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houseofripley · 3 months

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Her Party Girl

Rhea Ripley X Fem!Reader

SUMMARY: Rhea has her way with you after you misbehaved at the club.

WARNINGS: 18+, SMUT, Aggressive Language, Slapping, Spanking, Orgasm Denial. Edging, Brief mention of implied Choking, Strap-On, Oral Sex, Vaginal Fingering, Mommy Kink, and a teensy bit of fluff as a treat.

WORD COUNT: 3,230 A/N: Just a little something I threw together last night. This is literally my first fic please don't kill me if it's dogshit!!!

Everyone knew you had a reputation. Headlines seemingly popped up nearly every week about what sort of trouble you got caught up in the night before. You didn’t care about whatever the news said, they didn’t matter to you. You had convinced yourself Rhea didn’t care either, she hadn’t brought it up so you figured you were in the clear.

Rhea began getting fed up with your behavior about a month prior. She was sick of the near-daily drunk calls in the middle of the night while she was away. It killed her not knowing exactly where you were and who you were with. One thing about Rhea is that she is a possessive mother fucker.

Rhea came to the conclusion she needed to keep her eye on you as much as possible to calm her worries. She was currently on a WWE Live tour and had you flown into the city she was in.

For weeks Rhea kept you under a lock and key but recently she had been more lenient. She didn’t care for the bars and party scene but the constant begging got to her, she had to give in at some point.

The two of you made a deal, you were allowed to party only if Rhea was with you and only if she could have her way with you right after.

Tonight Rhea had just lost a match with Becky, and she was fuming. As soon as she left the ring she bolted backstage shoving past fellow wrestlers and crew to get to her tiny locker room. You were there waiting for her but as soon as you saw Rhea slam the door open you knew something was wrong.

“Jesus Christ, Rhea baby, what's wrong?” You questioned as you stood up from the couch, examining the woman's demeanor.

“She fucking pinned me!” Rhea shouted at you. You knew not to touch her when she was pissed but you couldn’t help yourself. You draped your arms over Rhea’s neck as you told her “Hey hey it's okay…it’s not a serious deal, it’s just one little show. I need you to calm down baby.”

“Rhea Ripley doesn’t fucking lose, especially not to goddamn Becky Lynch!” Rhea yelled at you while grabbing both of your arms with a painful grip. You knew she couldn’t help it… she was naturally aggressive. Ignoring the pain she was causing you, you sat her down on the couch and removed your arms from her neck. Rhea slowly let go of the hold she had on your arm.

You let Rhea compose herself before handing her the pile of her streetwear. Rhea slipped into her jeans and threw on an unbuttoned tee over her sports bra before slouching back into the couch.

“How about we go out and take all that stress off your shoulders,” You offered whilst packing up Rhea’s bags.

Of course, you wanted Rhea to let loose by getting a few drinks in her but you selfishly needed an excuse to go get plastered.

“Absolutely not. I’m not dealing with that nonsense tonight.” She scorned as you found your way onto her lap. “I got all dolled up for you, are you really gonna make me sit in a hotel room all night?.” You pouted in return.

“I said no.” Rhea sternly raised her voice at you. She gave you a toughened stare trying to pick apart your thoughts.

You figured out Rhea’s kryptonite, one simple word. Over the past several months of your relationship, you took note of Rhea’s behavior shift after using one particular word. Tonight you wanted to abuse the hell out of that word.

“Oh, but Mami I know you’ll have so much fun…” You whined in her ear, her hands gripping at your sides the moment you let that word out of your mouth.

Rhea shot a look at you, letting out a heavy breath. She had caved and you knew it. “I guess I can make some time for you baby…tonight only.” Rhea hummed out. She was pissed about going out…but that damn word…it did things to her. You pecked her lips innocently knowing you got exactly what you wanted.

After the two of you dropped Rhea’s bag off at the hotel you dragged her to a nearby club down the street. You had wasted no time ordering a shot of tequila as well as Rhea’s go-to, a neat whiskey. You ushered Rhea to a small booth right near the dance floor. Rhea kept quiet and stayed in her seat trying to enjoy her whiskey while you made multiple trips to the bar ordering an array of drinks over the span of forty minutes.

You pulled out your phone, snapping a picture of Rhea as she examined the club around her. “Oh c’mon,” She grouched. “You look like you want to kill everyone in here, it's a little sexy,” You joked before adding “I’ll be right back.”

“Alright that’s enough you don’t need anymore.” She snapped at you as you came back to the table with two shots of vodka. You pouted as you handed her one of the shots “Are you gonna come dance with me Mr. Grumpy Pants?” Rhea shot you a glare and shook her head as she shooed you away. “Your loss, Mami.” You teased before downing your shot and walking out to the dance floor.

You knew Rhea was eye fucking you while you were out dancing so you made sure to put on a show for her. You “accidentally” lifted your skirt to show the bottom half of your ass knowing no matter how pissed the woman acted she was going insane for you.

Just several minutes later a man approached you asking if you’d like to take a shot with him and his buddies. You knew Rhea would put you through hell if she saw you drinking anymore but she was occupied closing your tab. It was a free shot of course you had to take it. You went up to the end of the bar and had one last shot. But the second your shot glass hit the table you knew you had fucked up.

Rhea was storming towards you looking more furious than ever. She stole your hand and started dragging you out of the club, making sure to shove her shoulder into the guy who had offered you a drink. “Oh c’mon! You expect me to say no to a free drink?! I was saving you money!! ” You blurted out once you got to the street. You were practically running as you tried to keep up with the woman as she led you back to your hotel without saying one word.

The second the door to your room had latched, Rhea drove you against the nearest wall leaving virtually no space between the two of you. “You think you're so cute whoring yourself out for drinks from strangers don't you?” She snarled inches from your lips. You kept your mouth shut as you dozed off staring into Rhea’s deep blue eyes.

“Answer me you fucking slut.” She demanded as she delivered a slap across your left cheek. In return, you just smirked making sure to not make a sound. That smile of yours drove Rhea insane, she lost all control as she shoved her lips onto yours whilst backing you up to the edge of the bed.

Rhea had shoved you down onto the bed before immediately connecting your lips again. You matched every sloppy movement the buff woman made. “I’m gonna ruin you whether you like it or not you little brat.” She whispered, trailing her lips down to your neck. Her lips attacked your neck as she left multiple bites causing you to let out a series of whines.

While Rhea spent her sweet time focusing on your neck her hands found themselves tugging off your shirt and discarding it on the floor. Once she had discovered you weren't wearing a bra she pulled away. “What a slut…couldn’t even cover yourself up this morning.” She commented as she admired your top half.

Rhea lowered herself to your chest, licking right across your nipple as a moan escaped your mouth. She knew she was driving you insane as she lapped her tongue in circles around your nipples. As you squirmed underneath her touch she managed to yank your skirt off.

A whiny moan left your mouth once Rhea’s thumb began making circles over your clit, the fabric of your flooded panties adding even more pleasure. “So soaked for me already hm, you’ve been wanting Mami all night haven’t you,” Rhea snarled, leaving you speechless. You knew you were in deep shit and you were paying for the actions that happened just twenty-five minutes ago.

As soon as Rhea knew she had you folding under her touch she pulled away. She stood up between your legs as she tore off her unbuttoned shirt. “Too bad naughty girls don’t get to be touched,” Rhea fake pouted. She wasn’t going to touch you until you were begging. She needed to hear your pleading.

Rhea’s full frame stood at the edge of the bed stalking your every move. Your right hand snaked down your stomach before being swatted away by Rhea. A whimpered “Please” broke your silent streak. Rhea bent over your face, her warm breaths melting your skin “Oh baby I’m nowhere even near started and I already have you so worked up. Poor thing…it’s gonna take a lot more than a pathetic please before I touch you.” She whispered before standing upright again.

“Please! I need you to touch me!” You crashed out. Rhea gave you a look of pity mixed with anger, you knew she wanted more. “I’ll be such a good girl for you!! I just need your touch!” You earned a simple smirk from Rhea.

“Mami!” You cried out in frustration. There it was, exactly what she was looking for. “I’ll do anything Mami! Please!!! Touch me Mami!” You whined.

The grin on Rhea’s face grew larger. “Mmm what a naughty girl you are.” Rhea huffed out

“Now tell me what you want from Mami,” She said, kneeling down right in front of your core that was near the edge of the bed. “Your mouth Mami!” You begged.

Rhea looked up at you as she planted a kiss on your clothed clit. “You want Mami’s mouth right here don’t you?” She teased, causing you to let out a pathetic whimper. “Right there!” You cried before Rhea pulled your panties off in a swift motion causing you to let out a gasp at the sensation of the cold air against your wetness.

Rhea needed to taste you as much as you needed her tongue in between your folds. But Rhea wasn’t done teasing you, not yet. She enjoyed hearing your whimpers as she kissed and licked stripes over your inner thighs. “Please Mami, I need your mouth. I’ll be such a good girl for you!” You pleaded as she drove you insane.

“Pathetic little girl.” Rhea taunted under her breath before finally diving her tongue between your folds. She kept her eyes looking up at you, she loved seeing how much she satisfied you.

Rhea’s tongue slipped right into your entrance as her nose rested on your clit. All you could spit out were yelps and moans. Rhea had gone back to tracking her tongue up and down your center.

She slipped her middle finger into you causing you to let out a string of moans. Once you had gotten a feel for her finger, Rhea knew you would want more and that's exactly why she pulled her finger out. You cried out her name begging to be touched again.

She hadn't forgotten the little stunt you pulled earlier and she wasn't gonna let you forget either. She pulled herself up off the floor and hovered her face over yours, placing her clothed leg right against your core. “I need you,” You cried out. “You were being such a naughty girl earlier. Mami thinks you need to be punished for that.” She menacingly said before flipping you onto your stomach.

You pushed your ass up in the air knowing exactly what you were in for. Rhea delivered a slap to your ass just before you sharply gasped. You heard the sound of Rhea’s belt being slipped out of her jeans. “No no no!!! Mami please no! It won’t happen again I swear!!” You wailed.

The woman just ignored you as she slashed her belt down on your soft skin causing you to scream out. “Count.” She demanded. Rhea made you count all ten lashings she gave you. She had you braindead between each lashing she gave you.

“Such a good girl for Mami, now let me see your pretty little pussy.” Rhea declared while flipping you over and spreading your legs. The large woman kneeled back down before attacking your clit with her tongue, sending shock waves through your spine.

You covered your mouth to quiet the moans coming from you as she devoured you. Rhea slipped two of her fingers into you while using her other hand to pull your hand away from your mouth. “I want this whole floor to hear how good I’m treating you baby.” She hummed against your clit whilst curling her fingers inside you.

Rhea knew all of your weak spots and she made sure they didn't go unnoticed. As her tongue piercing rocked over your clit back and forth you were about to come undone. “Mami I’m gonna cum!” You howled before Rhea growled out, “No you’re not angel, you’re gonna be a good girl and wait until you get permission.” Rhea slipped her fingers out of your hole as she stood up.

“Please Mami I need you, you make me feel so go-” You were interrupted by Rhea's lips crashing onto yours as her fingers found their way back into you. You took a hold of her midnight hair tugging at her roots, in return Rhea let out muffled groans into your mouth. It drove her crazy whenever you pulled on her hair, she would never admit it but it was obvious by her responses.

Rhea felt your walls tighten around her curling her two fingers, she pulled her thumb up to your clit beginning to drag circles around your bud. You were a drunk mess under her, your breath getting heavier.

As you were nearly unable to control your orgasm you were hit with that same feeling of defeat you felt moments ago as Rhea had yet again pulled away from your touch. All you could was cry out praying for her to touch you again. You knew you pissed her off but this was borderline tortuous.

“You poor thing,” Rhea fake pouted, chuckling as she walked towards your suitcase. Rhea knew you would bring her strap, she shoved her way around your suitcase for a moment before pulling it out. Rhea made her way towards you before removing her jeans and boyshorts.

You bucked your hips up into the air watching her put her strap on. “So needy,” She smirked, “You want to cum all over my cock don’t you baby…”

“I need to cum on your cock!! Mami please let me cum on your cock!” You pleaded.

Rhea just had to tease you one last time as she repeatedly put her tip in, pulling it out right after.

Once the buff woman was satisfied with your series of cries and whimpers she slowly filled you up. You let out a string of moans and cusses as Rhea took a firm grip of your thighs and began thrusting slowly. “Mhm-taking Mami’s cock so good baby.” She hummed, taking in your view.

As you started rocking your hips against her thrusts she began to pick up her speed. Rhea knew you liked it when she fucked you hard but she would always make sure you were fully ready for her cock. Your moans and Rhea’s coos echoed in the bare hotel room.

She took hold of your hips as she was thrusting to a speed the both of you clearly went crazy for. Rhea’s main focus was always pleasuring you but tonight the pressure Rhea felt on her core with every thrust was sending her over the edge. She wanted to cum with you.

“Mami,” You whimpered, rocking your hips up and down as her hands trailed around your neck and chest.

“Shhhh…soon baby.” She reassured, lowering her chest to yours, you tugged at her sports bra signaling you wanted her to remove it.

Rhea threw her bra across the room as her thrusts were becoming faster and more sloppy. The two of you were a moaning and groaning mess.

Rhea wrapped her hand around the base of your throat. Hovering over you she muffled out “Now are you gonna be a good girl for me from now on.” Her words were more of a demand rather than a question and you knew if you didn’t answer you wouldn’t be able to cum for the next month.

“Oh fuck! I’m gonna be such a good girl for you!” You squealed out moaning. “Please Please Please Mami!” You begged once again.. You both couldn’t hang on much longer as each thrust grew sloppier.

“Go ahead baby, I want you to cum all over Mami’s cock.” Rhea urged you to finally let go.

The two of you slurred out profanities as the both of you let go of all your built up tension. Sloppy kisses were exchanged as the both of you rode out your orgasms. ”Such a pretty girl,” Rhea whispered right in your ear sending shivers down your spine.

A final wail left our mouth as Rhea pulled out of you. Rhea swiped her finger across the strap stealing a sample of your cum before licking her finger clean. She helped you sit up at the edge of the bed before getting another pile of your sweetness on the pad of her thumb.

“Open up sweet girl” She requested, you obeyed opening your mouth before sucking Rhea's finger clean. Rhea stood over you as she licked her teeth. “God baby you’re making me want to fuck you all over again.” She teased leaving you giggling. Rhea got a warm rag and began carefully cleaning you up then began cleaning herself up.

Rhea plopped herself onto the bed pulling you to lay on her chest. Your aftercare was one of the most important things to Rhea, she knew she was rough on you so she always made time to hold you close to her never wanting you to feel like just a toy for her. The two of you silently admiring each other's faces from inches away, admiring the intricacies of eyes, combing fingers through hair, tracing invisible shapes on arms. Little kisses were littered across each other's faces. It was just the two of you, no clothes, no music, no distractions, maybe some smeared makeup but hey you can’t deny how attractive her in-ring makeup was all smeared.

“You’re gonna be so hungover in the morning,” Rhea broke the silence with her sly comment. “And you’re gonna be the one taking care of me so I guess I’m the winner here!” You nudged her arm leaving her sarcastically rolling her eyes.

The both of you fell back into your comfortable silence. You could stay in her arms forever. No matter what wringer she put you through she was your home.

#rhea ripley smut #rhea ripley fanfic #rhea ripley x reader #rhea ripley oneshot #wwe x reader #rhea ripley x you #rhea ripley angst #rhea ripley imagine #wwe smut #rhea ripley fluff

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miercoooles · 11 months

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Didn’t Know You Had That In You

Summary: After a tiring qualifying race, you return to the pit and overheard your co-drivers talk about whether or not they would date you.

