#ONCE again instead of coloring something i slapped 4 different filters on it. this i my life now

[pswaney12]

My mutants

Haruta x reader

Nsfw warning

The world had become an apocalyptic wasteland. Uninhabitable for humans to live. The air filled with toxic gases puddles of chemicals and poison everywhere. It was just unsuitable for life.

The only places people could safely live in where the labs. Which were scattered out and few were still working. The only hope for humanity was for mutants to rebuild society.

I groaned when the beeping of my alarm went off. I pulled my sheets off and got up to turn it off. Once the obnoxious beeping had been turned off I walked into my bathroom and got a shower. I got dressed and left my room to start my daily routine. I take care of the mutants making sure that they are all healthy.

I pulled my lab coat over my shoulders as I made my way to the first room. “Good morning Marco!” I grinned. The bioluminescent bird mutant perked at the sound of my voice. “Good morning (Y/n)!” He replied happily. I looked at the man who’s feathers gleamed a soft teal and yellow. When I got closer to the cage his feathers ruffled with joy. I stayed in the room for a little bit longer before walking out and making my way to visit the other mutants.

When I got to the twelfth mutant I saw something interesting on the floor. “Haruta did you shed your antlers?” I asked the brunette. Laying on the floor next to his bed were his old antlers glowing ever so faintly. Haruta turned around and saw me. His tail flicked back and forth happily and his ears flapped too. “Yep! I did shed my antlers (Y/n).” Haruta hummed. I walked to the edge of his cage and looked through it. “Do you mind if I come in side and grab those?” I asked. “Not at all!” He grinned.

I walked over to the door of his cage and used my keycard to unlock it. When I walked in Haruta was waiting in front of the door. I smiled and let my hand go behind his ear and start scratching. Haruta was another bioluminescent mutant but instead of a bird hybrid he was a deer hybrid. Harutas spots gleamed a soft green in enjoyment. His antlers would glow to but they hadn’t finished growing back yet and he still had to rub the velvet off of his antlers. His body wiggled around me. He hugged my waist and nuzzled my head. His ears flapped and they tickled mine. I giggled softly and looked up at him. I booped his nose before moving his arms from my waist. I walked over and picked up his shedded antlers. I let my fingers gently glide across them. Thats when I realized there was a faint gold pattern that wrapped around the antlers it matched the scarf I gave him. “(Y/n) do you think my antlers will grow back bigger?” Haruta asked me. I smiled brightly at him. Of course I think you’ll grow bigger antlers.” I said.

Harutas smile grew even bigger and he couldn’t help but show his affection. He wrapped his arms around me and his nose nuzzled mine affectionately. I stayed there for a minute before turning around and looking at him. “Haruta I gotta go check on the others. I’ll see you during social hour.” I said. Haruta nodded and removed his arms from my body. I stopped by my room and set one antler on my desk before taking the other to the lab. “Haruta shedded this.” I said and handed the examiner the antler. “Do you mean experiment 3892?” I was corrected. I frowned at the correction. If these are the creatures that are going to save us I’d rather treat them like people. I walked out and made my way to check on the other mutants. The last mutant I visited before social hour was Izo. Another bioluminescent animal. He was a bunny. His ears twitched when he heard me walk in. “What’s got you upset (Y/n)?” He asked. “Nothing you need to worry about.” I whispered. I watched his ears flatten. Izo walked in front of the glass wall separating us. His tail wasn’t shaking like it would any other time he would see me. He generally seemed sad because I was upset. Which confused me. “What’s wrong Izo. You normally don’t act like this when I come to see you.” “Your upset (Y/n).” He replied. My eyes widened a tiny bit at his words. “I’m just annoyed with the way the others treat you guys.” I whispered. I looked at the watch on my wrist andsmiled at Izo. “Wow, I’ve wasted a lot of time. It’s almost social hour!” I smiled. Izos ears raised and his tail flicked happily now in a better mood because I was. I heard the door open and heard the guards boots hit the floor. “I’ll see you soon Izo.” I smiled and walked out. I pulled the helmet to my hazmat suit over my head before stepping outside to observe the mutants.

All 16 were gathered outside of the cave in the area they were allowed in. They all glanced at me before walking into the cave. They were in there for most of the time. Which confused me. Just what exactly were they doing. I saw Haruta walk out and his antlers had finished growing back. I had to do a double take because I didn’t expect his antlers to grow so quickly. Haruta rubbed his head against the tree closest to him. I cringed at the thought of just how much that itched. Once he had gotten a majority of the velvet off he walked back inside the cave. I was so confused why they were inside it. Could they be building a hive? No that couldn’t be it. They didn’t have a female to view as their queen. I glanced at my watch and noticed the social time was almost over. “Guys we have to go back inside soon!” I called out. I watched the 16 mutants walk out of the cave wind over to where I was. The hallway door opened and the toxic chemicals were filtered out of the air inside once the door was closed. Once that process had finished the door to the lab opened. Once the door sealed behind us I pulled my helmet off and looked at the taller mutants that were standing behind me.

I looked up at them and smiled softly. “Did you guys enjoy your time?” I asked. “Mhm (Y/n), my antlers finished growing!” Haruta said giggly. “Can I count the points?” I asked. Haruta nodded excitedly and lowered his head. My gloved finger touched each point. The only reason I still had my glove on was because we just got back inside and the mutants radiation levels most likely increased. “12 point.” I smiled. “4 more than your last pair.” The deer hybrid giggled with excitement. The guards scoffed at my interaction with Haruta. I heard the clicking of heels behind me and I looked to see Monet. “(Y/n) where’s the other antler?” She asked. “I kept it so I could analyze it later.” I said. She scoffed and raised her hand to slap me. She slapped me. Monet raised her hand to slap me again but Haruta pulled me back into his chest. They all looked furious with Monet. Haruta glanced down at me. Tears swelled up in my eyes. A red hand print was left of my cheek. Haruta leaned forward and gently licked the area where she slapped me. Haruta frowned the moment he tasted my tears. He looked at me his own tears in his eyes. His antlers and spots glowing a light blue. His arms wrapped around me tightly and he buried his face in my hair.

“I can’t believe you can stand being so close to them.” Monet scoffed and walked away. Soon after the guards arrived and took the Mutants back to their cages. I sighed and took off the hazmat suit and put it in its respective area. Meanwhile in the lab I didn’t know they were talking about me.

“The mutants are getting awfully close to her.” Monet sighed. “We won’t have to worry. When the female is complete they’ll forget about her. They’ll be too focused on their queen. Not paying a single bit of attention to her. After that we won’t need her anymore and we can just throw her out!” Caesar laughed.

Monet giggled and all the other scientists laughed. Not long after they had quit their cackling I walked in carrying Harutas other antler. Monet snatched it from me and I sighed knowing I would probably have to wait until they all went to bed to analyze it. I walked into the incubation room to check on the female. I smiled when I noticed that at this rate we would have a female by tonight. I walked out and over to Caesar. “The female should be ready tonight.” I spoke. “Good, good.” He smirked. All the other scientists smirked as I left.

Later that night I got up and made my way to the lab. It looked absolutely deserted. I glanced over at Harutas antlers before walking over and picking one up. I turned a small light on at my desk before getting a dish to put under my microscope. I took the antler and scraped it. The dish caught the dust. I narrowed my eyes when I saw a hair. I got my tweezers and moved it into a different sample dish before I took the one with the powder from the antlers and put it under my microscope. I turned the light on and looked at the different cells. I smiled looking at the bioluminescent cells that were different colors. I switched the dishes and looked at the hair. I could see the bioluminescent cells mixed with the normal cells.

I jumped when I heard something hit the glass in the incubation room. I got up and walked inside. I gasped when I saw the female. “Hold on I’ll go get you some clothes, I’ll be back.” I said and walked out. Once I returned with some clothes that I thought suited her I opens the incubator. She stepped out and took the clothes from me. “Hi! My name is (Y/n).” I smiled.

I helped her with her clothes then I looked at her. “I think I’ll call you Whitey.” I said. “Come on let’s go to a different room.” I said and led her out. I led her to her cage and brought her inside. “I’ll be back tomorrow morning with some more people Whitey. I’ll see you soon.” I said and walked out.

On my way back to the lab I glanced at Harutas door. “After I clean up I’ll see if he’s still awake.” I whispered to myself. I put the dishes in one of my drawers and set the antlers back where it was. I turned the lights off and walked out. When I pushed open the door to Harutas room he was standing up and sniffing the air. I smiled slightly at that. His ears twitched and he snapped his head in my direction. “Haruta do you smell your new friend?” I asked. “Yeah.” Haruta replied. “Well you’ll get to see them tomorrow.” I smiled. I sat up against the glass and had a conversation with Haruta. I looked at my watch and gasped. “We talked the whole night away.” I giggled. Haruta giggled with me. “I’m gonna go get a shower and get dressed I’ll be back soon.” I said and Haruta nodded.

On my way back to Harutas room I saw Caesar. “Caesar the female finished last night and I brought her to her room.” I said. “Let’s go see her.” Caesar grinned and I nodded before walking off in the direction. I led the others to the room. Once we were there they observed the female. “(Y/n) go get the other experiments.” Caesar said. “Okay.” I replied. I soon returned with the other mutants following me. I led them into the room the female was in. I closed the door behind me and I stayed in the room in case anything went wrong.

We watched the bioluminescent creatures smell her before looking away as if the could care less about her. I saw her try to get close to Ace but his flames flared. “Ace.” I called out and he let his flames calm. None of the scientists understood why Ace did that. But it all made sense after what Haruta did. Harutas arms wrapped around my waist and he rutted against me. I dropped my clipboard and moaned. “Get her out of there!” Caesar shouted. The guards burst through the door.

They grabbed my arms and ripped me from Harutas embrace. Oh the mutants were pissed. They all ran out of the room. When the scientists looked back in there was only the corpse of the female. “We need to evacuate to the second lab!” Caesar said. The guards carrying me could hear him so they tossed me in the lab and closed the doors. I could see on the cameras just how distressed the mutants were. I watched the cameras. I saw that Haruta threw his head back and sniffed the air. I could only guess that he got my scent because he started heading in the direction of the lab.

I ran over to the controls, but the moment I got there the lights went out. I ran over to my desk in hope that my light would turn on which It did. While I was doing that Haruta had managed to pull the doors apart. “Queen!” Haruta gasped in relief. He slid his body through the gap but an antler got caught. I heard Haruta whine and I looked over at the door. “Queen.” He whined. I walked over and saw tears running down his face. A look of defeat in his eyes. I couldn’t stand seeing him like that. I walked over and wiped his tears away. “It’s okay Haruta, I’m here.” I whispered.

I moved his antlers so it wasn’t stuck anymore and I pulled him through the door. I stumbled back and fell underneath Haruta. He was laying on top of me.

I ran my hands through his soft hair. Harutas ears flapped and his tail swished in enjoyment. “Queen.” Haruta hummed in relief. He was feeling better but that didn’t change the fact that I was stressed about everything. “What’s wrong queen.” Haruta asked worriedly. H-Haruta there’s just so much going on. I don’t know what to do. I’ll probably die soon too.” I spoke anxiously. The mutant sat up and brought me with him. His arms wrapped around me pulling me into his chest. I relaxed in the mutants embrace.

It starts turning into a lemon here

“It’ll be okay (Y/n).” I looked up the the mutant. Something seemed different in his voice. “Haruta?” Haruta pushed me back down. I looked up at the mutant. “I want to take care of you (Y/n); I want to make you feel better.” He said and rutted against me. I couldn’t help but moan.

Harutas face suddenly dived in between my breasts. “Haruta!” I blushed at the sudden pleasure. He kissed my exposed skin. “Haruta.” I whispered and he looked at me.

“It’s okay queen I’ll make you feel better.” Haruta said. I paused at the nickname. My hands gripped his shoulders. The fabric of the clothes I had given him were ripped to shreds everything but the scarf. Harutas face dived into my neck and he licked the skin as if it was his favorite candy. ‘Oh god damn that felt good’ I thought.

No no what was I thinking. A feeling of dread returned. My nails dug into his forearm and I only received a mewl. That only made Haruta more excited. If the feeling of something poking at my thigh meant anything.

My face dropped the moment I realized what the nickname meant. They saw me as their lover. The queen was supposed to be... “Haruta are you confused?” I whispered.

He looked at me. His pupils were dilated they were wide enough that it almost looked as if they had taken over his eyes. I couldn’t deny my attraction to the mutant. The sexual tension was thick, that was something I couldn’t deny either.

Harutas face was in front of mine, his hands gently touched me. I found it comforting. It was what he’s wanted to do this entire time. He’s wanted to comfort me, me his queen. I thought about it for a minute.

Fuck it my life has already been ruined. “Haruta, let me.” I whispered and I gently grabbed the scarf that I had given him and pulled him down. My lips pressed against his. I ran my tongue along his bottom lip hoping he would understand. His lips didn’t part like I wanted so I let my tongue push between his lips. I was worried he would taste like radioactive chemicals or poison, but he tasted like apples.

