#Woah! Really I would’ve never guessed! <- sarcasm

[mae-gi-writes]

Jealous | Kevin Moon (The Boyz)

Your mission is to get your boyfriend jealous. What better way to do this by fawning over Stray Kids?

Genre: slight nfsw? Idk its kinda hot? And female reader insert.

A/N: inspired by my convos with @seraplantery and @chaoticdeobi Kevin would be about me thirsting over Chan. Also idk what I wrote im sorry TT > TT

-----

Jealousy had never been in Kevin Moon’s vocabulary. And you were damn certain it would never be.

That doesn’t mean you never try pushing his buttons every time you can, though.

“How can he be so hot?” You mutter to yourself, loud enough that it reaches your boyfriend’s ears. It’s a late lazy Sunday afternoon and you two are taking this time to unwind and relax, mentally preparing for the full week of work ahead. While Kevin is busy doodling across his sketchbook like he normally is, you take this time to catch up on the multiple kpop performances you’d missed earlier this year. 

And boy, have you missed out.

“Oh my god,” your lips go round as your eyes widen as big as saucers, gaze permanently fixed on the screen giving way to eight hot men dominating the stage with their fiery charisma and strong choreography, “Oh my-- holy shit I think I fell pregnant.” 

Kevin’s voice permeates through the hot summer air, “What you watching?” 

“Stray Kids,” you say absentmindedly as your eyes follow one particular member’s every moves. While you had fallen out of touch with the kpop world -- and you blame this on the concept of having a job and actually now going through adult life like anyone should be -- that doesn’t mean that you don’t get your phases, especially with one of your favourite groups you’ve been following since their debut.

“Stray Kids?”

“Yeah, jesus christ Kev-- Chan’s arms are to die for.” 

Admittedly, you wouldn’t have been so vocal about admiring other men if it’s not for your silent experiment of whether Kevin Moon will finally bite at the bait jiggling before his face. He’d be an idiot not to. 

But considering he is never even aware when other men look at you, you doubt that this time is going to be different. So you continue on:

“He’s not even my type of guy you know? I usually go for the tall skinny ones but somehow--he’s just so charismatic onstage. And did I tell you he’s Australian? I mean I’m not fond of Aussie accents but I don’t know I find it really sexy on him--”

“Woah Y/N, look at you. Talking as if you don’t have a boyfriend,” sarcasm drips from Kevin’s alto, causing your head to slowly turn with surprise, an eyebrow arching slowly at the way he seems hunched and rigid over his blank piece of paper, pen held so tightly in his grip it might snap in two.

“Kevin,” you draw out slowly as you try to hide your grin, “is that...jealousy I hear?” 

He scoffs, “I don’t get jealous."

"Sure could've proved me wrong."

Reverting your attention back to the screen just in time to catch a glimpse of Bang Chan's smile, you sighed in bliss, "his abs, though."

There is silence from Kevin's part, causing your lips to tilt into a small smirk of victory as you click on the next video that follows. You know him all too well that you assume he will probably sulk for the next hour that follows, and you're content with that, considering that you're not at fault.

You're too engrossed in your video that you barely realize that a shadow hangs behind your shoulder, before an arm shoots out to close your laptop.

You whip around with a scowl, "hey! What--"

But no sooner are you protesting that you feel Kevin's arms haul you up, turning so quickly you can barely register anything but the soft mattress welcoming your figure as you are plopped onto it, Kevin's frame hovering over yours. His face is all but amused.

Laughter bubbles up your throat, "what the --"

It cuts off into a gasp upon feeling his arms hooking around the back of your thighs to pull you closer, lips mere inches above yours and dark orbs gazing down at you with a thunderous depth. It halts any further comment you are about to make, takes your breath away.

Something warm coils within your stomach.

You are a little breathless when you say, "y-yes?"

"You want me to be jealous?" His lips curl slightly, eyes narrowing down at you while fingers ghost over your thighs, his touch igniting a series of sparks in his wake, "I'll show you jealous."

And then he's kissing you. Hard mouth on yours, intense. Demanding.

That's not the Kevin you know but somehow desire pools through you. He's never been this...aggressive.

He is holding your frame against his, fingers so firm and pressing on the back of your thighs before slowly slipping up to cup your ass. You gasp in response, hands automatically lifting to grab his shoulders only for his to grab them instead and pin them down by your face. His head tilts, lips moving to your rhythm and dominating your tongue the moment you gasp into his mouth.

The softest grunts rumbles up his throat when your hips buck up on instinct. He murmurs against your mouth, "not so chatty now, are we?"

"I--"

And then his mouth is latching onto your jaw, peppering a trail of warm kisses that makes your heart beat twice as hard, your body writhing with the delicious sensation of wanting him. He devours your neck, growling with satisfaction when he urges your fingers down onto the mattress to stop any attempts of escape. That's hot.

You're practically seeing stars at this point, the sounds of his soft suckling evocating a sensation of heat deep within your belly that your legs wrap around his waist on their own accord to pull him closer. And the moment his firm length presses onto your heat, he lets out a moan that has you trembling.

"If I knew how you'd react--" you stop to moan softly as he grinds his hips into yours. Lord, "I would've done it more often."

"What, that's your kink?" His breath ghosts over your skin at your collarbone now. You struggle against him wanting nothing more than to run your hands through his glossy raven locks and to scratch your nails down his back. But his fingers squeeze firmly nibbling at the skin of your shoulder, "you like seeing me jealous?"

"Hm, I won't say the contrary," you breathe out.

Ensuring that one of his hands cage your wrists together, his other slips down to trace your neck, the dip of your breasts, ghosting over your side before trickling down the inner side of your thigh. You take a shaky inhale. Waiting.

He's looking at you now, gauging every reaction that you gift him with like you're a fascination he can't quite make out and the intensity makes you squirm.

Slowly, oh so slowly that it makes your toes curl, Kevin starts a slow, sensual path of kisses down the middle of your chest and air gets stuck in your throat the more you watch him, practically holding back a whimper with every searing touch he imprints upon your skin.

He kisses down your navel, nipping and biting as he does while his heated breaths send waves of heat up your spine. At some point he releases your hands to grasp your waist and they instantly tangle in his hair, emitting a grunt from the said man.

He continues his sensual search using his mouth, hot breath fanning against your skin down the sides of your thighs, landing on final peck to your knee, before rearing back up to hover above your pelvis and finally tilting his face up to yours.

And that makes your breath catch in your throat. For in Kevin's eyes you read the dark desire, the craving he holds for you, the longing.

Your heart jolts to a stop. You swear you stop breathing as your gazes lock.

A beat passes. You swallow hard. Suddenly vulnerable under his hooded stare.

Then, before your brain can scramble for coherence, the raven-haired man leans over. He presses a kiss.

Right on your sex.

A sound between a mewl and a whimper escapes your lips.

You gape at him. He smirks back, thoroughly satisfied.

Slowly, he hoists up until his lips hover yours once more and at this point, you're pretty sure you're dead. What with the speed of your heart rate practically vaulting out of your chest.

"Well," he murmurs while one of his hands keep tracing up and down your side, "I guess I can leave you to ogle at your kpop boys--"

His words are interrupted by you shooting out to grab his t-shirt, pulling him down to kiss him. And oh, does he kiss back like a starved man, grunting and growling as your fingers tangle up in his locks to pull him even closer as your teeth sink upon his bottom lip. He gasps.

You pull away slowly then --merely coming up for air -- and gaze into his dark, bottomless orbs, "the only one I'm gonna ogle tonight is you."

His breath halts for a minute. He stares at you, eyes darting back and forth between your eyes and your lips.

And then, a crooked grin spreads across his face.

"I like the sound of that."

#kevin moon #the boyz kevin #tbz kevin #kevin moon scenarios #the boyz scenarios #the boyz imagines #the boyz au #the boyz fanfic #theboyz scenarios #fluff #deobidrabbles #the boyz fluff #kevin moon imagines #kevin moon fanfic #kevin au #kevin scenarios #kevin moon x reader #tbznetwork #tbzwriternet #tbz scenarios #theboyz fanfic #theboyz imagine #the boyz x reader #sangyeon #hyunjae #juyeon #changmin #chanhee #sunwoo #eric

[talas-starlight]

Lover - Percy Jackson x Fem!reader

SUMMARY: You’ve crushed on Percy for years, him on the other hand? It’s more of a recent development. That doesn’t mean he likes you any less.

(Older Percy & reader - they're like 21) ALSO idk perfectly what happens in trials of apollo so let’s just ✨ignore that ✨ & this isn’t sexual despite what the title may suggest

WORD COUNT: 2.7k

A/N: hi friends this is for @fromthewatertribe​ ‘s 1k follower event!! Im sure most of you have but if not definitely check out their work!! Its soooo good I promises and ugh their Leo fic?! *chefs kiss* anyway idk if this is any good oop I tried

PROMPTS USED: 9 & 11. (they’re bolded)

WARNINGS: swearing, mentions of ptsd & anxiety, kissing stuff lol ish eh idk, mentions of percabeth breakup?? Does that count?

MASTERLIST: here!

An obnoxiously red and orange light filters into the motel room, even with the old and tattered curtains closed, the motels’ sign conquers its way through the fabric. Sighing you flop yourself on the faded, probably twenty-year-old bed. Nose scrunching as some dust raises into the air, consequently letting out a sneeze.

“Bless you.”

“Did you just bless yourself?”

You winced at the reminder someone else was in the room, exhausted after the two-day travel to a motel room in the middle of whoop. “Yeah…”

“You really are something, aren’t you?” At the calm amusement evident in his tone, your heart rate began to slow down. He didn’t think you were crazy.

You let out a breathy laugh. Wow, I wonder how those stains got on the ceiling? Lava monster perhaps? Are those even a thing? Probably.

“Yeah… well, someone has to Jackson.” You glance towards him, he’s sitting at the small, poor excuse of a dining table. Heart rate picking up again as he gives you a small smile, already having his eyes on you this entire time.

“If I don’t, who will?” you continue.

“Touché. In that case, I’ll do the blessing from now on; you deserve a break.” Shooting you a wink. Instantly feeling flustered at his action, you fight the urge to cover your face with your hands.

Oh, Percy, if only you knew you’ve already been blessing me for the past six years.

“Even say…. If we’re in a battle?” you muse.

He gets up from the table and walks towards you. Once he reaches your side of the queen bed, he kneels, grabbing the hand closest to him, while putting his other on top of his heart. “Oh, y/n l/n, even with my dying breath.”

With that, you burst into a fit of laughter. This boy and his sarcasm.

You play along. “Hmmm what a great tale that will be. The one and only, Perseus Jackson, spending his final breath on sweet old y/n l/n. How dare you burden me with such a legacy to live up to! They’ll think I’m your lover, you know. Demigods all around the world will come searching for me, just to gawk at the beauty that stole your heart.”

At this point, Percy has fallen from his kneeling position, completely lying on the ground, overcome with laughter.

“This isn’t funny, Percy! How am I supposed to live with the guilt of knowing I don’t live up to their expectations?! I’m hardly a warrior either, oh the disappointment.”

Gasping for breath, he manages to find his words, “Don’t stress it y/n, you’re plenty beautiful. I just know they’ll all be stunned by your beauty. Don’t sell yourself short… trust me, once they see you, they’ll be envious that my lover was so enraptured by me that you’ll never be able to love again.”

Now it was your turn to laugh. Would that be so bad?

Gasping for breath, eventually, both of your laughs die down, leaving you both breathing heavily. “C’mon Percy, let’s get some sleep. Its going to be a long week of scouting for demigods if we’re tired.”

As Percy nods, silently getting up to go to the bathroom to change, but he can’t help but think to himself that he wouldn’t mind if he was stuck in the middle of nowhere with you. No matter how long.

It had been three days since you and Percy arrived in the town you continuously fail to remember the name of. It wasn’t the only thing you were failing at doing either, because it seemed that for some unknown reason, the school that was supposed to arrive here for their camping trip still hadn’t shown up.

“We should send an Iris message to camp. It doesn’t look like they’re showing up any time soon, and by the looks of things, we’re going to need to have them send someone for more supplies.”

Percy sighed, looking out the window. Was this the opportunity he was looking for? Maybe… he knew he’d be a stupid fool to pass it up. Swept up in his new thoughts, he never replied. “Percy?”

Without even looking at you, he nodded, turning to go to the bathroom, “Yeah sure, I’ll go into the bathroom and make the call.”

Humming in acknowledgement as he left the room, you couldn’t help but stare at the spot he was previously standing in from your position on the edge of the bed. He doesn’t look too good.

For such a great hero, you wondered if this quest was doing him any good. After the first day of scouting the campsite, it was obvious he was already antsy to get home. It seemed no matter how light you tried to keep the atmosphere; it was like something was weighing on his mind. Mostly when you were both in the motel room together, you supposed it was because he barely went on quests nowadays. Understandably so, after all, who could blame him for wanting a break and spend time with his family? This made you feel immensely guilty since you could never give him words of truly understanding what he’s gone through. You’d arrived at camp a few days before him, yet over the years you were never sent onto a major quest. It upset you greatly at first, but you grew to appreciate your time at camp.

Before your mind could delve further into its guilt and self-pity, Percy re-entered the room, sitting next to you with a huff. “It’s all good. They’re going to send Leo with some extra supplies, and he’ll help us for the rest of this quest.”

Accidentally getting swept up in how pretty his eyes were, you tensed up, realising he was staring at you expectantly. Quickly nodding and clearing your throat you looked down to your lap, “ahh, okay that sounds good. I guess we’ll have time to sightsee or something…”

Sightsee? Really y/n? There’s nothing in this stupid town!

An awkward silence filled the room. Due to your previous thoughts, you were unsure how to proceed. This was the first time you were alone with him and had nothing else better to do.

Percy on the other hand, found that the obvious swooning look in your eyes was his green light. “Uhhh actually y/n?”

Oh, please don’t ask me why I basically just drooled all over you for NO FUCKING REASON. Snapping your head back up to look at him, you desperately tried to ignore the pounding in your chest that managed to find its way into your ears, “yeah?”

“There’s something I want to ask you.”

Holy shit he knows, doesn’t he? He knows I’ve liked him this entire time, and he’s going to reject me even though I never even said anything!

“I uhm… look I know we’re kind of on a small quest and all but technically we ARE waiting for Leo and the school to arrive before we continue… and you know we kind of have like at least a day or two until then so I was just wondering…”

“Yeah, Percy? You can just say it, you know; I really don’t mind.” I do mind, but please get this over with before I cry. With your heart rate increasing at an alarming rate and face heating up so much, you wanted Zeus to blast you right then and there.

Percy felt like he was about to puke, he’d never felt this nervous before. Yeah, he had his moments growing up with Annabeth, after all, she was his first girlfriend, but this was different. He wanted this to be different. Sure, he never regretted their relationship, and yes, he knew he’d always remember everything they went through- what he went through but… he wanted a clean slate. He desperately just wanted nothing more than to know that there was at least one person in his life that wasn’t constantly fighting for their lives—someone who didn’t have to live with as much trauma as him.

“W- would you maybe... Gods, do you want to have dinner tomorrow night? Maybe at the diner further into the town?”

HOLY FUCK.

He was interested and honestly, you were over the moon. Breathing out the breath you were holding in, you fail to hide the smile on your face, “yeah, I’d like that.”

His face instantly broke out into a wide smile matching yours. “Wait really?”

Unable to hold back a small giggle, you nodded, “yeah, Percy.”

Staring at yourself in the mirror, you admire the blue dress you found in a charity shop this morning while Percy was sleeping. I can’t believe this is happening.

If you had old even more awkward 15-year-old y/n that you were about to go on a date with the boy you admired from your table during meals (when he was there), you would’ve laughed. Mainly because at that point, he didn’t even know you existed, only having your first conversation during the battle of Manhattan when you were helping Will.

Okay… lets do this.

Walking out of the bathroom, Percy is already sitting on the bed in his usual t-shirt, jeans and converse waiting for you.

“Woah… You look uh-” Never finishing his statement, worry bubbled in your chest.

“Oh, uhm… I- I can change if you’d like?

Jumping up from his place on the bed, his head shook quickly. “NO! N-no don’t do that.”

“Ah uhm… okay? Sorry, it’s just I saw it in a store earlier and uhm… it looked nice, and I just thought that maybe it’d be cool to maybe put in a bit more effort? I mean… not that you don’t look good or anything! I love what you wear, you always look nice! but I don’t know… I don’t get to look nice much and… I just wanted it to be kinda special since we don’t get to… well our lives don’t really grant us these opportunities very often. Or at least for me anyway…”

“Hey, no, it’s okay! I totally get it… you look beautiful.” After hearing your small confession and thought to prepare for your date, his heart felt like it was melting. How could someone be so thoughtful when all he was doing was taking you to a rundown diner who probably only served mediocre burgers?

A small wave of guilt washed through him. Feeling like he would never be able to truly sweep you off your feet or give you that sweet, tooth-rotting love and affection, every day, just like you deserved. After everything, he knew he could try his best but even then, he’d never be able to hide the anxiety or PTSD he had acquired over the years.

You looked up to him with a smirk. “Glad to hear it, lover.”

Cheeks heating up at your comment, he laughed trying to play it off as cool as possible. Taking a step closer to you and flattening his shirt as if it would wipe away its wrinkles, he held out his arm. “Shall we, lover?”

Matching his level of fake sophistication, you linked your arm with his, “with pleasure.”

And with that, you both walked out of the motel, with hopeful spirits. To any onlooker, you both looked like normal young adults.  

“Where the fuck are you?!” Percy’s voice boomed from his end of the phone, supposedly made without any monster risks.  

You winced, slowly and cautiously walking your way out of the forest. The once clean dress was now covered in dirt and had few tears. It went perfectly with your dishevelled, twig and leaf infested hair.

“Space doesn’t really exist, so I’m nowhere. Life is built on social constructs and, since there’s no way to know if we’re really alive or if it’s just an illusion, I can’t be anywhere.”

“Y/n.”

Okay, he was concerned, and you couldn’t blame him. After all, how did you expect him to react after getting separated from you as you were chased into the woods by an Empousai after dinner?

Romance at its finest.  

“Yeah, sorry, I got caught up, but I’ll be there soon.”

Ending the call, you couldn’t help but feel guilty as you replayed the events that just occurred in your head. The date was amazing. It wasn’t perfect by any means, but it was still sweet. Which led you both to go on one of those cliché night walks. That was nice too, until two Empousai came out of the forest and decided to attack you both.

Percy being…. Well Percy, he swiftly got out riptide and didn’t hesitate to defend the two of you. You, on the other hand, were completely caught off guard only just noticing as one of them turned their focus on you while Percy was distracted.

And what did you do like the perfectly trained demigod you were?

You ran like a headless chicken into the forest.

After a few minutes of running, they tackled you into the ground. Trying and failing failed to shove them off, you suddenly remembered the dagger you strapped to your thigh under your dress and stabbed them.

Clearly not your proudest moments.

Finally making it back to the room, you unlocked the door and let out a huff of relief. “Well… that date didn’t go as expected.”

Percy, took in your current state staring at you with wide eyes… but he didn’t say anything. Is he angry at me? Fuck now he’s going to call off whatever this is, all because I’m an incompetent idiot! I knew I should have tried harder in the sparring activities at camp.

Feeling highly intimidated under his intense stare, you began to play with the hem of your dress, voice going quiet. “Look I uh- I know it probably wasn’t the date you were hoping for but I uhm-“

Before you could even finish your poor excuses, your words are soon lost entirely. Percy stalked towards you with a determined look on his face. Reaching you, he firmly placed his hands on either side of your face, smashing his lips onto yours.

You let out a small, muffled squeak of surprise as your eyebrows shot up into Olympus. Yet unlike your fighting skills, this was something you managed to adapt to at a faster pace.

Eyes fluttering closed, you fisted his shirt, pulling him closer.

Please don’t let this be a dream.

Because Gods forbid if this your one chance, you weren’t letting this moment end that easily.  

Moving your lips against his, the urgency he came onto you with slowly began to dissipate, feeling his soft, but slightly chapped lips move against yours. Deepening the kiss, you let go of his shirt, gliding your hands up his tense torso and along his strong arms, eventually placing your hands on his wrists that were on either side of your face. Applying a small amount of pressure to the inside of his wrists with your thumbs, his mind began to drift into a calming haze as you softly stroked them. It was almost as if you were able to brush away the worry that bubbled in him when he got back to the room, only to find you weren’t there. Yet here you were… safe.

It was intoxicating and calming having him so close to you, his entire being overcoming your senses to a point where you fought the urge to let out a small whimper when he pulled away.

Resting his forehead against yours, chest rising and falling heavily flushed against you; he continued to hold you in his warm embrace. “I wouldn’t have had it any other way.” He whispers, breath fanning against your face.

Because as much as Percy was afraid he’d let you down, he knew no matter what you were worth every single risk.

“…but I’m going to have to teach you a few things when we get back to camp. We can’t have my lover running away in battle all the time, how will I know if you sneeze?”

Letting out a snort, you playfully hit his chest. “Anything for you, lover.”

A soft smile graces his face as he looks at you adoringly as the word takes on a whole new meaning… because you were right. He’d do anything.

A/N: whelp! i hope you all liked it :)) its not perfect but oh well? 

also i dont have a percy jackson taglist but i gotta tag the holy grail of fic writers for this fandon eep @cabinofimagines​   🙈 🙈

Divider credit: @biskit-rising​

#percy jackson #percy jackson x you #percy jackson x reader #percy jackson x y/n #pjo #pjo fandom #percy jackson imagine #percy jackson fic #percy jackson x fem!reader #annabeth #annabeth chase #leo valdez #heros of olympus #hoo #nina's 1k event #pjo x reader #hoo x reader #percy jackson fluff #percy jackson angst

[ffangirlingsince2001]

The Great Upheaval of Percy Weasley: Dangerous

Percy Weasley x OC

Summary: Classes begin and a past warning creeps into Elle’s mind.

Warnings: Language, making out, angst

MASTERLIST

Dangerous -adj.- the words you didn’t dare to say aloud but your eyes screamed without dignity.

***

The strange thing about snogging Percy Weasley, is that Elle seemed to notice him a lot more often. She was sure they had classes together before this year, but she had never cared to notice him. Now, she was in her third class of the day, and it was the third time she could spot his red hair at the front of the classroom.

And unfortunately for her wandering mind, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was late. The moment she wasn’t moving, or working, or doing something else to keep her busy, she was dropping further into a daydream that always managed to turn into a nightmare. That was how everything had been going since she arrived for her fourth year of Hogwarts. Now, beginning seventh year, nothing had changed. That was why Percy was so perfect. He was the perfect distraction, the final extra-curricular activity to completely fill up her schedule. He didn’t know it of course, and she wasn’t about to tell him, she just hoped he wouldn’t give up on their little agreement any time soon.

She wasn’t even sure he was going to agree to it. The night he had dragged her into an empty classroom, she hadn’t doubted his lie one bit. If she were McGonagall, she would have called her in too after getting a look at her schedule. Yet, it had been a lie, and now that little empty space she had been unable to fill with classes and studying and work was filled with Percy Weasley.

She snorted. Pretty, perfect, Percy Weasley was meeting her in dark classrooms late into the evening. Who would’ve thought the perceived worst of the worst would be fraternizing with the crown jewel of her class? Certainly not Elle Wilton, and she was one hundred percent sure neither had he.

Before she was able to drift further into the sheer shock of it all, Professor Lupin threw open his door and strode inside. She watched him with acute attentiveness from the back of the classroom, doing her best to not let her eyes stray to the boy sitting front and center.

“He’s kind of hot in an old dude sort of way, isn’t he?” Dinah muttered next to her and both burst into laughter as Elle pretended to gag. Their outburst didn’t go unnoticed and the stern, but kind eyes of their professor flitted back to their desk.

“We alright ladies?” The class turned to face them. Dinah blushed as Elle held in laughter, both shaking their heads quickly, doing absolutely nothing to convince the man. Thankfully, he was no Professor Snape, and simply nodded before returning his attention to the rest of the class. Their peers turned around as the man to speak, all except the head boy, whose attention seemed to linger on the girls a bit longer. She sent him a look, begging him to turn around before Dinah noticed, and for once in his life he listened to someone other than himself.

The class went better than most, and by the end she was feeling hopeful about the year (frankly, she was just glad it wasn’t another Lockhart). There was a quick pop quiz, just to see what they knew, and then he dismissed them without homework.

The two girls quickly packed up and began their rushed trek towards Transfigurations. While Lupin might have been late, after six years they were certain McGonagall wouldn’t be. Avoiding moving staircases and ghosts that wanted to have a conversation longer than the time they’d been dead, they burst through the doors with five minutes to spare. They made their way towards the same desk they had sat at for the past six years, when McGonagall called out to them.

“Not this year, ladies. Ms. Wilton, front and center.”

“What?” she yelled, jaw dropping, eyes wider than dinner plates.

“Now, there’s no need to yell. After the incident last year, I can’t risk it,” she tsked, but Elle wasn’t going to give up her beloved seat without a fight.

“The incident was nothing.”

“You turned your desk into a lion, which proceeded to chase Ms. Baker’s gazelle around the classroom before drenching half of my students in gore. I would hate to see what sort of incident you consider something, Ms. Wilton.”

“It was excellent transfiguration, professor.”

“Indeed, but we were making owls.”

“Professor-.”

“My decision is final, now please join Mr. Weasley.” Somehow, he had managed to slip in during their argument and was now sitting front and center, like every year before. Elle sent her a glare, but there was nothing more powerful than the stern look of Professor McGonagall. Groaning loud enough for everyone to here, Elle dragged herself forward, plopping down beside Percy.

He didn’t look at her, he didn’t need to for her to know that he was very aware of her presence. The way his entire body tensed was enough. She leaned into her hand and watched McGonagall return to her desk.

This was ridiculous, she had done things just as insane, worse even, and she had never been dragged to the front of the classroom. This was something else, and if Elle was making any guesses, she assumed it had to do with her schedule. Sadly, she dragged her fingers across the desktop, already missing the messages she and Dinah had carved into the desktop over the years.

It was stupid to be this nostalgic over a desk, but it was either sadness, or rage, and rage was far more likely to get her a month’s detention.

The lecture began, but she wasn’t really in a listening mood. She considered taking a nap, just to spite the professor, but Percy was having a coughing fit beside her.

“Are you dying?” she snapped quietly, a little harsher than she intended. However, he didn’t seem offended, merely nodded towards the parchment he was taking notes on. Scrawled in the top corner was a small note.

‘Astronomy tower, 9?’ was all it said, but the message was clear. She snatched his quill from his hand and draw a small smiley face beneath the invitation. He seemed to puff with pride as he took the quill back, returning to his notes.

And Elle couldn’t help but grin.

She was sure the grin would remain, for another hour at least, but McGonagall quickly swished it away with a few simple words.

“Ms. Wilton, I need to speak with you after your class.” As if the day couldn’t get any worse. The bell rang, and from her seat, Elle watched both Percy and Dinah leave out opposite doors. “Step into my office.”

“I don’t want to be late for my next class.”

“I’ll write you a pass.”

“I’d rather be on time.”

“Ms. Wilton, enter my office or face detention.” Elle considered detention, she really did, but she settled on standing and marching past McGonagall and into her office. She plopped into a chair and waited for the professor to take her own seat.

“Professor Sprout doesn’t like tardiness,” Elle announced. They both knew it was a lie, Professor Sprout hadn’t given a damn about tardiness since before Elle attended Hogwarts.

“I want to talk to you about your schedule.”

“It’s fine.”

“You’re taking ten N.E.W.T level classes, interning for Madame Pomfrey, and working Quidditch matches.”

“I said, it’s fine.”

“The homework load will be more than last year.”

“I’m aware of that.”

“Then you understand my concern.”

“And I’m saying your concern is misplaced.”

“Ms. Wilton, I understand-.”

“You do not seem to understand anything! I have repeatedly told you it is fine; I understand the burden and I am willing to accept it. I will not fail, just as I have not failed every year before. So, please excuse me, I-.”

“Elle!”

Elle froze as she stood, turning to look at the professor who had not once used her first name. She waited for her to continue, to say anything after her uncommon lack of professionalism, but she remained silent, fingers clenched around the quill in her hand. Elle quickly left, throwing her bag over her shoulder as she sprinted through the empty classroom, boots pounding against the floor in tune to the angry pounding in her chest.

The rest of the day occurred without incident. Herbology was as interesting as always and Charms was a breeze, even Professor Binns held her attention. By the time her classes were finished, both her anger and the dinner tables had disappeared. She cut straight to the library, working until her eyes cried for relief and her mind bled.

Before she knew it, it was 8:55 and she was heading towards the Astronomy tower. The door was held open with a thin book that she casually swooped up before shutting it behind her, locking it with a swish of her wand.

“Percy?” she called into the emptiness, but there was no response. She peered around the corner and found him leaning over a stack of books, looking no different than she had mere minutes before. “Hey, Head boy,” she called again and this time he jumped in surprise, whipping out his wand to defend himself. “Woah, easy buddy, I come mostly unarmed.”

“Bloody hell, Elle,” he stammered, stowing his wand away once more as she laughed.

“That rhymes,” she said as she sat, still laughing at the petrified look on his face. He stowed away his books, glancing at her over his shoulder as he did so.

“What do you mean mostly unarmed?”

“My womanly wiles, of course,” she teased, licking her lips as she leaned closer.

“So completely unarmed you mean?”

“Is that sarcasm from the ever-serious Percy Weasley?” He only grinned and closed the gap between them. The newly familiar taste of tea with one too many sugars brushed her tongue as he kissed her.

Suddenly, the worries of the day took a back seat as he pulled her closer. She climbed over his legs and straddled him, never pulling away.

“Woah,” he muttered, wrapping his arms around her back. Their school robes punched together as they kissed, pulling them closer together. With annoyed fingers, she yanked his robe off, tossing it to a small heap beside his books. He tried to do the same but only succeeded in groping her chest. “Sorry,” he muttered, mistaking pleasure for discomfort as she let out a high-pitched gasp, startled fingers grasping his shoulders.

“No, no, you’re good,” she muttered breathlessly, shedding the robe on her own. His hands slipped down her back, tense fingers accidentally pushing against knots in her back. Not that she minded, a massage was a massage, even if it was on accident. His hands landed on the waistband of her skirt and something from the past fluttered between her legs. She didn’t know if he was aware that he was pushing the barely clothed apex of her thighs closer to his belt buckle. She certainly wasn’t going to tell him, not when she was having so much fun.

Testing the waters, she rocked her hips forward. Unlike last time, he didn’t pull away. In fact, he pulled her closer, pressing every bit of her against his chest. He bunched her skirt between his fingers, urging her to continue. When she moaned, he didn’t startle, only joined her when it was able to slip through his pride. It seemed that Percy Weasley was as fast a learner as he claimed. Not only was he a fast learner, he was a lot more respectful than she was used to (or preferred). His hands never touched the skin beneath her skirt or wandered to her chest, they remained firmly nestled in the folds in her skirt, only occasionally straying up her back. That would have to be the next lesson.

When she pulled away for air, dark pupils blown to ridiculous proportions. He was staring at her like she had the answers to questions he didn’t know yet, and that scared her.

That really fucking scared her.

“Elle,” he whispered, still panting.

“What?” she asked, but he didn’t respond, only kissed her again. She was glad, she was sure whatever was going to come out of his mouth would have been the last thing she wanted to hear.

Dinah had always warned her about virgin boys.

“They’re too good at it,” she always said, a proclamation of the unfairness, “They look at you like you’re some sort of angel, and then they’re proclaiming they’re love before you can get their pants unbuckled.” Elle had always rolled her eyes at that, but for a moment, she knew what it was like to be looked at like an angel.

Percy was different though. He wasn’t going to fall in love with her, that very idea was laughable. Percy was reasonable, and practical, and followed through with his outlandish goals.

Plus, he was only an average kisser.

And Elle was only an average liar, even to herself, because what he was doing was anything but average.

That night ended like the one before it; with a final kiss that left both wanting more (but nothing more than another) and Elle leaving him alone in the room of his choosing.

Dinah had no idea what she was talking about, virgin boys were as harmless as they came.

Taglist: @andromedasstarship​

#percy weasley #percy weasley fanfiction #percy weasley fanfic #percy weasley imagines #percy weasley imagine #percy weasley angst #percy weasley smut #percy weasley fluff #percy weasley x reader #percy weasley x reader smut #Percy Weasley x reader imagine #percy weasley x reader fluff #percy weasley x reader angst #Percy Weasley x OC #percy weasley x oc angst #percy weasley x oc smut #percy weasley x oc fluff #percy weasley x oc fanfiction #the great upheaval of percy weasley

[jaskiers-sweetkiss]

Sunset Swerve - Part 7

Pairing: Luke x OC

Word Count: 1.7k

Warnings: none?