Pairing: Sergio ‘Checo’ Perez x Fem Leclerc Driver!Reader, Charles Leclerc x Sister!Reader, Sebastian Vettel x Platonic!Reader, F1 drivers x Leclerc Driver!Reader

Word Count: 5.8k

Warnings: a lot of time skips, use of y/n, mutual pining, teasing, English isn’t my first language (so advance apologies for the terrible writing again)

A/N: I don’t see enough Checo fics so I decided to take matters into my own hands. Also this is entirely fiction, I remember what happened during the races 2014 - onwards in F1, but for the sake of the story I had to change it (please don’t come after me).

Comments and reblogs are deeply appreciated!

You first joined F1 as a reserved driver for McLaren Mercedes the moment you turned 20, and it was like a dream come true. Although it was difficult for you to adjust at first as it was a male-dominated sport, you managed to quickly hit it off with Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen who are the main drivers for your team. And after months of being in the 2014 season, you were introduced by your teammates to the rest of the paddock and even became friends with some of them. So it was safe for you to say that you are already part of the F1 family.

Soon came your first ever race in Silverstone. Finishing fourth in the race, news broke out and spread like wildfire headlining that you are one of the few and currently the only female driver in Formula One, and since then you have received lots of sexist and misogynistic comments that made you feel uncomfortable and made you think twice about the career path you have chosen.

Shortly after that, you began detaching yourself from your crew and the entire F1. But when you thought no one cared that you were distancing yourself because no one approached you, you felt heartbroken. And if they did care enough to notice, no one ever brought anything up which hurt you more. That was until the Force India driver Sergio Perez, who you have gotten to meet once or twice within the four months you’ve been in F1, confronted you about your sudden change of attitude.

You were shocked at first that he was the first one who brought it up considering you weren’t really close with him, but that small gesture was enough to make your heart flutter. “Hey what’s up? You’ve been separating yourself away from us recently.”, he asked, his English broken as his thick Mexican accent became prominent and his eyes filled with concern.

You looked away, biting your lower lip as you tried to hold in the sob you have been carrying for weeks now. When the Force India driver sensed that you were close to tears, he pulled you close into his arms, embracing you tightly as he comforted you. “It’s alright, you can let it out.” He whispered into your ears as he caressed your back with one of his hands, while the other softly cradled your head.

When you felt his warmth surround you, you let everything out quietly as he held you close to his body. Your body quivered as you cried and nuzzled closer to him while he stayed there, whispering soothing words in your ear. You stayed there for a few moments before pulling away from him and thanking him quietly before leaving him there standing.

After that encounter with Sergio, you did your best to avoid the Hispanic around the paddock and pit, but you started interacting with the rest of the drivers again. You have been seen mostly hanging around your teammates and sometimes with the German Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel.

In your unbiased (totally) opinion, Sebastian was the most down to earth driver you have ever met. He’s sweet, funny, caring, and just utterly wholesome. You first started talking during the German Grand Prix, it was mostly formal and just him trying to get to know you. But by the end of the 2014 season, you both became best friends and completely inseparable that other racers thought you two were dating to the point that they would tease you whenever you two are together. Although you have both established that your relationship with each other is purely platonic.

A thing about Sebastian is that his love language was physical touch, so he’d show affection by wrapping his arms around your shoulder, holding your hand, kissing your forehead, and crushing you with his hugs (which you love so dearly). He would obviously do the same to others, but with you it was different. He was definitely clingier to you and more overprotective of you than the rest. And if comfort was a person, it would be Seb for you.

When the 2015 race season came and you replaced Kevin Magnussen as one of the main drivers for McLaren when he announced his retirement while Sebastian moved to Ferrari along with Kimi Räikkönen. Although it was known that Kimi was the Iceman of Formula One, you somehow managed to make your way through his heart and melt his cold exterior. Thus the three of you are always seen hanging around one another and earning the nickname ‘The Paddock Princess and her Ferrari Princes’.

And despite the fact that you found your platonic soulmates amidst the crazy and busy environment of the paddock, you still constantly longed for someone. Someone who you see every race, who you battle with during races. And you usually found yourself thinking of the day he comforted you when no one would, his touch and words haunting you.

Today was one of those days where your heart ached to be hugged by him and be around him once more. When Seb found you in the McLaren garage, your eyebrows furrowed as you chewed your bottom lip while zoning out, he knew that something was bothering you.

He sat beside you, leaning his head on your shoulder, looking at you through his eyelash as he spoke. “What’s got you deep in thought?” Though he had an idea of what you were thinking of, he just asked for confirmation and to check if you were alright.

His question drew you back to reality. You blinked a few times before turning to look at him, quirking a brow at him. “When did you get here?”

“Just a minute ago. You didn’t answer my question though.” Seb replied nonchalantly.

“Sorry, I zoned out. What was your question again?”

“I asked what’s gotten you deep in thought.”, he repeated once more, his eyes not leaving yours.

Sebastian knew about your first meeting with Sergio, he also knew that you had been pining on him ever since. So when you told him about what was bothering you, he just smiled and gave you a side hug, patting your shoulder. “It’s alright, liebling. I know how much you miss him even though you still feel guilty about leaving him.”

You smiled despondently, knowing you won’t have a chance with him after making a horrible first impression while he tried comforting you. And Seb being your best friend who doesn’t like seeing you sad, he had to think of something that would reunite you to your crush. And so he went to consult with his teammate on what they could do to help you overcome your shyness with your crush.

A few days have passed since you have had your conversation with Sebastian, and you have noticed that he became weird towards you like he had something mischievous planned out for you. You shrugged it out thinking he’s just being his cheeky self to cheer you up.

However, today was different. You won your first ever pole position in your whole career. It was an achievement not just for you, but for your whole team. As you got yourself out of the car and finished your post race requirements, you ran to your team who hugged you from the barrier and patted your helmet as they cheered and congratulated you. You pulled away from them, returning to your car as you removed your helmet and gloves. But before you could even start, you were trapped in a bear hug by none other than your best friend, Sebastian, who had ended up in third.

“Congratulations, liebling! Your first ever pole, how do you feel?” He interrogated excitedly, pulling away from the hug. You chuckled at his excitement for you which resulted in him looking at you confused.

“Did I say something funny?” He asked, looking lost, and you shook your head. “No, it’s just… Shouldn’t that be the interviewer’s job to ask me how I feel?” You answered, pointing to the interviewer as they prepared.

“Yes, but I’m your best friend.” He responded, standing proudly at his statement. “ And as your best friend, it is my duty to ask you first! Shouldn’t you be more excited than what you’re giving me now? Are you disappointed? Nervous? Do you feel well?” He continued, shaking your body and bombarding you with questions to which you dismissed as you removed your helmet.

“I’m okay, Basti. Stop worrying too much.”, you assured, patting his shoulder. He gave you a perplexed look before nodding slowly, unconvinced of your answer.

There was a short period of comfortable silence between the two of you as you watched him remove his gears. “Be careful, I might melt if you keep watching me like that.” The German driver teased, making you scoff and roll your eyes as you mouthed the word ‘cocky’.

He chuckled at your attitude before he saw a certain someone behind you, removing his gears too. “Look who got P2.”, Seb whispered, gesturing behind you. You subtly looked over your shoulders to see the man you were infatuated with, run his hand through his fluffy brown hair which made you feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Sebastian laughed at your face when he saw your cheeks and nose dusted with a light tint of pink as your close friend knew the effect the Force India driver had on you. And so he and the Iceman devised a plan that would make the two of you talk again.

When the third placer finished his post interview, Checo made his way to the interviewer, giving Sebastian a fist bump on the way. As the Ferrari driver made his way to you, he saw you observing Sergio intently as he talked to the interviewer, your green orbs swirling with longing and affection for him, that was not easily noticed by anyone who did not know you. But Seb smirked as he watched your unsaid feelings for the Hispanic driver unfold through your eyes.

When the Mexican concluded his interview, Seb knew it was time for his plan to be put into action. So as you made your way to the interviewer, Seb stretched out his leg making you trip on his foot. But before your face planted to the ground, the Hispanic caught you in his arms.

He helped you up and asked if you were okay. You did not hear him and looked at him quietly as your brain tried to process what just happened, your cheeks turning into a deep shade of red from embarrassment. You heard Sebastian’s laugh from behind and you snapped your neck to look at him, giving him a scowl.

“Are you hurt?” A soft voice asked you once more. You turned around to see your crush looking back at you already, his eyes filling with concern as he scanned you to see if you were scathed. You shook your head softly in response. “I’m unharmed.” You replied, beaming a smile at him. “Thank you for… uhm… For catching me.” You continued, blushing as your hand made its way to your nape, rubbing it as you tried to hide your embarrassment.

“No problem.” He answered, laughing. Checo found your current situation adorable as your cheeks tinted with the shade of red. “I’m glad you're okay. And congrats on your first pole, yeah? You were amazing out there.” He complimented, grinning brightly at you as he patted your back.

You felt your cheeks heat up once more from his words before giving him a small thanks. When he left, you made your way to the interviewer and answered their question. Once it was done, the three of you took a photo, you sandwiched between the two men. You looked up to see Checo staring at you before looking at the camera and smiling.

Finishing the photo op, you and Sebastian left together, bidding your farewell to Checo. And once you were far enough from their sight, you smacked the back of his head a wee bit too hard. “Ow! What was that for?” He asked, scrunching his eyebrows while rubbing the area you hit as he followed you to the Ferrari garage.

“You idiot! You think I don’t know that you tripped me on purpose? That was so embarrassing. How am I supposed to make up for that?” You exclaimed, pacing back and forth, not even bothered by the looks the Ferrari engineers are giving you as you worry that your second impression was even more embarrassing than the first one.

Kimi leaned against the wall and drank water, watching everything with amusement as he saw you panic about whatever it was that was happening. Seb only laughed before placing his hands on your shoulders, stopping you from moving. “How about you take him out for dinner?” He suggested, grinning slyly. Your eyes widened at his proposition, shaking your head before smacking him once more.

“No way in hell am I going to do that. I already embarrassed myself in front of him twice. What if he rejects me? What if he starts laughing at me? Kimi, please help me stop him from spewing out more stupid ideas?” You turned to the Finnish as his teammate won’t stop pestering you.

Kimi cracked a faint smile as he saw your distressed state, walking to you before hugging you, “You worry too much you know? If he does reject you, at least you tried. Is that not what matters?” He comforted you, trying to assure you while he caressed your back. You silently thought of what he said before pulling away and nodding.

“Whose side are you really on, Kimi? But you’re right.”

“When were my ideas ever wrong?” Vettel interjected, smirking.

“Don’t push it, Vettel. If it wasn’t for you, I would not be in this situation in the first place.” You threatened, jabbing his chest with your finger and the Ferrari drivers just chuckled.

“Go, liebling. Ask your Prince Charming out.” Sebastian teased, wiggling his eyebrows. Kimi whistled, encouraging you more.

“By the way, congratulations on your first pole, kiddo! I knew you could do it.” You heard Kimi yell as you walked away from them. You turned around and smiled at Kimi, making a heart with your hands before going on your way to find the Mexican driver.

Searching every garage in the paddock, you found him sitting outside the Force India tent, drinking water. You stood in front of his team’s tent as you thought of ways on how you could approach him, not seeing that he was already looking at you.

When you stopped in your tracks in front of your crush’s tent, he immediately noticed your presence. He crossed his legs over the other, tilting his head and smiling softly, as he watched you stand over at the entrance pondering over something.

When he first met you, he was enamoured by you. Not because of your looks but because of your determination and dedication. He knew how it was incredibly hard for women to enter a male-dominated sport that was rising into fame. But when he saw you, something about you just immediately wanted him to be closer to you.

There was something about you and the way you carried yourself with elegance even when you are surrounded by males who are always at each other’s throat. The way you made everyone comfortable and laughing after the race. So when he saw you disconnecting yourself from the rest of the paddock, he knew he had to do something. He was usually a quiet and reserved type of guy, but to you, it was different, he only wanted to preserve your smile that never fails to pull his heart strings.

On the day he confronted you, never in his wildest dream he thought he’d be bold and courageous enough to pull you close as he let you cry in his arms nor did he ever expect to be in such propinquity with you, not that he was complaining. He caressed your back, guiding you to lean on his body, steadying you.

Not being able to stop himself, he placed a small and soft kiss on your temple, his lips brushing your forehead lightly before whispering comforting words into your ear. He felt you stiffen and he thought he overstepped his boundaries that you were going to run away. But he smiled as you relaxed into his arms once more as you recovered from your crying.

The moment you pulled away, silently thanking him before leaving him standing there, he wanted nothing more than to chase after you, but his fear of crossing your limits made his legs won’t budge.

After that small but meaningful interaction, his heart constantly searched and yearned for you. He would find himself walking around the paddock, looking for you. And when he did see you, you were often hanging around with your teammate Jenson or with the Ferrari drivers, Kimi and Sebastian, mostly the latter. Though Sergio won’t admit it out loud, he would always feel a twinge of jealousy in his chest whenever he sees Sebastian’s close proximity to you as he wished it was him in the German’s place.

So when he saw you right now standing in front of Force India’s tent, he grinned, feeling butterflies in his stomach. He placed his cup on the table beside his chair before standing up and striding towards you.

“Hola, what brings you to enemy ground?” The Mexican started with a teasing tone.

You hadn’t noticed that you had been spacing out until you heard and saw Checo in front of you. Your cheeks turned into a light shade of red due to embarrassment from zoning out, resulting in a chuckle from him.

“Hi! Uhh…” You trailed off, looking away as you turned shy in his presence. He hummed, signalling you to go on and tell him what you were meant to say.

“I wanted to ask if you would like to have coffee with me? Just a little thank you for all the trouble you’ve gone through because of me.”

There was a deafening stillness that came after your question. If it was possible for your face to turn any more red, it was definitely right now. You wished and prayed for the ground to swallow you alive as the silence prolonged every minute.

Hesitating to look up, you saw Checo’s face that was taken aback.

“You don’t have to, I was just thinking of returning the favour.” You followed up, running your hand through your post race hair, feeling more nervous than ever.

As he gave you no answer, you turned your back and slowly walked away from him, disappointed. Checo recovered from his shock as soon as he saw you starting to walk away. And not wanting to lose another chance with you, he grabbed your wrist, halting you from your movement, and spinning you around to look at him.

“I would love that.”, he responded, smiling in relief.

“But I’m not sure your boyfriend would like that.” He continued, gesturing at your best friend who had been watching the entire thing.

You furrowed your eyebrows, confused at what the Mexican was saying then looking behind you and to see Sebastian, grinning widely and completely amused at your situation. You threw daggers in his way before turning back to the person in front of you, your nervousness washing off as you finally understood.

“Basti? My boyfriend?” You asked, chuckling as if the idea of you dating your best friend was ridiculous. When you saw Checo’s straight and confused expression, you giggled before turning serious.

“He’s not my boyfriend, Checo. If anything, he’s my platonic soulmate and my brother from another mother.” You explained, suppressing a smile at the thought of Sergio being jealous of Sebastian.

He nodded at your clarification, his body relaxing. “Okay then, I would most definitely be up for coffee with you. It would finally be nice to finally have an encounter with you that doesn’t involve you getting hurt first.”

