#and then have RICKY deal the killing blow ???? | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

lisired · 3 months

Text

wish i never

pairing: Jaehyun x (f) reader

genre/warnings: smut, angst, debatable morals, unprotected sex, brother’s worst enemy, forbidden love, mark’s dad is a cop for the sake of plot, mentions of drugs and drug-related death

summary: Your brother, Johnny, hates Jaehyun and has never told you why. Although you intend on leaving it alone, unforeseen events thrust you into a forbidden love affair with Jaehyun. In between hookups and stolen kisses, you have to bury your feelings for Jaehyun around your overprotective older brother.

word count: 27.2k (listen… i don’t know anymore okay)

a/n: this one lowkey kinda hit different for me cause i’ve had a forbidden love and it broke me. you can kinda tell by how long this is lol ya girl went all OUT. as always, feedback is appreciated!

“Absolutely not.”

“Dude, come on,” Mark whined.

“Hell the fuck no,” Yuta barked firmly, crossing his arms. “The last time we gave you shrooms, you texted Johnny to ask him where your phone was.”

“And?”

“You texted him from your own phone,” Yuta deadpanned.

You snickered. Your best friend and drugs were an infamously egregious combination. Mark Lee sober was already full of shit, but Mark Lee high on whatever substance he could get his hands on? Indescribably bad. You couldn’t think of a word to even explain it.

Mark gestured over to you. “But you gave her drugs.”

Yuta grimaced. “First of all, don’t say that too loud. Johnny will kill me. Second of all, she can actually handle her shit and what can I say? She's a loyal customer.”

You added, “Plus I’m not doing fucking shrooms. Yuta just deals me weed. If Johnny ever found out I was doing anything else, he would have a fit.”

Mark huffed something under his breath about how shrooms were the softest of soft drugs there were, not that it would’ve helped his case.

Your lips curled into a grin as you joked, “Why don’t you just chug Jeno’s notorious punch and call it a night? That’s what I’m gonna do.”

“I’ve actually got plans with a chick who’s been dying to chug my notorious punch. I’ll be back later. Save me a drink, dude,” Mark said, grinning from ear to ear at a text message on his screen. Probably from the aforementioned chick that was begging to blow him, or so he said.

You pretended to wince, but gave him a high five in celebration. “Aye, aye, captain,” you chirped, saluting him.

After Mark made a break for the stairs, you abandoned Yuta to make a beeline for the drink bar. There was no such thing as a party with some of your boys without drugs and alcohol. Your brother was an overprotective nuisance, but even he knew it was impossible to keep you away from your shots and the occasional marijuana.

Plus it would've been hypocritical as all hell, so he let it slide. Not that you wanted to press your luck with something harder. On some nights you were a little drunk and a little high, and it brought out the worst in you. You were certain all of Johnny's friends kept blackmail worthy videos of you doing the unspeakable and you were content with never knowing what all those fuckers had on you. The embarrassment would be enough to kill.

You clocked one girl dry-heaving in the corner on the way and it was all the discouragement required to make you reach for a can of beer instead. To your surprise, it seemed like somebody had a similar plan, their hand coincidentally dropping on the same one.

"Oh, I'm sorry. You can have it…," you trailed, glancing up to make eye contact with nobody less than the devil incarnate.

Ricky looked surprised to see you, though you weren’t sure why. If Jeno was throwing a party, you were bound to be in attendance. “What up, baby? Long time no see.”

“Ricky, you lost the right to call me that the second I caught you with your pants to your ankles in a closet with what's-her-face.”

More importantly, you were frankly surprised to see him there. Your stupid ex was many things, none good, and his audacity? It was out of control. Part of you wanted to commend him, because it took guts to show his face around your side of town after you yanked his trousers down in front of everyone and their mother.

And yet he took that retort in stride. “Baby, how many times do I have to tell you that I’m sorry? It was a mistake and I’ll never make it again.”

“You’re absolutely right,” you replied, bobbing your head in agreement. “You’re a sorry motherfucker and you’ll never make it again, because we’re done for good.”

But Ricky just couldn’t take the hint that you were so fucking over anything that had to do with him and crept closer, continuing darkly, “Don’t you know you’re nothing without me? Nothing!”

Having surrounded yourself with enough drunk and high people countless times, it was obvious that Ricky was under the influence, which made him extremely capricious. He looked a grand total of two seconds away from reaching out and seizing you by your arm.

Your eyes darted across the room for anybody you knew, but it was difficult when dancing bodies obscured them from your field of view. Yuta had probably wandered to snag more drug deals, Mark was getting his dick wet, and Johnny and Taeyong were nowhere to be found.

You were about to resign yourself to the fact that you were positively out of luck until you heard a deep baritone ask from beside you, “Do we have a problem over here?”

It took all of two seconds to recognize its owner. Jeong Jaehyun, sang the little chorus in your head. Your brother’s worst enemy. The beef seemed more than a little one-sided, but you didn’t ask questions. For whatever reason, the mere mention of Jaehyun’s name made your brother tense.

It was clear that Ricky was sizing Jaehyun up and he snapped with potent venom, “Who the fuck are you?”

“The host’s cousin,” Jaehyun said, looking tall and foreboding, as if he was daring somebody to challenge him. “And you are?”

“The love of her life.”

You didn’t know how he could confidently lie like that, though you wouldn’t be surprised if he wholeheartedly believed it, which was downright terrifying. You learned the hard way that this boy was as self-centered as they came.

Jaehyun took one look at you, and the glaringly obvious discomfort on your face, and replied, "Yeah, I don't think she wants to be around you. If I were you, I'd get the fuck out of here and never come back."

Ricky chuckled. "And if I don't?"

Jaehyun shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "Fuck around and find out," was all he said. His lips were drawn into a line and his gaze was fixed to your ex's idiotic face with a lethal stare. Not to mention Jaehyun had a couple of inches on him, which made you resist a satisfied little grin.

Obviously, Ricky wanted to stay and claim you as his pretty property, but even the lack of inhibitions didn’t hinder his judgment at that moment. Like any wise person would, he made a beeline for the closest exit. It was common sense that Jeno and his associates were not to be fucked with.

Your shoulders relaxed when Ricky was gone. If anything, he had gotten off easy. He was lucky that you had no clue where Johnny was. You were positive he would’ve knocked the sense out of him, if he had any, which was debatable.

“Insufferable prick,” you grumbled under your breath. Then, you glanced up to Jaehyun, who, to your surprise, was already looking at you. “Thanks, Jaehyun. I don’t know what he would’ve done if you weren’t here.”

Jaehyun still looked a little pissed, but your words seemed to make him soften. “You don’t have to thank me for that. It’s basic human decency.”

“And some people don’t even have that,” you replied, intending for it to be a joke, but it came out a little more melancholy.

If Jaehyun noticed, he said nothing about it.

Before he could even if he wanted to, something stitched your brows together and you mentioned, “Hey, I didn’t know Jeno was your cousin.”

“Me, neither.”

It took a second for that to settle in, but once you finally understood, amusement broke the confusion tensing your face and your lips parted in laughter. Jaehyun joined you. His bold-faced little white lie saved your ass, but ironically, that wasn’t what you were focused on.

It was those deep, adorable dimples on both of his cheeks that somehow made him even more handsome.

Instantly, something in you chided, Bitch, don’t check him out. He’s your brother’s worst enemy. You’re out of your goddamn mind if you think you’re getting laid tonight just because he’s playing nice.

“I should go,” you said after a minute, finally grabbing a beer. “Thanks again. I really appreciate it.”

You escaped before Jaehyun could tell you not to thank him. His eyes were fixed to your back, following you until you were obscured completely by partygoers. He knew you were Johnny’s sister, but damn, you were kinda cute.

At least for now, Jaehyun wouldn’t play with fire. Johnny almost kicked his ass one time and he wasn’t exactly keen on getting his ass handed to him.

You were half tempted to stop by Jeno’s room to check if any of the guys were passing a blunt around in there, but the last time your curiosity got the better of you, you accidentally walked in on Jeno shirtless with some half-naked girl. Not a sight you wanted to relive, so you kept downstairs.

Your eyes scanned the living room for any familiar faces, but it was difficult to tell if anybody was there. There was a gigantic crowd dancing to Kiss Me Thru The Phone and you chuckled at a certain memory of Mark drunk-singing along to the lyrics.

“There you are,” came a familiar voice beside you. Your gaze flitted to Johnny, whose face was stitched with concern. “Taeyong told me that he saw you with Jaehyun. You good?”

“I’m fine,” you hollered over the music. “Just heartbroken that Mark abandoned me to get laid.”

Any other time, Johnny would’ve laughed, but his lips were pressed into a solid line. “Have you had anything?”

You rolled your eyes and exhaled a breath. “Just the beer in my hand, Johnny.”

He studied your face, as if he was attempting to figure out whether or not you were telling the truth, but ultimately decided to believe you. “Listen, I just wanna look out for you. You’re my little sister. If anything were to happen to you...”

“Mom and Dad would kill you and dump your body in the woods for bears to find. Yes, I know,” you groaned exasperatedly, cutting him off. “I get it, Johnny. But I need you to get that I’m not a little girl anymore.”

“If you were a little girl, you wouldn’t be here and we wouldn’t give you weed.”

That comment wasn’t even worth a roll of your eyes. You took a sip of beer and ignored it.

“Why were you around Jaehyun anyways?” Johnny asked. It was obviously the question he was itching to ask. Probably wanted to make sure Jaehyun wasn’t making any advances.

The memory of your bastard ex getting uncomfortably close to you after reaching for a drink he clearly didn’t need, raising his voice at you in a way no woman should ever accept, made you shudder. “Ricky decided to try and win me back. If you can even call it that.”

Johnny immediately perked up in anger. “What?”

“Relax. Jaehyun already took care of him. That’s why he was there. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“I swear to god, I’m gonna kill that son of a bitch,” Johnny hissed, looking a total of five seconds away from giving someone a piece of his mind.

“Ricky, or Jaehyun?”

“Does it matter?”

You shrugged. Your lips parted to ask why he hated Jaehyun in the first place, but you cut yourself off. There was a reason why you didn’t ask him months ago. Johnny might’ve been overprotective, but that was because he was your brother and he loved you. When he was ready, he would tell you.

The night dragged on. This one was a little more boring than usual, but that could’ve been chalked up to you still being shaken up about your encounter with your ex. You almost considered what would’ve happened had Jaehyun not been around to intervene, but your mind dared not wander there.

Part of you wanted to know where he was camping out at. Surely, he had to be around here somewhere, but you weren’t going to look. Especially not with Johnny on high alert. He was being extra careful, wanting to be there in case your ex was crazy enough to return.

You listed what you knew about Jeong Jaehyun. For one, he was fine as hell. That was undeniable. Secondly, he was lowkey, which was why you essentially knew nothing about him other than the fact that he was drop-dead gorgeous.

Sure, he made an appearance at these parties every now and then, but most of the time he kept to a tight-knit circle of friends and if they weren’t there, there was no way in hell he was coming. Sometimes his roommates’ threw parties at their house, but he rarely went downstairs, preferring to linger in his room doing fuck knows what.

You honestly couldn’t blame him. People sucked. Most of them, anyways.

Only one day later, you were gripping an overlook, peering down at little critters splashing in the lake from the bridge above. For a long time, there was nobody there to join you other than your little nonhuman friends. You liked coming here every now and then to clear your head. It was your safe place, your happy place.

The sky was cloudy but there was only a nine percent chance of rain this afternoon, thus you weren’t too worried. You needed to go somewhere. Home was too isolating, but everywhere else was too open.

You could be happy here. There were no entitled assholes or overprotective brothers around to get on your nerves every five seconds. It was only you and the gifts of nature.

And somebody else.

“I thought that was you,” said somebody from your side.

Imagine your shock when you turned and saw Jeong Jaehyun jogging towards you. In the fucking flesh.

It was harder not to check him out this time. The man was practically drenched head to toe in sweat, his very exposed skin glistening with moisture. The shirt he was wearing hugged his chest and it was all you could do not to salivate.

Rather than continue to rake your eyes up his frame, you asked playfully, “Are you stalking me, Jeong Jaehyun?”

Jaehyun’s eyes twinkled with mirth. God, how come you never noticed how pretty and brown they were? “Actually, I’m surprised. I was cutting through here instead of my usual jog route. The weather looked pretty bad.”

You snickered, crossing your arms. “You didn’t check the forecast before you left the house? It’s not gonna rain. Probably.”

Jaehyun furrowed a brow. “Probably?”

“That guy on the news is an infamous liar,” you grumbled under your breath.

Jaehyun chuckled. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, coming closer to the railing where you were, but kept a safe distance between your bodies lest he made you uncomfortable. “I told you why I’m here. What about you?”

Your nose got an instant waft of Jaehyun’s scent and it was godly, which was shocking considering he was literally sweating everywhere. “Oh, you know. I come here from time to time to think, or to not think. Depending on what the situation calls for.”

“Really?”

You bobbed your head. “Yeah. Why?”

Jaehyun shook his head. “Nothing,” was what he said, but in reality, he was thinking about how he passed this bridge nearly every goddamn day and never knew if he took a detour, he’d potentially cross paths with a pretty little thing like you.

You lifted a brow, but didn’t press.

“Are you… okay?” Jaehyun reluctantly asked.

You bobbed your head. “Yup, I’m alright. It’s just that Ricky approaching me has Johnny on edge, so now whenever I go out he and his friends are watching me like a bunch of hawks.”

Jaehyun winced. “Damn. That must suck.”

“I get he’s doing it from a place of love, but fuck, sometimes I just wanna be left the hell alone, you know?”

Jaehyun nodded. God, did he know. And not only because he was an overwhelmingly introverted dude. “Yeah, I know exactly what you mean.”

That caught your attention. “You do?”

Jaehyun scratched the back of his head. “I mean, I don’t have an overprotective brother, but I do have an overprotective mother. It’s sweet and all, but do you know what it makes you look like when you’re on a date with a girl and your mom won’t stop calling you?”

Your lips couldn’t help but curl into a grin. “Aw, you’re a Momma’s boy.”

“This is exactly what I mean,” Jaehyun groaned.

“No, it’s… cute,” you said, but it was impossible to control the giggles falling from your lips. “Most of the guys I know like that are sweethearts. Johnny, Mark. Maybe you.”

Jaehyun found that amusing. “You think I’m a sweetheart?”

You shrugged your shoulders. “Maybe. I don’t know you well enough to decide, but seemingly, sure.”

“Do you want to?”

“Do I want to what?”

“Know me better,” Jaehyun said, tentative. Almost as if he wasn’t sure what he wanted.

That was the million dollar question. On the one hand, Jaehyun was cute and it most likely wouldn’t hurt to spend a little time together, but on the other, there was the Johnny thing. You groaned. “God, Johnny would have a heart attack if he knew I was with you right now. Maybe even an aneurysm.”

Jaehyun snickered with mischief. “Who said that he has to know?”

That response downright shocked you. You weren’t expecting it from somebody like him, though then again, you knew virtually nothing about this boy and it only made you want to sate your curiosity. “Ooh. You’re trouble, Jeong Jaehyun.”

Jaehyun took that in stride. “I’m guessing you like that.”

Taking a step closer, you started to close the gap between you that Jaehyun had created for your sake. “Hm, you know what they say.”

“I don’t think I do.”

“It’s always the quiet ones that deal the most damage,” you whispered sultrily, glancing into his gentle brown eyes.

Jaehyun’s eyes flickered. That caught him off-guard.

Then, you backed away and waved him goodbye. “I’ve gotta go. Later, Dimples.”

Dimples? That was new. Jaehyun was pleasantly surprised by the nickname and he was so stunned that it distracted him from his train of thoughts.

It was only when you were long gone that he realized that you never answered his question.

You needed time to think, to decide if Jaehyun was worth potentially losing your brother’s trust. You didn’t know why he hated him, but his less than enthusiastic reactions to him said more than enough. Jaehyun was cute, but you could easily find another cute guy whose bones your brother didn’t mention crushing.

But damn, you were curious. And curiosity killed the cat. You knew one thing, though. You were starting to like Jeong Jaehyun.

You shook your head, ashamed of yourself. This is really what’s it’s come to, huh?

Jaehyun thought about that exchange on the bridge every now and then for the next couple of days and chastised himself for even making moves on you of all people. She’s his baby sister, you asshole. She’s off-limits.

Not that it would really stop him, if you let him have you.

It wasn’t like Johnny had to know. Jaehyun could keep a secret and he assumed that you had a handful of your own. People with strict upbringings tended to have a lot of practice with being sneaky and your situation was close enough.

He sat on his bed and heaved a breath, playing with a lighter.

Meanwhile, you were with your boys, listening to them chatter about disgusting boy things but lowkey too curious to abandon your spot on the sofa that was too comfortable for its own good. Nobody liked sleeping on sofas, but you swore you wouldn’t mind on this one. Plus sometimes you’d gotten drunk here enough where you almost dozed off.

You made a gagging noise when Mark started to talk about his nth blowjob of the week. You weren’t counting, but he definitely was.

“Your dick probably has so much chlamydia that it’ll mutate into a different variant like Covid,” Haechan teased.

You grimaced, but you definitely agreed.

“You’re one to talk,” Mark snapped.

Haechan nodded, grinning proudly. “Of course, I am. I always wear condoms and get tested regularly. I’m clean as a whistle.”

You shook your head in amusement. “I’ve never understood the saying ‘clean as a whistle.’ Like aren’t whistles actually contaminated from being in someone’s mouth? Now, when you combine that logic with your dick…”

Jeno burst into laughter. Yuta obviously found it funny from the smile on his face and Mark would never miss a chance to laugh at his friend’s expense.

Haechan dramatically rolled his eyes. “And what about you, little miss? How often do you get laid?”

“Definitely not as often as you guys,” you replied, coming to a stand. Not that you wanted to kiss the sofa goodbye. “I’ll be right back. I’ve gotta tinkle.”

Mark’s nose wrinkled. “You didn’t think that was too much information?”