A/N: This one’s a little shorter but I’ve been waiting to get to this part for a while now. It’s got some good Jordan and Luke backstory. Fair warning, I totally cried writing this so like, I’m sorry. As always, let me know what you think!

Part 6  Masterlist

___

When Jordan finally returned to the garage it was empty. She’d gone with the intention of explaining her side and apologize. She’d never meant to break up the band, truthfully it was one of the best things that had happened to her since she died. She’d thought they’d ditched Julie and herself to get revenge on Bobby, she would’ve gone back to get them if she’d thought there was even a chance that they were still at the creepy Hollywood Ghost Club. To make matters worse, Purple Suit, Mr. Covington or whatever, made it sound like they didn’t even get answers about Bobby.

She popped back into Julie’s room to grab her book, fully intending on waiting in the garage until they got back. She made it a couple of pages before she felt another jolt like she had last night. She groaned again, setting down her book in favor of clutching her chest.

By the time the guys came back, Jordan was still clutching her chest, though the pain had faded. Her face was scrunched in concentration as she tried to figure out what could possibly be causing them- she had no physical body so it couldn’t have been normal chest pains or cramps or anything like that. It felt like somebody had given her an electric shock.

“Woah, Jordan are you okay?” Alex exclaimed worriedly, rushing to her side to check on her.

“Yeah,” she groaned, rubbing her chest before removing her hand completely. “I’ve just been getting these painful jolts since yesterday.”

“You’ve been getting them too?” Reggie gasped, sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of them and Jordan nodded. “Guess it’s not related to the pizza.”

Jordan furrowed her brows in confusion. “Pizza?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Luke spoke, glaring at her from the doorway. “What matters is what you think you’re doing here.”

“I came back to apologize assh-“ she stopped herself, taking a deep breath and starting over, nicer this time. “I thought you guys had gotten your answers and gone to get your revenge on Bobby, that’s why I didn’t come back to get you. I thought you knew you were ditching us, I’m sorry.”

She looked between the three boys sincerely, hoping her apology would be enough to put them on good terms again.

“We get it,” Alex said softly, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, “You had no way of knowing.”

“Yeah, and the band wouldn’t be the same without you,” Reggie added cheerfully, the two boys then turning to look at Luke who Jordan was afraid to look in the eye.

“Maybe if you didn’t always think the worst of us this wouldn’t have happened,” Luke said stubbornly and Jordan sighed, wanting so badly to argue in her defense but knowing it wasn’t the time.

“I’m sorry,” she just repeated quietly, looking up at the boy and she watched his angry façade crumble. “Are we cool?” She asked quietly.

Luke nodded, “Reggie’s right. Like it or not you’re part of the band now. Just don’t expect me to be nice to you all of a sudden.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Jordan smirked, thankful to have things returning to normal.

“Ooh! We have a gig tonight!” Reggie announced excitedly, scrambling to his feet to show Jordan the flyer.

They all crowded around her to watch her reaction.

“Oh, what so a coffee shop open mic is cool but a school dance is lame?” She asked, teasing the guys.

“This place will be packed with producers,” Luke said defensively, crossing his arms over his chest as he pouted.

“Wait, for real?” Jordan asked, sitting up straighter at the news and they nodded. “Oh my gosh, this is insane! We’re gonna get signed!”

“Now all we have to do is get Julie to rejoin the band,” Alex said, dampening the mood and Jordan slouched forward again.

“Right, well, if you guys apologize and explain yourselves I’m sure she’ll understand,” Jordan said hopefully and they all nodded, the guys beginning to formulate a plan.

___

As soon as Julie stepped into the studio the guys were ready, immediately breaking into their little apology song. Jordan smiled at how dorky but sweet it was from her position off to the side on the couch.

“In case you missed it, we’re really sorry,” Reggie said and the guys all nodded.

“Yeah… I got that part.” Julie said, frowning at the boys.

“Yeah, we’ve been here for three hours,” Alex added and Jordan nodded despite the fact that no one was looking at her. They really had been stating in that position for three hours. She would’ve made fun of them but it gave her some peace and quiet to read her book.

“We almost sang to your little brother,” Luke said.

“He comes in here a lot. Mainly to use the bathroom,” Reggie explained and Jordan shuddered.

“It’s not our favorite part of the day,” Alex said, pursing his lips.

“But, Julie, it wasn’t okay that we flaked on the dance last night,” Luke said, getting the boys back on topic. “We know we let you down.”

“Yeah and, and none of us wanted to disappoint you,” Alex said, “You and Jordan are the best things that’ve happened to us since we became ghosts.”

Jordan aww-ed quietly at that, making a mental note to hug Alex later.

“So, in hopes that you’ll rejoin the band, we booked a new gig,” Luke announced, handing her the coffee shop flyer.

“A mega-important, life-changing gig,” Reggie added with his signature grin.

“Check it out,” Luke explained, pointing to the flyer. “Tons of managers go here to listen to new bands. All we gotta do is blow them all away and then we’re living the dream.”

“So, this means a lot to you, huh?” Julie asked, looking up from the flyer to stare at the guys, her face hardened.

Jordan frowned at that. Clearly, the apology hadn’t been as effective as they’d thought it would be.

“Kind of how playing in front of my whole school meant a lot to me.” Julie continued and Jordan watched as the realization of where this conversation was going dawned on the guys’ faces.

“That sounds like sarcasm,” Reggie gasped, processing the situation out loud, “I’m starting to think our plan isn’t working.”

“Look, we know we messed up,” Alex said, ignoring Reggie and trying to save the situation.

“But we need you in the band,” Luke finished.

Julie rolled her eyes at that.

“Of course you do. Because without me, no one can see you guys playing.” She spat, staring Luke down. “Y’know, I thought the music we were writing was special, but you’re too obsessed with your past to even care.”

“I do care!” Luke exclaimed, nearly shouting at the girl and Jordan sucked in a breath, worried about where this was going. Luke and Julie both had quick and fiery tempers. “Our band has a real chance at greatness. I’m not gonna let that get away from us again.”

“Uh-huh. Right.” Julie said, clearly not believing him. “So then why did you bail on me to get back at Trevor?”

When Luke didn’t answer Julie continued.

“I’ll tell you why,” she said angrily. “Cause there’s only one thing that you care about and that’s yourself!”

She spun on her heel after that, stomping out of the garage.

“Julie wait!” Jordan called after her, jumping up off the couch to follow after her but stopping short of the doorway when she didn’t stop.

The studio was silent for a moment, everyone worriedly looking at Luke who was staring up at the house dejectedly.

“Dude, she didn’t mean it,” Alex said quietly but Luke didn’t respond, merely poofing away.

Jordan didn’t stick around much longer, only long enough to hear Alex remind Reggie of what day it was. She nodded solemnly at the two boys before poofing away herself.

___

“What are you doing here?” Luke asked irritably when Jordan poofed in next to him.

They were resting on the extended kitchen counter the Patterson’s had between their kitchen and dining room while his parents moved around the two rooms.

She shrugged. “It’s your birthday. Even after we told them we hated each other your parents always invited me behind your back and my parents always dragged me kicking and screaming.”

When the Pattersons had moved in down the street Jordan’s parents had been so excited that she’d have someone her age to play with. What they hadn’t anticipated was Luke putting a spider in her hair the first time they met and the pair forming an immediate hatred of each other. Still, their animosity hadn’t stopped the Moss’s and the Patterson’s from doing whatever they could to make Luke and Jordan friends so Jordan came to every one of Luke’s birthday parties and he hers.

Luke gave a watery chuckle at the memory before the pair lapsed into silence.

“Do you hate me?” Luke asked quietly after a moment. “For leaving when you…“

Jordan cut him off with a shake of her head.

“No.” She said softly but sure. “Maybe if you had left after my parents…” she cleared her throat, looking away to hide her own tears that were forming in her eyes. “No, I could never hate you for a decision you clearly regretted from the start.”

Luke nodded thoughtfully at that and Jordan reached out, placing her hand over his that was resting on the countertop. She hoped the small gesture would be comforting.

“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you,” Jordan began to sing softly as Mrs. Patterson carried the cake over to the table. Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, Luke’s favorite. “Happy birthday dear Luke, happy birthday to you.”

Luke turned his hand over to squeeze her own before hopping off the countertop to join his family at the table. When his dad finally lit the candle Luke leaned forward to blow it out, leaving his parents shocked and confused. Mr. Patterson relit the candle and Luke slid into the third chair. Jordan wiped the tears that were falling down her own face as she watched the Patterson’s, unknowingly reunited for the first time in twenty-six years, tearfully blow out the candle together.

Jordan leaned forward, squeezing Luke’s shoulder lightly as they watched his parents eat a slice of cake in silence. As she moved to pull away he reached over to cover her hand with his, holding it in place. As they sat like that in the silence that was somehow both deafening and comfortable Jordan thought back to the thin line Julie had mentioned the other day in the band room and whether or not she was walking it as carefully as she had thought.

Part 8

___

JATP Taglist: @meangirlsx

Sunset Swerve Taglist: @oopsiedoopsie23 @angryknightstatesmantrash @onlygetaway @deni-gonzalez @advicefromnixxxx @brooke0297 

#jatp fic #julie and the phantoms #jatp #luke patterson #luke jatp #jatp luke #alex mercer #jatp alex #reggie jatp fic #jatp reggie #julie molina #julie and the himbos #luke patterson fic #luke jatp fic #jatp luke fic #happy birthday luke #sunset curve #sunset swerve

[wheresmynaya]

Lost in the Lights Ch.2 | Brittana

Okay so I’m breaking routine here by posting another chapter so soon but I’m just blown away by the response so far and I got excited. LIKE WOAH, I really thought I wasn’t going to reach many people with this bc like...sports. Guess we all just really love Brittana, huh?

Also, 9-0 baby! 😘

Available on ff.net (x) ao3 (x) 

No one is more surprised by the discovery of the Titans’ new quarterback than Santana. Actually, surprised doesn’t even begin to cover it. Santana’s flat out dumbfounded by the news.

Is it the fact that they’ve never had a female Titan, let alone a female QB? Is it the fact that she’s actually really good? Is it the fact that it’s Brittany?

Santana’s at a loss.

The blonde just didn’t strike her as the type to play such a rough sport. She’s like this walking ray of sunshine that irks Santana to no end and she’s only had to deal with her for like a week! No one would’ve ever guessed that Brittany was the one to lead the Titans to their first win but maybe that’s because there’s apparently this side of her that Santana just hadn’t seen yet?

Judging by the way Brittany dominated on the field, Santana had her all wrong.

Santana spends her entire weekend trying to stay on top of her tan before the Autumn chill sets in, but in between sips of cold sweet tea and scrolling through her social media feeds there’s Brittany. Again, she doesn’t know why the quarterback keeps disrupting her thoughts, but it seems like she can’t outrun the girl.

At the moment, Brittany’s everywhere Santana looks! Mainly on social media; one minute Santana’s liking a picture Quinn posted of them before the game on Friday and the next she’s being bombarded by shots of Brittany posing with her teammates. Mike and Sam basically make the same exact post with the whole New Year New QB, but what surprises her is that even Puck is on her feed doing the same thing!

To think that the guys would even allow having a female quarterback is beyond her, because the last time she checked they were all a bunch of sexist pigs. Then again, maybe Coach Beiste has finally taught them all a thing or two about respecting women enough to be okay with playing alongside them?

Santana has no idea.

It’s just crazy how this girl seems to have popped up out of nowhere and now Santana can’t get away even when she’s not at school. The weekends are sacred to her, it’s her time to relax and reset before having to deal with all the McKinley High imbeciles but seeing so much of Brittany has her thoughts running nonstop.

What’s worse is that Santana can’t describe why she’s so annoyed by it all!

\\

It isn’t until Monday rolls around that things finally start to come to a head.

The Titans’ recent win still seems to be the only thing anyone at McKinley wants to talk about, but Santana manages to evade all those conversations. She doesn’t know anything about the game other than the Titans have sucked for most of her high school career but she’s still obligated to cheer for them.

It’s a small price to pay when you’re a real winner. The Cheerios have way more titles and that’s really the only thing Santana cares about.

It’s all apart of her master plan to get the hell out of Lima once she graduates. With several National Championship wins under her belt, along with being Co-Captain since Sophomore year, Santana’s hoping it’ll help to expand her university options.

Although, she knows her future is practically mapped out for her – deep down she still has hope for a miracle. Until then, she just wants to make sure she’s well-prepared for anything which means retaining her position on the squad and making good grades.  

\\

Santana goes through the motions of the school day as usual, and as usual she fights the inescapable feeling of giddiness as she makes her way towards her final class of the day. She doesn’t actually mind the class – Miss Holliday is secretly one of her favorite teachers at McKinley – but she’s not the blonde that’s making her stomach fill with fluttery things.

She’s barely taken two steps into the room when she spots Brittany already sitting at their shared desk. She had been resting her chin in her palm looking bored as ever until Santana walked in. That’s when Brittany perked up and turned on her signature mega-watt smile.

It was getting harder and harder for Santana to scowl at the sight of it.

“Hi!” Brittany greeted happily as Santana took a seat next to her, “How was your weekend?”

It was always the same with Brittany, no matter what kind of look Santana threw her way. Brittany never seemed to be fazed by her grumpiness. She just took it in stride and continued to try and make conversation even if Santana never gave her much to work with.

Maybe that’s why Santana’s drawn to the blonde? She doesn’t scare easily unlike most at the school who wouldn’t dare be so persistent.

“Fine,” Santana answered with a sigh of indifference while she got settled and took out her binder and pen.

“Awesome,” Brittany nodded and picked up her own pen to start doodling, “I had good weekend too. I went to the park, did some chores around the house, hung out with some guys from the team and – “

The team caused a crack in Santana’s façade.

She looked to Brittany, trying to figure out how the girl sitting next to her was the same fierce player she saw Friday night. With the confusion and curiosity that’s been building ever since, the words just came tumbling out of her before she could catch them.

“You’re our new QB,” Santana stated but it sounded more like an accusation than an observation.

Brittany’s brows rose and a coy smile began to spread across her lips, “So you can say more than two words?”

Santana rolled her eyes at the sarcasm but even more so at how that smile made her stomach flip. She really needed to get her shit together.

“But yeah,” Brittany added coolly, “Seems like I am.”

Santana looked down at her binder, “You didn’t say.”

“You didn’t ask,” Brittany replied just as quickly.

Before Santana could get wrapped up in that giddy feeling again, she hardened herself. She was starting to see how Brittany could keep up with the guys on the team, the girl was quick and she had confidence.

Santana liked that…or whatever.

“Sup dudes!” Miss Holliday greeted the class as she strolled in just after the bell, “Is this Monday dragging or what?”

Some kids grunted in agreement. Brittany chuckled away and Miss Holliday smirked up at her.

“Awesome game, Chica!” Miss Holliday complimented as she walked down their row closest to Brittany. She held out her fist for Brittany to bump, “You kicked butt out there.”

“Thanks,” Brittany replied sweetly as their fists connected, “It was a team effort.”

“Spoken like a true leader. About time we got a little girl power in this school,” Miss Holliday nodded approvingly before moving down the row.

Santana watched Brittany giggle then get swept up in listening to Miss Holliday’s instructions for the warm-up activity. Again, Santana found herself in awe of how Brittany was the same girl who could break tackles and fire a football downfield. Brittany was friendly and soft and diplomatic, nothing like any of the guys on the team.

“You’re staring,” Brittany pointed out although her gaze remained on Miss Holliday now standing at the front of the class setting up the projector.

Santana doesn’t know why, but Brittany’s comment makes her cheeks burn.

She was glad when one of the kids closest to the door was asked to turn off the lights. In the darkness, she found some comfort and a little confidence. She was able to get a grip and act like a normal person.

“We’ve never had a female QB before,” Santana whispered. She had her pen in hand, trying to follow along with everyone else by doing the activity but her focus was elsewhere.

“So I’ve heard,” Brittany replied just as softly.

Santana didn’t know what to say next; this was the most they’ve spoken to each other thus far and she really didn’t know where the conversation was going.

What she didn’t anticipate though was fucking it all up with one sentence.

“Girls,” Santana breathed out and for some reason the word made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. She didn’t realize she hadn’t said it in awhile, maybe not since seeing…  

Santana swallows hard at the memory trying to worm its way in. She pushes it to the back of her mind; now isn’t the time for it.  

“Girls,” She repeats herself with a steadier voice, “They aren’t supposed to play football.”

When Brittany looks at her, the friendly smile is gone and her pretty blue eyes are darker and fill with disbelief.

Santana knows she said the wrong thing the second the words leave her lips. It’s not exactly what she meant, but it’s too late to take it back now. Her words have already done the damage.  

“Huh,” Brittany scoffs and averts her eyes back to her work, “Didn’t expect to hear that coming from you.”

Santana frowns – mostly out of guilt – but her instincts have her on the defense, “What’s that suppose to mean?”

She watches Brittany’s jaw tighten before she’s turning to look at Santana again. Her brows knit together, “It means I didn’t think you were the small-minded type.”

Santana feels winded.

She’s been called many things in her life and has heard some creative insults aimed at her, but never has she ever been called small-minded. She’s surprised by how much that one actually hurts. After everything she went through last year, after all the backlash, after having to deal with real small-minded people she feels a little offended. She can’t be lumped in with them. It’s not possible, because she’s…

The word gets trapped her throat and Santana has to swallow hard again to steady herself.

She isn’t like everyone else.

On second thought, maybe she is if she’s still saying something like that?

“I’ve always been told that those who can play the game well should,” Brittany tells her firmly, “I think I’m someone that can and judging by your team’s standings for the past three years, you could use someone like me on that field.”

Santana gulps. She can’t remember the last time someone at this school spoke to her the way Brittany is. It’s not a tone she’s familiar with, but she knows she deserves it.

“I don’t know you very well, but I thought – I don’t know – I thought you’d at least be a little more accepting than the hicks I’ve come across in this town,” Brittany continues, “I guess I was wrong.”

Santana’s lips part to defend herself, but nothing comes out.

Brittany doesn’t notice, “It shouldn’t matter if I’m a girl or a boy or a damn alien from outer space. If you can play – if you want to play – then you should, no matter what the sport is. Anyone that thinks otherwise is just…well, they’re stupid.”

The last word has Brittany’s voice cracking and the sound finally has Santana sputtering for an explanations, “I – I didn’t mean to – “

“You should probably just pay attention to the board, Santana.”

Santana bites her lip at Brittany’s clipped tone – that might’ve been the first time she’s ever heard Brittany say her name. She does as she’s told though. It’s best if she doesn’t dig herself a deeper hole.

\\

Santana spends the rest of the day mulling over Brittany's words. Even through Cheerios practice after school, Santana can’t seem to get her head on right.

Maybe she really has become a product of her environment? Maybe all the small-minded people she's surrounded by have somehow managed to rub off on her after all of these years?

That can’t be the case, can it?

She hates that she has to ask herself that. Usually, Santana’s not one to have any regrets or remorse once she spits out her vicious words but this time she finds herself backpedaling when it comes to Brittany. She wasn’t trying to be a bitch, it just sort of happened and for once in her life she feels kind of horrible about it.

\\

“You okay?” Quinn asks hesitantly after she dismissed the squad for a water break. Santana was meant to lead warm-ups today but Quinn seemed more eager to take over and Santana didn’t mind considering she’s so distracted.

“Yeah,” Santana shrugs, “I’m fine.”

“You’re quiet today,” Quinn notes, “You didn’t even laugh when Bec accidentally called Coach Sylvester sir.”

Santana tries to mask her worries and shrugs again, “She’s not that far off, have you seen Coach lately? Very mannish.”

Quinn smirks, pleased to seemingly have her best friend back, “So true.”

Just then Coach Sylvester blows her whistle and barks orders at the squad. Santana’s reluctant to move, but she pushes herself up anyway.

“God,” She groans as they walk over to the others, “I’m over this year and it hasn’t even started.”

“Same,” Quinn chuckles, “Let’s go make fun of the JV squad later? I hear they need a ton of work and their practices runs longer than ours because they suck so much.”

If it were any other day, that suggestion would have Santana eager to get a front row seat but even that doesn’t help. Still, she has to retain some sort of normalcy even if thoughts of Brittany are trying their hardest to disrupt that.

“I can’t wait to see that train wreck,” Santana quips and together, she and her best friend fall in line with the rest of the squad.

\\

The remainder of the week is more of the same: class, Cheerios practice, homework then repeat. The only thing that’s out of the ordinary for Santana is the icy, cold shoulder Brittany’s giving her now.

Or maybe Santana’s the one avoiding her?

It’s all minor details. What’s important is that they aren’t speaking to each other anymore and Santana’s starting to miss Brittany’s usual cheerful greetings.

She knows what she needs to do to fix this. It doesn’t make it any easier for her to actually do it though. To admit that she was wrong, to apologize for her words, to accept responsibility for her actions? Santana’s not use to most of that!

It’s a weird kind of tension though between her and Brittany, so Santana’s not sure how much more she can take. Instead, she steals sideways glances in the dark and hopes Brittany takes pity on her and makes the first move.

Brittany doesn’t and soon one week’s worth of silence ends up turning into two.

\\

Santana had every intention of making amends by last Friday’s game, but things just kept coming up. There’s class and Cheerios practice, but now she actually has to study for upcoming quizzes and assignments. She can’t fall behind again so once practice ends, Santana usually gets changed right away and heads straight for her car without even glancing in the Titans’ direction.

Is she using schoolwork as a lame excuse to avoid dealing with her shit? Of course, she’s a teenager. Procrastination comes naturally to her!

\\

Later that night, Santana sits with both of her parents at the table for dinner. It’s a rare occasion to have Maribel and Hector home at the same time, but that quickly loses its novelty when Hector starts to grill Santana on her studies.

“Papi, it’s only the third week,” Santana gently reasons.

“And?” Hector gives her a stern look, “You need to stay on top of things, Santana.”

It’s a simple sentence, but Santana feels like there’s way more beneath the surface. Sometimes it’s hard being the daughter of a successful doctor whose father was also a doctor and his father before him. There is a long line of them in the Lopez legacy and that looms over Santana like a dark cloud, especially now that she’s in her Senior year.

It’s gone without saying whose footsteps Santana will follow, but it’s still a lot of pressure for her. It’s only a matter of time before her dad begins to lecture her again about college and the importance of good grades and extracurriculars while her mom tries to elevate some of that stress.

She’s never met two people who show their love for someone so differently.

“Don’t put too much pressure on her,” Maribel says and squeezes Santana’s hand from across the table lovingly, “You’re doing fine, mija.”

Hector frowns at his wife, “Fine isn’t enough. You think any of these Ivy League schools care about fine? Of course not. They’re going through thousands of applicants a year and fine doesn’t stand out. Fine doesn’t get into Harvard.”

Maribel narrows her eyes at his rambling.

“Don’t give me that look,” Hector huffs but his voice softens as he looks to Santana, “You know what I’m talking about.”

Santana can already guess what he’s about to say. She’s heard it so many times before.

“You can’t get complacent, Santana. You have a lot to make up for,” Hector adds just as Santana knew he would, “Especially after the year you’ve had.”

“That’s an understatement,” Santana mumbles as she pushes food around on her plate.

“What was that?” Hector raises a challenging brow.

“It’s nothing,” Santana dismisses and smiles reassuringly at her dad, “I’m on top of everything this year, Papi. I promise, you don’t have to worry. I won’t disappoint you.”

When Hector matches her smile, Santana feels a little relief even if it only lasts for a moment.

\\

It isn’t until they’re nearing the end of the third week of school when things on the Brittany-front begin to shift for Santana. They still aren’t speaking to each other, but the blonde practically pops up everywhere she goes – if not physically, then someone’s bound to be talking about her.

After securing a second win for the Titans, Brittany has quickly climbed the ranks on the popularity ladder. The buzz around her grows, but what’s odd is that despite her obvious talents and annoyingly charming smile the students of McKinley have mixed feelings about her.

More importantly, about having a female quarterback.

On her walks to class, Santana has overheard the murmurs of doubt in Brittany’s abilities. Some are frustrated at how a new kid was able to dethrone Finn Hudson who has been leading the team all of her high school career. Some think Coach Beiste is getting soft. Some think it’s all a hoax, but Santana doesn’t really understand that one.

Regardless of how they feel about her though, Brittany’s still able to part crowds any time she walks down the hall. It doesn’t look like she pays them any mind, but Santana’s been wrong about her before.

But with popularity comes the irritating gossip mongers and Santana happens to overhear Brittany’s first encounter with McKinley’s most annoying: Jacob Ben Israel.

\\\\\

Between her morning runs, class, football practice, weight training, homework and helping out with Pete, Brittany’s having a hard time finding a moment to relax. She should be use to the hectic schedule by now, but making the change from her old school’s system to Lima’s is throwing her off a little. The school days start earlier, football practices run later and the work is a little harder than she use to.

Then there’s everything going on with Santana and that might be the most frustrating.

For nearly two weeks, they’ve kept this thing between them going. Did Brittany overreact by saying what she said? She doesn’t think so. Maybe Santana didn’t think what she said to her was a big deal, but to Brittany it was. The things people say to her in Lima aren’t anything knew, but that doesn’t mean she’s immune to their sting.

Most times, she’s able to ignore them but it just hits differently when she hears the utter disbelief coming from a fellow female. It’s like, whatever happened to empowering and uplifting each other? Did Santana not grow up listening to the Spice Girls? Has she never watched She’s the Man? Bend it like Beckham? A League of their own?

It’s so irritating because she can’t even ask Santana, the girl avoids her like the plague! The only time they’re ever close enough is in English class and that’s only because they have to share a table.

\\

Brittany’s tired and achy and she’s so wrapped up in her thoughts as shuffles through her locker for her textbook for next class that she doesn’t notice she is no longer alone.

“Brittany Pierce!” Brittany hears someone say and the sound makes her flinch, “You’ve become quite the celebrity.”

She leans back slowly and peeks around her locker door to find a rather dorky looking guy with a huge cloud of hair. She notices the mic in his hand next and is instantly confused.

Is she on tv?

“Who are you?” She asks and glances around unsurely for a camera.

“Jacob Ben Israel,” He says and holds out his hand for her to shake, “Some call me JBI for short. I’m McKinley’s #1 source for news and the hottest gossip.”

Brittany shakes his hand; it’s grossly warm and sweaty as hell but she’s not surprised judging by the look of him. He certainty isn’t dressed like a journalist or one of those news reporters she has seen on tv.

She can hear her dad’s voice in her head chastising her for judging a book by its cover so she gives JBI a polite smile, “Oh okay. Nice to meet you.”

She goes to turn back to her locker, but JBI is quick to start the questions.

“So you’re the first female QB here at McKinley High. You’re new to the school and you’re the first to ever bench Finn Hudson and you’ve already led the Titans to their second victory this year. Hoping for a third this Friday?” JBI pauses and holds out the mic for Brittany.

She clears her throat, she’s not sure where the camera is so she just looks at him, “Of course. There are a lot of really great players on the team and I’m confident we can win a lot more games this season.”  

“Awesome,” JBI replies enthusiastically, “A winning streak isn’t something a lot of the students here have experienced. You’re off to a great start this year. You’re bound to be nominated for Homecoming Court!”

Brittany almost laughs at that.

She’s been nominated at her old school before – even won a couple times – but that’s because she was voted for by her peers, peers who have known her for years. She doesn’t expect any nomination this year, the only reason anyone knows her is because she plays football. If she were to be nominated, it wouldn’t be because she’s well-liked or something like that. It would be because she sticks out like a sore thumb.

“Sounds cool,” Brittany replies despite disagreeing with him.

“So tell us,” JBI’s voice takes a dip. It’s sneaky, almost mischievous, “Would you rather be crowned the King or the Queen?”

Brittany’s stomach flips. She doesn’t like this interview thing anymore.

“What?” She asks because the question confuses her but she finds him wearing this sly grin like he’s just found her weak spot.

He hasn’t, but Brittany’s guard instantly goes up.

“Don’t be shy,” He coaxes with the wag of his brow, “You know what I’m talking about. You’re a female QB, no way you’re strai – “

“Hey!” Suddenly Santana’s there, of all people, and there’s fury in her eyes as she shoves JBI’s mic to his chest, “Fuck off.”

Brittany blinks like she’s caught in a daydream. Her eyes shift from Santana to JBI whose grin widens upon seeing the Co-Captain.

“Now this is a pairing I’m sure everyone would love to see,” He says as he talks into the mic again like nothing’s happened, like Santana isn’t about to beat him over the head with it. He looks to the camera – the kid’s been lingering over Brittany’s right shoulder thus far – and says, “It’s the infamous Santana Lopez, gracing us with her presence.”

Santana rolls her eyes, “I’m not gracing you with shit. Your little show sucks.”

“That’s not what my viewer count says. I’m sure you remember,” JBI quips as he turns back to the pair, “So Brittany, you didn’t answer the question.”

Brittany feels like a deer caught in the headlights; she can’t even remember what the question was, but thankfully Santana interrupts again.

“I said beat it, loser, before I shove that camera so far up your dumb ass you’ll be spitting out polaroids,” Santana snaps.

To Brittany’s surprise though, JBI doesn’t move right away.

“That doesn’t make sense, we’re not even using that kind of cam – “

Santana grits her jaw and takes a threatening step forward. Her voice dips low and gravely, “Try me, Jewfro. Please. I’ve been itching to kick you square in the nuts.”

That threat has JBI reaching to protect his crotch before he turns and runs down the hall with his camera-friend following him.  

Brittany watches Santana smirk like she’s so proud of herself for being able to instill the fear of God in someone before she’s averting her gaze. When her stormy brown eyes land on Brittany, the blonde feels a cold chill.

The smirk’s gone and in it’s place is a familiar scowl. Brick by brick, her wall goes up.

“I know you’re new here, Pierce, so a little word of advice,” Santana warns as she turns to the lockers, “Don’t talk to him. He’s a wannabe journalist that reports nothing but bullshit. He’ll twist your words if you let him, trust me. I’ve seen it happen many times and I don’t want you to get caught up in his shit.”

Brittany’s at a loss for words.

Santana hasn’t spoken to her all this time and now all of sudden this? Why would it matter to Santana what she did or said or who she spoke to? Why would she care, she doesn’t even know Brittany?

There’s so many questions beginning to swarm her, but none make it out of her head.

“Thanks,” Is the only word Brittany ends up saying around a shy grin.

There’s a hint of smile on Santana’s lips when their eyes catch for a quick second, but it disappears just as fast.

“It’s whatever,” She says and Brittany hears a locker door slam, “I’ll see you in class.”

It isn’t until Santana’s halfway down the hall that Brittany finally realizes that their lockers are right next to each other’s. She can do nothing but laugh at the small coincidence.

\\

The second time Santana speaks to her, it’s because Brittany accidentally scared the crap out of her.

It’s Thursday now – the last day of practice before the Week 3 game – so Brittany wants to get a jump on warm-ups. She knows there’s a thirty minute buffer between Cheerios and Titans practice, but she has to account for the extra time it takes to pick up her gear from Coach Beiste’s office first since everything’s stored in the boys’ locker room.

Usually, she gets the whole room to herself and plays a little music from her phone to get amped up. This time though, there’s one Cheerio that’s already there and this particular Cheerio surprisingly has a beautiful singing voice.

Brittany feels like she’s being lured in by one of those sirens she has read about in Greek mythology. She thinks she should probably make her presence known because creeping around a locker room is kind of weird, but she’s so in awe of the girl’s voice.

More importantly, the owner of that voice.

“Jesus!” Santana gasps when she rounds the corner to find Brittany lingering by the hampers. Her hand flies to chest to steady her beating heart, “What the hell are you doing, Pierce? Trying to give a girl a heart attack?”

Brittany thanks the heavens when she finds that Santana’s fully clothed already.

“I’m sorry!” Brittany blushes, “I didn’t think anyone would be here.”

Santana just shakes her head before eyeing Brittany again. There’s a flash of concern when Santana says, “You look like shit, worse than yesterday when I saw you with JBI.”

Brittany’s not sure how to take that. She hasn’t been sleeping well, that’s for sure, but it worries her that her tiredness is beginning to show. At least, that’s what she hopes Santana is talking about.

“I’ve been super busy lately. Guess I’m just ready for the weekend,” She says instead as she fumbles with the shoulder pads in her hands, “Sorry for interrupting you.”

“Interrupting me?”

“Yeah, you were singing. It sounded really pretty.”

“It’s not a big deal,” Santana brushes off before crossing her arms over her chest, “Why are you in here so early? Doesn’t your practice start at 4?”

“Why are you in here so late?” Brittany challenges, “Didn’t your practice start at 3:30?”

Santana cocks her head to the side, “I had to talk to Ms. Pillsbury about something.”

“Who?”