My tongue ran over his teeth. It surprised me when I felt long fangs. I flipped us over during the kiss. When I broke the kiss Harutas arms wrapped around my neck wanting to pull me down for more. Instead of kissing him again I buried my face in his neck. I bit and sucked in different places. On the back of his neck was fur.

After I was satisfied with what I had done I sat up. “Here.” I said and pulled what remains of his clothes off his body. My hand moved to his abdomen before wrapping around his erection. I didn’t even pay attention to what my hand was doing. I kissed Haruta again. I moved my hand up and down. Haruta moaned in my mouth. His moans got progressively louder until he moaned loudly in my mouths and his ears and tail stood on his end. I broke the kiss when I felt something wet on my hand.

Did he already? I looked at my hand and his cum was glowing. My face dropped at the sight. Was this even safe for me. I was shaken out of my thoughts when Haruta started picking at my clothes. I grabbed his hands and undid the buttons to my shirt and pants. He pushed my shirt off my shoulders and pulled my pants off leaving me in my underwear. Haruta kissed my exposed skin and I couldn’t help but moan. I moved his hand to my back and he unhooked my bra. He eagerly pulled my panties off.

He picked me up and set me on a table. He rubbed the tip at my entrance before pushing inside. Haruta pulled his hips back before he started thrust over and over again. I moaned as he thrusted inside of me. It felt so good. “Queen~” Haruta moaned. I looked at Haruta before I kissed him. Haruta gasped when I wrapped my legs around his waist, and the new angle brought him deeper inside me. The pleasure was overwhelming. My legs started to tremble and not long after I had my orgasm. Haruta continued to thrust inside of me. He came inside me not long after. After he pulled out I collapsed against his body and drifted to sleep.

When I woke up I was somewhere I didn’t recognize. I sat up but a pair of arms pulled me back down. “Good morning (Y/n)!” Haruta smiled. “Haruta where am I?” I asked. “Your new room! Jozu still has to make it bigger though.” Haruta said. “Are we outside?” I asked. “Mhm!” Haruta hummed. “How am I still alive?” I asked out loud. “Because Marco made you like us now!” Haruta grinned. I understood now. “Now you can be with us all the time!” Haruta grinned and I smiled. I snuggled into his chest. Soon after the other mutants returned to the hive. The first one that popped into my room was Izo. To say the least they were all excited that they could spend all the time they wanted with their queen.

#haruta #one piece haruta x reader #one piece haruta #Whitebeard pirates #mutant au #Haruta x reader #op haruta #one piece #one piece x reader #one shot #x reader

[lupinlongbottom]

Burning Bridges pt. 5

Neville Longbottom x Reader

Summary: Weddings are a beautiful thing, no? (Y/N) and Neville finally bring it upon themselves to make out up, trying their best to work with what they’ve got. 

Word Count: 4.5k

Warnings: bit of swearing

A/N: ooo fancy. squint and you can see plot, maybe? dunno.

Part 1 ... Part 2 ... Part 3 ... Part 4 ... Part 6 ... Part 7

___

The first thing Neville felt was the cold. The winter air nipped at his nose like an old friend, bitter and unrelenting. The cold contrasted the searing hot touch against his lips, suddenly and all at once. (Y/N) had pressed herself against Neville abruptly, effectively shutting him up.

“(Y/N),” He mumbled, pulling away reluctantly. “What’re you—”

(Y/N) pressed her lips to Neville’s again, a bit harder than before. Her hands connected around his neck, pulling him in deeper. Finally deciding the fight just wasn’t worth it, Neville gave in, snaking his hands around her waist, holding her close. The two swayed in silence, only breaking for a breath, going back deeper than they had left off. The tension that had been building like a taught rubber band for the last five years had finally snapped, blinding the two with a white hot light.

“Neville,” (Y/N) removed her lips from his, focusing on the flush of his face, noting the few freckles that had dotted the bridge of his nose. “I know this isn’t ideal—”

“—don’t care,” Neville mumbled, diving back in for another kiss, growing more daring by the whimper (Y/N) let out. The cold that had once bit at his nose was long forgotten. Neville grew more fearless in his motions, allowing his initial gentleness wash away, a low groan emitting softly from his throat.

“I never knew you were so daring, Longbottom,” (Y/N) pulled away, face thoroughly flushed. “Out in the open like this,” she glanced at the open courtyard, catching her breath. 

“Neither did I,” Neville smiled, resting his hands again at her waist, afraid to let her go. “But I need a push from time to time.”

“I’ll be here,” (Y/N) cupped his face, thumb resting above the scruff of his jawline. “I’m sorry if this fucks up our friendship—”

“—this,” Neville laughed, drawing circles in the sky with his nose. “Didn’t fuck up our friendship.”

“No?”

“No,” he smiled, pausing for a moment, thinking over his next words carefully. “Not talking to me for five years might’ve done that.”

(Y/N) slapped him playfully on the cheek, trying to pull an angry face. “Shut it,” a small giggle erupted from her lips. “Nev, can I be honest for a moment?”

“More honest than what we were just doing?”

She nodded. “Would it be completely insane of us to keep doing this?” Her eyes met Neville’s, looking for a wordless answer.

“I’m not following?” Neville replied, trying to see the suggestion in a different light.

“I want to snog you more,” (Y/N) admitted, not breaking eye contact. “I have a feeling you’d like to snog me more as well, but, someone may… catch us. Out here, I mean.”

“So you want to go snog in a broom closet like teenagers?” Neville laughed, pressing a kiss between her brows.

“Consider it making up for lost time,” she shrugged, grinning wildly.

“So you want to run and hide,” He started, watching (Y/N) nod. “Go snog in a dark room, hope that no one catches us,” Neville’s grin grew wider, smirking down at the woman before him. “At our friend’s wedding?”

“Bingo,” (Y/N) said, grabbing Neville by the hand and guiding him down the hall. Indeed they had passed a storage closet, thankfully unlocked. With one final double take of the hallway, the couple disappeared into the darkness.  

__

Sunlight filtered in through the darkness of the curtains hung carefully next to the bed. (Y/N) awoke with a beam of sun hitting her directly in the eye, blinding her momentarily. She felt warmer than usual, with a quick glance she realized that the blanket that had covered her legs was not her own. It was a deep green buffalo plaid print, terribly warm and inviting.

“What…” (Y/N) scanned around the bedroom. The layout was the same, bathroom to the right of the bed, dresser at the foot, doorway out to the living room adjacent to the dresser. Every corner of the room was decked out in greenery, from the various plants to the color of the sheets. “Oh…” she felt the bed shift next to her, begging her to look down.

It was Neville.

“Shit!” (Y/N) hissed, quickly glancing at what she was wearing. Realizing that she was still wearing the same dress she had worn the night before, (Y/N) let out a sigh.

Neville stirred in his sleep, groggily waking at the lack of warmth on his left side. At first, nothing was wrong, but the dream-like sight of (Y/N) practically threw him out of bed, toppling to the floor.

“Are you alright?” (Y/N) asked, quickly flying to the other side of the bed. 

Neville groaned in pain, having landed face first against the stone flooring. He mumbled a response against the marble.

“What?”

“Been…” Neville groaned, pushing himself off the ground, sitting next to the bed. He put his hands between his lap, stretching his back. “…better.”

“Don’t scare me like that!” (Y/N) said, flopping back onto the pillows.

“Scare you? Blimey, (Y/N) I would say that you’ve scared me a bit more just now,” he grinned, massaging his face, his eyes finding a large purple mark on his arm. “N-not that your face scares me! I just wasn’t expecting to see you.”

“Likewise,” (Y/N) admitted, running a hand through her hair, finally pushing it out of her face. A realization struck her. “We didn’t…?”

“Oh!” Neville shot up like a rocket, head practically touching the ceiling. “No! At least, I don’t think we did? I feel like I would’ve remembered? Right?”

“There’s no need to shout,” (Y/N) giggled, watching the tips of Neville’s ears grow redder by the second. “We’re still wearing our clothes from the wedding, so I don’t think so either. I don’t remember much from last night, which is odd considering I didn’t have anything to drink…”

“Neither did I…” Neville mumbled, flattening the white dress shirt from the night before, still buttoned mostly. “Come to think, I don’t remember coming back here?”

“We’re not forgetful people,” (Y/N) said, smiling. “Well, you’ve gotten better over the years.”

“Maybe someone used a memory charm on us,” He laughed, jokingly. “Let’s retrace our steps,” Neville said, sitting on the edge of the bed, facing away from her. “We were at the wedding, we went for that walk, we—”  

“—made out, yeah,” (Y/N) added. “I pulled you to that closet—”

“—where we only snogged,” Neville pointed, thankful his face was turned away from (Y/N). “After that…?”

(Y/N) shrugged. “I don’t have the faintest idea,” she focused her stare at the potted plant hanging in the corner of his room, leaves dangling almost to the floor. “I remember the snogging—Godric do I remember the snogging,” (Y/N) sang, swaying whimsically a bit to herself. “You’re quite the kisser, you know?”

“I-I didn’t,” Neville turned his head, cheeks redder than a radish. “Thank you…” he said, twiddling his thumbs.

“You’re welcome,” (Y/N) smiled sweetly. “Look, Nev, I think we need to talk… about last night,” she sighed, watching Neville turn his body towards her. “Well, about everything, really. Things got a bit explosive—”

“—it’s my fault,” Neville said, waving his arm. He crossed his legs, now sitting at the end of his bed near (Y/N)’s feet, deeply aware of her presence and how terribly close he was to touching her. “I-I shouldn’t have looked through your things.”

“You didn’t,” (Y/N) said, noting the Gryffindor’s stuttering. Had he been doing that recently? “Like you said, I had it laying out. Not exactly a secret I was trying to keep, I suppose,” she shrugged, fingers playing with the lace of her gown. “To be honest, I couldn’t begin to tell you why I kept that cardigan in the first place,” a chuckle.

“It’s a warm cardigan,” Neville shrugged. “You’ve always had a thing for warm jumpers.”

“This much is true,” (Y/N) nodded, glancing at her wrist. The pink ribbon was tied neatly around it. “You’ve always liked my ribbons,” she laughed, holding her hand up, allowing Neville to see. “I’m real sorry for how I snapped, it’s just seeing the ribbon, from that day… To think you found it, and then kept it for so long, I don’t know. Something inside of me just broke open.”

“Something bad?”

“If it was something bad, I reckon I would’ve knocked you to the ground instead of kissing you, no?” (Y/N) smirked.

“Fair point,” Neville nodded, albeit a bit fast. She always had high marks in Defense Against the Dark Arts, excelling at the knockback jinx, her signature move. “I’m sorry I didn’t make a better effort to find you—”

“—you did,” (Y/N) said, stopping Neville in his tracks. “You said so yourself, searched all around the wreckage for me after the fact. I was the coward hiding at the lake.”

“Your dad died, (Y/N), you had every reason to hide from other people…”

“My dad,” (Y/N) scoffed lightly, her fingers still dancing against the lace. “The dad that was in Azkaban my entire life? The man who decided that fighting for a pure-blooded society was more important than the blood of his own family? Deciding the fate of the daughter he knew for a few days, planning to marry her off to another pure-blooded bloke just to keep their family blood clean? Some dad.” 

“You were mourning the man you wish he could’ve been, not the man he was, right?” Neville said, hesitantly placing a hand on (Y/N)’s ankle, trying to comfort her. (Y/N) nodded.

“Sometimes I have dreams, you know? About what my life would’ve looked like if he hadn’t chose the life he did. He would buy me sweets all the time, teach me how to ride a broom, spoil me rotten,” (Y/N) let out a choked laugh, but no tears came. “But… he didn’t. I know that and I’ve known that for years now. It’s still no excuse for the choices I made that day.”

“I don’t blame you, at all,” Neville admitted. “I-I mean, I did. Then, for a bit. Honestly thought you were a bit selfish, running off the way you did.”

“I run off a lot, don’t I?” (Y/N) chuckled. “Never really been one to share my feelings, hold them all in here,” she pointed to her chest, tapping it a few times. “I’ve been trying to get better about it, took my few years on my own to reflect on that.”

“A bit ironic,” Neville joined in on her laughter. “Reflecting on the fact that you run off a lot while you ran from everything, no?”

“Shove it,” (Y/N) said, kicking Neville’s hand off her ankle. He smiled. “I mean it though, I’m sorry about everything. I was selfish, wasn’t thinking straight. I should’ve given you a chance, considering I was the one who initiated the kiss… both times.”

“Interrupted me both times, too,” Neville hummed. “Another bad habit of yours.”

“I didn’t interrupt you the first time!” (Y/N) scoffed. “I was so relieved that you were alive!” she felt her face heat up again. “But the second time you had said that you… well…”

“Oh,” Neville remembered. “I guess I did say… that.”

“Do you mean it?”