You almost threw the remote at your best friend, but spared him. There was no way this dude was talking about too much information when he was literally giving you all a play-by-play of his sex life.

“If it burns when you pee, Mark gave you the airborne strand of chlamydia,” Yuta joked dryly.

You left too quickly to see Mark attempt to murder Yuta and it was a shame that you had to miss it. There was no doubt that Haechan would exaggerate the moment to make you regret not being there, but right now, you were concentrated on finding the bathroom.

And of course, it was when you finally made it upstairs through the groups of bodies that you realized you didn’t know where it was.

You groaned, cursing yourself for being so forgetful. You’d only been here a couple of times and never long enough to use the fucking bathroom, apparently. And you really couldn’t fucking hold it.

You glanced around the set of doors upstairs, incapable of keeping still. Thank god nobody was here except for you. If I was a bathroom, which door would I be behind?

You set eyes on a random door and said, “Fuck it.” You marched right up to it and knocked none too gently, seeping with impatience.

To your surprise, it was Jaehyun that opened the door, a pair of headphones slung around his neck. And behind him was a bed, not a toilet.

Jaehyun’s eyes flickered with shock and he said your name. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, um, I was kinda looking for the bathroom. I’m guessing this isn’t it,” you said with a little humor, which was remarkable, all things considered. “What are you doing here?”

“I live here, baby.”

“Oh.” You knew that, so the fact that it slipped your mind meant that you definitely weren’t yourself when you had to pee.

Jaehyun had the audacity to laugh. He opened his door a little wider. “You can use mine. It’s that door over there.”

“Thank you,” you said in relief, immediately darting for the bathroom.

You were even more relieved by the time you washed your hands and walked back into his bedroom, no longer fighting to keep still. Jaehyun was sitting on his bed where his headphones were now cast aside. God, how loud did you have to be knocking for him to hear you over those?

“You sure were in a hurry,” Jaehyun teased.

You rolled your eyes, but a little laugh fell from your lips. You wholeheartedly blamed Jeno and his damn poisonous drinks. Sighing in relief, you glanced around Jaehyun’s room. For a boy, he was exceptionally tidy. He had vinyls organized on a shelf. “No girls in here, I see.”

Jaehyun didn’t know whether to be offended by that or not. “What do you think I am, a pimp?”

You snickered. “Nah. I’m just traumatized. Sue me.”

Jaehyun knew better than to ask questions that he didn’t want to know the answers to, so he left it alone. “You never answered my question the other day.”

“What question?” you asked. Obviously, you were playing dumb. You needed every second to think about what your response would be, although you’d had the past forty-eight hours and then some to contemplate.

Your damn brother was the only thing that stood between you and Jaehyun.

Johnny wasn’t around this time for obvious reasons. There was no way in hell that he’d step foot in the house of his mortal enemy. He didn’t want you to be there either, but you assured him that you’d steer clear of all things Jeong Jaehyun.

And it wasn’t as if you had deliberately lied. It (kind of) wasn’t your fault that you didn’t know where the bathroom was.

“If you wanted to get to know me better.”

You stepped over to his bed, sitting beside him and sighing. “Jaehyun, you know my brother won’t approve.”

“I guess that’s a ‘no’ then,” Jaehyun muttered.

Your eyes glanced at his handsome face, then his beautiful, twinkling brown eyes, and finally his soft pink lips. And when they flitted so low, there was no looking back. You leaned in and pressed your lips to Jaehyun’s, waiting for him to kiss back, and when he did without hesitation your heart soared.

His hands flew to your back, eyes fluttering closed. God, he tasted as good as he smelled, and it was more than a little arousing. You made him fall against his mattress, straddling his hips and kissing him even deeper.

The change was welcome. His heart was racing just from locking lips with you and it took him to the sky. He grabbed a hold of your hips, which fit snugly in his palms, and listened to the soft sighs that slipped from your mouth in between the kisses.

Mark was probably downstairs wondering, Damn, bitch, how long does it take to piss?

You pulled back when a certain groan of his turned you on a little too much to be safe. Jaehyun was secretly disappointed, but he didn’t complain, taking time to catch his breath. “Is that a maybe?”

You giggled and shook your head. “It’s a yes.”

Jaehyun sat up and grinned. He knew what he was getting himself into, but he didn’t care. There was something about you that made him defy gravity.

Still straddling his hips, you threaded your fingers through his hair and leaned in to whisper into his ears, “We’re playing with fire.”

“Ironically, I thought the same thing,” Jaehyun deadpanned.

You chuckled. Well, if you didn’t care, and he didn’t care, nothing more needed to be said. You were really doing this.

Jaehyun realized that he already really liked holding you. You were warm and soft to the touch, and you fit perfectly in his arms. “Have you been drinking?”

“Nope.”

“Did you do any drugs?”

“Not even a little,” you said, raising a brow at the question. Much to your chagrin, it reminded you of your brother’s incessant worry. “Why?”

Jaehyun said without hesitation, “Because I’ve got weed.”

That was exciting. No wonder Jaehyun never came downstairs during his roommates’ parties. The real party was in his bedroom. “Geez, Dimples. What are you waiting for?”

Jaehyun laughed at your enthusiasm and grabbed his lighter off his nightstand. You were flattered when he let you roll and even more when he praised your technique, which took years to develop. Thank god for your experienced friends.

The high had you hyper aware of everything. Jaehyun’s whole room smelled like him, to no surprise. As he said, he lived there, fuck’s sake. But it was pleasant and you were honestly forgetting that you even promised to return downstairs.

The guilt and pressure of keeping secrets from Johnny was heavy on your back a few moments ago, but after the marijuana settled in, you relaxed into Jaehyun’s side. He didn’t seem to mind. Maybe it was the tree getting to his brain, but his hands got a little bolder, too.

And it also only enhanced your curiosity. “Do you do this often, Jaehyun?”

“You mean invite girls into my room to talk and smoke?”

“Yeah.”

Jaehyun took a drag and exhaled into the thick air of his room. “Eh, not really. I’ve had girls in my room before, obviously, but it never really lasts.”

You weren’t surprised. Any girl could see that Jaehyun was handsome as all fucking hell and you didn’t expect him to be a total sexless loser. Matter of fact, if he told you that he was a virgin, you doubted that you’d even believe it.

“Maybe you haven’t met the right girl then,” you suggested coyly.

Jaehyun chuckled. “Maybe.”

It was way too soon to ask if he thought you were the right girl, so instead you settled for asking where his interests lay. “What exactly are you looking for?”

Jaehyun knew the answer to that question in perfect detail because he’d thought about it countless times, being his typical hopeless romantic self. This was a boy that dreamed of finding his miss right before he went to bed. He was a simple guy. He wanted picket fences and kids. Perhaps a puppy.

But maybe it wasn’t all too simple. Jaehyun wasn’t searching for a housewife. He wanted someone to go to random old shops with and look at vintage items together. He wanted someone that didn’t draw a lot of attention, but liked to go outside and explore. Money be damned. Thanks to his mother, he had ample cash, but no one to spend it on.

Jaehyun hummed, pretending to think about his answer. “Guess.”

You threw him a look. “Are you serious?”

Jaehyun bobbed his head eagerly, lips curling into a mischievous little grin. “I’ll tell you, but I want you to guess first.”

You sighed and glanced around his bedroom for clues, and fortunately enough, there were plenty. “Vinyls from the nineties. You’re an old soul and you want someone who fits your vibe. You smell like expensive cologne, so maybe you want someone to wine and dine, but you definitely want to be comfortable.”

Jaehyun said nothing, but you could tell that he was listening.

You looked at the pictures of him and an older woman framed on his nightstand and continued, “You want the type of girl you can take home to your mother. And your mother wants the absolute best for her son, so she raised you to have high standards.”

“You’re good at this,” Jaehyun muttered.

“I’m nowhere close to being finished,” you said, grinning from ear to ear. “Judging from the souvenirs on your shelf, you like going to different places, so you want someone curious and adventurous in nature. Appreciative and respectful of different peoples' cultures.”

Jaehyun was only smiling at this point. It was kind of funny and spooky being read like this.

“You’ve searched for love and haven’t found something that feels right, so now you keep girls around for a good time, not a long one. And you love a damsel in distress, I think,” you said, concluding your investigation.

“Wow,” was all Jaehyun said.

Though you already knew the answer, you pressed your lips into a smile and asked, “Am I warm?”

“You’re on fire,” he replied, wondering how in the hell you got all that just from looking at his bedroom. “But how did you know?”

“That you love a damsel in distress?”

“That I’ve looked for love and gave up on it.”

You almost rolled your eyes. You couldn’t believe he was seriously asking that question. “No offense, but you scream hopeless romantic. Plus you’re hot. You know your worth and what you want and I doubt it’s meaningless sex.”

Jaehyun had this melancholy look on his face for the briefest of seconds, but it disappeared so quickly you could’ve imagined it being there.

“I don’t think you gave up, I think you took a little pause. You know she’s out there, and when the time’s right, you’ll know.” Then, you abandoned the sadness and quipped, “But you’re also a guy, and guys want sex.”

Jaehyun chuckled, but you had somehow penetrated his mind. You had part of him figured out and he didn’t know what to do with that. It was too soon to get too deep.

You exhaled contentedly, but the marijuana had you thinking. You could’ve been wrong about Jaehyun. You had definitely been wrong before.

There was this tension in the room now that neither of you were equipped to handle. As standard when he was fooling around with a girl, there was a piece of him that wondered if it could be the real thing this time, but he didn’t want to get ahead of himself.

It wouldn’t have been the first time.

Jaehyun gave you back the blunt. “What about you - what are you looking for?”

“Who said I was looking?” you asked with obvious amusement.

That shattered Jaehyun’s former thoughts of possibly wifing you up one day. Of course you didn’t intend on dating the dude your brother hated. It would’ve been a very unconventional relationship. You could keep him around for fun, but it would have to end sooner or later.

So Jaehyun contentedly resigned himself to the fact that you would pass, just like all the other girls he brought up to his room, and decided he was fine with that. Maybe he had high standards, but you’d forgotten to mention the part that they came with moderate hopes and low expectations.

That way getting hurt was borderline impossible.

Then, Jaehyun started to grin like an idiot and reminded, “You said that you think I’m hot.”

“I literally said that ten hundred hours ago,” you groaned, exhaling a puff of smoke into the air.

You cried out in shock when he grabbed your hips and pulled you back onto him again, but instinctively leaned into his shoulder. Jaehyun was (usually) humble, but anyone who thought he didn’t know he was hot was a fool. “Am I hot enough to kiss?”

Your lips tugged into a smile, and rather than directly answer his question, you went in for a kiss, holding the blunt away from his face so that he wouldn’t get burned. Jaehyun effortlessly matched your rhythm and it was dumbfounding how he could be so excellent of a kisser.

You spent the better half of the night passing a blunt back and forth with Jaehyun, kissing and talking in between (featuring some inappropriate touches). Jaehyun was so fucking easy to talk to, the topics were boundless. Neither of you opened up much outside of your relationship goals and lack thereof, but you still got to know each other a little better.

Jaehyun loved music from r&b to jazz to soul, though you could’ve guessed how passionate he was after one look at his vinyl collection. He was flirty sometimes, but soft-spoken and very gentleman-like and he never once proposed for the two of you to have sex. Plus he was a bit of a goofball.

To say nothing of the fact that he could play the guitar. You didn’t know why, but that somehow made him even more delightful.

It was pleasant to be in the presence of a guy that was simultaneously attractive and respectful.

Because it was far too late for you to drive yourself home when you finally started to get sleepy, he let you steal his bed and slept in the room of one of his roommate’s that was never home, according to Jaehyun.

Jungkook was what he said his name was. Apparently he basically lived full-time in his girlfriend’s apartment and Jaehyun didn’t know why he still paid rent, but he didn’t complain. It was going to be a sad day for his bank account when Jungkook finally moved out.

And that left Yugyeom. He was the one that threw all of the parties. You asked Jaehyun last night why he rarely came downstairs during those parties and his response was, “I don’t like the attention.”

Morning had come loudly as ever. Birds chirped outside, singing sweetly. You stretched your arms above your head and yawned, unable to ignore the dark curtains that effectively kept the sunlight out.

The first thing you did was let a little light in. And the second thing was remember how you spent last night, memories of marijuana and laughter, and flirtatious behavior hitting you all at once. It seemed that Jeong Jaehyun was a promise of fun.

Grabbing your phone, you headed down the stairs and breathed a little in relief when you saw Jaehyun already awake, waiting by the toaster. “Good morning, Dimples.”

Jaehyun turned when he heard your voice and the smile that spread across his lips was instantaneous. “Good morning, beautiful. How did you sleep?”

“I should’ve known that your bed would be as cool and collected as you are,” you quipped, rubbing your arms. It was colder without Jaehyun’s blankets to help strengthen the temperature.

Jaehyun shook with mirth and it was a sight you wanted to see more often.

“I could’ve slept on the sofa,” you said without complaint. “The party was over by the time we called it a night and it’s the most comfortable sofa I’ve ever put my butt on.”

“It goes against everything I believe in to let you sleep on a couch when there’s a perfectly functional bed upstairs.”

“Aw, what a gentleman,” you replied, coming to stand at his side. “I drew the curtains in your room open, by the way. I don’t know how you live like a damn vampire.”

“What’s wrong with living like a vampire? Vampires are cool.”

“I don’t think Vampires need Vitamin D. Humans do,” you retorted, arms crossed.

Jaehyun’s lips curved into a stupid little smile that reeked of mischief and you instantly knew where his thoughts were before he even said anything.

You rolled your eyes at his silliness and told him, “Whatever you’re about to say - don’t.”

Bagels popped out of the toaster and the sight of food made Jaehyun forget about his previous shenanigans. He set both bagels on individual plates that already had food and said, “I made you something. It’s not much because I’ve gotta go soon, but I didn’t want you to be hungry.”

“Thank you,” you said with gratitude, accepting the plate he handed to you. Plate in hand, you went to sit at the table, watching Jaehyun bring cups over.

“You’re welcome,” Jaehyun told you gently. “Next time I’ll make you a real full-course meal as a treat.”

You gawked. “You can cook?”

“A little bit, yeah. Why?”

“You just got so much hotter,” you breathed.

Jaehyun grinned.

The time you spent together that morning was a duplicate of the night before except there were only the lingering overnight highs instead of the fresh ones. You were sad that you had to leave, but Jaehyun had to work and you needed to go home.

Sitting in your car, you checked your phone for the first time in hours. There had to be a thousand missed calls and unanswered messages from your friends and Johnny. Though it wasn’t unusual for your phone to be on Do Not Disturb, it was definitely strange to not at least tell your loved ones that you were very much still alive.

You were just so hooked on Jaehyun that it completely slipped your mind to check your phone. There wasn’t a dull moment upstairs in his bedroom and even when it was silent you were comforted by the sound of a vinyl playing quietly on his record player, which you were stunned that he even had.

You texted your friends to let them know that you were on the way home and called Johnny to get his usual tantrum out of the way before you got there, but it was safe to say that you weren’t expecting to come back to Johnny and Mark waiting for you in the kitchen like two unhappy parents.

You reached into the cabinet to grab a glass and deadpanned, “Uh oh. Am I in trouble?”

Mark snickered and he looked like mischief. “Very much so.”

Your gaze flitted towards Johnny, who was clearly the more disgruntled of the two, and asked, “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You look like you had a long night.”

“That’s probably because I did.”

“Did you hook up with anyone?”

You grimaced. “Gross, Johnny. Do I ask you who and what you do with your dick?”

Johnny gave you a look that told you he was serious.

“No, I didn’t hook up,” you replied, filling your glass with water and hoping to find a way out of this situation so that you could shower and brush your teeth.

Johnny’s lips were tugged into a frown. This older brother responsibility was far from easy when his little sister made it even harder to check up on her. “I worry about you. Is that a crime?”

You exhaled a long breath. “You’re right. I should have at least let you know that I was okay and I didn’t, and I’m sorry. I just got… distracted.”

That got Mark’s attention and he butted in dramatically, “Where did you go last night? I was this close to filing a police report, but it hadn’t been twenty-four hours.”

Typical cop father response. That was half the reason why nobody wanted to deal him drugs. Thank goodness he had you to vouch for him. “And what would you do if I was off with a serial killer instead of some hot guy?”

“I wouldn’t be too worried. You’re annoying. They would return you on the front doorstep with a note that said ‘come get your bitch back.’”

You were tempted to roll your eyes, but you noticed Johnny laugh a little and it honestly made you feel somewhat better. He had been painfully uptight lately and you just wanted him to chill for once.

“I’m gonna go take a shower and brush my teeth,” you announced, discarding your glass in the sink and heading for the stairs.

Of course, Mark had more insults on deck and didn’t hesitate to ask, “You’re gonna need more than that for all the cum you had to have gargled last night.”

“For the last time, I did not hook up,” you huffed in exasperation, marching up the stairs. “And get the hell out of my house - you don’t even live here!”

You could hear Mark laughing from the overlook.

A lot of time was spent counting down the hours until you could see Jeong Jaehyun again. You learned that he was not the type of guy to sit around waiting by his phone. This was a busy man with business to take care of and he didn’t have a lot of spare time.

You didn’t mind, because he spent it talking to you, which was definitely an indicator that he was starting to really like you. With so few hours in a week, let alone a day, it was hard to believe he let just anyone consume the little downtime that remained.

Jaehyun let you crash some nights at his place when your brother was being a massive thorn in your side. It wasn’t a crime, but it was easy to get away with, all things considered. Yugyeom never bothered either of you and Jungkook was rarely there, so you spent most of the time talking incessantly and getting high.

Maybe some kisses were shared in between, but nothing more. Jaehyun was content with just getting to know you for now. His usual invitees consisted of one-night stands and girls he hung out with for a couple of weeks, but you were different. You made him think, high or not, and it was rare a girl penetrated his mind so deeply.

And so quickly. It had only been a month, maybe a little longer. He was still afraid of being completely open with you, but the way the two of you touched each other was starting to get riskier and riskier.