As years went by and when 2018 came, the drivers you bonded with left one by one until the only ones you were close with was Sebastian, Kimi, and Checo. Your old teammate Kevin Magnussen returned to drive for Haas, while you continued your contract with McLaren.

But still being the only current female driver in F1, the sexist comments followed you around. And adding fuel to the fire, your younger brother, Charles, joining Sauber Ferrari for Formula One sparked a lot of judgement from others especially when they found out that you were related to one another. Though it made life in and out the race more enduring, you did not mind as the thought of you racing against your own brother was more thrilling.

Presently, you are holding a contract with Ferrari alongside your brother for the 2023 season and you are currently preparing for the Miami qualifying race.

If you had to be honest, you are completely terrified of today’s qualifying since the practice races went terribly for you, not that you expected anything better. But at the same time, you were excited because your brother managed to stay on top despite the issues with the track.

When you finished preparing, you stopped over Charles’ garage and wished him good luck, hugging him and ruffling his hair. He grumbled and groaned about his hair being hard to fix but nonetheless smiled at you before embracing you once more.

You made your way to your car, getting in and putting your gloves and your steering wheel in their proper places. Prior to that, you said your little prayer, sighing softly that nothing bad would happen.

As the race started, everything went smoothly until the last lap when Charles had an accident, crashing into the barriers. And although you wanted to stop the race and run to him to check if he was okay, you had to finish the race as you were the fourth quickest.

“Is Charles okay?” You radioed to your engineer as you crossed the finish line. When your engineer confirmed that your younger brother is safe, you let out the breath of air you had been holding.

When the race concluded, you made your way to your brother, tackling him to the ground.

“You psycho, you scared me to death.” You reprimanded him, huffing. “But, I’m glad you came out safely.” You proceeded, placing a kiss on his forehead before standing up and helping him up from the ground.

“Sorry, you know how hard it is to control the car when the turns in Miami are wide.” He mumbled, rubbing his nape from embarrassment and you just nodded in understanding.

Soon after the whole qualifying, you had no idea that everyone would be gathering in the Ferrari motorhome. So when you went back to the tent, exhausted and ready to pass out, you were shocked to hear voices from different people as they talked about different things.

You camped outside where the Ferrari is located, sitting on the ground, not wanting to ruin their boys’ get-together as you eavesdropped on them waiting for someone to speak up.

“So, I have a question.” You heard Pierre start. You did not have to see them to know that they all looked at Pierre as they waited for him to continue his thought.

“Would you or would you not date Y/N?”

Even with the silence, you knew that the boys were confused and appalled at the random question they were thrown with. You stifled a laugh, staying as quiet as possible, not wanting to announce your presence.

“Excuse me? What do you mean would you or would you not date my sister when she’s literally my sister? Also, aren't some of you taken already?” Charles complained, his Monegasque accent thick.

“I mean it as a hypothetical question, Leclerc. It’s not like I’m asking them to break up with their current partners and get on with your sister.” Gasly snarked sassily, and you knew that Charles would have rolled his eyes at his best friend.

No one made a noise for a whole minute, worried about what Charles’ reaction would be if they answered honestly.

“Don’t you think she’s a wee bit old for us?” The current youngest driver answered. You silently scoffed at Oscar’s question, wondering how old they thought you were. You were about to barge in when you heard Esteban counter.

“She’s turning twenty-nine as far as I know. Am I right Charles?”

Your brother hummed in agreement with the French, clearly annoyed because of the topic. It made you smile to know that your brother is still overprotective of you even though you were older than him. You unconsciously moved your hands to your necklace, playing with the ring on it as you anticipated for their answers.

“Since no one is answering, let’s do a poll. Raise your hand if you are willing to date Y/N Leclerc.” Pierre announced, impatiently.

A few drivers put their hands up including Carlos, Lewis, George, Zhou, and some others, not that you could see them anyway. When Pierre was satisfied with the amount of hands raised, he continued. “Now whoever won’t date her, raise your hands.”

The rest of the people who did not raise their hand on the first question, lifted their hands up. But there was one person who did not participate in the poll and Pierre noticed it. Pierre told the others that they could put their hands down as he made his way over to the 33 years old Mexican Red Bull driver.

“You have been awfully silent, Prime Minister of Defense.” He taunted. Checo, who looked lost, knitted his eyebrows at the Frenchman who was pressing him for answers.

“He’s married, Pierre. Even if it is just a hypothetical question, he won’t answer that.” Max Verstappen, his teammate, intervened, rolling his eyes in the process.

Max was right when he mentioned that Sergio is married, but no one knew who he was married to because he managed to keep it off the radar, both from his fellow drivers and the media.

At this point, you knew that there was a fight that was about to erupt between the drivers, so you stood up from the ground and dusted your pants before entering and involving yourself.

“What are you doing boys?” You asked, acting clueless like you had not heard that they were talking about you.

Most of them stayed silent, even your own brother could not look at you and as much as you wanted to laugh, you had to hold it in to not break your cover.

“Well, I was just wondering whether any of our friends here would want to date you.”

“And how is it coming along?” You questioned, leaning against your brother.

“Some of them would want to date you, while others don’t. But I’m really curious about Checo here since he didn’t choose one at all.”

You raised a brow at Pierre’s statement as you fought back a smile. “Is that so?” He nodded and then the air was once again still.

“How about you, Y/N? Would you date Checo?” A voice broke out, making you whip your head at the Spanish Aston Martin driver.

Before you could even answer, Charles already intervened. “Hey, you can’t ask that question to a lady.” He pointed out, his ever so feminist side coming out to protect you.

You patted your brother’s shoulder, calming him down, before answering coolly. “I can neither confirm nor deny the answer to that question. He’s married, Nando. I don’t want to be a homewrecker.”

“Okay, how about this? Imagine he’s not married and is currently a bachelor, would you date him then?” Alonso stated, fixing his question.

You were stunned to say the least when Fernando persistently asked the question. You stayed quiet until Pierre started pestering you to answer the question before sighing, knowing that his stubborn-headed nature won’t stop until you give an answer.

Everyone was staring at you as they waited for your answer. You took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of your nose, finally replying. “If he were single. Then yes, maybe I would date him.”

You buried your face on your palms as you hid your embarrassment when you heard them all squeal and go crazy at your response, teasing Checo along with it. If you were embarrassed, imagine how much more if you were the Mexican driver.

“Okay, enough. Now leave the poor man alone, yeah?” You shook your head as the boys nodded, still teasing Checo.

You went to your driver’s room to change your clothes as you had dinner reservations tonight. When you came out you saw that they were all still there. You walked past them, feeling their eyes check you out. You had a glimpse of Charles, sneering and clenching his jaw and fist as he watched his friends ogling his sister.

“I’ll be out, boys. Please don’t make a mess of the garage.” You reminded them, before turning around to leave them.

But before you could exit, you halted in your tracks, looking over your shoulder. “Chéri, I suggest you get ready if you still want to catch our dinner reservation.”

When you hadn’t heard a peep from your significant other, you turned around to see seventeen of the drivers looking at one another, flabbergasted, eyes accusing one another because of your statement. You watched Charles who was doing his best to hold his laughter as the boys’ dispute broke out.

You looked at the man you were speaking to, his eyes widening as he realised what you just did. “Ah, yes. I had forgotten about that. Gracias for reminding me, mi amor.”, his voice you loved so dearly spoke out.

You smirked when you saw the other drivers’ glance over to where the voice came over, their jaws dropping slack on the ground as your partner revealed themselves.

Your significant other walks towards you, kissing your cheeks before heading out and getting ready for your dinner. Once he was no longer out of sight, the boys started flooding you with questions and inquiries. You gazed at Charles, your eyes pleading for help as the boys crowded you, and he only laughed, giving you two thumbs up in support.

“You’re married to… Checo?!?”

“You’re Checo’s secret wife?”

“Since when?”

“How?”

They bombarded you with more questions until you held your hand up, signalling them to stop. When they calmed down, you and Charles guffawed together.

“You knew?” Pierre asked Charles, looking hurt by the betrayal of his best and closest companion.

Charles shrugged, catching his breath from the laughing fit, “Well, she’s my sister. Of course, I knew.”

“And you never bothered telling me about it?” Pierre pushed further into the topic as if it wasn’t the most obvious thing your brother should have done.

The two approached one another as if they were preparing to fight. You took a step in between them, holding your arms out to prevent the heated argument from escalating.

“Woah, woah. Calm down. Let’s not get into a physical fight, yeah?” You chided, raising an eyebrow at Charles.

The two looked away, their faces red from shame as they realised what was going to happen. They mumbled their apologies before shaking each other’s hand in truce. Charles went back to his post beside you, thus you leaned your head on his shoulder.

“Wait if you’re married, where’s your ring?” Lando piped up.

“I mean Sergio always wears his ring, but I don’t see yours.” He proceeded, tilting his head innocently like a child.

Once again the question asked brought the eyes of the drivers drilling holes into you.

“Are you insinuating that I’m embarrassed to show the world that Sergio is my husband, Lando?” You retorted sassily. When you saw Lando’s face flushed white as the colours drained from it, you let another laugh loose.

“I’m only teasing. I always have my wedding ring on me, I just don’t wear it during races. Instead I put them on the necklace Papa gave me.” You explained, showing the ring that was hanging with the pendant necklace your father gave you for your 18th birthday. The boys made an ‘o’ with their mouth as they slowly understood what was happening.

When Checo entered the motorhome, he immediately went to you, kissing your cheeks then proceeded to wrap his arm around your waist protectively. You eyed your husband and saw that he wore a light blue long-sleeved button down polo that hugged his body well. Its sleeves folded up until his elbow and left two buttons open. Along with that, he wore grey pants that were neatly pressed and white rubber shoes to finish it off.

You looked at your watch, your eyes widening when you saw it was almost 7 in the evening. You looked at Checo once more, whispering in his ears and he nodded.

“We have to go or else we’ll miss our appointment. Charles, if you still plan on joining us, you should get ready now.” You reminded your little brother who was busy talking to Carlos.

Charles looked at you and excused himself from Carlos as he made his way to his driver’s room.

“So Y/N, huh? I didn’t know you had that in you, compadre.” Alonso started, winking as he teased his fellow Hispanic driver. You laughed as your husband tightened his grip on your hips, his cheeks turning into a deep shade of red.

“I don’t understand what you mean?” The man beside you said, his face forming yet another confused expression.

“Oh, come on now. You managed to pull the most amazing and talented driver on the grid. Surely, you know what I mean?” Alonso continued, his eyebrows wiggling suggestively.

You laughed more when you felt Checo hide his face on the crook of your neck, his cheeks heating up at Fernando’s comment. You kissed the crown of his head, as he buried his face more when Nando wouldn’t stop.

“Nando, I think you’ve embarrassed him too much already.”

Fernando laughed at what you said before stopping and patting your husband’s back. When Charles returned the three of you bid your goodbyes to your co-drivers before walking out of the motorhome and into your car.

Sergio sat on the driver’s seat while you sat on shotgun and Charles at the back. As Checo drove, he placed one hand on your thigh making you smile as you leaned your head on the window.

“That was fun.” Charles commented, breaking the comforting silence that surrounded the three of you.

You let out a chuckle once more before turning to Checo, seeing that he was already looking at you. His eyes gleaming with pride and joy at the thought of you finally revealing your marriage to your friends.

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jgracie · 7 days

Text

OFF TO THE RACES — PJO/HOO + F1 TEAMS

masterlist | rules

↳ part 1!

an u can tell i tried to make all of these dramatic cz if ur an f1 fan you'll know how MESSY that sport is LMAO

MERCEDES’ DRIVER LINEUP CONSISTS OF . . .

OO1 — NICO DI ANGELO

the di angelo name has been one that's been plastered on f1 headlines since the beginning of time, and nico is no exception! despite many people sending him hate for being in the sport through nepotism, di angelo ignores their words and simply continues to prove them wrong, coming from behind other drivers when they'd least expect it and swiftly taking their spots on the grid. with a new addition to mercedes, talk has been going around about exactly how much say di angelo has in who his teammate is...

OO2 — HAZEL LEVESQUE

quiet and elusive hazel levesque seemingly appeared out of nowhere, immediately being signed by mercedes - no questions asked. when people went digging for her career history, nothing was found. when people asked her predecessor what had happened, nothing was said. this isn't to say she's a bad driver - in fact, it's quite the opposite! levesque easily challenges all the currently reigning drivers for their spot on that podium, even her teammate and brother— whoops, didn't mean to let that slip!

ASTON MARTIN’S DRIVER LINEUP CONSISTS OF . . .

OO1 — FRANK ZHANG

to both people in the industry and fans of formula one, frank zhang seemed to be nothing more than a hopeless case - always at the very back of the grid and barely managing to score any points throughout the season. however, a certain someone at aston martin saw a bright future for him, which is what landed him a seat at the luxurious team. now, he's finally getting the reins of formula one! we believe zhang is definitely a name to keep an eye out for in the very foreseeable future

OO2 — REYNA AVILA RAMIREZ ARELLANO

poor miss arellano was at golden boy grace's side during the entirety of her formula one career, the two red bull drivers dominating the championship and constantly having flawless 1-2 finishes no matter the track or weather. however, something seems to have happened behind the scenes during the winter break - something which bumped her down to aston martin, with annabeth chase taking her spot on grace's side. she refuses to speak about it, but we'll get it out of her eventually!

WILLIAMS’ DRIVER LINEUP CONSISTS OF . . .

OO1 — PIPER MCLEAN

the daughter of aston martin team principal tristan mclean certainly made a bold choice for her first year in formula one. we all know that tristan adores his daughter, but if that's true, why would she choose to go to a team as unstable as williams? when our insiders asked mr mclean, a dark look washed over his face and he walked away, not uttering a single word. uh oh, it seems like daddy's dearest princess has gone rogue!

OO2 — WILLIAM "WILL" SOLACE

to replace percy jackson, williams decided to sign their namesake - will solace. after winning the formula two championship three years ago, will went to indycar as there were no seats left for him at formula one. however, we all know how magnetic the fantasy of being called an f1 champion is to racers, so it's no surprise he came running back! he and his teammate, mclean, seem to be making a pretty good team, but can they single-handedly bring williams a constructor's championship win?

#nico di angelo x reader #hazel levesque x reader #frank zhang x reader #reyna arellano x reader #reyna avila ramírez arellano x reader #piper mclean x reader #will solace x reader #pjo x reader #f1 x pjo #cynwrites

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theladybarnes · 3 months

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CRIMSON AND CLOVER: CHAPTER FIVE

"It’s time for your suffering to end.”

▸ summary: there’s still time left in the night for more surprise ▸ characters: nancy & mike wheeler, dustin henderson, steve harrington, & eddie munson ▸ word count: 11.8k ▸ warnings: angst, semi-fluff, minor character death, self loathing, ▸ series masterlist

“Why is she here again?”

You glanced away from the small clippings of possibly headers to look over at Fred Benson. Nancy’s new friend from the paper, and currently a small thorn in your side. For some reason, Fred did not like you, and while he was completely involved with Nancy’s small paper world, he did not seem to like her friends outside of it. Meaning you.

“She’s here because I offered to show her how things work here, Fred.” Nancy chimed in before you could respond back with a less friendly answer.

The pale boy raised a brow at you before shooting to follow after Nancy. He’s been trailing behind after her ever since you came into the news room for your free period. The two of them were currently discussing Jonathan, peaking your interest enough that you quietly followed after the two.

“So maybe I’m missing something, but why can’t Jonathan come down here for break?”

“Because.”

“Because why?”