“I think I did,” Neville nodded. “Well, I know I did five years ago. I loved you,” He  said, finally releasing the words the two of them had been avoiding. He let them hang in the air for just a moment. “I did, love you, I mean. For a while. Practically since third year, actually,” the words came sputtering out of Neville like a babbling brook, faster than he could formulate a thought. “You were my best friend. You cared about me, more than anyone else really did. I just assumed you’d never feel that way about me so I shoved it down, especially when you and Seamus started to have that little fling.” 

“I think,” (Y/N) took a second to collect her thoughts. “I’ve always cared for you, Neville. You said so yourself. I guess I never really knew how I felt until I saw you, after all the fighting, saw that you were still alive and breathing,” she shrugged again. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if I lost you that day, too.”

“Did you ever…?” Neville couldn’t bring himself to finish his question, the answer almost seemed plain as the day before them.

“I did,” (Y/N) nodded.

“Do you think we could get to that place?” Neville asked, his voice barely above a whisper, his words as fragile as glass. “To be able to love each other at the same time, I mean?” 

“I’m not sure,” (Y/N) admitted, looking Neville in the eye. He looked almost defeated, his face turning down to his hands. “But I think we owe it to ourselves to try,” she leaned forward, gently placing her hand atop of his, the pink ribbon on her wrist tickling his fingers. “Obviously we both had some unresolved tension, if last night was any indication of that.”

“I-I’m not usually that bold—”

“—I know.”

“But you’re right, if we take it slow, start fresh,” Neville nodded, still staring at their hands. “Nurture it properly—”

“Are you comparing the complexity of our relationship to gardening?” (Y/N) laughed, pulling her hand away. Neville shrugged. “Should we make sure it gets enough water, too?”

“I’m trying to be serious here,” Neville said, pointedly. “Don’t have to go and make a joke about it.”

“What’re you going to do?” (Y/N) teased. “Break up with me?” 

“You said so yourself,” Neville stood up, adjusting his shirt. “Can’t break up with someone you’re not dating.”

“Ouch,” (Y/N) pressed a hand to her chest, right above her heart. “That hit me hard, Longbottom. Just annihilated my heart, crushed it to a thousand pieces.”

“Right,” He laughed. “We’ll take it slow,” Neville said again, circling back to their original topic. “I think we can get back to a place of mutual trust and understanding.”

“I agree,” (Y/N) said, finally hopping off Neville’s bed, unaware of the amount of time that had passed. “What does that make of us now, then? Surely we’re not just friends anymore…?”

“No,” Neville mumbled. “I suppose not…”

“And if we’re not ‘dating’,” (Y/N) said, stepping closer to Neville. She flung a finger between the two of them, now standing only a foot away from one another, waving it lightly. “What are we calling this…?”

“That’s a great question,” Neville gulped, now fully aware of the space, or lack thereof, between him and (Y/N). “B-because I have no idea. For now, anyway. If we can make it work, I’d want to ask you proper, not just in the heat of the moment.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t worry about putting a label on it,” (Y/N) said, pressing her finger onto Neville’s chest. “For now.”

“R-right,” Neville nodded, glancing down at (Y/N). “For now.”

“What time is it, anyway?” (Y/N) asked, trying to draw herself away from the situation at hand, fearing she’d dive too far and drown.

“Almost noon,” Neville said, taking a look at his watch, still attached to his wrist. “It’s Sunday, we don’t have any classes.”

“Sunday,” (Y/N) repeated, wracking her brain. “I think I was supposed to do something today…?”

“Funny,” Neville said, standing up. “Me too…?”

“I’m sure it’s nothing,” (Y/N) said, picking up her shoes. “Well, I better go and clean myself up for lunch, one look at me and the students will think I’ve gone mad.”

“Agreed,” Neville nodded. “I’ll save you a spot at lunch?” A small smile danced across his lips.

“I’d like that,” (Y/N) smiled back, fighting back a bigger grin. She exited Neville’s chambers, moving quickly to her own before anyone could see her. Thankfully the hallway was empty, allowing her to enter the room next door with ease. After a quick change and a simple detangling spell on her unruly hair, (Y/N) was ready for lunch.

The Great Hall was nearly empty, as the end of the lunch period was almost over. Students had gone back to their studying or other activities. The faculty table hosted only a few of her peers, Hagrid booming from the end, sitting next to Neville.

“…was beautiful, the weddin’!” Hagrid said, nearly sobbing into his napkin. “Ginny an’ Harry looked so happy!”

“I know,” Neville said, patting the half-giant’s back. “They looked really happy together.”

“Oh! (Y/N),” Hagrid stopped, noticing the young witch arrive at the table, sitting down next to Neville. “Sorry ya ‘ad to see that,” he sniffled, putting the napkin back onto his lap. “But it’s nice to see the two of you awake!” he glanced between Neville and (Y/N)

“Awake?” (Y/N) laughed, taking a plate of mashed potatoes and a thick red sauce. “You saw us last night, Hagrid, we weren’t sleeping.”

“Ya don’t remember?” Hagrid asked.

“Actually,” Neville said, swallowing a bite of bread quickly. “We don’t exactly remember much from last night…” he turned to (Y/N), noticing her face grow pink. “…from a certain point, that is.”

“Do you know how we got home? Back to the castle?” (Y/N) asked, hoping Hagrid had the answer.

“Well, I carried ya o’ course!” he boomed, laughter echoing throughout the hall. A few remaining students stared idly, wondering what could’ve caused him to laugh so loud. “I was walkin’ outside, ya see. Heard a loud thump from the courtyard,” he took a bite from his apple, leaving only half left. “Found the two of yer sleepin’ in a closet! Must’ve been the punch, ‘ad a few glasses of it myself.”

“We were… sleeping?” 

“On the floor?”

Hagrid nodded. “Figured ya ‘ad too much fun, took it upon meself to bring ya home,” he scratched his neck. “Tried droppin’ Longbottom off first, but,” Hagrid pointed at (Y/N) with his fork. “Ya started wakin’ up. Insisted ya were goin’ to sleep right there.”

“…and you let me?” (Y/N) said, hardly shocked, but her face was telling another story.

“Looked peaceful enough,” Hagrid shrugged. “Sorry ‘bout that mark, Neville. Thestrals accidentally gave ya a good kick."

Neville looked down to the growing purpling mark on his arm, oddly shaped like a horse’s hoof now that he took a better look at it. “At least that makes sense…”

“What doesn’t make sense is why we were knocked out in the broom closet,” (Y/N) said, voice growing low. “We didn’t have any punch and now we can’t remember?”

“Speakin’ of,” Hagrid said, setting his goblet down. “How’d yer meetin’ with McGonagall go?”

“Meeting?” the two said in unison.

“Semester briefing of course!” Hagrid laughed. “Reckon she gave me a nasty look ‘bout those murtlaps escaping, but we ‘ad a good laugh.”

“I don’t remember having a meeting today?” (Y/N) said, setting her fork down. “Neville, do you?”

“No,” he shook his head. “Hagrid, do all faculty have this meeting today?”

“Yep,” Hagrid nodded. “Don’t tell me ya lot forgot?”

“Shit,” (Y/N) said, slamming her head onto the table, nearly missing her potatoes. “We’re dead,” she slammed her head again. “So dead.”

Neville reached over, stopping (Y/N) from slamming her head again. “We’re not dead,” he laughed, noticing the red mark now adorned to her forehead. “Royally screwed? Maybe.”

“Why in Merlin’s beard would we have forgotten? I never forget this kind of stuff! Hell, I can remember at least a hundred potions from the top of my head!” She stood up, readjusting her robes. “We have to go and talk to McGonagall.”

“We? But we just started eating…”

“We’ll eat something after we’ve kept our jobs,” (Y/N) said, pulling Neville up by the collar. “Unless you don’t want to keep working here?”

“Right,” Neville said, face determined. “You’re right.”

The two marched out of the dining hall, quickly working their way to the headmistress’ office, giving small greetings to passing students. (Y/N) cleared her throat, mumbling the password to enter the office. The stairs began to move upward, Neville and (Y/N) standing next to one another. “How mad do you think she is?”

“Hopefully not mad enough to sack us, I quite like this job.”

The office, still adorned with portraits of past headmasters lining the walls, was warm and inviting. The faint scent of vanilla wafted through the air, a cauldron burbling in the corner. 

“Professors,” Minerva said, glancing up from her paperwork. “Glad you finally decided to take a break in your busy schedule to show up.”

“Headmistress, we can explain—” 

McGonagall raised her hand, silencing (Y/N) effectively. “No need,” she stood up, walking down the few steps towards the two professors. “Forgetting our meeting isn’t like you, (L/N),” she turned to Neville. “I can’t say the same for you, Longbottom.”

“Normally I’d agree…” Neville sputtered, growing hot at the accusation. “But this wasn’t my doing this time, honest!”

“Minerva, we’re sorry we forgot about our meeting. At the Potter’s wedding last night, Neville and I—”

“—I don’t need the details of your night, Professor (L/N),” McGonagall raised her hand again. “I’m truly disappointed that the two forgot about the meetings. What sort of example are you setting for your students?” The two hung their head in shame. “Thankfully I really have no need to have the meeting with the two of you in the first place.”

“What?”

“(Y/N), your student’s marks are impeccably high, across the board. Even students who were struggling in Potions last year are succeeding in your class, even if it isn’t by a large percentage,” McGonagall turned to Neville. “Your classes, Longbottom, have only gotten the highest praises from students passing in the halls. The two of you should be proud.”

“Thank you, Headmistress,” Neville said, bowing lightly.

“Thank you,” (Y/N) mirrored.

“Besides the praises,” McGonagall warned, her voice growing more stern. “I shouldn’t have to punish you like students to get the point across. But, for this instance, I feel it to be necessary.”

“Are you going to have us scrub cauldrons? (Y/N) already keeps them sparkling,” Neville asked, his voice growing lower as the Headmistress’s eyes fell upon him.

“Of course not,” McGonagall scoffed. “Cauldron cleaning is left for the Potions Master to dole out for detentions as she sees fit,” she nodded at (Y/N). “But, seeing as the two of you seem to have enough free time in your schedules, you can add Wednesday evenings to your patrol duties. Both of you.”

“Wednesdays were one of our only nights off, Minerva,” (Y/N) blurted, allowing McGonagall’s first name to slip.

“And now they’re not,” McGonagall hummed. “If I remember correctly, you said so yourself, (Y/N), you’ve always wanted to patrol the halls as a professor, any chance you got, no?”

“I—yes,” (Y/N) nodded, caught in her own words. “Of course.”

“Redeem yourselves and the patrols will return to four times a week. Now that the business is out of the way,” McGonagall cleared her throat.

“Longbottom, if I recall you have remedial Herbology with two Hufflepuff students this afternoon, do you not?”

Neville’s face dropped. “You’re right! I completely forgot!” He nearly sprang from his shoes, hoping back to the entrance of the office. “Thank you, Headmistress!” He shot (Y/N) a small smile. “See you tonight, Professor (L/N).”

“That man wouldn’t remember his head if it weren’t screwed onto his neck,” (Y/N) chuckled, heading towards the door.

“(Y/N),” McGonagall said, “I have a feeling there’s something else to discuss?”

“Professor,” (Y/N) said. “Headmistress, I mean. I know this isn’t work related, but I need the advice of another witch.”

“Yes?”

“Last night, at the wedding, Neville and I after a certain point can’t remember anything. We don’t recall getting home, or anything after that. We also couldn’t remember our meetings today…”

“Did you have any of that vile punch?” McGonagall asked, tipping her nose into the air. “Potter said that the Weasley twins had concocted it. Hagrid drank quite a bit of it,” she smiled. “Are you sure your memory loss isn’t from that?”

“That’s the thing,” (Y/N) muttered. “We didn’t have anything to drink, as far as I’m aware."

“And you’re saying that you and Mr. Longbottom can’t recall your memories after a certain point? None, whatsoever?”

(Y/N) shook her head. “No. We woke up this morning with no recollection of anything after—”

“—after, what?” McGonagall asked, watching (Y/N) grow stiff. “After you and Mr. Longbottom had disappeared from the reception?” She smirked, readjusting her spectacles.

“Yes,” (Y/N) blurted, only slightly ashamed. “A bit after that…”

“Have you considered this to be the work of a memory charm?” McGonagall asked.

“That’s what Neville joked about this morning,” (Y/N) laughed. “N-not that we were together this morning,” she coughed. “I highly doubt that it could be a memory charm. Who would use a memory charm on us?”

“Normally memory charms are used to erase a specific memory,” McGonagall hummed. “But sometimes, when used improperly—or depending on the case—properly, the victim can forget more than the user bargained for.”

“I’m still not following…?”

“I would bet my last Galleon that someone used a memory charm on the two of you,” said McGonagall.

“Really? No joke?”

“No joke.”

“I know this may be a stupid question,” (Y/N) started, her eyes falling on the Pensieve. “But would it be possible—”

“No,” McGonagall said, cutting (Y/N) off. “The Pensieve doesn’t work like that. Once your memory is altered, you cannot call the memories to the Pensieve. Unless the witch or wizard who cast the charm on the two of you reverses it, I’m afraid there’s not much I can do.”