Kisses lasted longer. More than once, he caught himself going after your clothes, but he didn’t want to seem like an animal. You did seem a little eager too, kissing the breath out of him and getting more and more flirtatious, but Jaehyun hated having to guess.

He wanted you to tell him what you wanted in no uncertain terms. No room for uncertainty.

Yugyeom knocked on Jaehyun’s bedroom door, which was already cracked ajar, and asked, “Hey, is she coming over tonight?”

“Yes, so please be on your best behavior. No bullshit,” Jaehyun replied, getting a whiff of the trouble that was Yugyeom and wrinkling his nose.

“Have you guys… you know?”

“That’s a personal question.”

“So you haven’t.” Yugyeom pressed, “Man, when are you gonna tell her you’ve got the hots for her? You know what, I’ll clear the house and leave a bottle of wine out. Light one of your expensive candles. Girls like that shit.”

Like hell Jaehyun needed advice on how to set the mood, from Yugyeom much less. Plus he was none too pleased at being interrupted, especially because now he was thinking about having sex with you and it was doing things to him down there. “I think I know what girls like.”

“Then what’s the problem? And don’t tell me that you haven’t thought about it. We’re both dudes, man. That’s bullshit.”

“There isn’t one,” Jaehyun replied to his roommate honestly. Of course, he had thought about having sex with you. He might’ve been respectful, but like Yugyeom said, he was still a dude. Hell, the words had come out of your own mouth.

Yugyeom prodded, “Then?”

“I just don’t wanna rush into it.”

Now that Yugyeom could buy. Jaehyun was sentimental like that. When he really liked a girl, evaluating her worth took priority over getting laid. Jaehyun had this wall of ice put up that even Yugyeom had to steadily break through. Ironically, sometimes it felt like he was still on the outside.

But he put two and two together. If Jaehyun liked you - as in really, really liked you - then that made shit even more complicated. It was no secret that Johnny had it out for Jaehyun and he obviously came to the same conclusion that Jaehyun had; shit getting serious with you was dangerous.

So Yugyeom left it alone.

Like clockwork, you were pulling into Jaehyun’s driveway only a few hours later. You discerned that the lot was empty save for your car and Jaehyun’s which more than likely implied that the two of you would be completely alone in the house together.

Slipping the spare key from under the mat, you unlocked the door and sang after locking it behind yourself, “Darling, I’m home!”

“I’m upstairs,” Jaehyun called out from the second floor, his room door obviously open for once. The benefits of having the house to himself.

You didn’t hesitate to make your way upstairs, not failing to clock the bottle of expensive wine on the counter when you passed by the kitchen, but you thought little of it when you came through the hallway and slipped into Jaehyun’s comfortable bedroom. “Hey, Dimples,” you greeted.

Jaehyun smiled at you and waved. His room was dimly lit. The overhead lights were turned off, but the candles on his nightstand were ablaze and there was an old school classic going on in the background.

The second you came in, Jaehyun set his book aside, giving you his undivided attention. “Come here.”

You wasted no time doing as told, advancing towards the bed and giggling when he snatched you into his open arms for a handful of kisses. Your whole body was soothed from his slightest of touches, at ease in his arms. Jaehyun had quickly become your second safe place.

God, you had been waiting for this moment all week. Johnny wasn’t on your ass any more than usual, but it got lonely in that house and it was even worse when you found yourself only craving Jaehyun’s company. There was something happening to you and you couldn’t tell if you liked it or not.

Jaehyun drew back after a minute, taking a moment to breathe and brush a loose strand of hair behind your ears. “Things okay at home?”

“New topic,” you groaned.

Jaehyun winced. That couldn’t have been too good.

“You smell good,” you purred, breathing in his scent.

“You always say that.”

“Because you always smell good.”

“I just got out of the shower.”

“Without me?”

“You sound like a guy,” Jaehyun said in disapproval.

You snickered. You had definitely gotten that comment from a boy before.

Jaehyun’s eyes were fixed to your face, taking in how beautiful you were. Damn, it was like every time he saw you, you looked even more breathtaking.

You couldn’t help but stare back. Jaehyun’s visuals were out of this damn universe and it was borderline maddening he could be this fucking fine. But deeper than that, sometimes you couldn’t help but stare into his dark eyes and wonder what all he was hiding back there.

It was plain as day that Jaehyun wasn’t the type to wear his heart on his sleeve, especially not when his romantic feelings were involved. In the time that you’d spent together, you had gotten to learn some things about him, but there was plenty that he filtered out as a defense mechanism.

When you wanted to get closer, Jaehyun shut down, which was totally ironic, because he was the one that asked if you wanted to get to know him. Now you had to fight for it?

Maybe he meant get to know his body and you were oblivious - and you wouldn’t have minded one bit - but if that was the case, you should’ve already had sex and been out of the picture. Yet he was keeping you twice as long as most girls lasted and for no apparent reason.

Sex made things more complicated. If you had sex with Jaehyun right now, and it was good, there was absolutely no telling how that would shift the trajectory of your entire life. But the way he was looking at you right now tempted you to risk it all.

Your lips found Jaehyun’s again, but the kiss was different this time. It was needier, desperate. It sent heat stretching through every bone in your body and straight between your thighs, and you felt like you were levitating. Your body scorched with desire, hands running down his chest.

Jaehyun kept up with your reckless kissing very well, but he couldn’t ignore the nature of it and it made him ask himself questions. You were kissing him like you wanted him. Tired of wondering, he pulled back and asked forthrightly, “Do you want to have sex with me?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” you countered, quickly seizing the opportunity to return your lips to his.

All of this beating around the bush was getting on his nerves and Jaehyun took matters into his own hands. Literally. You gasped when he pushed you onto your back, pinning you onto his bed, and locked your wrists above your head. “I want to hear you say it.”

Now that was sexy as hell and your thighs involuntarily pressed together. “I want to have sex with you.”

That was all Jaehyun needed to hear. He was quick to catch your lip in between his teeth and seal your lips in another heated kiss, taking in your every trembling exhale. You moaned into his mouth, a little too enamored with how good it felt beneath him.

His hands released your wrists in favor of your waist, testing the waters. You were reactive to Jaehyun’s touches, hyper aware of his hands steadily falling lower, but not daring to touch you too intimately yet. Like he was waiting for something to happen.

Jaehyun’s eyes sank to your empty neck and something deep in the pit of his gut was set on fire. “Are marks okay?”

Making quick work of his shirt and tossing it over his shoulders, you nodded your head. “Yeah. Johnny will notice, but he’ll never assume they’re from you.”

It took absolutely nothing else for Jaehyun to connect his lips to your throat hungrily, leaving mark after mark on your skin in an effort to stake his claim to you. And all it did was turn you on further. There was a thudding between your legs, arousal spilling over.

Little soft sighs and curses slipped from your lips and you could feel the bedroom get hotter and hotter. It wasn’t as if you and Jaehyun had agreed to be exclusive, but you hadn’t been with anyone else in the time that the two of you had been hanging out, meaning it had been over a month since you’d last had sex.

And it fucking showed. You were aching for more, on top of your natural desire for Jaehyun. If you didn’t fuck his brains out right now you were going to self-destruct.

“Jaehyun, fuck me,” you groaned impatiently.

Instead, he grinned, too fond of the neediness in your voice and on your pretty face. Jaehyun looked you plain in the eye and said, “I want you to beg.”

You were too gone to roll your eyes, but not too out of it to retort, “Make me.”

“I’m gonna make you beg, alright,” Jaehyun said without question. He made a move for your shorts and tugged them off your ankles, repeating the gesture with your panties.

The only thing that kept you from being totally naked was your top but Jaehyun didn’t look too concerned with getting rid of it yet. Instead, he focused his undivided attention between your legs, entranced by your glistening core and his mouth going dry with the desire to have a taste.

You watched the enthrallment on his face with satisfaction. Funny how his ability to conceal his emotions went out the window when pussy was involved. His eyes were dark as ever and Jaehyun’s voice somehow got deeper when he asked, “Will you let me taste you?”

“Fuck,” you mumbled, sensing that he was about to wreck the living hell out of you. “Uh, yeah. Yes.”

No room for uncertainty. Now that he had your consent, Jaehyun gathered your legs in his hands, tossed them over his broad shoulders, and went to town. You gasped aloud at the first pass of his tongue at your clit and it couldn’t have been further from tentative.

Of course this man went straight for your sensitive bundle of nerves instead of your slick folds, he knew better. Given how exciting the thought of Jaehyun dicking you down had been, you were already throbbing, but now you were tense and unstill.

There was something about the feeling of his lips sucking and licking at your cunt that made you squirm and cry out in an overwhelming bolt of pleasure. Jaehyun clamped his big hands onto your thighs to keep you pliant, holding them right where he wanted them, and kept eating you out.

It made zero sense how hot you found every little thing that he did.

“Jesus, fuck,” was basically all that you could say. With how vigorously Jaehyun was sucking at your bundle of nerves, it was getting borderline impossible to think.

Jaehyun sure didn’t seem timid. Matter of fact, the way he refused to shy away from in between your pair of legs, doing everything in his power to keep them separated at both sides of his head, said loud and clear that he was a man on a mission to make you unravel.

Not to mention that he was doing a damn good job. Your ears were hardly even working, the whole world fading to static, the only audible sound being the incessant throb of your pulse quickening by the minute.

The sheer opposite was true for Jaehyun. His ears were on full alert and he could hear everything from the increasing volume and speed of your breaths plus your soft moans to the gentle rustling of the trees' leaves outside his open window.

Jaehyun peered up at you, noticed the euphoria tensing your beautiful features, and his lips broke into a wide grin. “How are you doing up there?”

No words would come. It took twice as long to even process the ones that left his mouth. Your eyes were drooping and misty, damp with moisture, and all that escaped you was a befuddled, “Fuck.”

Jaehyun snickered. That was answer enough. “It sounds to me like you’re having a fun time,” he started. “Do you want to cum?”

You obviously heard that and hissed, “Don’t ask stupid questions.”

“If you want to cum, then beg me for it,” Jaehyun growled darkly. You appreciated the brief lull of peace, but of fucking course, it was that moment Jaehyun chose to press a long pair of fingers into your dripping pussy.

Your back arched and your soft cries filled the air. It felt like somebody had given Jaehyun the blueprints to your body with how he excelled at satisfying you in ways literally nobody had previously.

The answer was obvious. Jaehyun wanted you to beg? Fuck it. You would beg.

“Please,” you said, your voice raising a few pitches. “Oh, god. Please make me cum, Jaehyun.”

Jaehyun didn’t make a sound but you could feel his mouth on your cunt again and knew that he was about to take you there.

And then it came. The mind-numbing orgasm engulfed you in its fury and you were scarred with burns from head to toe, most of it pivoting towards your core.

Your hands desperately grasped locks of Jaehyun’s soft fluffy hair in an attempt to anchor yourself and you didn’t release him from your clutches until every tremble faded. Jaehyun got so aroused watching you shudder with release that he swore his own mind went blank.

It took a good minute and a half at the least for your mind to start to clear itself and you sighed pleasantly as the wrath of your orgasm slowly began to die out. You peered down at Jaehyun, blinking a couple of times, and slackened your grip when you realized how tightly your hands were latched to him.

Jaehyun didn’t seem to mind, contentedly watching you try to gather your bearings. “Are you back to earth?”

“Barely,” you rasped, still unable to feel your thighs.

“Do you want to stop?”

You gawked. “Are you kidding? I still wanna fuck you. If you still wanna fuck me.”

“I still want to fuck you,” Jaehyun said, pulling you in for another hot but reassuring kiss. It was hard to breathe, but so worth it. You slipped your tongue into his mouth and tasted yourself on his.

Kissing you made Jaehyun feel like he was ascending, but right now it also made his dick ascend and his patience was steadily dissipating into thin air. You could feel his hard-on against your naked thigh and it sent shock waves to your brain.

I think that’s the best head I’ve ever had, you admitted to yourself, but not aloud. Your dating history wasn’t top secret but you spoke little of it to Jaehyun. Did it matter that all of your exes were scumbags and rarely bothered to get you off?

Except for one. The sex was good, but it wasn’t a fair trade-off for your heart. No man nor his cock was worth your sanity and you told that to yourself every time you engaged with one.

Plus you just got this weird feeling where nothing or nobody else mattered when you and Jaehyun were alone together. You didn’t think of the various roots of the stresses in your life and calmness was finally an option.

You didn’t want to ruin that, so you didn’t get too deep.

But you were hoping Jaehyun was packing enough to be deep inside of you. Fuck that, you had felt it against your thigh. You knew that he was and it was exciting.

Your voice was weighed down by the thickness of your breaths. “Do you have condoms?”

“Always,” Jaehyun replied, pulling a drawer open on his nightstand to retrieve one.

That was a relief. You had never done it raw before and though you liked Jaehyun, you weren’t sure where his dick had been and what all it had seen. You’d rather be safe.

Jaehyun gently pushed you back onto the mattress and crawled over you, drawing the condom between his teeth while he tossed your shirt and bra halfway across his bedroom, then whispered, “Tell me how you want it.”

“Hard and deep. Deep and hard,” you confessed sultrily, looking him dead in the eye.

Jaehyun smirked. “That can be arranged.”

You watched Jaehyun shuffle out of his pants and put the condom on, but the bulk of your attention was set on that thick, girthy cock. Your mouth was watering. Maybe some other time you could suck him off, but right now getting it between your thighs was all you wanted.

It didn’t seem as if he glanced up, but Jaehyun said, “You’re staring.”

“Sorry.”

“No, you’re not,” Jaehyun said.

You giggled. “No, I’m not.”

The sound faded when you spread your legs apart invitingly and he penetrated you at an excruciatingly slow pace, sinking deeper inch by fucking inch.

You and Jaehyun made a sound in harmony when he finally filled you to the hilt, grasping your waist and using it as anchor like he was at risk of going dangerously deep if he made one wrong move and never returning to the surface.

Good thing it was only the two of you. You, keeping quiet when he was this good with his hands and presumably even better with his thick cock? There was no way in hell.

“Oh my god…,” you whispered, obsessed with the sensation of being filled.

Whatever you were thinking right now, Jaehyun wholeheartedly agreed. You made his brain grind to a halt and stutter. “Does that feel okay?”

“More than okay,” you told him, because it was the truth. Somehow the pleasure was only spiking. The ecstasy continued to build.

You looked so beautiful beneath the golden-yellow hue of his lamplight and Jaehyun knew he would be fantasizing about how your face tensed with pleasure for weeks, if not months.

Jaehyun especially liked the way you were tightening around his cock, gripping it for dear life as if letting go simply wasn’t an option. You wound your legs around his hips and helped draw him into yours in spite of knowing it could ruin you, a telltale sign that your desire for more outweighed any rational thinking.

It just felt so good that it had to be illegal and though you knew that it wasn’t, it was damn near close.

There was still music playing from the vinyl player in the background that soothed any and all nerves that you could’ve ever had. You took a moment and inhaled deeply, breathing in the musk of Jaehyun and the scent of the candles.

Your eyes fluttered closed. It was ironic that you were on a raging high even though you hadn’t even gotten around to having your usual fill of marijuana. In legal terms, you were far from inebriated. But according to yourself? You were fiending for Jaehyun and found him lethally intoxicating.

His weight on top of you. His deep, guttural grunts in your ear between his jagged breaths. His perfect thrusts and the way he stroked you exactly how you wanted, all the while reaping his pleasure from your body.

It was fucking mind-blowing.

Jaehyun had a similar thought and it tore a noise out of him. His intentions in inviting you over tonight weren’t to have sex, in spite of his roommate’s attempts at getting him to get laid when he was only trying to break you in, but it was an unregrettable decision.

“You take it so good, baby,” Jaehyun said tenderly, but it barely scratched the tip of the iceberg of praises he had in storage especially for you.

Fuck, you wanted to hate how easy it was for him to kindle these rash flames inside of you, but your attraction to Jaehyun became undeniable the second you initiated the first rendezvous.

You were peering into Jaehyun’s soul, searching his whole face without knowing what you were looking for, and saw the euphoria fluttering his eyes closed and spreading his lips apart just enough for those heavenly sounds to slip through.

You guessed you found it then, because the tightening in the pit of your gut was at an all-time high and it wasn’t skipping out on the extremes.

Combing your hands through his hair, you whimpered, “I’m so close.”

Jaehyun accelerated his pace, wanting to take you to the ends of the earth and back. You noticed, because you could feel his hard dick slapping against your hips with a purpose, and you swore to god your eyes rolled somewhere black.

The end was creeping up on you from behind. You could feel it. Jaehyun could feel it himself, the telltale twitch of his cock indicating that he was pushing his limits.

“I want you to cum,” Jaehyun growled in no uncertain terms, his tone dominant. “Nice and hard. Can you do that for me, baby?”

“Yes,” you choked out.

If you were being frank, he didn’t even have to ask. It was impossible to hide the evidence of your impending orgasm, the heightened tremors in your voice and the shakiness in your body were more than enough proof.

All you could think about was how restlessly you were going after this orgasm and how terribly you needed it like it would fix every little thing going wrong in your life.

Your hands slipped from Jaehyun’s hair to his shoulders to finally his back, raking your nails down the flesh in a set of ministrations that were bound to leave red lines, and you rasped breathlessly, “Finish me.”

The hoarseness of your voice alone could’ve broken Jaehyun but he hung on for your sake, fingertips flitting to your sensitive, swollen clit again because he knew he wouldn’t last very much longer.

You were even more restless than before and it wasn’t long until Jaehyun granted your wish, your lips parting in a scream and your vision going totally black. Your toes curled into tight bends as you grinded your hips into Jaehyun, milking your release for every damn dime.

Jaehyun could feel you clenching rapidly and repeatedly around his cock and merely seconds after that it was game over. He came with the deepest, sexiest groan you had ever heard before in your life, hips stuttering as his cum filled the condom, and all you could think about was how this could not be a one-time thing.

The next few minutes were a blur. You only recalled Jaehyun peeling off you to dispose of the condom, the layers of sweat on your naked bodies keeping you connected, and returning to your side briefly.