You moved to stand beside the slumped Fred as you smirked over at him. “I know that journalists are naturally inquisitive people, Freddie, but you seem to be very keen on knowing the deep details of Nancy’s love life.” you said, watching as his light eyes widened a bit. “Any particular reason for that?”

Nancy chuckled nervously before she reached over to pull you away from Fred’s side. Forcing you instead to walk in front of her. “Stand down, tiger.” she said to you before turning back to the boy. “As for you, because of a lot of reasons.”

“Curious.”

Her blue eyes narrowed at him briefly before glancing down at the work being down on the newest headline. You couldn’t help but stare down at the large font predicting a win for the game tonight. You were never one for sports, but considering Lucas was on the team, you couldn’t help but be a little hopeful there would be a win. At least for your friend.

Fred was quick to bring the focus back to his curiosity.

“You said there’s a lot of reasons he’s not coming. Such as?”

“Why are you being so nosy?” Nancy asked, frustration breaking through her exterior now. But the snap to her words didn’t seem to falter Fred in the slightest. It actually just made him appear more roused at continuing the conversation.

“Call it journalistic instinct.”

“I’m pretty sure it’s called being nosy.” you volleyed with a shrug.

He rolled his eyes, adjusting the large folder in his hands before his face quickly changed to an amusing smirk. “We can always talk about your life, Henderson. Wasn’t it just a while ago that you were dating Steve Harrington? From what I hear from the halls, he’s been going on dates with a couple of the girls from our grade.”

Your spine stiffened up at the mention of Steve. Not fully prepared for that subject to be thrown into the conversation. Nancy scoffed at Fred, shaking her head quickly at her friend as she gently placed her hand on your shoulder.

“You don’t have to tell him anything.” she said to you, eyes checking over your face as if you were back in her car ready to break down again. “Really, Fred’s just–”

“He’s curious.” you butt in, not wanting to give any satisfaction to the boy’s attempt to throw you off. Glancing at him, you make sure to give him a reassuring smile despite the fact that the mere mention of Steve had your chest aching. “We’re..not together anymore. Broke up before Christmas. Things are fine. I’m glad he’s doing well.”

Fred looked a little bit skeptical, eyes narrowed his pale eyes at you. Almost as if he were waiting for you to crack at any second. Nancy beside you was doing the same thing. Nervously watching over you until she decided enough was enough.

“Okay, well, there’s no story there or here, if that’s what you’re after.” she sighed, willingly taking on the main focus again. “Jonathan’s mom works, so he has to watch over his brother. On top of that, he’s not early decision like me, so he’s waiting on his acceptance letter, and he wants to be there when it comes..which I totally get!”

There was a certain higher pitch in her tone that clearly gave away some of the uncertainty in her words. And while you knew that being friends with both her and Jonathan meant being neutral in moments like this, especially considering she just took the heat off of your relationship, you couldn’t help but feel like you’d have to join in on meddling with Fred.

“Okay! Um, I don’t. It just doesn’t make any sense.”

Crossing your arms over your chest, you gave your friend a winced look before your mouth finally blurted out a running question you had been thinking over the past week. “You are aware that a letter would be available to read when he gets back..right?”

Nancy looked over at you, a flicker of annoyance before she shook her head, trying to keep positive.

“Well, it’s always different. You know how it is to wait.”

“I also did things like go to school and leave the house. In this case, he’d have a whole week off school that he could use to go see his hot girlfriend and yet he’s at home playing the babysitter.” you scoffed. “Who is he, Steve?”

“You know, he’s your best friend.” she pointed out softly. But you simply shrugged your shoulders, unsure of Jonathan’s reasoning yourself. All he did when you called him about it the other night was say the same excuse as she said.

“He’s also a guy. We both know they’re dangerously questionable at times.”

She pursed her lips at that as Fred snapped his finger at you, nodding in agreement.

“So he’s supposedly the love of your life, right? The guy you plan on going to school with, and yet he’s so nervous about this acceptance letter, he doesn’t have time to visit the most desired girl in Hawkins?”

“Hey!” you chided, glaring at him. “What the hell?”

He rolled his eyes but held a hand up to you. “Fine, one of the two most desired girls in Hawkins.”

Nancy closed her eyes, shaking her head at the two of you as she tried to focus on her work again. You moved closer to her side, nudging her a bit. It wasn’t like this conversation would be easy, but it did make you wonder why neither one would take the time to visit each other when they could. It was something like this that slowly started to cement your feelings about long distance.

“I know Jonathan likes to take on a lot of work at home. But it is kinda unfair to you guys..”

“Not to mention as a part of the many sexually active teens in Hawkins, she’s denied the gratifications of having coitus with her supposed loving partner.”

Both you and Nancy let out a small gasp of disgust from Fred’s blunt words. Of all things that didn’t need to be pointed out in this conversation, it was Nancy’s sex life. Especially from Fred of all people. Beside you, Nancy held up her hand, holding back the full twist of disgust from her face.

“Okay, first of all, Fred, I’m going to try to forget that you said any of that. It’s..”

“None of your business.” you said simply. “Nance here doesn’t need to dive into her personal life for us, but is kind enough to open the floor up for conversation. So maybe keep it PG if you want to keep part of it.”

Fred again couldn’t help but give you another eye roll, probably done with your butting in. Nancy placed a thankful hand on your shoulder as she tried to bring reason back to the three of you. “You just don’t know Jonathan. He’s not like you. He’s caring and compassionate and loyal.”

She set down the tools, thinking hard for a moment until a small smile tugged on her lips.

“He’s so protective over the people that he loves. And he’ll never back down from what’s right, what's moral. No matter the pressure, no matter the personal cost. That’s why I love him.”

You were a little taken back to hear someone else speak so highly of your best friend. But Nancy’s genuine words got to you a bit and you found yourself slightly emotional over it. “That’s so sweet.” you cooed softly, nudging her arm lightly. “I love you guys.”

The girl laughed a bit, rolling her eyes at you but smiling at the comment before she glanced down at the work before. An even prouder smile tugged at her lips as she presented the newly designed headline for you two. “It’s perfect.”

Fred, who had grown quiet since Nancy humbled him down a bit, seemed to easily move on from things without any hesitance. His eyes scanned over the screen briefly. Brows knit together in disinterest.

“Eh, I’m still rooting for my alt.”

He proudly held up his alternative cover that displayed a more negative outcome of the game. It would seem that you weren’t the only one walking around school with a lack of school spirit. Before either one of you could critique the grim headline, the door to the editing room burst open.

“Nancy!” Mike yelled as he quickly stepped in, letting the door behind him bang against the wall before its hinges creaked loudly to close up. The whole room became quiet to the boy who had disrupted the peaceful atmosphere. He stood nervously for a second before his eyes slowly locked on to where his sister was.

“Nancy, hey!” he greeted, as if they had just run into each other in the hall. “Um, do you wanna join Hellfire tonight?”

Beside you Nancy let out an actual seething grunt as she glared over to her brother. You couldn’t help but actually chuckle a bit at the whole interaction.

“I’ll take care of this.” You said with a pat to the shoulder.

Stepping away from the desk with the hall pass, you grabbed onto Mike’s arm, taking him out of the class so that Nancy didn’t have the chance to drag him out herself. The boy grumbled a bit in your hold until you two were back into the quiet hallway.

“I don’t think Karen would approve of you coming into rooms without knocking.” You teased watching as Mike rolled his eyes.

“God forbid she ever does me a favor.” he sighed, adjusting the strap on his backpack. You gave him a sympathetic smile before ushering him towards the classes. Just when you were about to turn to go toward the bathrooms, he gripped at your arm.

“You’re someone!” He said smiling.

“Keen observation, Wheeler. Mind letting me go now?”

“Join us! Hellfire tonight.”

“Yeah, I’d rather be chased around by Russian security again than do that.” you scoffed.

Mike frowned at your past memory before waving his hand. Brushing the comment away.

“It’s only for tonight. Dustin and I need to replace a spot. You wouldn’t even have to work too hard. We can even help you quickly fill out a character sheet before school ends.”

You’re about to tell Mike where he can shove that sheet when his words suddenly stumped you. “Wait, did you say that the game is tonight?’ you asked slowly.

“Yeah, tonight in the theater. Why?”

Looking over at him with a glare, you crossed your arms as you approached Mike. Doing your best to keep down the frustration that easily came along with your friend’s brother. “Tonight is the basketball team’s championship game. So are you guys playing out the campaign after or?”

Mike still cleared his throat as he scratched the back of his neck. His dark eyes stayed cast down to the ground rather than meeting yours. Even without speaking yet, his guilty silence was almost enough of an answer.

“Hellfire’s game is tonight,” he said wearily. “It’s uh..at the same time as the game.”

“And what, Lucas is gonna miss out on the game?”

“..No.”

You can’t help but let out another scoff at Mike. While you knew there was a recent difference in interests amongst the boys, you didn’t expect for any of them to ignore an important event so easily.

“So you guys don’t care at all to go and support Lucas?” you asked, raising a brow at him. “Whatever happened to looking out for a party member? Shouldn’t you guys hold off until the game is over or just wait for you to come back from break?”

Mike let out a big sigh, trying to turn away from you now, but you quickly moved to stand in front of him again. Raising a brow at him until he gave you some sort of reasonable answer.

The boy paled even more, if possible, visibly gulping as he tried to think of what he could say that wouldn’t sound bad. But all he could do was shake his head. “Look, even when we tried, we’re not the only ones in this campaign. Besides, Eddie doesn’t care about things like basketball. He’s counting on us to finish the campaign before the break.”

“And just screw over a friend along the way.” you muttered, annoyed with your friend’s biased views towards other cliques of the school. Glancing down at your watch, you made note of the limited time you have left in your period and quickly turned on your heel towards your next target.

“Wait, so is that a no for Hellfire?!” Mike yelled from down the hall.

“Go to damn class!”

There were thankfully not too many wandering kids in the front of the school. It made for an easy way to find the boy you were looking for. With his stupid hat, stupid shirt, and stupid voice yacking into the public phone.

“Just move your date this one time, come on!” he whined into the receiver.

Instantly you froze behind him. Unable to move or stop yourself from eavesdropping into the conversation. Considering the fact that everyone he knew was in school right now, you knew exactly who he was talking to. Which is what made the subject of a date twist at your stomach.

There’s a beat of silence before he spoke into the phone again.

“You’re just jealous ‘cause I have another older male friend.”

The pride in Dustin’s tone is almost something admirable if it wasn’t such an embarrassing statement to say out loud. You’re pretty sure Steve is most likely unamused by the comment without having to be a part of the call yourself.

“The one? Are you serious? Because I’m pretty sure that wasn’t what you were complaining about last week.” There’s another pause that had Dustin scoffing. “And I’m supposed to believe it’s over? Actually, don’t answer that. Because if I get involved in your love life any more than I already have, my cousin will actually–”

“I’ll actually do what?” you piped up, watching as Dustin jumped in place from your sudden voice. He turned around, staring wide eyed at you before he adjusted the receiver into his ear properly.

“Yes, it’s her.” he muttered, giving you a small glare. “No, I didn’t say anything about..No, I was not yelling out loud, Steve.” His eyes glanced over towards you briefly before he shook his head. “No, I will not– Don’t make me– ugh, Steve says hi.”

You stayed silent, unsure if responding to Steve or not would make things awkward. Dustin looked up at you expectantly, waiting for what should be a simple response. You chose to tap against your watch and signal for Dustin to end the call. He let out a small sigh before he adjusted the phone against his ear. Not at all faltered by your sudden displeasure towards him.

“No, she didn’t say anything..Yeah she’s pissed at me. Must have done something else since this morning.” he grumbled into the phone. Steve must have mentioned something he really didn’t like because he barely muttered out a pleading reminder about the game before he panicked again. “No, you can’t call me back I’m at..” he pulled the phone back and frowned at the item before hanging it up. “..school.”

When he fixed his back pack back on his shoulders, he finally gave you his full attention. Raising a brow at you. “What did I do now?”

You slapped at his shoulder, making him yelp out.

“What was that for?”

“That was for putting me on the spot.” You quickly slapped his other arm, earning the same reaction.

“And that one!?”

“That was for planning on ditching your friend, tonight!”

“I don’t have time for this!” he scowled, rubbing his arms. Without waiting for your rebuttal, he turned on his heels and made his way back inside the building. Leaving you to quickly follow in pursuit.

“Dustin,” you started sternly. “Do you really think it’s a good idea to ditch Lucas for some stupid game tonight? Don’t you think it’d be kinda nice to show him some support?”

“One, it’s not a stupid game. And two, I’m not ditching him, he’s ditching us, okay?” Dustin sighed, shaking his head. “If anything, what he’s playing is stupid and he’s clearly decided that this game is more important than Hellfire. What happens next is out of my hands.”

“Except it is considering you’re literally looking for his replacement.” you scoffed, following him towards one the halls to the courtyard. He’s about to step out the doors towards the quad and ditch you but you’re quick to grip at his arm, keeping him in place. “He might think you’re trying to replace him or something.”

“Well, I kinda am. But it’s only for the rest of the campaign.” he shrugged. “You’re making this a bigger deal than it needs to be.”

A headache began to form in your head again. Causing a splitting ache to pool all around as you tried to think of a way to help fix things before they got worse. “Look, I’m not meaning to make things complicated.”

“And yet you’re not letting me go.” he said, glaring down at your hand.

“It’s just that Lucas could take this the wrong way. You guys aren’t kids anymore. You’re people who have to balance each other out. You can’t just always do what you want and forget everyone–

“Oh, you’re one to talk.”

Rubbing at your tired face, you looked down to the ground almost defeatedly before an idea came to mind. “I could talk with Eddie if you wanted? Try to convince him to hold it off for another–”

“Stop!” Dustin snapped, clearly displeased with the idea of you interfering. "I really don't need you meddling in my business."

The tension between the two today seemed to come to a boiling point. Twisting the knot even more in your stomach. It wasn’t out of the ordinary for the two of you to have a random bickering moment. But something this time felt a little different. A little more personal.

“I’m not meddling, Dusty. I’m just trying to help.” you offered carefully. “Decisions like this could lead to friendships falling apart. I don’t want that to happen to you.”

His expression hardened before he quickly retorted, "You're not my mom. I can handle my own friends. Besides, it's not like you're an expert at keeping friendships intact. Remember Steve? The guy you couldn’t even bother to say hello to?"

The mention of Steve hit a nerve and you sighed heavily. Despite this morning’s conversation, Dustin wasn’t able to fully comprehend the problems that surrounded your relationship with Steve. "This isn’t about me or Steve. It's about you possibly jeopardizing your friendship with someone I know you care about. I don’t want to come back next year and see that you guys have grown apart.”

Dustin's eyes narrowed down at you. "It’s not about you and yet you’re placing yourself right in the middle of something that doesn’t need your presence.” He leaned forward, and despite not having the height over you, his anger managed to make you curl away. “Do me a favor. If it bothers you so much, why don’t you go to the game tonight? Show Lucas some of that support you’re preaching about. Mike is leaving tomorrow, and we’re gonna make the most of tonight.”

With that he quickly turned to leave before your mind could think of something to say back. All you could do was stand there frozen to muddle over his words. Was Dustin truly this upset about you helping? Did everyone see your help as meddling? A mixture of frustration, sadness, and regret nearly caused you to nearly double over as it turned into a physical pain.

Even dorks like him can see through your bullshit. (Tick)

“Stop.” you muttered to yourself, picking yourself up enough to turn towards the direction of the editing room.

