“Let’s go.”

Step by step, Claire followed him to his car. It was a regular black sleek Sedan. She sat in the passenger seat while she watched Harry throw his bag in the trunk before sitting down in front of the wheel.

She sat awkwardly in the seat as Harry just observed her. “What?” She mumbles as she stared straight ahead of her. Harry just laughs at her as he shakes his head. After a couple of seconds, the boy leans over to grab the seat belt on her side. He clicks it on and puts his on too. “You could have just told me.” She bites her lip as she adjusts the strap on her chest.

“Yeah but for some reason Jameson, you act like you have no brain cells when you’re around me.”

“No, I don’t.” She protested as Harry smirks at her. He starts the car and begins to drive. “Thanks for the ride though. It’s nice of you.”

“I wanted to hear about your date last night.” He glanced at her. She’s pretty. Holy shit, stop that Harry.

“Of course you do.” She rolls her eyes as she takes an inhale. His car smelled exactly like him. “It went great though. In the beginning, it was a bit rough but after a while, it was really fun.”

“That’s good to hear.” He didn’t know why he asked her. After their date, Finn knocked on his door, telling him everything about it. It made him a bit… upset. The only question in Harry’s mind was why? Why did it bother him? He barely spoke to this girl since a couple weeks ago and for some damn reason, he’s been thinking about her since.

He remembered how talkative she was during Bio class. She was way too interested in genes than anybody else in the room. How she bit her pencil when she couldn’t understand the topic. He already knew she was going to raise her hand up by the way she kept glancing at her notes and then at the slides.

How she was reading something while she sat in the bleachers or on some nights, she would just watch them train…. He was suddenly getting a bunch of thoughts of her thrown into his head.

“Harry?” She pokes his arm as he stares at his wheel. They finally arrived at her place after not really talking during the drive home. Now, she needed the boy to unlock the door. He shakes his head and looks at her house. Harry shrugs his shoulders, waiting for her to get out but the only problem was she didn’t know what button unlocked her door. “Can you unlock the door?” He presses the button on his side before looking at her. “Thanks… would you like to come in?” Claire screamed in her head. Why would she ask him that!”

“Your brother said no funny business. I’m scared you might try and seduce me again.”

“I wasn’t trying to!” Claire lies as she grabs her backpack and steps out. “Okay, fine go home. I was going to make you dinner!” Harry smiles at her. He was only teasing her but to see her so flustered made him a bit happier.

“I’m coming.” He pulls his keys out and unbuckles his belt.

They sat together in Claire’s kitchen, eating some pasta. Tom wasn’t home yet nor was her mom so they had the house to themselves. Harry already had two bowls why Claire just ate slowly while watching him eat.

“You know, we never really talked and we’ve known each other since eighth grade,” She speaks out as she pours him a glass of orange juice. She sat in her hoodie and her tights after they came home.

“I don’t talk to a lot of people, especially girls.” He mumbled thanks after, she put the juice box down.

“That’s not true. I saw you talking to Natalie and her friends!” He raises his brow at her and takes another forkful of the pasta in his bowl.

“Do you stalk me, Jameson?” “No.” She widens her eyes and pours more juice in his glass. It was still full… “I don’t know anything about you.”

“I have a sister named Gemma.”

“I know.” He drops his utensil in his bowl. He slowly drags the cup towards him since he didn’t want to spill the juice. The girl beside him filled it to the brim.

“Drink it.” He looks at her then his glass of juice.

“I already have a cup. No thanks.”

“Drink it.” He smirks and pushes it towards her. She filled it to the top so she has to fix it.

Claire leans forward as she takes small sips from his glass. She couldn’t help but think of how lips touched it before hers. After she finished it halfway through, she pulled away and wiped her mouth. She was about to look at Harry for his reaction but instead, he pulls her closer to kiss her. He kissed her!

His hand was on her arm as he pulled her towards him. She wanted to wrap her arms around him but instead, she stayed frozen. His lips were so soft just like she imagined. He couldn’t help but suck on her top lip as it tasted like orange juice.

He pulls away as he looks at her and bites his lip. “I have to go.” He sits up immediately and gets ready to leave her house. Claire chases after him and just as he was about to walk through the open door, she couldn’t help but call him out.

“Are you gay!?” She watches him with tears in her eyes. He regretted kissing her. A boy like him didn’t like her. The boy she was in love with wanted nothing to do with her.

“What? No!” He replies with a particular tone in his voice. He was obviously offended. “Bye Jameson, thanks for the food.” he mumbles.

Claire closes the door and locks it before walking to her staircase and sitting down. Her sleeves were her only substitute as tissues while she continued to cry. Harry Styles was her first kiss and he walked away from her right after.

Let’s go Falcons! Let’s go!

The cheerleaders chanted in the corner of the field as the boys continued to vs the Panthers. Claire was sitting in the bleachers as usual with Brooke and Hannah. She tried not to come tonight but the moment, Hannah showed up at her house, she couldn’t say no. Now, they sat together cheering on their school. From the corner of her eye, she could see Finn sitting with his friends. They were known for running the robotics club, which was really cool.

“I’m going to get a drink,” Claire announced as she stood up from her friends. Their school was winning by 92-77. She was barely watching the game anyways. After last night, she’s been avoiding her brother. She didn’t want Tom to know about Harry and their kiss.

“Hey.” Finn elbows her and smiles. They stood at the front of their vending machine with some other guests standing behind them.

“Hey.”

“I’m sorry for not calling you back after that date.” Maybe, he wasn’t interested in her too. “I just- my mom is sick and she went back to the hospital.”

“I’m sorry to hear about that. It’s fine Finn.” She couldn’t help but hug him. She hated it when she heard stories about her friends’ parents. When something bad happened to them, she couldn’t help but feel as if they’re her parents too, especially since her dad left them.

“Styles!” Norton yells at him as he misses the ball. The coach calls time, making their team head back to the benches.

“What were you looking at!?” Tom snaps at him as they huddle up. Harry shakes his head as he takes his helmet off.

“Sorry, I don’t know.” But he did know. He was looking at Jack running with the ball but his eyes caught Claire and Finn hugging near the vending machines. He obviously had no idea why it made him lose focus.

“Get back on the field and if you get your head out of the game one more time, you’re out!” Coach Turner smacks his board on the pole. The other team was finally catching up.

“What took you so long?” Brooke questions as Claire sits beside her again. Hannah was taking selfies with their poster.

“Saw Finn.” She replies back as she smiled at the boy who looked at her one more time before talking to his friends.

“You missed Harry getting yelled at by your brother. I think Coach Turner did too.”

“Why did he get yelled at?” Her brows furrowed as she caught eyes with Harry. He was about to snap the football behind to her brother. It was crazy how they could still see each other even though she was on the bleachers. She wasn’t far though only 6 rows up.

“He missed a play.”

“Party tonight at Ben’s!” Hannah cheers as she leans on Claire’s shoulder but for some reason, Claire couldn’t stop thinking of Harry.

“Another win for the boys!!! HUH HUH!!” Norton yells as the boys enter Ben’s house. Harry followed behind them with a smile on his face as he took a beer from a random guy who offered it to him. After the game, Jack and Tom seemed cool with him again. After all, he scored two touchdowns after his mistake. Now, tonight was their celebratory party… like always.

“You played really well, Harry.” Natalie walks to him as he stands at the table where the snacks were laid out.

“Thanks, Nat.” He purses his lips as he looks at the variety of chips in front of him. He was having a hard choice between them.

“I was wondering if you wanted to I don’t know… Go somewhere a bit quieter?” Harry pretended to act clueless but he knew exactly what she was talking about. He never really liked a girl but he did play around with Natalie from time to time. He just hated the way she talked. Harry was about to say yes until he saw Claire across the room, dancing by herself… surrounded by other people who seemed to ignore her. Where were her friends? Did she know that she can’t dance?

“No thanks.” He walks away to grab Claire from the crowd. He brought her outside on the patio where most people were just chilling. Where was Tom?

“Claire.” He tries to stabilize her as she holds onto his shoulders. “Why are you drunk?” If anything, Harry knew Claire wasn’t the type to lose her self control at parties. He noticed she was just as sober as he was… at least most of the time.

“Why di coach Turnerrr yell at you?” She pouts and leans into him.

“I made a mistake.” His hands placed themselves on her waist. He could feel her skin through the thin cropped cardigan and skinny jeans she was wearing.