Jaehyun scanned you for any signs of obvious discomfort. “Are you okay?”

Your mouth was hanging open, aggressive pants falling from your lips, but Jaehyun’s attention was no longer focused on your heaving chest - it was on you. “No, more like incredible.”

That had Jaehyun in the first half, but he snickered in amusement and relief when you wrapped up your sentence. “Do you wanna shower with me?”

“That’s kinda intimate,” you said, as if that was actually going to stop you. “Hell yeah, I do.”

Jaehyun rolled his eyes, but there was a smile plain as day on his face. You cried out in surprise when he hauled you into his burly arms, hooking one of them under your knees, and carried you into his bathroom.

Your own individual toothbrush was in there on the sink counter squarely beside Jaehyun’s. It was only right that he let you keep one there, given how many late Friday nights you spent at his house instead of your own.

Plus some of your clothes were there, tucked into his drawers, but when you returned to his bedroom, you donned one of his shirts that was unsurprisingly oversized on you.

You sat on Jaehyun’s bed, memories of what you’d just done on his sheets still fresh, and watched him rifling through his vinyl catalog, but because he was shirtless you quickly got distracted by the view you had of his back.

At least until he turned around after setting the vinyl on his record player, apparently oblivious, and coming to sit at your side.

There was mischief on your face and you were struggling to stifle a giggle. It was obvious, and Jaehyun furrowed his brows. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Oh, nothing.”

Jaehyun didn’t believe you at all, but he didn’t press.

You sighed contentedly, leaning into his naked chest. The little voice in your brain was thinking about how he smelled so clean and fresh, and good. Well, duh, she snapped. If you somehow weren’t paying attention, he just got out of the shower.

But you were definitely paying attention, maybe a little more than you should’ve. It wasn’t your fault he looked like the leading role of every romance book ever. This was a man out of every little girls’ childhood dreams and, more importantly, every grown woman’s wet ones.

As Jaehyun held you in his arms, you couldn’t help but think, spotting little items in his room that screamed, I come from money. “Jaehyun, is it okay if I ask you a question?”

Jaehyun hummed. You figured he might’ve been close to dozing off, but in reality, he was just captivated by the smell of your hair and hoping it lingered on his pillows.

“You’re pretty well-off, but you live with two other guys. You’re technically always alone, but you don’t live alone. Why?”

Now that wasn’t what Jaehyun was expecting you to ask him, but you were full of surprises. He took a moment to ponder his answer, finding himself reflecting. “It’s because of how I grew up, I guess. I was the only child, so it was just me and my parents in the house. I guess I kind of wanted to know what it's like to have brothers.”

You made a noise of content. “You’re close then.”

“Yup.”

You could feel Jaehyun playing with your hair and it made you smile gently.

“What about you and your friends?”

“What about them?”

“What’s the relationship like? Have you fucked Mark?”

You were taken aback, though rather than be affronted, the ridiculousness of that question made you laugh. “No way. I prefer my vagina itch-free,” you quipped.

Jaehyun chuckled. It was a shock that that kid got around town the way he did, but that was why Jaehyun had to respect the hustle.

Then, out of nowhere, you got a little sober. “On a serious note, Mark is my bestie and he’s what I imagine having a little brother is like. Johnny really likes him too, so sometimes I’ll walk in on them hanging out without me.”

You didn’t notice the way Jaehyun’s head bobbed along, but he was listening. It was believable. Mark was a social butterfly and impossible to dislike, no matter how irritating.

And he was only irritating to some. Those who didn’t find him to be a thorn in their side probably wanted him a number of inches deep in their guts.

You continued, “Yuta is more Johnny’s friend than he is mine, but he’s laidback. Haechan is a little shit but he’s funny as fuck. And you know Jeno is chaotic as ever.”

You were fond of your circles of friends. Most folks assumed it must’ve been suffocating to be the only girl amongst a group of insufferable horny dudes, but it wasn’t half bad. Jeno had tried to get into your pants before, but when you turned him down he took the rejection coolly.

Mark, like you said, was like a sibling to you and that went both ways. When somebody suggested the two of you hook up, his knee-jerk reaction was to hiss, “Ew!”

Haechan was a slut like all of them but he knew better than to slut himself out to you and Yuta, though you already couldn’t have been further from his type, was one of your older brother’s closest friends. According to Yuta himself, the thought of being in a relationship with you was hilarious.

Never mind the fact that he admitted he’d actually do it, but strictly for fun. Pissing off Johnny was his full-time job and dating his younger sister? It would’ve been the easiest way.

You and Jaehyun chatted until you couldn’t ignore each other’s incessant yawns and made the mutual agreement to crawl under the sheets together. A rare Jungkook appearance one weekend forced you into bed with each other and ever since that was how you’d slept.

Side by side, skin to skin.

The sun was brighter than ever when you woke up some hours later. You noticed that the curtains were open. And they had been since you likened Jaehyun to a vampire.

Speaking of Jaehyun, he was still sleeping like a rock beside you, completely still other than the gentle heave of his chest as he snored quietly. You crawled gingerly out of bed so as not to disturb his rest, the sight of him still asleep when you stood making you sigh out in relief.

After a quick wash-up in the bathroom, you headed downstairs for a snack. Your stomach was rumbling and you realized that you hadn’t eaten since you left home.

What you didn’t expect was to see Yugyeom half-naked in the kitchen though.

You weren’t sure why. It was his house and if he wanted to walk around like he just went skinny dipping, then he had that right. Fortunately, he was wearing sweatpants, so you were spared from that unsightly picture.

Yugyeom heard your footsteps and turned. “Oh, hey. Sleep good?”

“I only slept for a few hours,” you confessed, though you felt like you were quite well-rested. “But yeah, I slept pretty good.”

Yugyeom chuckled. “I bet.”

You said nothing else. Yugyeom wasn’t a total stranger, even before you started crashing at his house, but you weren’t close by any means.

“I didn’t think you’d be here,” you said after a pause, straddling a barstool.

“I mean, I do live here. Who do you think pays most of the bills?”

“Jaehyun,” you chirped.

“Okay, that’s fair. Who do you think pays the second most of the bills?”

“You and Jungkook, but it wasn’t always that way.”

Yugyeom threw in the towel, realizing Jaehyun had most definitely had this discussion with you at some point. Then, he started to laugh. Jaehyun was discussing their finances with you? There was no way in living hell.

I’ll be damned. Yugyeomed sighed in amusement. “You know, you’re the first girl I’ve seen last this long with Jaehyun.”

“Oh?”

“I’m not saying he’s a player, but I thought I’d stop seeing you around here, like, two weeks ago. For a girl to survive a month with him, she has to really crank up his brain. And Jaehyun isn’t easily impressed,” Yugyeom said.

It was obvious what he was implying and you knew exactly where this was heading. “I’m sure, but Jaehyun and I are just vibing.”

“I didn’t say that you weren’t.”

“Yes, but you think that we aren’t,” you replied, rubbing your arms. It was always cold the mornings after.

Yugyeom laughed. “No, I don’t. Not right now. I didn't even crack Jaehyun that soon. All I’m saying is Jaehyun is a real gem and I think that you have a solid chance.”

“And you want me to take it?”

Yugyeom was strategically bouncing around, going from subtly planting ideas in your head to making them seem as if they were your own. “Whatever you do with that information is out of my hands and none of my business.”

Your lips parted to speak, but you were fortunately saved by the bell. Footsteps were heard from the hall and Jaehyun emerged from around the corner, voice deep from sleep, “What are you two talking about?”

Yugyeom lied without hesitation, “How handsome you are, of course.”

Jaehyun didn’t believe it for a second, but he stole the barstool beside you and gently nudged your elbow. “You think I’m handsome?”

“Oh, the handsomest,” you deadpanned, but rested your head onto his shoulder.

Jaehyun let you. At least for a little while, but then he pulled you into his chest and mumbled groggily, “You left me.”

“I’m sorry,” you whispered, your hands tangled into his dark hair. “I’ll stay next time.”

“Good.”

Yugyeom was peering into the fridge, shaking his head, wondering if he was the only one that saw your fate.

The whole weekend was spent in Jaehyun’s arms, restless. If you weren’t getting high on marijuana and chatting about whatever came to mind, you were dancing to one of his vinyls. If you weren’t kissing each other breathless, you were fucking each other senseless.

It was two days of whimsical fun, ignoring the world and its insignificant little woes. In many ways, Jaehyun was like your oasis.

You were starting to hate Mondays. They were the days where you realized that nothing was forever, every time without fail. The days you had to finally face the world after a weekend of neglecting its existence.

Plus you didn’t get a lot of Jaehyun during the other five days of the week, and though you understood your conflicting schedules, it was getting less and less easy to cope.

Finals week thankfully gave you less time to think about whatever the hell was blossoming between you and Jaehyun. You didn’t want to think about it, because you were well aware that it wouldn’t last. As perfectly as Jaehyun molded into you, there was no piece of him that fit the bigger picture.

But of course, you were pacing down your school’s courtyard with a bag slung over your shoulder when you noticed Mark’s footsteps catching up to you. “Wanna tell me why Johnny asked me if you’ve been going out with somebody lately?” he asked.

You pretended to be oblivious, keeping your head straight and your steps quick. “Why would he ask you that?”

“Because I’m your best friend and you tell me everything, or so I thought,” Mark hissed.

You groaned, weighing your options. You could keep this private love affair to yourself and let the guilt and pressure split you down the middle, or you could confide in your best friend and hope it took the edge off.

Pulling Mark behind a tree and scanning your surroundings for unwanted bystanders, you exhaled roughly and said, “Don’t freak out, but I may or may not be sleeping with Jeong Jaehyun on the weekends.”

Mark was understandably dumbfounded by that information and screeched aloud, “What the fuck, dude?”

“I just said don’t freak out!”

Mark shook his head, the total opposite of cool and collected. There was no way in hell he wasn’t going to freak out. “Are you kidding? Johnny literally wants to kill him.”

“God, I know,” you bemoaned, pressing a palm to your forehead. This whole situation combined with the stress of finals was giving you a splitting headache.

The shock was still evident on Mark’s face, but he seemed to be cooling off. “Shit, dude. This is crazy. Is the sex at least good?”

Your mind was fluttering with memories and it was hard to resist a smile. Getting laid right now would probably fix you. “Jeong Jaehyun may be a scoundrel for whatever reason, but I can reassure you he is not lacking in the sex department.”

Or any department. It was strange that in the weeks the two of you had spent bonding and the like, you had yet to identify a single red flag of Jaehyun’s. Apparently, the weirdest thing about this boy was the amount of pictures he kept of his toes.

“Oh my god,” Mark gasped.

“What?”

“That night you went upstairs to pee and didn’t come back,” Mark started, finally connecting the dots and displeased he hadn’t seen the hints earlier. “You were off screwing Jaehyun, weren’t you?”

“Actually, no. I was with him, yes, but we weren’t hooking up then.”

Mark was baffled to very fucking his core. That had to be half a decade ago. This whole time, you were spending your spare time on Jaehyun and nobody knew?

Gripping Mark by the shoulders, you stared into his eyes and said sternly, “Listen. You can’t tell Johnny.”

Your best friend made a face of disapproval, but nodded his head. “Alright. Fine.”

“I’m serious. You have to promise.”

Mark groaned, “Dude, I’m not gonna tell Johnny that you’re fucking Jaehyun. No matter how bizarre and borderline batshit insane that is to say aloud. I promise your secret is safe with me.”

You released his shoulders and a shaky breath, relenting. “Okay.”

“But that doesn’t mean that I approve.”

“Understandable. I can live with that.”

“I don’t see how,” Mark grumbled under his breath.

You frowned.

Months flew by. Christmas and News Year were a blur, two events you and Jaehyun spent at separate locations. Your parents were rarely home, but the winter holidays were a period of time that they always made sure to be around for. And Jaehyun paid his family a visit that week.

But then it was February, and the national holiday that was Jaehyun’s birthday came of nowhere.

“No way you were born on Valentine’s day,” you remembered telling him a few months back after asking him about his birthday. Jaehyun had groaned, more than accustomed to how this conversation played out. This was far from his first rodeo.

Though it was rare that a girl made it to actually celebrate his birthday with him.

Idiotically, you found yourself scorching with nerves that afternoon, overwhelmingly anxious. Your whole body was tense and you paced around your room antsily for hours until it was time to get in your car and head out to Jaehyun’s house.

You had gotten him a gift and you weren’t sure whether he would like it or not. Then again, you had spent weeks planning what you would give him based on every second of every little conversation you’d shared and you were half confident, half uncertain.

Jungkook opened the door to leave at the same moment you were preparing yourself to go inside, most likely heading to his girlfriend’s place after spending the morning celebrating his friend’s birthday, and held the door open for you. “Uh, do you need a minute?”

“No. Thank you,” you replied bashfully, catching the door and finally turning inside.

You took one more deep breath and paced upstairs while gripping the box in your hands so tightly it might’ve broken.

Jaehyun was sitting on his bed, his guitar in his hands instead of standing upright in the corner of his bedroom as typical, and glanced up when he heard your footsteps. “Hi.”

“Hi, birthday boy,” you greeted.

Jaehyun was smiling. You had already wished him a happy birthday at midnight on the dot which was a sweet gesture in itself.

“I, uh, got you something,” you said, mentally cursing yourself for sounding so nervous.

“I can see that.” Jaehyun set his guitar aside. There was curiosity in his stare, but he whispered, “You didn’t have to.”

“But I wanted to. You’re my… friend,” you told him awkwardly, handing over the gift before it made you say something stupid. “I didn’t know what to get a guy who has literally everything he wants, but I tried.”

Jaehyun accepted the gift box graciously, peeling off the wrap, and said, “Whatever you got me is more than enough, baby.”

You sure hoped so. You didn’t spend the past few weeks stressing over this very moment for nothing. You wanted to give him something thoughtful and memorable.

Anticipation made your heart sound like thunder. You fidgeted, twiddling your thumbs as Jaehyun slowly opened the box, retrieving a guitar strap alongside a couple of other items. The awe that tensed Jaehyun’s features was authentic and your heart was taut with giddiness when his lips tugged into a beaming smile.

A few words scribbled onto the guitar strap caught Jaehyun’s attention and he unhesitatingly pulled them closer to his face to get a better look. It was like a little note, but words only you would say. Play me till the end.

“Wow,” Jaehyun whispered, feeling a thumping inside of his ribcage. “You… I literally mentioned that I wanted one of these in passing.”

“When you talk, I listen.”

Jaehyun’s eyes met yours. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” you murmured, straddling his lap and tossing your arms around his neck. “Happy birthday, baby.”

Jaehyun set his hands at your hips and kissed you restlessly, restraint taking the backseat as he absorbed every bit of your warmth and used it to fuel his fire. Your lips took him to the other side but your hands kept him grounded.

Things felt different now. Kissing Jaehyun had never not been spellbinding, but right now? The feeling in your chest was indescribably hot.

But it was dangerous and terrifying. It defied everything you told yourself to be true, and every principle you had laid out. This was deeper than building a relationship with the enemy. It was the intimacy that accompanied trusting another guy with your heart, and fighting the unshakable doubts.

You had built something of a friendship with Jaehyun. Friends that occasionally kissed and felt each other up and had hooked up more than once.

But what if you wanted more? What if you were really two star-crossed lovers that couldn’t have each other? What if?

Jaehyun wondered if your feelings had gotten as tense as his were. Months ago, he was telling himself not to get too close to you because of who your brother was and your clear lack of romantic intentions, but no amount of walls he put up could’ve prevented his feelings from getting this deep.

You wouldn’t tell him even if they had. What good would it have done for him to know that you loved him, but you couldn’t have him?

When Jaehyun pulled back, he stared into your eyes, not at your lips. “Let’s go make hot cocoa,” he said after a pause.

You blinked in surprise, but Jaehyun was already tugging you along before you could even think.

The time in the kitchen together was a beautiful mess. You liked randomly bursting out into song and Jaehyun liked dancing, which ultimately turned into him tenderly cradling you there in his arms and mumbling into your ear, the hot cocoa all but forgotten.

You especially liked the toasty smell of a hot, creamy mug of hot chocolate. It was very Jaehyun-like. The winter seasons in general were reminiscent of his personality, not because he was cold (like some people assumed), but the sheer opposite.

Jaehyun was the warmest guy that you had ever met, in a way. Anyone who said otherwise didn’t have the privilege of knowing him, but you? You liked to think that you had him all figured out.

Maybe there was a chance you did to an extent. Getting to know him over the course of these long months had definitely shifted your previous perspective. Jaehyun kept to himself because he was afraid of his vulnerability being used as a weapon, but when you broke those stubborn barriers, you saw that Jaehyun was just a guy that wanted a home.

He had one, metaphorically speaking, but no one to share it between. That was why you used to think he was shy, and why others thought he was cold. Jaehyun wanted to protect the home he’d built for himself and was reluctant to let others in, because he wanted it to be sturdy for the ones he would let stay.

A hopeless romantic to his core.

After making sure the kitchen was tidy, Jaehyun led you away to the infamous white couch that stretched along his living room wall. Your favorite spot in the whole house. Aside from his bedroom, of course.

Jaehyun, on the other hand, couldn’t decide. Half of it was littered in a slew of memories of you and his whole bedroom smelled more like you than it did himself now. Picking a favorite would be an impossible choice.

There was a lull of silence as the two of you sipped from your mugs, but it wasn’t an issue. The silence was always comfortable with Jaehyun, as well as literally everything else about him.

Though you didn’t notice, the weird thing now was that Jaehyun was less secure. He didn’t make it obvious, but he was remarkably nervous. Jaehyun tried to cloak his nerves when he said, “I kind of got you something, too.”

Your eyes went wide with shock. “You got me something… for your birthday?”

“I mean, yeah. It’s also Valentine’s day and you’re… important to me,” Jaehyun confessed softly, a tiny smile breaking out onto his lips.

“I am?”