Sorry, babydoll, this pill won’t be so easy to swallow. (Tock)

The familiar nickname hit over you like a bucket of cold water. You hadn’t been called that since Bil–

“There you are!”

You jumped a bit in place, not expecting to hear another voice so suddenly. Looking to your right, you watched as Nancy quickly dashed over. A small smile on her face as she made her way to your side.

“Hey,” you said softly, not quite finding confidence in your voice. “What’s up?”

“What’s up?” Nancy repeated, laughing a bit before she thumbed in the direction towards class. “Class is over in five minutes. I thought you were just showing Mike out?”

A flush of heat spread over your face. Slightly embarrassed at just how far you lost the track of time in your quest to change your cousin’s mind. Without saying much, you gripped at Nancy’s arm and led her back to class.

“Do you think the editing team can score me a ticket to the game tonight?” you asked quickly, pushing your way into the door with her in tow.

The girl looked over at you incredulously before she snapped back into the conversation. “I feel like I’m missing a chapter here. Didn’t you have work plans tonight? Why do you suddenly want to come to the game? Don’t you hate sports?”

You felt a little overwhelmed with the sudden rapid fire of questions but tried your best to answer them all in hopes of her helping you out.

“I do, but I’m gonna try and skip out early.” you sighed, pushing your stuff quickly into your bag. “And I want to go because I apparently have the only school spirit left in my family and need to show Lucas that his friends do care. And lastly, yes, I hate sports. But I’m willing to tough this one out for a bit.”

Looking back up at her, you noticed she’s a bit hesitant over your words. The bell interjected before either of you could say anything else and you take a few seconds to calm your heart rate down from the weird voice in your head before.

From the familiar look in her eyes, you could tell she wasn’t a hundred percent believing you. But after lunch with Robin, you knew that having another friend worried was the last thing you wanted right now.

“Are you okay?” she asked shortly after the brief pause, like you expected. “Because I can help with the ticket but..it looks like–”

“I’m fine, Nance. But thanks for the solid.” you said quickly, not wanting to dive in that direction. “I’ll see you tonight.” With a quick wave, you made your way out the room and towards your next class.

Hopefully clear of any familiar voices.

This was a bad idea.

From outside you could hear the crowd of people clamoring inside of the gym. Excited for the final game of the season to begin. For the majority, it was supposed to be a fun, anticipating night. You, on the other hand, were filled with dread.

It came upon you the moment you stepped up to the doorway and caught sight of the beacon of hair that was your ex boyfriend.

Why of all places did Steve think to have a date at his old school’s basketball game? He could have easily gone anywhere in Hawkins. It wasn’t like he was at this school anymore. He didn’t need to pay attention to the high school games! So why the hell was he here on the one game you decided to go see?

From the safety of behind the door, you watched as Steve quickly got up and gave a wave down towards the gym floor. A quick follow to his line of direction and you watched as Lucas on the court floor smiled up at him. Giving him a wave back from the bench.

Stupid caring Steve.

“Hey! You’re finally here!”

You looked away from the door’s window to find Nancy peeking her head through on the open side. A small smile tugged on her face before she finally stepped out to join you in the hall.

“Yeah, managed to guilt Keith into letting me leave in record timing.” you chuckled nervously, patting your nervous hands over your dress. It was a lovely white cotton dress from Yves Saint Laurent’s spring collection. But under the yellow hued gymnasium, you weren’t sure if you looked as fresh and clean as you hoped. Especially with how tired you knew you looked today.

Nancy reached out for your hand, squeezing it lightly before she pulled you closer. “Are you sure you’re okay today? You seem kind of out of it. I’m sure Lucas won’t mind you missing. The game is almost done and he’s sort of distracted for the night.”

“I’m fine.” you lied, not needing to stress out your friend. “Just haven’t slept well lately.” Your eyes glanced back into the room. Going directly to where Steve was sitting with his bubbly date. She’s from your grade, but you aren’t sure you’ve had any classes with her. “Besides, I’m already here. Might as well make the most of it.”

Nancy hummed lightly, nodding her head towards the room. “The place is kinda packed tonight. You’re gonna have to stick by me and Fred.” Her blues turned back to you with a bit of mirth in them. “That is if you don’t try and kill him when he talks to you.”

Your nose scrunched up at the mention of her friend. Behind her, you could see Fred speaking closely to the school’s photographer, giving him an earful as he pointed across the court. “Can’t make any promises.” you snorted. “Just try and keep him at your side if you can.”

The two of you laughed at that and you finally left the safety of the doorway to enter inside the gym. Instantly you’re hit with a wave of emotions as the gym’s atmosphere washed over you. From your left you caught sight of a familiar green and orange combo and noticed Robin in the stands. She noticed you right away and brought her hand up to wave at you.

“You’re here!” she mouthed, making you nod your head at her.

From behind you could see as the interaction caught the attention of Steve who was nearby. The two of you awkwardly held eye contact for a second before you quickly tore your eyes away. Glancing at the scoreboard instead. Things weren’t looking so good for the school.

“You think the team has a chance?” you asked, leaning in towards the two beside you. Things weren’t looking so good for the school.

Nancy pursed her lips, jotting down a quick note on her journal before she glanced back at you. “I’m hopeful. There’s still time left in the game.” she answered, sounding genuinely hopeful.

Fred leaned forward, giving the two of you a cocky smirk as he held up his notepad. “An hour with the opposing team having a six point lead, Carver slowly losing it, and the team lagging so bad they’re fumbling. I highly doubt those sixty minutes mean anything.” he finished with a scoff.

The two of you stared at him quietly for a moment before you leaned over and looked at Fred seriously.

“Benson, do you think you can lighten up?”

Unfortunately, Fred’s prediction seemed to be coming true. Merely four minutes later into the game the other team gained another three points.

“Crap, player eleven just took out ten.” Nancy muttered, “I think he’s done for the night.”

You looked over to where her attention was and frowned as you watched the other teammates help carry out the injured player towards the benchline.

“So they’re bringing in another player, right?” you asked, glancing to Nancy for confirmation.

She looked up from her notepad with a slow nod before the realization hit her. “It’d be the next person up on the bench…”

The two of you excitedly peered over just in time to watch as Lucas excitedly got up from the bench. Tearing off his track suit in order to join the rest of the team in the group huddle.

You couldn’t help but start clapping and jumping as you yelled out. “GO LUCAS!”

The boy, having heard his name thankfully, found where you were and shot you the gummy grin that you’ve seen so many times. It was an oddly familial sense of pride that surged in you and you couldn’t help but actually get excited for the game finally.

“You sound pretty excited for just a benchwarmer.” Fred noted, adding the newest addition to his notes. “You think he’ll turn around the game?”

“He’s a Sinclair.” you said confidently. “They’re stubborn but they sure as hell come through in the end.”

And boy did he.

In just the hour worth of game play, Lucas had managed to not only get the team’s points high enough to be only a point behind. Making it so that with one good shot, they could take the whole thing.

Jason, who you thought had been ball hogging the whole night, seemed to be tied up in a bit of a corner. He quickly called out for a time out in the game. The clock showed it was the last ten seconds of the game. Making whatever last team huddle crucial.

“I don’t know, girls.” Fred sighed, pushing on the bridge of his glasses. “I still think they’re gonna mess it up.”

“Oh come on.” Nancy laughed. “You seriously can’t sit there and tell us that after seeing the jump in points we managed to get to.”

“I’m just a realist.”

“Yeah, a real party pooper.” you teased, glancing over at the team again. “They finally have an ace in the group and you’re praying for their downfall.”

Fred glanced over with you and scrunched his nose a bit. “Sinclair’s got talent. But nothing helps me sleep better at night than being proven right.”

The referee blew into the whistle again and you nodded over towards the court. “Get ready to eat your own words, Benson.” you mused.

The tension in the air was palpable by the time the players all returned onto the court. You could practically feel your own heart race as the game started up again.

Back and forth, the Hawkins teams passed around the ball, getting it to their main goal; Jason. In a quick second, he had a golden opportunity to secure the win. Shooting the ball out towards the hoop in a steady throw. The ball danced around the rim, teasing everyone with the possibility of victory, but it bounced off.

In a split second, Lucas snatched the rebound. Turning away from the others on the swift turn of his heel as he doubled around and leaped into the air. Releasing the ball towards the hoop.

Time seemed to freeze as the basketball circled the rim and bounced against the backboard. Then, with a collective gasp from the crowd, it dropped through the net.

The gym erupted in cheers as the school's victory echoed through the air. Nancy and you shared a shocked glance of excitement before you started to cheer and clap. The entire school community joined in, creating a thunderous applause that seemed to shake the very foundation of the gymnasium.

The team and cheerleaders all gathered into the main court floor, circling around Lucas and eventually picked him up into the air. Chanting out his name in victory.

In the midst of the celebration, you turned around, hoping to spot Robin in the stands. There were bursts of instruments booming into the air and cheers intertwined that added joyful noise to the atmosphere.

However, as you scanned the crowd, your eyes locked onto something you definitely did not want to see. There, in an embrace, stood Steve with a date. The room seemed to freeze for a moment as his date pulled back, shooting him a happy smile before sealing the victory with a celebratory kiss.

New love, how promising. (Tick)

A pang of discomfort surged through you, and a sudden headache gripped your temples. You felt the weight of the past in that moment, the history with Steve crashing back into your thoughts, and all the regret you’ve felt lately come at you. You quickly turned away, hoping to hide your reaction from Nancy before she saw anything.

Guess she really might be the one. (Tock)

You ignored the taunting words as you tried to process what you saw. Trying to picture it as the new normal when you felt a trickle of warmth on your upper lip. Touching it, you realized your nose was bleeding again. Panic set in, and you discreetly covered your face with your hand, attempting to hide the bleeding.

Nancy finally seemed to notice your suddenly odd behavior and called out to you. Reaching to place a hand on your shoulder. But you quickly pulled back, throwing out a quick excuse about feeling unwell and slipped away from the crowd. The gym door closed behind you, muffling the cheers, and you found refuge in a nearby empty classroom.

Fumbling through a desk for tissues, you took a moment to compose yourself. The mix of emotions, the unexpected encounter, and the physical discomfort left you overwhelmed.

Something was going on with you. But you couldn’t pinpoint what.

Just as you were trying to stop the bleeding, the classroom door opened then closed quietly behind you. Startled, you turned to see Steve standing there, a concerned expression on his face.

Whether it be the headache or the current ache in your chest right now, but the sight of a concerned Steve had you frowning at him. Not quite ready for him to see you at your most pathetic vulnerable place again. Especially after a day of awkward waves and avoiding phone calls.

"What are you doing here?" you snapped, your tone sharper than intended.

Steve, only a little taken back by the harshness of your tone, stepped closer towards you. "I saw you leaving in a hurry. I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

You avoided making eye contact, focusing on keeping the tissue against your nose as you returned to giving him your back. "Just a nosebleed, Steve. It's nothing."

He tilted his head. Eyes scanning over your face before he shook his head. “You sure it’s nothing? You don’t really look too good.”

“Wow,” you chuckled half heartedly. “Thought I actually looked good tonight, thanks.”

“Look, I just meant I can tell you’re not okay.” he sighed, trying to keep the conversation calm. “I know that you might have seen–”

“See you and your date kiss? No, I don’t think I did.” you said sarcastically, chucking the paper into a nearby trash can. A touch to your nose and you were happy to feel that you were clear of any more blood. But your happiness quickly disappeared when you turned to look back at Steve.

His jaw was tightened in annoyance and he carefully pinched at his nose for a moment before he glanced back at you. A more calming face now that he took a second. "That's not fair, and you know it. Besides, I didn't expect you to be here. I'm sorry if what you saw hurt you."

“Don't need to apologize, Steve.” you groaned. It was unfair of you to be upset and the last thing you wanted was Steve to apologize about it. But you struggled to get that out. “I just want you to leave. I mean, really, why are you even here? I’m fine. You have a date that’s obviously into you and ready to celebrate. Why aren’t you focused on that right now?”

Steve remained unfazed, his eyes piercing through your defensive front. "Because I've been watching you all night, and while you might smile and joke with everyone else, it's clear to me that something's eating at you."

A scoff fell past your lips as you tried to ignore the truth in his words. Leave it to Steve to be the only one tonight to see right through you. “I think you’ve forgotten what it’s like for me to watch a sports game. Nothing is wron—.”

“Don’t lie. Not with me.” he cut in quietly, reminding you of all the past confrontations you’ve shared where he slowly broke down your walls.

“God.” you squeezed your eyes shut, forcing them to hold back the emotional tears that seemed to easily come forward when talking to Steve. “You should go. She’ll be wondering where you are, you know?”

His gaze softened, a mix of compassion and frustration. "I don't care about that right now. I care about you. Talk to me."

Anger and frustration surged within you, fueled by your own self-loathing. "You don't get it, do you? We’re broken up. I'm leaving soon, a-and I can't drag you into my messed up head. I don't deserve whatever this is!" You waved your hand between the two of you. The air around you felt heavy and you wished that Steve would leave for the sake of giving your erratic heart a chance to calm down. “I shouldn’t be your concern anymore. Just go, please just..go.”

Steve took a step closer, his voice gentle but firm. "I told you. I don't care about any of that. Not when I know something is going on with you. I can't stand to see you like this. You're not alone, and you don't have to be."

Something inside of you breaks down at the idea of Steve still trying to comfort you when he had no reason to. All he was doing was enjoying his night and you were the one pulling out the theatrics. But for some reason, you lived in a world where Steve Harrington would always comfort the people who hurt him the most.

He deserved better than that.

"Well, it's too late now.” you croaked. Tears threatened to spill as you took a step back. “I can't keep going back to you whenever things get tough. I need to do better."

Just as you contemplated making a run for the door, Steve gently grabbed your arm, pulling you back toward him. The warm palm of his hand ran up the side of your arms, making you shiver at how cold you didn’t realize you were until he was cupping at your cheek.

"You don’t need to do anything, Honey. Just let me in,let me help." he whispered, his eyes locked onto yours.

Your breath turned heavy, and you barely had the chance to realize what was about to happen when he closed the remaining distance, capturing your lips in a passionate kiss. And just like always, the world seemed to fade away as the familiarity of his touch ignited a spark of longing within you.

From the looks of it, Steve felt the same as the two of you wrapped around each other. Wasting no time to soak in this moment.

Steve, with his arms now wrapped around the sides of your waist. And you, with yours locked around his neck to keep the kiss going. Neither one of you seemed to care where you were or what you were just talking about as you staggered back to hit against the large desk.

He reached down to grip around the back of your legs next, using a bit of strength to help get your rear to sit on the edge of the desk so he could wedge himself between your legs. The familiar heat rising inside of your chest when you felt the front of his jeans press against your inner thighs. His fingertips traced along the edge of your dress before he palmed at the thick part of your thighs.

You gasped at the sudden feeling, parting your lips against his and giving him the chance to trace the tip of his tongue against your mouth before he sealed them back together. The sensation of his tongue caused a moan to escape your lips. It’s been a while since you’ve been kissed like this and your head is spinning out of control.

The previous tension that had fueled your argument seemed to dissipate, replaced by the undeniable fire you both shared.

He swallowed your moans as his lips stayed connected with yours, taking every second that he could to make your thoughts go away as you focused solely on him. Your hands eventually found their way to gripping at the collar of his shirt, trying to scratch at the small visible amount of chest hair that peeked through his shirt.

But just as quickly as you were wrapping your legs around his waist was the memory of him and his date kissing cutting in. And it was like a spotlight shined over what the two of you were doing. Quickly, you pulled back from the kiss, curling into yourself in order to try and get some air into your brain.