“She’s the guidance counselor. You’ll probably meet her soon, she’s on all the Seniors about their college application due dates. Figures, she’d want to start off with me.”

Brittany wants to know more. Afterall, she’s naturally curious when it comes to getting to know new people so the questions build but she doesn’t voice any of them. Not that Santana would give her any answers anyway.

Santana’s looking at all the gear Brittany’s toting along with her duffle bag and her brows furrow, “Did you carry all of that here?”

Brittany looks down at her gear and nods.

“Why?” Santana scrunches her nose, “Don’t you have a locker or something?”

Brittany shakes her head, “I was never given one. Coach Beiste said Coach Sylvester is meant to assign one to me, but I guess she’s been busy.”

“Doubt it. She hates Coach Beiste so in turn, she hates you.”

Brittany frowns; what’d she do?

“She’s probably just giving you a hard time because you’re a Titan instead of a Cheerio,” Santana answers then walks off. She goes to grab the clipboard that hangs above the hampers, dangling from it is a key, “I can assign you one, it’s part of my Co-Captain privileges. This side is reserved for the squad, obviously, but the set by the showers are all free. You can leave your football stuff there too, doubt anyone in here is going to want to steal it.”

Brittany’s taken aback by Santana’s random act of kindness for a second time that week. She let’s her smile shine, “Thanks. It really helps having everyting in one place. I don’t have to waste so much time walking back and forth.”

Santana nods and there’s that hint of a smile again before she’s leading the way over to the section of lockers that’s now become Brittany’s.

“Top or bottom?” Santana asks as she scans the list attached to the clipboard. Brittany smirks and notices the moment Santana realizes what she has said, “As in locker preference.”

“Duh,” Brittany jokes with a straight face, “What else would you mean?”

Santana’s face is flushed now and Brittany tries her hardest not to laugh. She’s kind of cute when she’s flustered like that.

“I’ll put you down for top,” Santana answers stiffly. Now her eyes are solely glued to the clipboard in her hands, “I guess I can unlock the bottom one too though so you can have the entire segment. You can – uh – decide which you want to use or whatever.”

“That works for me,” Brittany replies casually before she starts to undress.

Santana practically runs into a wall when she sees Brittany pull her top up over her head and let it drop onto her open duffle bag.

“I’ll just leave you to it then,” Santana calls over her shoulder as she scurries off.

Brittany watches the whole thing curiously. Has Santana never changed in front of other girls before or something? That’s the only explanation she comes to for how awkward she’s being.

Brittany doesn’t dwell on it, just continues getting dressed.

\\

By the time Brittany’s got her practice gear on, Santana appears again. She looks a little shier than before and she’s fiddling with her hands.

Brittany just smiles and reaches down for her helmet, “You going now?”

“Yeah,” Santana answers, “Just trying to enjoy the last bit of A.C.”

“It’s not that hot out,” Brittany chuckles and motions to her pads, “At least you don’t have to wear all this.”

“True,” Santana smirks, “Now that would suck.”

Brittany chuckles again. She likes this version of Santana, she hopes she can see her more often but there’s still a giant pink elephant in the room so Brittany doesn’t get too excited.

“I’ll see you out there I guess,” Brittany says.

Santana nods and turns to leave, but then stops and turns back to face Brittany again.

“Actually, I just wanted to say,” Santana starts.

Brittany wonders if this is it. If she’s finally going to get an apology after what Santana said to her the other week, or at least the start of a conversation about her opinion? Anything would suffice by this point.

Brittany waits.

“I just wanted to say,” Santana repeats and her voice is so shaky. It’s completely unlike the confidence she possessed when she told off JBI, “Have a good practice.”

It’s not what Brittany was anticipating her to say – and judging by the uncertainty on Santana’s face, it wasn’t what she was anticipating to say either �� but she’ll take it.

“Thanks,” Brittany grins as she walks by her to leave, “You too.”

\\

By Friday night, Brittany’s feeling better than she has all week. Although they’ve yet to acknowledge Santana’s misjudgments, baby steps in the right direction have been taken.

Kind of.

First Santana defended her against JBI then on Thursday she assigned Brittany a locker and today? Today Santana brought her a drink from the Cheerios special lounge while Brittany was getting ready for the game.

“What is it?” Brittany asked hesitantly as she eyed the color of it. She’s sitting on the benches in the locker room completely dressed now in her uniform. All that’s left are the final touches like a quick dance party to get her pumped and applying a little Game Day eye make up.

“It’s a bunch of healthy stuff like fruits and veggies. All fresh so that explains the color, no preservatives. There’s some vitamin supplements in there too,” Santana explains like it’s all a bother.

Brittany’s beginning to see through that though.

“I don’t take drugs,” Brittany replies and tries to give the bottle back.

Santana rolls her eyes and there’s that hint of a smile again, “Does Vitamin D count as a drug? If so, then Puckerman is definitely on something stronger.”

Brittany frowns at the accusation, “Wait, seriously? The team can get in a lot of troub – “

“Easy, Pierce, I’m sure he’s just all-talk,” Santana amends, “I wouldn’t open an investigation on him or anything.” Then there’s a pause and for a second she looks a little shy as she motions to the bottle in Brittany’s hands. Her voice comes out softer, “Drink that. It’ll help with the tiredness and it’s good for your immune system too incase you’re about to come down with something.”

“You think I’m getting sick?” Brittany chuckles and turns back to apply thick black stripes to the apples of her cheeks.

Santana lifts a shoulder casually before standing, “You almost fell asleep in class today.”

Brittany blushes. Did she really? She’s so tired, she can’t even remember.

“What does that have to do with getting sick?” Brittany wonders.

“It’s almost that time of the year and bugs move quick,” Santana explains, “A lot quicker if you’re not taking care of yourself…for example, not getting enough sleep.”

That takes Brittany by surprise. Santana caring about her? Why? But despite the surprise, Brittany feels warm and fuzzy all over.

“Alright Doc, I’ll drink it,” Brittany jokes as she finishes up drawing on the left stripe. She turns to Santana as she twists off the lid and makes a show of taking a long drink.

Santana actually laughs this time before she shakes her head.

“I feel better already,” Brittany beams as she stands. They’re close now and it’s then that Brittany really notices the height difference, “Thanks for this. What do I owe you? Pressed juices like these probably cost an arm and a leg here.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Santana dismisses and takes a step back to put some distance between them, “Just bring home another win.”

“You got it,” Brittany winks and goes to take another swig while she watches Santana leave the locker room.

\\

Unfortunately, it’s a rocky start this time for the Titans. It’s not that Brittany isn’t playing at her best because she always brings 110% to the field no matter how she’s feeling. It’s actually her teammates who aren’t as focused as she is for some reason. There’s still a lot of work to be done when it comes to being a cohesive unit, but today they’ve really taken a step back.

They’re down by 17 points when the half is called.

\\

“Alright, what’s going on out there?” Coach Beiste questions. She’s fuming as she eyes everyone for an answer, “What I’m seeing is that Pierce is the only one here that’s come to play.”

Karofsky scoffs and folds up his arms, “I’m so over hearing about her!”

“Me too!” Azimio chimes in, “First we let in Hummel and now her? What’s next? She gonna join the Puck Heads in the off season and change the game for them too? The rest of us are chopped liver now. It’s not good for my reputation!”

“Your reputation? You were a loser just like the rest of us before Brittany came,” Mike replies but the two don’t take kindly to being called a loser and start shoving at him.

“Cut it out!” Sam tries to breaking it up.

Brittany looks over at them and grimaces. Dave and Azimio both have been a pain in her ass since she’s joined the team, but she thought they were past this by now? They’ve got a winning record, they’re actually improving on being a better team, so what’s the issue all of a sudden?

Coach Beiste shakes her head at them, “Give me a break! One person doesn’t win games. You don’t have to like Pierce but you’re going to give her your respect if you want to play on my field. It’s as simple as that. You work together, you listen and respect each other. That’s what it means to be a team, is it not?”

Brittany eyes her teammates. Aside from the select handful that actually like her, the guys look at her like she’s the enemy. It makes Brittany feel really unsettled.

“Is it not?” Coach Beiste presses.

There are mumbles amongst the squad but it’s not enough for Coach Beiste.

“Louder!”

“Yes, Coach!” They say in unison.

“Okay then, let’s starting acting like a team out there and win this game!” She says with the clap of her hands.

\\

They’re in the fourth quarter now and the Titans have managed to make it a close game despite their rough start. Coach Beiste’s pep talk must’ve worked because the team is playing harder than the first half, but Brittany still senses the undertones of resentment.

She packs it away for now and just focuses on making plays. Afterall, she’s meant to be winning this one for Santana. Well not for Santana; it’s more like paying her back for the drink earlier.

Brittany nods resolutely and looks to the sidelines to see the Co-Captain shaking her pompoms. She does a high kick and yells out a cheer in time with the others, but the smile she’s wearing is what catches Brittany’s eye.

She shakes her head and focuses on the snap.

“Down!” Brittany calls out. She catches the other team’s Line Backer’s movement from the corner of her eye. The defense looks hungry, but so are they. She smirks and braces herself, “Hut!”

The ball is snapped and Brittany quickly hands it off to Puckerman. So far their run game has been pretty weak tonight, but Puckerman surprises everyone and kicks into gear. He plows through the defense at full speed, breaking tackle after tackle, until he crosses over for a first down and steps out of bounds.

He spikes down the ball and makes a sawing motion with his arm while the crowd goes wild. Matt runs up to congratulate him with a hard pat on the back.

“Yes!” Brittany jumps up and down as she cheers.

Over on the sidelines, the Cheerios are just as excited as they chant:

“First and ten, first and ten! First and ten, let’s do it again!”

Brittany sees Santana watching her with a huge grin and it makes her feel warm all over again. She knows it’s silly to think that Santana’s cheers are just for her – same goes for that smile – but she can’t help but dream.  

Yeah, she’s decided. She’s really going to win this game just for her.

Brittany quickly runs up to their new line of scrimmage and everyone starts to take their position. She smacks Puckerman on the back when he jogs up next to her to get in formation.

“Nice carry, Puckerman!” She compliments.

“Sawed right through them!” Puckerman shouted excitedly back.

“Let’s keep up that energy,” Brittany praised and called out another play. They were in field goal range now, but like always – Brittany wasn’t here to play it safe especially with the new set of downs.

This time she wanted to try another play-action route since it worked pretty well in the pre-season game. Mike and Sam have proved to her that they have great hands, but they needed to work on their speed and timing. Now was a perfect time to test that. With Puckerman on a roll, the defense was sure to up their coverage on him rather than the receivers which would work perfectly in Brittany’s favor.

“Blue 82!” Brittany repeats and looks to her sides for confirmation that they’ve picked up the slight change.

Mike and Sam give her the barest nod before they’re glaring at their defenders. Brittany kicks up her foot and Mike quickly changes position so that he’s next to Sam now on the right side of the field.

“Blue 82!” Brittany calls out again and readies herself for the snap, “Down…Hut!”

The ball is hiked and she fakes the hand off to Puckerman so smoothly that the defense follows after him just as planned. While they chase him down to the left side of the field, Mike and Same cut up the right. Brittany holds onto the ball longer than she likes, making sure she gives her receivers enough time to breakaway from their defenders.

The other team’s Line Backer is trying his hardest to break through her O-Line though. Thankfully, Matt ends up making a key block for Mike and Brittany’s able to step up in the pocket and fire down a quick pass. It’s a little lower than Brittany wanted, but Mike makes the catch and pushes past a defender for another first down!  

Everyone went wild, but the play clock was still going since Mike hadn’t made it out of bounds.

Brittany motioned for everyone to hurry into position – this time she was going for a slant route with Matt being the intended receiver. She kept her eye on the seconds ticking away, but the team was able to make it in time to get set.

“OG 30!” She called out. She was really starting to feel that adrenaline kick in but she kept her cool and held out her hands, “Down…Hut!”

Again, Brittany caught the ball and dropped back as everyone began to move. Despite the grumpiness during half time, the guys that made up her O-Line – mostly Dave and Azimio – did their jobs correctly and held the line. Brittany looked to her right and faked a throw before turning to her left and firing at Matt.

He juggled the ball in the air, but ultimately was able to secure possession of it and ran up the side of the field for an easy touchdown!

“Let’s go!” Brittany pumped her fist in the air. That was their best drive all game and now with the new points on the board, they’re finally up by 6! With just a little over ten minutes left in the final quarter, Brittany’s feeling good about their odds in coming away with another win.

\\

She was right to feel confident; Titans end up winning the game 27 – 21. When the final whistle was blown, everyone was cheering and some of her teammates rushed to congratulate her efforts. She happily returned the sentiments, but she couldn’t help but glance over at the sidelines to see if Santana was watching her again too.

And she was, alongside Quinn and the rest of the Cheerios.

Brittany just grinned as she pulled off her helmet and let down her hair, happy that she was able to make good on her promise to Santana.

\\

Despite how great she felt after Friday’s win, Monday morning was a different story.

Everything hurts and she was so exhausted that she didn’t even go for her usual morning run which is telling because she’s one of those rare people that actually works well with routine exercising. She guesses all those late nights studying combined with her patchy sleep schedule have finally taken its toll on her body.

She thinks back to what Santana said Friday about getting enough rest. God, she hopes she isn’t coming down with anything. Getting sick is just not what she needs right now.

“Hey mom?” Brittany taps on Whitney’s bedroom door. The curtains are already drawn and welcome in the morning sun so she knows her mom’s awake already. Whitney appears in the doorway of the master bath in her work uniform and instantly looks worried.

“You feeling okay, kiddo?” She asks as she crosses the room to press at Brittany’s forehead.

“I don’t think I’m sick, but I feel horrible,” Brittany explains.

“Yeah, you don’t have a fever. Have you been getting enough sleep?” Whitney asks.

Brittany shakes her head. Whitney eyes her with concern.

“It’s not the dreams again, is it?”

Brittany shakes her head again, “No. I haven’t had one since the last time I told you. I think I’m just worn out.”

“You’re a busy girl,” Whitney nods.

“Is it okay if I stay home today?” Brittany asks hesitantly, “It’s the only day of the week that I don’t really need to be at practice. I think I can access most of my schoolwork online so – “

“It’s okay, Britt. Just rest today,” Whitney says, “Missing a day isn’t going to break you and I know you’ll catch up when you’re feeling better.”

Brittany fills with relief and gives her mom a weak smile. She’s so happy that Whitney’s so understanding, but she guesses that’s come from experience with everything that happened at the beginning of the year with her dad’s passing. Many mental health days were taken, but Whitney never made her feel bad for it. If anything, she always encouraged them.

“Thanks mom,” Brittany says before taking herself back to bed. She’s able to fall asleep fast for once and she doesn’t wake again until she has to use the bathroom.

\\

When she wakes up the third time, it’s just after three. She sees a text from her mom saying that Gran has Pete and she’ll pick him up once she gets off of work so that Brittany can continue resting.

She smiles and sends a text back to thank her before getting up. After a quick snack and a big glass of OJ, Brittany heads to the couch for another nap.

This time, sleep doesn’t find her as easily as it did the other times so she turns on the tv and tries to find something to watch. She decides to put on something she considers boring in hopes that maybe it’ll bore her right to sleep.

Miraculously, her plan works and she settles in for another nap.

An hour or so goes by when Brittany begins to stir because Pete’s trying to squeeze onto the couch next to her. His cold feel touch her bare ankles beneath her blanket and she flinches at the feel.

“Honey, what did I say in the car?” Whitney whispers, “Let your sister rest.”

“I am,” Pete pouts, “I just wanted to sit with her.”

“How about you come help me with – “

“It’s okay, mom,” Brittany pushes to sit up. Pete instantly beams at her, “I’ve slept enough I think.”

“Feeling better?” Whitney asks and brushes her hand over Brittany’s wild hair.

She nods and does a little stretch, “Much better.”

“Good to hear,” Whitney says and bends down to press kisses to Brittany and Pete’s head, “I’m going to make dinner then. Just leftovers so it shouldn’t take long.”

When she heads off for the kitchen, Pete snuggles in closer to Brittany.

“Did you get to watch cartoons all day?” He asks curiously.

Brittany shakes her head, “Nope, but I did take many naps.”

“Nice!”

“Totally.”

\\

Brittany and Pete are watching tv together a moment later when Brittany hears a knock at the front door. Pete jumps up at the sound and rushes to see who it is.

“Don’t open that door, Peter!” Whitney calls out from the kitchen, “Let your sister get it.”

Pete pouts and hangs back as Brittany moves to get up. She chuckles and ruffles up his hair as she passes by. When Brittany takes a peek, she’s shocked by what she sees and quickly opens the door.

“Santana?” Brittany greets. She’s both confused and pleasantly surprised.

“Who are you?” Pete asks curiously with his head tilted up at the Co-Captain.

“Hi,” Santana smiles kind of nervously as she glances between the two. She’s dressed in her Cheerios warm-up gear – she must’ve just finished practice – and has her binder tucked under her arm.

“Uh…I’m Santana,” She answers softly, “And you are?”

“I’m Peter!” Brittany’s brother holds out his hand to shake, “Everyone calls me Pete though, so you can too if you want.”

Santana quirks a brow at him but smiles as she shakes his hand anyway, “Nice to meet you, Pete.”

“Pete, can you go help mom?” Brittany instructs. She waits until he’s run off then asks Santana out of disbelief, “What are you doing here?”

“You weren’t in class today,” She says.

“Yeah…I didn’t feel well.”

“Didn’t I say you were going to get sick?” Santana smirks.

“I’m not sick,” Brittany sighs, “I was just tired.”

“Right,” Santana keeps the smirk and motions to her binder, “Well, I brought you the work you missed. It’s kind of important for the paper due in a few weeks.”

Brittany just blinks. Maybe she’s still asleep and this is all a dream?

“Here,” Santana offers and goes to flip through her binder for a couple handouts to give to Brittany.

The blonde accepts them although she’s still trying to grasp the fact that Santana’s standing on her doorstep, “Thanks.”

“Sure,” Santana nods and it looks like she’s about to turn away.

“Wait. How’d you know where I lived?” Brittany quickly asks before she can run off.

“Mike told me,” Santana shrugs, “Actually, Mike told Quinn and Quinn told me. Apparently you two are neighbors?”

“Yeah, he likes to tell everyone that,” Brittany chuckles before she gets a sudden burst of confidence and asks, “Did you…want to come in?”

“Uhhh,” Santana looks unsure but then she gives Brittany a small smile, “Okay.”

Brittany opens the door a little wider and leads Santana into the living room. She pushes the blanket she brought down from her room to the side so they can both sit on the couch. Brittany starts to flip through the packet Santana gave her and she’s already dreading the assignment.

“Woah,” Brittany gasps, “This is a lot.”

“Yeah,” Santana nods, “I can help you with it though if you want? Miss Holliday said we can work in groups if we wanted, but we’ll be graded individually.”

Brittany blinks blankly again, “Huh, that’s funny.”

“What?”

Brittany just shakes her head and shrugs, “Just the other week you were insulting me then you stopped talking to me for awhile and now you’re being super helpful. I just can’t get a read on you.”

Brittany wasn’t trying to make Santana feel cornered, she just wanted to open up the conversation. She was over ignoring the obvious, so she went straight for the kill and brought it up head on.

Santana’s shoulders dropped, “Look, I’m…I’m really sorry about that. I was so out of line.”

“Yeah, you really were,” Brittany replies but she isn’t trying to rile Santana up by being argumentative, “You know how many times I’ve heard something similar over the years? Ever since I started playing sports it’s always been: you run like a girl, you throw like a girl, you’re pretty good…for a girl.”

Santana looks apologetically at Brittany and goes to fiddle with her hands in her lap. Brittany notes the familiar motion and decides its something she does when she’s nervous.

Brittany adds, “Like being a girl that plays sports is somehow less than, like it’s a bad thing. I’ve never understood it. I’m just as good as they are.”

Santana shakes her head, “No. I’ve seen you play. You’re so much better.”

“Thanks,” Brittany chuckles weakly, “You know, when I first started I wasn't trying to make some big statement. I didn't want the pressure of being the first female whatever, I just wanted to play. And my family, they've always been super supportive no matter the sport, especially my dad.”

Brittany feels the lump in her throat slowly start to form at his mention and takes a deep breath before speaking again.

“He use to come to every game. But people are so stuck on how I've disrupted their precious norms and it makes things harder than they need to be. No matter where I go, the people will either love me or hate me for this. It's crazy. I'm just a girl who loves playing football, why's that so odd?”

“It’s not,” Santana reasons, “You’re a good different, a kind of different a place like this needs.”

Brittany smiles fondly at Santana’s kind words, “Then why did you say what you did?”

Santana pauses for awhile trying to find the right words but in the end she just shakes her head and sighs, “Probably because I’m a bitch?”

Brittany flinches, she doesn’t think that’s the case.

“You’re just…you’re not what I imagined. I thought football players were rough and you’re not like that at all. You’re soft, delicate. You treat with kindness.”

“So does Kurt,” Brittany offers kindly, “And Mike, Sam too.”

“You know what I mean,” Santana replies.

“Yeah, I do. It’s called a stereotype,” Brittany smirks, “Football players happen to come in all shapes and sizes though. Some are soft and delicate like you say I am and some aren’t, but out on the field we’re all the same. We’re one team.”

Santana nods, “I’m sorry about what I said. You have every right to be on that field, same as the guys. I’m sorry if I made you feel otherwise. I guess I’m still trying to adjust too. It’s not really something you see here…”

“I accept your apology,” Brittany grins.

Santana lets out a deep sigh, “This town can be so old school sometimes and it sucks how there are younger generations out here that don’t know any different. They don’t see how wrong it is to have such a shit mentality. I guess I forgot what progression looks like until you came.”

Brittany knows Santana’s being genuine now and it makes the wait for this conversation worth it. She goes to joke, “Well it’s a learning process. Now you know for the next time you come across someone who doesn’t fit the status quo.”

“Yeah,” Santana matches Brittany’s grin, “I really do.”

“Well hello,” Whitney greets as she enters the living room. She glances between Brittany and Santana as Santana rises to her feet. She stands up straight and proper, “You going to introduce me to your friend, Britt?”

Brittany gulps at the label. She doesn’t know if she’d call Santana a friend just yet.

“This is my mom Whitney. Mom, this is Santana,” Brittany says while Santana gives a polite smile, “We have class together. She was just bringing me some work I missed today.”

“That’s so kind of you,” Whitney compliments Santana.

“It was nothing,” Santana replied and glanced to Brittany, “I tried to warn her about the risks of over-doing it. I can’t imagine having a schedule like hers.”

Brittany’s brow rises at the overly polite tone. Who knew Santana was a little suck up when it came to parents. She smirks as she watches it unfold.

“Stubbornness, she gets that from her dad’s side,” Whitney jokes, “Would you like to stay for dinner? We’re just having leftovers but there’s plenty to go around.”

“Lasagna!” Pete cheers as he runs in from the kitchen.

Santana chuckles but shakes her head, “Thank you, but I should probably get home before my mom starts to worry.”

Whitney nods, “Of course. Well, it was lovely meeting you. Come on Petey, let’s make our plates.”

When they both wander off, Brittany’s again standing alone with Santana in the living room.

“So you’re a kiss-ass,” Brittany jokes, “Never would’ve guessed it.”

Santana rolls her eyes despite smiling, “I have a thing with parents. They love me, okay?”

“Sure, sure,” Brittany giggles, “Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone that you’re secretly kind. Wouldn’t want to ruin your rep.”

“I appreciate it,” Santana quips playfully before gathering her things, “Well, I really should head off before my mom starts blowing up my phone.”

“Cool,” Brittany nods and leads the way over to the front door to walk Santana out, “Well. Thanks again for bringing over the work I missed.”

“No biggie,” Santana waved off as she turned to leave, “Glad you’re feeling better. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah,” Brittany waved and watched Santana make her way over to her little red Mazda with a pleased smile.

Maybe they weren’t exactly friends yet, but compared to the downward spiral they’ve been experiencing…they weren’t enemies either.

And in football terms, that’s called forward progress.

#Lost in the Lights #Brittana #Brittana fanfiction #QB!Britt

[custardcove]

Here’s a fifteen-questions meme I stole from my splat-blog! 

I’m not tagging fifteen people, but if you’re a mutual of mine that wants to take part, consider yourself tagged. 

1. Are you named after anyone? 

Pansy: A flower, if that counts! It’s a family tradition for the firstborn.

Ivan: Not exactly. I share a name with some video game character Alice liked the sound of.

Queenie: Sadly not. While I appreciate that my name stands out, sharing a name with one of my ancestors would’ve been a mark of pride.  

Taylor: Mmmnope. I like ‘Taylor’ enough because it starts with a T like Tomiichi, but I wasn’t named after anybody—though you know, as a point of interest, it was meant to rhyme with my brother’s name!

Neo: I was named after my grandmother.

-

2. When was the last time you cried? 

Pansy: Aw, man… I try to stay positive around Prim, but I do cry about silly stuff sometimes. Maybe a week ago? Sometimes the past just catches up to you.

Ivan: Longer than I can remember.

Queenie: What an invasive question! I don’t think that’s any of your business. I do not cry frequently.

Taylor: Now why’d you want to know a thing like that? I think I’ll keep it to myself!

Neo: Mind your own business.

-

3. Do you have kids?

Pansy: Have you met Primrose? That’s my daughter. She’s really sweet, but she’s also quite shy, so please keep that in mind.

Ivan: This is a difficult question to answer. I’d say no. I don’t think granting someone’s wish makes me a father.

Queenie: Not yet. I intend to.

Taylor: Woah, no! Do I look responsible enough to be a dad? Ahah…

Neo: No. I would rather not.

-

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot? 

Pansy: I try not to, er, I’m not so great at it. And it’s kinda mean.

Ivan: I get reprimanded for being sarcastic. It happens regularly.

Queenie: What do you think?

Taylor: There’s always room for some well-placed sarcasm!

Neo: Any time I make a joke.

-

5. What’s the first thing you notice about people? 

Pansy: I try to get a good read on folks—so, I guess their whole profile? That’s before I start looking at their individual features. If something sticks out to me from there, I’ll focus on that—but not in a mean way! Like, seeing someone’s smile, or if they’re carrying something, or their size, or claws. That’s what I mean.

Ivan: Their aura. It’s not difficult for me to discern a person’s moral alignment, and that’s important for my role.

Queenie: Their posture, how they walk, how they talk. It’s important for a first impression and can often be an indication of status. Or, perhaps more importantly, an indication of their intent…

Taylor: Their mood! I don’t want to step on the toes of anyone that’s angry, and happier people are more likely to give you the time of day, you know? Improving someone’s low mood is great too, but I have to gauge my limits.

Neo: I’m not known for noticing people. How social they are, I suppose.

-

6. What’s your eye colour? 

Pansy: Psychic pink! They do that thing where they get more vivid when I use my powers—just the psychic ones, though. And I don’t use those too much ‘cause I risk a headache… still, I like my eyes.

Ivan: Brown, orange.

Queenie: Smoky Quartz.

Taylor: Brown. You know, like coffee? If I were a coffee, I think I’d be a Caffe Latte. … But, yeah they’re darker than that.

Neo: …I don’t mind my eyes being green as much as my hair.

-

7. Scary movie or happy ending? 

Pansy: Don’t mind either one, but I’d prefer a happy ending, even in a scary movie. That said, there are scary movies I just won’t watch, so I guess happy endings win out.

Ivan: I don’t waste much time watching films unless I’m asked to, but I prefer a happy ending. A good story is the most important, though.

Queenie: Happy endings are far too sappy and saccharine, but I can’t say I receive much thrill from horror either. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy watching them … my favourite part of a movie is criticizing it.

Taylor: Happy endings, please! I can’t understand why anyone would want to scare themselves – unless it’s silly fun, but that’s different. Y’know, not that I scare easy or anything…

Neo: Scary movies tend to be more interesting, but… I don’t have anything against happy endings. Horror isn’t my genre, either, unless it’s psychological.

-

8. Any special talents? 

Pansy: I have a bit of a green thumb!

Ivan: That all depends on your perspective.

Queenie: I’m an excellent piano player.

Taylor: People tell me I’ve got a lot of charisma, and I consider that a talent!

Neo: I suppose converting myself into digital matter could be considered a talent.

-

9. Where were you born? 

Pansy: A town not so different from Erryton, actually! It’s not far.

Ivan: Great question.

Queenie: Enigma Island, not far from Thorn’s Peak.

Taylor: Would you believe me if I told you I couldn’t remember? Aha. I know we moved when I was really young.

Neo: Doesn’t matter.

-

10. What are your hobbies? 

Pansy: Well, like I mentioned, I quite like doing plant stuff. I used to sketch ‘em and make notes about ‘em too, but I stick more to the practical side these days. I also like to bake! Mainly pies, cakes and cookies.

Ivan: I play the flute and cithara. Next question.

Queenie: I have a wide array of hobbies. I enjoy painting, reading, and  playing the piano—as I have already mentioned. While I’m not … particularly adept at sewing, I practice cross-stitch on occasion. I also like to write poetry, and take a bit of interest in botany…

Taylor: Most of my hobbies have some aspect of music tied to them—I like playing the guitar, mixing tracks, and just listening to albums. But I also like playing videogames and taking apart machinery for fun. I can even help people fix things! Er, sometimes.

Neo: I read comics and watch movies, like most people. You wouldn’t be interested.

-

11. Do you have any pets?

Pansy: Not anymore, but I’ve had two cats – Mr Ravioli in my childhood home, and then Kiki later on. I’ve considered getting another, but I think I should wait until Primmy is a little older…

Ivan: No.

Queenie: Estelle! She’s a darling little kitty-cat and I love her so. <3

Taylor: One dog, a shibe—my father bred his, and I got a puppy. Tadashi!

Neo: My brother makes robots, and we have one of those roving floor cleaners. I would consider that a pet. We call him V.I.N.CENT.

-

12. What sports do you/have you played?

Pansy: I’m not really big on sports – I like magic fights? But I don’t do that a lot now.

Ivan: I may have taken part in some sport or another, but if I did, I did not commit it to memory.

Queenie: I like to swim, though I have not played any sports as such. I have also been horse riding—oh, and I’ve played badminton once or twice.

Taylor: Alice likes table tennis, and we play together sometimes. Apart from that, um… I’ve been asked to play football and baseball before?

Neo: I like to run. Parkour is fun too.

-

13. How tall are you? 

Pansy: Five foot seven, and I’m the shortest in my family…

Ivan: Depends.

Queenie: A reasonable five feet and ten inches without heels.

Taylor: Ahaha … let’s just skip this one, shall we? You don’t need to know that.

Neo: Taller than you.

-

14. Dream job? 

Pansy: I’ve pretty much got my dream job, all things considered! I guess I’d like it if I could get paid to do plant study, but I never really had the grades to do that as a job.

Ivan: I’m working on my rank.

Queenie: I have entertained the possibility of having a career before. Hotel management seems like an interesting prospect … or a jeweller, perhaps? Oho, I don’t know if I could be trusted to sell anything. Either way, I’m comfortable enough managing my home and finances.

Taylor: I’ve always wanted to be a big-name tv presenter—hell, even a small-name gameshow host! I’ve not given up on my dream yet, but being a radio show host is close enough. I can use it as a stepping stone. Yeah, a music quiz show would be great…

Neo: I don’t know. Even when it comes to things I like doing, I’m not sure I’d want to make a job out of it. Coding is just convenient.

-

15. Favourite subject in school? 

Pansy: Science! I also liked geography, ‘cause I was pretty decent at it.

Ivan: I have never attended school.

Queenie: I’ve both been to school and had private tutors, but my favourite subjects were history and literature. They rely on eachother, so were easy to write papers on.

Taylor: Apart from the obvious ‘music’, it was mathematics—and yes, I’m serious! I also liked science and IT.

Neo: From what I remember of school, I liked science and computing classes. The rest of what I learned was from online courses.

 That’s… that’s it? It just ends? Alright then.

#Pansy #Ivan #Queenie #Taylor #Neo #OC Questions

[soyeahitsmiddleearth]

Dimension Jumping pt. 1

The Fellowship of the Ring x Reader

But a lot of the stories are about the reader falling into Middle Earth…. what about the other way around? If you wanted to do all the characters, you could do a point after they left Rivendell, before they split up?

Like for example, after Gandalf ‘dies’, and it could be something sweet and cute or whatnot where the reader helps them grieve a bit, give them a bit of a rest before continuing on their journey?

—

Weekends have always been your favorite time of the week. 

No responsibilities, sleeping in, more time, freedom, the list goes on and on. 

Your weekends are usually spent idly doing things you enjoy, like sleeping, and lot’s of stress free activities. 

Not this weekend though, for when you got home after a grocery run, you were met with quite the surprise. 