“You know! I like Finn.” Harry couldn’t help but look down at their shoes.

“You do?”

“Yeah! Especially when he told me how youuu lost the gamee so he can go on a date with me!”

“I didn’t do it on purpose.” He lies as he takes a whiff of her sweet perfume. She smelled like lavender.

“You’re British! How could you not be good at soccer?” She looks at him as she slurs. She takes her pointer finger and taps his nose.

“True.”

“You know who I like more than Finn though?” “Who?”

“You! I’ve liked you since eighth grade!”

“What?” His eyes widened. Harry stared at her eyes to see if she was lying but instead, she smiled sweetly as her cheeks were pink as the colour of her room.

“Mhm. Been in love with you since! I always tried to get your attention but you never noticed me!”

“Claire.” He looks at her. He doesn’t know how he feels about the new fact He doesn’t even know what to say. Yeah, he’s always wanted a girlfriend but he never really found a girl for him… well except now. Harry was liking the idea of Claire being his girlfriend. He thought that she liked him but after the first time, she said no, he got his answer and he never thought about it again.

“Holy shit Claire!” Brooke comes out of the house to see them too. She was wondering where her friend was. “Hi, Harry.” Harry took his hands off of her immediately as he pushed the girl into her friend’s arms.

“Hey. I brought her out here, it was pretty hot inside and she’s pretty drunk.” Brooke trusted him as she took Claire. She knew he wasn’t trying to take advantage of her. Truthfully, she heard their whole conversation and the moment she saw Harry’s reaction to Clarie’s confession, she had to come in.

“Thanks.” Harry just nods before walking back inside.

“I knew what I said. Stop bringing it up.” Claire groans as she and her friends sat on the football field just like usual. It was now a Monday and ever since Friday night’s party, her anxiety has been killing her.

“You know, you can always pretend you don’t remember.”

“What?” She takes a sip from her thermos as she listens to Kaitlyn’s suggestion.

“That’s true. You were drunk! Just pretend you don’t remember.” Sandra agrees with her.

“You should. Remember how he just left after kissing you.” Brooke joins into the conversation.

“Tom should never hear about that.” Claire rubs her eyes.

“He won’t as long as you never tell him.” Hannah shakes her head and laughs. “He probably yelled at your ass when you guys were driving home.”

“I still hate how he drinks then drives.” Brooke pouts as she bites her lip. She may have a crush on Claire’s brother.

“He barely drinks though but yeah, I definitely got yelled at.”

“Shit was that the bell?” Sandra sits up and helps the other girls stand up too. “We gotta go. I’ll see you in Bio Claire.”

“Pssst, Psssst Claire!” Harry whispers at her as people enter their classroom.

“What?” She looks at him and takes her pencil case.

“Meet me at the tree during lunch.” Claire wanted to say no. That Hannah needed a buddy to sit with but it was Monday and the other girls had no meetings today so they were going to be a full table anyway.

“What? No.” That was the first time she said no.

“Yes, you will.”

“Class, Let’s get started.”

Harry leaned against the tree as he watched the girl in the dress walk towards him. The sun was shining on her as she carefully walked on the field trying not to get mud on her white sneakers.

“What do you need, Harry? Does Finn want to go on another date?” Claire arrives as she holds onto the straps of her backpack. She was cute, really really cute. Harry had to shake out of his thoughts as he spoke to her.

“You know, you were drunk on Friday.” “I know. I got yelled at by Tom.” She picks up a stick and peels its skin. Harry takes the thing in her hands and throws it away. “Hey!”

“Do you like me?” He cuts her off as he steps closer to her. “You better not lie this time or so help me God, Claire.”

“I told you I don’t.” “Who do you like then?” Harry tested her.

“Finn.” She replies confidently as he clenches his fist.

“That’s not what you said last Friday.”

“I didn’t say anything last Friday! Especially, not to you!” She lied. She knew Harry didn’t like her. She needed to save herself the embarrassment.

“You told me you-”

“I don’t even know anything about you! You barely let me in!”

“Why do you care so much about knowing me!” He yells back at her. She turns around as she feels tears in her eyes. “Are you fucking crying?” She turns around again and sighs.

“I tell you anything you want to know about me but the moment I ask you something, you cut everything short!” “No one cares about me-”

“I do, Harry! I care about you!” She rubs her face and hugs herself. Why did she have to care so much about this boy?

“If you think this is some romantic movie...” He looks at the field then back at her. “That I’m going to comfort you and tell you shit about myself than you’re wrong Claire.” He takes his backpack and leaves her there, by the tree.

“You okay?” Tom unlocks the front door and lets his sister inside the house first. “If you’re still mad about me yelling at you on Friday, you deserve it. You know you need to be careful during these parties.” “I get it, Tom.” Claire walks straight upstairs and shuts her bedroom door.

The pillows surrounding her head comforted her as she continued to cry. It’s pretty sad how she thought he was different. She always admired him from afar but now that she knows him she wants nothing to do with him. She was surprised when her brother opened the door.

“Tom,-” He ignores her and shuts the door. He stands away from her as he watches her cry.

“Did I make you cry or did somebody else?”

“Do you miss dad?” Claire ignores his question and sits up.

“No, I hate him.” He throws the tissue box on the vanity towards her.

“I miss him.” She glances at the picture from her birthday as she wipes her tears with the tissues. “Some times I wonder why I like Harry so much.”

“What did he do? Is he the one who’s making you cry.” Claire shakes her head not to disagree with him but to point the conversation somewhere else.

“Maybe ever since Dad left, I needed to find another person to help me cope with the divorce. Maybe, that’s why I always thought of him.” “I don’t know Claire.” Tom itches his head as he watches his sister. “You do know I’m here for you right. Even when I move off to college, I’m still here.”

“I wonder how I’m going to get home now.” “Learn how to drive you dumbass.” Claire sticks her middle finger at him as she opens her arms.

“Now, come hug me.”

Finn sighs as he kicks the soccer ball past the soccer net. Harry and he were hanging out by the soccer field near their houses. “Fuck man, I don’t know what to say.” He looks back at the curly-headed boy sitting on the grass. “You’re saying if I didn’t win the bet, you wouldn’t have realized you like her? Claire?”

“I’m sorry. I just felt like I needed to tell you about this. You can be mad at me. I just- I don’t know.” Harry rests his face in his hands. Finn sits down in front of him and pushes his arms.

“You sure you like Claire Jameson?” He raises his brows at him. “I thought you said she was stupid and weird.”

“She is Finn! That’s the problem!” Harry falls on the grass as he looks at the sky. “She’s not even stupid. She’s actually really smart. She’s just awkward and clumsy - and she’s so fucking cute like that I don’t-”

“Okay, I get it you like the girl.” Finn laughs sadly as he looks at his friend. “You know, I really think she’s a nice girl but when we were on our date, she couldn’t help but talk about you a lot. She kept trying to ask me questions about you.” “I don’t even know if she likes me. She said she did. I asked her today and then she said no! Girls are crazy man!” “I know but in fairness, this is the first girl you spoke about to me.”

“She drives me crazy.”

“Can you imagine how crazy you’ve been driving her since eighth grade then?” Finn laughs as he stands up again. “Come on, let’s play one more round together and make a bet.”

~ “Hey.” Finn catches up to Claire as they walk in the hallways together. Lunch had just started and she needed to meet Hannah at their table.

“Hey Finn, how are you? How’s your mom?”

“We’re good Claire, thanks for asking.” He holds onto his binder a bit tighter. “I was wondering if I can take you out on a date again?”

“Oh okay.” Claire looks at him. “When?”

“Tonight?”

“Um, on a school night?” “Yeah. I know it’s just my only free day.”

“Okay. Are you going to pick me up?” “Yeah, wear something nice alright?” Claire raises her eyebrows in surprise. Wow, his standards obviously upgraded.

“He’s taking you out again?” Hannah rolls her eyes as she eats her burger. “To Mcdonalds?”

“No. Somewhere nicer.” Claire glances up to see Harry already looking at her. Niall seemed to be talking to him but his attention was somewhere else, or someone else.

“Stop looking at him!” Hannah throws a piece of her sliced cabbage at Claire.”Chant with me. We don’t like Harry Styles, we don’t like-”

“I have to go.” Claire stands up and throws her lunch out. “Go to Sam’s table.” She walks out of the cafeteria. She needed to clear her mind before class and Harry in her peripheral vision wasn’t helping anybody.