He seemed to catch onto things and gently reached back to help unwrap your legs from around him. Stepping back a step in order to stand before you but not completely pull away from you just yet. You let your hands fall back to rest on the desk to balance yourself while Steve ducked his face in the crook of your neck. Not quite able to break away from you just yet.

You could feel as he brought a hand up to trace gently against the necklace on your neck. Toying with the single letter that rested in the middle.

“Steve?” you asked softly, watching as he pulled away from your side to look at you now. There was a terribly familiar look of sadness to his eyes. Almost as if he knew what you were going to say next.

“Please..” was all he said back.

Reaching up, you quickly untied the necklace from your neck and gathered it carefully in your hands before you looked down. The sad glint of metal shining up at you finally caused the tears to roll down your cheeks. Feeling guilty again for what you were about to do.

Reaching for his hand you gently placed the necklace down into his palm, curling up his fingers to hold it before you pressed a light kiss to the back of his hand.

“I’m done hurting you, Steve. Please give this to someone who truly deserves it.”

You quickly pushed yourself off the desk, fixing your dress before you made a step to leave. He was quick to catch your hand, looking at you with such a pleading look that you’d fall for any other day. "Don't do this. We can still fix things."

His words held such a promise in them. You knew he’d give you the world if he could.

“I can't meddle more in people's lives than I already have, I’m sorry. I just keep hurting everyone.”

With that, you gently pulled your hand from his grip and left the empty classroom. Leaving behind the person you still loved. Knowing that in your attempt to set you both on the right path, heartache would be alongside the two of you.

It was the hardest pill to swallow yet.

It felt like forever for the crowds to finally pile out of the school.

The sounds of cheering made its way outside of the gym into the parking lot while you hid away near the side entrance to the school. It was hard to avoid everyone after you left Steve. You weren’t sure how you’d be with Nancy or even Robin if they asked what was wrong again.

You severely needed to clear your mind of everything. Not think about the trouble you were causing to your loved ones and instead focus on trying to make most of the night. So after wiping away your tears, you found yourself making your way towards the school’s theater.

It appeared to be clear of any of the hellfire members. Leaving behind its dungeon master to clean up the mess the others left behind.

He was busy stuffing away pieces of the game into a box as he whistled to himself. Looking over all the work with a grin on his face until he heard the sound of your footsteps. A slightly fearful look on his face before he pursed his lips at you.

“You tryna give me a heart attack?” he grumbled, pointing a finger at you. “Coulda swung at you, Henderson.”

You chuckled a bit, joining him at his side as you looked down at the sheets of paper he collected into a folder. “Excuse me, I thought nothing spooked you.” you mused, moving to sit down at the grand chair that was placed by the table. “How was the campaign? Worth missing Lucas’ game I hope?”

Eddie breathed heavily through his nose, looking over at you unamused while he stuffed more supplies into the cardboard box. “I was warned you’d be in a mood.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah, two little birds told me, actually.”

The idea of Mike and Dustin as two annoying bickering birds sort of brought a smile to your face before you remembered how mad Dustin was at you. “Birds,” you repeated. “Can’t say they’re wrong. I’m sort of annoyed with all of you.”

“Aw, you’re breaking my heart, Princess.” Eddie cooed, picking up the box. “I think I’m gonna go home and cry about it.”

Not waiting for you to follow, he quickly made his way onto the long pathway out of the theater. Making you slightly worried as you rushed after him. Thinking that he was actually upset with you until you approached the door and saw that he stayed by the entrance doors to hold it open for you.

“You know you owe Lucas, right?”

“God,” he said with an eye roll. “Sinclair made his choice tonight.” he pointed out after letting go of the door when you stepped out. “There’ll be other campaigns for him to join in the future. We still have a few months of school left.”

“But basketball season is over and all his friends missed out on seeing him make the winning shot.” you huffed, walking alongside him as he made his way towards the parking lot. “Don’t you think this game could have waited until next week?”

“He helped them win the game?” he said softly, an amused grin on his face. “Those Sinclairs, man. They’re something else.”

You’re a bit confused by what he meant but pressed on in order to get to your point.

“Eddie,” you sighed, watching as he trudged down to where he parked his van. “You’re still missing my point.”

“Your point is that you want all of us to stick together and be best friends until the end of time. Like some gooey family sitcom, right?”

“Not the words I’d use but kinda.”

Eddie glanced over his shoulder to frown at you. “That’s not how shit works but look,” he grunted, setting the box down on the hood of his car before he turned to face you fully. “If he’s really upset about it, the guy knows where to find me. Don’t make a big deal outta nothing.”

The words were oddly similar to Dustin’s from before and you couldn’t help but become silent after that. Fighting with your head to keep the negative thoughts from continuing to ruin your night.

It’s not until Eddie opened up the back door to his van in order to put away the box that he noticed you had gone quiet. From the back you could hear a deep sigh from him until he closed up the doors and made his way over to stand beside you.

“I’ll talk to him, ok?” he said softly, nudging you with his elbow.

His soft promise eased your mood a bit. But even that couldn’t stop your mind from being clouded by everything today. The fight with Dustin, the talk with Steve, and even the weird voices that your guilty conscience kept bothering you with.

"Alright, spill it. What's going on? You’re being off again," Eddie prodded, raising an eyebrow.

You hesitated for a moment, worried that opening your mouth would just make matters worse. But you still replied anyway. "It's a lot of things. For some reason today, I feel like I’ve been just messing up with everyone. It’s hitting me harder than usual."

Eddie's expression softened, and he placed a hand on your shoulder. "Mess up how?”

“Well, Dustin's mad at me, Steve and I are officially over, and I’m making my other friends worried.” You turned your head to look up at him, feeling the slight pain your head returned as you spilled out your worries. “I just feel like I'm hurting everyone around me no matter how much I try to make things right.”

He looked at you with a determined expression. "You can't control everything, and you certainly can't make everyone happy. Why you put that much pressure on yourself is beyond me.”

His slight lecture made you feel a little embarrassed, making you reach up to the chain around your neck until you feel nothing. Slowly you remembered what you just did just a while ago.

You almost felt like crying again.

“Look, Dustin’ll come around. Ok? He’s family and that means he’ll get over the little shit that doesn’t matter eventually. Your friends being worried about you is kinda a good thing because that means they care, and as for Harrington–”

His voice cut off and you glanced up to watch as he painfully tried to spew out some sort of helpful advice for him but all Eddie ended up doing was shaking his head. Looking down at you with a sorry look. “Is he really worth feeling this shitty?”

“He means a lot to me, Ed.”

“Even after he practically broke your heart? Not even considering for a moment to go with you?” he asked, not caring to sugar coat the question at all.

“He has his reasons.” you mumbled, trying not to feel pathetic for sticking up for Steve. Even if his answer did break your heart.

“He has excuses.” Eddie scoffed, looking away from you as a frown tugged on his brows. “Harrington is an idiot for not wanting to follow you.”

“No, he’s not. Don’t say that.” you said quickly. Despite the heartache and sadness that came with everything, you’d hate anyone to think so negatively of Steve. “He’s got his own life to live.”

“And he can’t live it with you?”

The words throw you off more than you expected and you have to lean against the door of the car to keep yourself balanced. The truth was, you weren’t sure what was the right answer anymore. Because at the end of the day, neither one of you were prepared for what the future held.

The more you thought about it, the more it seemed to do your head in. The only promising prospect was the idea of being able to leave Hawkins and go home. It was just unfortunately, alone.

Eddie sighed beside you before he nudged at your side once more. “I’m sorry,” he said softly. “This whole thing just..sucks.”

“It does suck.” you confirmed, looking back at Eddie with a sad smile. “Wanna get out of here? I’m thinking of heading home.”

“I can drive you home,” he nodded.

“No, home, as in California.” you said half-joking.

Eddie smiled at that before he wrapped an arm around your neck, bringing you down to tousle at your hair. “How about instead of the road trip, I take you out for a bite to eat? Burgers make a great remedy for heartaches.”

The annoyance of having your hair messed up is quickly changed into a bit of happiness at the idea of Eddie’s attempt to fix your mood. “I’d like that.” you nodded, pushing out of his arms to fix your hair. “Let’s go.”

“All right, but we might have to stop by my place first.” he winced, almost like he was in pain.

“Why’s that?”

“Okay, Eddie, I’m ready to go!” came a shaky voice from behind you.

You turned around to find Chrissy Cunningham of all people standing near the back entrance. Shy smile on her face as she waved over at you.

“What the hell?”

“So, are you two friends?”

From the backseat of the van, you struggled to keep a straight face as you watched the interactions between Eddie and Chrissy. Since she stepped down the steps of the school and met you both in front of the van, there was an air of awkwardness in the air.

Thankfully not from you.

No, you were perfectly comfortable in the back of Eddie’s van. Slightly entertained at seeing the two attempt to make small talk in front of you.

Eddie for some reason did not know how to react as coolly as you knew he could. The girl brought out this inner dorkier side of him that you were unaware of. It reminded you about the first time you truly hung out with Eddie. At Tina’s Halloween party. They held a connection then and seemed casual. So why was it so different now?

“Hello?” Chrissy asked softly.

“I’m sorry!” you coughed, shaking your head from your thoughts. “What were you asking me?”

“I asked if the two of you were friends.” she repeated, eyes flickering between the two of you. Very quickly you leaned forward to pat her shoulder gently, giving her a small smile.

“Only when I need a ride.” you said simply, earning a scoff from Eddie in the driver’s seat.

Chrissy finally seemed to crack out of her nervous state and let out a small laugh. Almost relieved. "Got it.” she nodded. “You guys had me wondering if I had interrupted a moment back at the school."

At that you couldn’t help but ask the question that came into mind since she joined you two tonight. “You have me wondering too. What brings a popular girl like you on a mission for drugs tonight?"

She sighed, her guard dropping for a moment. "Honestly, I just need something stronger to help me sleep. A lot has been overwhelming me lately..I just need to forget. Even for just one night.”

There was an air of desperation in her tone that tugged at your heart. Not even for the fact that it was sad, but because deep down something that anxious and desperate was building up inside of you as well.

“And you think drugs are what’s gonna calm you down?” you asked softly, looking over at Eddie. “What are you asking for anyway?”

“Special K.” they both said at the same time.

You weren’t even sure what that even was but felt a small pang of worry build up in you. Eddie’s side hustle wasn’t the most ethical thing you’d like for your friend to do. But at the same time you understood people had different means of living. And who were you to judge them for that?

“Well, if the special K doesn’t work out as well as you hoped, I’m here to talk if you ever need an ear.” you offered, hoping not to sound as meddling as you have been today.

Chrissy sighed, a hint of sadness falling into her tone. "I don't want anyone to worry about me. Plus, it's hard to explain to people who seem to have it all together."

Her blue eyes locked onto you at that. Did she really think that you had it all together?

“Trust me, Chrissy. The majority of people at our school, including myself, have no idea what we’re doing.” you started, picking at the hem of your dress. “I’m pretty sure my life is about to get turned upside down and it’s not even finals yet.”

The words sounded more light than you really meant to, but it thankfully gave Chrissy another reason to laugh. Hopefully having some sense of relief to hear another peer give off the same sentiments.

“Henderson is right.” Eddie pointed out, turning down the pathway to his house. “If we all had our shit together, I’d have been out of here two years ago.”

“You would have been out of here if you had shown up to class now and then.”

Eddie looked into the rearview mirror to playfully scowl at you. "Hey, I had better things to do!"

“Playing pool in some dive bar outside of town is not something better to do.” you snorted, hearing Eddie’s engine sputter like him as it slowly turned off.

If it weren’t for the fact that you guys were parked in front of Eddie’s trailer, you were pretty sure he’d attempt some sort of reply. But now that it was back to his business, he settled for giving you the finger before he glanced over at Chrissy. “It’s kinda cold out here if you want to wait inside for me to look.”

The blonde nodded her head quickly, unbuckling her seat belt before she hopped out of the van. Eddie was going to do the same when he noticed you weren’t moving from your seat. There was a confused look on his face that had you chuckling a bit.

“What? Aren’t you gonna go inside?”

Eddie licked over his lips, nervously glancing out the passenger window to a waiting Chrissy before he frowned at you. A small pout on his lips. “Well yeah but..aren’t you coming too?”

“To help you make your deal?” you asked, adjusting yourself in the back to get comfortable. “Count me out, Mister. I’m not going to get caught in a drug deal anytime soon. I’d rather freeze my pretty little behind off.”

His eyes widened, "What? No, it's perfectly safe!” he coughed, perplexed. “Besides, you've been in my house before. You know I've got some stuff there."

You waved your hand, ignoring that bit of information before you smirked at him. "Look, Eddie, this is your chance to have some alone time with Chrissy.” Again his face turned into pure shock at your words. “I happen to know that you've had a thing for little Miss Cheer since last year. Now she’s willingly coming to your trailer. Seize the opportunity, my man!"

“She’s here for drugs!” he scoffed. “Just come in with us so it’s less awkward.”

“You’ve been making her wait forever now. She’s probably frozen in that skirt.” you said offhandedly.

He shook his head in disbelief, "This is ridiculous. She’s one of the most popular girls in school. She has a boyfriend."

The thought of Jason Carver made the two of you visibly scowl before you waved your hands. “Popularity means nothing. I mean, I hang out with you and that’s not a big deal.”

“You’re not like the others.” he mumbled under his breath.

You brushed off his comment, focusing on the matter at hand, “Come on, Eddie. Take the chance.” you said, trying to encourage him. “See what happens.”

For what felt like a long minute, all Eddie did was stare at you like he was trying to figure you out. As if the words you said weren’t clear as day and had some other meaning to them. Which they did, you wanted him to find someone too. Someone that had the time to open up their heart properly and not so haphazardly as you have. But you couldn’t exactly say that.

"This is stupid,” He sighed, resigned. “But fine. We’ll be right back.”

From your spot you watched as Eddie lamely excused your absence, waving his hand over at the van before he walked up the stairs to his trailer and opened the door up for Chrissy and entered inside the home.

You took the time alone to dissect the events that happened today.

One thing was Dustin definitely had his own convictions about you. Whether it be about butting into his life, breaking up with Steve, avoiding Steve, or just some other thing you weren’t even aware of.

Then there was Steve..

Well, you felt pretty much like a broken record about him. Not only were you still in love with him, but you were officially over. Returning that necklace would surely cement that now. Even if you regretted that whole day in your driveway. Wishing that you could go back and just..pause like he had wanted. But it was too late for that now and you’ve brought in someone else into your life to ruin.

Another thing would be that Robin and Nancy were both definitely worried about you and you were out of excuses to explain what was wrong. Mostly because you had no idea what the hell was wrong with you. It’s not like you weren’t faced with struggles before. Why was this year suddenly worse?

Maybe it had to do with the fact that there was a recurring voice in your head that laid out all your inner guilty thoughts. Or the nightmares that plagued your night, or headaches that ruined your days, or even the newest addition; nosebleeds.

There’s absolutely no more room in your mind for the list of problems that you already had. If there wasn’t a way to fix at least one of these things, you were pretty sure you’d lose it by the end of spring break.

Maybe you needed to actually take the week off. Go home and see your parents. Get a break from the mess that you got yourself into at Hawkins. Ironically it was supposed to be the place to get you out of your mess from California, but stranger things have happened since then.

“CHRISSY! CHRISSY! CHRISSY!”