A total of 8… people? lay strewn about in your living room seemingly unconscious. They are dressed in odd clothes, holding medieval looking weapons, and they look rather raggedy and dirty. Four of them are extremely small, and if it weren’t for their older looking faces, you would’ve thought them to be children. There’s also a handsome blond with pointy ears, a short red headed, bearded… man, and two semi-regular looking tall dudes.

Your groceries fall from your arms and land on your carpeted floor, but you barely pay that any mind since you can’t seem to tear your eyes away from the pile of people in the middle of your damn living room.

Your floofy white dog Penny is sniffing around them, but she doesn’t seem to be alarmed nor agitated by their presence, so that’s good at least. She’s an excellent judge of character after all. Eventually she settles down next to the tall guy with dark brown hair, and though you don’t like that she’s next to these strangers, you allow it.

The sound of your things falling to the ground seems to rouse them, and you watch as the man wearing dark clothing with dark hair opens his eyes and groans quietly. At first his eyes scan around the room, then they fall upon you. 

He sits up slowly, still eyeing you as he glances down at his small child-looking friends. A look of relief passes his expression before he looks at you once more, saying nothing while the rest of his merry band of crazies begin to sit up.

This is supposed to be your fucking day off, and this shit happens? A bunch of renaissance weirdos laying in your house, making your clean carpet dirty. 

“You know what, no.” You state loudly, successfully startling the dark haired man, “This is my weekend off, and I am not dealing with this. Whatever this is." 

You turn on your heel and begin picking up your groceries, though you remain vigilant incase one of them intends to try something. 

Once you’ve gathered all your discarded things you stand again and look behind you, seeing that most of them are on their feet and looking at you and your home as if you’re some alien in a structure unknown to them. You quickly look forward again and go to your kitchen, placing everything on your counters while you try to decide how the hell you’re going to deal with this. 

You look over your counter at the still staring people and ask slowly, "Does… anyone want a snack?”

Two of the small blonde men perk up when you say ‘snack’, so you take that as a yes and begin preparing apples, celery, and peanut butter for everyone to eat. 

By the time you’re done cutting up the apples you’ve only got two left, but you just sigh and bring out a tray with the snack and place it on the coffee table. 

The two blond… boys? run over to it immediately, but are halted by a sharp “No.” from the brown-haired guy. 

Said brown-haired guy is looking at you distrustfully, and you feel your blood begin to boil with his distrust (even though HE is in YOU home). 

“Okay dude, I get you don’t know me or whatever but you guys literally broke into my house, so if anyone is supposed to be cautious here it’s me. M. E. Me. I’m offering your… children…? Adult babies? Boys? Food, and damnit if they want it then they’re gonna eat it.” Your little outburst gets you several shocked looks, but you’re so FUCKING tired, you’ve just got no energy to deal with this. 

“We 'broke into your house’?” He repeats slowly, “I have no recollection of our relocation to your… house, and I’ve never seen someone of your caliber, nor a place so… odd, before. So forgive me if I am skeptical of our suspiciously willing host.” His voice is dripping with sarcasm, and it successfully ruffles your self control. 

“Now you listen here Mr. Broody, I’m not about to get sass in my own home. By god if Penny didn’t seem to love you so much I would vaporize you where you stand!” Big talk for such a small person, yes, but you stand by your statement. 

Only you don’t get the reaction you were expecting, because suddenly everyone looks horrified. 

“You can do that?” One of the small blond boys(?) gasps, scooting closer to his look-alike. 

The guy you were mouthing off to grabs the hilt of his -is that a fucking sword?!- weapon and steps in front of the small guys. The tall blond dude, other actual human, and short ginger haired man do the same, and suddenly you feel a lot less satisfied. 

“Woah there fellas, It’s a figure of speech!” You say quickly, raising your hands in a surrender motion. 

Penny senses your sudden distress, so she bounds over to you and presses her nose against your knee in a way meant to gather your attention. You glance down at her and visibly relax before looking back up at the still tense men in front of you. 

“Tough crowd…” You reach down slowly and pat Penny’s head, watching as their eyes follow your movements. “Okay, look. I’m not going to like, poison you or whatever you’re afraid of. How about we start with introductions, hm?" 

The same guy from before nods his head slowly (it seems he’s the leader here) and tells you a little hesitantly, "I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn. A Ranger, also known as Strider by most." 

What in the ever loving hell did he just say?

You can’t even stop the laughter from bellowing out of you, because this is just so god damn ridiculous and completely baffling. You grasp your stomach and double over with laughter while everyone else just watches silently and confusedly.

Eventually your laughter begins to subside when your sides start to hurt, so you stand up a bit straighter and wipe a tear from the corner of your eye, "Ahaha, ah… wow that’s good. But really though, I’m not looking for stage names bud, I’m being serious here.”

This 'Aragorn’ doesn’t seem to find it as funny as you do. “Stage names? No, I believe you are misunderstanding.”

The smile on your face drops and you suddenly don’t find it as funny either. “So… your name is actually Aragorn then?” Well, maybe not all of them have weird names, “Right, then what about the rest of you?" 

The other guy who looks like an actual human speaks up next, "I am Boromir, son of Denethor and Captain of Gondor.” Oh heck. 

Blondie comes up next, “I am Legolas from the woodland realm.”

Shortie #1, “Gimli Son of Gloin." 

The small dark haired man child comes forward, "I am Frodo Baggins, and these are my friends Samwise Gamgee, Peregrin Took, and Meriadoc Brandybuck." 

"What the-” you pause and cover Penny’s ears, “Fuck is all of this?" 

It seems your actions amuse the taller dudes because their stand-offish demeanors diminish as they seem to deem you harmless (I mean who covers their dogs ears when cursing? Clearly you’re pathetic).

"I’m afraid I don’t know what to tell you.” Mr. Aragorn states. 

“Well, start with where you come from, maybe?”

They all share a look before 'Legolas’ states, “We come from Middle Earth and have just traveled through the Mines of Moria." 

You literally don’t know what any of that means.

"Well, alright. Right now, I can tell you that you’re on Regular Earth and in my living room.” You don’t mean to be so sarcastic, but both the functional and rational parts of your brain are failing you big time, “Do you know how you got here?" 

You get 8 respective no’s, and while you expected that, it’s no less frustrating. "Shoulda seen that one coming, I guess." 

The Gimli character looks you up and down and asks in his gruff voice, "And what about you, you’ve not told us who you are." 

"Oh, right, my bad. I’m Y/N, and this cutie,” you reach down and pick up Penny’s front paws from the ground and wave them at the group, “Is Penny. She is the softest, sweetest, and cutest doggo you will ever have the pleasure of meeting. Disrespect her and there will be consequences." 

You stand back up and pat Penny’s head, watching as they all nod their understanding and appear rather nervous suddenly.

"That was also a joke.”

Most of them relax.

You tap your foot a few times and seem to think over your options, looking away from them and out the window. 

Clearly there is something very wrong going on here, so you can’t just throw them out, but at the same time you don’t have enough energy to deal with this today. And there’s the very real possibility that they could be psychos. But there’s also the fact that they seem to be a little worse for wear, some of them have puffy eyes, and is that blood?  Their disheveled and tired appearances tug at your heart strings, and you find yourself wanting to help them. 

“Okay, against my better judgement I have decided that I’m going to welcome the lot of you into my house until we can figure out what the hell is going on here.” This seems to surprise Aragorn and his two tall besties. “I don’t know why… but something is telling me that I should help you out, so I guess that’s what I’m going to do.”

Two of the small blond ones smile brightly, but you haven’t finished yet. 

“But!” Their smiles drop and everyone seems rather serious again, “If any of you try anything funny or start any trouble, I will kick all of you out. I don’t know any of you, and you all have weapons. So if I’m gonna let you stay then you’re going to have to behave.”

“Miss Y/N, you do not have to-” Aragorn begins, but you put up your hand and shake your head. 

“It’s fine. Just please don’t break anything, and if Penny wants head pats you had better give them to her." 

It seems your rules are fair enough, because you get 8 more head nods.

The two small people attack the snack you made finally, and you find that you can’t help but to laugh a bit. 

A thought then strikes you, "Oh!" 

Everything pauses and every looks at you again, more alert, but you just roll your eyes at how on edge they are.

"I was just going to say that I have two bathrooms is anyone wants to wash up.”

#the lord of the rings #lord of the rings #lotr #dimension jumping #originally posted on ao3 #tolkien #the fellowship of the ring #the fellowship x Reader #the fellowship of the ring x Reader #boromir #pippin #pippin took #peregrin took #merry #merry brandybuck #meriadoc brandybuck #aragorn #frodo #frodo baggins #sam #samwise gamgee #aragorn x reader #legolas #legolas greenleaf #legolas x reader #boromir x reader #merry brandybuck x reader #pippin took x reader #sam gamgee x reader #frodo x reader

[adventuresinwonderlust]

Title: Big Brother- “The New Kid” Part 2

Pairing: Yoongi x OC aka Tessa Ft. Tae (Brother) Ft. Jin (Bros BFF)

Warnings: abusive language, slight bullying, fluff, angst, lots of cursing, slow burn/ build-up

Rating: 18 and over

“TESSAAAAAAA!!!!” I jump up at the sound of Tae yelling for me from downstairs. I leap out of bed and rush down to meet his call. “What’s going on?” I ask between breaths. “Check this out.” He waves me over, calmly now, from the kitchen window. I take my place beside him and peer out the window to see Yoongi in the backyard at Mrs. Mark’s place mowing the lawn. “Don’t be a creeper Tae. Is that what you hollered for? You scared me!” I punch his arm. “She hired help,” Tae looks over at me like a hurt kid, “Why? I was helping just fine. Maybe I did something wrong.” I roll my eyes. “Oh god Tae. He’s her exchange student. I saw her yesterday. He just moved here; he’s going to be staying here. She doesn’t need your help anymore.” I open the fridge and find nothing to eat. “We need to do a store run.” I say to the back of Tae’s head as he stares out the window again. “Hello,” I call out to him, “Earth to Tae!” He turns to me looking puzzled. “So, like, he’s gonna live with her? That’s weird no?” “Why is that weird? She’s doing something good for someone in need.” I cross my arms and stare at Tae who looks as if he is solving a math equation. “So, he’s some poor kid looking for a handout?” “No, you’re just some poor kid looking for a handout. He’s is an educated mind in need of a helping hand.” Tae scoffs. “We should go say hi.” He suggests. “I introduced myself yesterday. Let’s focus on eating. We need to do a store run.” “You’re right sorry.” “Cool, so let’s make a list and get some stuff done.” I pull out a piece of paper and a pen. I look up and see that Tae has left. “Shit, Tae!” I call out.

I head out the front and towards the back of the house. Tae is leaning on Mrs. Mark’s fence waving to catch Yoongi’s attention. I see Yoongi appear at the fence stone face and sweaty with a black cap on backwards. He dries his face with his sleeve. I catch up and jump in front of Tae. “Hey Yoongi!” He nods at bright wave. Tae shoves me over. “I’m Tae, Tessa’s brother, she was telling me that you just moved here and will be living with Kelly. So, what’s your deal man?” I shoot Tae a ‘What the fuck’ look. Yoongi looks at me and then Tae, not a wink of emotion on his face. I chuckle nervously. I look back at Tae whose eyes shift from me to Yoongi. “Well? What are you a mute?” Tae looks at me. Yoongi licks his lips looking rather annoyed. “Mute? No. I just have hard time understanding your dumb down slang. I have no…uh…. Deal as you say.” He gives a small smile and I can’t help but laugh at his sarcasms. Tae’s face shift and I straightened up. He reminds me of my father when he’s mad. “Well Mandu, I’d be sure to not have a deal. I’m not exactly the type of guy you wanna fuck around with, get me?” Yoongi scoffs. “Mandu? That’s good. I have never heard this one. So…. original.” He looks from Tae to me and walks back over to the mower, starting it up again and moving back across the yard. I punch Tae in the side. “What the fuck Tae? You’re such an asshole!” I say walking back towards my house. Tae follows behind me. “Oh, I’m the asshole. That kid is a fucking asshole, he seems like he can handle himself just fine. You saw how he egged me on.” “Leave him alone Tae, I’m warning you.” I shoot him a mom look. “Now get ready, we are doing a store run!” I shout heading up the stairs.

Tae and I drive over to the supermarket in our moms old Rav4. Dad fixed her up and gave it to Tae as a gift. “Why do you think Mrs. Mark’s didn’t tell me about this Yoongi kid?” Tae asks suddenly as we park. “Who gives a fuck Tae? She has other things to worry about. At least it gives you more time to focus on football and getting that scholarship. That is what’s important right now.” He doesn’t say anything as we walk into the market. We walk around and fill our cart with the essentials for survival. “Tessa, Tae, hi!” Mrs. Mark’s appears and waves us over. Tae seems to straighten up. “Hey! How are you?” I ask. “We met Yoongi this morning.” Tae blurts out. “Oh, yes! I spoke with Tessa about Yoongi, and I have been meaning to talk with you as well Tae.” Just as she goes to explain further Yoongi appears with an arm full of things and loads them in the cart. “Oh! It’s my new friend, Yoongi!” Tae says brightly reaching his hand up for Yoongi to high five. Yoongi chuckles suspiciously but obliges. “Tae my friend. They have Mandu here. In the frozen section, I hear you are big fan.” Yoongi says with a smirk. Tae chuckles and looks over to Mrs. Mark’s. “Maybe I should come by during the week and clear the gutters. We can chat and what not.” Tae says to her. “Uh. Well, Yoongi has been a huge help already so, uh, maybe we can grab lunch and I can say thank you for helping me so much this summer.” Tae nods.

I can’t help but feel the tension rise up in Tae, twin senses. Just as I go to interject in their conversation, I can’t help but feel watchful eyes on me. I turn to see Yoongi staring in his famous pose, right hand holding his left arm. I make my way closer to him. “I’m sorry about what Tae said earlier. He can be a jerk sometimes. He means nothing by it though.” I whisper. He nods and looks me up and down. “So, Tessa, what’s your deal?” He teases. I can’t help but appear taken aback by his use of Tae’s line from earlier. Suddenly he bursts out laughing. I can’t help but join in, it’s the most emotion I’ve ever seen on his face. “We should hang out tomorrow. I can show you around town.” I blurt out. He composes himself and looks over at Tae. “Big brother won’t like that.” He points towards Tae. “I’m older actually, by two minutes, and fuck Tae. He’s not the boss of me.” He looks at me again stone faced. “Twins,” He nods, “I don’t know. I will text you.” “Fair enough.” I say. “Tae,” I interrupt his and Mrs. Mark’s conversation, “Let’s get home.” He nods clearly annoyed and we all go our separate ways. We drive back in silence.

After putting away groceries, I hit my laptop and start writing. I am off to a great start when I hear the faint sound of music from my window. I walk over to the other side of my room and sit at my vanity. I lean down into the window sill to try and see into Yoongi’s window. I can hear the music better and immediately know it’s coming from his piano. “You hear Picasso over there?” I hear Tae from my bedroom door. I lift my head slowly and shake my head. “You’re an idiot Tae. Good thing you don’t need a brain for football.” I respond. “What? You don’t seriously like that kid Tess? He’s a weirdo.” He says, plopping down on my bed. “Why,” I shrug, “He is just getting acclimated to a new everything, you on the other hand, are a fool who has no clue that Picasso was an artist not a pianist.” My phone vibrates. ‘Ok stalker. Tomorrow.’ The unsaved number says. I look over to Yoongi’s window to catch him waving at me and then walking away. “I need the Rav4 for tomorrow.” I blurt out. “Uh. Uh. I’m meeting Jin tomorrow.” He shakes his head. “Ok, so tell him to pick you up in the morning.” I argue. “What do you need it for?” He inquires. “Do I ask why you need the car Tae?” “It’s my fucking car!” He shouts. I scoff. Suddenly an idea pops into my head. “Mrs. Mark’s asked if I could take Yoongi out tomorrow. I feel bad but I guess I’ll have to tell her no.” I sigh. Tae’s expression changes. “Really? Sheesh. Alright Tess. Maybe she needs a break from that kid already.” “Maybe,” I reply, “So, you’ll lend it to me? Have Jin come get you?” “Yes, Tess. You can borrow my car but just a few hours.” “Yay!” I exclaim and hug him. “Gross. Pay me back by making dinner, how about that?” He shoves me away.

The following morning, I am up and ready early, trying to sneak pass my drunk father, who once again is passed out on the couch. I head into the kitchen and grab a couple bottles of water. I make my way to the door. “Where you headed girl?” My father grumbles, sitting up and rubbing his head. “I’m going out with friends.” I say. There’s a knock on the door and my heart drops. “I have to go.” I say to him. He doesn’t object and I run to the door. I slide out and see Yoongi standing on the porch. “I didn’t know you were coming over here. I would’ve come to get you.” I tell him. “It’s not proper for the lady to pick up the man.” He says. I laugh nervously. “Well, let’s just go.” I whisper and hurry over to Tae’s car. “Why do you whisper?” Yoongi asks, looking around. “No reason.” I jump into the driver seat and he into the passenger seat. “So, where are we going?” He asks. I nervously move the gear shift and hit the gas and we careen towards the house. “Woah, woah! STOP!” Yoongi yells as I quickly hit the brakes. “Sorry.” I say and move the shift into reverse. “Do you know how to drive? Is this your first time?” He questions. He is in full panic mode, still bracing himself in his seat. “Like riding a bike.” I smile as we speed off. Yoongi eases now but side-eyes me the whole time. “So, tell me about yourself? You must miss your mom and dad?” I poke, curious as to his personal life. “I call my mom one time every week. To check in.” He replies. He opens his window slightly and the rush of wind blows his hair around.

“Only once a week. That isn’t a lot. She must be worried. New country, different language. New people.” I’m really prying. “No. She is a busy woman. I am getting older. She wants me to get a good education.” He states plainly. “How about you? Tell me about you. Most popular girl.” He quickly shifts the focus. “Well, I grew up here. It’s me, Tae and my dad. My mom passed away a year ago. It has been hard, but we get by. My dad owns the car shop in town. Tae is going for a football scholarship this year. He’s good, like really good. The school is whatever. Like most I’m sure. I think you’re gonna fit in just great honestly. It’ll be nice to get some fresh meat in this boring old town.” Yoongi doesn’t say anything. I continue. “I figure we can grab breakfast and walk around town. There are a bunch of cool spots to see and a shopping complex.” I look over to him and get nothing. “Earth to Yoongi. What’s going on in that big brain of yours?” I ask. “I am not so interesting,” He says, “Not much to tell. Not like you. So much insight.” “Look, if this is going to work, I am going to need a little more than clipped responses from you. I want to be friends. So, just be yourself. Tell me something no one knows.” I implore. “I like pancakes.” He says and I begin to worry that this may have been a terrible idea.

I grab a parking spot outside of Taylor’s Diner, a local spot in town that a lot of the school kids frequent. We grab a booth by the window and are given menus by Gladys, who’s been a waitress here since I was little girl. “Hiya Tessa. Who’s your friend?” She smiles at Yoongi, who gives her a small tight smile. “I’m Yoongi. Nice to meet you.” He says and I am shocked that he even responded. “Well, welcome Yoongi. It’s great to meet you. Any idea of what you’d like to eat or drink?” He looks down and then back at Gladys. “Iced coffee please and pancakes.” He closes his menu and hands it to her. “Perfect, and for you Tessa?” She looks at me. “Uh. I’ll have the same.” She nods, takes my menu, and heads off. “Wow, I think it’s the most you’ve spoken ever.” I say sarcastically. “It’s not polite to be rude to elders.” He says to me and looks out the window beside him. He swallows hard and begins to pull nervously at his ear. “What’s wrong?” I ask. “Big brother.” He replies. I look up and Tae and Jin enter the Diner. “Well, well, well. Tessa! You get more gorgeous every day I see you.” Jin says sliding into the booth beside me. Tae slides in next to Yoongi. “Jin meet Mandu, our next-door neighbor.” Tae laughs. He goes for a high five but Yoongi just ignores him this time. “Why don’t you knuckle heads get lost?” I spit at Tae. “I had to check in on my girl.” Jin says, putting his arm around me. I shove him away. “Not even in your dreams.” “Hey Mandu, I better not find out your messing with my girl. Got it!” Yoongi doesn’t say anything. He just stares at Jin as if he could kill him with just his gaze. “Fuck off Jin! Tae!” I look at my brother. “Alright, alright. Let’s get out of here. You two have fun. Don’t fuck up my car Tess.” They get up and Jin points two fingers at his eyes and then one at Yoongi.

Yoongi whispers something. “What?” I ask him. “I said they are assholes.” I feel my face flush. This is not turning out well. “I’m sorry.” I say. “Why you are always sorry?” Yoongi utters. I am taken back by his comment. “Here you go.” Gladys says dropping our food and coffee off. I take a deep breath to keep from crying. “My brother isn’t….” I go to respond. “Yeah, he is,” Yoongi cuts me off, “Maybe you don’t know your brother the way you think you do.” He shoves his plate away from him and stares out of the window again. “I can’t eat unless you do. It’s rude.” I quip, trying to turn this breakfast around. “I guess you will starve.” He says to the window. “I am really trying Yoongi but you’re not making it easy.” “Oh no, imagine a world not made easy for the most popular girl. Such a tragedy.” He looks at me with red eyes and I can see he’s hurt. “We can just leave then if you want.” “No, someone made this for us so let’s eat. Celebrate friendship,” He cuts and shoves a huge piece of pancake in his mouth, “I love pancakes.” He says sarcastically with a hard swallow.

After paying the check and leaving the restaurant, I point over to the end of the road. “The shopping complex is that way.” I say. “We should get back.” Yoongi says, pointing to the car. “Uh. Ok.” We head to the car instead. This time I successfully get on the road without trouble. “I hope that we can do this again. I know today was rough but I would like to get to know you better.” I say to Yoongi. He just nods. “Thank you for breakfast. I owe you.” I pull into Mrs. Mark’s driveway and let Yoongi out. “See ya.” I say. He hops out and slams the door, walking into Mrs. Mark’s house. I pull out of her driveway and into my own. Once up in my room, I get on my laptop and facetime my friend Alice. “Hey girl! How’s your summer?” She exclaims when she answers. “Good. Getting a lot of writing in. Can you believe this is our last year?” “Oh my god! I can’t wait!” She says brushing her hair out of her face. “How’s Italy?” I ask. “Gorgeous girl. I met a man.” She giggles. “A man?” “His name is Arnand. He’s tall, dark, handsome, ugh, everything you read about in the books. He wants me to move here next summer and live with him.” I bust out laughing. “That sounds insane. How old is Mr. Everything?” I inquire. “38 but that’s not really old.” “Oh my god Alice! He is way too old for you! What will your mother say? She’s gonna freak out!” “No way! She will give me shit for a week and then ask how much he makes in a year, which is a lot by the way. He’s some hedge fund guy. Besides, I don’t have talent. I need a sugar daddy. I’m not smart like you or athletic like Tae and Jin. I have nothing lined up for after high school. This face is my money maker.” She circles her face with a finger. “Still its creepy and you can do anything you want. You just gotta focus on one thing.” I try to assure her. “Ha-ha. Yeah right Tess! Why have one thing when you can have them all?” She twirls around with her phone making me dizzy. Alice has always had her head in the clouds. “So, how’s the shit town?” She asks me. “Uh, same ole. Mrs. Mark’s got a foreign exchange student from Korea to move in with her. He starts this year at the school. She asked me to befriend him and show him around.” “Is he cute?” She asks and I immediately blush.  “I don’t know?” I reply. “Yeah, he’s cute. So, what’s the problem? Is it Jin?” “What no? Jin and I are over, and you know that. He’s just, I don’t know, weird. He hardly talks and when he does, he’s sarcastic and dry. I don’t know. He’s hard to read.” “I see, so Tess has met her match and she uncomfortable.” My eyes pop open at her accusation. “Oh Tessa, my baby, my bestie, my love. Just get over yourself. You miss out on so much because you’re so stuffy.” I scoff. “I am not stuffy.” “Oh yes you are! You think because you’re smart and beautiful, people should just fawn over you. That works for some like Kim Seokjin, but you are going to meet people with actual brain cells that are going to force you to do some of the work.” “Whatever.” “This is constructive criticism Tess. Don’t get all offended.” “I have to go.” I blurt out. “Okay, well don’t tell anyone about Arnand and give that foreign boy your number! Love you Tess.” I smile and disconnect the call.

I pull my phone out after thinking about what Alice has said. ‘You are a puzzle, but I am going to solve you.’ I think for a second too long and start to delete it. ‘Don’t forget, you owe me!’ Before I think too much, I send it. I look towards Yoongi’s window from my desk. My phone vibrates. ‘Stalker.’ I start laughing. I finally save the number in my phone. Maybe Alice is right. I am used to getting my way. Jin made things way too easy. Maybe what I need is a challenge. Welp Min Yoongi, challenge accepted.

#bts fluff #suga x reader #suga x you #yoongi fluff

[purpli-writes]

Danganronpa: Locked and Reloaded (Chapter 2: Problematic Workouts For The Aspiring)

Summary:

Stuck in Hope's Peak Academy in a cruel killing game, class 78 is forced to either kill or stay trapped forever.

Makoto Naegi, the Ultimate Lucky Student becomes friends with an unusual pair... of people?

Who would've thought discovering who murdered someone would get him two boyfriends.

Spoilers for Danganronpa Trigger Happy Havoc (somewhat)

You can read it on AO3 here

Makoto couldn’t shower. 

Physically, nothing was preventing him from showering, but seeing Leon’s dead body in his shower only a day prior still lingered in his mind.

True to his word, Monokuma had cleaned up any trace of Leon’s body. But you can’t erase memories.

Or at least Monokuma hadn’t.

After the execution of Sayaka, no one dared to say anything for a few minutes. It was all so painfully real.

Makoto remembered leaving the trial room and heading straight to his dorm. He felt so numb.

They had lost two people in one fell swoop. Both of them had died for nothing. 

But Makoto still kept the belief that all of them, well the rest of them, could get out of Hope’s Peak Academy. 

Even if it was useless, it was better than just accepting fate.

So Makoto slowly made his way to the cafeteria.

Unsurprisingly, everyone was there. Makoto couldn’t bother to care that he was late.

“Did that really happen…?” Aoi asked quietly as Makoto sat down at the table. He didn’t need to ask to know what she was talking about.

“Obviously,” Byakuya snapped back. “Why bother asking such stupid questions?”

“There’s no need to be cruel,” Kyoko responded, “it’s only natural someone would ask that question in a situation such as this.”

Byakuya frowned at Kyoko’s response but didn’t reply again. The tension was thick even as the morning discussion droned on.

“What did we gain from the deaths of Sayaka and Leon?” Makoto asked suddenly, causing everyone at the table to look at him.

“What do you mean, ‘what did we gain’ Mr. Naegi?” Hifumi asked, voicing the group’s confusion.

“I mean,” Makoto began, “when we were given our motives, we were told we would be given something in order to inspire us to kill. But none of us here committed murder, so do we gain anything from their deaths?” 

“That is a good question,” Kyoko muttered, putting her hand on her face. “I think it would be safe to assume that we’re getting something out of the deaths of the blackened and the victim.”

“What exactly could we gain from the deaths?” Celeste asked, “I mean, we did not fulfill the motive requirements, no?”

“Maybe it’s something different,” Sakura added, “something we can benefit from but the blackened wouldn’t.”

“What could we benefit from? We only want to escape, right?” Aoi asked.

“That’s superficial,” Kyoko responded. “We’re not only wanting to escape, as shown by Sayaka murdering Leon.”

“Yeah well, it’s not just fucking superficial,” Mondo said. “I want to leave this place as soon as fucking possible.” 

“Well, I think I see what Kyoko meant,” Makoto said. “There’s got to be something to keep us motivated or else we wouldn’t exactly be interesting to watch.”

“Ugh, I still can’t shake how odd it is to be constantly watched,” Junko added, crossing her arms.

“Y-you’re a m-model, don’t you l-like to be c-constantly watched?” Toko accused.

“I like getting paid to look pretty, I never signed up to be watched day and night without end,” Junko responded annoyed.

“W-well, you’re probably g-getting off to it!” Toko accused again, and Junko sighed before responding.

“ I’m getting off to it?! Are you sure you’re not the one fantasizing about it?!” Junko shot back, glaring at Toko.  

“Ugh, will you pigs shut up?!” Byakuya said, voice cutting through their fight.

“Who are you to tell me to shut up?!” Junko yelled, taking her anger out on Byakuya instead of Toko.

“I’m Byakuya Togami and I’m set to inherit the Togami corporation! Who are you-” Byakuya began before he was interrupted by Kiyotaka.

“Everyone! Such a fight is unacceptable in a school setting!” Kiyotaka yelled.

“Taka…” Makoto mumbled, "I don't think they care about what's welcome in a school environment."

“Well, they should! Just because we are trapped in this school doesn’t mean we can resort to becoming mindless animals!” Kiyotaka responded.

“Hey,” Mondo said, apparently annoyed from Kiyotaka’s comment, “school ain’t the most important in the world.”

“What?! How can there be something more important than your studies?!” Kiyotaka asked, completely floored.

“I dunno man, have you tried  living ?” Mondo responded.

“I have! What a completely pointless question!” Kiyotaka said, not getting Mondo’s sarcasm.

“I’ll show you a completely fuckin’ pointless question!” Mondo said, as he started to get up, presumably to punch Kiyotaka.

“Everyone, settle down,” Kyoko said, crossing her arms. “We still haven’t answered the question of whether or not we’re getting anything from the class trials.”

“I just don’t understand what else we could get, other than our lives…” Aoi said.

“I don’t think it’s important,” Byakuya muttered. “After all, you’ll all be dying for me, anyways.”

“Uh, I don’t think so…” Makoto said, earning a glare from Byakuya.

“Tch,” Byakuya said as he adjusted his glasses. “You’ve just made yourself a huge enemy, Makoto.” 

“Well! It looks like this breakfast has been very informative!” Monokuma yelled, appearing once again out of thin air.

“Ah!” Makoto screamed, falling out of his chair. 

“I’ve been hearing your theories about the class trials, and I’m very intrigued!” Monokuma said, starting to sweat.

“Are you going to answer our questions, or are you going to be a nuisance?” Celeste asked.

“If you ask nicely you might get the answers you so desire…” Monokuma replied, still sweating.

“I’m starting to think we don’t want the answers,” Junko muttered, staring at Monokuma in disgust.

“Aww! You kids are no fun!” Monokuma pouted. “I guess I’ll answer your burning questions anyways! Since I’m so nice, y’know?” 

“No,” Kyoko said. “You are not exactly ‘nice’, Monokuma.”

“Anyways! After each class trial, if the class remains, a new area of the school will open up!” Monokuma explained.

“Huh? A new area of the school?” Makoto asked.

“Yup! I hope you didn’t think that this school was only a couple of rooms! The stairs aren’t just for decoration!” 

“N-new areas, huh… I s-suppose that isn’t s-so bad…” Toko muttered.

“Mhm! I’m not so heartless, you all need to give me some credit!” Monokuma replied proudly.

“The only credit you’ll get from me is when you die,” Byakuya said plainly.

“Ouch! My heart! I can see the  brats don’t need me here!” Monokuma replied before disappearing.

“Well, I guess that answers that question,” Kyoko said, looking at the others. “I suppose we should all explore, try to see the new area we ‘unlocked’.”

“Oh! This is like a video game!” Hifumi added.

“Tch,” Byakuya said as he got up. “If this is a video game, I’m intent on winning.”

“I think we all are…” Makoto said, once again earning a glare from Byakuya.

“There’s no use in fighting,” Celeste said, getting up as well. “We might as all work together to achieve our similar goals, no?”

“Yeah!” Aoi added. “If we work together, we’ll all get out just fine!”

“I agree,” Sakura said. “The sooner we explore the new area the better.”

“Then let’s get to it!” Kiyotaka yelled. “Together we can accomplish anything!”

With that, the class dispersed. It didn’t take long for them to discover that the second floor was accessible. They all slowly made their way upstairs. 

“Woah!” Aoi said, suddenly.

“Huh? What’s up Hina?” Makoto asked, confused.

“Don’t you guys see it?! There’s a pool!” Aoi responded, excitedly.

“And what’re we supposed to do with that information?” Byakuya asked, crossing his arms.

“Ugh! Some of us like to have fun, jerk.” Aoi responded, crossing her arms.

“I think it is interesting,” Sakura added. “At least we have something to occupy ourselves with.”

“Hm, if you are inclined to that, I suppose so…” Celeste muttered. “Some of us would rather stay dry.”

“Still!” Makoto said, “at least we have something to do, right?”

“Huh,” Yasuhiro said. “I didn’t expect a pool!”

“T-that’s because y-you’re not a very good p-psychic…” Toko muttered.

“Hey!” Yasuhiro responded, clearly insulted. “I have a success rate of 30%!”