“You are,” he whispered, hurriedly reaching into his pockets for something. Imagine your surprise when he dropped a USB drive into the palm of your hand. “Stick it into your computer when you get home.”

You nodded obediently, sitting it on the coffee table so that it wouldn’t be crushed in your jeans, but your innate curiosity was never satisfied and you asked, “What’s on it?”

“A surprise,” was all Jaehhyun said.

You hummed. If Jaehyun didn’t want to tell you, you knew it would be pointless to press.

But you would be lying if you said that it wasn’t killing you.

Jaehyun knew that. He knew you were a curious individual, because he was drawn to your insatiable need to know. But he didn’t want to be there to see your reaction. Just looking at you made his chest taut and rejection’s brutal fangs still ripped him to shreds.

At least you couldn’t tell by looking at him. Jaehyun had made sure of that. “Talk to me,” he said, squeezing your hand.

You smiled, because his hands were warm from the hot cocoa. “About what?”

“Tell me more about yourself. It’s been months, but I feel like there’s still more to know about you. Talk to me about what you love. Your hopes and dreams.”

A little sigh left you. “Where do I even begin?” That was what you said, but you’d already continued without affording yourself any time to pause. “I want to be an orthopedic surgeon. I’m obsessed with anatomy and how our bodies function. That’s why I’ve been busting my ass for grad school.”

That much was obvious. Anybody that saw you on the party scene might’ve assumed you were merely another hopeless college student who only knew hooking up and getting shit-faced drunk, but Jaehyun’s first time seeing you was in the back of a library with a laptop and a heap of textbooks.

You were a hard-worker and no hangover stood a chance between you and your goals. But you were also just a normal girl who wanted to let loose sometimes. It was the perfect balance.

Jaehyun was a keen listener. “That sounds tough.”

You fought a groan. “God, yes. But it’s so worth it. It’s my senior year and I’ve been waiting my whole life for med school.”

“You’ve wanted to be a surgeon for that long?”

“I’ve always known who I wanted to be,” you exhaled contentedly. And for that you were endlessly grateful. “What about you?”

Jaehyun shook his head. “No. Not always. First, I guess I had to leave home and do the whole ‘finding yourself’ thing.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s rare that people are born with an innate sense of who they are. We deserve to live life through trial and error. That’s freedom,” you said.

Jaehyun wholeheartedly agreed. Leaving home to explore his identity might’ve been the toughest decision he ever made, but also the best one. “What about love?”

“What about it?”

“Did you ever dream of that, too?”

You should’ve figured he would go there. It was the essential question. The world of trauma beyond your control. “I used to,” you admitted, somber. “I just haven’t had a ton of faith in it lately. That’s what happens when you grow up, I think. You realize life’s not like the movies.”

Funny how I call you a hopeless romantic when hopeless romantics are anything but hopeless. In spite of the pain and the betrayal, they refuse to accept that they might die alone one day. If anything, I’m the hopeless one. I’ve fallen in love with the one boy I could never make mine.

Jaehyun frowned for a split second, but recovered quickly. “Yeah, I know.”

You wondered who had hurt him, but chose not to ask. If he wanted to tell you, then he already would’ve.

“You didn’t ask me,” Jaehyun started.

You glanced up at him.

“About my pain,” he continued shortly. “About her.”

“I didn’t think you were ready.”

“Do you want to know?”

“I mean, yeah. Of course, I want to know who hurt you and how that made you who you are. I want to understand you. But only as much as you want me to,” you told him. The truth was that as curious as you were, you were afraid of overstepping. The same way that Jaehyun was terrified of oversharing.

He replied with total certainty, “I want you to know.”

You swallowed, feeling a lump form in your throat and unsure why. It was his deep, dark secrets being revealed, not yours. Plus you were positive there wasn’t a single person in the county who didn’t know your history with your one and only ex. “Okay. Take your time.”

Jaehyun heaved a shaky breath, preparing himself to share something that he’d never specifically told anyone. “Back home in Seoul, I dated a girl. I was naive and I thought she was the one. But she wasn’t. She only wanted a guy handsome enough to impress her parents.”

You maintained eye contact to let Jaehyun know you were listening.

Jaehyun continued, “I guess we had different desires in life. She wanted a boy to show off and I wanted a girl who was my best friend at the foundation. We only talked about surface things. I couldn’t be myself around her.”

You nodded. That sounded like the Jaehyun you knew.

“Then, I found out she was cheating on me,” Jaehyun added calmly, but he still recalled the trembles of anger that wrecked through his body. “And I left her then and there. I dipped. I might’ve been a naive idiot, but I knew my worth. She was my first and my last.”

You were shocked. That you shared the same pain - an unfaithful partner - and that Jaehyun hadn’t had nearly as many other partners as you thought he would’ve. “You’ve only dated once?”

“For me, once was enough to figure out what I wanted in a relationship, and it wasn’t a girl who I could barely trust or be myself with,” Jaehyun said. “I talked to other girls, but like I said before, nothing lasted, and I’ve obviously hooked up.”

Ironically, I’ve been hurt more by girls I never had than a girl that was supposed to belong to me.

“I harbored resentment for a long time, but what lasted longer was the leftover fear of trusting someone again. I only let people see what I want them to see. And because of that, I’m a little lonely sometimes, but it’s okay.”

“Does it get sad?” you asked quietly.

Jaehyun shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe, but it’s better than being heartbroken. Anyways, I’ve gotten better about inviting people into my life and having good judgment. Time makes it easier.”

You make it easier, was what he meant, but Jaehyun wasn’t that bold yet. He might have been the one to approach you and attempt to initiate this private affair, but you sticking around was the last thing he expected. And that opened the door for the possibility that relationships didn’t have expiration dates.

Reading between the lines, you were hoping that somewhere along them he wasn’t hinting about a potential future with you. Jaehyun’s head was in the clouds, but you were grounded below the surface. Because you had already resigned yourself to the fact that you didn’t have a future together.

But of course, that never stopped you from letting him undress you.

You were hyper aware of Jaehyun’s eyes staring into yours and it was beginning to unnerve you a little. “Is there hot cocoa on my face?”

Jaehyun shook his head with a cute laugh and finally leaned into you for a kiss, obviously done speaking and prepared to show. You let him take you down onto the couch, laid defenseless beneath him, on the edge of surrender.

You giggled into his lips, pleased at how silly it was that he tasted like the hot drink you’d shared. Your hands were wound through his hair and tugging him closer to you, wanting to be inseparable. You wouldn’t be sated till his soul was tied to yours.

When it came to your body, you were more than inclined to let Jaehyun dominate you. But your heart was more than you had bargained for.

Jaehyun yanked at the waistband of your sweatpants and you swore you could sense your heart swelling with the exhilaration of getting laid by the only guy you wanted. You raised your hips, letting him take them and your underwear from underneath you.

You gasped loudly when his fingers ghosted along the insides of your thighs and unhurriedly traveled to your core, which was throbbing at the barest of touches. Jaehyun made you ache. Your body neglected every thought that didn’t concern him when it longed for him to use it until you were sore.

Jaehyun sucked a slick pair of fingers into his mouth fleetingly before inserting them inside your pussy, making you verbally respond to the contact with a soft whimper, and stole the sound right from your lips with a hot wet kiss. You only tightened around his digits when he pressed his lips to you and it made his head spin quicker than ever.

You pulled back and panted, “So, you won’t let me sleep on the couch, but you’ll fuck me on it?”

“It’s seen worse days,” Jaehyun said, muting the sound of his own chuckle when he pressed his mouth to your neck.

You were torn between a laugh and a moan and the final sound was a breathy whimper of Jaehyun’s name. His mouth felt too good on your neck and you couldn’t forget his hands between your parted legs. Gentleman in the streets, but a beast in the sheets.

Jaehyun was touching you impatiently. Your exhales were loud and jagged when he pulled back from your stained throat, and Jaehyun couldn’t help but imagine the noises you would make when he was finally seated deeply inside of your pussy that was clenching around his long slender digits.

Deciding you were wet enough to take his cock, Jaehyun recouped his hand from between your thighs and asked, “You ready for me, baby?”

“More than,” you whispered, disgruntled with the emptiness but consoled by the knowledge that you would be full of him momentarily.

Jaehyun stepped out of his clothes without hesitation and got a hold of your naked legs, dragging you toward him and leaving no room for empty space. The two of you locked eyes when he finally started to penetrate you and he looked at you with need. But you glanced away. You couldn’t stare into his soul as he captured yours. You couldn’t do it.

You moaned when he pushed the head of his cock through your entrance and again when it went as deeply as it could enter. The stretch was so mad, but so good. You never knew how closely the pain could be interlocked to pleasure before Jaehyun took you for a spin on his big cock.

Jaehyun pulled out with a disgruntled groan, stealing the pleasure before you could really soak in the sensation.

You winced your eyes open and asked confusedly, “Why did you do that?”

“I forgot a condom,” Jaehyun admitted bashfully, a timid little glint in his stare.

“Gee, you sure chose a fantastic time to remember,” you deadpanned.

Jaehyun looked like he was a little ashamed and it amused the hell out of you. In the heat of your vice-like cunt, he’d lost track of all thoughts other than getting his cock inside.

You gawked when he stood and you caught an eyeful of his cute butt when he turned for the stairs. “Where are you going?”

Like it was the most obvious thing in the whole world, Jaehyun replied nonchalantly, “To get a condom.”

“Sit your cute ass down,” you told him a bit too assertively. “You can have me raw.”

Jaehyun looked like his brain short-circuited. “For real?”

You nodded. “Yes, for real, you dummy. Just pull out.”

Jaehyun combed his fingers through his hair and groaned, “That’s one hell of a responsibility, woman.”

You purred teasingly, “Are you scared you won’t be able to do it, or are you scared that you’ll bust too fast?”

Jaehyun’s eyes fell to your gorgeous, spread legs, thickly swallowing the lump in his throat at the mouth-watering sight of you laid bare and exposed as you waited for him to take you. Fuck. Maybe both.

You snickered to yourself. Unbeknownst to Jaehyun, you were on birth control. And you had no intention of telling him right now. You wanted to gauge his restraint.

Jaehyun didn’t reply, but he did return to the couch to slip between your folds again, and that was even better. Your pussy throbbed tirelessly, missing the way his thick cock stretched you out, and it drew deep grunts from the very back edge of Jaehyun’s throat.

You could feel every inch of him pressed deep inside your pulsing walls, flush against you. All of him. There was literally nothing to separate the two of you, exactly as you had wanted, only the heat and tightness of your cunt suffocating his cock relentlessly.

Jaehyun loved how you took him like a fucking champ. You sucked his cock back in like you needed it, like you needed him just as badly as he needed you. Your eyes winced closed and your lips parted as you sang his name in a shrill whimper.

You were rapt with ecstasy at his long, deep thrusts that took you to the moon. The pain and guilty thoughts disappeared into his slow yet steady rhythm, as if Jaehyun wanted to make sure you could feel every bit of himself that he had to offer.

Like he was making love to you.

“You’re so beautiful. I’m in love with your body,” Jaehyun whispered gently into your ear, hooked on you.

You moaned, oblivious to the fact that he really meant he was in love with you. When your naked bodies were bursting with heat and satisfaction, meeting each other in a wet collision, all else ceased to matter.

Jaehyun kissed you again. You swore he stole the pulse right from your chest in that very moment, your heart open to him. His hands were everywhere, tenderly cupping your breasts and thumbing your stiff nipples. This was pleasure. This was elysian. This was all yours.

You were breathless when the two of you separated and the minutes of your lips tangled together felt like mere seconds. God, Jaehyun made you insatiable. As you did to him. The two of you couldn’t get enough, not of the sex and not of each other. It was lethally dangerous to want something as badly as you both wanted one another.

But you knew that when you laid eyes on him, when you indulged him. You knew that he was endless trouble and yet you crept into his arms anyway like a moth to the flame.

“God, fuck,” you rasped, throat hoarse from how you were screeching his name. “You make me feel so good.”

Jaehyun was so gentle and affectionate with you, tickling kisses down every bit of your soft skin his lips could access. It was times like these, when he completed you perfectly, where you welcomed the thought that you were made for each other. And only for each other.

Your mouth was dry, open with every halfway cry of Jaehyun’s name that you could manage. Your skin was damp and sticky with moisture, a thin layer of sweat keeping his skin adhering to yours. Of course, there was a similar glistening sheen dripping down Jaehyun, beading at his forehead and neck.

It made you lick your chapped lips. This man was abundantly mouth-watering. You wanted to give him anything he wanted and in this sex-induced haze, you knew that you would have.

Jaehyun noticed your eyes fixated on literally anywhere but his face and it made him chuckle smugly. He craned his head downwards to nibble beneath your ear and groan praises about how perfect and tight you were around his cock.

You tangled your hands in his hair again, desperate to ground yourself, before sitting them at his handsome broad shoulders. He had no business being this good at touching and fucking you. You were downright ashamed of the noises that left your lips but made no attempts to block the pleasure causing them to slip into the dense air.

“Like that. Fuck, I’m gonna cum, Jay,” you whimpered, squeezing his shoulders.

The thought of you releasing around his bare cock made a shudder shoot through Jaehyun and he almost couldn’t take it. You sensed his pace getting a little rougher, as if he was out to get you. Out to finish you. “Look at me,” he growled.

You did. You didn’t have any other options. Not when it was him bleeding you dry, making your body dependent on his touches.

Looking into his dark eyes, everything stopped. The whole world was set on pause. You almost couldn’t breathe. This was how it felt to fall with no anchor.

“I want you to cum on my cock,” Jaehyun said lowly, rutting into you at a dangerous pace.

You nodded. You were completely submissive to his desires.

There was a throbbing pressure in your gut that only got harsher with every wet smack of Jaehyun’s hips into yours. You wound your legs around his waist and pulled him into you, wanting to fuse together your limbs.

Your body felt as if it were on fire. The sweat cooling down your neck, the lack of oxygen in the air. The breaths Jaehyun snatched plain from your lips. It was more than enough to take you out.

Jaehyun watched as your orgasm finally seized you in its open arms, taking you by surprise. Your abs tensed viciously and you arched into Jaehyun with pleasure, sensing your eyes roll to the very back of your head and your toes curl into taut knots.

You were still sensitive from your climax but Jaehyun’s pace was absolutely unforgiving, rutting into you mercilessly through your release. The tightness of your pussy drew a thick groan out of his mouth, but he still wasn’t done with you yet. And you were very keen on letting him use your body until he finished.

Jaehyun relented when you finally started to calm down after coming undone, kissing your cheeks and the corner of your lips as you went almost entirely slack. The only motion in you was the aggressive heave of your chest as you panted for breath.

You let Jaehyun thrust in and out of you, fighting the overstimulation for his sake. You were content to feel him brushing against your slick walls and hear those breathy grunts.

Smoothing your hands up and down his burly arms, you whispered, “Jay, baby, keep going. I don’t care how long it takes. Fuck me until you’re done.”

Jaehyun bit his lip to veil a pathetic moan at those words. After he took care of your needs, you were letting him ply you for his own pleasure. You were his vice, his ruining. Your fingers grazed across his back, gathering the droplets of moisture that were beading at the surface.

You could feel how hot his skin was, burning up in the heat of you.

Abruptly, Jaehyun pulled out of you and tore you upright, holding his desperate cock in the palm of his hand as he groaned, “Get on your knees.”

You obeyed without hesitation, meek. Crawling onto the carpet floor, you took him in your palms and stroked his thick girthy cock gingerly, careful not to be too rough. He was victimless in your warm hands, needy and at your mercy, leaving you with total control.

Then it was game over for Jaehyun when you finally took him between your soft lips, gently easing him to the back of your throat. God, it was a struggle to fit his big cock completely into your mouth, but you somehow managed. You kept your cheeks hollowed, opening them for him to thrust.

“Fuck,” Jaehyun moaned, head thrown back and eyes winced closed. You knew exactly what needed to be done to finish him off.

You liked playing with his cock, obviously, but you loved having it in your mouth way more. There was nothing like driving Jaehyun to the cusp of insanity, teasing him with your tongue and hot mouth, plucking those beautiful sounds out of his lips. He lost himself whenever he was inside your throat.

Jaehyun was in total bliss. Your mouth was no less impressive than your sheathlike cunt for all he knew, your lips wrapping around his stiff cock feverishly without a doubt in your mind that you could make him lose his own, and he almost didn’t want to orgasm yet. He only knew you, and what you did to him. And he was too greedy to want it to end.

You had this boy all to yourself, wrapped tightly around your fingers with nowhere to hide. And you didn’t have the slightest clue what to do with him, or yourself.

Aside from pleasuring each other in bed, or on the couch in this case. You were exceptionally gifted at getting him off.

Jaehyun could feel himself approaching the threshold of release and he did everything in his power to fight it off, to keep it at bay, but it was basically useless. He couldn’t even help but fuck your mouth. You were working him too good and he was coming whether he liked it or not.

You were impressed that he had even lasted this long. Normally, when you let a guy hit it raw, they could barely resist emptying their load into you at the peak of climax.

Jaehyun ultimately couldn’t control himself anymore and his jaw slacked with a deep, lethal groan as his hips came to a total standstill, painting the back of your throat with a streak of cum. Fuck, it was the sexiest noise you’d ever heard, and it aroused a throbbing between your legs.

You managed to gulp him down and it was the hottest thing Jaehyun had ever seen watching you swallow his cum like that. He pulled back, a misty gleam in his dark soulless eyes as he collapsed onto the couch, breathless. There was a layer of dew at your lashes and you dabbed at your eyes to wipe them clear.

Jaehyun looked like he’d just had the ground ripped from underneath him. “You just blew my mind,” he said through jagged breaths.

You didn’t miss a beat. “I just blew you.”

Jaehyun laughed, shaking the hair out of his face.

After both of you found your clothes and redressed yourselves, you decided to mention slyly, “By the way, I’m on birth control.”

Jaehyun’s mouth gaped open. “Are you serious? I was scared you might get pregnant.”

“That didn’t stop you from fucking me though, now did it?” you replied, crossing your arms.

“I wasn’t that scared.”