The sudden sound of Eddie yelling pulled you out of your contemplative thoughts and you quickly rushed to the back of the van, pushing open the back door so that you could stand before the house. The screams continued on inside but you were frozen in fear at the sight of lights blinking rapidly inside. Sending a familiar chill up your spine.

“No.” you whispered, not ready for this to happen again. It couldn’t! The gate was closed! This couldn’t be happen–

“HELP!”

Without a second thought, you rushed up the stairs into the trailer, nearly tripping your way in. “Eddie?!” you gasped, finding your footing before you noticed the two right away.

Chrissy was standing completely still before a panicked Eddie. He was smacking at the side of her cheek, screaming out for her to wake up when he looked back to see you. “Holy shit, Henderson, she’s like, tripping out!” he yelled, voice cracked with panic.

“What the hell did you give her?” you frowned, joining his side to try and shake the girl. It wasn’t until you were close enough that you noticed the whites in her fluttering eyes. “Shit is she having a seizure?”

“I gave her nothing, man. I don’t know what the hell is going on!” he said, pinching at the sides of her neck, arms, anywhere to get a response out of her. “Chrissy! Wake up!”

“We need to get her out of here!” you urged, knowing the danger that could be lurking with the room’s lights blinking like this. If it’s anything you’ve dealt with before, a panicked Eddie and comatose Chrissy would be nothing against a demogorgon.

You reached for her hands, trying to clap at her hands and get her body to snap out of it. But the more you tugged, the farther she seemed to get away from you. Wait, how the hell is she moving?

Glancing down at her feet, you noticed that her body has slowly started to ascend up in the air towards the ceiling. “What the fuck?” you gaped. This didn’t happen before..

Eddie, having noticed her rising state, staggered back. Eyes wide and shocked at what was going on. “W-what do we do?” he asked you, looking up as Chrissy rose towards the roof of the trailer.

“We-..I-..” your breathing became strained and you felt like your heart was about to go into cardiac arrest the faster the lights blinked. What the hell was going on?

Her body shot up into the air, like a marionette doll manipulated by unseen strings. Eddie fell back from the sudden change, cursing out loud as he fell down to the floor.

You stood there, helpless and paralyzed by fear. The limbs of her body began to twist and turn in unnatural directions. Creating a sickening sound of bones twisting that echoed in the air. The scene unfolded with a nightmarish intensity, and you could feel the tendrils of something dark wrapping around the room.

“N-no.” you said, watching next as her mouth cracked into a haunting angle.

A wave of dizziness washed over you. It was as if the very ground beneath your feet was giving way. You stumbled backwards until you finally fell down into the ground. Your vision narrowed away as the darkness began to take over the world before you.

“No.” you said again, fighting to stay awake. You had to get out of there. But you couldn’t fight this power over you. The last thing you saw before succumbing to unconsciousness was the sight of Chrissy’s eyes sinking into her head and the sound of Eddie’s screams.

A/N: Hello! It’s been so long since I’ve been working on this chapter. I redid it like three times and still aren’t quite happy with some parts. But! It’s up and will hopefully help me to get to the storyline. I know it’s kinda angsty but I promise i’ll have fun in here again and more Steve/Reader. Thank you for taking the time to read this! Love y’all~

TAGGING REQUEST:

@cluz1babe & @starofavolonea

#steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x henderson reader #steve harrington x henderson!reader #Steve Harrington x female reader #steve harrington x you #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson x henderson!reader #eddie munson x henderson reader #stranger things fic #cac

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heich0e · 2 years

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miya osamu is not really the type of guy to lose his cool. not outwardly. not publicly. not this far into his adult life.

but when a sports reporter keeps writing articles about how MSBY's golden-boy setter, miya atsumu, has been performing poorly in the current v-league season—which upset atsumu every time and end up with him distraught at osamu's restaurant, crying into his tuna and spring onion rice ball—osamu has had enough.

when the young restaurant owner uses the verified onigiri miya twitter account to announce that anyone who brings proof they sent a complaint to the popular sports publication about that loser journalist who's been trashing his brother will get a free onigiri out of it, people show up in droves—copies of printed out emails and screenshots of twitter DMs condemning the articles that have been written about MSBY's number 13 in hand.

he's smug, he won't lie, that the articles stop after that. a full week passes with no new slanderous headline (and no crying brother at his counter,) and then another article-free week follows. he's not sure if that scrub journo got canned because of his smear campaign, but he doesn't particularly care either. the guy got what was coming to him for talking shit about his brother, as far as he's concerned.

what osamu's not expecting is you showing up at onigiri miya one afternoon, absolutely furious, with a stack of documents in hand that show outline just how atsumu's stats have slipped this season compared to the last; that show the formal reprimand your work issued you as a result of his handiwork; that outline your various credentials and professional accolades that make you more than qualified to have been writing those articles and criticizing tsumu's performance in the way that you were.

and osamu knows he fucked up. he knows that the trouble he got you into at work was unwarranted. he knows that even though he knows those two things he's still raising his voice right back at you, in the middle of his restaurant, because he still thinks 'ya coulda been a little nicer about it!'

and worst of all? he knows that even in your fury you're the prettiest thing he's ever laid his eyes on.

#miya osamu x reader #miya osamu x you #osamu x reader #osamu x you #miya osamu #hq drabble #hq writing #writing

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chotanews · 1 year

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Welcome to ChotaNews

ChotaNews, India's biggest hyperlocal news app covering over 400 districts and generating more than six billion screen views a month. This unique service offers local news in multitude of languages on your mobile phone. Subscribe to this exceptional and completely hyperlocal experience.

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news-media8121 · 1 year

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కస్టడీలో ఖైదీల మందు పార్టీ

ఎక్సైజ్ డిపార్ట్‌మెంట్ కస్టడీలో మందు పార్టీ చేసుకున్న ఏడుగురు వ్యక్తులను అరెస్ట్ చేశామని బీహార్ పాట్నాలోని పాలిగంజ్ అధికారులు తెలిపారు. ఈ విషయంపై సమాచారం అందిన వెంటనే ఘటనా స్థలానికి వెళ్లామని, అక్కడ వారిని మద్యం సేవిస్తుంటే చూశామని, అనంతరం వారిని అదుపులోకి తీసుకున్నామని చెప్పారు. అయితే వారంతా ఖైదీలేనని, వారికి మద్యం ఎలా అందిందనేదానిపై దర్యాప్తు చేస్తున్నామని పాలిగంజ్ ఎస్‌పీడీఓ తెలిపారు.

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ahmed25646 · 2 years

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News Cameroon :: Diet: Women in search of a dream body :: Cameroon news

They rush to diet cabinets in search of advice either to refine their silhouette or to gain curves. Fanny is not satisfied with her figure. The young girl has subscribed to taking vitamins for, she says, having shapes. “It’s true that I play sports, but it’s thanks to the vitamins that I consume that I manage to gain weight. I wanted to have a nice butt. Sport just helps me stay healthy,” she…

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knoxic · 5 months

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The Lady and The Cat

Paddock and Gossip

wc: 5,1k

Masterlist

The Lady and The Cat - ↓ -

Vienna, Austria.

Saturday, June 06 08:30

Victoria was expected to show up at the qualifying race, sporting a Tommy Hilfiger outfit. The brand had a partnership with Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team — Toto's team —, she had seen their logo on Hamilton's shirt but failed to connect the dots.

Lucia was driving her own car, knowing Victoria would most likely hate to have an unknown car leaving her at a unknown place. In the backseat of the car there was a white cap with a Mercedes logo and a black fabric marker laying beside it, she supposed she'd have to ask for a signature from one of the drivers. In one of the meetings she had with Tommy, she was told she would be the perfect model to be seen in the paddock around the Mercedes team. Her pale skin and dusty blue eyes combined with her coffee brown hair and usually dark clothes was the most perfect-imperfect combination to the team's current colors.

"So, the race only starts in like a couple hours, but you'll be meeting with Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton. If you could take some pictures with them, that would be great."

"And if I can't?" She asked in a teasing tone, knowing that it wouldn't be a problem.

"Then we already have people ready with cameras pointed at you the whole time." Lucia smirked.

"Great. About the meetings, are you going to be there with me?"

"Not the whole time, no." She smiled sadly.

The two of them hate talking with fake friendly people, it was one of the reasons they got along so well. Lucia always said whatever was bothering her to the person at fault and Victoria could not, for the life of her, keep a straight face whenever someone was acting up — which was hard as a model —.

"It's okay," she reached a hand to pat Lucia's tight, "I'll be fine, I don't think they're bad people."

"Me neither, Hamilton supports a lot of important causes and has a pretty transparent personality," she was talking as she searched for something in her bag. "Don't know much about Nico, so you'll have to see it for yourself."

Before Victoria could answer, her manager handed her a notebook with some topics she could use to start a conversation.

"We still have some time before we get there, you may want to get ready..." getting ready meant 'prepare your social skills'

"Yeah, thank you. I think I'll search them on the internet, might find something useful." She answered while throwing the notebook to the backseat, she appreciated Lucia's thoughtful idea but her handwriting could compete to one of a doctor's.

First she searched for 'F1 News', some links later she found something about how Mercedes has been going this year and it didn't take long for one with Toto's face come up, — just with the headline she discovered his last name and age —. The article mentioned the series of wins Mercedes has been collecting and Toto's great management, she partially felt bad for reading into him. One article later she googled his name.

"We're here, Vi." She hadn't even realized the car wasn't moving, Lucia still kept her hands on the steering wheel and the engine was still running. She had to remind herself that Lucia wasn't leaving her. "There is a space to park the car there but it looks too tight, do you mind waiting for me here?"

"No, it's okay." True, she never wanted to bother Lucia. She smiled and unbuckled the belt, before opening the door she reached for the cap and pen on the backseat.

The entrance of the paddock was right in front of her, yet she couldn't just walk in, she was supposed to wait for Lucia but even if she wasn't, she couldn't go in alone. Going inside a place she knew nothing about was scary, the people she was going to meet knew nothing about her so she could at least forge a new mask based on Formula One. The only thing that could potentially ruin her pretense would be somewhere inside the Mercedes garage.

"Ready?" She wasn't sure how much time had passed but rationally she knew it was just a couple minutes. Lucia was back and handing her one of the passes.

"Yeah," she was hoping to not meet Toto, at least until she was done talking with his drivers. "Where are we meeting Lewis and Nico?"

"To be honest, I'm not sure." They were both heading to the entrance, "What I know is that Nico is busy, so we probably won't be able to see him until after the race. Lewis said he was free and would meet you but," she took a deep breath, Lucia hated when people were unpredictable. "The thing is, he is always running around, one minute he's here and in the other he's nowhere to be found. Good news is that apparently he hates keeping conversations but is willing to talk to you."

"Good news?" Victoria's eyes could fall out of her head, the way she opened them wide and her eyebrows going up clearly showed how she felt. "Hope he is ready to have his expectations crushed." Her tone was sarcastic, Lucia had her mouth opened ready to answer when a girl came up to them.

"Hi! Sorry to interrupt," she was small, so was her voice. Victoria was not one of the tallest models in Versace but the girl was petite and sweet, her eyes were shining and she had two adorable dimples on her cheeks, "You're Victoria Kaiser." It wasn't a question.

"I am." Indeed but somehow she wasn't sure, the girl was affirming her name in a way Victoria herself never did.

"I'm such a big fan of yours, I have been for as long as I can remember!" Her heart warmed up a bit.

"Really? That's so nice, I'm honored!"

"Could we take a picture? My mom will never believe me!"

"Of course!" The girl had her phone in hand and Lucia offered to take it, "Oh, I'm so sorry, hi! I got so excited I didn't see you..." She was almost pouting and seemed genuine. Lucia had a unusual look on her face.

"It's totally fine, don't worry!" Their arms were wrapped around each other while Lucia took the photo, the height difference left the girl's head on Victoria's shoulder. "Would you like an autograph?" Lucia never asked these kind of questions — quite the opposite —, she avoided any type of conversation with the model's fans.

"Oh, absolutely! If it's not too much, of course..." She wore a red and white shirt and a cap with the same color comb, Ferrari uniform.

"No, no, is not a problem!" The cap and marker she had gotten were still in her hand.

"To be honest I always pegged you to be a Mercedes fan." The girl laughed, "Would it be a problem if you signed a Ferrari cap?"

"No, I don't think so," She let a small laugh escape, deeming the girl not worth a fake smile. She gestured for the girl to give her the cap, "Where do you want me to sign?" A small index finger came into her vision as she inspected the cap, pointing to a empty spot at the side of it, her nail had pink nail polish. Victoria briefly wondered how a girl like her ended up in this line of work before reminding herself how shitty that thought was.

"Maybe here?" It was muscle memory, really, her hands were signing but her eyes weren't inspecting her movements, using her peripheral vision she watched the girl smile brightly.

"What's your name?"

"Isabella but you can write Izzy, my friends call me Izzy."

"Nice meeting you, Izzy." She decided to write 'Hello, Izzy's Mom!' beside the autograph because Izzy herself would love it, Victoria could deal with her embarrassment later.

After Izzy left, Lucia texted Hamilton's assistant, Angela, checking in to know if Lewis was still free to talk. They kept mindlessly walking — pretending to be interested in the cars — while waiting for the response when a guy with a sponsored Mercedes shirt called up to them. Victoria recognized him from one of the articles she read, there was a picture of him and Lewis celebrating but she couldn't remember his position on the team.

"Hello, are you Victoria Kaiser?" That was a question.

"Hi, yes I am!" While Lucia presented herself a phrase from the article came to mind, "And you are Bono?" She used a timid tone so in case she was wrong, the awkwardness wouldn't be so embarrassing.

"Yes! Lewis told me about you and asked me to take you to the garage in case I saw you." Told me about you? She didn't ask if he was busy doing something else or if he came all the way here only to find her, none of the answers he could give would ease her feeling of guilt. The cap she had on her hand could serve to keep her loose hair out of her face and to help the feeling of being too exposed, she was wearing white pants so putting a black marker into her pocket was not an option, she hadn't gotten a bag — Lucia always carried one for both of them — so she still held it in her hand, it would help her fidgety fingers.

Bono and Lucia talked during the walk to the garage, Victoria commented on a few things but her silence didn't seem to bother him.

She was worried. Her hopes of not seeing Toto that day had just been crushed, she innocently thought that she could have talked with Lewis and Nico alone, somewhere more private where she wouldn't be surrounded by people, where she could put up a new mask without worrying about people finding out she wasn't so genuine. Good news is that Lewis truly was there, as soon as they came into his line of vision he smiled and walked in their direction.

"Hello! I've been waiting for you!" Well that was surprising.

"Hi! Sorry to keep you waiting, we got lost." She joked and gave him the most sweet laugh she could manage, as soon as they were close enough to touch, he pulled her into a hug.

"No problem," he laughed and went to hug Lucia. "You know, I was expecting you to have a German accent, I read somewhere that you were born in Germany."

"True! I was homeschooled and apparently my family had their own language and accent." She could feel her cheeks warming up at her rambling. To her relief, Lewis laughed.

"Well, that's interesting," he sounded honest, which almost made her melt, her anxiety had been squeezing her tightly before this. At some point Lucia had gone inside the garage with Bono, from where Victoria stood she could see both of them still talking.

"We still have some time before the race, do you want to go get some tea or coffee?" She really shouldn't drink more caffeine, today it wouldn't do her any good. "We can continue talking on the way."

"Sure, tea would be nice."

"You don't drink coffee?" As they started walking he held out his arm for her to hold, she wasn't sure if he wanted to link arms but her hand automatically went to hold his biceps.