“Y-yeah well I’d guess that’d be good f-for a s-scammer..!” 

‘Well then let’s explore the pool a little bit.” Makoto said.

The other students and Makoto went into the pool area.

“Puhuhuhu! Welcome to Hope’s Peak Academy Pool.” Monokuma said, as he appeared.

“What’s up with the gun’s by the door…? Are they for hunting g-ghosts?!” Yasuhiro yelled.

“Nonsense! They’re probably for decoration!” Kiyotaka responded.

“Nope! The weapons are 100 percent genuine!” Monokuma said. ”If you try to be a pervert, well, you’ll get more holes in you than swiss cheese!”

“Also, if you try to scan your e-Handbook to open the door of the gender you are not, the door will not open!” Monokuma said.

“S-so what happens w-when two people e-exchange e-Handbooks? How w-would you stop that?” Toko asked.

“Easy! We have a rule against that now…” Monokuma said. “Exchanging your e-Handbook with someone is now illegal! Don’t break that rule if you don’t want to get punished!”

After saying that, Monokuma disappeared, and the bickering began once more.

“Break it up,” Junko said, annoyed. “We still have other rooms to explore.” 

“Couldn’t we check our e-Handbook maps for the other rooms on this floor…?” Chihiro asked, pulling hers out.

“Huh,” Mondo said. “I guess that is fuckin’ smart.”

“Tch,” Byakuya said. “I already thought of that.”

“Well then,” Celeste said, staring straight at Byakuya. “What exactly awaits us on this floor?”

“Hah, you think I would be stupid enough to share information with the likes of you?” Byakuya asked, looking away.

“Huh…?” Makoto asked, staring at Byakuya confused.

“We’re all enemies,” Byakuya explained. “Only one of us can leave this school alive, so what’s the point of sharing information?”

“Still,” Makoto responded, “wouldn’t it be wiser to work together and combine our knowledge? We’re less vulnerable in groups than we are separate.”

“I don’t depend on anyone, Makoto,” Byakuya snapped back, seemingly insulted. “I am a Togami, I need no one other than myself. You’re all a waste of space here.”

“You seemingly forget that we are trapped here together,” Celeste responded coolly. “If the Togamis were so powerful, they would’ve rescued you, no?”

“Ugh,” Byakuya said. “I don’t need rescuing, I’ll win this game myself.”

“Hm,” Kyoko responded, “so you are confessing to a murder you haven’t yet committed? I don’t think that’s a very wise move, Byakuya.”

“All of you…!” Byakuya said as he clenched his fist. “Get out of my sight…!” After saying that, Byakuya went into a room with twin doors.

“Maybe we should follow him…?” Makoto suggested.

“The room he is in is the library if the icon of books is to be believed....” Chihiro responded. “We might get information from the library, so it would be smart to go…”

“Then it is decided!” Kiyotaka yelled. “We shall head to the library!”

Soon, the students made their way into the library. Makoto wasn’t exactly impressed with the library, it certainly wasn’t the largest one he’d seen. And this one looked a little dusty, had it not been used in a long time?

“Why are you all here?” Byakuya asked, voice seething with anger.

“We’re exploring the second floor, remember?” Aoi responded, crossing her arms in a mocking fashion.

“Ugh, don’t waste my time, look around and just leave.”

“Hey… what’s that on the table…?” Chihiro asked, slowly walking to the front desk.

“Is that… a computer…?” Kyoko asked.

“Woah! Access to the outside world?! We’re saved!” Yasuhiro yelled.

“Um… bad news…” Chihiro muttered. “It’s not exactly working right now…”

“Awe, seriously…?!” Yasuhiro said. “Just when I thought we were saved.”

“Chihiro, aren’t you the Ultimate Programmer?” Makoto asked.

“Um… oh…! You’re asking if I could fix it…?” Chihiro asked, frown on her face.

“I mean, it’s in your fuckin’ title, yeah?” Mondo replied before Makoto could.

“In theory, yes… but we don’t know what damage has been done to it…” Chihiro said. “If we could power it on, that’d be a good sign…”

“Well, let us power it on, yes?” Celeste asked, staring at the computer indifferently.

After messing around with the computer, the class was successful in turning it on.

“Woah! Looks like we  are saved after all!” Yasuhiro said.

“Uh… I’m sorry… but that isn’t true…” Chihiro said, staring sadly at the computer.

“Explain yourself,” Byakuya replied, crossing his arms.

“There’s no internet connection… it seems the mastermind thought this through… I’m sorry!”

“It’s not your fault, right? You’re not the internet god, are you?” Junko replied, crossing her arms. “If anything, this can just serve as entertainment!”

“E-entertainment…? Y-you mean like porn…?” Toko asked.

“Ugh,” Junko responded, “you are so disgusting.”

“Anyways,” Kyoko said, ignoring Toko and Junko. “Maybe we can use the files on the computer. It is after all branded Hope’s Peak.”

“Oh…! You’re right, there does seem to be some files on here…” Chihiro said. “Although they seem to be corrupted…”

“Corrupted?! Wait… what does that mean…?” Aoi asked.

“They’re getting paid off?! The mastermind can pay off computer files?!” Yasuhiro yelled. “Oh no we’re doomed!”

“Not exactly,” Kyoko said. “How long do you figure it’ll take to uncorrupt these files?”

“I could make a program…” Chihiro muttered, mostly to herself. “But it could take a few days… I’m sorry…!”

“It’s fine,” Kyoko said. “Just try to get it done as soon as possible.”

“Alright…! I promise you I won’t let you down…!” Chihiro said, eyes filling with determination.

“We do not doubt your abilities, Ms. Fujisaki!” Hifumi said, trying to keep the light in Chihiro’s eyes.

“Oh… uhm, thank you…!” Chihiro said, smiling brightly at Hifumi.

“With a smile that cute, I might want to date you, but I’m only into 2D so…!” Hifumi said, puffing out his chest.

“Thanks for sharing,” Junko said. “Anything else you’d like to say, creep?”

“I’m sorry that you’re jealous that someone like me will never date someone like you!” Hifumi shouted.

“Ugh, you…!” Junko said, clenching her fist in annoyance.

“We do not need to fight in a library such as this!” Kiyotaka yelled, interrupting Junko and Hifumi’s soon to be war.

“Taka’s right,” Makoto added. “We need to work together, this computer could very well give us the answers we need!”

“Or it could just be nothing,” Byakuya added.

“It’s best to look at the positives, no?” Celeste responded. “Some of us do not have people constantly attending to our every need…”

“I agree! We should use this computer as a symbol! Something to look forward to!” Kiyotaka yelled.

“Look forward too? For all, we know this computer could just be fuckin’ porn!” Mondo said.

“I-in a school environment images of that nature wouldn’t be very appropriate…!” Kiyotaka replied, face turning a tomato shade of red.

“In a school environment murder isn’t exactly good either, but look where we fucking are!”

“There’s no use fighting over the computer,” Kyoko said. “But Taka is right. It’s better for us to view it as something hopeful than to think it is just junk.”

“I think it might be useful to us anyways,” Hifumi said. “For all we know a bunch of 2D girls could be there, just waiting for us…!” After saying that, Hifumi began drooling immensely.

“Or,” Junko said, “there could be a bunch of restraining orders all dedicated to you, creep!”

Before Hifumi could respond, Byakuya cleared his throat.

“Is there anything else all you plebeians need or can I have the library to myself now?”

“Well, actually…” Makoto muttered, “there is the other door in here.”

“Huh? What other door? Makoto, are you feeling alright?” Yasuhiro asked.

“You know, the door right near the monitor…?” Makoto responded, staring at Yasuhiro worriedly.

“Oh! That door…” Yasuhiro muttered, “Aha, I was just messing with you. Of course, I knew that door was there!”

“What could be in there…?” Aoi asked. “More books…?”

“Maybe that’s where they store the manga!” Hifumi added excitedly.

“M-manga…? Don’t be childish, t-this is a library, they only s-store real literature in here…” Toko stuttered out.

“‘Real’ literature…? I’ll have you-” Hifumi began but was interrupted by Byakuya.

“That’s the archive,” Byakuya explained tersely. “I don’t think I have to explain an archive to you plebeians.”

“An archive of what exactly?” Makoto asked.

“Anything really,” Byakuya answered. “I of course already know most of the things archived in there.”

“W-well, I d-don’t think we’ll get a-anything out of it…” Toko said.

“Maybe it has archived information about the school,” Sakura responded, “in that case, it would be in our best interest to look into it.”

“B-but, if B-byakuya has already looked into it, I-I’m sure t-there’s nothing of i-importance in there,” Toko said, looking at Byakuya longingly.

“The stuttering one is correct,” Byakuya responded. “I already looked under everything labeled Hope’s Peak, there wasn’t anything that stood out.”

“Well, maybe your eyes are broken!” Aoi shouted. “Because this whole killing game thing is not normal…!”

“Shut up,” Byakuya said. “Nothing in the files indicates that a killing game was the original plan.”

“Was there anything at all to suggest something malicious?” Celeste asked.

“There was one interesting thing,” Byakuya admitted. “But I don’t see why I have to share it with any of you.”

“It would be in your interest,” Kyoko said. “After all, having information others may want puts a target on your back.”

“Tch,” Byakuya replied, crossing his arms. “Like I have anything to fear from the likes of you.”

“Hm,” Kyoko responded. “Maybe so, but you cannot guard yourself against multiple individuals all seeking information.”

“Fine,” Byakuya said. “Here, it’s a notice.”

Byakuya handed the paper to Kyoko, who read it before passing it to the other members of the class.

“Notice of closure…?” Chihiro asked, staring at the paper.

“How come we never heard of that?” Makoto added.

“Maybe they were keeping it secret…?” Yasuhiro replied, scratching his head in confusion.

“That doesn’t make any sense…! Any respectable school should notify it’s incoming students about any closure!” Kiyotaka yelled.

“Fuck man, no need to take it personally,” Mondo said, crossing his arms.

“Hm,” Celeste said, “so something did happen, yes?”

“T-that seems to be the c-case…” Toko replied.

“What could cause a school like Hope’s Peak Academy to close…?” Aoi asked. “I mean, it’s a really big school, right?”

“The same thing that could cause a killing game,” Junko replied. “But we don’t know what the hell that even is…!”

“Something horrible,” Hifumi added. “Like canceling Princess Piggles…!”

“P-princess Piggles…? I-is that a k-kid’s show…?” Toko asked, crossing her arms.

“No…! It’s only the best anime in the world…!” Hifumi said, defending his prized TV show.

“Pretty sure that’s still a kids show.” Junko responded.

“Anyways,” Celeste said, crossing her arms, “until we can figure out what is on the computer, I suggest we shouldn’t entertain ourselves with mindless conjecture.”

“I suppose Celeste is right,” Kyoko said. “There is no use fighting between ourselves now that we finally have hope.”

“Finally have hope? This is just a fuckin’ computer!” Mondo complained.

“It’s not just a computer,” Kyoko countered cooly, “it’s our first piece of outside information. I don’t believe the mastermind is careless, but they want us to at least have a fair shot.”

“How can you be so sure of that?” Junko asked, staring at her nails.

“They’ve made the game fair, or at least as close as it could get. Class trials exist so the non-blackened at least have a shot of surviving another trial. Accomplices are useless, since there is no achievement for working together.”

“So, you’re saying… they’re trying to bring hope into us…?” Makoto asked, trying to figure out what Kyoko actually meant.

“Perhaps,” Kyoko replied dryly, “after all, you must have hope to succumb to despair.”

“D-despair…? W-where’d you get that from…?” Toko asked, staring at Kyoko as she started to bite her nails.

“When Monokuma first introduced himself, he claimed that he loved to see our faces full of despair. It is only a natural conclusion that he’d give us some sort of hope only to take it away.” Kyoko said, looking away from the computer.

“So,” Celeste said, “you are saying that we’re only given this computer so that it could only lead to our despair?”

“No,”  Kyoko said, looking Celeste in the eyes. “I believe the computer has information we need to inspire us, but the catch is that Chihiro would need to be alive in order to extract that information.”

“So you’re saying that the mastermind creates ‘holes’ in their plan, but only if certain people survive…?” Junko asked.

“Perhaps,” Kyoko said, closing her eyes. “This is all just a theory, afterall.”

“Seems like a pretty fleshed out theory,” Aoi added. “You must’ve thought this out a lot, huh…?”

“No,” Kyoko said. “It only seemed to be the natural conclusion, like I said.”

“Huh,” Makoto said dumbly. “I don’t think any of us could’ve put that together on our own! You’re a real genius Kyoko!”

“Huh…?” Kyoko asked, “what an odd thing to say.”

“Is it really…? I was only saying how I felt…” Makoto said. 

“He’s right, Kyoko! That was a genius conclusion!” Kiyotaka added.

“If you’re both so sure,” Kyoko responded, face coloring for only a short moment.

“If you’re all done here,” Byakuya cut in. “Can you please leave me and the library in peace…?!”

The class stared at Byakuya for a moment. His annoyance was quite clear as he clenched his fist.

“Ah, we should probably get out Byakuya’s hair…” Makoto laughed sheepishly, trying to ignore the murderous look on Byakuya’s face.

“Funny,” Byakuya responded. “That’s the first smart thing you’ve said all killing game.”

The class, excluding Byakuya, slowly shuffled out of the library. The air was thick with tension. 

Byakuya had a knack for ruining the mood.

“Huh,” Aoi said, crossing her arms.

“What’s wrong Hina?” Makoto asked.

“That guy, he thinks he can just walk all over us just because he’s Byakuya Togami or whatever…”

“I mean, it’s not really his fault…” Makoto added, crossing his arms.

“Huh? What do you mean Makoto?” Aoi asked, staring at Makoto intently. “Last time I checked no one was forcing him to do anything.”

“I mean, he’s had a different upbringing then the rest of us.” Makoto said, touching his face as he tried to think of a way to explain his thinking to Aoi. “He’s a different breed of people, and because of that he doesn’t know how to exactly interact with us…”

“Hm,” Aoi responded, “that may be true, but it doesn’t give him the right to boss us around like that!”

“Maybe,” Makoto agreed, “but I think everyone in this school is a little extra…”

“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?!” Aoi yelled, suddenly insulted.

“I didn’t mean it as a bad thing…!” Makoto responded, caught completely off guard. “It’s just, you ultimates are a lot different than normal people.”

“You mean, we’re as bad as Byakuya…?” Aoi asked, confused.

“No,” Makoto responded quickly, “just a lot harder to understand than other ‘normal’ people.”

“Hm,” Aoi said, “I mean, I guess… but I don’t think we’re in a ‘normal’ situation, if that note in the library is true…”

Makoto nodded, he supposed that his classmates were under a very specific strain of stress. He had no way to discern their true personalities whilst they were trapped in the killing game.

“So… Makoto…” Aoi said suddenly.

“Yeah?”

“You wanna hang? I mean we’re done exploring, right…?” Aoi asked.

“Huh…? Sure!” Makoto responded excitedly.

“All this exploring has totally gotten me fired up, if you know what I mean!” Aoi said suddenly.

“Huh…? What do you mean, Hina?” Makoto asked, staring at Aoi confused.

“What do I mean?! It means I need to get all this pent up energy out!” Aoi yelled, causing Makoto to flinch slightly. “Let’s race, Makoto!”

“I don’t think I could win a race against you, Hina…” Makoto replied sheepishly. “I wouldn’t have much of a chance.”

“Huh… I guess you’re right…” Aoi admitted, “Well I’ll just run by myself and you can watch!”

“Wait!” Makoto yelled, “I mean... uh, you always seem so pumped up Hina…”

“Huh…?! Is that supposed to be an insult, Makoto?!”

“N-no of course not!” Makoto said, putting his hands in front of him as a defensive position. “I’m just impressed, that’s all.”

“Really?” Aoi asked, crossing her arms. “I mean I used to know this one guy, who was always telling me ‘Hina, you’re like, a super spaz!’” 

“A super spaz…? What did he mean by that…?”

“I dunno, like he’d always see me wearing shorts in the winter and he’d just say things like that…”

“You wore shorts in the winter?!” Makoto asked, shocked.

“Yeah, if you lose to the cold it just means you weren’t dedicated enough!”

“Wow, you did that without getting sick…?”

“Getting sick is for the weak! If you’re truly dedicated all winter outfits should be lighter than normal! It’s part of your training, y’know…?”

“T-training…?”

“Uh, you aren’t the type of guy who gets sick easily, are you…?”

“Actually, I am…”

“See! You need more training!”

“What do you mean…?”

“I’ve got the perfect remedy to keep you healthy no matter what the weather…!”

“Perfect remedy…?” Makoto echoed uselessly.

“I do this myself every morning! You just strip down to your waist, then take a dry towel and start rubbing down your bare skin…! I called it… um… uh…”

“Is it towel treatment or something similar?” Makoto offered.

“Oh my god! Makoto, that’s it!” Aoi said, happily. “I love going out on my apartment balcony, stripping down, just feeling the wind on my skin… I never miss a morning!”

“You do that on your balcony…?!”

“Yep! Makoto, you should give it a try! If you haven’t got your health, you haven’t got anything! I’d hate to see you catch a cold or something…”

“Thanks, Hina…” Makoto said.

“Huh… it’s been a while already, hasn’t it?” Aoi asked.

“I guess time flies when you’re having fun, right…?”

“Mhm! Well, we should get together sometime again. I’d like to see progress on your training, Makoto!”

“M-my training…? You’re going to become my personal trainer…?!”

“Uh, is that the word…? I mean, I guess…”

“B-but personal trainers are supposed to get paid…! I really can’t take up your time if I don’t have anything to offer you…!” Makoto said, trying to get out of training with Aoi.

“Hm, payment, right…?” Aoi said, putting her finger on her chin and closing her eyes. “Well, you can pay me with something…”

“H-huh…?!”

“You mentioned that the ‘ultimates’ don’t act normal… right…?”

“Well like I said, I didn’t mean it in a bad way…”

“Still, maybe you could teach me how to act normal in return for me training you.”

“Hina, I really didn’t-”

“It’s a deal, Makoto! Tomorrow we’ll meet up here and we’ll get you into tip-top shape in no time! I promise!”

“H-huh… Hina w-wait…!” Makoto yelled, but it was too late, Aoi was already walking away, not paying attention to Makoto’s refusals.

Makoto sighed, well at least he would become closer to Aoi if anything was to come out of this. 

Aoi was right, it was late. How long was their conversation? He had to get to the dinner hall before it closed, he didn’t want to starve after all.

Making his way downstairs to the cafeteria, he could already hear a commotion.

“Ugh, will you fuckin’ shut up about the damn school rules already?!” Mondo yelled, and as Makoto got closer he could see Mondo’s opponent in this fight was none other than Kiyotaka Ishimaru.

“The school rules are everything! If we have nothing else, then let it be our ability to be good students.”

“Good students?! Are you out of your fuckin’ mind or something? Did you forget about Sayaka killing Leon?! Or is that part of your ‘studently behavior’ or whatever…?!”

“I doubt you mind! You’re a delinquent, I’m sure you murder people all the time…!” Kiyotaka yelled, tears already springing in his eyes.

“Are you accusin’ me of fuckin’ murderer?! You’re a glorified hall monitor, what right do you have?!”

“Excuse you…! I’m the Ultimate Moral Compass, I’m sorry you can’t be held to the same standards as everyone else! Last time I checked, I’m not punching our classmates!”

“It was one fuckin’ time…! You can’t act like you're any better than us!”

“I don’t have to ‘act’ like I’m any better than you, you have no respect for the rules and therefore deserve no respect!”

“Will you two shut up?!” Byakuya interrupted, glaring at the two with murder in his eyes.

“What gives you the right to interrupt us?!” Both Mondo and Kiyotaka yelled at the same time.

“At least they agreed on something, no?” Celeste teased, taking a sip from her milk tea.

“I don’t think this fight is very school appropriate, now, is it?” Junko added, crossing her arms.

“Huh…?!” Kiyotaka yelled, as his face started to flush. “You’re right! I am very sorry, I shouldn’t be setting a negative example for the rest of you! I hope I can be forgiven for my transgressions!”

“Whipped.” Mondo snorted under his breath, which went unnoticed by Kiyotaka who was now yelling apologies.

“I think you can be forgiven, Taka…” Makoto said, “I mean, it wasn’t like you did anything  bad …”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Makoto…! I need to be the best example for the class, I will not let any of us fall to the fate of Sayaka and Leon!” Kiyotaka replied. Makoto flinched slightly at the mention of Sayaka and Leon. He still hadn’t exactly accepted it.

“I’m sure you will,” Makoto replied half heartedly. It still hurt to think about the two of them, what-ifs floated around in his head. He didn’t have the bravery of any of the other students. He couldn’t have stopped Sayaka because he believed in her too much.

And because of him, both Sayaka and Leon had died. Painfully.

“Makoto? Are you alright?” Aoi asked, scaring Makoto out of his train of thought.

“Huh…? Yeah, I’m alright. Just a little tired, I guess.”

“Did you not get enough sleep last night?” Aoi asked, worriedly.

“Makoto! Sleep is very important for growing boys like you!” Kiyotaka added loudly.

“I’m fine,” Makoto repeated, “and Taka, we’re the same age…”

“Well, as long as you’re saying you’re getting sleep, we’ll believe you.” Aoi said, smiling at Makoto. Makoto appreciated the gesture behind Aoi’s words, but smiling back at Aoi just hurt.

He could’ve saved Sayaka and Leon if he tried, he thought. Even if he couldn’t, he could at least delude himself into thinking it was a possibility. He resolved to try harder, even as he went back to his room and stared at Sayaka’s nameplate for longer than needed.

He tried to shower, before the night time announcement and barely made it to the door. He saw Leon’s dead eyes staring back at him, open unlike how they were closed before.

“Because of you,” Leon’s voice accuses, “I’m dead.” Before Leon’s ghost can say anything more, Makoto slammed the door. He leaned against the door of the bathroom and closed his eyes. 

He told himself he wasn’t crying.

But, in that case, he was just as much of a liar as Sayaka was.

When Makoto woke up, he was still on the floor. Monokuma’s grating morning announcement rang in his ears. He was exhausted, he knew this.

He needed to shower, he resented this.

As if on autopilot he grabbed clothing from his drawer and left his room. He made his way to Aoi’s door and knocked on it emotionlessly.

Aoi answered the door, confused.

“I need to use your shower,” Makoto said simply. Aoi stared at him for a moment, before moving slightly.

“Alright,” Aoi says, “just like, don’t tell Taka. He’ll make it weird, I think…”

Makoto nodded, his head felt heavy. 

Aoi’s shower was almost identical to his, all hers was lacking was the dead body. Makoto tried not to think about that.

He finished the shower quickly, he felt bad taking Aoi’s shower.

“Sorry,” he said, mustering all the emotion he could manage. He hoped he was coming off sheepishly, if he wasn’t, Aoi didn’t say anything.

“Huh…? Did you waste all my hot water or something?!” Aoi accused.

“N-no…! Of course not! I mean for coming to your room so early.”

“Huh, is that weird?”

“Of course it is…!”

“Well, then maybe you can’t teach me how to act normal then, huh…?”

“About that…” Makoto began but Aoi cut him off with a laugh.

“We can talk about my payment later, we have to get to the morning meeting. I don’t want to get yelled at by Taka.” Aoi said quickly before running out of her room, leaving Makoto standing dumbfounded.

“Alright…” he muttered to no one but himself, as he slowly followed Aoi to the cafeteria.

“Aoi, Makoto!” Kiyotaka yelled as Makoto entered the room. “Why are you two so late…?!”

“Sorry…” was all Makoto could muster.

“Makoto’s hot water broke, so he had to use my shower… no need to get all serious, Taka…” Aoi said, crossing her arms.

“You showered in her room?!” Kiyotaka yelled, scandalized.

“Hey! Don’t accuse either of us of being creeps! I didn’t watch or anything!” Aoi yelled, uncrossing her arms and putting them up near her jacket.

“Ugh… it’s just unwholesome…!”

“Taka, like Hina said, I just asked to use her shower. My hot water wasn’t working and I didn’t want to come to the morning meeting unclean, I feel like that would be worse…” Makoto added, staring at the food he had in front of him.

“Hm, very well! As long as you two keep it school appropriate and don’t make a habit of coming late, I do not mind!”

“Thanks…?” Makoto replied, confused.

“Anyways…! Let us commence with the morning meeting!” 

“It’s not like we have any new information to share,” Byakuya said looking away. “Honestly, why do I bother with this?” 

“If you don’t want to come, then don’t, no?” Celeste responded, once again sipping milk tea.

“It’s just useless, even idiots like you should be able to see that.” Byakuya said, crossing his arms.

“I disagree! As students-” Kiyotaka began but was interrupted by Mondo.

“It’s our duty or whatever, who the fuck cares, let’s just get this meeting over with.”

“Well, um, did we discover anything?” Aoi asked.

“Not since the library, no,” Kyoko said simply, looking at her food, bored.

“Speaking of the library,” Sakura interjected, “Chihiro have you gotten any information out of the computer?”

“N-no…! I’m sorry, the computer is probably gonna take another day or so…” Chihiro responded quickly.

“Hm,” Junko said, “as long as you’re not using it to look up porn, we can wait.”

“U-um…”

“Miss Fujisaki would never do anything like that!” Hifumi said, defending Chihiro before she could get a word in edgewise.

“Is there anything else we can talk about?” Aoi asked, “I mean, some of us have things we want to do.”

“Like what? You’re not planning on killing anyone are you, Hina?!” Yasuhiro accused.

“No…! I’m just gonna hang out with Makoto, that’s all.”

“Hina, you are hanging out with Makoto again?!” Kiyotaka yelled, switching between staring at Aoi and Makoto, completely scandalized.

“Huh, yeah…? Is there something wrong with that?” Aoi asked, tilting her head in confusion.

“If you’re in a relationship it’s best for you two to just state it now!” Kiyotaka said, eyes filling with tears.

“Uh, it’s not like that, Taka…” Makoto mumbled, “we’re just going to train together.”

“Oh! Ahaha, of course…!” Kiyotaka replied, “neither of you would ever do something so unwholesome...”

“Anyways…” Junko said, flipping her hair out of her eyes, “I think that’s all the information we’ve got, huh?”

“But we didn’t say anything new…?” Yasuhiro asked.

“That’s the point idiot. We don’t have any new information.”

“I’m assuming these meetings will be pointless until next murder, correct?” Byakuya cut in.

“In all likelihood, yes.” Kyoko answered before Kiyotaka could.

“In that case, there is no need for me to continue to come.” Byakuya said plainly.

“But the bonding! You cannot just-” Kiyotaka began to interject.

“I don’t care,” Byakuya said as he got up to walk away. “There is no point in conversing with people who are soon to be dead, anyway.”

“Did he just leave?!” Aoi yelled, crossing her arms.

“Hm,” Kyoko said, “I suppose there is no use in talking to him, then.”

“Perhaps he knows something we do not,” Celeste said. “We do not know what he has read in that library. Has he found something that would give him an advantage?”

“I doubt it,” Makoto replied. “If anything, I think he would taunt us about it.”

“Y-you think he would w-waste his time t-taunting the likes of you?” Toko asked, suddenly insulted.

“Well yeah…” Makoto replied. “He hasn’t shown any reason for us not to believe that, if we’re being honest…”

“Y-you would be so lucky if that w-were to happen…!” Toko said, looking away.

“Huh? Why would he be lucky…?” Aoi asked, tilting her head slightly.

“B-Byakuya would never waste his t-time on the l-likes of y-you all…” Toko sniffled, looking away from the group as if disgusted.

“Hey! Is that supposed to be an insult?!” Aoi yelled, “It’s not like you’re anything different from us anyways!”

“Why is Toko’s comment bothering you so much, Hina?” Celeste asked, taking a sip of her tea.

“Huh…? You mean you aren’t bothered at all?”

“I don’t feel the need to be, if they don’t want to survive with us, it is important for us to not care about them…” Celeste said, looking away with a sigh. “It is best not to get attached to them, because surely they will die at the rates they are going.”

“H-huh, d-die…?!” Toko said, looking back at the group. “Y-you think s-someone as w-wonderful as B-Byakuya could just d-die…?!”

“It seems to be an eventuality at this point,” Celeste said, smiling morbidly. “After all, this game is based on alliances, no? Surely, making an enemy out of everyone isn’t the smartest thing to do.”

“B-but…!” Toko replied, preparing to go on a tangent before Kyoko cut her off.

“It doesn’t matter,” Kyoko said. “As long as we agree not to hurt anyone, Byakuya shouldn’t come to any harm.”

“Yeah, Kyoko’s right! Let’s all agree to get out of this killing game alive and well!” Aoi yelled, putting both her fists in the air.

“With that attitude…” Junko began, “fuck yeah, let’s do that!”

“I usually don’t agree with cursing but… if we can all agree to following the school rules, I agree with Hina’s sentiment!” Kiyotaka said.

With that the group’s mood brightened, even after Byakuya’s sour department.

After the meeting ended Aoi walked up to Makoto.

“So, you wanna hang now?” Aoi asked, smiling widely.

“Uh, about that… I’m not so sure I want to train with you…” Makoto answered sheepishly.

“Hey! Are you letting Taka’s comments about us get to your head?” Aoi accused, glaring at Makoto.

“No, it’s not that…! I’ve just been feeling down lately, so I don’t know if I’d be that good to train.” Makoto explained.

“Hm, well then we could just hang out?” Aoi offered. “I mean, that’s all I really wanted to do anyways.”

“Huh…? You just wanted to hang out?” Makoto asked.

“Yeah! Is that so surprising?!” Aoi puffed out.

“No, I guess not.. I’ve just not been feeling like myself, after Sayaka and Leon…”

“So, do y’wanna talk about it?” Aoi asked.

“Yeah, but can we take it somewhere a bit more private?”

“Oh yeah, sure!” Aoi said, leading Makoto upstairs.

The two split off to go into the changing rooms before meeting back up in the pool.

“So, do you want to talk about it or…?”

“I don’t know where to begin,” Makoto admitted. “I trusted Sayaka, I mean who wouldn’t…?”

“Isn’t it kinda scary…? I mean who would’ve seen it coming?!” Aoi added. “She had us all fooled I guess…”

“Maybe,” Makoto admitted, “but I refuse to believe it could be just that… it just didn’t seem like the Sayaka I knew…”

“Huh…? You knew Sayaka…?”

“Kinda, haha… we knew each other from middle school.” Makoto explained. “I always had a crush on her, so I was really excited to see her again.”

“Could you have been blinded by love…? That’s a thing that happens, right?”

“I don’t think so,” Makoto said, “or at least I hope not…?”

“Well then spill!” Aoi said, trying to egg him on.

“When she got her motive video… I think it changed her.” Makoto said, remembering Sayaka’s vacant expression. “It was like something inside of her snapped, and not for the better.”

“Well,” Aoi said, “it’s not like you could’ve done anything to stop her.”

“Maybe if I noticed… maybe I would’ve been able to save Sayaka and Leon…” 

“You can’t blame yourself for the actions of other people!” Aoi scolded. “You’re not the Ultimate Clairvoyant like Hiro is! And the fact that you feel bad is a good thing!”

“Huh… what do you mean Hina?”

“You really cared about them, despite the fact that you don’t need to. I think that might be a good thing…”

“Is that really such an odd thing…?”

“Yep! And they said I was the super spaz! Well I’m glad to tell you Makoto, that title is yours now!”

“Hey!” 

After talking for a few more minutes, Aoi decided to do some laps in the pool. Makoto watched wordlessly, becoming nauseous at how fast Aoi was going.

“You… definitely earned your title…” Makoto commented, face a bit too green.

“Yep! Hey… wait… Makoto, your face is looking a bit-”

“I’ll be fine, just remind me never to watch that again, alright…?”

“Huh… why?”

“I just have a weak stomach, that’s all.”

“Hm, alright then!”

After getting changed into their regular clothes Makoto and Aoi parted ways, promising to meet up again later.

“Hm,” Makoto remarked mostly to himself, “I wonder what I can do now....”

“Makoto, are you busy?” A voice yelled from behind him, Makoto turned around and saw none other than Kiyotaka Ishimaru.

“Huh…? No I’m not really busy. Why, do you want to hang out?” Makoto asked.

“Haha, of course!” Kiyotaka answered. “That’s what friends do, right?”

“Yeah, let’s just hang out, then,” Makoto said. 

“So Makoto! As long as we’re talking, let’s REALLY talk.”

“Huh…? Yeah sure, that’s fine.” Makoto answered.

“Excellent!” Kiyotaka said. “Then let’s get down to where we stand on the important issues! Where are we starting, politics, the economy or international affairs?!”

“Wait… you’re not serious are you…?” Makoto asked.

“Of course I am! This isn’t a joking matter!”