She needed to scream at him. She needed to scream at herself. She needed an outlet. By the time she knew it, she was back at the tree from yesterday. As she sat down, she couldn’t help but pout. She’s frustrated, really really frustrated.

“Where we going?” Claire asks Finn as he drives out of her neighbourhood.

“Harbour.” He smiles at her.

“I love the harbour!” She couldn’t help but feel the excitement as she sat in her seat.

By the time, they were there, Finn helped her out of her seat before going back to his. “Finn, Where are you going?” Claire asked in panic as he started his car again. She really tried for this date. She was wearing a bit more makeup than usual and she was even wearing a dress.

“Look behind you.”Finn smiles sadly then drives away. Claire turns around to see Harry in a suit, holding a rose.

“Harry…” She walks towards him. He gives her the pink rose before holding onto her hand and directing them to the restaurant in the front. “Wait, what about Finn?” Harry rolls his eyes as he pulls a seat out for her.

“Is it not obvious that I’m your date tonight.”

“Oh.”

“Don’t ‘oh’ me love, or I might get that boy to come back here and continue this date for me.” Her cheeks flushed red as she looks at him.

“Why couldn’t you ask me out on a date?”

“I won another bet Finn and I made so, he had to set us up.” Harry licks his lips and smirks. “You better finish everything on your plate sweetheart, I’ve been saving up my money since 5th grade for a date with a girl.”

It was around 6:30 PM as they walked alongside each other in front of the water. Harry couldn’t help but give his jacket to Claire since it was quite cold tonight. “You wanted to know more about me huh?” “Yeah.” Claire rolls her eyes at Harry’s statement. “Just forget about it-”

“My father passed away 5 years ago and we couldn’t pay for our house, so we moved to a smaller one. It’s where I live now. I have a stepfather so he’s been helping my mom now.” He glances at her and squeezes her cheek. “Don’t cry, Claire. I know it’s sad but that’s what life is.” Claire stops walking. For the first time in three years, she’s able to look him in the eyes without feeling nervous.

“I’m here for you.”

“I know.” He takes her hand and nods his head to the right to gesture they should walk again. “You know what’s funny? I ‘ve always known about you. I just never really spoke to you.”

“I know!” Claire laughs as she plays with the rose, bumping it on her face. “I used to watch you all the time and observe what stuff you wore and what you like to eat.” They stop walking in front of the boats.

“So, you were a stalker?” Harry laughs as her cheeks turn red. “Oh, stop acting shy. I like you too.”

“I never said I liked you!” Claire begins to walk again but Harry grabs onto her wrist to pull back.

“Well, I’m telling you… I like you, Claire Jameson.”

“I like you more, Harry Styles.” Harry’s eyes crinkle as he hears her response. He rubs her hair at the top of her head, before kissing her forehead.

“Alright, I won’t fight with you on that.

~ Five months later

“Hey, baby,” Harry smirks as he catches Claire into his arms. Football practice had just finished and Hary couldn’t wait to take his girlfriend home, especially with the heart eyes she’s been giving him since the whole thing started.

“Hi!” She hides her face in his T-shirt as she wears his hoodie.

“Gross!” A voice teases them, “ Styles you better have my sister home by 10.” Tom walks with their other teammates out of the change room. Harry just nods as he takes his girl’s hand.

They walked together towards the tree at the end of the field. The sun was setting as mixtures of purple and pink covered the sky. Claire sat down as Harry laid his head on her lap.

“I have a question.” She asks her boyfriend as she plays with his soft brown curls.

“Mhm.” He closes his eyes and rubs his face on her stomach.

“Would you rather date me or the most beautiful girl in the world?” Harry just rolls his eyes and sits up.

“The most beautiful girl in the world.”

“Harr, that was supposed to be a trick question.” Harry leans in to leave kisses all over her face.

“You are. You’re the most beautiful girl in the world.” He kisses her and smiles, “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

#harry styles #harry styles fanfiction #harrystyles fanfic #harry styles imagines #harrystyles oneshots #one direction #one direction one shots #harry styles angst #harry styles smut #harry styles x reader #frat boy!harry #highschool! au #harrystylesfluff

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idreamofplaid · 4 years

Text

The Promise

Square Filled: Cowgirl

Characters: Sam x Reader

Rating: Explicit

Summary: Sam has lost Dean to hell, and the grief seems like more than he can bear. The only comfort he has is the reader and her love for him.

Word Count: 1897

A/N: I am reposting this because the first time I posted it I was dumb and didn’t put it on my Kink Bingo Masterlist and now I cannot find it on my blog no matter how many searches I do. I’m not tagging anybody this time. You’re probably tired of my tags by now anyway. I’m determined to black out my kink card and I’m an eleventh hour kind of girl

Created for @spnkinkbingo

Sam refused to let you come with them. He wouldn’t budge, and Dean backed him up on it. Neither of them wanted you to see Dean get dragged to hell. That left you alone in the motel room to wrestle with your emotions, and you were having a hard time dealing. You fought to keep the tears that stung the back of your eyes from falling.

This couldn’t be happening. The life of a hunter was the stuff of nightmares. You’d grown up knowing that. You had been raised in the life just like the Winchester boys, but this was something beyond what a hunter was expected to endure. You were losing a friend, a brother.

Dean hadn’t warmed up to you immediately when you’d joined forces with them. Even Bobby’s recommendation wasn’t enough to bring you into the fold. Dean was wary and cautious. Doing what he did, it was wise to be that way. Only when he saw the way you helped Sam through his grief for Jessica and brought a smile back to his little brother’s face, did Dean accept you.

Once a person had Dean’s loyalty, or his love, it was an unwavering thing. You’d been with him when Sam died. That almost tore you apart because you were falling in love with Sam then, but for Dean it was worse. He couldn’t accept losing Sam, so he’d traded his life for him.

For months, Sam had tried to find a way to get Dean out of this deal but couldn’t. Now Sam would face a future knowing his brother was in hell so he could live. Helping him move on after losing Jessica was one thing, but losing Dean? Losing him like this? You weren’t sure that was a pain that could ever heal.

There was a bottle of whiskey on the table. You’d gone to the liquor store in a desperate search for anything that might help. So far, the bottle was just sitting there. You resisted the urge to down a few shots because you knew you had to hold yourself together for Sam. You had promised Dean you would take care of him. The look in his green eyes told you that Dean knew you loved his brother even if you hadn’t said it, and he was counting on that love.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You jumped when you heard Sam’s key in the lock. The man who walked in the room looked shocked and broken. You rose, steadying yourself with a hand on the table, caught in the painful haze of what was happening. You walked to him and took his hand. “Sam, come sit down.”

He let you lead him to the bed. Sam sat, staring straight ahead, his eyes not focused on anything. “He’s gone. He died in my arms.” You brushed Sam’s hair from his eyes. “I couldn’t stop it, Y/N.” He finally looked at you. His warm hazel eyes were shining with tears. “I couldn’t save my brother.”

“Sam, you did everything you could.” You took a deep breath. “Here. Let’s get you out of this jacket.” You pulled Sam’s top layer from his broad shoulders and down his long arms. “Do you want to take a shower? Get some sleep?” Maybe he would find some comfort in holding you, feeling you beside him.

Sam hung his head and ran his hands through his hair. “That’s not going to change anything. I failed.”

You scooted as close to him as you could and put your hand over his where he’d dropped it on his leg. “Sam, Dean loved you more than anything or anyone. He knew there was nothing you wouldn’t have done to keep this from happening to him.” You moved your hand to his cheek and rested it there. “I know it too. There is no better man than you, Sam Winchester.”

The look in his eyes now wasn’t broken or empty. They spoke of a deep longing, a longing that had everything to do with holding onto what was important when you knew it could be taken from you. Sam dropped his head and broke the connection.

Your voice was a whisper. “Sam, what was that?” You hadn’t moved. You were still close enough to feel him breathe.

He shook his head. “Nothing. Just something I shouldn’t have been thinking.” He stood, careful not to let his eyes meet yours. “I’m gonna get that shower now.”

When Sam came out of the bathroom, he was wearing gray sweats and a white t-shirt. You could smell the fresh scent of the soap he’d used. His body was clean, but the things he’d seen couldn’t be washed from his mind. You poured some whiskey into one of the glasses provided by the motel and offered it to him. “It might help you sleep.”