"I'm trying to stop, my anxiety and caffeine are not friends." Fuck! That didn't went as planned.

"Understandable." He laughed.

"What about you?"

"I don't really like coffee," he pointed to the stairs that led to the hospitality. "The taste is too..." he searched for the right words, "Strong? Bitter?" There were many people there — celebrities —, she recognized some of them and they definitely didn't live in Vienna. She wondered if they went to see Lewis.

"Yeah, I mostly drink it with sugar but apparently it doesn't help the anxiety either so I took that off." Twice? Jesus. Thankfully Lewis laughed again.

"Choose whatever you want, I'll pay." And risk people thinking she is a gold digger?

"What? No way," she laughed.

"I'll pay. You're my guest." Well...

"Only if you let me do the same when you come visit me at my work." She wasn't flirting but it was a bold move, she knew. Nothing gave them the certainty that it would happen, but if she came to see them, they could go see her.

"Fine, now order."

The menu showed many teas, perhaps it was a common thing here. Victoria has always been a sucker for teas but ever since she could remember, she loved a certain one.

"Ginger honey tea." Maybe it was because she got sick almost every month as a kid and her mom would make it for her to drink but, ginger honey tea always made her feel good — even when she wasn't sick —. She went so long without any form of comfort that she had forgotten it existed.

"Interesting. Do you want something to eat?"

"No, not really. Feels like I had breakfast five minutes ago."

"Me too, I'm going to copy you." After he ordered and paid for the teas, they sat at a table closer to a wall — instinctively so, they were both used to avoiding being in the middle of a crowd —, her back was turned to the entrance. Big mistake.

"Morning, Victoria." That voice. The voice she dreaded hearing today, was right behind her.

"Good morning, Toto." She turned back to see him, he looked exactly like he did the night she saw him on TV. His sponsored shirt hugged his stomach, when he walked his pants looked tight in his thighs and hands where they were stuffed into his pockets. He looked good, really good.

"We had time so I invited her to get something to drink." Lewis said, pausing to take a sip of his tea. "Hope you don't mind."

"No problem, I also came to get myself a coffee." He was looking at Lewis with a face Victoria couldn't decipher. "But we do have to be at the garage in a few minutes..." They seemed to be playing a staring game now.

"We'll be quick, I'm hoping to see Nico too."

Toto nodded at her and walked away giving Lewis a pat on the shoulder to go order his coffee.

"He told us about you." What? He was smiling but looking down at his cup, he looked suspicious.

"What?"

"Toto, he told me about you," What the fuck? Why would he do that? "Well, he told Niki and Niki told me and Nico... Then I told Bono..." Victoria laughed, fifty percent because it was funny — gossiping about your boss —, forty percent because she was nervous and the other ten percent because what the fuck?

"Why would he do that? What did he say?" Her question made Lewis lean over the table, getting closer to her so he could whisper.

"He said he had met someone and wanted to invite her to the race tomorrow, we didn't know who it was because he wouldn't say, then Niki saw him going over some of the pictures you took recently for Tommy-" He cut himself off when footsteps came closer to them.

"Do you want to watch the race from the garage with us?" Toto asked as soon as he was close enough to be heard.

"To be honest I didn't know I could," She laughed awkwardly, both from what Lewis had told her and from Toto's invitation. "But yeah, sure." Better there then out here with all these people.

"Toto, do you mind taking Victoria back? I'll go find Angela, haven't seen her in a while."

"No problem, I'll take her."

As they rose from their sits, Lewis gave her a wink. He had managed to make her feel like they had been friends for years now in so little time. Lewis was only a few months older than the model, which was surprising for her, she never got along with people her age.

"I'll meet you guys there soon, behave!"

Apparently they both had bad hearing because the driver's 'behave' was turned into 'be brave'.

"Haven't seen you around the building." The teasing tone he used to talk to her in the hallway that night was back.

"I got busy, and apparently you did too," It was impressive how he made her mood light up, even if he was the cause of her anxiety just minutes ago. "The CEO life..."

"Sorry about that..."

"It's fine, I'm just teasing you." She wanted to ask why he did it but the words weren't leaving her mouth, the fear of being judged for questioning something muted her.

Toto went silent for a few seconds before he looked down at her, twice. She was glad she had picked platform shoes to wear — not that it did much to help their height difference —.

"The last woman I dated... She hated me being a team principal, she never told me why exactly... So I got worried you'd hate it too."

Funny. He said it like it explained everything, it just made everything more confusing. Of course, she had found him extremely attractive, but she never had anybody explicitly exhibiting they wanted her. If it was any other guy telling her the same thing, she'd be creeped out, but it was Toto and Toto didn't look like any other guy.

"Why did you get worried?" Out of all the questions...

"Come on, I thought you understood," He looked down at her again, seeing the doubts in her eyes, "When I asked you if you were free tomorrow, I was going to ask you to come see the race," He started laughing. "Then you crushed my hopes saying 'I'll have to check my schedule'."

"Sorry. To be fair, is not like I got asked out many times before."

"You're lying."

"I'm not?"

"Yes, you are," he laughed. "Have you seen yourself? There's no way people don't ask you out at every corner you turn."

"Well, a boy asked me out one time, when I was like seventeen but we ended up not going anywhere. A woman a few years ago invited me to go camping... I hate insects, and a few months ago a coworker tried to take me out for lunch only to make me miss a rehearsal."

"That is... wow, did you miss it though?"

"No, I live by my schedule and routines." She gave him a smile, he laughed.

"Well, now I believe you. I guess I'll have to show you how good a proper date can be." He winked and smiled, his hand slipped to the middle of her back, they had just reached the garage. As they walked inside, he stepped in front of her while still holding her back which made her be almost consumed in a hug, the same scent that filled her home the other night now filled all of her senses.

"This is where I sit, but if you want there's a TV you can watch back there." She didn't want to be alone, her eyes had scanned the room, trying to find her manager but she wasn't here.

"I'll stay here." With you. For now.

It wasn't as if Toto was a creepy guy, she just wasn't used to having a man — who clearly liked her —, so close like this.

Toto tried to explain some basic things to her, his fingers pointed at certain points in the monitors in front of him, she wasn't sure she paid more attention to his voice or his hands.

When Lewis came back he introduced her to his assistant, they chatted for a while before they excused themselves to get ready for the qualifying. Right after they left Nico came running inside, she saw him shooting Toto an apologizing look before he left her eyesight. Nico was supposed to be the first driver she would meet, he was German too and it would make sense if they were seen together first. Two Germans born in the same city in the same year.

If he avoided her on purpose, she couldn't really blame him, she herself hated meeting new people, especially if being put in a situation like this. They didn't have to be friends or get along, they simply had to interact in front of a camera or the public eye. Victoria felt somewhat lucky, Lewis was nice to her and seemed to have truly enjoyed the little time they spent together, Bono was sweet and kept a nice conversation, Angela seemed funny and relaxed, than there was Toto...

She still felt like there was something he wasn't telling her. While she wanted to believe his words, her insecurities and anxiety kept holding her back. At the same time he could make her brain short circuit, he could also make her feel like she was in a safe space.

Before the qualifying started, Toto brought her a headphone. As he held it she took off her cap and slipped her hair behind her ears, without her asking he stepped closer and adjusted it on her head himself.

"I could do that..." In response he only sighed and shook his head, making her remember his last comment earlier, 'I'll have to show you how good a proper date can be'. "Thank you." She whispered, resisting the self sabotaging urge to roll her eyes. She knew now wasn't the time to push him away.

"No need to thank me, Schatz."

Her cheeks warmed up, certainly becoming reddish. Toto smiled, his nose scrunch had her melting and she couldn't fight smiling back.

"By the way, did you find a nickname for me?" She felt the need to control something, interacting with Toto in a place he was confident in made her feel way too vulnerable. He turned around and got settled into his seat — even sitting he was taller than her —.

"Your last name is Kaiser, right?"

"Yes."

"I thought of Kai. I remembered you said people mostly called you by your last name so it's not a big difference for you." Her eyes drifted away from his own, her breath hitched and she subconsciously straightened her back. "It sounds hard and powerful, like you. What do you think?"

What did she think? If only he knew...

"It's nice, I like it." She smiled at him, a fake smile but he didn't mention it. Her voice had significantly lowered its volume. He still looked at her for a few seconds, searching for her eyes after they drifted away again.

"Good! We both speak German and it sounds different when you know what it means." He laughed, accidentally lighting up her mood. "But it still fits."

At some point someone brought a seat for her too, placing it right beside Toto. Sitting made her feel small and vulnerable, people walked around them and she felt like she was in the way. Sensing her anxiety wanting to strike, she started fidgeting with her marker, twisting and spinning it. She heard Toto's voice, he was talking with Bono and the whole room was filled with noises, she only heard one voice. His thick accent filled her ears, deafening her from anyone but himself.

Toto updated her whenever something important happened, his hand would tap her leg and point to the screen before explaining. Niki had joined them but she wasn't sure when, it was interesting seeing him and Toto interact — words weren't needed, eye contact was enough —.

"So, what did you think?" Toto asked.

"To be honest, I didn't understand at the beginning," They both laughed, "But I think I'm getting the hang of it. You're a good teacher." If she closed her eyes she could see the look her mom would give her if she heard the last part, 'are you really going to act like this? I expected more of you, Kasia' she would say.

"Well, I could teach you more things if you come back tomorrow."

She had complimented him innocently but they both knew the real meaning behind his words.

"You don't believe me, do you?"

"It's because, like... I don't know, you seem so sure we would work," At first she groaned slightly, regretting it as soon as it left her mouth. Her head tilted, a habit she acquired as a child, it was meant to push her thoughts away. "And we only talked once, how can you know I'm not a shitty person?" A part of her expected him to snap and just tell her to fuck off, the other part wanted to hear him talking, wanted to know.

"Because I do know you. I knew you as a German Supermodel, I saw you walking last year, a friend of mine invited me to go watch his girlfriend but I only saw you... Thought you were so fucking beautiful. That day I thought of talking to you, but we had to leave soon and I didn't see you around after, I saw some of your other works after though. Then I heard of you as my mother's neighbor... Friend," He smiled at her from across the table. They had sat together in the same place Lewis and her were sitting earlier — Niki too before he coincidentally had to leave —, Toto's feet occasionally bumped hers. "The way she talked about you... How you had contributed to many NGO's anonymously, how educated and polite you were, how brilliant and smart you were, amongst many other things... I don't remember hearing her talking about someone like that before, and when she told me who you were and what you did, I knew what I wanted to do." His fingers were playing with his phone, tracing the sides and corners and twisting it on the table.

"Did your mom even ask you to go get her cat back?"

"Yeah, I just used it as an excuse to talk to you."

"Well, the cat helped too." They laughed.

"So, believe me?"

"I do, but I still don't understand how this will work, Toto..."

"You mean like, with work and traveling?"

"That's a part of it," She sighed, "You're still in like, the middle of the season, how will we even get to know each other?"

"Text, phonecall, travels... I mean, you're still sitting here listening to me so I know at least a part of you want to see where this goes," He leaned on the table with his arms crossed, "And if we both want to try, i think we'll find a way." She knew he was right, a part of her did want to try. "Look, I got nothing to lose and everything to win here. I'm not getting any younger, I've never been married and I don't have kids. I want more than just casual hook ups..." He sighed, his voice had gotten lower and Victoria subconsciously leaned on the table mirroring him. "I'm older than you and our lives are completely different, I get that. I knew there was a high chance of rejection but again, I got nothing to lose. If you don't want to come back tomorrow, I totally understand." She didn't know what to say, but even if she did, she wouldn't be able to. Lucia had come up to them saying it was time to go.

Before Victoria exited the paddock, Lewis stopped her.

"So, are we going to exchange numbers or what?" His arm had found a place on her shoulders, they were close in height but it wasn't uncomfortable. "If I remember right, I had to cut off the gossip." Victoria laughed, Lewis seemed to be such a serious guy on TV but in reality he was just a little gossip lover.

"Okay, what's your number?" To make the exchange easier, they handed their phones to each others.

"Just so you know, sometimes I'll just disappear, ghost everyone and come back as if nothing happened."

"Same, any day off I get I'll just lock myself at home." True, but it wasn't exclusively days off, any time she's home she'll pretend there's an apocalypse outside and she can't leave the apartment or she'll die.

They chatted for a couple minutes more until Lucia came back with the car.

"You're going to watch the race tomorrow, right? If everything goes as planned we will go out to celebrate the podium." She had already opened the door but Lewis leaned over it to whisper to her, "Besides, Toto would really like that..."

"Lewis..."

"What? He would!" He laughed.

"Bye, Lewis."

"See you tomorrow!" He turned to go back and Victoria closed the door.

"Wait!" She opened the window and pushed her head out to call him back, "Forgot to ask, can you sign my cap, please?" She asked the same way she saw a girl asking him earlier, fake innocent smile paired with a fluttering of lashes before staring at him with her big blue eyes.

"Sure! How could I deny you that?" He laughed.

He pulled the cap from her hand and turned to sign it at the side — same place she signed Izzy's —, "But, uhm..." He gave her pen back and stroked the team's symbol, brushed some nonexistent dust before placing it on his head, "You'll have to come back tomorrow to get it." He ran away laughing.

"Well, that was unexpected." Lucia said, receiving a roll of eyes from Victoria.

"What happened with you?" Lucia asked. Victoria hadn't spoken since she started driving, her head was tilted to the window and her arms hugged her body. Whenever she got lost in thought, people usually mistaken her overthinking for sleepiness. Lucia knew her better than anyone.

"Toto." She whispered.

"The team principal?"

"Yeah. I met him a few days ago, at home. He is my neighbor's son." She took a couple deep breaths, lightly shaking her head, "I invited him in, we drank coffee together... He asked me if I would be free on Sunday, because he wanted to invite me to the race, but he also kind of lied about being a boring CEO. Lewis told me he told Niki... You know Niki Lauda, right? He told Niki he had met someone, why do you tell your friend you 'met someone' if it's in a friendship way? I don't know what to think, Lu." She rambled, her eyes seemed to be searching for something while she looked around the streets, "He asked if I will come back tomorrow... Technically I wouldn't need to, but... I don't know." Lucia was quiet, she was aware her words and thoughts wouldn't matter right now. "Whatever, sorry for rambling."

"Don't apologize, it's nice hearing you voice your thoughts, even if they're confusing as fuck." She teased hoping to lighten up the mood, the smile she received was enough for her. "But really Vi, you should go. As you, you know? You. No pretense, no fake smiles, just you being you. We've been together for years now and I have yet to see you dating someone. You'll be thirty this year and I know you want to settle down, what if this is your chance?" Victoria going back meant way more than just the idea of what they could be. Toto seemed confident in what he wanted.

"Thanks for the words but, I met him just a few days ago... Does dating really happens like this?" The rational part of her brain stopped working hours ago.

"It happens in lots of ways." After her words the car fell in a deep silence, a loud consuming silence.

"Well, our schedules have already gotten in our way, can you imagine how it would be if we start dating?"

"Yes." The way she said it left no room for doubting. "And for someone who's 'not sure' you seem oddly invested in this..." Victoria wasn't looking at her but she could hear the smirk on Lucia's voice.

"Come on..." She rolled her eyes.

"Okay, but before you leave..." The car had stopped and she hadn't noticed it. "How can you expect to settle down and start a family if you don't even try to meet knew people? He's older, more experienced and mature than guys your age... But that also means he's probably not going to wait too long."

taglist: @chachaqueenzy @lotus-888

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