“Surely there must be a way to reverse the charm otherwise, right?” (Y/N) asked, voice dripping with hope. 

McGonagall shook her head. “Unless you’d like to undergo intense torture and suffering, I’m afraid not.”

“Thank you, Headmistress,” (Y/N) bowed. “This has been helpful.”

“I hope it has,” McGonagall nodded. “And, (Y/N), please bear in mind what I had said to you on the first night of school.”

(Y/N) recalled the conversation. “Oh, Neville and I…”

“You two look good together,” McGonagall smiled. “But, please keep it professional. Students, they love their gossip."

“Of course, Headmistress,” (Y/N) nodded, finally bursting through the door. “How embarrassing…” she mumbled, walking back to her chambers. 

__

General Tag List: @maralisa124 , @leighxlover , @hey-its-me-rai , @missihart23 , @biatheintrovert , @chocolaterumble, @why-am-i-sad-and-sleepy , @steve-thotgers , @greeneyedthief, @kitkatkl

Neville Longbottom Tag List: @readerbandit

want to be added to a tag list? hmu in the replies or ask box with what characters you’d like to be tagged with!

#neville longbottom x reader #harry potter x reader #neville longbottom #neville longbottom x you #harry potter #lowkey hate this little snag in the plot but who cares? not me haha #the snag will be fixed in the next chapter i assure you

[pigeon-sponge]

Do you have a tutorial or guide or anything on how you do colors because all of your pieces have such nice colors and lighting Seriously, the use of colors in your art isn’t something I’ve seen very often; I was wondering how you choose them & how you get those effects with the software? Thanks so much is advance if you choose to answer this :)

Thank you ;;;_;;;!! I do, but I think it needs a revamp.

I’m going on a very long ramble.

(Heads up! I’m not professionally trained, I have just watched and read a lot of tutorials and deviated from there with my own thing. Unless it has something to do with color blending modes, there is a good chance that I am using a silly fake term for many of these concepts. Also, I use Krita, but everything here should also be done possible on Photoshop, Medibang, GIMP, and I believe Clip Studio Paint.  Autodesk Sketchbook and MyPaint don’t have filters like color balance, sharpening, etc. and I don’t know of an easy way of changing the saturation of a painting on SAI and FireAlpaca easily since I’ve never used SAI, I’ve only used FireAlpaca once in a blue moon, and searching for either doesn’t give a “one click” option that doesn’t require undos... but everything about color choices/lighting/color filters/blending-modes-that-aren’t-saturation should stay the same.)

There’s as many ways for things to be beautiful as there are birds in the world. But that’s too many birds, so its good to have a process that you try to follow. This is kind of an ideal setup, but I think this is how streamlined I wished I paint. (I usually bop between consolidating colors and adding detail, continuously, for all eternity until i give up and smash that post button blindfolded. I’ll explain what this means.)

So color wise, I try aim for two things: good value blocks and balance (cohesion), and interesting hue variation (jitter).

------

Setting the Ringabel painting with the saturation at 0%/setting the colors on grayscale, then simplified:

These blocks of different colors both provide structure to the painting, and also add to the composition. The thing I want people to notice most - Ringabel’s beautiful, luscious hair that he lovingly tends to every morning (and his face I guess) - is the area with the most contrast. There are logical-ish subdivisions between each part of the painting and I want to preserve these chunks of logical blocks throughout the painting process, or swap them out for Even Better Blocks.

Even then, I want there to be visual interest and a balance of values around the entire piece, which is why I added lighter glitter around areas that aren’t interesting enough to have real detail. No one is going to stare at that area too hard, but without it, this dynamic painting feels too empty.

Also, if I were to do the painting from the ground up again from this thumbnail, I’d also include gradients, to aid in carrying the eye to the focus having a better base to build on. 

This also makes it easier to play with the lighting before getting to the meat of the work!

----

If we take Ringabel to max saturation, you can still see a bit of the value blocks, but there’s just a lot of colors slapped around everywhere:

I like this effect because it squeezes the maximum amount of visible interest out of a block of color as possible while still  keeping the cohesion. And it’s not too hard to do - when you shade your painting, use two different colors instead of just one. When you add lighting, use two different colors. When you have a blob of color, slap some random color on that blob using a softlight blending mode. 

If there’s a concentration of color around an area and there’s an unbalance, add that color on the other side of the painting, to balance.

I like to call this jitter.

----

Let’s talk about cheating really quick:

“I kinda want mess up the colors but in a way thats kinda consistent”

“This is too bright.“

“This is too dark.“

“There’s not enough contrast!! >:(“

“Too much !!!! Contrast!!!!“

“THIS IMAGE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE PURPLE“

There is magic in the filter list. Jump in and have fun! (And fix your stuff.)

----

And.... that’s the philosophy.

Keep big chunks to stay organized

But have randomness to be fabulous

No shame in fixing mistakes.

----

So from that, actual painting process for Ringabel on a Horse (clop clop). Here’s the thumbnail, which I drew before I knew how horses worked:

Then we choose hues. This will change over the course of the painting; I ended up with Green, then Red, then Yellow, then blue?

Then, allocate the colors in this way -

Dominant Lighting, Secondary Shading

Secondary Lighting, Dominant Shading

Rim light, another light source

Random random pops of color. because why not.

And pop them in this order:

Base/lineart

Initial color

Random colors (literally any color on the wheel) - Softlight/overlay - introduce jitter

Area Light 1 - (1) - Softlight/overlay - cohesive light

General shading - (2) - Multiply - cohesive shading

Detail shading  - (1) - Multiply - jittery shading

Rim light - (3) - jitter - Softlight/overlay/COLOR DODGE - cohesive, out of left field light

Area light 2 - (1) -Softlight/overlay/COLOR DODGE - cohesive light

Detail - ;;_;; - FIX YOUR MISTAKES, C L E A N

Consolidate - (All 4) again to fix colors from the detail portion

GLITTER - (All 4) - jitter, glitter

Filtering - :D

The idea for 4-9 is that we have a balance of detail (jitter) and cohesion that we need to upkeep, and we need to strike a balance between adding cohesion and removing detail, and vice versa. Usually, I repeat those steps over and over and over and over, trying to get it just right. I tried to keep it simple here for the sake of the tutorial and my own sanity.

And now we do the thing.

Thanks for sticking around, and have a fantastic day!

#tutorial #art tutorial #digital painting tutorial #painting tutorial #sorry this took so long #thank you for the request #and have a good night! #hotvivitea

[sending-the-message]

Etch-E-Sketch (FINAL) by MidnightWritings

Part 4

The word pain couldn’t even begin to describe what I felt when I woke up. I didn’t bother opening my eyes right away, too afraid to see what was around me. I didn’t wake up thinking I was back at home, in my bed, safely tucked away. And I didn’t wake up like last time, worrying about where I was, being completely disoriented. Instead, I woke up with a flood of memories, it seemed like the entire day played back in my head the minute I regained consciousness. That’s why I was afraid to open my eyes.

My head was flopped back, my neck and upper spine screaming at me. I could tell I was sitting in a chair, but not a very comfortable one. My arms rested on something in front of me, from what I could tell it felt plastic. Maybe a table? I tried lifting my head up, but it felt like gravity was working against me. I went to lift my hands to my neck, but they slammed back down against the table.

I opened my eyes, looking at the foamy tiles of a drop ceiling. I blinked through the blaring fluorescent lights and grunted as I strained to lift my head. My eyes followed the walls down to a collection of children’s desks in front of me.

I went to fully sit up, pulling my legs in, and my kneecaps whacked against the top of the attached desk. My eyes fluttered across my exposed arms. Strips of cloth were tied around them, connecting to the legs of my desk and chair. I went to lean forward and felt a braided cloth dig into my stomach. I was seat belted and strapped down to a children’s desk. I tugged at my restraints, but they hardly moved. These weren’t just plain, white clothes, they were colorful, some held sparkles and designs. I turned my wrist and saw a white ruffle intertwined with what looked like a glittery unicorn. Tucked underneath one piece of fabric was a white strip of silky paper stitched into the seam. A clothing tag labeled ‘small’. I was being held down with clothes from children.

I started to feel it again, the same feeling from the missing posters room. Their eyes. I kept twisting my wrists, the skin turning red and raw, burnt from the growing friction. The makeshift belt around my stomach dug further into my torso, pressing against my bladder. Thank God it was empty. The legs of my seat scratched against the concrete ground as I tried to loosen myself, making me look around to see if Ms. Jennifer was close enough to hear my movement.

The walls of the makeshift classroom were worn and dirty, dark ooze dripping down where the ceiling and the walls met. Discolored posters were taped against the walls, trying to hide old stains, but not doing much for the overall feel of the room. The old cartoons’ faces were barely visible, spots of blue from their eyes or a tooth here and there poked through every once in a while. The bold printed words screamed out to ‘Wash Your Hands’ or to ‘Learn Something New Today’. A felt rug covered the cement floor. It was designed with different colored shapes, blue and yellow swirls filling in the gaps between. The edges of the rug curled up, snags and pills scattering over the surface.

Strewn around the room were children’s toys of all kinds. Three different stuffed animals were sat huddled together under the broken window, stackable, plastic blocks were scattered around the mat, and even an ant farm lay forgotten by the chalkboard.

It wasn’t until I twisted my head around that I really started to yank at my restraints. Behind me was a homemade cubby section. Wooden planks were sloppily nailed together, ends of bent nails sticking out from each board. At the top of the crooked square cubbies were names written on painter’s tape, the white sharpie marks popping out from the blue material. My eyes filtered over name after name, stopping at ones that I recognized, Max’s friends.

Amy

Donald

Gary

Gregory

Max

My eyes watered as I found my brother’s name, his backpack neatly hanging on the hook underneath his cubby. The main zipper on his bag was opened, the unattached teeth exposing the contents of his bag. I saw all his toys from home except for one. I spotted his red toy car, his mini dump truck, his roaring t-rex, and his stuffed rabbit named Cooper, but one toy was missing. The Etch-E-Sketch.

I practically jumped out of my chair, thrashing around to try to break free. I kicked the legs, trying to bend the rusted steel and slip the bondages off. I winced each time the legs slid across the floor or every dull thwack my heel gave to the iron. I wanted to get out, but I didn’t want Ms. Jennifer knowing I was awake.

“Oh, looks who’s up from their nap?” her airy voice sailed into the room, her lanky body following quickly after.

Her jacket was off and, despite the biting cold around the room, her forehead had broken into a sweat. She carried three green glass bottles in her arms, neatly setting them down on her dust covered teachers desk. She walked around the desk and pulled out her seat, quietly plopping down. She bent over and pulled open one of the desk drawers, bringing up a stained wine glass. A permanent ring had tarnished the glass about three quarters from the top.

She neatly folded her hands atop the desk, smiling sweetly at me, “Ready for your lesson?”

“You’re about to get a lesson. Piece of shit,” I mumbled, no longer hiding my temper.

“Oh, what language,” Ms. Jennifer scolded. “We’ll have to do something about that.”

“Touch me and you die,” I warned, still yanking at my arm restraints.

Her shrill laugh cackled around the room, vibrating in my ears before churning in my stomach, “Oh, you’re a treat.” She stood up and grabbed a bottle and her glass, walking around to lean against the front of her desk. “Fun fact; did you know that blood has been in all sorts of beauty treatments since the Victorian Era?”

I refused to look at her, staying focused on getting away. I tried to block out her voice, but it was like a fly constantly buzzing around my head.

“Back when being pale was all the rage,” she continued, “people would actually drain some of their blood to get a lighter color. There’s even one story of a woman bathing in blood to keep a youthful glow to her skin, did you know that?” she asked, her voice somehow getting even higher.

I still refused to look at her. I heard her pop the cork on the bottle she held, bringing to her nose, and sniffing its contents. A sigh escaped her lips that made me want to vomit all over myself.

“And most recently something called a Vampire Facial?” she asked, an incredulous tone taking over her voice. “Wasteful. Injecting your own blood into your face isn’t going to help anything,” she laughed. “They were all on the right track, but the trick is to start from the inside out.” I heard her slosh the liquid within the bottle around, stirring up whatever was inside. “I assume you found your parents?”

This made my eyes flash up toward her, my body freezing.

“Oh, there we are,” she smiled. “They weren’t the best candidates, but I was running out of time. Thirsty?” she asked, holding the bottle out toward me.

I could feel my eyes grow, starting to realize what might be in that wine bottle. I pushed my feet against the ground, trying to move away from her.

“Come on, I made it myself,” she smiled, slowly tipping the bottle over her wine glass.

The thick liquid seeped from the open bottle top, chunks of coagulated blood slapping against the glass. She gently filled it up, three quarters of the way, before setting the bottle down. She brought the glass up to her nose, sniffing the iron into her lungs. I couldn’t watch as she brought the glass up to her lips.

GULP. GULP. GULP.

I bit my tongue, not wanting her to hear the sob slowly crawling up my throat. I flinched at the sloppy pop her lips made as an audible ‘ah’ rocketed through her mouth.