Sam stared at the glass for a second before he took it and sat on the edge of the bed again. He looked down into the amber liquid and swirled it in the glass. “Dean was always there for me. Even when we were in different places, I knew he always had my back.” Sam watched the whiskey moving around in the glass for a few more seconds then downed its contents with a quick turn of his wrist and once again focused on his now empty glass.

You didn’t try to fill the silence, just let him feel what he was feeling. It felt like your heart was breaking too. Watching him suffer through this ignited all the same emotions in you that you were almost sure you’d seen on Sam’s face earlier.

You took the empty tumbler from him and put it on the table behind you then walked back and stood before him. You reached for his hand, and he looked up to you. You made your voice as gentle as possible. “Sam, do you want to sleep in my bed tonight?”

Sam nodded silently, then wrapped his arms around your waist, and lay his cheek against your stomach. You combed your fingers through his hair understanding his need to hold what he still had close to him. He held you tight, and you whispered to him in the dim light of the room. “I’m here, Sam. I’m with you.”

Sleep didn’t come easily. You lay in the dark for a long time listening to the sounds of Sam crying. When he finally quieted, and his steady breathing told you he was sleeping; relief flooded through your body. At lest for now, he wasn’t in pain. You kissed Sam’s cheek, put your head on his shoulder, and fell asleep beside him.

You didn’t know how much time had passed; it was still dark when you woke up to the feeling of Sam’s lips on your neck. He was kissing you open mouthed and nibbling gently. You reached for the back of his head, and your fingers tangled in the soft hair at the nape of his neck. “Sam?” He stopped and looked at you. Just enough light from the parking lot spilled through the crack in the curtains to allow you to see his eyes. They were filled with pain, longing, and something you weren’t brave enough to name just now.

Sam cupped your face in his hand. “I need you, Y/N.” He moved to kiss you, and you didn’t stop him. It was a kiss filled with the kind of need and passion that was born of a desire to feel whatever life would allow you. You kissed him back silently telling him everything you hadn’t said. Nothing would ever happen that he had to face alone as long as he wanted you with him and allowed you to love him.

When Sam pulled his mouth from yours, you didn’t open your eyes immediately, and when you did Sam’s were still closed. He lifted his lids slowly revealing the deep green and honey swirl of his eyes. You started to reach for the hem of his shirt, but stopped when your fingers touched it. “Sam, are you sure you want to do this?”

Sam took off his shirt. “I’m sure.” He was waiting for a signal from you. “Please, Y/N. I can’t lose you too.”

“Sam, you will never lose me.” You let your palms begin to explore the planes of his chest while you looked into his eyes. “You’re everything to me.” Sam rolled you on top of him. You could feel the hard length of him through the cotton of his pants, and you reached down to stroke him.

Sam deepened the kiss; he circled his tongue around yours and moaned into your mouth. You could feel the growing wet spot on the front of his sweats. You kissed along his jaw to his neck and sucked the sensitive place beneath his ear before you spoke into it and told him, “Take your pants off for me.”

Sam removed them while you did the same with your leggings and tank. When you were both completely naked, you took his weeping cock and guided it to your entrance. He gasped when you sank down on him, taking him all the way in. Sam dug his fingers into your sides. It didn’t matter if he left marks on you; you wanted them. You braced your hands on his stomach and rolled your hips. Sam thrust up into you and closed his eyes tight.

He moved faster, and you got louder making the sounds you’d imagined making with him. Sam took hold of your hips and started to lift you up and down on his cock controlling the rhythm. It bordered on painful, he was so big, but you only encouraged him more. “Yes, Sam. Yes!” You put a hand under your hair and lifted it while you rode him.

Sam flipped you over, staying inside you while he did. He hooked his arm under one of your legs and lifted it, allowing him a deeper angle. He pushed against your cervix with every thrust and dragged across your g spot. You started to pant as you got closer to coming. When you did, Sam was right behind you yelling out his own release. You felt it, hot against your walls.

Sam let go of your leg he was holding, but he made no move to pull out. You kept your arms around him, reluctant to let him go. He grew soft inside your body and finally collapsed on his back beside you. You took deep breaths trying to ground yourself. Sam was breathing just as heavily next to you, and it was the only sound in the room. His breathing finally slowed, and you raised yourself up to look at him.

The corners of his eyes were wet. You softly kissed his cheek, scared of saying the wrong thing. His voice was thick when he spoke, and it wasn’t just the after effects of the sex. “Stay with me.”

You lay down on him with your head on his chest and your leg draped over his. “I’m here, Sam.” He held the back of your head cradled in his palm and put his face in your hair. You turned your head enough to kiss his chest. It was a promise that you would stay with him and be by his side through everything, no matter what happened.

#spnkinkbingo #sam angst #sam smut #sam x reader #sam oneshot

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crystalstar8 · 3 years

Text

Knights of the Night (ch 15)

Chapter 15

Ch 1, ch 2, ch 3, ch 4, ch 5, ch 6, ch 7, ch 8, ch 9, ch 10, ch 11, ch 12, ch 13, ch 14, ch 15

https://archiveofourown.org/works/29139240/chapters/71536491

pairing: Jungkook x oc

genre: vampire au, college au, twilight, romance

word count: 2,459

warnings: blood (obviously), kidnapping, child kidnapping, needles, France

notes: vampires, vampire au, college, college au, so many twilight references, blood, needles, kidnapping, children, homelessness, dance, ballet, flashbacks, romance, slow burn, probably no smut, idk yet tho, France, French things, attempted genocide, inaccurate French history, bisexual main character, @strawberriewithchocolate-blog @mozy-j @daechwitad-2 @zobadak @fallenstar-7

summary: Catalina starts college in a small town all the way across the country. She doesn’t know anyone and isn’t exactly looking for friends. She just wants to focus on dance. But when she meets fellow dance major, Jimin, and adventurous, fellow freshman, Jungkook, Catalina ends up discovering a whole new side to the small college town; one that is dangerous but oh so enticing…

Catalina was nervous. She had changed her outfit almost ten times and was already pulling a sweater out of her closet for an eleventh. She eyed her suitcase in the corner of her room. No, don’t open it, you’ll have to repack, she told herself. Her phone buzzed from her bed. It was a text from Jungkook.

JK: I’m on my way

“Shit,” Catalina mumbled. She looked between the sweater in her hand and the one laying on the floor. The one in her hand was a bit nicer so she pulled that one on. She tucked it into her skirt, then slipped into her ankle boot heels. As she was checking her hair and makeup in the bathroom mirror for the last time, she heard her front door open. Rounding the corner, she saw Jungkook standing in the hallway, tapping the snow off his boots on the rug. Catalina grabbed her coat.

“You look so cute!” he said as she came over for a hug.

“I always look cute, what are you talking about?” she said. He grinned, his nose scrunching up and his eyes turning to crescents. He looked good too, in a turtleneck under his peacoat. It was amusing to her, knowing that he still had a few lingering marks on his neck. They had both dealt with enough teasing from their friends over the past few days, they definitely didn’t need Jungkook’s family on that train as well.

“Ready to go?” he asked. Catalina nodded and followed him out the door, locking up behind her.

The car ride was short, only a minute or two since they lived a block away from each other. There were two other cars in the driveway, which Jungkook parked behind. As they got out of the car, Jungkook said, “So, my brother is kind of annoying. Just warning you. He’s in law school and he’s a bit of an asshole about it.”

“Be an asshole about your film major right back to him,” said Catalina, making him laugh.

“Easy,” he said. “I’ll just start talking about my favorite directors and artsy films.”

His house was warm and inviting, as it always was, but today, it was cleaner than Catalina’s seen it in a long time. Maybe ever. A small Christmas tree stood in the corner, decorated with mismatched bulbs and ornaments.

Jungkook’s mom came out of the kitchen, pulling oven mitts off her hands. She saw Catalina and her eyes lit up.

“Catalina! It’s so good to see you!” she said, pulling her into a hug. “I’m glad you could make it.”

“Yeah, me too!” Catalina said. “I never get to see you guys, so I’m glad to be able to spend some time with you all.”

“Of course, you’re always welcome,” she said. “My husband and I are always so busy with work, I feel bad. Anyway, come into the kitchen. The food’s almost ready. Jungkook, go help set the table.”