“Can’t we just have a regular conversation…? That’s the best way to learn about people, I think.”

“‘Normal conversation’...? What do you mean?”

“Well, what do you do in your free time?” 

“Study, of course! I’m a student, afterall.” Kiyotaka began. “A student must be a studying professional!”

“Do you do anything other than study…?”

“Of course!” Kiyotaka answered. “My duties as the chairperson of the morals committee keep me quite busy!”

“Um…” Makoto said, trailing off. “What do you do when you have free time…?”

“If I have time to kill, I study!”

“Oh…. I see…?”

“Haha! This is fun!” Kiyotaka said, suddenly. “Alright my turn! Makoto, what do you like to do in your free time?

“Well, normal things…” Makoto said. “You know, watch TV, play video games…”

“Huh?!” Kiyotaka yelled, “And this is helping you study…?”

“N-no...?” Makoto said. “It’s not about studying, it’s more about having fun.”

“But doing things ‘just for fun’ serves no purpose!” Kiyotaka yelled. “There’s got to be more merit in it!”

“You’re right!” Makoto quickly exclaimed, surprised at his own volume. “Having fun helps give you something to talk about to other people!”

“Something to talk about…?”

“Like when you see something awesome on TV, or some awesome game, and you want to share it with someone.” Makoto explained. “You’ll find other people who feel the same and that’s how you make friends!”

“Wh…?” Kiyotaka began. “Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh—!?”

“Taka…?” Makoto asked. “Are you okay…?”

“I was blind, but now I see!”

“H-huh…? What the heck?!”

“That kind of thing has plagued me for years,” Kiyotaka began to explain while crying. “I’ve tried making friends, but it would die out once I attempted to make conversation… But now I finally have my answer!”

“Your answer…?”

“I need to study more games! More TV shows!”

“N-no, you don’t exactly ‘study’ them...” Makoto attempted to explain but it fell on deaf ears.

“I’m so ashamed of myself! If there was a hole around here, I’d totally go and hide in it! I never realized the blind spot of my studies…!”

“Taka it’s-”

“I’m a complete embarrassment! I’m not qualified to be on the morals committee, let alone lead it!”

“I don’t think it’s really that big of a deal, Taka.”

“Thank you, Professor Makoto!”

“Huh…?! P-professor?!”

“You’ve taught me a most valuable lesson! You’ve earned my respect and the title of professor!”

“Taka, this is making things super awkward…!”

“Haha! There’s no need to be modest, Professor!” Kiyotaka said, smiling. “I can’t wait for your next lesson!”

“I don’t think you need-”

“Until then, I will strive to learn as much as I can on my own!” Kiyotaka continued, giving Makoto no time to interrupt. “Well then, Professor, I’ll see you soon!”

Kiyotaka ran off before Makoto could attempt to speak again. 

“Well, I guess the title of professor isn’t too bad…” Makoto said to himself.

Makoto decided it was time to get some dinner before the cafeteria closed, he didn’t want to go to sleep on an empty stomach.

Makoto heard Mondo and Kiyotaka before he saw them, they were fighting, once again.

They noticed Makoto, and Mondo was the first one to speak.

“C’mon, Makoto. You’ve got to be our witness!” Mondo said, glaring at Makoto.

“Huh.. your ‘witness’...? What does that mean?”

“This guy’s been talkin’ shit about me since we first got here. Callin’ me a coward and other shit.” Mondo said, as if that helped explain at all.

“You are a coward!” Kiyotaka interrupted. “You turn to violence to solve your problems, making you a coward!” 

“Wha-?!” Mondo yelled, but Kiyotaka was beginning a tirade.

“You can’t do what society asks of you!” Kiyotaka yelled, pointing at Mondo. “That’s why you walk around dressed like that!”

“The fuck did you just say?” Mondo asked. “You dunno shit about me.”

“You’ve already lost to yourself, but you’re such a coward you can’t even realize it!”

“So you’re sayin’ you’re not a coward?” Mondo asked. “You think you’re tougher than me? Is that it?!”

“I know that I am a coward!” Kiyotaka admitted, loudly. “At least I can admit that, unlike you.”

“Okay, then let’s throw down!” Mondo said, balling his hands into fists. “Prove that you’ve got somethin’ that I don’t got!”

“I accept your challenge!” Kiyotaka declared.

“So Makoto, that’s what’s goin’ down.” Mondo said. “You’ve got to be our witness!”

“You’re gonna… ‘throw down’...?” Makoto asked, worriedly. “You’re not going to like, start punching each other, right…?”

“There’s a bathhouse on the 1st floor of the dorm, right?” Mondo asked.

“Yeah…?” Makoto replied, not really getting Mondo’s point.

“It has a sauna inside? Right?” Mondo asked, once again.

“Ah, so I see.” Kiyotaka said. “You want to have a simple endurance contest?”

“An ‘endurance contest’... in the sauna…?” Makoto asked.

“We’re going to see who can stay in the sauna the longest, right?!” Kiyotaka yelled, ignoring Makoto.

“Goddamn straight!” Mondo yelled.

“Are you sure that’s safe…?” Makoto asked, staring at his two classmates as if they had gone insane.

“Of course!” Kiyotaka replied. “This coward will back out before it gets too dangerous for us!”

“You think I’m going to back out first?! Are you fuckin’ insane?!” Mondo yelled.

“Hey… guys, let’s get to the sauna first, alright?” Makoto said, trying to calm the feud. 

Makoto led Mondo and Kiyotaka into the sauna where they started going at each other again.

“Are you guys really going to go through with this…?” Makoto asked.

“Of course!” Kiyotaka yelled. “I have to show this coward his place.”

“As if,” Mondo replied. “I’m gonna show you that I’m fuckin’ better!”

“People like you are all talk!”

“Like you’re any better…!”

Kiyotaka began to undress but Mondo stayed in his outfit.

“Aren’t you going to undress…?” Makoto asked.

“Nah,” Mondo said. “I don’t need to.”

“Th-that’s idiotic!” Kiyotaka yelled out.

“Just shut up already, let’s get this fuckin’ over with!” Mondo yelled.

The two clamored into the sauna, they both held determined expressions on their faces.

“You know,” Kiyotaka said. “You can take off your clothes.”

“Unlike you, I don’t need to do that.”

A short pause before Mondo decided to say something to Kiyotaka.

“Y’know, your face is lookin’ pretty red,” Mondo said. “Are you sure you don’t want to give up?”

“It just so happens...I was born with a red face…!”

Makoto waited outside, mostly bored, as the two held steadfast against each other.

After hearing the night time announcement Makoto decided that he was done “witnessing” their contest. He didn’t even get his chance to eat, he might as well sleep until morning.

Makoto awoke drearily to Monokuma’s Morning announcement. His stomach ached with the promise of eating, but Makoto wanted to shower to first.

Makoto took one look at his bathroom door, the room seemed daunting, but Makoto was determined to shower quickly and eat.

He slowly opened his bathroom door, half expecting to see Leon’s body staring right back at him.

There was nothing dead in Makoto’s bathroom, thankfully.

Makoto made his way to the cafeteria in relatively good spirits.

“Hey Makoto,” Aoi said, stopping Makoto before he could go into the cafeteria.

“Huh…?” Makoto asked.

“I wouldn’t recommend going in there right now,” Aoi said. “Taka and Mondo are acting pretty weird in there.”

“Acting weird…?”

“Yeah! All buddy-buddy!” Aoi explained. “One moment they hate each other and the next moment they’re besties!”

“Is that a bad thing…?” Makoto asked.

“No,” Aoi admitted. “But I just find it really weird, y’know…?”

“I wonder if it has something to do with last night…” Makoto said, 

“Huh, last night…?”

“Are you two just going to just stand in front of the cafeteria or are you going to go in?” Junko interrupted. “I mean I approve of gossip and whatever, but some of us want to eat.”

Makoto and Aoi moved out of the way and Junko smiled at them before going in.

“I guess we should eat now, huh…?” Makoto said.

“Yeah, but let’s keep our guard up,” Aoi said. “We have no clue what happened to them!”

Makoto and Aoi went into the cafeteria, and Makoto saw that Aoi wasn’t wrong at all.

“Hahaha! Bro, you’re so right!” Kiyotaka yelled.

“Ah, you don’t really mean that…” Mondo replied, sounding bashful.

Aoi was right  , Makoto thought to himself.  What had happened to Taka and Mondo…?

“Makoto!” Kiyotaka yelled suddenly. “Where did you go last night?!”

“Huh…?” Makoto began. “Oh, I heard the night time announcement and didn’t want to stay up too late…”

“Well, thanks for being our witness anyway.” Mondo responded.

“Ugh,” Junko said. “Kinda wish I didn’t come here at all.”

“What?!” Mondo yelled. “Do you have a fuckin’ problem with our friendship?!”

“Yeah,” Aoi said, speaking for Junko. “It feels gross.”

“Feels  gross ?! Hell no, it feels great!”

“Forget them, bro. Girls like them just wouldn’t get our manly bond!”

“M-manly b-bond…?” Toko asked. “S-seems like another w-way to say r-relationship… You a-aren’t l-lovers, are you?!”

“No…!” Kiyotaka yelled. “Friendship between men is stronger than blood! A woman could never understand!” 

“Bro,” Mondo said. “What you said was cool as shit!”

“I’m glad you think so, bro!”

As the rest of the class came into the cafeteria except for Byakuya, it was quite clear that Mondo and Kiyotaka’s friendship wasn’t going to get any less public.

As Makoto went to leave the cafeteria he was stopped by Junko.

“Hey, Makoto,” Junko began. “Do y’wanna hang?”

“Yeah,” Makoto said. “As long as we can keep away from Mondo and Taka…”

“Yeah sure,” Junko said. “But why, are you jealous of them or something…?”

“No!” Makoto said quickly. “But I have to agree with Aoi, their friendship just feels a bit  wrong …”

“‘Wrong’...?” Junko echoed. “Oh my god, Makoto, I think you’re totally jealous!”

“Huh…?!”

“But listen, just because I’m offering you an out of your jealousy doesn’t mean I want you to get the wrong idea about any of this.”

“Wrong idea…? Now I’m sure I’ve got no clue what you mean…”

“I mean I hope you’re not expecting anything from me,” Junko explained. “Gotta keep my virtue safe, ya get?”

“Wait…!” Makoto yelled. “N-no way am I expecting anything like that!”

“I figured. You’re totally not that kind of guy, right?” Junko said. “Yeah, you’ve got that total ‘omega male’ vibe going on.”

“Huh…? ‘Omega male’ vibe…?”

“Yeah, but still, y’know I gotta keep my guard up,” Junko said. “The tamest guy can turn into a wild animal or so they say.”

“Don’t ask me why,” Junko said. “But I just seem to attract guys like that.”

“Um… it might have something to do with the way you dress.”

“Yeah, but even still! They have no respect!” Junko complained. “They call me up super super super late and are all like ‘Hey, let’s hang!’. Like I don’t know what that’s supposed to mean!”

“Oh! You just meant hanging out.” Makoto said.

“Huh? Did you just come to a decision or something…?”

“Oh, haha… no, just uh forget it.”

“Anyways, so we all get together, but they’re all fucking dumbasses!” Junko said. “Keeping creepos like that away is like a full-time job, ya know?”

“Yeah, must be really tough.” Makoto replied. “I mean, you’re a model, so you must be really popular.”

“Wow, Makoto. You… actually get it.” Junko said. “You do get it, right? You totally get me!”

“Huh… I do…?”

“So listen, about your Taka problem, I can introduce you to some of my friends sometime!”

“My Taka… problem…?”

“So judging by you picking Taka you’re into someone aggressive…” Junko said, thinking for a moment. “Yeah, I think I know someone who’s perfect for you!”

“N-no really it’s-”

“I’ll set you up with the perfect girl as soon as we get outta here!” Junko said with a smile. “Ehehe! I hope you’re as excited as I am!”

After saying that, Junko skipped off as Makoto could only watch in confusion.

Huh, guess there’s more to look forward to once we get out . Makoto thought to himself.

Makoto decided to head to his room, but before he could unlock the door he could hear Monokuma’s loud ahem.

“Attention students! I have a surprise waiting for you all in the gym!” Monokuma said. “I hope you all will find this surprise enlightening!”

A surprise  , Makoto thought to himself.  This isn’t going to be good, is it…?

Makoto went to the gym, like usual he was later than all his other classmates.

“Puhuhuhu!” Monokuma began. “Now that Makoto has arrived, we can finally begin!”

“You haven’t explained anything at all!” Aoi said, glaring at the bear. “What are we supposed to be ‘beginning’...?”

“Well… we can’t have a murder without motive, right?” Monokuma said. “Luckily your headmaster is very thoughtful and thought long and hard about this…”

“Here you go everyone!” Monokuma yelled, as he threw mirrors at everyone.

“Huh?!” Yasuhiro yelled out, barely catching his. “A-are these mirrors filled with g-ghosts or something?!”

“Yeah!” Mondo yelled out. “What’s the fuckin’ deal with these things…?”

“Mirrors reveal appearances, correct?” Monokuma said, starting to explain. “Thus, these mirrors reveal the one thing you don’t want to see about yourself.”

“Bear,” Byakuya said. “What exactly do you mean?”

“These mirrors are tailor made for their owner!” Monokuma explained. “They show you exactly what you try to hide from the world.”

“Is that even possible…?” Aoi asked.

“Look for yourself!” Monokuma responded.

Makoto checked his mirror and was surprised when the image changed to a younger Makoto and a wet bed. 

So that’s what I hide from the world…? The fact that I wet the bed up until 5th grade...?

Makoto stared blankly at the mirror before realization hit him.

Wait… if what I’m hiding isn’t serious, I can assume the other’s secrets aren’t that bad as well, right…?

“Puhuhu! There’s something else I should mention before I forget…” Monokuma began.

“Well, get on with it,” Byakuya said. “Some of us don’t have all day.”

“Before going to bed at night each student is supposed to put their mirror in the holder located in classroom 1-A!” Monokuma explained.

“Is there anything else?” Sakura asked.

“Awe, am I being pushed out so soon…?” Monokuma said, fake pouting.

“N-no one l-likes you h-here,” Toko sneers.

“Alright!” Monokuma said. “Have fun kids!”

“Hm,” Kyoko said. “This is an interesting motive.”

“Maybe we should share our motives!” Kiyotaka yelled. “It won’t work against us if we all come out now…!”

“About that bro…” Mondo said. “I don’t really feel comfortable airin’ all my secrets, you know?”

The class hummed in agreement, leaving Kiyotaka no choice.

“Well if my bro says so…” Kiyotaka said. “Then we’ll keep them to ourselves.”

“Well, there’s no point in staying here, no?” Celeste asked.

“Exactly,” Byakuya said. “Don’t expect me to share my ‘secret’ with the likes of you.”

“Um… no one is expecting that from you…?” Aoi added.

“Shut up.” Byakuya said, before turning and leaving.

Toko followed quickly after Byakuya.

“So uh, Makoto,” Junko said, walking up to Makoto. “You gonna talk to Taka before Mondo steals him away?”

“H-huh…?” Makoto asked. “I already told you, it’s not like that…!”

“You sure?” Junko asked, tilting her head. “If you wait too long, Mondo’s gonna sweep him off his feet like some weird rendition of a fairytale.”

“What do you mean?”

“You heard how they were like this morning,” Junko explained. “‘Bro’ this and ‘bro’ that, they should just get a fuckin’ room at this point.”

“Y-you really think that they’re going to get into a relationship…?” Makoto asked, not understanding his sudden curiosity.

“Makoto, it’s only a matter of time,” Junko said, flipping her hair. “Don’t be an uber omega, just at least feel the situation out, y’know?”

“I’ll at least talk to him,” Makoto said. “B-but not because I like him, just because I’m worried for him… as a friend…!”

“Yeah sure,” Junko said, laughing as she walked off.

Makoto gathered his courage, surprisingly Kiyotaka was without his ‘bro’ Mondo.

“Hey, um, Taka, do you think we could talk…?” Makoto stuttered out.

“Huh… oh sure!” Kiyotaka said.

“So, are you worried about the motive?” Makoto asked. “I mean they are pretty personal right…?”

“Makoto! Are you trying to hide something unwholesome…?!” Kiyotaka yelled.

“N-no…! I’m just saying, if Mondo and the others were refusing to share the images they saw in their mirrors... “

“My bro would never do something like murder!” Kiyotaka yelled, suddenly offended.

“I wasn’t implying anyone would!” Makoto said back, defensively. “I’m just worried about having to do another class trial.”

Kiyotaka’s eyes softened, “That’s very honorable of you Makoto!”

“Huh…? Not really,” Makoto said. “The situation wasn’t very pleasant for anyone involved.” 

Sayaka’s screeches of betrayal, Leon’s dead body in his bathroom. So many things had gone wrong in their first few days here. Was it so odd Makoto wouldn’t want to go through that again?

“I assure you, my bro and I will do our best to keep everyone safe!” Kiyotaka yelled.

Junko really wasn’t kidding when she said that all Taka would talk about is his ‘bro’...  Makoto thought.  Hey… why am I thinking so hard about this… I’m not jealous, right…?!

“Anyways Makoto, I’d love to stay and chat more but I promised my bro I’d hang out later!”

“Y-yeah, okay, I’ll talk to you later,” Makoto mumbled.

Ugh, this motive must just be messing with my head… I might as well just put away my mirror and head to sleep now.

Makoto went to classroom 1-A and deposited his mirror. He realized he was the first person, which made sense because it was way before the night time announcement.

“Hey,” Kyoko said, intercepting him as he left. “Are you going to sleep early?”

“Yeah,” Makoto said. “I haven’t been feeling too well and I don’t really want to break any rules…”

“Feel better,” Kyoko said, before walking into the classroom.

Makoto made his way to his room without any further interruptions. Throwing himself onto the bed without a glance towards his bathroom he fell into a dreamless sleep.

Makoto awoke to the annoying noise of Monokuma’s Morning announcement. Getting up, he opened his bathroom door in annoyance. 

If Leon was there for a sickening second Makoto acted otherwise.

Making his way into the cafeteria Makoto noticed he was second for once, the first person being there was Kyoko.

“Ah Makoto,” Kyoko said. “You’re here early.”

“Same to you, Kyoko,” Makoto said. “Did I miss something or is everyone oversleeping…?”

“Not that I know of,” Kyoko said. “It seems everyone might’ve stayed up later than usual.”

“Ah…” Makoto said, getting what Kyoko was implying.

“Just be careful, okay?” Kyoko said. “We should expect everyone to be on edge.”

As more people gathered into the cafeteria, Makoto noticed Aoi and Chihiro were missing.

“Perhaps they’re skipping the meal?” Celeste offered. “I don’t understand why but that’s a reason, no?”

“Aoi skipping a meal?” Sakura asked. “That’s very unlikely…”

“Miss Fujisaki missing a meal as well?!” Hifumi yelled out. “This is extremely worrying!”

Makoto’s stomach filled with dread, he had a feeling he already knew where this was heading.

“We should investigate immediately!” Kiyotaka yelled. “We should assure the safety of our classmates!”

“Shouldn’t we warn Byakuya as well?” Kyoko asked. “This information might interest him.”

“There’s no need,” Byakuya interjected coldly. “I already know where you’ll find one of them.”

“W-what do you mean…?” Makoto asked.

“That swimmer girl,” Byakuya said. “She’s doing the dead man’s float in the school’s pool.”

Sakura got up immediately. “Show us, now.”

Byakuya led the group to the second floor. Makoto could immediately notice scratch marks on the pool’s first door.

“Signs of a struggle,” Kyoko commented quietly.

Each person scanned their Monopads to get into the changing rooms. Quickly exiting to find that Byakuya wasn’t wrong in his original assessment.

Monokuma’s body discovery announcement rang and Aoi’s cruel fate was revealed.

Makoto was sure he was going to be sick when they discovered Aoi’s body, but he underestimated how sick he was going to feel.

“Makoto,” Kyoko said, kneeling down to where he had fallen onto his knees. “You need to get up.”

Makoto nodded, numbly.

“Hm, we must assume the worst has happened to Chihiro as well, no?” Celeste asked.

“Miss Fujisaki… dead…?” Hifumi asked, heartbroken.

“It seems likely,” Kyoko said. “The fact that Chihiro hasn’t been seen and we discovered one body…”

“Maybe he’s hidin’ because she’s the fuckin’ murderer of Hina!” Mondo yelled out.

“Bro…? You might be right…” Kiyotaka said.

“... Is it really possible for someone like Chihiro to do this much damage to Hina?” Sakura asked, voice low.

“Comparing their statures,” Byakuya said. “It seems unlikely.”

“Then we must find Chihiro,” Kyoko said.

“We still need two people to stay here and guard the body…” Makoto mumbled.

“I’ll stay with Hina,” Sakura said. “At least until Chihiro is found…”

“I’ll stay as well,” Mondo said. “It’s not like I’ll be useful anywhere else.”

“Then let’s split up into groups and look for Chihiro.” Kyoko said.

Before leaving, Makoto and Kyoko were stopped by Celeste.

“Hm, sticking with you two might be the best bet, no?”

“H-huh…? What do you mean, Celeste…?” Makoto asked.

“Are you really not aware of how you acted last class trial?” Celeste asked.

“So you’re sticking with us for a better chance in the class trial?” Kyoko asked.

“That as well as safety in numbers,” Celeste said. “The situation we’re in isn’t the most comforting, no?”

“No,” Makoto said. “This is the farthest thing from comforting.”

“Well, we should work under the assumption that Chihiro is at least unable to leave her current location.” Kyoko said.

“Hm,” Celeste said, tilting her head slightly. “Perhaps we should check her room, maybe she overslept?”

Makoto and Kyoko nodded in agreement, and the three made their way to Chihiro’s dorm.

“It’s closed,” Makoto noted. “But where else could she be…?”

“Are we sure it’s locked?” Kyoko asked. “The door looks a little, off…”

Kyoko tried the door, and to the surprise of Celeste and Makoto it opened with ease.

The air felt heavy and Makoto could only hear static in his ears. Chihiro was staring lifelessly ahead, hanging from her neck on the light in her room.

Monokuma’s body discovery announcement played again, mockingly. 

Makoto shook himself out of his stupor.

“W-we need to tell the others,” Makoto stuttered out. “This… this is different.”

“I’ll get them,” Celeste said. “I suppose it was best to assume the worst.”

“Once the others come,” Kyoko began. “We’ll need to get her down to examine her body.”

“Isn’t it obvious how she died…?” Makoto swallowed out, trying to block out the dread that was quickly morphing into panic.

“Maybe,” Kyoko admitted. “But we won’t know if it’s a murder or suicide until we can see the neck wound.”

“There would be a difference���?” Makoto asked.

“Yes,” Kyoko said. “It would be quite obvious, actually.”

After a few minutes Mondo, Hifumi, Byakuya and Celeste entered the room.

“So,” Byakuya said. “That solves that mystery, doesn’t it?”

“It’s pretty obvious about what happened here, right?” Mondo asked. “It’s pretty obvious Chihrio fuckin’ hung herself, right?”

“Miss Fujisaki was murdered!” Hifumi yelled out. “There’s no way she would’ve willingly done this to herself.”

“You didn’t know Chihiro as well as you think, then.” Mondo replied.

“Now that everyone is here,” Kyoko began. “I think it’s in our best bet to examine the body thoroughly.”

“Do you need any help?” Makoto asked.

“No,” Kyoko said. “I’ll be fine.”

Kyoko stood on Chihiro’s table and untied the white wire connecting her neck to the light. Afterwards, Kyoko moved Chihiro’s body to the floor.

“First thing we need to do is remove this wire…” Kyoko said, slowly untying the wire.

“That’s odd,” Byakuya said.

“W-what is…?” Makoto asked.

“Nevermind,” Byakuya replied. “If you can’t notice it that’s your own fault, not mine.”

“Could you all turn away for a minute?” Kyoko asked. “I want to see if Chihiro has any more wounds on her body…”

Everyone turned away, and Kyoko gasped in surprise.

“Huh,” Kyoko said. “That’s unexpected.”

“You can all look now,” Kyoko said. “It seems that Chihiro’s big secret… nevermind.”

“I doubt this is the actual crime scene,” Kyoko said. “It looks too clean for a murder to have happened here.”

“That’s because he hung herself, remember?!” Mondo said. “I wouldn’t count suicide as fuckin’ murder, would you?”

“Then there’s nothing of note here, then,” Byakuya said before walking off.

“Makoto,” Kyoko said. “Perhaps it’s best if we leave here and examine Hina’s body.”

“W-wait… shouldn’t there be-” Makoto began, but was quickly cut off by Kyoko.

“I’m assuming you two will be keeping an eye on the corpse?” Kyoko asked, staring at Hifumi and Mondo.

“You can count on me!” Hifumi yelled. “I’ll make sure no one bothers Miss Fujisaki!”

“Might as fuckin’ well,” Mondo said. “But no one is going to touch the corpse of a murderer.” 

Kyoko led Makoto out of Chihiro’s room, leading him to the hallway before stopping again.

“Chihiro was murdered,” Kyoko said plainly. “The wound on Chihiro’s neck proves that.”

“The wound on her neck…?” Makoto asked.

“When someone hangs themself their neck is broken, if not completely at least in some parts,” Kyoko explained. “Also the marking on Chihiro’s neck is horizontal, if a person is to hang themself, it’ll be more ‘V’ shaped.”

“So you mean whoever killed Hina also killed Chihiro…?” Makoto asked.

“Yes,” Kyoko said. “And I believe it ties in directly with the motives that we were given yesterday.

“It ties in with our motives…?”

“Last night, twenty minutes after the night time announcement I checked who returned their mirrors,” Kyoko said. “There were three mirrors missing, Chihiro, Aoi and Mondo.” 

“H-huh…?!”

“Of course,” Kyoko continued. “Until we get the Monokuma Files, that information could just be a coincidence.”

“Puhuhuhu! Lucky for the both of you, your headmaster pays attention to everything that happens in this school!”

“W-where did you come from?!” Makoto yelled.

“I don’t think you want to know that, Makoto!” Monokuma said, cheerfully. “Anyways… you two are the only students missing their Monokuma File!”

“I suppose you’re here to give them to us,” Kyoko responded.

“You  bear -ly needed to ask!” Monokuma said, before handing the both of them a Monokuma File...

“You kids should be  bear -y grateful that you have me to help you!” Monokuma laughed before disappearing.

“Hm,” Kyoko said. “This is where we part ways, for now.”

“W-wait…! When you said you looked at the mirrors did you mean you-”

“If it makes you feel better, my mirror also showed something embarrassing.” Kyoko responded before turning away.

“Wow Makoto, ditched again, huh?” Junko asked.

“H-huh… when did you get here?!” Makoto screeched.

“Jeez, you’re easy to scare huh?” Junko asked. “Anyways, I figured it would be easier if we investigated together. Y’know pack mentality or whatever they say.”

“Huh… yeah, I guess you’re right.” Makoto responded.

“So,” Junko said, “have you examined Hina’s body yet? Everyone’s crowding over there, but I’ve heard there’s nothing interesting with Chihiro.”

“Yeah,” Makoto agreed. “Chihiro’s room is pretty normal other than her body being there. Kyoko believes it was moved.”

“Do you believe that Chihiro was moved?” Junko asked.

I don’t want to believe that someone could murder Chihiro,  Makoto thought to himself.  But I don’t want to believe that Chihiro would kill herself either.

“I think she was moved, yeah,” Makoto said. “I’d like to believe Kyoko on this anyways.”

“Well, then we should probably go to Hina’s corpse,” Junko said. “Hopefully the vultures have cleared out.”

“V-vultures…?!” Makoto asked. “How are there-”

“Makoto, dude, I was joking.”

“Haha…  sorry, I’m just a bit on edge…” Makoto admitted.

“It’s fine,” Junko said. “It’s not everyday you find two dead bodies, huh?”

Makoto nodded, both Junko and Makoto went upstairs to the second floor.

“Hey, Makoto,” Junko said. “Do ya notice anything weird about this door?”

“Huh…? Oh yeah, there’s scratches on it...” Makoto said.

“I suppose that means that someone was struggling,” Junko said. “Maybe it’s time that the Monokuma File is actually useful.”

Makoto checked his Monokuma File, Chihiro’s autopsy stated that besides the injury of the neck there were no other things of note. It placed the time of death at around 1 AM. Aoi’s autopsy report was a bit different, the cause of death was noted as drowning, but it did note a head injury. The file also noted that her nails on both hands were broken and bloody. Her death was placed at around 1:30 AM.

“Well, let’s get to seeing Hina’s body,” Junko said.

Makoto and Junko went into the pool area and the separate changing areas, they met up again at the pool.

“Makoto!” Yasuhiro yelled, “It’s terrible!”

“Huh… what is?”

“Hina’s body…! It’s all bloated, I think she was possessed by a g-ghost!”

“Where is Hina anyways?” Junko asked. “She’s no longer in the pool, right?”

“She’s over by Sakura… Kyoko wanted to examine her or something.” Yasuhiro answered. “I think she might be checking for ghosts.”

“You can’t be that stupid, can you?” Junko asked.

“Maybe we should leave Kyoko and Sakura alone,” Makoto said. “At least until we can examine the area.”

“Smart idea, Makoto,” Junko said. “Let’s see if anything catches our attention.” 

“That dumbbell near the pool,” Makoto said, as he walked towards the dumbbell. “The Monokuma File said that Hina had a head injury right?”

“Yeah and this thing has blood on it,” Junko noted. “It’s small enough where I don’t think it would kill someone but it would definitely knock someone out.”

“So, do you think the blackened attacked Hina here?”

“Yeah, that’d make the most sense,” Junko said. “I mean, no need to bring the murder weapon with you.”

“I think we should check the changing rooms,” Makoto said. “We need to find out where this dumbbell was taken from.”

“Alright, make sure not to perv out in the boy’s one or anything, alright?” Junko said.

“H-huh…?!”

“Just kidding, you’re not that type of guy.”

Makoto went into the boy’s changing room, to his dismay he noticed that a smaller dumbbell was missing.

The blackened has to be a guy then,  Makoto thought to himself.  The mastermind is very strict on not letting the opposite gender get into the other gender’s changing room.

As Makoto went back to the pool, he was surprised to see Junko hadn’t come out yet.

“Hey uh, Makoto,” Junko said as she got out of the changing room. “The girl’s changing room is a total mess, almost looks like a guy’s room.”

“What do you mean it’s a total mess?” Makoto asked.

“I didn’t really notice before, with Sakura pushing all us girls and whatever but that place got trashed pretty bad.”

“So you mean the blackened and Hina probably fought in there?” Makoto asked.

“I dunno, but whatever happened was pretty rough.” Junko said. “Anyways, looks like Kyoko’s done ogling up Hina or whatevs.”

“I’m not so sure that’s what she was doing…” Makoto muttered.

“Eh, probably,” Junko said. “You gotta admit though, her body obsession is pretty weird.”

Makoto and Junko walked up to Hina’s body.

“Hina drowned,” Kyoko said. “That we can truly ascertain.”

“So the Monokuma File isn’t wrong about that then…” Sakura said.

“Is there anything odd about her body?” Junko asked. “Any other injuries that weren’t mentioned in the Monokuma File?”

“No,” Kyoko said. “The head injury is her only other injury.”

“What was the point of the head injury? Why hit her if you’re going to throw her in the pool…?” Makoto asked.

“It could be for various reasons,” Kyoko said. “The reasoning though is likely clear if you examine the other places the victim was at.”

Sakura hummed silently.

“I don’t think we’re going to find anything more useful here,” Junko whispered to Makoto. “I think it’s best we just explore somewhere else.”

“Yeah,” Makoto whispered back. “There’s something that’s been bothering me about Chihiro’s body.”

“Oh?”

Makoto and Junko left the pool and the changing rooms.

“You mentioned something weird about Chihiro’s body,” Junko said. “Now I’m curious.”

“The thing that was hanging around Chihiro’s neck, I think I’ve seen it before.” Makoto said.

“Oh yeah, that wire, right?” Junko asked. “I wonder where we’ve seen wires like that before.”

“Maybe the library?” Makoto said. “That’s the only place we’ve seen any technology.”

“Well we’ve got no other leads, so let’s go!” Junko said.

The two made their way to the library, Junko looked around at the books and Makoto noticed a desk lamp.

“Hey… shouldn’t this lamp be connected to something?” Makoto asked as Junko came over.

“Maybe it’s battery powered?” Junko offered.

“I don’t think so… it has an opening which you could probably plug something in to…” Makoto said.

“That might be the murder weapon for Chihiro’s murder,” Junko said. “I mean we can assume that since this wire is missing it’s at least related.

“Yeah…” Makoto said. “There’s something else that has been bothering me, but I don’t know if there’s anything I can do to clear it up before the class trial…”

“Huh?” Junko said. “Tell me and then we’ll investigate!”