“I must say, your parents aged like…a fine wine,” she smiled, her white teeth stained red.

“You’re disgusting,” I hissed.

“Well, if you can’t appreciate that little joke, you’re going to hate what I labeled them,” she said, picking up the wine bottle and reading the cursive writing on the makeshift labeled. “A Baker’s Dozen. Nice little play on your last name, huh?” she teased.

I couldn’t hold my tongue any longer. I thrashed and cursed every curse I could remember. I screamed until my voice went horse. I violently tipped my chair on it’s two back legs, threatening to fall backward. My hair stuck to my tear stained cheeks, itching my skin, and poking my eyes. I huffed, trying to catch my breath between sobs and curses.

Ms. Jennifer stood back, watching me with a tilted head. “You know,” she said, once I had quieted down, “they say to ignore a child that’s throwing a temper tantrum, that they’ll tire themselves out eventually.” She slowly walked forward, bringing the bottle of my parents’ blood with her, “But sometimes, I think they’re just hungry.”

“No,” I breathed, all feeling draining from my face as she got closer. “Stay the fuck away from me!”

I felt her boney fingers wrap around the back of my neck, her nails pinching into my skin. I tried to lean back as far as I could, only further trapping myself into her grasp. I felt the sticky bottle tap against my lips. I squished my mouth shut, sucking my lips into my mouth, trying to stop any way for blood to get in. The bottle dug into my mouth, bashing against my teeth through the thin layer of skin protecting them.

She tipped the bottle and I felt the still warm liquid sop over my face. The syrupy blood stuck to my skin and hair. I grunted and tried turning my face, making her nails dig further into the back of my neck. She fully tipped the bottle, making the blood run over my mouth and up into my nose. I felt the warm goop run down my sinuses, making their way into the back of my esophagus. I couldn’t help the gag that erupted out of my mouth, blood now coating my tongue and teeth. I couldn’t catch my breath through the bombarding gelatin that slid down my throat.

It tasted like metal, salty and sour at the same time. My eyes watered as I gurgled against the intrusion. I heard her creepy giggle as she pulled the bottle away from my face. I turned to the side and wretched, everything coming back up my throat and landing on the cement with a splat. I was horrified to see most of it was red. My shoulders bounced at the sobs falling from my mouth while snot, tears, blood, vomit, and drool dripping from my face.

I briefly felt something on my left leg but didn’t kick my foot out in time. I could only freely move my right leg now, she had tied my left ankle to the desk. She stood in front of me and shook her head, walking away with the now empty bottle. Ms. Jennifer pulled open an armoire in the corner of the room, revealing rows of empty wine bottles. She carefully pushed one aside and placed my parent’s empty bottle with the rest of her collection.

“Now, I want to do a little experiment,” she giggled, pulling something else from a drawer in her desk, hiding it behind her back, “consider this the science part of your lesson.”

She stopped in front of my desk and I swung my right leg out to kick her, snarling as I did. My face dropped when she caught it midair, squeezing the muscle in my calf. I winced as the cramp starting to form and tried to wrench my leg away. She smiled and turned around, tucking my leg under her arm, my foot in front of her. I felt her slowly lift my shoe up and off my foot, exposing my toes to the winter air.

“I just want to see how much of a difference you would make to my recipe,” she explained, holding the pliers up for me to see.

“No!” I screamed, trying to wiggle out of her grasp.

My leg barely moved. She was too strong, abnormally strong. She threw her head back in laughter, some of her stringy hair landing on my desk, brushing against my fingertips. I got a handful of her hair and yanked as hard as I could, bashing her head against the desktop.

She growled and pulled my leg up, hyperextending my knee. It felt like my kneecap was going to pop off, the tendons burning all the way up to my hip. I screamed and let go of her hair, wanting the pain to stop.

“I don’t want to kill you just yet,” she hissed through her teeth, “so I’ll only need a little drop.” She placed the pliers over my big toe, the two metal prongs gripping it tightly. “This little piggy went to the market,” she sang, moving the pliers down my row of toes. “This little piggy stayed home. This little piggy had roast beef. This little piggy had none. Now this little piggy,” she jeered, squeezing the pliers around my baby toe.

I yelled, trying to flex my toes out from her grasp. I couldn’t see what she was doing, but I could imagine what was coming next. I felt the ends of the plier prongs slip under the edge of my toenail, grabbing hold.

“Cried, wee, wee, WEE,” she barked, slowly pulling my toenail from my skin.

The scream started from my stomach and radiated through my chest, finally exploding out of my mouth. It made my body jerk forward, the braided belt digging even further into my stomach.

“All the way home,” she smiled, holding my toenail up between the plier’s mouth.

She let my foot drop, the vibration of when it landed on the floor sent a shock of pain through the exposed skin on my toe. She walked over to her desk, wiping the little flecks of blood off her hands, and grabbed another full bottle. Ms. Jennifer glided over toward me, yanking my foot back up and pinching the bottom of my baby toe, squeezing blood out of the exposed skin. I felt the hot droplets pool and slowly drip into the open bottle top.

She let my foot fall again and swirled the few drops of blood that were taken from me around, mixing it all together. She brought it up to her lips and winced, spitting a wad of red gunk from her mouth.

“Ugh,” she shuddered, “not good. You’re…sour. Bitter.” She bent over the desk and spat in my face, “Rotten. You’ve ruined a whole bottle!” she yelled, throwing the green glass aside.

I jumped as it shattered against the wall, splattering blood and glass around the room. She moved behind me and I felt her boney fingers grasp onto the back of my chair, grating the iron legs across the floor.

“Time for a field trip!” she chirped, her dreamy voice echoing around.

She pushed me through the room and out the door into the hallway. I scraped my heel along the floor, trying to stop her as much as I could. I felt my skin being shredded by the rough ground, chunks of my flesh being sanded away.

“MAX!” I screamed, my voice being carried down the hall. “MAX!” I just wanted to hear that he was alive, that he was still okay.

“Oh good,” her airy voice wafted from behind me, “call him. Little brat ran off before I could get a good grip on him.”

My heart felt like it did a cartwheel, excitement pumping through my veins as I realized Max was alive. He had escaped her. He had done it. I couldn’t help but smile through my tears.

“MAX!” I yelled again. “STAY WHERE YOU ARE! STAY HIDDEN! DON’T COME OUT! YOU’RE GOING TO BE FI-”

I gagged as something was shoved into my mouth, it’s rotten, stained taste sinking onto my saliva. I tried to move my tongue, tried to shove the cloth out of my mouth, but the more I tried the more juice squished out from the fabric.

“Shh, shh,” Ms. Jennifer babbled, whispering into my ear, “we’re almost there.”

She pushed my desk into a wall, hidden hinges squealing as my knees bashed against a swinging door. My eyes couldn’t adjust fast enough to the blackness in front of me, but Ms. Jennifer seemed to have no trouble at all navigating through the musty, hidden hall.

The air smelled burnt, not like firewood or smoldering food, but like asphalt and hair. It felt like I was leaning forward, my chair tilting at an angle as I was pushed along. The temperature seemed to, somehow, get hotter and for a good, long while I genuinely thought we were going into Hell. I could hear a distant crackling sound, something spitting and snapping, getting louder as we got closer.

She slid my chair and desk around a sharp corner and I was bathed in an orange glow. An oven, a big vat of wrought iron, sat squat in the middle of the room. The furnace unleashed a torrent of flames, most staying inside the iron confines, but some snuck their way out, licking the sides of the container.

My chair was pushed a little too close to the open flames, the heat making my skin moisten with sweat and I was afraid I was going to come out of this with no eyebrows. But honestly, if eyebrows and one toenail was all that was missing from me when I got out, I would be a happy camper. I was going to get out of this, both me and Max. There was no other option.

Ms. Jennifer walked around me, sticking her face closer to the open flames and wafting the smoke to her nose. Little particles of what looked to be dust floated around the air, giving everything a hazy lens.

She turned to me and smiled, her skin glowing bright orange in the fire’s light, “The kiddies love coming down here, dancing around, seeing how close they can get.” She smiled, remembering all the times she had brought the little kids down here. “It seemed only right that this was the last place they saw.”

It wasn’t until I looked through the flames and into the embers that I saw it. Bones. Skinny bones, some still covered in bits of sizzling fabric, others completely browned from the hot flames. I was looking at the cremated remains of hundreds of children. It wasn’t dust in the air or that covered the ground, it was ashes. I held my breath, not wanting to breathe anything in.

Ms. Jennifer reached into a cabinet next to the furnace, grabbing a shovel that was leaning against the wall at the same time. She held something in her hand, but I couldn’t see what it was until she stepped back into the firelight. A Barbie Doll. She popped off the head of the doll and set it back down. She grabbed a hidden funnel from the shadows behind the furnace and jammed it into the Barbie’s neck. Taking she shovel, she scooped some of the cooled ashes into the funnel, filling the dolls hollow body with the children’s remains.

“They make the best toys, don’t you think?” she asked, popping the doll’s head back on.

Images flashed in my mind; the teddy bears laying under the window, the scattered blocks on the felt rug, the forgotten ant farm. Those toys weren’t stuffed with teddy bear fluff, or made from plastic, or packed with dirt, they were all filled with children’s ashes. That’s why Max has so many friends at daycare, they were trapped there, even after death.

“And I have just the toy for little Max,” she smiled, pulling out a box labeled ‘My Pet Rock’.

I jumped as Ms. Jennifer’s knees were swept out from under her. She crumpled over, hitting her head on the edge of the furnace and laid still on the ground. From the shadows, Max stepped out with the baseball bat firmly in both hands. His face was covered in soot and his yellow shirt was now a dark mustard.

“Max,” my muffled cry sounded. He ran over to me, ripping the cloth from my mouth. “Are you okay?” I whispered, not wanting to wake Ms. Jennifer up.

“I’m fine,” he nodded. “I’m scared, Joanne,” he cried, tears leaving trails of clean skin over his cheeks.

“Don’t be, we’re going to get out,” I nodded, eyes flickering over toward Ms. Jennifer’s still body. “I need your help. Can you untie me?”

Max nodded his head and took the cloth in between his little fingers. He worked at the knots but couldn’t seem to loosen them. We both jumped as Ms. Jennifer groaned.

“Joanne!” Max cried, fingers trembling.

“It’s okay,” I assured, “stand back.”

I waited until Max stepped away before I rocked my chair, tipping the desk sideways. I landed on my right set of ribs, bouncing a bit against the cement floor. I bit back a hiss, trying not to focus on the blooming pain. I pulled my left ankle down the leg of the desk, feeling it fall free as the restraint slipped off the bottom. I tried to reach down and slip my arm restraints off, but the desk leg was too long. I had to break it. I tucked the iron leg in the nook behind my knee and pulled.

I saw Ms. Jennifer try to slide her arm up under herself, groaning as she pushed her hair away from her face.

“Joanne!” Max shrieked.

“Max, run,” I ordered, hearing the metal leg whine as I bent it.

He ran into the shadows and came back out with the Etch-E-Sketch in hand. I heard the patter of his gym shoes run up the vaulted hallway, hopefully out the door and away from this entire place.

I gave one final grunt as the desk leg snapped off at its rusted joint. I pulled my arm down and around the bottom of the ragged end, finally being able to stretch my arm freely. I leaned over the other side and freed my right hand as well. I was almost completely out. I looked up and saw Ms. Jennifer was gone, along with the bat, a clear print was marked in the ashes where her body once laid.

My hands tore at the cloth around my stomach, but I couldn’t get the knot undone either. I pushed it down lower on my hips, wincing as it ripped at my skin, almost too tight to shimmy out of. I forced the cloth over my hips and butt, kicking my legs as I pulled myself free over the cement ground.

I heard her grunt and I turned, rolling away just in time to miss the bat. She had swung it over her head, intending on bashing my skull open. The bat cracked against the cement floor as she growled. I scrambled away, snagged the broken off desk leg. I stood up and swung as she looked over at me. The jagged edge of the broken leg made contact with her forehead, right between her eyes. She flopped backwards and bounced on the ground, moaning as she pushed her palm on the open gash in her skin.

“Stay down!” I spat, quickly running over to the furnace.

I tossed the Barbie Doll she made into the fire and stuffed as many matchboxes from the cabinet into my jeans as I possibly could. I ran right passed her, picking up both the iron bar and the bat, and sprinted up the inclined hallway, the orange light disappearing behind me.

“Ugh,” I heard her growl, a base tone reverberating in her throat. “I think someone needs a time out.”

I just pumped my arms harder, limping slightly at the fact one of my shoes was missing. The dusty floor irritated my open wound, ash and soot settling into the area where my toenail was supposed to be. For a while, the only sound I could hear was my breathing and the irregular stomp and slap of my booted foot and bare foot bounding up the hall.

STOMP. SLAP. STOMP. SLAP.

SCREEEEEE

Something sounded from behind me. I could only imagine what it could have been, but I didn’t dare look back. I saw a faint halo of light coming from around the hidden door in the wall. I braced my arms and burst through the door, back into the afternoon sunlit hallway. I saw Max at the end of the hall. He stopped and turned toward me, running back my way.