Dinner was beautiful, and Catalina had fun listening to Jungkook’s family try to embarrass him by sharing childhood stories. He wasn’t embarrassed though, always laughing with the table and sharing his own details about the experiences. It sounded like the family hiked and camped a lot while the boys were growing up, so there were plenty of adventure stories to go along with that. Catalina asked about his parent’s jobs and they told her about what they do at the hospital during their overnight shifts. They were both nurses, but they also did volunteer work every chance they got. Jungkook’s brother was indeed a bit of an asshole about being a law student, but Jungkook cracked everyone up by talking about his favorite film, “Persepolis”, pronouncing it “Pear-say-po-li”.

Catalina had a great time, but she didn’t stay too late since her and Jungkook had a flight to catch in the morning. Jungkook dropped her off at home that night, kissing her softly in the car before she got out.

“I’ll see you in the morning,” he said. “I’ll pick you up at six.”

“I can’t wait,” she said, pecking his lips once more before getting out of the car. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” he said.

It feels so good to say that, Catalina thought as she took the stairs to her apartment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The airport was crowded with people rushing to travel for the holidays. Catalina was thrumming with excitement. She hadn’t seen her mom since before her first semester. She had never lived away from her home before, never away from her mom for so long. She couldn’t wait to see her, and to introduce Jungkook to her. They found their flight easily enough in the giant building, and soon enough, they were in the air, en route to Detroit.

Catalina’s mom was waiting for them at the airport when they landed. As soon as Catalina exited the gates, she ran, giving her mom a long hug.

“Oooh, dios mio, how I’ve missed you!” her mom said, holding her tight.

“I missed you too, mom,” said Catalina. She pulled away and looked over at Jungkook. “Mom, this is my boyfriend, Jungkook.”

“What a cutie you are!” her mother said as she gave Jungkook a hug as well. “It’s so nice to meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you too, Mrs. Diaz,” said Jungkook.

“Ms. Diaz. Or you can just call me Lucía. Come, lets go home,” she said. “This place is too crowded.”

Catalina sat in the passenger seat of her mom’s car on the way home. It wasn’t a long drive, their house was just outside of the city. During the drive, she wondered if she should reach out to her old friends. They had never once texted or checked up on her while she was away, so maybe it was best to leave them behind.

The house looked exactly the same as when she last saw it and it gave her a sense of comfort to come back to the familiarity. After Catalina and Jungkook got settled into her old room, her mom called them downstairs to help bake cookies. While baking, Catalina and Jungkook told her all about their classes and professors. After the cookies came out, they had fun decorating them in weird and interesting ways. Jungkook decorated a gingerbread man with red eyes and fangs, which Catalina took a picture of to send to their friends.

Later in the evening, Lucía took them all out to dinner at a nice place in downtown Detroit. The restaurant was beautiful; bistro lights dripped from the ceiling, branching out from the twisting paper tree in the center of the dining room. Over dinner, Catalina told her mother about her friends in California, and about their trip to the lodge. Her and Jungkook left out the parts about their friends being vampires.

“I want to know how the two of you got together,” said Lucía. “She didn’t date much in high school, so this is so exciting to me.”

“I had a girlfriend in my senior year,” Catalina mumbled. Lucia waved a hand.

“That doesn’t count,” she said. Catalina glanced at Jungkook, who was frowning after hearing this exchange. Catalina put a hand on his knee under the table and decided not to argue.

“Well, we met in our French class,” Catalina started. “We became friends and we hung out a lot for the first few months of the semester. I mean, I never really knew I had a crush on him at first, I knew he was attractive, but I only saw him as a friend. Then one day, he kissed me, and we’ve been an item ever since.”

Lucía had a hand over her heart as she listened.

“That’s so sweet,” she said. “You two are a beautiful couple and I can see you’re so happy with each other. I’m just…so relieved that you found a nice boy and-“

“Mom,” Catalina interrupted.

“I just didn’t want you to fall back into those high school phases you were in,” she said. “I was so worried I would lose you to the wrong kind of people. There’s so many influences online these days and I just wanted you to be successful in life. That kind of lifestyle comes with drugs and-“

“I’m gonna go to the restroom,” Jungkook said, standing up and giving her shoulder a squeeze.

“Mom, stop it,” Catalina said. As soon as Jungkook was out of sight, she said, “My boyfriend is bisexual too. And so are some of my other friends at school. They’re all amazing people and I would do anything for them. I don’t like when you say things like this.”

“Catalina, you know I love you no matter what,” her mother said. “I just want the best for you.”

“It’s not something anyone can control,” Catalina said. “Whether I fall in love with a man or a woman, I’ve always hoped you could be happy for me no matter what.”

“I am happy for you,” Lucía said, reaching over to take Catalina’s hand. “You’re following your dream and you seem so happy with your life right now. I think I need to get used to the idea of my daughter being bisexual, there’s just so many bad connotations that come with that community. At least from when I was growing up.”

“Things are different now,” Catalina said.

“I know, I know,” Lucía said. “I think I just need to get used to this. At the end of the day, I just want you to be safe and happy. I think a man would be able to provide for you better later in life.”

“You of all people should know that’s not true,” Catalina said. “You raised me alone, and we were always pretty well off.”

Lucía raised her eyebrows and shrugged. “You got me there.”

Catalina giggled and squeezed her mom’s hand.

“I love you, cariña,” Lucía said. “Just remember that.”

“I love you too, mom,” said Catalina.

Jungkook came back and Catalina took his hand as soon as he sat down.

“I’m sorry if what I said earlier was offensive,” Lucía said to him.

“It’s okay,” Jungkook said, flashing a smile.

“I’m trying, it was just so different when I was young,” she said.

“It’s really okay,” Jungkook said with a chuckle. “This sounds exactly like the conversation I had with my own mom when I was sixteen.”

Lucía laughed and the conversation turned to the topic of Jungkook’s family. Dinner went on peacefully. Catalina was glad she got this conversation off her chest. She had been struggling with that topic ever since she came out in high school. It really sounded like her mother was trying to understand, and Catalina couldn’t be more grateful.

The next day was Christmas Eve. Catalina and Jungkook took a day trip to Frankenmuth, which, as soon as they arrived, they realized was a bad idea. Frankenmuth was packed with people, but the pair still managed to have a good time. They ate dinner at the Bavarian Inn and took a carriage ride around the town. They walked the underground mall and the outdoor shops, but only bought gifts for Lucía, since everything was terribly overpriced. They didn’t even shop for each other, since they both confessed they had already bought each other Christmas gifts a long time ago. Snow covered the ground and everything was wrapped in Christmas lights in the little town. Just walking through the beautiful scenery hand in hand with Jungkook was wonderful.

They returned home late that evening, wrapping their gifts in Catalina’s room and going to bed afterwards.

Christmas morning was pleasant; Lucía cooked them a big breakfast, then they opened gifts in the living room. Catalina had two gifts from her mom. The first one was a Visa gift card and a heartfelt letter. The second gift was a quilt. Each patch depicted a different cat from t-shirts, towels and linens.

“You’re grandmother started making this before she passed away,” Lucía said. “You remember her nickname for you?”

“Gatita,” Catalina said, tears prickling her eyes.

“I found it just recently and I decided to finish it for you,” Lucía said. “Just something to remember her by, something your children can use.”

Catalina felt a tear run down her cheek. She wiped it away and got up to hug her mom.

“This is wonderful,” said Catalina. “I love it so much.”

“I’m glad you like it, cariña,” her mom said, hugging her back tight. “I know I don’t have a lot for you, like when you were a kid, but I didn’t want you to have to lug a bunch of stuff back to California with you.”

“No mom, it’s perfect,” she said. “This is perfect.”

Lucía then opened Catalina’s gift, which was a silver bracelet from Frankenmuth. Jungkook had gotten her a handmade scarf and hat set, and she had given him another Visa gift card.

At some point during the day, Catalina made sure to find time for herself and Jungkook. Lucía went to pick up groceries in the afternoon, which was when Catalina took the opportunity to give Jungkook his gift.

They were pressed together on the couch, both holding a little gift bag in their hands.

“You first,” Jungkook said, handing her his bag. She took it and opened it, finding a little box in the bottom. Her heart beat fast as she opened it, revealing a ring with the moon in a glass bubble. She gasped and handed his gift over frantically.