You snickered. This idiot was a man you wanted to protect with your life, but you knew that you lacked the arsenal. “Besides, at least our baby would’ve had the world’s finest father.”

“And the world’s finest mother. They would’ve been beautiful,” Jaehyun flirted.

Your cheeks flushed with heat at the compliment and his obvious flirtatious behavior. “I meant that you would’ve been a good dad, but sure. That works too.”

Jaehyun’s eyes flickered in shock. “Why do you think that?”

You shrugged, not thinking too hard about it. You didn’t need to when the answer was right at the tip of your tongue. “Because love itself is your passion. You’re selfless, patient. Protective. And you fight for what you love.”

Jaehyun said nothing. He was mulling over your confession, suspiciously quiet the whole time, but you were so tired that you hardly noticed. Your body was spent and you wanted to go upstairs and climb into his bed.

You stretched your arms over your head and stood to collect the cocoa-stained dishes in your arms. Jaehyun blinked at the action, and would’ve stopped you to do it himself, but you were already halfway to the kitchen by the time he noticed.

Jaehyun walked over and pressed himself behind you, draping his arms around your hips and resting his chin on your shoulder. You giggled, enamored with how it felt to be skin-to-skin with him, and when you finished with the two mugs, he reached over your head to set them down in the cabinets.

You dragged Jaehyun upstairs by his arm to his own bedroom and slipped beneath his silk sheets, but invited him to drape himself above you and rest his head on your chest like you were his fluffy pillow and he was the thick, cozy blankets.

It was comfortable that way. You liked Jaehyun’s weight on you, so close to you, crushed beneath the pressure. His arms would tangle around you and leave you little room to escape. But you wouldn’t want to leave.

That was how you woke up sometimes. You used to be afraid that you’d accidentally rouse him and disturb his beauty slumber, but Jaehyun always slept like a ton of bricks. This boy could probably sleep through a hurricane and wake up wondering what happened to his roof.

You sighed, whisking your fingers through his dark hair and staring at his face. You expected his eyes to be closed when you looked at him, but they were watching you. The ache in your chest was unignorable, unbearable.

Those long nights and shorter mornings with Jaehyun were all you had, but you wanted something of permanence and you were finally admitting it to yourself. You knew these moments couldn’t last forever and didn’t attempt to deny it, but you were hoping and wishing.

Smoothing your thumb down Jaehyun’s cheek, you felt a piece of your heart crumble. I can’t have you and I don’t even know why.

“Jay?” you whispered.

“Hm?”

You hesitated, brimming with reluctance. A few months ago, you would’ve thought it wasn’t your place to ask, but dammit Johnny was your brother and Jaehyun… meant something to you. This was officially your business. “Why does my brother hate you?” you asked.

Jaehyun sat up abruptly, surprised. You matched the shock in his eyes, startled by his sudden movements. “You don’t know?”

You shook your head. “No. Johnny never told me. I assumed he would when he was ready, but it’s killing me and I need to know.” Because I can’t make sense of why we can’t be together, but ironically, it makes it easier to justify being here with you right now.

Jaehyun ran his fingers through his hair, looking particularly perturbed. No wonder it was so easy for you to climb into bed with him. Night after night, weekend after weekend.

You were almost afraid to ask, “Is this going to change my perspective on you?”

“It shouldn’t if you believe me,” Jaehyun said, but the truth was that he wasn’t too confident that you’d take his side.

You peered up at him expectantly, resting your hand on his back while he sat beside you. You were partly terrified to know the truth, watching him nervously, but god, you were exhausted of being kept in the dark.

Jaehyun exhaled deeply. He didn’t want to lose you, not before he truly had you, but he knew what he was, and more importantly, he knew what he wasn’t. “You knew Mike, right?”

You bobbed your head, lips parting in surprise at the mention of Johnny’s friend, but let him continue.

Jaehyun explained, “I’m sure you know, but he was addicted to drugs and it was fucking up his whole life. I tried to help him get clean before he fucked around and killed himself. And he was, I think. That’s what he said.”

You recognized this story. Johnny had said something similar, but it was about his own efforts. You somehow never realized that Jaehyun and Mike were friends. “But?”

“But then he wasn’t clean anymore,” Jaehyun said in the tiniest voice ever. “Last year, at one of Xiaojun’s parties. It came out of nowhere. He overdosed on fent and coke.”

You knew that too. And you hated that Mike was gone so soon, taken by a poison he couldn’t stop once he’d gotten his hands on it. It was heartbreaking.

“Then some people started to say that I did it, that I gave him the drugs. And I was at the party only a room away when he OD’d, but I swear to god it wasn’t me. But they ran with it anyway.”

You frowned, pausing your hands’ consolations at his back in shock. It was starting to add up now, why Johnny hated Jaehyun. Because he thought he was complicit in the death of one of his closest friends.

That was when he started to become a tad too overprotective of you and it didn’t take a genius to piece together why, but you never knew it was the reason he loathed Jaehyun and didn’t want you anywhere near him. There were so many nights where you went to parties at Jaehyun’s house and Johnny would ask if you’d done any drugs.

Because of Jaehyun.

“God, to this day, I want to punch the bastard that gave Mike that stuff. And if I knew who he was, I’d kick his ass. So, I can understand why Johnny wants to kick mine. But it wasn’t me,” Jaehyun said, sounding broken.

You blinked, taking it all in silently. You were at a crossroads.

Though he was hesitant, Jaehyun glanced into your eyes, unsure of what your silence meant. It was killing him. “Please tell me you believe me.”

“I believe you,” you said, because you did. You had no reason to doubt Jaehyun. Plus you hadn’t known him to press his luck with anything other than weed in the time that you’d known each other.

“Thank god,” Jaehyun sighed in relief. “Does this change things between us?”

You shook your head. “No. I thought you were a good guy before and I still think you’re a good guy now. Nothing is new.”

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

Jaehyun rested his head on your shoulder and mumbled with obvious melancholy, “Trusting me.”

You laced your fingers through Jaehyun’s, squeezing his hand. “I’ll always trust you.”

That warmed Jaehyun’s heart and he sat there wondering what he had done to deserve you. It felt like there was a burden lifted from his shoulders.

The day went on, bleeding into night. You expected Jaehyun to want to go somewhere to celebrate his birthday, but he reassured you that he was more than content to spend it indoors with you.

Still, it made you a little sad and you tried your best to cloak your gloomy emotions with your affections. You didn’t want Jaehyun to know, but you were thinking about how nice it would’ve been to do something as simple as go out together.

Reasonably, you were shocked when Jaehyun said, “I want to try out this Japanese restaurant with you next weekend.”

You blinked. “You want to go out… with me?” you asked, making sure you weren’t mistaken.

Jaehyun nodded, enthusiastic. “Is that a bad idea?”

“What if we get caught together?”

Jaehyun shrugged. “That’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

“Of course it is. You don’t have anything to lose,” you said, but your tone was humorous.

Jaehyun replied without hesitation, “I have you to lose.”

You were sold. Those five words were all you needed to hear.

There was a ginormous beaming smile on your face when you both finally decided to call it a night and you fell asleep with a certain soreness in your cheeks.

Jaehyun stayed up a little later than you had. Not on purpose, but it was impossible to rest his eyes when he was distracted by your sleep patterns. Your soft snores and the way your hand curled over his stomach.

It was the sheer opposite of annoying. It was intoxicating.

He was the one clinging to you when you roused from bed after sunrise. You felt bad for slipping away like a thief in the night, but in your defense, it was daytime and you had to be in your professor’s classroom for attendance.

After washing up and tossing on a spare outfit you had in Jaehyun’s room for events like these, you scribbled an apologetic note that he would surely find on his nightstand and quietly crept downstairs with a sadness weighing on you now that you had to leave.

And surely enough, Jaehyun woke up to the note and smiled like a dumbass when he rubbed his eyes and read it to himself.

Good morning, sleeping handsome. I’m gonna miss you today, but I have an early afternoon class that I have to pass to graduate. You sleep like deadweight, by the way. I had to fight out of your arms and you didn’t notice. See you next weekend. Call me.

Jaehyun crawled out of bed and headed to the bathroom for a shower, but he could tell that you’d obviously already taken one with a single simple glance, and he was wishing you had invited him to join you.

Now he sounded like a guy. Which was fair, because he was one.

You raced home after class ended. Though you had more than enough exams that it would’ve been a good idea to study for, the main thing on your mind was plugging in the flash drive Jaehyun had gifted you, because you still were dying to know what was on it.

It was safe to say that a song was the last thing you were expecting.

You froze on your bed, unsure of how to feel. Everything hit you hard. The wistful yet romantic lyrics, the softness of his voice. Jaehyun was pouring his heart out to you, opening up to you about his feelings the best way he knew how.

There was a ripple of emotions bursting through you. The lyrics were a little too sentimental for you to attempt to convince yourself that this wasn’t Jaehyun’s idea of a love confession. Maybe you’d known all along, but you didn’t want to accept it, because you knew that it wasn’t written in the stars.

Now you had no choice.

You sat there and cried. God, it was a beautiful song and that only made the tears drip even harder. You were bemused and overwhelmed. Bemused that he had obviously taken a lot of time out of his busy life to sit there and record a song for you, and overwhelmed by everything else.

Jaehyun loves me. Jaehyun really loves me, you thought, admitting it to yourself. And it scared you to death, because you loved him too.

Then the day came for you to hang out at the restaurant. It was the first time you and Jaehyun actually spent time together outside of his house. The meetup on the bridge and the incident at Jeno’s house didn’t count. Those were merely instances you’d happened to cross paths.

When Jaehyun came up behind you in a back hug while you were waiting for him (you were embarrassingly early), you didn’t jolt or startle, relaxing into his touch without sparing him a glance first. Nobody else would be wearing his sexy ass cologne.

You didn’t mention the song or acknowledge the obvious romantic tension between you at all, much to Jaehyun’s disappointment. But he knew you definitely took the flash drive back home. It wasn’t on the coffee table when he went downstairs, meaning you had grabbed it on your way out.

He couldn’t help but wonder if you had listened to it and vividly pictured your reaction, but Jaehyun knew it would be pointless obsessing over the thought if he wasn’t going to ask.

The truth was that you were conflicted. Your heart wanted Jaehyun, but you were rational and knew it was ridiculous. There was no point in setting yourselves up for more useless heartbreak.

But you had fun with Jaehyun in that restaurant. You didn’t want to admit it, but it was the closest thing to a date you would ever have with him. You talked and held hands underneath the table like the pair of lovers you hoped you were in another life.

Your insatiable lovesick heart was aching for more. And the worst part was that Jaehyun was oftentimes right there in your arms but had never felt further.

It wasn’t until you were unfortunately back home and walking through the front door that you read aloud the text you’d received from Johnny. We need to talk. I’ll be home in an hour. “Well, that cannot be good,” you mumbled to yourself.

“It isn’t.”

You jolted in alarm. You didn’t know Johnny was home, though it had most definitely been well over an hour. Jaehyun was too interesting for you to even think about touching your phone once.

Given the familiar less than content glare on Johnny’s face, you fought a groan, wondering what you could’ve possibly done now when you’d been on your best behavior lately. You lilted in the usual tone you used when you wanted to get out of trouble, “Hi, my handsome big brother that I love dearly.”

Johnny, obviously not in the mood, snapped, “Taeyong saw you with Jaehyun today. You wanna explain that to me?”

That was the last thing you expected him to say and the shock was plain on your face. “What?”

Johnny shook his head, unsurprised that you were acting clueless, and though he was furious he tried not to raise his voice. “Don’t play dumb. Are you dating him - fucking him?”

“I’m not dating him, we’re just…,” you trailed in frustration, realizing that you’d been caught. “Shit, yeah. I’ve fucked him and we’re hanging out.”

Johnny blew out a long, exasperated sigh. “I can’t believe this. God, my own sister.”

Tears threatened. At this point, you were desperate. Your whole world was crashing down without warning. You wished you would’ve at least seen the text and braced yourself. “Johnny, please. If you gave him a chance, I think you two would really like each other!”

“I could never like him,” Johnny replied viciously, face tensing in fury as if the suggestion was an affront to his entire existence.

You approached Johnny, somehow mustering the courage to come near him. “Please listen to me, alright? He didn’t do it, Johnny. It wasn’t him!”

Johnny gawked. He couldn’t believe you were defending Jaehyun and took a gigantic step back, wanting to be nowhere near you. He hissed, “Of course that’s what the bastard told you. Did he give you proof?”

Frantic, you shook your head, and it came to you that you only had trust to back Jaehyun’s claims. “No, but...”

Johnny grabbed his keys and interjected, “Stop. Just stop. I don’t even want to see your face right now.”

Your lips were agape when Johnny stormed towards the garage, full of purebred rage and disappointment.

After a few minutes, the shock started to dull away and you temporarily regained the ability to function, racing upstairs to your bedroom to be inert. You hated the brutal sting splitting you in half. While your thoughts were on pause and you were consumed by emptiness, it was the one thing keeping you from dissociating.

Sitting there on your bed, knees pressed to your chest and your arms curled around yourself, you couldn’t even cry. It would come, but right now you were trying to process the pain. And in the meantime, you realized what needed to be done.

Two long days later, you were meeting Jaehyun at the bridge one final time. It took nearly forty-eight hours of gathering the courage to pick up your phone, but you had to let him know it was over. That this was goodbye.

You ran your fingers across the wooden overlook, taking in nature, but even the peaceful noise of your surroundings failed to soothe your heartbreak.

The sound of tentative footsteps barely drew you from your own head, and you didn’t want to face your visitor. You knew it was Jaehyun. For more reasons than one.

Though you couldn’t see, Jaehyun had his hands in his pockets. “Am I late?”

“No, you’re perfectly on time. I got here early. I needed time to think,” you replied with a fleeting glance at your watch.

Jaehyun watched you with unease, a perturbed thud in his heart making it challenging to breathe. This was bad, he knew, and for whatever reason, that fear that he was doomed was unshakable. “What happened?”

“Johnny knows,” you began, finally whipping around. It was the least you could do, knowing you had to break his heart. “Taeyong saw us together. He snitched. Now Johnny wants nothing to do with me.”

Jaehyun’s heart sank. No wonder you hadn’t texted or called him in two days. Aside from inviting him here, that is. “What now?”

“I can’t see you anymore. Johnny already hates me now. If I keep seeing you behind his back, I won’t have a brother anymore. I can’t live with that guilt. That’s why I’ve been running from it for months,” you said quietly.

Jaehyun stiffened, like a boulder. “We’re giving up? That’s insane! Don’t let him stop us from being together.”

You recoiled, surprised. “Are you asking me to choose you over my brother?”

“No, of course not,” Jaehyun sighed, combing his hands through his hands as he searched for the right words.

You desperately wanted to reach out to him, to touch him, but you couldn’t bring yourself to move. “You should be with someone who can treat you the way you deserve to be treated. Someone you can hold and kiss outside without any worries. I can’t give you that, Jaehyun.”

Jaehyun shook his head. “None of that matters to me. I want to be with you. I don’t care what compromises I have to make.”

“Well, I do,” you whispered sullenly, reminding yourself of everything you had to lose. “It was never going to work. You had to know this. We aren’t Shakespeare characters. Hell, even they don’t get to be happy!”

Jaehyun’s chest was taut with pain. It was usually him that had to tell people the brutal reality of unfortunate situations. And this was how it felt to be on the other side?

Fighting the oncoming threat of tears, you continued, “I’ve enjoyed these past months with you and we’ve made special, unforgettable memories together. But enough is enough. We were gonna have to face the truth one day, and that day is today. It was inevitable. I hope that somehow we can still be friends.”

Jaehyun spat, “I don’t want to be just friends. I can’t be just friends with you. Why don’t you understand that?”

Oh, you did. You really, really did. This was hurting you in ways unimaginable and nothing could’ve prepared you for the moment where you had to set Jaehyun free.

Not even knowing this day would come.

“I love you,” Jaehyun confessed for the first time, taking some steps closer to you. The gleam in his eyes killed you.

Those words were like ice in your veins. Your heart stopped beating. For half a minute, the whole world ceased. You shook your head, sensing a vicious pain returning to you. “You can’t love me.”

Jaehyun switched on a dime and hissed, “You can’t tell me how to feel.”

Denial still crept through your blood. Apparently, it was one of your many talents. Jaehyun’s too. “You’re in love with the idea of me. You just want somebody to love again and maybe I made you realize that, but you don’t love me.”

Jaehyun was trembling. You were trying to diagnose him and he wouldn’t stand for it. “Saying that doesn’t make it true.”

You were defiant. You needed it to be true. There had to be some way to get him to let you go and move on. You didn’t want to resort to cruel methods, but you would if you were rendered optionless.

Jaehyun continued, “You did make me realize that I wanted love again. But I also realized that I could have it all in you.”

Finally pushed past your limits, you shattered and screamed, “Goddammit, Jaehyun - you can’t have me!”

You turned away, hoping he would let you leave. You didn’t want things to end on even worse terms than they already were.

But you should’ve known Jaehyun would be relentless. He was a fighter. You were what he wanted, what he loved, and he’d damned if he surrendered without a fight. “So, that’s it? You’re just going to walk away?”

You rooted in place and exhaled loudly, bristling with frustration. “The fuck do you want me to do, Jay? It’s out of my hands.”

“Talk to Johnny - you know that I didn’t do anything!”

“No, I don’t know anything,” you grumbled, crossing your arms tightly.

That stunned Jaehyun. You didn’t trust him anymore?

Jaehyun laughed, but it was humorless. Needless to say, he was pissed. “Wow. You gave up the fight before it started, before it was over. You never gave us a chance.”

You walked away. You didn’t have the strength.

Jaehyun kept prodding. You were unbelievable and he couldn’t stand you right now. “I bet this isn’t just about Johnny. I bet him being your brother is just a cop-out so that you don’t have to trust another guy again.”

Now that stung deep. He was hitting you where it hurt, making sure you understood how badly you had wounded him, and you realized there was a chance he was right and you hadn’t even considered it. You whipped around, snapping, “Fuck you. I wish I never met you.”