“Max, no!” I yelled, sprinting as hard as I could. “Keep going! Get out!”

I spared a look behind me and saw her pale, insect like fingers slowly creep around the door. I stumbled a bit, but quickly regained my balance, bursting back into the classroom. I looked around and spotted all the toys. I couldn’t let the kids stay here. They needed to get out. I grabbed the nearest teddy bear and jammed the spiked iron bar into its stomach, ripping open the fabric to see grey dust puff out instead of cotton. I dumped out the ashes and watched them swirl into the air a bit, seeming to evaporate among the oxygen.

“Joanne,” Max called, suddenly appearing behind me.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, ripping into another stuffed animal. “I told you to get out.”

“Not alone,” he shook his head.

I glanced at him as I shook out the second stuffed toy’s ashes. I nodded and handed him the bat, “Alright, then help me. Smash everything in this room. Anything that can be broken, break it.”

He nodded and went to work, bashing walls, denting the cabinet doors, shattering glass vases, and even sent spider vein cracks into the window. Between the two of us, the air was filled with ashes before we had time to cover our noses. I coughed a bit as I threw the ant farm to the ground, grey particles seeping out from the glass instead of brown dirt.

“Joanne!” Max called through the hazy air.

“Here!” I called, wiping the sweat off my cheek. I reached my hand out and felt Max’s shoulder. “All done?”

“I think,” he shrugged, now holding onto his red, plastic toy.

Like lightning before thunder, I knew what I had to do next. It made sense, the roll the Etch-E-Sketch played. The messages, how it always seemed to know what was going on, how it moved on its own. The one-word notes flashed through my brain.

STOP. They were telling me to stop sending Max to daycare. To stop letting Ms. Jennifer take my brother. To stop ignoring everything.

HELP. They needed me to do something, say something. To help stop this.

HER. They were telling me it was her. Her who was causing the trouble. Her who had taken my parents. Her who would hurt my family.

RUN. They knew she was outside my house, in the woods, stalking me. I needed to get out, leave, run.

“How did you know where to hide?” I asked, eyeing the Etch-E-Sketch.

As suspected, he looked down at the toy’s screen. “My friends,” he whispered.

“Max, give me the toy.”

“No,” he backed away.

Down the hall, I could hear heavy footsteps. Footsteps that sounded too loud, too big. The ground vibrated underneath us with each footfall.

“Kiddies!” Ms. Jennifer’s dreamy voice wafted down the hall. “Now’s not the time for hide and seek.”

“Max, please!” I begged.

“No!” he cried.

“We don’t have time-”

“They can’t go,” he cried, hugging the toy to his chest. “They’re my friends.”

“They’re stuck,” I shook my head. “They want to go home, just like you do. We can help them go home.”

Max peeled the toy from his chest and looked down at it, tears spilling over his cheeks. He looked up and nodded, handing over the Etch-E-Sketch. I grabbed it and went to bust if over my knee but stopped. A final message was scrawled over the screen, the last letter being squiggled on.

THANKS

I nodded, wiping my own tears from my eyes, crying for the babies that didn’t make it out. For the families that put out the missing posters, who went to bed at night wondering where their sister, brother, child went.

I gripped the edges of the Etch-E-Sketch and shook the message away. I jammed the flat surface over the boniest part of my knee, splitting the toy right down the middle. Grey ash tumbled from the crack, black flecks of magnetic dust sprinkled throughout. I watched the ashes sink to the floor, getting swept up as a winter breeze blew through the broken window of the room.

I gently bent down, shaking the last bits of ash from the toy before placing the plastic remains on the ground. “You’re welcome,” I whispered, stepping away with Max.

“Run down the hall, alright?” I told him, reaching into my back pocket for a box of matches. “Don’t stop running until you’re out of this building.

“Okay,” he said, backing away from the room.

I lit five matches at a time, throwing them around, wanting to burn the entire place down. The curtains were the first thing to catch, then the wooden teachers table, and then the teddy bear skins. I didn’t stay to watch the rest. I ran out into the hall and kicked open the missing persons room, striking more matches and tossing them around. The papers lit instantly, throwing a yellow glow out into the hall.

“What have you done!?” I heard Ms. Jennifer shriek.

I turned just in time to see her walk into her old classroom. Her back was hunched, and she seemed to almost bounce as she walked. I heard her bones snap and pop and she walked into the classroom.

I threw the last bundle of matches and ran across the hall, seeing Max standing at the corner, watching me. I shooed him away and covered my nose, pushing open the door to the room I wish I could forget.

I couldn’t leave Mom and Dad. They couldn’t stay here. They needed to be buried, have a funeral, they deserved at least that. I tried not to focus on their faces, tried to ignore the fact that my parents sat in a pile on the floor, looking like raisins. I grabbed one of my dad’s arms and one of my mom’s and started tugging. My fingers dug into their skin, feeling their bones, and dried up veins under my fingertips. Their skin moved and slid freely under my hands. It made me gag, but it reminded me of fried chicken, how the greasy skin can so easily be removed.

“Joanne,” Max whispered, making me jump.

I turned around and put my body in between his eyes and my dead parents, “Max, don’t look.”

“I know,” he hung his head, wrapping his fingers around the belt loop of my jeans. “we need to go.”

“Max,” I tried speaking, the lump getting too big to hold back, “I can’t leave them.” I openly cried, allowing my legs to give out. “They need to come home.”

“They are,” Max cried, hugging me around the neck, “they are home.”

I couldn’t help but smile at him. This four-year-old was stronger than me in every way. Stronger in knowledge, spirit, and even faith. I nuzzled my wet cheeks against this hair and pulled away.

“You’re right,” I nodded, turning back to my parents.

I set both their arms back down, laying their hands next to each other. I pulled both their wedding rings off before standing up, slipping the gold into my pocket. I felt in my other pocket and pulled out the last box of matches. I led Max out into the hallway and lit a handful, throwing them down the hallway. I didn’t bother trying to catch fire to the room my parents were in, there was too much blood. I walked backwards, throwing ignited matches down the hall all the way.

I didn’t start running until I saw Ms. Jennifer snake her head out from one of the classrooms, her hair making an appearance before her face. Her stingy locks were thrown out of their regular braid and her eyes were milkier than usual. Her smile was what made me turn and run.

I scooped Max up into my arms and ran like I had never run before. I told him to keep his eyes closed and head down. The extra weight didn’t make anything easier, but the adrenalin helped. I couldn’t feel my legs, but I knew they were still running. I couldn’t feel my heart, but it still pumped. I clung to Max and tried to regulate my breathing.

I turned my body and slammed my weight against the front door of the house, getting slapped by the biting wind and snowflakes. Piles of snow erupted as I trudged through them, soaking my clothes, and numbing my exposed skin. I ran into the street and through the neighborhood, crying as I heard police sirens in the distance.

I collapsed to the ground as their red and blue lights flashed around the snow-covered buildings, finally allowing myself to rest.

It was over.

It turns out, the police station had been able to track down my location when I attempted to call 9-1-1. They said it helped that I had my GPS tracker activated.

Me and Max were taken to the nearest hospital, he was completely fine, not a scratch on him. I was given some antibiotics once I told the nurses that I was forced to drink blood. They bandaged up my toe too, and I was treated for frostbite and a bruised rib.

They said by the time the firemen got there, the building was about ready to collapse. They didn’t really have any other choice but to let it burn down. They had found the remains of my parents, but only their skulls and some partially disintegrated bones, everything else was gone.

Me and Max were released from the hospital a week later. Instead of being able to nap and fully grasp what we had been through, I had to plan a memorial for my parents. It was small, just close family and friends. My lab partners were the first people there, bringing food and flowers. Max filled up a jar with his favorite rocks, the Geode going in last, and I wrapped a little ribbon around it, their wedding bands hanging on each bow. It was what we had left of them, instead of an urn or funeral flowers, we had a jar of rocks.

I dropped out of school and work from home now, filing lab data from the comfort of my childhood living room. My boss says I am welcome to come back to the lab any time I want. I don’t think it’s going to be soon. I want to be here for Max. Maybe once he starts high school I’ll go back, but for right now I’m staying put.

I’ve just been able to sit down and process what had all happened. Being able to write it out helped a lot. I’ve only recently gotten my appetite back. I can’t eat anything fried and nothing with cucumbers, those smells alone make me want to vomit.

I’ve developed a bad habit of rechecking things. I go around the house at least three times at night, checking that the doors are locked, the windows are latched tight, and making sure the blinds are shut. Max never leaves my sight either. I can tell he’s growing annoyed with me, but I can’t help it. He’s starting kindergarten soon, I signed him up for class and cried the whole time. We meet with his teacher next week. You better believe I have been doing nonstop research on the school. I will be driving him to class and picking him up every day.

I don’t sleep anymore, not at night at least. I’ll pass out on the couch in the middle of the day and wake up shaking. I only have nightmares. The doctors say they will go away and I’ll be able to sleep like normal soon, but I don’t think so. I won’t be able to rest until I know what happened to Ms. Jennifer. Whether she burned or ran away, I don’t care. It’s the not knowing that keeps me up.

I think back to the first day I talked to my brother and how far we have come. It makes me sick to think about all the ‘what if’s. What if I continued to ignore him? What if he went to daycare one more time? What if Max had never brought that Etch-E-Sketch home?

And to think, I yelled at him for stealing.

#reddit #nosleep #scary #story

[whimsically-ominously-auspice]

This punk

You see that teal blue square to the right of the screen?

That's the booth me and my great aunt and 3rd cousin used to allllwwaays sit at.

And she would eat crab legs and the owner would always being special tools for my aunt and they only had two sets so we always returned it directly to her when we left.

He's a punk.

...

So then Alex took me... He said "where do You want to eat? I have money. No i really do"

And he was always bugging so I said "do you like Chinese?"

So he said "yep"

And I said "I know this one spot you will love because every time I see you, you're complaining about how hungry you are. Come on lets go"

So he told me "what's with you? You're never this nice to me!"

But i had went over to see Brandy and she had just left for work and i fell asleep on the couch because he said he didn't know where she went and he left me alone and sat on the floor which was absolutely disgusting with some animal fur like white masses of fur. Cat apparently but when I was there the cat always hid under their bed. So it was just gross. But he was all nice and I would hear the door creak and it would wake me and he would say "shhh she's asleep" and one girl was loud and I was all "you guys I got a headache" and he kicked them out.

So after I woke up I was staring at him and watching him and I touched his ear with my toe. And he like moved his head to his shoulder like I was a bug. So I did it again 4 more times and he said "if this fly one more dam time" and he got up to get the fly swatter off the wall. It was dark because he was playing PlayStation like one... It was 1998.

So I was all do I dare? I thought about it and I was all I bet he's slow because hes into this game and it happened to be a race car game..so..

4 more times.. Then I put my toe on his neck and he goes "alright thats it if I have to turn on the light to find you and wake her!!! -- oh ill turn on the kitchen light, that's what ill do" so he did and then he waved the fly swatter around and was all "don't wake her" finally he could see my eyes open and more so my smile and he was all "are you awake? No probably not. Ill just play my game here and maybe then I can get me some food. If she will take me. Yeah usually she says she will take me to the store but usually u say I don't want to" then suddenly he hit pause and put his arm on the couch and then looked at my face and said "huh" like he was asking me and I said nothing and he squeezed my knee 2x and said "yeah you know you are"

And I said "take you to the store or....?" Because by then he was so oblivious I wondered if I could smoke and him even notice. So I timed my lighter when it was loud and in a turn in the road so he would be paying attention to the game.

"No smoking hot! All I smell is smoke! Sabrina are you even awake or just messing with me?"

"Asleep" and so i would blow my smoke hard into his face and all.

"Now I'm realky hallucinating! And i ain't smoked since... Idk when doesn't matter!"

So I put my toes on him again because i was all if i finish this cigarette and he doesn't notice im actually awake. Hes dumb.

"Alright then! Im mad!"

And he turned on a lamp in the other room and he thrn could see my eyes because the lamp unlike the kitchen light was in front of me and he looked at me and then the lamp "oh you want it off? Ill turn it off"

"No its alright i need to put this cigarette out"

"Oh then you want it on. I want it on. We will leave it on. Now where is this bug?"

"A listening one or a one with feet?" And i had to laugh.

"No a listening one is uhh in the bedroom... Oh wait you actually do talk?"

"Yeah" i giggled

"That's why i always ask if you want to go to the store because you are always so silent but i think if i ask you you'll tell me "yeah i want to go to, too" but you never do. Are you really awake?"

"Why would I say i would want to go to too? Why not I'm heading that way like i usually do?"

"Because you would bring me back..."

"But why? Would you want to?!"

"Alright that's it IM DREAMING! im going to take my shirt off. Do you see me?"

"Yes you're naked"

"No I'm not besides im not even naked. I just said I would but your head turned like you didn't want to see that's what i do know"

"What color is your under wear? Red?"