“Open this right now!” she said, pulling the ring out and putting on her middle finger. He did, his eyes getting wide as he opened the slightly bigger box.

“No way,” he said, looking up at her.

“How the hell did this happen?” Catalina asked, holding in giddy laughter. Jungkook pulled the necklace out of the box and put it on. The charm on the chain held the moon in a little glass bubble. The same moon as the one in her ring.

“We bought each other the same thing,” he said, laughing.

It was the waxing half-moon from the night they shared their first kiss in the vampire den.

When Lucía came back home, they immediately showed her their unplanned gifts for each other. She laughed for about ten minutes. She then recruited them to help cook dinner, which was an exciting ordeal. Catalina was happy to learn how to cook all of her favorite dishes.

The three of them ended up having a beautiful dinner together, bright with laughter and conversation.

The next few days passed in a blur. They went out, cooked together, played games, and watched movies. Before they knew it, the week was over and it was time for Catalina and Jungkook to travel again for the next leg of their trip. Catalina was reluctant to leave her mom, but she was absolutely filled with anticipation for her stay in the cabin.

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doloxov · 2 years

Text

diagon alley is home to many , a direct connection to the wizarding world , right in the centre of london , many people like ANTONIN DOLOHOV , spend majority of their time in the busy alley , most people know them as the thirty - five year old who is a past slytherin graduate , now HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT OF MYSTERIES at THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC , i think the role suits them perfectly as i think they are CHARISMATIC but also they can be RUTHLESS , but that's just my opinion . ( ben barnes )

warning for: mentions of death and murder

full name: antonin aleksandrov dolohov gender / pronouns: cis man & he/him dob / age: april 16th & thirty-five sexual orientation: bisexual blood status: pureblood loyalty: death eaters education: hogwarts house: slytherin

father: aleksander dolohov, 57, businessman. mother: natalya kuznetsova, passed away at 21, would be 56 today. step-mothers: tba. tba. delima chen, 49, lawyer. older sister: tba, 36. younger half-sister: mila gibbon (née dolohova), socialite. younger half-sister: tba, 29-33. younger half-brother: tba, 21-24 younger half-siblings: erik dolohov, 18. andrei dolohov, 10. david dolohov, 8. larissa dolohova, 7. nephews and nieces: cressida gibbon, 13. roman gibbon, 10. hair colour: brown eye colour: brown dominant hand: right tics: clenching jaw, drumming fingers distinguishing marks: various scars & tattoos traits: resourceful, arrogant, dogmatic, audacious, manipulative, incisive, impulsive astrology: aries sun, capricorn moon, leo sun mbti: entj enneagram: type 8, the challenger alignment: chaotic neutral / chaotic evil

an empty manor with nothing but old portraits exchanging looks , cold shivers down your spine , snowflakes melting in dark hair , you do not belong anywhere - you no longer yearn for a place to call home , i keep killing the old me but the new one is never better , selling the family heirloom for a bottle of whisky , kissing strangers , an ambiguous smile .

(( tw: mentions of death, murder ))

born in novosibirsk, antonin is the second oldest child of aleksander dolohov and his first wife, natalya kuznetsova. she ended up passing away shortly after her youngest, antonin was born - just two years into her marriage with aleksander. it was deemed a tragedy, but still a natural cause of death. though natalya was known to be healthy and recovered well after childbirth, which caused some whispers and questions to arise. still, no one would dare question aleksander's words or accuse him of murder - at least, not to his face. he wasted no time remarrying - in fact, it took him no less than four months. this marriage lasted a good ten years before the couple ended up splitting up. aleksander would joke with his buddies that she'd "gotten too old and grumpy". the dolohovi were an ancient, noble pureblooded family and aleksander was looking to expand his horizons and influence. his third wife was from england - yet again another grand wedding, though this time the dolohovi ended up moving all the way to london. aleksander would claim it was for love, though everyone knew he wanted to escape because of tensions rising due to his beliefs on blood purity.

just in time for antonin's eleventh birthday. he wasn't adjusting well to the weather, the people, sudden changes. he'd grown up believing one day he'd go to durmstang and now he was buying supplies on diagon alley, preparing for hogwarts. antonin was furious and he'd make sure his father knew it. he was.. quite the wildcard during his hogwarts days. known as somewhat of a bully, antonin wanted to be the one in charge when it came to his peers - the control he lacked at home. it was usually his older sister that cleaned up his messes and tried to save him from their father's wrath - though that was antonin's very purpose, to make aleksander angry. sort of a rebel without a cause; but eventually it did become a lifestyle for antonin.

aleksander would never get what he wanted. when he arranged betrothals and engagements for antonin's sisters, they would end up.. disappearing. curious. while antonin describes his family as a huge pain in the ass, he’d do anything for his siblings.. even the annoying ones, he’d say. one of his sisters, mila, did end up marrying a man of her own choice, to aleksander’s detest. when aleksander dragged antonin along to meetings, introducing him to important friends, antonin would do his best to give the worst impression imaginable, embarrassing himself and his father in the process. the punishments never worked, either - antonin had gotten too resistant and eventually, he'd learn how to fight back. at some point, most of their arguments would end in duels - stopped, before things got too ugly.

twelve years later and marriage number three came to an end as well. aleksander moved back to novosibirsk - the public opinion was shifting in favor of his own beliefs. that, and it was time for marriage number four. some of the dolohov kids followed him there, but antonin and some of his younger siblings didn't. he’d already established himself in london and was quite happy visiting his hometown twice a year - sometimes, less.

it took him several years of studying and working, but antonin ended up becoming an unspeakable. at the age of thirty-three he'd rise even higher, to the position of head of the department of mysteries. he'd always been ambitious - determined by greed, spite, hatred, desire - whatever it was, if antonin wanted something, he'd work hard for it. it was the perfect position to have the rest of the ministry stay out of his business too, while he fed his fellow death eaters information.

#diagons.intro

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cl-01-kestis · 4 years

Text

My Little Rebel - Inquisitor!Cal Kestis x Female Rebel! Reader | Part 3

Summary: You haven’t seen Cal in over 2 months, Trilla captures you after a fight on Yavin 4 and you end up in a prison, and of all the people to watch over you it had to be Cal.

Warnings: violence, threat, lots of angst

“We got the second sister closing in on post cresh!” You heard the voice of a Rebel commander yell, his voice determined and gasping heavily as you all pitched into the coms and ran towards the control centre where the Second Sister awaited.

You clung onto your sniper rifle feeling scared, one moment you were working on your ship, the next there was a chase and every single Rebel was on the run. You were being hunted down by the Inquisitors and you had to leave the base as fast as possible before they caught you. Not many rebels were here, only about 30, so it was a tense moment for all of you.

You looked around cautiously, finger right under the trigger as your eyes scanned every little bit of the forest around you.

“Commander, I’m going to post Delta, I think they’ve called reinforcements there and I need back up” You said, your voice delivering to all the remaining rebels who were either fighting bravely or hiding, terrified foe their lives.

“On you go (Y/N)! Don’t get killed” The commander demanded, earning a sharp chuckle from you as you zoned out of the conversation through the coms device in your ear, walking east and seeing a few rebels in the distance behind you salute you to signify that they were joining the fight.

“We’re right behind you, (Y/N)” A rebel a few meters away from you said; earning a nod as a reply as you creeped forward and looked straight towards the Delta post which was eerily desolate and suspiciously quiet. You kept a stern glare on your face as you slid the strap attached to your sniper around so it was on your back, climbing up the steep hill where you could - hopefully - see any threat and take over Post Delta.

“On my mark” You whispered into the coms, alerting the other rebels around you who were surrounding the post and seeing a few Stormtroopers patrol the area. You cussed under your breath, reaching a comfortable position on the top of the hill behind many storage boxes that were stacked as a barrier around the Post. You positioned your sniper up against the storage boxes, making sure the muzzle wasn’t sticking out and becoming obvious to tue stormtroopers in front of you.

The other rebels slowly creeped in on the Post as their eyes were in their sights, fingers itching to pull their triggers as the stormtroopers walked around, clueless as to what was about to happen.

“Three, two...” You counted down quietly, pressing your finger against the trigger and breathing out a long sigh of air before pulling the trigger and immediately taking out a stormtrooper. The others were alerted and the rebels stood up and started shooting mercilessly at the remaining troopers before each and every one of them was picked off. The good thing was that you outnumbered them by a long shot, only a few rebels got shot in the process but not enough to cause fatal damage.