Jaehyun watched you disappear behind the thick branches, simmering where he stood. God, he resented the fuck out of you right now. You were accepting defeat, throwing in the towel, and he hated you because of it.

The seemingly endless months of ignorant bliss were washed down the drain all because you didn’t want to be a little more optimistic. You could’ve had it all together, had you not resigned yourself to being unhappy. You were so hell-bent on being realistic that you closed the door on other possibilities.

Almost the second you burst through the front door, your tears fell after what felt like an eternity of fighting them back. Johnny and your parents turned to face you with alarm when you paraded through the living room, but you ignored your mother’s questions and made a beeline for your bed.

Johnny didn’t ask. He already knew, and he was only somewhat satisfied that you had done what should’ve never needed to happen in the first place.

The days of the week started to bleed into each other. You didn’t talk to Jaehyun for obvious reasons. Johnny, the man whose shoulders you thought would always be there for you to lean on, was ironically giving you the cold shoulder. And Mark wouldn’t understand even if you explained, though you knew he was available.

Never had you felt so alone. You had no one to escape to. No one who could comprehend or justify the moral dilemma you forced yourself into. I’ve truly outdone myself. I’ve betrayed my brother, baffled my best friend, and lost my lover back to back. That has to be a world record.

Seven days marked the longest time you had gone without speaking with Jaehyun since the onset of this private love affair. He didn’t call or text you either, which was understandable. Plus it was what you wanted, or at least that was what you used to think.

You weren’t sure anymore. Cutting him off was the whole purpose of meeting him, but why did it make you feel so isolated?

It wasn’t that long ago that you did it because you thought it was the right choice, or maybe because you thought it would make things better. But it hadn’t. Now that you had effectively shielded yourself from the universe, you were less free and more lonely.

And time continued to fly by, days of leaving the house only to attend class and coming back to your room only to collapse into sorrow.

Johnny felt bad. At night, there were a couple of times where he hovered near your door and heard you sobbing, but he was too petty and spiteful to knock or check up on you. You had stung him too.

The difference was that when Mike died, you did everything in your power to console Johnny. You gave him the space he needed, of course, but you opened the door for him to talk to you if he wanted and lent him a shoulder to cry on. You bought all his favorite snacks and encouraged him to go outside, even if it was just the backyard.

Now, you were suffering your own loss, one of many but in a different manner. It wasn’t like you were a bereaved wife, but the agony wasn’t any less excruciating.

Mark came over whenever he had the extra time to spare every week to check up on you, reminding you that you weren’t as alone as you thought you were, but you still didn’t want to confide in him about your emotions. You were afraid he would unintentionally make you feel more stupid.

You were a little verklempt. Maybe more than. They said time was the healer of all wounds, but with every week spent without Jaehyun’s familiar musk in the air and dreamy voice in your ear, you felt less and less whole.

What could you have done to keep him close to you, even if it was just for a little while longer? Maybe if you hadn’t ended on such cold, distant terms, moving on would be easier and you would be happier. You could’ve contentedly looked back on the memories of your last time together knowing you had done everything in your control to make it better.

But you were worried that that was false. You were worried that Jaehyun was right and this ending was premature.

It doesn’t matter, premature or not. It was going to end either way. There’s no point in delaying the inevitable, you reassured yourself in what you once believed was aggressively honest consolation, but you were starting to question how you could be so certain.

You told yourself that with the burden of your immoral secrets weighing you down, you and Jaehyun could’ve never been a pair. You knew it wouldn’t last forever. You’d always known. You didn’t expect things to make it this far, but dammit you didn’t expect to have your fun cut short so soon either.

It wasn’t fair.

Sometimes you dreamt of what it would be like to hold Jaehyun in your arms without worries, without stolen touches and kisses when nobody was paying attention.

You sat in the nook at your window, curled up into yourself, thinking only about Jaehyun. If it wasn’t for the stupid secret that unraveled far too damn quickly, maybe none of this would’ve ever happened. Maybe I would have you, with nothing to lose. Nothing to fear.

Fuck, you should’ve been happy. Given how unlucky in love you were, you doubted that you were intended to ever be happy. You hadn’t smiled in an eternity. But Jaehyun made you feel your peak of happiness, as if you had never been more euphoric with anybody else.

More than once, you had been in love, but never like how you were in love with Jaehyun. Why did things have to become so complicated for the both of us? Why did reality hit like a fucking freight train?

If only you never fell for Jaehyun, never even gave him the time of day, then you wouldn’t be hurting. Your heart was being tortured.

It took another day of stumbling into the kitchen with dark eye bags after yet another sleepless night of sobbing into your pillows, and Johnny ignoring your existence altogether while he poured himself a mug of coffee, but it finally occurred to you that you couldn’t relive this agonizing cycle over and over.

You were sick of the pain and the dread. The insufferably cold distance when his bedroom was right down the hall from yours. You were sick of sniveling until you had no more tears left to weep, until you felt totally empty.

Something had to give.

To your surprise, and luck, Mark called you a few minutes after you strolled back into your room wordlessly, devising a plan you loathed yourself for not thinking of earlier. “Hey, bestie. Talk to me,” he said. “How you feeling?”

“Like judgment day came early for me, I guess,” you mumbled into the phone, collapsing onto your sheets.

Mark sighed roughly. “Damn. I was hoping you would feel a little better this week. Johnny said you’re the world’s biggest hermit and it’s kinda depressing.”

That shocked you to your core, but you tried to play it off. “Oh, Johnny’s been talking about me?”

“Well, yeah. I’ve obviously been checking up on the both of you on the regular, and neither of you really wanna open up to me, but Johnny has less of an issue talking about you. Man, he still cares. He’s your brother.”

Your heart was sore. You wished he would tell you that himself. In your own home, to your own brother, you felt like a stranger.

Tears burned your eyes, but you fought them and lilted playfully, “Oh, my beloved bestie…”

Mark knew that tone and interjected, “Fuck.”

You fought a tiny laugh and continued, “Would you mind doing your best friend a teeny tiny little favor?”

The suggestion alone sounded like bad news and Mark was questioning what he was about to get himself into, because no matter what came out his mouth first, you were his best friend. Of course, he was going to tell you “yes.”

Mark huffed, “Jesus. Ease up on the mischief. Johnny still wants to beat my ass too, you know? He asked me if I knew you were boning Jaehyun and of course I couldn’t lie. I’m a man of God.”

Because you didn’t feel like disputing that statement, you ignored his speech entirely and asked knowingly, “Your dad’s a cop, isn’t he?”

“I don’t like where this is going.”

Your voice was maybe a little hopeful. “Is there a way that he can look into the investigation of Mike’s overdose?”

Mark knew exactly why you were asking and even he was ashamed he hadn’t thought of the little plan. There was a brief pause before he said, “I’ll call you back.” And then he hung up.

You were a little tense sitting there on your bed waiting around for a phone call. Not because you were worried about Mark not doing it, which would be ridiculous because you both wanted what was best for Johnny. It was because you were scared of not having a solution.

Deciding it would be useless to sit around antsily, you took a well-deserved nap after a restless twenty-four hours of no sleep. It would only do you good. Even if Mark didn’t have the answers you wanted, your grades would thank you.

Sleep came easy. Though they weren’t Jaehyun’s, it was nice and peaceful bunched beneath your blankets. You flipped your pillow over to the side that wasn’t stained with tears and let darkness take the wheel.

Johnny peeked inside your room after an hour or two, wanting to talk to you, but when he saw you comfortably snoozing in your bed and obliviously clinging onto a spare pillow for dear life, he backed away and shut the door. He knew you needed the rest.

You jolted awake when your phone started to ring vehemently beside your head, cursing yourself for not turning on Do Not Disturb before immediately remembering why you didn’t, and quickly lifting the phone to answer gruffly, “Hello?”

“Good news,” Mark started, sounding suspiciously chipper. “I had my dad pull some strings. And you’re gonna wanna hear this.”

Sitting up, you exclaimed in an impatient whisper, “Well?”

“Jeong Jaehyun is not a suspect, for one. There were witnesses that confirmed him giving Mike his fix was impossible. But for two, the case reopened a few months ago and they’re literally about to bust the guy that did it. They’re waiting on a warrant. You’ve got great timing,” Mark said.

You rubbed your eyes in disbelief. “What the hell?”

“Isn’t this good news?”

“Yeah, it is,” you whispered, too shocked to know how to feel. You didn’t think the stupid plan would really work. “Thank you, Mark.”

Mark was quick to reassure you, “You don’t need to thank me. You’re my best friend and Johnny is like my brother-in-law in some weird way. See, that sounds weird. Anyways, when do you plan on telling him?”

You laughed at his rambling, but hummed when you thought about his question. “Uh, would today be a bad time?”

“The sooner the better.”

You sighed in relief. Then, you donned the loveliest tone you could muster, and asked sweetly, “Will you come with me please? I think your presence will really help.”

Mark retorted, “Should I bring the entire police force too?”

You rolled your eyes and begged, “Come on, Mark. You’re my bestie and I need you. He’s more mad with me than he is with you and plus you have the benefit of a credible father.”

“I was already on my way,” Mark chirped, jiggling his keys loudly before hanging up.

You giggled. What would you do without that boy? He was your ride or die.

Fifteen minutes later, Mark was pulling into your driveway and hopping out of the car. You let him in, locking the door behind your best friend and embracing him in the biggest hug of his life. You needed the comfort to wean off your nerves.

The last thing you expected was for Johnny to come trudging down the stairs within the very next minute.

You released Mark, turning to your brother, and you and Johnny said in unison, “Hey, I really need to talk to you.”

Johnny blinked in surprise. It almost seemed like he was mirroring you. Mark snickered to himself, mumbling something about you two obviously being related, but Johnny was chill and said, “You can go first.”

You heaved a breath. It was a shock that Johnny deliberately chose to speak to you for the first time, presumably without the intervening influence of your parents’ rebuttal on your behalf. “I don’t know how to say this, but first I wanted to tell you that I’m really sorry for sneaking around with Jaehyun behind your back. It was a really shitty thing for me to do.”

Johnny nodded along, listening.

“But I fell in love with him,” you said without hesitation. “And I’m not going to ask you to accept us or anything. That’s your choice. But I thought there was something you should know that’s bigger than Jaehyun and I.”

Johnny looked tense, but he encouraged you to go on. “Okay.”

It felt like the whole world was watching you with Johnny’s eyes carefully set on your face, but you didn’t let it stop you from continuing, “It really wasn’t him that gave Mike his supply, and yes we have proof. Mark’s dad not only confirmed it wasn’t him, but they’re working on getting him into custody.”

Mark nodded, standing right behind you. Like he was vouching for you the same way you’d vouched for him all these years. “It’s true, Johnny. It wasn’t Jaehyun. It was some random shady dealer that preys on addicts at these parties. He has a track record.”

Johnny’s eyes flickered. “It really wasn’t Jaehyun?”

Mark shook his head. “He’s innocent, dude.”

Johnny fell silent for a long time. You could see him stiffening, penitent. “I don’t know what to say,” he whispered. “I feel like shit now.”

You snorted. “Don’t do that to yourself. Please. I’ve felt like shit enough these past few weeks for the both of us.”

“About that,” Johnny began, getting whiplash. The look on his face was gentle, remorseful, and he hated himself for being anything else to his sister. To the last person that deserved his misplaced frustration. “I wanted to tell you that I’m sorry for freezing you out.”

“Johnny…,” you trailed.

Johnny shook his head. He needed you to let him say this. “I know you’ve had a rough few weeks, and though I haven’t exactly been pleased with you, you’re still my sister. The least I could’ve done was ask you ‘how are you doing?’ but I couldn’t even be bothered.”

You sighed loudly. That was true. And you’d be lying if you said it didn’t rub salt in the wounds.

“I haven’t done a good job at showing it, but I care for you. You’re my only sibling and let’s be honest, I don’t think I’ll be getting another one,” Johnny said lightheartedly.

You snickered. Damn right. You knew your parents would vehemently agree if they were here. They couldn’t be happier that all of their kids were adults. Well, maybe if you moved out.

Johnny breathed in some air. A lot of mistakes had obviously been made on both parts and he was ready to put it all behind him. “I guess what I’m trying to say is that I forgot to do what was more important. Be your brother. And I’ll apologize for the rest of my life until you forgive me.”

“No need. I forgive you right now,” you whispered, simpering.

Johnny stood there like a dumbass, hesitant. He didn’t feel like he deserved your forgiveness and would be spending the next weeks repairing his relationship with you, doing whatever it took.

You took the lead, starting reluctantly, “Listen. I know Mike’s passing has been hard on you, Johnny. That’s why you want to protect me and everything else you love in your life, but I’m an adult. You need to let me take care of me.”

A cloud of melancholy hung over Johnny and it wouldn’t leave. The grief was still fresh, as if Mike had died yesterday.

You stepped forward, placing a hand on Johnny’s shoulder. “And you’re my big brother. I’ll obviously still give you a call when I’m going through a rough time. But you have to respect that I’m my own person.”

Johnny nodded. “Yeah, I know. I’m sorry about all that too. I’ll be better.”

“I will too,” you said, because the truth was that it was time the two of you started making efforts.

Johnny grabbed you in his arms and pulled you into a gigantic bear hug. You wrapped your arms around him, pulling him close, and breathed easier in relief as weeks worth of wounds vanished.

Wincing your eyes closed, you let yourself be content in your brother’s loving embrace for the first time in a while. You needed this.

You could barely feel yourself breathe when Johnny started to hug you so tightly you thought he might accidentally squeeze the life out of you. “Alright, chill, Johnny. I think I might die,” you wheezed.

Johnny released you with a chuckle. You gasped for breath, shaking your head. Though the bone-crushing hug was appreciated nonetheless.

Mark was content to be in the background and cheered in awe, “I’m so proud of you guys. You overcame your differences and reunited like real siblings. I knew it would happen eventually, but dude, this is refreshing to see.”

You nodded in agreement. One less broken relationship. But you had another one to salvage before it was too late.

Then, Mark remembered Johnny was none too thrilled that he was complicit in you getting away with your sneaky little secret and asked, “Yo, Johnny, are we good?”

“No.”

Mark gawked.

“I’m kidding,” Johnny said with a teasing lilt. “We’re good, man.”

Mark exhaled in relief. “Thank god.”

You smiled to yourself. You were happy, but you couldn’t shake the feeling that something was missing from your life.

Johnny clamped a hand onto your shoulder and said, “Go get him.”

You gasped, but you didn’t question how he knew. He just did. It was a sibling thing. “You mean it?”

“Yes. You said it yourself. You love him, and I have no reason to come between that anymore. You deserve to be happy after dating asshole after asshole,” Johnny told you (sort of) kindly.

You snickered, and grabbed your keys from your pockets. “Pray for me. He’s not gonna be thrilled.”

Johnny shook his head, disagreeing. “Yeah, he will. Tell him that I’m very sorry, but the threat to kick his ass still stands if he fucks with you.”

“I’ll be sure to let him know,” you deadpanned, heading for the door.

The drive to Jaehyun’s house was inexplicably anxious. You could still think, but every thought went by at the speed of a thousand miles per second. And it didn’t help that you were overthinking the entire situation, dreading the endless amount of “what ifs.”

For fuck’s sake, you didn’t even know if he would be there. You were showing up unannounced, uninvited. What if he had already found another woman to keep him company in your forgettable absence?

Then, you were at his front doorstep. And you had no time to vividly imagine every possible scenario, because Jungkook answered your knocks and you could only barely see inside.

You politely greeted him in a small voice and asked, “Can I come inside?”

Jungkook’s eyes narrowed and he didn’t waste any time in snapping, “Why should I let you in after you broke my friend’s heart?”

“Because I’m sorry and I want to set things right with him,” you said, matching his lack of hesitation.

Yugyeom hurried over and took the lead, widening the door for you to enter and whining dramatically, “Oh, god. Please come in. Fix him. Do your womanly magic and bring him back to life. I’m sick of his brooding ass.”

You wanted to laugh, but you hated the thought of causing Jaehyun all this suffering. If it was anything like the kind you’d been through lately, you knew he was in a tough spot.

Thanking Yugyeom, you made a beeline for the stairs, rushing up them like Jaehyun would somehow know it was you approaching them and slip away before you could get the chance to apologize.

You knocked on Jaehyun’s door, but you guessed he really wasn’t expecting you to come over, because he shouted exasperatedly, “Jesus, Yugyeom. Fuck off.”

“It’s not Yugyeom,” you called back. “It’s me.”

All you could hear was silence. Then there was a shuffle, and a few moments later the door clicked unlocked and Jaehyun was standing before you in all his glory. “What are you doing here?”

“I walked to talk,” you replied timidly, struggling to maintain eye contact.

Irritated, Jaehyun huffed, “We already had a conversation.” Though the truth was that he was glad you were here, standing in front of him again. He was borderline miserable without you in his life.

The reminder of your final exchange with Jaehyun made you wince in shame. “I know, but I wanted to apologize. Won’t you at least hear me out?”

Jaehyun turned to return to his bed, reminding sharply, “You’re the one that walked away. I was willing to at least try to make us work, but you didn’t even want to do that.”

“Because I thought it would be useless,” you admitted, giving chase and shutting the door behind yourself. “But I don’t anymore. You were right. I should’ve fought for us and I regret not doing it earlier.”

Jaehyun might’ve acted like he wasn’t listening, being totally dismissive, but he definitely noticed your specific use of language. “You said ‘earlier.’ What do you mean?”

You had a beaming smile on your face as you admitted, “I mean, I talked to Johnny about us. I managed to get him to listen to me and proved your innocence. Thank god Mark’s father is a cop.”

Jaehyun softened. “You did all that? Why?”

“Because you’re worth fighting for,” you whispered tenderly, looking at Jaehyun like he was your entire universe.

Jaehyun was so close to accepting that he would never have anyone look at him that way again. After a heartbreak, the feeling of being unlovable always loomed over his head and you were no different. But dammit if he wasn’t tired of the doubts.