"No blue"

"You better be checking because when you went into the kitchen to turn the light on, you lifted your shirt to wipe the sweat off your forehead even tho its not hot. And you seemed to be upset about your hallucinating i tonight i should give you your privacy."

"Oh. How long have you been awake!?"

"And he whines!!"

"And i can't believe you. You say you want me to have my privacy but you're laughing so hard you can barely talk!"

So i just laughed...

"So is there even a bug?"

"Oh you mean this?" And i ran my toes down his back

And he threw his controller down "are you fucking kidding!?!?!"

And i laughed and said "yes"

And he picked it up and said "no youre not"

And then i put my toe on his ear and left it ao he went to slap my toes and his hand touched my ankle "is that your leg?"

"Mmm no!"

"Alright now you're bugging me!"

"It was my ankle!"

"You know youre not infuriating as i thought. I say leg. You say no and i think you're lying but you say its your ankle"

"You know i don't live in the direction of the store anyway"

"Yeah you do. I live south of you"

"By a couple of blocks!"

"I live North of you i mean"

"Well i head south but not all the way to the store! I dont even live as far as my gramma! But i do always go to the store when i leave here anyway"

"How come?"

"To get something to eat. Usually I get a hot pocket, pepperoni and a couple of chips, sometimes a brownie no its a fudge round by little debbie oh and a Pepsi"

"You get that every night? I thought I was hallucinating"

"Hey do you think you're hallucinating when ever a girl tells you to give her a kiss?"

"No. Idk. Why?"

"Because i just did. 4 or 5 times"

"You what?" And he said "you lie" the same time i said

"I lie"

And he put down his controller all violent and he said "well you know what liars do around here?"

"What?"

"Get punished"

"And ill bet that's your kiss" and that fucker is fast! I barely had time to duck or even have time to finish teasing him

"Oh now don't duck" and he started tickling me

"Oh you're so mean to me!!" I had to gasp for air

"Oh! I'm mean huh!?? Then you get tounge too as soon as you quit laughing"

So i did...

...

So when we went to the restaurant the owner said "the same booth?"

And i said "uhh im with someone different" and tapped his shoulder

And she said "okay then the second one" and did wll Vanna White like i taught her "here's your booth!"

So he told me to get my plate first and I saw him talking to her and she came and said he ordered me a Pepsi and was it okay because i always got water. I told her it was.

Because my aunt was on social security I always got water to make it cheaper for her plus i didn't drink alot of water at home. My cousin would get Dr Pepper and my aunt would get 7up they carried for her in a can but i got water. And she asked me at the table "why you always get water but he gets you a Pepsi and you say its okay?"

"Oh because my aunt doesn't have alot of money and she always pays and always says she will pay and I work over across the street at Mazzios and I always advise people on a budget when they ask what is cheap to skip the drinks and get water instead although we have a water filter and it takes way longer to get the drinks"

"And do they listen?"

"No, but that's also because I recommend one of the deals that comes with soda"

"Oh now I see you" she touched my wrist and wagged her finger at Alex "now I don't want you beating her!"

And she walked off and he was all "woah!" And looked down at the table and laughed "you look amused sobi can i ask you--"

"Yeah?"

"What the Hell do you do in this place?!?!"

'What?! Why?!"

"Idk how many customers you remember but this is a buffet and it gets busy!"

"Almost all my regulars. I always work the same nights"

And I heard all this laughter bubbling up from around the corner

"Oh my now here she comes"

"What? No you're kidding me" he said angrily

"She will watch" but the laughter continued "go get your food!"

"How long until she comes?"

"When she quits laughing"

"How long?"

I heard the door swing to the kitchen "oh she will be awhile, she went to the men. Go get your food!"

"Oh wow its getting louder and that's just HER!! Are you sure she won't be back soon?"

"Uh huh. Once she calms down she will tell the boys and then she will begin to laugh again then she will stop and we will hear them when the door opens and closes that's when you know shes out but you don't hear it creak. Idk why I never do"

"That's ghost! Doesn't it bother you they're always laughing at you?"

"No. Go get your food! I told you this is a fun place! Go! Eat. Food! Hello! Comida!"

"I wanna see how long it takes. They never and I mean never heard her laugh much less "the boys" how do you know who works in there anyway?"

"Oh I bust in there!! Its a long story she will likely tell you"

"No you tell me because I don't want them laughing at you. This is making me mad"

"You are mad. I mean really! My food is getting cold. I can't eat without you... Okay Fiiiinnne! One day I came in here and she had tears in her eyes. But she didn't. Wasn't upset or anything until i heard the door creak and then these make voices yelling at her. And she came back and she had tears in her eyes. And everytime she went in they yelled and i thought no way they are beating her. Or else why would she be so upset?! So I went in there and there was no one. I MEAN NO ONE. The whole kitchen was EMPTY. So I knew what i heard and I asked her and she said yes there were indeed in fact people behind that door. So I went and opened it and There Were!! And so I yelled and they even laughed at me and so one of the guys came out and he looked like he had blood all over him you know on his apron and he told me "no she is just upset that you look like someone she knew long time ago in a past life." And she had come up right about that time and he wrapped his hands around her shoulders and said "no we love this one" anyway that's the story why i know they are all men"

"So why does she do Vanna White like you do?"

"Oh she asked me. Food! Cold!"

"Why would she say that to you?"

"No i say that to you! Now! Goooo!"

"No answer me first"

"Fine ill starve. They're gonna CLOSE! NOW! GO! FOOD!"

"Then I guess you better answer me. Look. I didn't pick on you about bugs--"

"That's because we had sex"

"Alright but ill be right back but don't go anywhere"

"Where am I gonna go!"

"Well I'm gonna go. Youre right she does take a long time! Okay? Ill be back"

"Alright" then I got paranoid like why would he say that? So I looked in my purse for my keys. Which were there.

He came back

"I didnt want to seem like a bum or anything but I was so hungry I was about to eat off your plate" and he looked down "wow this is food. I am awake aren't I?!"

I seen our waitress, the owner, duck down like a a kid and duck walk over and say "this is his booth"

And he got so scared!!

"Woah hey! Where did you come from?! I got scared!!"

And she stood and laughed and shook his shoulders and patted his chest. "Oh you're all grown! No time to be scared!"

"Oh! Well okay then. If you say so" he had tears in his eyes

"This is his booth like I say. She sit right here" she patted the seat behind him "always. Not ever on tbe other side. She used to until you started to come here when the 1st booth was always full then she only always sit in this chair right behind you. I tell you I notice" and she squat down "she always do this at work, too. When her back hurt. I think it's to get eye level or seem inferior. But I ask her one night at work. She passed. I never sit on her section -- she always work where it's closest to the entrance to the kitchen and I ask her too if they had sections and she said no and so I ask her why she squat and she rubbed the small of hwr back right here and she say "because my back always hurts and it provides some relief""

"No way! I always wondered that too!"

"When do you go in there? I rarely see her!"

"Well apparently you always have your regular customers you're always intuned to!"

"Well if you notice i am very busy!" I kicked him under the table "you should sit in my section!! they keep me busy all my regulars...."

She laughed and repeated what she saw.

"You, too. Little Missy!"

"Ill be right back i have to tell the kitchen!"

"I see why you dont get mad! For all their laughing"

"Why is that?"

"You're cute!"

"Oh my god really??! All that -- you hear that? You look smug with pride but i say it why -- they're laughing and you're blushing?"

"You treat me like such a little kid"

... .... ...

"So do you want dessert?"

"No I'm full" I laid down in the seat

"Don't go to sleep"

"Oh well" I touched his blonde hairy knee. He moved them

"What are you doing?"

I sat up "well you were adjusting uncomfortably in your seat but I didn't see anything"

He leaned forward and laughed like a maniac... Blushing.

"Can I ask you Something?"

"Shoot"

I shook my head "that's not what I meant to say, can I Tellll you Something?"

"Shoot. That means go ahead"

"Yeah well I know." I put my thumbs between my eyebrows

"Well what's wrong? Hey are you okay?!"

"Well Idk if I should that's all. Our maybe just not here, I couldn't tell. Or even if it matters... In so many ways"

"Just please tell me"

I smiled but tried to hide it"

"Just tell me"

"Only because you whine, I just wanna tell you I didn't think you were as big as you were"

"You mean...? What? What are you referring to?" He took a sip of Pepsi

"Only if you don't drink"

"You mean this?" He stuck his straw in his mouth and did a head bobble and stuck out his hand "I'm not stopping until you tell me"

"I mean your dick" I scarcely had time to close my eyes while the soda he spewed and choked on flew straight into my face from his mouth "I knew you were going to do that" I crossed my arms on the table while soda dripped off my nose and down my cheeks and off my hair. I waited while he choked and the waitress patted his back and tried not to laugh

"See? She likes you like I told you, she did not even yell. You two enjoy ill be around the corner there. Clean up her" she gave him one last pat then turned to me "I thought I would have to give him the heimlich he was choking so bad. You be good" then she brought a fresh warm towel from hot water.

And he cleaned my face "no no that has bleach!" She said

"Too late" I replied.

"Okay so now after all that I'm just gonna ask you what you mean"

"Ill leave you to be but I'll be just around the corner"

"No stay"

"No I'll be just around the corner"

"Which means she can hear" i whispered loudly. She laughed.

"Now before you answer I mean about "too late""

"Oh because you washed my face"

"Oh not about you being pregnant?"

"No I'm on my period. I think. No wait. I stopped. No why?"

"Oh she was talking I guess you didn't hear"

"I guess not"

It was quiet at the table. A little too quiet...

'So about that dick"

"Which one?"

"Yours! So i never thought it would be so big because youre so skinny"

"Being skinny has --"

"No stop. Now listen to me. So when we humped I thought yeah I'm right he's small"

He put elbow to fist on the table "what?!"

"But then when you took your pants off...I thought well hmm he might be bigger than I thought"

"Geez" he brushed his hair to the side... Seemed to be nervous but pleased

"Wait I'm not done" I leaned forward to whisper "but when you pulled out I thought, wow man that's big where in the hell did he put all of it?! I just thought you should would want to know"

"What?! That im a big dick?!?!"

"No that You're bigger than average. Alot. According to books anyway"

"I just want to go home with you right now"

"Do you want to drive? I mean unless you drive slow. I'm assuming since you drive racing games you like to go fast. You do have a license? I mean a real one?"

"Geez. I mean yes. Yes I do. Want to see it?"

"No its alright I trust you.. But what do you mean about geez? I mean this time"

"How much did you see? How long were you awake?"

"Since the first bug... Well wait! Don't blush yet because before that i heard you were really angry and something like "now what the hell would Sabrina think? I beat that bitch like that. But she deserved it tho. Now I'm all bloody" and I heard the sink and i heard paper towels. And I went back to sleep. I think. Then i heard "dam! That fucking slut coming in here all loud like that, sorry honey. I hope you're okay" then I was confused but you patted my leg so i thought and i hoped you meant me and i thought that was odd I didn't like you like that you always annoy me so i turned around to look at you and a realized you don't annoy me at all. I annoy me. Because I'm always hoping you mean you want me to take you to the store but then you turn me down and it makes me feel sad. Why do you always do that?"

"Because I'm always hoping that you will say yes. Then you do and i realize I'm not so hungry after all and so i choose to stay home"

"Instead of going with me?!"

"Because i don't want to bother you"

"And you bother me! Like! Alot. So please dont do that to me no more"

"What? Ask? Or not go?"

"Look if you ask me then you should go if I say yes"

..

So he did it again so the second time he asked me I said no. The 3rd time I didn't answer and the 4th time i said no.

The 5th time Jesse and Matt Hagan were there so i told him "get your money and lets go, hurry before I say no again"

They all wanted to go so I said "no. Two doors. Only two can go"

So when we came back I took a minute to finish my cigarette on the porch. Alex rushed in all "what the fuck?! Stay here!!"

Apparently Matt Hagan had his bag threatening to dump it out until he was told how many times we kissed. Then when I went in, he was beating the shit out of him and Jesse.

So I pulled him off and said "come on lets just go you can go to my house, my dad won't care"

Then they were all mocking me and he said "you're right lets go. He's dead or nearly. Y'all don't be touching my stuff. Lets out. Hold my hand"

I took a look "yeah that Matt Hagan is dead"

"Jesse ain't. He will probably resuscitate him"

"You mean mouth to mouth?" I stopped at the door and yelled back in "have fun with mouth to mouth you Boys"

So then when i took him back a week later they were still there... And so they snatched his bag off his back and Jesse turned it over to dump it while Matt ran off like a little bitch. Snatched up his cocaine and took off.

Then they both got in my car to snort it so I called the cops when they refused to get out and kept locking it when I unlocked it. They were all handcuffed and arrested for attempted grand theft auto.

Brandy lied and said they weren't because they were embarrassed. They had good lawers from OKC so they got off with 1300 hours community service total. 700 each which they paid some poor snuff to do it. Then they killed them. 2 black guys as if matt or jesse are superior to anything much less two legit men

I don't play with their shit. Don't fuck with me.