You hopped over the storage boxes, picking up your sniper from its hiding place and clinging it close to your chest, eyes scanning intensely for any sign of white armour. You were on edge, something about this mission didn’t feel right. You knew it was because of the Second Sister, you never encountered her before but she was an Inquisitor, you’ve encountered her kind before and you know she won’t be as friendly.

Overtime, you received more Rebel reinforcements and things were starting to look splendid. You smiled at the rebels who shot down the troopers with you and congratulated each of them, giving and receiving back pats and high fives.

When everything seemed to look good, when everything was just about perfect, you heard the faint buzz of a lightsaber behind you. Your heart dropped as soon as you realised it wasn’t Cal, if it were him you’d have sensed it by now. You gulped, freezing in your spot as the buzz got louder and louder until it was hovering above the place between your neck and shoulder.

“Make a sound, and this goes right through your neck” The Second sisters voice startled you, you became jittery and you didn’t dare move as you felt the scorching heat of the scarlet lightsaber burn your skin. You hissed, tears pricking at your eyes but you didn’t say a word in reply, you slowly lowered your sniper and took a few shaky breaths before the second sister removed the scorching blade from your neck and grabbed the end of the hilt, only to slam it on the back of your head and knocked you out right.

“Let’s see what Cal makes of this, little rebel” She mocked in a humorous voice, cackling deeply as she lifted your body up and took you to her ship.

Your head was thumping, your heartbeat rung in your ears as your eyes fluttered open, feeling yourself in a much colder environment than you were used to in Yavin 4. It didn’t take long for you to remember the second sister, you started panicking and felt like you were about to be sick as you sat up and realised you were in a prison cell. You didn’t stand up, still dizzy from the lack of conciousness as your hands wrapped around the bars and your head rest against them. You should’ve ran, called on another rebel, but you were frozen in fear. You scolded yourself, because of that now you were in Maker knows where, definitely far away from Yavin, and cold as ice.

Your hands were shaking, so was the rest of your limp body as your legs made a W shape and your spine was slouched. You looked up and through the bars holding you in, pulling on them slightly and hearing them clang against the gate which was locked and far from breakable. Anger got the better of you and you ended up rattling the bars, shouting and yelling for someone to come and see you so you could get answers. No one came the first round but you weren’t giving up just yet.

You carefully wobbled up and stood on your feet, feeling pins and needles rush over your legs as you grabbed ahold of the bars and took a step back. You closed your eyes and pinched the bridge of your nose, trying to get rid of the thumping headache you were experiencing from the second sisters lightsaber. You looked down at your attire, they stripped you from your sniper, blaster, shoes, jacket and scarf, leaving you in nothing but a white vest and green combats. For once you were thankful you wore socks.

You shivered as the cold breeze swirled around you, triggering every goosebump in your body to raise and make you look like a plucked chicken. You were freezing, at this point you might’ve been suffering from hypothermia.

You stumbled backwards and landed on your backside, back against the stone wall and the dampness of the cell staining your white vest. You rubbed your upper arms, teeth chattering and lips going blue as you looked back out the prison bars and realised there were a few purge troopers standing at a distance from your cell.

You didn’t bother getting up and annoying them, you had no energy in you left and you also couldn’t get to sleep. You were stuck in that horrific realm of feeling lifeless but you couldn’t close your eyes. You yawned, but you just couldn’t bring yourself to fall asleep. Not when you were locked up and possibly up for a death sentence. You shivered at the thought.

As if something clicked, you looked up once you felt a rush of heat fill your body. You were confused beyong belief, looking at your body and realising your hands were no longer shaking and your feet weren’t as cold as icicles. It was like a heat wave, it was a great feeling. You thought you were unfortunate enough to die from the cold.

It didn’t take long for you to realise who was coming. Your change in temperature and your energy levels rising could only mean one thing.

You could feel the force around you, encouraging you to crawl up to the bars and see who was coming and also to confirm who you thought it was. You had never felt force this strong before, it was overwhelming in almost every aspect and you felt like you were about to burst into tears. As a rebel, you aren’t ever in touch with the force because you were brought up to believe it was just a myth, something to joke about and make fun of.

But now, it was so clear. You felt the force around you grow stronger, your energy peeked and you no longer felt tired, you no longer felt like you needed sleep, never again. The bags under your eyes lifted and your eyes felt light, not heavy with sleepless nights and concerns about whatever was on your mind.

“The Eleventh Brother is coming” A purge trooper informed the other, standing at attention as soon as the doors they guarded slammed open to reveal the man you hadn’t seen for so long.

“Cal...” You whispered, your voice barely audible and so far away from Cal, but he heard you, he heard you alright. His eyes widened after he saw you crawl in front of the cell bars and nodded his head to the purge troopers, they walked past him and left the room before they closed the doors and left him standing. Cal immediately ran as fast as his feet could take him to your cell, crashing against the bars, loud clanging from his Inquisitor uniform chest plate. Cal slid down and he was level with your face, looking at the bars as if he was trying to figure out how to get you out.

“Cal” You called out to him, reaching your hands through the bars and cupping his cheeks as he desperately tried to pull the bars. Cal’s eyes held panic, as if he was afraid something terrible was going to happen to you. You brought Cal’s face to yours and stared into his eyes deeply, your thumbs stroking his cheeks softly as his breathing slowed down and his pupils dialated.

“I’m okay” You assured him, his hand raised up and wrapped around your wrist, holding your hands close to his face as he closed his eyes and leaned into your touch. Your fingers were cold against his warm face but he didn’t seem to mind, nuzzling against the palm of your hand and not wanting you to ever let go.

“Trilla told me they found you- I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean for any of this to happen-“ Cal cut himself off the moment his voice cracked, yellow eyes welled with tears as he sniffed and held back his sobs, struggling as he stopped breathing and swallowed down his emotions. You felt your lip quiver, your eyes staring up at him so full of emotion.

“Where did you go? I haven’t seen you since- since Yavin” Your voice grew weak as you spoke, desperate for an answer as Cal looked away from you in guilt and his posture slumped. He lowered his head but you still kept your hands on his cheeks, tracing your thumb over his skin as his grip on your wrist loosened and he sighed.

“The Inquisutors were starting to grow suspicious, I don’t know how but Trilla sensed our bond” Cal’s voice was hoarse, still panic noticeable but he looked sad, let down even. He raised his head up and looked back at you, raising his hand further up your wrist and over your hand, holding it firmly against his cheek as he closed his eyes and connected with you through the force. You too closed your eyes, feeling comfortable enough with the situation and calming down as you felt the force surround both you and Cal. There was something about it that felt light, heavenly even. You didn’t know how to use the force, far from it, so you simply sat with your eyes closed and let Cal do what he wanted to do.

You smiled to yourself as you felt Cal shift through your thoughts for a while, studying your every emotion and making sure you were okay. He also took a peek to see if you were of thinking of him and confirming if you really missed him whilst he was gone. Cal smiled unapologetically at this, his cheeks glowing a soft pink as he took a step back from looking into your thoughts and opened his eyes.

“...(Y/N)” Cal’s voice called out to you in the thick silence of the prison cell, head leaning against the bars and looking down at you considering he was still taller than you even when he was sitting down.

You froze, looking up into Cal’s eyes after hearing him say your name for the very first time. It echoed in your mind for the longest time, the way it sounded on his tongue sent shivers up your spine and you wanted to hear him say it again, and again. And again. Cal seemed to notice your shock towards him calling your name and smiled, reaching a hand through the bars and tucking a strand of hair behind your ear before taking his head off the bars and leaning down to kiss your forehead softly.

“I’ll get you out of here” Cal whispered, his words sounding more like a promise as his gloved hand gripped the back of your neck but not too tightly as your faces were inches away from one another. The bars unfortunately separated you both and restrained you from doing anything you weren’t supposed to be doing, especially in somewhere like a jail. You gripped the bars, trying to get closer to him, feeling your frustration rise as your nails dug into the metal and you bit the inside of your cheek.

“I wish I could touch you, if there weren’t as many cameras watching us, I’d hold you through the bars” Cal frowned, his voice still barely audible as he looked at either side of where he was sitting to see if anyone was coming.