“Wow, I sounded cool for a second there, didn’t I, Makoto?” Junko asked.

“Haha… yeah,” Makoto said. “The dumbbell was from the boy’s changing room but the girl’s room was a mess… Is there a way to get into both?”

“Huh,” Junko said. “Yeah, if you scan in someone’s ID you can get into both…”

“How would you get someone’s ID?” Makoto asked. “Isn’t it against the rules to trade your e-Handbook with someone else?”

“Yeah, it’s one of the newer rules,” Junko said. “But there’s probably a loophole somewhere.”

“Maybe,” Makoto said. “But is there anything we can do to prove that?”

“I dunno,” Junko admitted. “But I do have an idea on where we can check.”

“Huh…?” 

“For once Makoto, let me lead the way!” Junko said. “And damn, I sounded cool as hell again!”

Junko led Makoto to the main hall, where e-Handbooks of the deceased students lay in a mailbox.

“Here’s where our handbooks go to die, after us of course,” Junko said. “So let’s check ‘em and make sure that it’s only Sayaka’s and Leon’s.”

Makoto attempted to power on a handbook only to have it not respond.

“Hey, Junko?” Makoto asked.

“Yeah?”

“Did your e-handbook power on?” Makoto asked.

“Yeah, Sayaka’s handbook is up and running,” Junko said.

“Huh,” Makoto said. “This one is refusing to turn on at all…”

“Leon’s probably broke when he was getting murdered, then,” Junko said.

“Hey! You can’t just call my handbooks weak and get away with it!” Monokuma yelled, as he appeared.

“Well they are pretty weak,” Junko said. “This one is obviously broken.”

“Well if it is, it didn’t break during a murder!” Monokuma said.

“What do you mean it didn’t break during a murder?” Makoto asked.

“They only have one design flaw!” Monokuma said. “And don’t ask! Because I’m not going to tell you!”

“But you’re telling us it couldn’t have broke during the murder?” Junko asked.

“Yep!” Monokuma said before disappearing. 

“Hm,” Junko said. “That lead us nowhere, which is fuckin’ lame.”

“I don’t think so…” Makoto said. “We learned that the e-Handbooks broke, but we know it broke by a student…”

“Yeah…” Junko said.

“Hey… wait a second…” Makoto said. “Is there another handbook in there?”

“Huh…? Holy shit… You’re right…” Junko said.

Makoto reached into the slot and pulled out a handbook. It turned on quickly. It was Aoi Asahina’s handbook.

“So the blackened must’ve known about this then…” Makoto mumbled.

If Junko was going to respond she never got the chance because suddenly Monokuma’s voice started announcing it was time for the class trial.

“I think we can do this!” Junko said, smiling.

Probably  , Makoto thought to himself.  But do I really want to do this all over again?

As Makoto made his way to the elevator, he hoped that no one else would die. But he already knew that death was in the cards for at least one of his classmates.

“Puhuhuhu! I’m glad to see everyone is here!” Monokuma said.

“It’s not like you give us any other choice.” Byakuya responded, coldly.

“There’s something I would like to ask before we start the trial,” Kyoko began. “Is there a limit on how many people are killed per murder-session or is someone free to kill all of us?”

“I’m glad you asked!” Monokuma said. “Committing more than two murders is a punishable offense!”

“So,” Kyoko said. “We won’t ever experience any more than two dead bodies in an investigation?”

“I never said that, did I…?”

“Well then! Let the class trial begin!” Monokuma yelled.

“Let’s begin with what we know,” Kyoko said. “The two victims of this case were Aoi Asahina and Chihiro Fujisaki.”

“That swimmer girl was the first body we found.” Byakuya said. “Chihiro’s body was hidden in her room, disguised as a suicide.”

“How do we know it wasn’t a suicide?!” Mondo asked. “I bet that guy fuckin’ killed her and just couldn’t live with the guilt!”

“No, that’s wrong!” Makoto yelled. “Chihiro’s neck wounds don’t fit in with hanging! According to Kyoko’s examination of her body the neck wound on Chihiro should be ‘V’ shaped but instead it’s horizontal!”

“So?! What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Mondo yelled.

“It means that Chihiro didn’t hang herself and that she was strangled!” Makoto explained.

“The worst sort of criminal.” Hifumi muttered. “Attacking an innocent and defenseless girl…”

“So now that we’re all on the same page on Chihiro,” Junko said. “Where are we supposed to go from here?”

“Someone who would murder two girls…” Celeste said. “They do seem very dangerous, no?”

“Two girls…” Kyoko said. “Are we sure the reasoning is just that…?”

“Maybe they killed Chihiro after throwing Hina in the pool!” Yasuhiro yelled. “You know, to get rid of witnesses! That makes sense… right?”

“No that’s wrong!” Makoto yelled. “According to the Monokuma Report, Chihiro was the first death and Hina was second.” 

“Huh…? But we found Hina’s body first, so obviously she died first, right?!” Yasuhiro responded.

“No,” Sakura said. “If anyone witnessed a murder, it was probably Hina…”

“Huh…? Hina witnessed the murder, that doesn’t make sense!” Yasuhiro yelled.

“No, I agree with Sakura as well,” Kyoko said. “But I don’t think it matters who died first, at least it didn’t matter to the blackened.”

“H-huh…?” Toko muttered. “W-what do you m-mean the o-order d-didn’t matter to the b-blackened…?”

“That’s exactly what I mean,” Kyoko said. “To the blackened it didn’t matter  who died, the blackened just wanted people to die.”

“Now that doesn’t make any sense at all,” Byakuya spat. “Of course the order matters, if one of them witnessed the crime they had to go as well.”

“Yeah yeah, that’s great and all but arguing about the blackend’s motive isn’t going to get us any closer to discovering the blackened themself…” Junko said.

“Well, I think I might have a few hints on who the blackened might be…” Makoto said.

“Well Makoto it’s your duty to share this information with the class!” Kiyotaka yelled.

“Well, we know that the dumbbell that injured Hina was from the boy’s changing room, right?” Makoto asked.

“S-so you’re implying that o-one of the g-guys did i-it right?” Toko asked. “W-well M-makoto usually you’d be my f-first bet but you’re all t-too scrawny.”

Thanks for that, I guess. Makoto thought.

“No man would ever harm a girl, right bro?!” Kiyotaka yelled.

“H-huh…? Oh y-yeah.” Mondo said.

“But are we so sure that both victims were females?” Kyoko asked. “We’ve been running based off that assumption but, is everyone here really so sure?”

“Huh… why would we assume anything else?” Makoto asked.

“Are you implying that Miss Fujisaki was not a girl?!” Hifumi yelled.

“I’m just saying we should be prepared for the possibility,” Kyoko said. “But that’s not a pressing issue. What is, is the motive…”

“The m-motive…?” Toko asked. “W-what would that have t-to do with a-anything right now?”

“Everyone’s motives were interesting,” Kyoko admitted. “But there are some I have yet to discover…”

“You saw our motives?!” Byakuya said, enraged.

“Hey! Haven’t you heard of privacy?!” Yasuhiro complained.

“Please don’t get the wrong idea about me from it!” Kiyotaka yelled.

“Interesting the lies the mastermind would create, no?” Celeste asked.

“What do you find so interesting about the motives, Kyoko?” Sakura asked.

“The motives themselves all fit the theme,” Kyoko said. “Or that’s what I would say if I saw all of the motives…”

“What?!” Kiyotaka yelled. “Was someone breaking the rules?!”

“No that’s wrong!” Makoto yelled, “I think I know what Kyoko’s talking about…”

“Huh…?! How could she not see all the motives if someone was not breaking the rules?!”

“Kyoko told me that twenty minutes after the night time announcement she checked the mirrors. Apparently, Mondo, Chihiro and Aoi’s mirrors were all missing…” Makoto explained.

“That’s interesting, is it not?” Celeste asked. “We know Chihiro and Hina never got the chance to put away their mirrors, but what is your excuse Mondo?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I couldn’t fuckin’ sleep.” Mondo said. “The motive thing might’ve been total bullshit but it still bothered me.”

“Hey, wait a second… if you attempted to sleep, wouldn’t you still have to put your mirror back?” Yasuhiro asked.

“I-ignoring the i-idiot, can we discuss something e-else?” Toko said.

“Aw, and I thought I was onto something!” Yasuhiro complained.

“Hm, we’ve been discussing Hina so much but I think we should go back to Chihiro.” Junko said. “There’s something that’s not sitting right with me and that chick.”

“Other than the false suicide?” Byakuya asked.

“That ‘rope’ for example, what kind of wire was that?” Junko asked.

“It was probably the library desk lamp’s extension cord,” Makoto said. “When Junko and I went to the library we noticed the desk lamp missing its extension cord.”

“Surprisingly, you’re correct, Makoto.” Byakuya said. “Chihiro was hanging from the extension cord.”

“There’s something else that’s uber important,” Junko said. “How did the killer get into both the boy’s and the girl's changing rooms. Unless they’re dual wielding, that should be impossible, right?”

“H-huh…? T-the killer g-got into both c-changing rooms?” Toko asked.

“Yep! The girls changing room was totally trashed and the boy’s changing room is missing a dumbbell.” Junko said.

“Y-you’re such a w-whore…! H-how else would you k-know that the d-dumbbell is missing f-from the boy’s c-changing room…?!”

“I’m the whore? Makoto just told me that it was missing!” Junko yelled.

“W-well I-I’m sure y-you two w-were enjoying y-your private t-time together,” Toko said. “W-were you g-giving him your m-model special?”

“Hey! You don’t really think Junko and Makoto would do that... do you?” Kiyotaka asked.

“Huh…?!” Makoto yelled. “This has nothing to do with the case at hand!”

“But it does bring up an interesting point,” Kyoko said. “How did the blackened get into both changing rooms?”

“It has something to do with our e-Handbooks,” Hifumi said. “Miss Fujisaki was quite handy with hers, maybe they modified the blackened’s e-Handbook!”

“Unlikely,” Junko said. “Wasn’t she like super busy with that project we assigned to her or whatever?”

“But perhaps it does have something to do with the e-Handbooks.” Kyoko added. “Has anyone seen anything weird with them as of late?”

“Yeah, actually, I have,” Makoto said. “Monokuma says that all of his e-Handbooks are unbreakable except for one flaw…”

“Yet?” Kyoko asked.

“Yet, in the mailbox where all the dead student’s e-Handbooks are stored one of them was broken…”

“S-since we’re b-bringing up our e-experiences with broken e-Handbooks I m-might as well j-join in…” Toko said. “I-in the s-sauna I f-found another broken e-Handbook…”

“You actually went into the sauna?” Byakuya asked. “Surprising, but you already mentioned that.”

“You weren’t going to share that information with us?” Kyoko asked.

“I feel no need to better the rate of your survival.” 

“Your survival relies on us, dude.” Junko said.

“Inconquestential.”

“Wait, you found the broken e-Handbook in the sauna?” Makoto asked.

“Y-yep, is t-that so s-surprising?” Toko asked.

“Then wait,” Makoto said. “Monokuma, is the e-Handbook’s weakness heat?”

“Aw… you guessed it!” Monokuma said. “Now that you know you better not make a hobby out of destroying them! Because I’m not going to replace them!”

“I don’t think you have to worry about that, Monokuma.” Celestesaid. “We value being able to access the pool.”

“Alright, so we’ve discovered the e-Handbooks weakness but why was there such a mess on the door of the pool?” Yasuhiro asked. “Did the ghosts do it?!”

“Someone like Hina probably didn’t want to die.” Sakura said. “Since we know she died after, we can assume she tried to fight the blackened.”

“Maybe it was Miss Fujisaki!” Hifumi added. “Someone like her wouldn’t go down without a fight either.”

“From the evidence,” Kyoko said. “It was likely that Hina was the one fought back.”

“What makes you so sure?!” Hifumi yelled.

“She’s probably talking about Hina’s finger nails being broken.” Makoto explained. “If she was scratching against the door it probably would’ve broken her nails.”

“I suppose I must concede to that point,” Hifumi said. “But I’ll fight for Miss Fujisaki’s honor with my life!”

“Dude, she’s not here to thank you.” Junko said.

“I think it’s honorable, just like my relationship with bro!” Kiyotaka added.

“Yeah, our bond is fuckin’ powerful.” Mondo said.

“I think Chihiro’s and Hifumi’s bond emulates Taka’s and Mondo’s relationship more than what was originally expected.” Kyoko said.

“H-huh… what do you mean by that?!” Mondo asked.

“Chihiro Fujisaki was not in fact a girl, but actually a guy.” Kyoko said.

“What?!” Hifumi yelled. “You’re lying, Miss Kirigiri, I refuse to believe you!”

“In fact,” Kyoko said. “If we checked Chihiro’s body we’d find more male features than female.”

“That would explain how he never wanted to hang out with Hina and I despite wanting to train.” Sakura said. 

“Miss Fujisaki is a Mr. …? I can’t live like this!” Hifumi yelled.

“Suck it up, buttercup,” Junko said.

“If we’re assuming that our blackened knew Chihiro’s true gender, then I think it’s pretty clear who the blackened is, isn’t it?” Kyoko asked.

“No…! Not at all!” Yasuhiro yelled.

“You’re talking about the mistake in pronouns, aren’t you?” Byakuya asked.

“Exactly,” Kyoko said.

“Mistake in pronouns…?” Makoto asked. “What do you two mean?”

“The blackened already knew Chihiro’s true gender, and because of that they’ve been switching pronouns in order to keep the secret,” Kyoko explained. “I think that’s pretty obvious.”

“Huh…?” Junko said. “Are we supposed to be paying attention to everyone’s little mistakes?!”

“Yes.” Kyoko said.

“Wait…” Makoto said. “I think I know who you’re talking about.” 

“Really? You were able to piece that out with the nothing she gave us?!” Yasuhiro asked.

“Mondo, you’ve been acting really weird this whole trial.” Makoto said. 

“Huh, what the hell are you talking about?!” Mondo yelled.

“I think this whole mystery could be solved if each of us just showed our e-Handbooks.” Makoto explained.

“What use would they have in this situation?” Celeste asked.

“The blackened knew about the way the e-Handbooks could break. Therefore, they had probably broken theirs in the sauna.”

“That would make sense, but why specifically Mondo?” Celeste asked.

“Mondo and Taka had an endurance contest in the sauna. From what I can remember Mondo didn’t take off his clothes…” Makoto began to explain. “Mondo probably kept his e-Handbook on him, and when he left the sauna he discovered that it was broken.”

“So that e-Handbook we found probably wasn’t Leon’s but Mondo’s…?” Junko asked.

“Maybe,” Makoto said. “This can all be cleared up if we just show each other our handbooks.”

“There’s no need!” Kiyotaka yelled. “I already know bro is innocent! Bro would never kill someone!”

“Give it up already,” Mondo said. “There’s no point in trying when you’ve already lost.”

“Bro?! What are you talking about?” Kiyotaka yelled. “If you just show Makoto you’re innocent he’ll stop accusing you, I promise!”

“But he’s not wrong.” Mondo said. “And it’s time I owned up to it, as well.”

“No! You’re lying!” Kiyotaka yelled. “I refuse to believe it!”

“Makoto,” Kyoko said. “How about you explain it in full detail so that everyone might get it.”

“It all started when we got our motives,” Makoto began. “Mondo like everyone else was hesitant to share his motive.” 

“After the night time announcement Mondo still hadn’t went to bed, I think we can all safely assume that Mondo wasn’t planning on sleeping without committing a murder.” Makoto said. “I think he encountered Chihiro working out in the pool area and went and got the extension cord from the library.”

“After getting the cord, Mondo strangled Chihiro to death but unluckily for him Hina had decided to go to the pool at the same time.” Makoto said. “Hina tried to get away but Mondo caught her just as she made her way to the door.”

“She probably wasn’t easy to contain. She was fighting him every inch of the way there, but when he saw Chihiro’s dumbbell he knew what he could do to stop her.” Makoto said. “He hit her once, knocking her out before throwing her into the pool.”

“But he wasn’t done yet, he still had to move Chihiro’s body,” Makoto said. “Luckily for him, everyone was asleep at the time.”

“He hung Chihiro’s body up and left the door unlocked, leaving Chihiro to be discovered. But now he had two e-Handbooks that he didn’t have any use for,” Makoto said. “He threw Chihiro’s into the sauna so his true gender wouldn’t be discovered, and he put Hina’s handbook in the mailbox where he found Leon’s and Sayaka’s.”

“That’s what happened, right Mondo?” Makoto said.

“Y’know those two were braver than I was,” Mondo said. “Chihiro was trying to get stronger to accept himself and Hina was trying to improve her craft.”

“Yet I couldn’t accept what I saw in the mirror, I thought getting’ out of here would be the easiest way to move on.” Mondo said. “But it seems that I’ve just taken two more lives with me.”

“Bro! Don’t accept it! You just have to prove him wrong!” Kiyotaka yelled.

“There’s no point,” Mondo said. “He wasn’t wrong.”

“Well well well, it seems the facade of Mondo Owada has finally come to an end.” Monokuma said. “He couldn’t face what he saw in the mirror and took it out on others instead.”

“Why?” Sakura asked. “What was so worth it that you had to kill them to run away?”

“Let me tell you a story,” Monokuma said. “And pay attention because it’s  bear -y important!”

“Long ago there were two brothers, and they were happy for a time.” Monokuma said. “But the younger brother lived in the shadow of his older brother. And oh did I mention this was about the Owadas?”

“Anyways, Mondo’s brother led the Crazy Diamond’s biker gang and Mondo was his right hand man,” Monokuma said. “But Mondo wasn’t content in living in his brother’s shadow, so he challenged him to a race!”

“It was going pretty badly for Mondo and he had to stoop to desperate methods to win the race,” Monokuma said. “But oh no! Mondo ends up in front of a truck coming straight at him! What will he do…?!”

“The answer is, nothing. Mondo’s brother hits him out of the way and takes the truck head on instead.” Monokuma said. “Does Mondo’s brother survive this incident? No. Does Mondo live with the guilt forever? Yes.”

“You know what’s even worse?” Monokuma asked. “He died on the day of his retirement! Well I guess that’s one way to make it more permanent…”

“Now here’s a sadder story about a young man named Chihiro Fujisaki…” Monokuma began. “Chihiro Fujisaki was a boy with a feminine frame, and like any boy with a feminine frame he was bullied relentlessly for it.”

“Now instead of standing up to his bullies like his murderer could, Chihiro folded like a stack of cards!” Monokuma said. “He decided to ‘embrace’ aka hide behind his femininity even if it made his skin crawl!”

“He wanted to become a stronger person, so he decided to work out.” Monokuma said. “Unluckily for him he picked a very bad time to improve on himself!” 

“Mondo decided that if he couldn’t be happy, no one could be happy!” Monokuma said. “So he took Chihiro’s strength away from him, permanently!”

“And finally our witness Aoi Asahina.” Monokuma said. “Talk about a comedy of errors!”

“First, Aoi looks into her mirror and sees that she’s not feminine enough,” Monokuma said. “‘Fine’, she thinks to herself, ‘I’ll just go swim that’ll make me feel better!’. Oh how wrong she could be.”

“So she heads to the pool and what does she see?” Monokuma asked. “Oh you know, Chihiro being strangled to death by one Mondo Owada.”

“Of course she tries to run away but Mondo is gaining on her quick.” Monokuma said. “She almost makes it to the exit, barely opens the door before Mondo’s grabbing her like there’s no tomorrow!”

“She scratches, she kicks, she breaks things, but it’s no use, she’s back at the pool in no time.” Monokuma said. “She’s causing too much trouble so Mondo hits her! Wham! And then she’s in the pool like nothing ever happened.”

“You’re lying you son of a bitch!” Kiyotaka yelled. “Shut the hell up!”

“I promise you that as your headmaster I would never lie unless it helps me!” Monokuma responded.

“Well,” Mondo said. “I guess you should get it over with then.”

“Don’t you feel sorry? Don’t you feel any remorse at all?” Sakura asked.

“Of course I do,” Mondo said. “But that doesn’t change anything.”

“You can’t bring back the dead with your apologies,” Makoto said. “You can’t bring back anything at all.”

“I hated my reflection in that damn mirror, but I guess Taka wasn’t wrong when he called me a coward,” Mondo said.

“No bro you’re not a coward-” 

“It’s over,” Mondo said. “I think it might even be for the best this way, even if it doesn’t seem like it yet.”

“Enough with the sentimentality, it’s punishment time!” Monokuma said.

“Wait no, stop you son of a bitch, stop!” Kiyotaka yelled out.

It was too late of course, Mondo was already being led away to his execution. 

Mondo’s shows up tied up to a pink motorcycle, it’s being driven by Monokuma. Around them is a circus with two cardboard tigers surrounding a metal ball cage. Monokuma starts up the motorcycle and jumps out just as they land in the ball cage. Mondo is left spinning when the cage closes as the cage starts to electrify. 

In front of the ball cage is another Monokuma hula hooping as the volts grow brighter the hula hooping gets faster

After the volts clear up, the motorcycle is still spinning sans Mondo. The hula hooper is sitting down exhausted. A machine makes a beeping noise and out comes a tub branded “Mondo Butter”.

“W-what did w-we just witness?” Toko asked.

“Jesus christ, did he just get turned into fucking butter?!” Junko cried.

“It’s what he deserved,” Sakura said.

Kiyotaka stared, silently, eyes showing only resignation.

Makoto gulped, he didn’t want to do this again. More ghosts weighing heavily on him. He had lost his good friends Aoi and Chihiro and he didn’t want to lose Mondo as well.

It always has to end like this,  Makoto thought.  It’s us before them, but how can they put their lives before others…? Am I supposed to do the same? 

#naeishi #fanganronpa #makoto naegi #kiyotaka ishimaru #writeblr #fanfiction

[thebusiestbushontheblock]

Phantom Theif/ Stuck in a Small Space: Day 1

Uuhhh im doin it

Oh shit.

Oh God.

Right, no left. Shoot where the hell was the next turn? The loud heavy footsteps grew louder and faster as Ouma looked around frantically for a moment.

Class was about to start and- who the heck puts dead ends in a hallway? What's the point? Well it didn't matter because Ouma soon found himself held up from his collar by his chaser, the Luminary of the Stars himself.

"Momota-chan! So nice to see that you didn't give up by the fourteenth corner, that would've taken out all the fun huh?" Ouma teased. "So glad to see that my chaser is soooo persistent."

Momota wore a less than pleased expression.

"You really made me chase you across half the school huh?" Ouma tried hard not to burst into laughter when he noticed Momota's eye twitch ever so slightly.

"Hey! Don't blame me for your actions, you chased me. I didn't make you do anything!" Crocodile tears began to form in Ouma's eyes. "Y-you know, false accusations are illegal in court. I could call the cops on a criminal like you!" Ouma thrashed against the astronauts strong grip but failed to escape.

"H-hey, stop that!" Momota tightened his grip. "You slapped my ass and ran!" Momota yelled.

Ouma whispered, "Well it's your fault for having such a phat-"

"Just shut the fuck up already!" As he said this, with a slightly redder face, Momota stomped up to an unlocked locker.

"Hey what're yo-" before he could finish, Ouma found himself being stuffed into the locker.

Despite being relatively small, Ouma couldn't help but feel cramped in said locker. And when Momota, very suddenly, slammed the locker door, panic didn't take long to set in.

"H-hey Momota-chan, you mind letting me out? I'll give a cookie~"

No response.

"C'mon, no need to be so mean to your beloved supreme leader. T-tell you what, you let me out and I'll let you become my subordinate in my super secret evil organization! It'll-it'll be a dream come true, promise!"

Again, no answer.

Okay, no need to panic. Supreme leaders dont panic, and definitely not because stupid dumb-asses shove them into stupid lockers.

Usually opening lockers from the inside would be a breeze, after all Ouma had gotten somewhat used to being shoved into lockers but, no, that was years ago, and he was out of practice. Maybe it was just like lock-picking? After all, he had lots of practice with that. But how do you lock pick from the inside of a locker with barely any space to move? Dumb Momota with his dumb hair and dumb blinding smile. When he got out of here he was going to, to, uh...

Was it just him or was it really stuffy in there (no wait it was just him). But like really really reeeeally stuffy, like suffocatingly stuffy. Oh god, was Momota trying to kill him? No he's too much of a goodie two shoes to do that.

How long has he been here anyway? An hour, a year? No, no that's probably an exaggeration. Ouma almost forgot how claustrophobic the inside of lockers were.

Almost.

Wasn't class suppose to start soon?

Sh*t what now?

Momota wasn't sure why Ouma hadn't arrived to the class yet. This particular class usually started with a dramatic entrance by the Supreme Leader, with small confetti cannons in hand. Not that he missed the little shit's noise every goddamned morning right before class.

Seriously, where the heck did he even get those? Like, they come out of mid-fucking-air. It didn't matter though, because almost halfway through class, their teacher asked his classmates if anyone had seen the little shit. Almost everyone responded with quick no's and thankful ones at that. Though some exchanged slightly worried glances.

The class was about 40% quieter without Ouma present, however, the other 60% was usually taken by Iruma, who today, (unfortunately) tried to compensate for her missing friend. Kaito sighed and decided to go look for Ouma. The leader being missing might technically be his fault and he couldn't deal with that kind of guilt on his shoulders. After all, real heroes lived up to their actions, no matter what they were. If Ouma hadn't decided to use being shoved into a locker as an excuse to skip class, though Ouma had never really been one to skip class, then Momota felt he was to blame.

Leaving the classroom with permission, he went through several twists and turns through the school and finally found locker 11037. (What a weird locker number)

Anyway, he crouched down and whispered in consideration of other nearby classes,

"Ouma, you in there?" No response.

He knocked on the locker, "Hey Ouma!" He said louder.

A series of noises including a confused snort, a bang, and a small whimper escaped the locker.

"What do you want?" Ouma said, clearly disgruntled.

"What, were you sleeping or something?" Momota asked. No way he'd been in there long enough to fall asleep. Right?

"Of course not Momota, I was uhh, intensely daydreaming." Ouma said hesitantly.

Why lie about whether or not he'd fallen asleep in a locker? Pretty stupid if you asked him. And Ouma didn't sound too confident in his lie either. Guess sleep does that.

"Like I said, what do you want?" Ouma asked again from inside the locker.

"Jeez, I just came to check on you-you know, cuz class started," Momota scratched the back of his head. "Teacher's looking for you."

"Woah, Momota-chan actually cares about me? Who knew." Ouma shot back with extra sarcasm. God, did this guy ever get tired of being a jerk? Besides, Momota was only messing around when he shoved him into the locker, well, mostly anyway.

"Look, I'm gonna get you out in a second, so just hang on will ya?"

"Sure, I've been 'hanging on' for the past hour or so."

Momota sighed as he crouched down and tried to open the locker. It didn't budge. He tried again.

"Okay, so don't panic, but this shit ain't opening."

Ouma stayed silent.

Momota rubbed his hands together, shut his eyes tight, and pulled with all his might. The astronaut training paid off when the locker popped open with a satisfying CLANG!

When Momota opened his eyes again he found Ouma on top of him, eyes wide in surprise.

Momota felt his face turn an embarrassing shade of red.

"Uhhh-", was all he could muster when Ouma suddenly jumped off him and ran in the opposite direction, hiding his suddenly red face.

'What a weird kid.' Momota mumbled as he scratched the back of his head.

#oumota #oumotaweek2019 #kokichi ouma #kaito momota #kokichi oma #yeehonk #constructive criticism is much oblidged partners

[obsessedwithereri-nz]

Stone Cold Chapter 4 (FULL)

Levi x Eren

Summary:  Ever since Levi was a pre-teen, he knew he’d have to marry her, otherwise he’d have to answer to his abusive uncle which never turned out well for Levi’s wellbeing. But after meeting a certain singer at his favorite bar, he knew he was in deep, deep shit.

Warnings: None

Follow the #stonecoldfic to find previous chapters. Enjoy!

Goddamnit. If Levi knew he was about to run two and a half miles in the snow, he would’ve worn better fucking shoes. It’s only been a couple of minutes since abandoning Baby in the driveway and he’s almost eaten the pavement five times.

But did he care? Not in the slightest. He would much rather have his front teeth violently ripped out than lose the one thing that has brought him true happiness. No matter what it takes, Levi is going to find him. He’s going to tell him how much he fucked up and how much he means to him.

Of course, he didn’t expect to be forgiven or even spoken to because, honestly, he doesn’t deserve his forgiveness. But he needs it.

All he can do is try. If he doesn’t try, he’ll live the rest of his life depressed, alone and filled with regret. Not that he’ll have much longer to live anyway when he gets a hold of him. When that asshole finds out what happened, and he will, he’s as good as dead.

“Stop it, Levi,” he mutters to himself. If he starts thinking that way, then he will definitely lose him for good. He is the reason Levi’s fought so fucking hard, he is his reason for living.

There’s no way in hell he’s dying before he can tell him that to his face.

-----

“Hey there, stranger.”

There’s no doubt about it. It’s him. Even though they only spoke for a few minutes, he knows that voice. Levi tries to respond, knowing exactly what he wants to say, but he physically can’t form the words.

“Um… You still there?” His sweet voice floods Levi’s ear. The words don’t register in Levi’s mind at first, he just enjoys the sound for a moment. Then when his brain does process the fact that he hasn’t said a word, or even made a single noise since EJ answered his call, he immediately blurts out a response.

“Yes, yup, I’m here.” Levi mentally and physically facepalms himself for being so weird and embarrassing.

“Oh, good. I was worried this was a butt dial.” The brat laughs through the phone. A butt dial… Yeah, as if Levi hadn’t just spent the last 12 hours debating whether or not to call this damn number.

“Uh, nope. Not- not a butt dial.”

“Well, I’m glad. It would be pretty weird if the cute guy you gave your number to miraculously butt dialed your exact phone number.”

Cheeky shit, calling Levi cute. No one except Petra had ever called him cute, and he’s fucking glad. A grown ass man who works for a premium furniture company is not cute. But why on Earth is he blushing like a 13-year-old girl when he says it!?

After a moment of silence, the singer speaks again.

“Ah, sorry. That was, uh, a little much. I’m sorry.”

“N-no, you’re fine,” Levi stands from his spot on the bed and rubs the back of his neck with his free hand. “How, um, how did you know it was me calling you?”

“Well, I haven’t given my number out to anybody else recently, and when I saw it wasn’t a private number I assumed it wasn’t someone trying to sell me something. Call it an educated guess.” He could practically hear this brat’s smile through the phone.

“Right. That makes sense, I guess.”

“Hey, um, I’m actually really glad you called me.”

“Oh yeah? A-and why’s that?” Levi feels his stomach sink, suddenly very nervous.

“Yeah,” EJ drags the word out as if thinking of what to say next. “What are you doing on Thursday?” He blurts out.

Levi freezes mid-pace. Shit , he knew it. This was a bad fucking idea.

“I’m working.”

“Okay,” he drags the word out again. “What about after work?” Goddamnit, kid.

“I, um, I-I have plans.”

“Look, I know this may be a little forward of me,” Oh no. “And I don’t normally do this kinda thing, but I really enjoyed talking to you last night and wanted to, y’know, hang out. I understand if you don’t want to though, I can be pretty annoying somet-”

“No-”

Levi. He thinks to himself.

��You’re not annoying.”

Levi, stop.

“In all honesty,”

Hang up the phone.

“This has never happened before so-”

Seriously. Stop. Talking.

“I-I was just caught a little off guard, I suppose.”

Hang up the damn phone, Ackerman!

“I just don’t really know what to say right now.”

“Well,” the singer speaks up. “The only advice I can give you is to say what you want to say. Whatever your heart is telling you, just say that.” And just like that, the booming voice inside Levi’s head goes silent.

His heart… You mean his cold, dead one? Yeah, it’s saying nothing, hasn’t for years.

“Nothing.”

“Huh?”

“I’m not doing anything after work on Thursday.” Woah, where did that coming from?

“Oh, really? I thought you had ‘plans’” the singer’s voice is oozing with sarcasm and Levi lets a small laugh slip.

“I’ve changed my mind.”

“Can’t say I’m upset by that. So, I’m performing at The Library again on Thursday night at seven, if you want to have a drink with me before then? Let’s say at six?”

“Tsk, are you even old enough to drink, brat?” Levi’s eyes widen at what just came out of his mouth. Well done, Levi. There goes your one chance to have an actual friend. Laughing sounds through the phone, and his cheeks warm at the sound. How can a laugh sound so adorable to somebody whose heart is supposed to be stone cold?

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me,” EJ says coming down from his fit of laughter. “And I’m taking that as a yes you’ll have a drink with me?”

“I’ll see you at six, you damn brat.” With that, Levi hangs up.