[clumsycalumblr-blog]

Would Never Call It Love | Finale

After many many many weeks of me being gone, I’ve finally gotten the courage to write the finale of a story that I’ve had so much fun writing, and have had so much fun seeing you guys reactions to it. This story is now my most popular with the most notes I’ve ever gotten on a post, and I can’t thank you guys enough for always pushing me to be a better writer. Sad to end this one, but I have ideas in store for a new story, can’t wait to share it with you guys hopefully soon :-). Enjoy.

(not my photo)

Previous parts: 1 2 3 4 5 6 

This day had to come. This day was bound to creep on us sooner. This day may not seem huge to some people, but it’s huge to me. 

The last show of their first leg of the tour. Also known as, the day I’ve decided to go back home to my lonely, small, quiet home...all by myself.

When did I decide this? Probably about 5 hours ago at 7 am when I impulsively bought a plane ticket, while at breakfast with Luke, Ashton, and Arzaylea. While the couple talked throughout breakfast, Ashton kept nudging me and bugging me about what had me so fixated on my small screen, but he leaned over a little far at one point and gave an annoyed sigh before throwing his share for his own food and walked out of the eatery. Luke and Arzaylea still haven’t figured it out.

Now here I am, packing my things, the memories of the last couple of weeks with the boys coming down on me. I picked up a black and white stripped shirt that I wore the day of their 3rd concert, the one where Michael spilled a little too much water on me backstage after the show, and my bra peeked through; of course he didn’t seem to mind though. I then started placing the different colored bracelets Ashton gave me within the second week of tour inside a little pouch in my suitcase. They made me smile because they matched his, so I’d always have a little part of him.

Then it got to my lingerie and undergarments, many of which I wore when Calum was over. I held back tears, my throat becoming itchy, as I packed them deeply away underneath anything else I could. 

I heard a knock at my door, and saw Ash standing there, leaning against the door still looking displeased.

“You know they’re asking about what happened at breakfast right?” 

I only rolled my eyes. “Why am I not surprised.”

“I’m not telling them, you are.” He strode toward my suitcase and began taking out the nicely folded clothes and even took things out of the pouches. The room went silent when he saw the colorful bracelets, and even the same bra from that night when everything took a turn for the worst. He bent down and studied them both, the memories hitting him hard as well.

“After all these weeks, you still have these bracelets?” He questioned quietly. I only gave him a nod. “And this...I remember this little number...everything felt so right that night.” He smiled sadly at the moment that practically changed everything; the friendship, the relationship, his ability to forgive himself for one mistake.

“Well, at least for one person it did.” He threw it back down next to the bracelets and began striding out of the room. I took two big steps before pulling him by the cuff of his sleeve, stopping him.

“Don’t do that to me. You don’t get to be mad at me for the decision I’m making. So what if I’m leaving? So what if I don’t want to be here anymore? It is not my fault that because of my stupid mistakes I don’t want to be in a place where I am not welcome anymore Ashton. Sorry that you don’t have a choice. You’re a part of this band, these are your best friends and even though you’re having a fight with one of them doesn’t mean you can take it out on me because you can’t run away from it like I’m doing.”

“You’re being selfish. You’re thinking of only yourself. Which is exactly what Calum said the other night when you tried talking to him right?” Slap. Instantly my hand landed on his right cheek, making it head and hair whip to the side and cover his face. My breathing was heavier and louder, the feeling of my cheeks getting red growing. He turned his head back slowly, his eyes like dagger stabbing into my skin. I could just the anger dripping off of him.

“Y/N look...” he tried to sound sympathetic, but I only held up my finger and pointed it at the door.

“Just get out.” He knew he was defeated, and that he hit a spot in me that stung. Before I shut the door on him, he turned back slightly and whispered, “Just call me when you get there, please. I need to know that you’ll be safe.” I hummed in response, and shut the door, leaning my back against it. 

Hiding my suitcase backstage behind a bunch of curtains was surprisingly easy. It was easy access, and since I would be leaving 15 minutes before the end of the guys show, nobody would really know that I had left. The only person I’d truly have to say goodbye to is Ashton since he was the only one that knew, or so I thought.

Arzaylea caught me at the snack table and tugged on my jacket, getting as far away from the boys as possible. I gave her a confused look, waiting for her to tell me what was going on since she looked so worried.

“Arz, w-what’s going on-”

“I bugged Ashton for hours about what went wrong this morning, and he finally told me.” She crossed her arms staring me down, while I was looked down messing with my fingers.

“Look, please don’t be upset with me-”

“Oh, you think I’m just upset. That’s rich. I’m more than upset with you Y/N. You’ve become like a sister to me, I thought you were stronger and had more integrity than you’re showing right now. You’re letting a stupid boy get in the way of you living your best life. You think you’ve fucked up? You think I haven’t fucked up either! This-this is all just so disappointing.”

“You have to understand that I’m miserable here now. There’s never a day that goes by anymore that I don’t blame myself for how things have laid out the past couple of weeks. I’ve only made things worst since being here, when I wasn’t even suppose to be in the first place!” I felt the water prickle in my eyes, but clenched my fists to help make it go away.

“If you’re mad because you feel like once I’m gone you feel like we’ll never see or talk to me again, then I can make a promise that that won’t happen.” She only scuffed, but in an amusing way.

“That’s partly why.” She pushed my shoulder playfully as we both smiled at each other.

“I’ll still text you, facetime you and call you. Just because Calum and I can’t get along great doesn’t mean I have to give up some of the best people in my life. I just have to...give him some space. It’s for the best.” I peeked over her shoulder slightly to see Calum biting into a green apple, water bottle in his other hand. I couldn’t help but shutter at the veins popping out of his neck and how defined his jawline got when it jutted out to eat the piece of the apple. It’s the simple things Calum did that got under my skin.

Arzaylea pulled me into a tight hug then pulled back to smile at me, and proceeded to do what most girls do with their best friends, take a snapchat. She pulled up a funny filter to get me to calm down and smile, but after the picture was taken, something slimy and runny was piled on top of my head.

Arzaylea and I jumped back from each other as some of it did get on her too, then we turned around to find Nia with a smirk holding the big plate that was dead center of the snack table that was labeled “Spaghetti.” The crew and everyone stopped doing whatever they were doing, and watched to find out what was going to happen next.

“Nia what the fuck!” Arz yelled, wiping off the bits of tomato sauce that was now on her clothes and hair.

“She deserved it.” She came up close to my face, trying to intimidate me however I held my ground and stared her right back down.

“That’s for making Calum break up with me.” She chuckled. “You think he’d really eventually end up falling for you? Oh girl, you’ve got it so wrong. He told me all the awful things you’ve done to him, but don’t worry, I fucked all the bad feelings out of him.” Before I could hear another word, I pushed past her walking fast toward the curtain where my suitcase was located. Sure, I’d have to wait in the airport for almost 2 hours, but I couldn’t stand to be in anybody’s presence anymore. I felt an arm tug me around, and the same husky voice from before rang through my ears.

“Y/N what are you doing, you can’t leave now!” He yelled in my face.

“Ashton! Stop trying to make my decisions for me. You may love me but you don’t know what’s best for me.” His grip instantly loosened and I took the chance to take my arm from his hand. “Now let me go.” And grab my suitcase hoisting it up from the ground and running toward the back exit.

I didn’t see it, but I left Calum standing there with his food now sprawled across the floor at his feet, a dumbfounded look on his face, and for the first time in a while, an aching heart. 

Calum’s POV

The last show of this first leg of the tour was thrilling and exciting, but once my body left that crowd of energy and happiness, reality snapped back into me, and all my confusion and frustration came out of me when I chucked my water bottle at the nearest wall, and it exploded everywhere. Michael’s soft voice could be heard right behind me, telling me to calm down and to not take my anger out so aggressively like that because who knows, I could’ve hit a person instead. 

“Look, I know MIkey, I’m sorry...I just-I’m so confused right now.” We both plopped down on the couch in our dressing room, my hands coming up to my face.

“What did Ashton mean by ‘you can’t leave now’ when he was talking to Y/N? And what was in her hands when she was running away...”

“She left.”

My hands came down from my face, hoping and praying I’d see a laughing MIchael after that statement. It just couldn’t be true. But after a few seconds had passed, he continued to nod his head, as if he was still trying to make the situation seem real.

“She left Cal. She went back home tonight. Ashton told me before we went on stage tonight. He couldn’t tell you because he knew it would only distract you more. He just doesn’t want to keep making you mad mate, he cares for you so much even after everything.” His hand came up to my shoulder giving it a friendly squeeze. My chest sank lower in my chest trying to piece together just how bad everything had gotten, my life outside of the lights and music, was falling into shambles.

“I need to go make up with him first.” Michael smiled and agreed, both of us quickly grabbing our stuff before heading out. He informed me that Ashton had drove straight to the hotel we were staying at right after the show ended, and that Luke and Arzaylea were spending some time together tonight out and about. We headed straight after to him to patch things up. Even though that was the first thing on my mind, I was secretly hoping Y/N just might be there.

We raced up to the elevator and impatiently waiting until it reached our floor, only to find Ashton just closing his door as if he was leaving. I ran up to him and tackled him in a big hug, his weight leaning against mine to stop us from falling. I was holding him so tight the indents in my arms were showing through, and my hand veins were popping out. 

“Ash, ash I’m so sorry for everything dude. You come before anyone else and I shouldn’t have blamed you for everything happening.” We pulled away and he smiled so big his famous dimples showed, and the crinkles near my eyes accompanied my own smile.

“Cashton, always man.” And we did one of those bro handshakes, Michael leaning against the hallway wall watching this beautiful moment unfold. My eyes slowly drooped after things quieted down. Ashton could read my mind, and his arms reached out to gently rub my shoulders.

“So, she’s really gone?”

“I just got off the phone with her. I raced back here to see if she’d still be here but, no luck.” I shook my head in disbelief, disappointed in myself for being as stubborn as I was and almost losing my best friend, along with the girl of my dreams. “Her plane should be taking off soon, I’d say text her Cal. She needs to hear from you that you at least don’t hate her.”

“But that’s the point. I don’t hate her at all, I feel so strongly for her, more than I ever thought I could for someone...” Michael came behind me and leaned his head on me sighing. The weight of her gone now upon all of us. The atmosphere seemed different, the vibe between all of us was still off, as if the Earth was off its axis and everything seemed...wrong. 

“Why don’t we get some rest now guys, we’ve worked hard these past couple of weeks. Let’s enjoy these next few days before our next leg? Am I right?” We all agreed and they decided to walk with me to my room and stay the night, just so we knew that we were all there for each other if one of us needed something throughout the night.

As we entered the room, I walked in first to see a familiar jet black sleek suitcase sitting next to the door. My eyes widened and I looked up to see Ashton holding back a small grin, jutting out his chin, telling me to go see what I was already thinking. My legs quickly carried me past the small curve of the room into the bedroom, seeing a small Y/N sitting crossed legged on my bed in the first t-shirt I ever gave her to keep when I wasn’t around her, my Maine t-shirt.

She stood up upon hearing my loud strides and the shirt fell to just above her privates, her hair disheveled and her makeup slightly streaky, like she had been crying.

“Calum...” her voice croaked. I looked back at the boys, watching them in awe as Michael’s face lit up at the sight of her, Ashton looking proud. And they both walked slowly out of the room, leaving us alone.

“They told me you left...” I said in disbelief.

“I couldn’t...I couldn’t do it, I couldn’t get on that plane and fly away from you, not without fixing things first.” She walked closer to me timidly. I had to bring her closer, so I pulled her in by her waist, wrapping my large hand around the back of her head and placing it underneath my chin, my other hand tightly wrapped around her waist. My breathing became heavy, my heart beat racing, my head filling up with euphoric memories.

“You’re-you’re heart is beating so fast Cal...”

“It’s because it’s happy to be close to you again.” She pulled away to look up at me, her eyes glossy once again, a happy yet sad look in her eyes, as if she didn’t know how to feel in his moment.

“Y/N I am so sorry for never letting you have a chance at explaining things to me, or never giving you a chance to speak and finish your sentences. And I’m sorry that it took me so long to realize it and that it took you almost leaving for me to realize that I never stopped feeling for you. But I promise if you stay, right here, with me, you won’t ever have to go through something like this again. We could have the love we’ve always wanted.” I pleaded. Without hesitation she reached up and brought my face to meet hers, her lips lightly pressing the softest kiss we’d ever shared. I couldn’t help but deepen it, feeling her smaller frame pushed up against mine again. We rested our foreheads against one another as she brought her hands to rest on my chest, lightly rubbing her thumbs over the material.

“I wouldn’t have ever called this love before.” Gesturing to the past complicated relationship we had.

“What about right now?”

“It’s the only word I can use to describe it.”

YAY IT’S FINISHED. I was going to add smut but this alone took me 3 hours so I’m extremely tired you guys ;( request smut though if you want it! Again, thank you so much on the love for this story! I put up a ‘would you rather’ post so if you could, please look at it and tell me which story you’d like to write next. Btw GGMOW will be up soon as well!

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