“Won’t you get in trouble for letting me out?” You asked, confusion written on your face as he simply chuckled and shrugged.

“Only one way to find out” He winked, smirking childishly and looking up to see how high the bars were, measuring them as if to see how many he could take down in a certain amount of time.

You rolled your eyes as a reply, eyes trailing down to his body as he stood up and moved back as the sound of the doors hissed open, leaving you bare and wanting more through the bars. You knew he sensed someone coming, you were expecting him to act different towards you in front of others as well. It was going to sting seeing him behave towards you differently, treating you more as filth rather than an actual person to avoid trouble from his peers.

“Sir, the Second Sister requests your presence at the main hanger” One of the purge troopers from earlier entered and bowed immediately, emotionless through the black and red helmet as he looked at Cal.

Cal didn’t say anything, he looked over his shoulder then back down at you. His eyes were clouded, and you swear for a minute you saw that they were blue instead of yellow. Cal blinked and the hallucination was gone, his eyes were back to their natural state of gold and his expression hardened as he replied.

“Very well... don’t you dare do anything to this prisoner without my acknowledgement, am I clear?” Cal’s voice was low and loud; it startled you and made you jump out of your skin as he raised it and turned around to stare a bone chilling glare at the troopers. They didn’t budge, simply nodding and replying with a sharp ‘Yes Sir’.

Cal turned back to you, it was clear he didn’t want to go. He had to figure out how to get you out of there before anything bad happened to you.

It was only a matter of time.

#jedi fallen order #cal kestis x reader #cal kestis x you #star wars #x reader

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jewish-space-laser · 4 years

Text

Sucker

This is a little blurb I wrote when the JoBros came back last year... it’s very filthy and very short but I hope you enjoy! 1.3k words

xoxox Tile

You’d always had a thing for boybands. You’d been a JC girl when N*SYNC was big, a Nick girl for the Backstreet Boys, a Joe girl for the Jonas Brothers, and definitely a Harry girl for One Direction. Harry, who was currently pouting with crossed arms on his couch as you blared the new Jonas Brothers song from his surround sound speakers.

“I’m a sucker for you!” You scream-shouted. Harry rolled his eyes and huffed, turning away from you.

“We’ve listened to this four times in a row now,” he complained, “can’t we listen to something else?”

“Like what?” You had been twirling around on his living room carpet, but the tone of his voice made you stop.

“Literally anything,” he sighed.

You frowned, hopping onto the couch next to your grumpy boyfriend. He still wasn’t looking at you, but his torso had dipped towards you slightly, unable to fight his desire to be closer. You ran a had down his arm, trying and failing to get him to uncross them.

“What’s wrong, sweetie?” You cooed gently. “You usually like this kind of music.”

“Yeah, well,” he grumbled, “now I don’t.”

His cheeks pinked slightly, and you smirked when you realized why. He was jealous. He wasn’t generally a jealous person, but on occasion he would get pouty when one of your guy friends hugged you too close, or you swooned over an actor at the movies. It was fun to have him like this.

“Are you jealous of the Jonas Brothers?” You tried to contain your smile. “Or is this because I called Joe sexy last night when we watched the video?”

“’M not jealous,” he defended, “I just… don’t see their appeal. Especially Joe. He’s engaged to be married, were you aware of that?”

“Harry,” you giggled, brushing your hand over his arm again, “you know every single word to Year 3000, and just the other week we were dancing around the kitchen to Burning Up. You love the Jo-Bros, almost as much as I do!”

Harry crinkled his upper lip into a snarl. “Oh, you love them now?”

“Harry, stop,” you couldn’t help but laugh, pushing some of his overgrown hair behind his ear. It was getting long again. “You know you’re my favorite boyband member of all time. There’s no competition.”

“Seems like there is,” he muttered, “can’t believe you called Joe Jonas sexy, right in front of me.”

“Well, he was suspended from the ceiling in his underwear,” you reasoned. Harry’s jaw flexed.

“Didn’t know you were into that,” he mocked, “bet it’d be sexier if I did it.”

“I bet it would, too,” you told him, grinning, “but for now, I’ll just have to use the image of Joe all tied up to….”

You trailed off suggestively, sucking your lips into your mouth. This caught his attention. Harry finally turned to look at you, a scandalized expression covering his features. His mouth had dropped open slightly, and he gaped at you in shock.

“To… to what? Get off?” He scoffed, completely offended. “You don’t need to be doing that, not when I’m here to take care of you.”

“Hmm, I dunno,” you prodded, “this new song of theirs really gets me in the mood, but since you don’t like it….”

Before you could comprehend what was happening, Harry had managed to pin you to the couch, a low growl echoing from his throat as your breathing hitched. One of his thighs was rubbing against your denim clad crotch, and even through the fabric, you could feel his quads flexing.

“You want something to think about when you listen to this song?” He challenged, eyes dark and brows furrowed. “I’ll give you something, then….”

He reached over to the remote for the speakers and pressed play. You winced slightly as it resumed from where you’d left off, mid-chorus on high volume. Harry had already whipped his shirt over his head, and was now toying with the buttons on your blouse.

“Harry, I was only,” you gasped out loud as he bit harshly into your neck, “teasing, babe, I was only… trying to get a… rise out of y- oh!”

“Shh,” he commanded, “can’t hear the song when you’re talking so much.”

You wanted to roll your eyes at his blatant sarcasm, but he’d shoved his hand down the front of your jean shorts and your brain turned to mush. He knew just where to press his fingers to render you speechless.

“But- but you don’t-“

“Shhh!”

You whined quietly when he pulled his hand away, and it was borderline obscene when he licked his fingers, holding eye contact all the while. You wanted to tell him that he really didn’t have to do this, you hadn’t realized that he was this bothered by it, but every time you tried, he shushed you or pressed his teeth harder into your skin.

He was sucking marks down the expanse of your torso as he stripped you of all of your clothing. Your blouse, bra, shorts, and panties all lay in a pile by the armrest of the couch, and normally you would have scolded him for letting such a nice blouse sit in a crumpled heap, but now his warm breath was being exhaled directly onto your exposed center, and suddenly your expensive shirt didn’t matter at all.

“Are you gonna think about Joe Jonas when my tongue is inside you?” You violently shook your head no, eager for him to move just a little bit closer. His nose brushed the skin directly above your clit, and you let out a whimper that had Harry looking smug.

“No,” you promised, “just you!”

“You sure?” He teased. “I mean, he is super sexy after all….”

By now, the song was on its third loop, but all you could think about was how to get Harry’s mouth onto you as soon as possible.

“Please,” you begged, “you need to… you need to just-“

“Just what? Oh, now you’re thinkin’ about me? Thought there was only room for the Jonas Brothers in that pretty head of yours.”

“Please,” you cried pathetically, “I’m sorry, you’re so much hotter than him-“

That seemed to be all of the affirmation he needed, since he cut you off by pressing the entire bottom half of his face onto you, sliding his tongue inside while his nose rubbed against your clit. His fingers were holding you down at the crease of your thighs, but he removed one to slide a finger in next to his tongue.

He edged you constantly, completely withdrawing his touch when he felt you getting close, waiting until goosebumps grew on your skin before diving right back in. He pulled out all of the stops; alternating between fucking you with his tongue and sucking on your clit until it was purple and swollen and sensitive. You were writhing against the leather couch cushions, mewling out pleas and praise as his jaw moved from side to side.

It wasn’t until the eleventh loop of the song came around that he finally let you come, sliding a hand up your body to pinch around one of your nipples. That had been it for you, the sensitivity and roughness of his calloused fingers pushing you over the edge.

He let you ride it out, keeping two fingers pumping inside of you while he sat back to lick his lips and watch. Your thighs were trembling and your hands were clenched tightly to one of his throw pillows as you came, only opening your eyes when the last rush of your orgasm faded away.

“That was the best you’ve ever given it,” you panted, completely gobsmacked. “I’m literally… going to picture that whenever I hear this song. You’ve ruined it, I can never listen to it in public ever again.”

Harry shrugged with faux nonchalance, wiping his fingers on your bare stomach before reaching over to the remote on the floor. He ticked the volume up several notches, smirking at you when you raised an eyebrow at him.

“On second thought, I quite like this song.”

#harry styles #harry styles blurb #harry styles smut #harry styles imagine #harry #styles #harry styles fanfic #one direction #1dff #sucker

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