Without realizing it, Levi has a smile on his face. It’s not as big as Hanji’s; no one's smile could ever compete with her creepy ass smile, but it’s big nonetheless. He even bites his lower lip to try to contain how elated he’s feeling.

However, when he does realize what his heart is making his mouth do, he snaps himself out of it by slapping his cheeks a few times.

This is a bad fucking idea. Levi thinks to himself. Getting drinks with… With…

“Shit!” he says under his breath when he realizes he never got the damn brat’s name. He goes to call him again but stops right before selecting his number. Levi doesn’t want to seem clingy like he can’t wait a couple more days before finding out his name.

Thinking about saving his number as a contact in his phone, he goes against it since his number is technically saved under his recent calls and, on that note, scrunches up the piece of paper with EJ’s number on it one final time, and throws it in the trash.

Over the next two days, everything happened the way it always did. When he returned to work on Wednesday morning, the Ral’s didn’t even give him a passing glance, despite being told he had a vomiting bug the day before; so, the usual. He got on with his job, being doubly careful not to ‘mess up’ any orders for these prestigious fucks ordering ridiculously expensive furniture that is truly not worth the investment.

Although, he normally didn’t care an awful lot if he fucked up an order because he is a mindless machine at the office. He didn’t need to give his work his 100% because he’s done it for so many years, it’s actually become extremely difficult for him to fuck up.

However, there was something that was happening to Levi that’d he’d never experienced before. There was only one thing his mind would focus on; seeing EJ again. Whenever he thinks about seeing those eyes or hearing his voice again, butterflies erupt inside his stomach almost making him feel physically sick from nervousness, meaning Levi actually has to try while at work.

Nobody can find out about the brat, people will start asking questions and get him involved… He’s probably shooting himself in the foot, but he can’t help but feel a little excited to have his own little secret, while also feeling absolutely terrified.

He had spoken with Petra Thursday morning telling her he’d be going to the bar after work to have some alone time, which wasn’t unusual for him. So, instead of driving in together which they normally do most days, she took her car and Levi took his.

Levi also decided to wear his favorite suit, knowing it highlighted his musculature in all the best ways. The only downside, it’s Petra favorite also. The only excuse he could come up with for wearing it to the office was that he was in a good mood and felt like dressing up, which wasn’t entirely a lie.

The day goes by without any noticeable incidents and at four o’clock, Petra comes by Levi’s office. They both usually finish work together, but when Levi goes to the bar after work, he stays for an extra hour or so to get shit done and out of the way, then goes to drown his sorrows.

“Hey,” she says as she knocks on his door.

“Hey,” he sighs as he looks up towards her. “You heading off?”

“Yeah. I just wanted to make sure you’re okay. I know my parents are still giving you a hard time.”

“It’s fine, Petra,” Levi purposefully returns his gaze down towards his desk. “You’re mother actually came and apologized to me today.” No she didn’t. He’s only saying that to get her to calm down and drop the topic.

“She did? Oh, that’s great! I’m so glad they realized they were acting horribly.” She has a large smile on her face. Good. Now he hopes she doesn’t go thanking her mother for something she didn’t actually do.

“Yeah, everything’s fine now.” Yet another lie.

“Good.” She sighs in relief as she walks over to give him a hug from behind, wrapping her arms lightly around his neck and shoulders. “What time do you think you will be home?”

“I’m not too sure,” Levi answers honestly, for once. He turns his head to face her. “I’ll let you know, okay?” Petra raises her eyebrows and smirks.

“Will you really?”

“I’ll have my phone in hand the whole time. I promise.” He hates using that word, but he knows if he didn’t, she’d be calling and texting like she did on Monday night.

“Okay,” the couple share a kiss. A pair of green eyes flashes into Levi’s mind. Of course he starts thinking about that brat while he’s kissing his girlfriend, but he can’t help it. He begins to kiss Petra back with a little more passion than he usually does as he continues to think about EJ. After a moment, Levi snaps back to reality and pulls away, clearing his throat.

“I’ll, uh, let you know if I’ll be later than eight, okay?” She nods in agreement and plants one last kiss on Levi’s lips.

“You really do look good in that suit, y’know.” She flirtatiously winks and waves to her boyfriend as she leaves his office.

Once out of eyesight, Levi groans and lets his head drop into his hands. He doesn’t even know the brat’s fucking name yet and this is what he’s doing to him? Maybe this really is a bad idea. He should call him and tell him he has to cancel.

Say what you want to say. Whatever your heart is telling you, just say that.

His hand that was reaching for his phone immediately freezes in place as he hears a familiar voice in his head. Right, his heart. Levi keeps forgetting about his heart. It’s always either been silent or completely drowned out by his mind convincing him what the right move is to avoid trouble.

Damn it, this was so much easier for Levi when he didn’t feel anything at all.

Five o’clock finally rolls around and it’s almost time for Levi to leave the office to meet with EJ. Heart racing and butterflies reeking havoc, he finishes up the last of his paperwork for the day. He decided he was going to meet up with EJ, but only for the hour before his performance, that’s it. He’ll go, have a drink, find out that what he’s feeling is all in his head and a load of bullshit, then go home to his girlfriend.

“Oi, Levi.” A feminine voice sounds from the doorway to his office just as Levi stands up to leave for The Library. He looks up to see Mrs. Ral approaching his desk, holding a large stack of papers in her hands. “It’s good you’re working late because you’re going to redo all this paperwork.”

The stack of papers smack down onto his desk, some coming away from the pile and slowly drifting onto the floor.

“What?” Levi asks, irritated because he knows exactly what she’s doing.

Even though there is absolutely nothing wrong with his paperwork, she still gets him to do it all over from scratch because his handwriting is too ‘messy’, or he spelled a customer’s name ‘wrong’, or one of the papers has a bent corner. No one cares about a bent corner. He can’t use white out because it looks ‘messy’ and ‘unprofessional’. And his handwriting must be in cursive because it shows ‘elegance’.

What. A load. Of bullshit. Levi wishes he could give this vile woman a piece of his mind but, once again, he knows what will happen to him if he does. Sometimes he thinks it’d be totally worth it; realistically, however, it wouldn’t be in the long run.

“Don’t ‘what’ me. You know exactly what’s wrong with these.” Levi doesn’t give her the satisfaction of a response, so he stays quiet and stares at her. “For the love of God, you really are as stupid as you look, insolent child. Look,” she snatches a piece of paper from the pile and slams it down in front of Levi.

“I don’t see anything wrong with this, madam,” Levi spits out that final word without looking down at the form.

“You are asking for a smack, boy. You used black ink when you’re supposed to use blue. We’ve made it very clear that all paperwork must be filled out using blue ink.”

You have got to be kidding me. That’s what this senile old hag is upset about this time? The fucking color of ink!?

“Mmm, so it is,” Levi responds through his teeth, still having not looked at the form in front of him. “My apologies, madam. I’ll get right on it.”

“What my daughter sees in you, I’ll never understand.” Her vulgar tone could be picked up by even the most anti-social and oblivious individual. “ Street rat .” How the two of them haven’t ripped out each other’s throats yet, most people have no clue.

Shooting daggers directly into the back of her head, as if playing a fun game of darts, Levi angrily begins to re-write all 56 pages worth of bullshit paperwork. He meticulously gets through about 10 pages before checking the time.

5:39 pm. Knowing it takes at least 20 minutes to get to The Library from the headquarters, he bolts up out of his office chair, shoves the ‘poorly’ filled out paperwork and his laptop into his briefcase, and sprints out the door.

#stonecoldfic #levi ackerman #levi heichou #captain levi #rivaille heichou #levi rivaille #corporal levi #levi #aot levi #snk levi #eren jaeger #eren yaeger #aot eren #snk eren #my writing #ereri fanfic #ereri #riren #riren fanfic #eren jaeger x levi ackerman #eren x levi #levi x eren #levi ackerman fanfiction #eren jaeger fanfiction #eren yaeger fanfiction #shingeki no kyojin #snk #attack on titan #aot

[starryeyed-char]

Warm

Time for some more whump! It’s Day Two- Hypothermia!

Lance and Keith (read: klance) go to an ice planet.

why do i only ever hurt lance

“Figures,” Lance grumbled. “Stereotypical ice planet. Why couldn’t the rebels have lived on, I don’t know, a tropical island? The entire known universe and we can’t stumble across some beach residents in need of rescue?”

“Lance,” Shiro’s disapproving voice sounded over the coms. “The two of them gave me their only ship. Which means we’re helping them. They’re part of a freedom fighter organization, maybe they can help us.”

“Yeah, okay, but why do I have to be the one that gets sent down here? I’m from Cuba! This is way, way below comfortable temperatures for me.”

“Quit whining,” Keith snapped, glaring at Lance over his shoulder. “Our armor’s designed to keep us warm, and this is below comfortable for anyone. And pick up the pace.”

Lance rolled his eyes, but jogged to catch up to him.

“Sorry, Lance, but the red lion is the best at withstanding extreme temperatures. And it’s smaller, and faster than the other lions, so it can better navigate the terrain,” Shiro explained.

“Wish I had help navigating the terrain now,” Lance muttered under his breath. The two of them were currently struggling through over a foot of snow. “And that doesn’t explain why I had to bring Keith with me.”

“Because going on solo missions to unknown locations is how you get killed,” Pidge pointed out. “Star Wars? Hoth? Luke almost getting annihilated by the abominable snowman? Any of that ring a bell?”

“Quiznaking ice planets. Why are we out of the lion anyway, Shiro? Red’s warm. Do you want us to freeze to death and then have to hide inside the body of a space camel?” Lance’s voice was dripping with sarcasm.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Star Wars, Keith. Remind me to marathon it with you when we get back to Earth. My niece loves those movies, and she’ll eat all the popcorn, but it’s worth it. Trust me.”

“Would you two take this mission seriously?” Shiro asked. Lance could practically see him rubbing his temples exhaustedly. “I know it’s not exactly high-stakes adventure, but these guys saved my life. You’re not going to go prancing around the planet in your lion and accidentally destroy their hideout.”

“Prancing? Shiro, I don’t prance, I'm—”

“Lance, look,” Keith interrupted him and pointed out towards a large stretch of ice before them. It would’ve been a lake, had the planet not had such low temperatures. “Pidge, is that the direction we need to go?”

“Yep,” she told them. “The hideout’s not far from the opposite side.”

Keith sighed. “We’ll have to go around.”

“Woah, what? Keith, that lake is huge! It’d be so much easier to walk straight across,” Lance protested. “I’m not about to freeze to death while we take the scenic route.”

“In case you hadn’t noticed, that’s ice, dumbass. If it can’t support our weight and breaks then we really could freeze to death! That water’s gotta be a lot worse than this.”

“I’m not an idiot, Keith, I know that. Pidge, if I send you a scan can you see if it’ll support us?” Lance asked. Pidge made a noise of affirmation, and Lance used his armor’s scanner to send an analysis of the ice to her.

“It looks pretty thick,” she mused. “I wouldn’t jump up and down or start hacking at it with your bayards if I were you, but you’ll be able to walk across.”

“See?” Lance smirked at him. “What’d I tell you? It’s fine.”

“Shouldn’t we, I don’t know, check the lake? What if there’s a… space octopus in there, or something? Or a shark? I mean, they wouldn’t normally live in lakes, but this isn’t Earth so who knows? Are space alligators a thing?” Hunk spoke so fast it was almost difficult to understand.

“Hunk, you’re rambling,” Lance observed with a fond smile. “But don’t worry. The top of the lake is frozen, so they wouldn’t be able to breathe, right? Let alone get to us. If it makes you feel better, I’ll do a full scan of the lake.”

“Nope. No animals down there,” Pidge confirmed a few moments later. “Now would you two hurry up and cross?”

“I still have a really bad feeling about this,” Keith mumbled.

Lance turned towards him with a grin. “We are so watching Star Wars together. In fact, we should see if they have it at the space mall. But sorry, Keith, if you want to go the long way, be my guest. I’m not going to wait any longer than I have to.”

“He really is the true pilot of Red,” Pidge sounded as if she was trying to repress a laugh. “Impatient as all hell.”

“Hey!” Keith and Lance exclaimed at the same time.

Pidge snorted. “Just get going already.”

Lance wasted no time in starting out across the lake. He was several paces ahead of Keith, who still hesitated to step out onto it. As he was about to continue forward, Keith stopped in his tracks. He could swear he saw something dark moving below the ice, but Pidge had scanned the lake for life, hadn’t she? It must just be his imagination. He started forward again, but just then the ground shook, and the ice in front of Lance exploded.

He let out a strangled yelp, stumbling away from whatever had just burst out of the lake. Keith could hear the frantic voices of the others in his ears, but it all descended into white noise as he saw the vine that had broken through the ice wrap around Lance’s legs.

He rushed forward, but it was already too late. Keith watched as Lance was dragged into the hole made by the creature, and plunged into the freezing lake.

The water was murky, and dark. Lance could barely see, all he knew was that something was dragging him further and further down into the depths. He didn’t have time to activate his helmet properly before water was rushing into his lungs.

He felt the grip of whatever held him tightening on his legs, and though he tried to kick he couldn’t break free.

Lance forced himself not to panic. Panicking wouldn’t help him. So he collected his thoughts, summoned his bayard, and pointed it down. He still couldn’t see anything, but with luck he’d hit the monster, not himself. He moved his finger to the trigger, aimed for what he hoped wasn’t his leg, and fired.

Judging by the shriek of pain and how the hold on him loosened, Lance guessed the laser met its mark. He kicked upwards immediately, swimming quickly to the surface. However, with limited eyesight and dwindling oxygen, his hands met nothing but ice. Panic started to overtake him again as he desperately scrambled to find the hole which he’d fallen into.

Lance was just starting to give up hope completely when suddenly a hand snagged around his wrist and yanked him to the side, and up to the surface.

Lance sucked in a breath, coughing the water out of his lungs as he collapsed onto the ice. His vision was foggy around the edges, but he could see well enough to notice Keith kneeling over him, breathing heavily.

“Are you okay?” he demanded, hands hovering over Lance’s form. “Are you hurt?”

“What—” Lance coughed again. “What was that… that thing?”

“I… I didn’t scan for plants,” Pidge told him apologetically. “In my defense, I had no idea there would be some crazy strong… Venus flytrap-ish monster living here.”

“Now will you listen to me when I tell you something’s a bad idea?” Keith asked, sounding way to relieved to actually come off as angry.

Lance gave him a shaky smile. “I c-could ask you the… the same, S-samurai.”. Keith tensed immediately.

“Why’s he talking like that?” he asked. “He’s… breathing weird, too. And shivering. Pidge, what—”

“Keith. Scan. Now.” Pidge’s voice was suddenly alert, and when Keith complied, she cursed. “Hypothermia. I should’ve guessed. Keith, get him back to the castle. He should be fine, but he needs a pod. Allura and I will come back to the planet in Blue later.”

Keith nodded, picking Lance up in his arms as if he weighed nothing at all, before rushing towards Red. “Hang on, Lance. You’re gonna be fine.”

“You.. you were r-right,” Lance admitted around chattering teeth. “That was a… very b-bad idea.” His eyes started to slide shut.

“Wh— no, Lance, you have to stay awake. C'mon, keep your eyes open. We’re almost there.”

“’M sorry, Keith, b-but it’s… it’s freezing, and you’re r-r-really w-warm,” Lance mumbled, closing his eyes and leaning his head on Keith’s shoulder. “I think… I’ll just take a little n-nap.”

“Lance, no, you’ve got to—” Keith started insistently, but Lance had already passed out in his arms.

Lance fell unceremoniously out of the healing pod, but was luckily caught before he collapsed onto the floor. He looked up to meet Keith’s dark eyes, and promptly groaned. “So, I guess we had another bonding moment.”

Keith bristled. “That’s all you have to say? Not ‘thank you for saving my life?’ After your stupid decision-making skills got you put in a pod for the… how many times has it been now?”

Lance ignored him. “Where are the others?”

“None of them wanted to stay overnight, because, again, you’ve been in this pod way too many times,” Keith told him, unsure if he should point out that Lance had made no move to step back, so Keith was still supporting the entirety of his weight.

“And yet you stayed,” Lance grinned. “Guess I should probably start listening to you, huh?”

“Guess so.”

Lance’s smile turned quickly into a smirk. “Well, that’s too bad, since we both know that’s never going to happen.”

Keith scowled, prepared to drop Lance onto the floor. He would have to, if Lance hadn’t leaned forward at that exact moment and kissed him.

It didn’t last long, but Keith was blushing furiously, anyway. It was nice to see that Lance looked a little flustered, too, though.

“Thanks,” Lance said softly. “For saving my life.”

“Um,” Keith started, brain still trying to understand what was going on. “Did you just— you and I— is this— what?”

Lance laughed, finally stepping back from Keith and turning to walk out the door. “I’m going to go get some food goo, if you’d care to join me.”

Keith watched him go, and stammered out a few more incoherent sentences before rushing after him.

#klance #voltronwhumpweek #voltronwhumpweek2017 #lance mcclain #keith kogane #angst #hypothermia #season 3 spoilers #pidge gunderson #takashi shirogane #hunk garrett #i mean they're on the coms so #this one can't be seen as platonic sorry #langst #klangst #fic #fanfic #my writing #first kiss! #laith #i guess that's a ship name now #ok then #fluff #cute #i guess

[luciisthebest]

Ghost 101

Pairing: Ghost!Reader x Dean 

Summary: The reader comes to find herself standing over her own dead body. Despite the obvious problem of her death she has to find a way to communicate with the brothers. 

Warnings: Death, mentions of past torture (nothing graphic), lots of sarcasm, angst, language, mild season 12 spoilers. 

Word Count: 1,053 

A/N: Ah yes the author’s note. This is the part where I write a bunch of stuff that nobody reads but it always makes me feel better. Everybody watch out snarky me has entered the building. Which explains this piece. I don't know where it came from I was just sitting there staring off into space then bam! Twenty minutes later I had this. It's full of terrible sarcasm and doesn't really have an end or a beginning but hey I tried. Anyways I hope y'all sort of like it and feedback is always appreciated. 

“Well this is different.” You found yourself looking down at your empty sightless eyes.

“Y/N?” You heard Dean’s voice and spun around.

“I'm over here.” You yelled back.

“Shit! Y/N!” Dean turned the corner and started running towards you.

“Its about damn time. Look I know this looks weird but let me-” As you were speaking Dean ran right through you. “Woah, dude what the fuck?” You spun around only to find that Dean had collapsed to his knees. He was shaking your body. “Man this ghost shit sucks.” You muttered.  

“Come on Y/N. You can't be gone.” There were tears in his eyes.

“I'm right here.” You waved your arms around. “Helloooooo Dean. I'm standing right here. Not dead. Well yeah I guess I am but I'm right here.”

Dean just continued to mourn your death. “You left me.” He whispered. “You promised you never would.”

“I didn't leave you!” You yelled in frustration. “I'm still here like I promised.”

“Dean?” You heard Sam and hope filled you. Maybe he would be able to see you.

“Sam!” You yelled when he turned the corner. “Please tell me you can see me?” Just like Dean, Sam walked right through you. “Ah man that's so creepy.” Sam still didn't hear you. “Hey! It's rude to walk through a person and then ignore them.” You paused. “Oh why do I bother?” You threw your hands up in annoyance.

“Dean I'm so sorry.” You could tell Sam was trying to stay strong. “You gotta let her go.” Sam gently pulled your body from his brother’s arms. “I'm sorry, we'll find out who did this, but until then we have to take care of her.” Dean only nodded unable to tear his eyes away from your unmoving body.

“I can tell you who did it.” You ran your hands through your hair in frustraion. How could you make them see you. You hadn't really payed much attention to ghost 101 but usually spirits could be seen when they were angry. That shouldn't be to hard, you had plenty to be angry about. “Ok boys I know you can't hear me but I'm just gonna start talking. You all know that my family was murder. Tormented and tortured before my eyes until the demon killed them all. Then he turned his blade on me. And for days he tortured me, made me scream and beg just for fun. If it hadn't been for your daddy, I would've been dead.” Anger was beginning to stir in you. “That moment set me on a path of self destruction and revenge. I killed everything I could and I spent every night drinking myself into a stupor. I did get the bastard but at the cost of my soul. And I paid. Heck that's where I met you Dean. On the rack, but hey I don't hold grudges. Well we both know that's a lie, I tried to kill you for years. But hey we're past that now, we're madly in love blah blah blah. At least we were until I just so happened to die.” You paused the anger burning inside you. You would regret your next words but you needed Sam and Dean to know you were there. “And you know what? It's your fault. The monster that killed me, wasn't a monster at all. No it was your mother.” You were yelling know. “Mary fucking Winchester so kindly slit my throat. And it's your god damn fault.” Neither of the boys seemed to hear you, all of that had been for nothing. “Damn it!” You screamed and all around you lights exploded.

“Y/N?”

Dean was looking right at you with horrified eyes.

“Wow that worked.” You did a small happy dance. Sam and Dean continued to stare at you in horror. “Ok bad time for a happy dance. Yes I'm dead, now that we've got that cleared up I need to tell you who killed me. This is going to be hard to hear but it was Ma-”

“Where’d she go?” Sam looked at his brother.

“Ok you saw that too? I thought I had finally lost it.” Dean was still staring at the spot you were standing but now he was looking right through you.

“No that was Y/N.” Sam gently laid your body back on the ground. “She's a ghost now. But that doesn't make sense she should have moved on.”

“Hello unfinished business. Duh.” You rolled your eyes at Sam before you remembered he couldn't see or hear you.

“It must have to do with what happened here. Dean! Are you listening to me?”

Dean's eyes were unfocused. He seemed at a loss. “Yeah.” He muttered.

“Don't do this Dean.” You knew he was shutting down. Next he would start drinking himself into oblivion. He would go from hunt to hunt taking his anger out on the monsters he killed. It would destroy him and you couldn't let that happened. “Dean Winchester I did not spend the last three years of my life loving you only to watch you destroy yourself.” You were shouting again and this time you gave Dean a shove. To your surprise your hand actually met resistance and Dean jerked away, surprised to find you standing in front of him. “Ok before I disappear again I have two things to say. One my killer was your mother.” Dean’s eyes widen in shock. “And before you interrupt me or plan to kill her, she's been brainwashed by the British Men of Letters. They are in complete control of her. And two. Dean Winchester I love you, I really do. And I swear to god I will haunt you the rest of your life if you go down the path we both know your headed. Don't do it. I know you're hurting but don't. I can’t handle watching y-”

“Y/N? Please come back.” Dean's eyes searched for you frantically.

“This whole disapearing shit is getting old.” You watched as Sam picked up your body again. At least they knew the truth, what they did with it was up to them. You would just tag along for the ride until you moved on. Until then you would continue loving and watching over Dean even if he didn't know it.

Tags:

@mogaruke @msimpala67 @percussiongirl2017 @tomorraw @meganwinchester1999 @ria132love @lucifer-in-leather @impala-dreamer @idreamofhazel @wayward-mirage @helvonasche @quiverhope @distinguishedqueenofbooks @faith-in-dean @hiswickedkitty @docharleythegeekqueen @nanie5 @amotleyworld @abbessolute @mrsbatesmotel53

#Dean Winchester x reader #Dean Winchester #supernatural fanfiction #supernatural reader insert #spn dean winchester #spn reader insert #dean x reader #supernatural #supernatural dean #supernatural dean winchester #supernatural dean winchester x reader

[teenwolf-er-blog]

Theo Raeken Prompt (Wattpad) Part 1

"So, I've got news for you." Scott says as we walk through the school doors.

"Oh, great idea Scott. Wait until we're inside the noisy school walls to tell me something important." I say sarcastically, throwing my hands in the air and rolling my eyes.

"Sorry." Scott says unapologetically. "Anyways, the news-"

"Hey, there pigtails." a voice says from behind us.

"Oh no. No no no." I say, not turning around. Only one person would call me that. "Scott, no. Please say no. I did not just hear that."

Scott gives me a small, sheepishly apologetic shrug, and I find myself forced to turn around.

I have to say, I wasn't expecting him to look this...hot. The Theo Raeken I knew wasn't this good looking a long time ago.

"Wow, pigtails, talk about a major makeover." Theo says as his eyes look me up and down.

I roll my eyes and try not to hit him. Little jerk. I mean, yes I can say the same about him, but I won't.

"I'm glad to see you too, Theo." I say, the sarcasm clear in my voice.

"I thought you were that same little girl with braces and pigtails," Theo starts, ignoring what I said, "Now you're clearly a babe."

"Shut up. I hate it when people say I'm a 'babe' it pisses me off. I'm not one of those sluts that like to be groped and called weird kinky names." I say, crossing my arms and preparing myself to walk away.

"Well, that role would definitely suit you." Theo says, licking his lips.

"Scott," I say, turning to my big brother. "I'll see you later?"

"Uh, yeah, see you." he says and I walk away, ignoring Theo. He's such an ass.

"You're an idiot, Theo." I hear Scott say.

"I was being honest." I hear Theo reply.

"Whatever it was, stop it. I don't want to know that you're calling my sister anything that's not her name. You hear me?" Scott orders. Having a big brother definitely has its perks.

"Fine. But if she keeps walking like that, it's going to be difficult."

*

As I plop down on my usual seat in math class, my mind wanders back to Theo. Little flirt. I've seen him flirt with every single girl that took a second glance at him. I don't know why, but it makes my blood boil every time he makes a girl blush. Just the thought of the possibility of Theo hanging out with one of those Greek goddesses from the school makes me want to kill them. I don't know-

"Woah, someone's in a mood." Theo suddenly says, breaking my thoughts.

I look at him and offer him a glare. "What are you talking about?" I snarl.

"I'm a chimera, I can smell it." he says, immediately capturing my attention.

"You're kidding," I say, giving him a suspicious glance.

"No I'm not." Theo says, shaking his head.

I blink. I can't believe it. I've always wanted to be a chimera. The thought of being able to turn into an actual wolf has always been appealing to me. And I have to say, I'm a little jealous of him.

"Anyways, having a moody day?" Theo asks me, sitting on the seat next to me.

"I'm fine," I say, not missing the annoyed tone that comes out of my lips.

"No you're not. I can smell your anger and I can hear that you're lying. What's up?" he asks.

"You are in no position to ask that. I barely know you-"

"I haven't changed since fourth grade." He cuts me off.

I give him a 'really?' glare. "I doubt that." I say lamely.

"Ohh definitely in a terrible mood," Theo teases, pushing it a little too far.

"Shut up." I snarl, looking away from him as I open my notebook and start doing little meaningless scribbles on the pages.

The class starts and, as usual, my mind goes to everything else that isn't math. I can just borrow Scott's notes from his Sophomore year. It's a good thing we keep all the school stuff at home.

"Miss. McCall?" the teacher suddenly asks, making me whip my head up from my notebook and stare at her.

Uh oh. Did she ask me something? Is she going to ask me about what she was explaining? Oh God, this is why I'm supposed to pay attention in class.

"Yes?" I ask, trying to sound completely innocent.

"Are you okay? You're looking rather pale." She replies.

I'm about to say that I'm fine, when an idea rushes to my head. I can pretend I'm feeling a little off and I can get out of here. I don't want to stay, and I most certainly don't want to be around Theo. Getting away is a huge help.

"Actually," I say, "I'm feeling a little dizzy. I was about to ask if I could go to the nurses office."

"And maybe I should take her," Theo suddenly says.

I jerk my head in his direction and I give him a glare, which he ignores.

"You know, just in case something happens to her." He explains.

"Yes. Go, go." the teacher says, waving at us in dismissal before turning back to the board.

I sigh in annoyance as I gather my things and sling my backpack over my shoulder, Theo following suit.

I quickly walk out of the classroom. With any luck, I'll be able to make it out of Theo's sight and I can run off back home.

Unluckily for me, Theo catches up. "Aren't we supposed to be going to the nurses office?" he asks.

"I'm bailing. I don't want to be here anymore," I say, shrugging carelessly.

"You can't leave," Theo says, shaking his head. "You don't have a ride."

"I don't need one. I can just walk." I say, seeing where this is leading.

"You're walking three miles?" he asks, clearly knowing I'm not going to walk.

I abruptly come to a stop, and I turn to Theo with an annoyed glare. "Look if you want to take me home, fine. Just as long as I get out of this place. Now shut up and stop pretending like you know what's going on in my mind because trust me, you don't." I snarl, my voice full of venom.

Theo blinks, clearly surprised by the sudden answer. But he recovers and says, "Let's go, then."

We walk the rest of the way to his car in complete silence. I don't look at him, but I can feel his eyes on me. What is he looking at me for? Do I have something on my face? Did my makeup smear? His staring is making me uneasy, he should stop. It's annoying.

"Well, here it is." Theo says, stopping next to a huge gray pickup truck.

I can't hide my surprise. I had a hunch that Theo was one of those bad boys, and I expected him to own a fancy Porsche or a really expensive motorcycle, but this beautiful truck took me by surprise. I've always liked big cars, and the fact that Theo owns one kind of gives me a feeling I can't quite understand about him.

"This truck is amazing..." I say in complete awe. My mouth is slightly open and my eyes are looking at the vehicle in front of me.

"Yeah," Theo says, his voice perfectly smooth. I'm guessing he wanted to impress me, and I'm sure he's proud he did.

"Wow." is all I manage to get out.

"Get in," Theo says, opening the passenger door for me.

Normally, I would've been a little more conscious about what I was doing, but there was a feeling I had and I couldn't push it away. It was distracting me. Something to do with this car, that's what it was. But I had a strange sensation that maybe it had something to do with Theo.

I hop on the passenger seat and Theo closes the door. Being in a big car like this gives you a powerful feeling.

Theo gets into the driver's seat and he closes his door. "What do you think?" he asks.

"You've got one hell of a car," I say, looking out the window and down to the floor which seems really far away.

Theo gives a small chuckle and he turns the truck on, and I don't have a clue how, but my eyes are suddenly on his amazing arms. He's got a lot of muscle, so much that you can see his toned body through the hoodie he's wearing. I find myself staring and I blush, looking away. What's going on with me?

Minutes later, we're on the road, and I'm looking out the window without actually looking. My eyes are staring blankly ahead, while my mind keeps going back to Theo. Why? I don't know. But I don't have a problem with it, at all. The idea of Theo without a shirt is basically making me drool. And let's not even talk about him without any clothes at all-

"What are you thinking about?" Theo asks, knocking me out of my daydreams.

"Oh, n-nothing." I lie, knowing very well that I'm bright red.

"Are you sure about that? I could smell very...ah, lustful emotions coming from you." He says, a little amused yet awkward look on him.

"I-uh," I stutter, blushing even more, "Just, uh, thinking about someone. That's-That's all."

Theo looks at me sideways, a curious look flashes in his eyes. "Who were you thinking about?" he asks.

"Nobody of your interest." I say, looking away from him and turning back to the window, trying to hide my face which looks like it's on fire.

"That only makes me want to know even more," he says, and I know that he's going to keep insisting until I give him a name.

So I say the first one that comes to mind.

"Liam. I was, uh, thinking about Liam." I lie, and I almost laugh at myself because of the name. Liam? Really? He's never going to belive me.

"Oh. Okay," Theo says, much to my surprise.

The rest of the way is silent. And it's only when I snap myself out of my dirty thoughts and back into real life that I realize that Theo's not taking me home.

"Theo, where are you going?" I ask him, looking at him.

"I'm going to my house. I need to get something first." He says, not taking his eyes off the road.

I narrow my eyes at him. "What do you need to get?"

"Something very important." He says. "And I'm not telling you what it is, so don't bother asking."

I sigh in annoyance. And then I get a little scared. What if he's a bad guy? Like a villain? And what if he's taking me to his house to murder me?

Calm down, I tell myself, Just don't get out of the car and you'll be fine.

I pay close attention to the road, making sure that I remember any distinctive things that might help someone find me.

When we get there, Theo gets out and he opens up the door for me.

"Oh, no. I'm okay. I'll just stay here." I tell him, giving him a false reassuring smile.

"You're kidding right? It's three degrees out here." He says.

He's right. I can't deny the fact that I feel the absence of heat outside. It's freezing and I don't want to die just yet.

Just be completely careful. Don't let your guard down and you'll be fine.

"Fine," I say, cautiously getting out of the car.

I hear Theo close the door behind me and lock the car before his footsteps reach me and we walk side-by-side to the front door.

He takes the keys out of his pocket and he opens the door, holding it for me.

I give him a slight thankful smile as I walk in and I'm immediately glad I did. It's perfectly warm in here. It's very nice.

There's an armchair to the right, along with a sofa and a few small chairs. In the center of the seats, there's a brown carpet under a wooden coffee table.

Beyond the small living room, you can see the dining room. There's a brown eight-seater table, above it hangs a beautiful chandelier that shines with crystals.

To the left there's a door that I'm guessing leads to the kitchen and the stairs are beside it.

"Are your parents here?" I ask him, just to make sure that we're not alone.