Tentatively, you came towards Jaehyun completely, sitting beside him on his mattress that you missed almost as much as you missed him. “I didn’t mean it, when I said I wish I never met you.”

Jaehyun almost laughed. That was the least hurtful thing to leave your lips. “I know. You were upset. And you had every right to be.”

You frowned, suspicious of how calm he was. You half expected him to lash out. “Stop being understanding.”

“If you’re expecting me to be angry, I can’t do anything for you. I’ve already spent the past few weeks in that stage of grief.”

You blinked. It was as if he could read your mind. “Where are you at now?”

Jaehyun was totally indifferent when he told you, “Bargaining.”

“Funny. Me too,” you sighed. If only you had been more open-minded, you could have spared you and Jaehyun all this worthless misery.

You noticed that Jaehyun said nothing, but he looked a little in his head. And he was somewhere up there, scolding himself for letting him be a fool for you, then thinking, I couldn’t resist loving you. Sue me.

The emotion was finally surfacing on his face. You could see all of it now. The distress and the love and the heartache. You smirked, thinking to yourself, He’s my little damsel now.

The grin on your lips was fleeting and it disappeared by the time you grabbed Jaehyun’s hands in yours and he peered down at you in surprise. “I’m sorry,” you told him softly. “I thought you were crazy and hopeless for thinking we could be together. Now, I see that you didn’t want to quit until you’d exhausted your resources. And I forced your hand. I’m sorry.”

Jaehyun squeezed your hand. “It’s okay. I understand where you were coming from. You were trying to make things as painless as possible because you genuinely thought we didn’t stand a chance against fate.”

“And somehow I made shit ten times more painful,” you murmured, ashamed.

“Like I said, I understand where you were coming from,” Jaehyun said, being gentler than he should’ve.

You shook your head. That meant nothing. “But do you forgive me?”

Jaehyun gazed into your pained eyes. It still broke him, but he was starting to lick the wound clean. Things were changing. “Yes. I forgive you, baby.”

Your heart softened at the pet name. You never expected to fall for Jaehyun. Not Jaehyun or his precious smile and adorable face. Not the little things he’d say that made you feel as if you would burst with love.

But you did fall for him, and all those little things that made him himself. And you didn’t want to be without them ever again.

“I’m tired of loving each other behind closed doors. I want to be seen with you. I want to go to museums and look at really abstract paintings that you’ll tell me are meaningful for whatever reason. I want to explore the city with you and visit shops I’d never think to go to otherwise.”

Jaehyun was sporting a beaming smile. “You said you love me.”

“I haven’t said it before?”

Jaehyun huffed, “No. Not even once.”

You held his face, cradling it just shy of yours, and confessed, “Then, I love you. I love you. I love you so much, Jaehyun. I don’t know what to do without you.”

“I love you too,” Jaehyun said, leaning in to mumble the tiny confession into your neck, and reminded of how desperately he craved the warmth of your skin.

You were grinning so hard your cheeks were hurting.

“Don’t leave me ever again. Don’t ever let me go. Never,” Jaehyun instructed you sharply, and although it was partly muffled, you heard him loud and clear.

“I won’t,” you told him, kissing his forehead. “If you play me that song you made me on your guitar.”

Jaehyun blinked up at you in surprise. “You liked it?”

“I think I’ve cried to it, like, a million times,” you admitted unabashedly.

Jaehyun’s jaw went slack for only a split second, then he quickly recovered and leapt up to grab his guitar from its resting position in the corner of his room.

A smile danced onto your lips as he held the guitar, strumming to the beautiful song he’d written with only his insurmountable adoration for you in mind, and the pining nature of the lyrics made you realize that the yearning was over. You were Jaehyun’s. And Jaehyun was yours.

Losing Jaehyun, one of the few people you loved depthlessly, was like losing the last person you had. You didn’t know how to be without him. And you didn’t have to learn, because you never would be without him again.

You watched him attentively, beaming from ear to ear, taking in his beautiful smile and soft voice, and familiar heady cologne. And you thought to yourself, There’s nothing to dislike about this guy.

#jaehyun smut #nct 127 smut #nct smut #jaehyun x reader #nct imagines #jaehyun imagines #jung jaehyun smut #nct x reader #nct #nct scenarios

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tizzyizzy · 5 months

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More Reasons Izzy's Death Doesn't Work

Assuming you're not writing grimdark where the point is that no one is safe, it can be tricky to pull off killing a sympathetic character in a satisfying way. S2 does not nail the landing. Here are a trio of types of character deaths, and why Izzy's doesn't end up succeeding any any of them.

The Tragic Death

A tragic death, first and foremost, Bad. The audience should be sad, the framing is sad. This death is meant to raise the stakes, or deal an emotional blow to the other characters. If the major villain does it, it makes them seem more menacing, and makes the audience hate them even more. This often occurs in the "dark moment" before the third act, and is part of the protagonist's internal struggle under the weight of their mission. Their death helps the goal seem impossible to reach. If it happens at the climax, the death shows the costs of victory.

Is Izzy's death a tragic death? It's true he's shot by the main villain at the climax but...no. Ricky wasn't defeated; he's still out there. The main couple don't actually intend to pursue him, and are instead settling in to a happy life. Most importantly, Izzy's death was nowhere near sad enough to function as a tragic death. Sure, there was some sadness in his death scene, but the funeral scene was incredible short and almost offensive in its lack of emotional impact. If anything, Izzy's death seems to have cleared up Ed's emotional issues instead of burdening him with despair.

The Final Redemption

This is a classic for redeemed villains and cynical antiheroes. In these deaths, the character marks the end of their character arc by making some final sacrifice for the greater good or their new friends. Their death has meaning for the dead character, the plot, and those they sacrificed themselves to protect.

Izzy's cause of death is more or less random. He just happens to be the one holding the knife to the villain's back.

You could say Izzy's final words are his final redemption, with him giving a final apology. This could work, but unfortunately, not with Ed. At least not how it was handled here.

Izzy had already completed his character arc of accepting Ed retiring and supporting Stede and Ed's relationship. Worse, any of Izzy's wrongs against Ed pale in comparison to Ed's wrongs against Izzy, especially in S2. It doesn't help that Ed had an entire arc of him failing to come even slightly close to making up for what he did. So instead of being glad that Izzy apologized to Ed on his deathbed, we're baffled Izzy is apologizing to the man who forced him to eat his own toes, shot off his leg, and drove him to suicide.

And his dying words fall on deaf ears, since Ed just up and leaves his "family" immediately.

The Good Death

Everyone has to die sometime. A good death is a scene where a character dies, usually due to some sort of natural cause, at peace. This may mean they're surrounded by family and friends, or doing what they love to do most. The point is that, while death is inevitable, to die well is still a happy ending.

Izzy's death isn't peaceful, and following a sneaky plan from Stede isn't what he loves to do most. Worst of all, he isn't surrounded by family. Sure, a some people say he is, but watch the scene again. The reason Roach doesn't even attempt to help Izzy is not only because Izzy is a goner (for some reason). He is also giving Ed space to be with Izzy semi-privately.

Everyone who Izzy developed relationships with is standing back in favor of Ed, who he has just barely started to get along with again. You can't even get a good look at the faces and reactions of some of the characters who had the most meaningful interactions with Izzy.

You could say it's a good death because he is with Ed, but the plot has simply failed to build this up as something satisfying. In fact, focusing on Ed is sort of tragic in and of itself. If this is Izzy's ideal happy ending, it suggests he was obsessed with Ed to the point he'd rather die giving advice and closure to Ed (who will ignore his advice) than be close to the people who actually helped him heal and find peace.

Conclusion

Writing this actually helped clarify, I think, why the death didn't work, but might seem to be doing something on the surface.

There are all sort of bits from each of these meaningful types of deaths. Izzy's speech to Ricky seems like a statement that could seem like part of a brave, dramatic confrontation or last stand, but the actual killing blow falls out of nowhere, without drama. There is tale of revenge that the leads have no interest in pursuing. Izzy's apology is supposed to be a capstone to his development with Ed, but Izzy's supposed corruption of Ed was so downplayed compared to Ed's brutal abuse of Izzy that him apologizing felt more offensive than cathartic. We're supposed to feel like Izzy finally got to die happy after a long life, but Izzy's life just seemed to be starting after healing from his trauma, with his life snatched away just when he was beginning to explore its possibilities.

This is the danger of relying on tropes without understanding the underlying reason why they work. It's why you can't say, "Izzy is a mentor figure, actually, so he should die for Ed's development" on the day you're shooting the scene.

#ofmd critical #izzy hands

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izzysillyhandsy · 7 months

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My predictions for the S2 finale (also, 100% wish fulfillment)

I'm so intrigued by this quote from David Jenkins regarding the dream sequence in S2E1:

"Stede, Blackbeard, and Izzy are on an arc together. Whether they're in stories together or not, their ultimate arc is together. I think, by the end of this season, the last episode, that first scene will be gratifying. I won't say why, but their fates are tied together."

(Just to get this out of the way, because I have seen posts worrying about it (and for my own peace of mind): if the last episode mirrors the first one and that "scene will be gratifying", in no way can I see Izzy dying - gratifying would be a really weird way to describe Izzy's death, although some antis might see it that way ;).)

But let's look at the dream again.

Stede looking all piratey-tough, beard, earring and all. Izzy standing between Stede's and Ed's happiness, and Stede knifing and stabbing him without the slightest bit of remorse. Stede and Ed running towards each other on a sunset beach. Izzy dead, forgotten and out of sight.

Combined with this quote (referencing "A Star is born") from the same article:

"... to watch Stede — spoiler, but he becomes a real boy, and he becomes a notorious pirate. To see Ed try to process that, Ed's more like Jackson Maine, and then Stede's doing a Gaga, and he's blowing up."

and the scenes from the trailer and teaser where Stede and Ed are running/fighting towards each other on (I think) the same beach...

My prediction for the show's finale is:

While Ed's still on probation, Stede, with Izzy's help, gains respect in the pirate community. "The Gentleman Pirate" becomes a thing, and Ed finds this difficult to deal with. Yes, he wanted to give up pirating and run away with Stede to China, but being overshadowed by him in his own field of expertise? His life's work? By an amateur?? (and Stede not only has his crew, but he has his Izzy too now?)

Maybe there is another separation, maybe Ed goes away to chill somewhere, maybe there is a fight between Stede and Ed.

Then Price Ricky comes back, and he wants Stede (and piracy in general) dead. Izzy has some undercover part where he's talking to Ricky over a candlelight dinner and is seen wearing a Navy jacket later. At one point, he gets severely injured (as seen in BTS photos).

The showdown is happening on the beach. But instead of Stede killing Izzy and then running towards Ed, Ed is coming back to help Stede and his crew out when the battle seems lost and Izzy is hurt/dying.

It could be framed like the scene in episode one - Ed coming from one side, Stede seeing him and running towards him from the other, both fighting Navy guys left and right. With their combined effort, the battle is won.

But instead of Ed and Stede having only eyes for each other, this time around there's also Izzy, and they won't let him die (maybe with help from a certain bird? Or is this to out there).

I can even see a bit of jealousy going on with Ed regarding Izzy and Stede.

In reversal of the dream though, Izzy will be the one bringing Ed and Stede together (through giving Stede a sense of self-worth, through talking to Ed about his feelings of envy/fear about his unloveableness because Izzy knows him and I think Ed really cares about his opinion, etc.)

In the end, the conclusion could be that they're all in it together. Ed and Stede co-captain, and Iz is their shared first mate.

(and then the three of them ride off into the sunset)

#ofmd #ofmd season 2 spoilers #ofmd s2 spoilers #ofmd speculation #edward teach #stede bonnet #izzy hands #maybe a bit of wishful thinking on my part #but like the gist of it is I think supported by what we know already #maybe not the overly fanfiction-y parts #shared first mate yeah right ;)

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dahliarose2 · 1 year

Text

KINDRED SPIRITS - PART 7

summary: negan brings carl back to alexandria as he spreads his anarchy even further. rick and the group gather allies and meet king ezekiel. meanwhile, you deal with the frightful consequences of helping daryl and sherry escape before a certain confession from someone changes that

daryl dixon x reader

part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4 part 5 part 6

Negan and Carl had arrived on their surprise trip to Alexandria, immediately heading straight to Rick's house where Olivia was watching Judith, Negan interrogating her over where Rick was as she insisted she didn't know. He had hassled Olivia until she was in eventual tears, making Carl give him a grand tour of the house. While Rick and many of the others were gone, he waited for Rick, voting to play house while Rick was away, playing darts, making spaghetti. Carl felt ill as he watched the man who killed people he cared about, sit down in his house, in his dad's chair at the table, and pretend everything was fine,

Soon after, Spencer called around to the house, seemingly offering a friendly drink and a chat, which made Carl stare on in confusion and anger at Spencer fraternizing with their enemy. Negan accepted of course, even playing a game of pool with him to hear what he had to say, as everyone watched. He listened to Spencer ramble on and on about how he should be put in charge of Alexandria, never really liking Rick all that much. "Rick is not the one you should be putting your trust in here. His ego is out of control. He isn't really much of a team player," Spencer revealed as he took his turn, Negan watching him closely,

"And you're proposing, let me guess," Negan starts, hitting one of the balls succesfully into one of the pockets on the table, "that I kill Rick and put you in charge." Spencer nodded, as Negan threw his head back a little, letting a loud laugh erupt from him. "See, the thing is Spencer, Ricky boy is out there scavenging for me to save everyone's sorry asses here. He is swallowing his hate and getting shit done. That takes guts," he spoke with a wide grin. Negan strolled nonchalantly towards Spencer, who was disappointed by not getting the response he wanted from Negan. His plan to manipulate Negan into killing Rick and doing the dirty work for him, had fallen flat,

"And then there's you. Waiting for Rick to be gone before you sneak up and ask me to do your dirty work for you. Why not just do the damn thing yourself. Kill Rick. Take over," he suggests, but the tone he's using is making Spencer and everyone else uneasy. He's smiling but his voice makes it evident he doesn't like to be manipulated, especially not into doing anyone's dirty work. Spencer began stuttering as he tried to deny wanting Rick dead, but it was too late for that. "You wanna know why I think you didn't do that?" Negan asked, clearly rhetorically, now in front of Spencer's face intimidatingly, "because I have a brilliant guess. You have. no. guts,"

Without warning, Negan drove his bat threw Spencer's stomach who stood there mouth agape. Multiple gasps could be heard as Negan only smiled wider, tugging Lucille to the right, as Spencer's guts began falling out freely from his frame, as he landed in a pile on the floor. "How embarrassing," Negan tutted, gazing down at Spencer's form, now covered in blood himself from dealing the blow. Everyone stood in shock, some people crying. Rosita's face twitched in anger as she stared in disbelief as Negan continued to taunt people. "Someone better get up here and clean this shit up. C'mon, finish the game," he ordered with a laugh, Rosita coming closer to her breaking point,

"I'm winning," he chanted, before Rosita had pulled the gun so quick, no one had noticed until it was too late and she had fired the bullet that Eugene had made her, as she panted angrily. "Shit," Negan yelled, louder than anyone had heard him yell, usually laid back in his wickedness, "what the shit?" He began waving Lucille around wildly, seeing the bullet that had gone clean through the bat, as Arat, one of the Saviors tackled Rosita to the floor. Negan stormed over, yelling in Rosita's face, whose only care was that she'd missed, not caring what would happen to her now. "Who made this?" Negan seethed, as Arat's knife moved to rest not so gently against Rosita's cheek,

"It was me," Rosita gritted out, but Negan immediately shook his head, clearly not believing her. "Nope. Now I think you're lying," he stated coolly, "Arat. Kill someone." She wasted no time, much to Rosita's loud protests who now had a long gash on her cheek from the dagger, pulling her gun out of her holster aiming straight at Olivia as she landed on the floor in a dead heap. Everyone gasped once again as they watched 2 of their people being killed in the same 5 minutes. Just as people began to sob, and stare blankly at the scene, Rick rounded the corner, a wounded Aaron in tow, courtesy of the Saviors, as he stared dumfounded at the situation that had unfolded,

"Rick, you're back," Negan fake cheered, as Rick stormed towards him, "I was just very lenient with your people here. You know, people have been having a hoot while you were out on your scavenge for me." Rick stared at him confused, as Negan pointed at Carl who was crouched beside Olivia on the porch, in shock. "Your little boy snuck into one of my trucks, killed a bunch of my men and I returned him home safely and even made him some dinner. Another one here wanted me to take you out for him and put him in charge. Did you a favor. And lastly, this one here tried to killed me, and shot Lucille, so I gave you one less mouth to feed," Negan explained loudly with a shit-eating grin as Rick reeled from the scene, looking between the bodies and Rosita kneeled on the floor, who looked furious,

Rick looked up at Carl angrily for his recklessness as he turned back to Negan, biting his tongue. "Your shit is at the gate. So just. go," Rick practically growled as he stood as intimidating as possible, in front of Negan who only laughed in his face. Negan ignored him, swinging Lucille in his gloved hand. "I mean, attempted murder by 2 Alexandrians in the same day. I must have 9 lives or something," he joked, as Rick stared at him confused. "What do you mean 2?" he asked gruffly. "Oh silly me, you wouldn't have known about the first one," Negan stated as if it wasn't obvious, throwing his palm to his forehead dramatically, acting as though he forgot, "my wife tried to drive a knife through my heart earlier today. Isn't that the most Shakespeare shit you've ever heard," Negan quipped with a booming laugh as Rick's confusion leaked from his face, making way for an angry expression, as he knew Negan was talking about you,

"But don't worry, we're sorting that out back at the Sanctuary. It was quite the fiasco this morning," he laughed, as Rosita's rage only grew as she heard him use you to taunt them even further, wishing she had asked Eugene to make 2 bullets, so she could have another go right now. Rick struggled to bite his tongue at the mention of you, hating that you were still being used as leverage against them, wondering if Daryl was okay too. "Now before I go, I want the guy or gal who made this bullet here," Negan demanded in a sing-song voice, twisting the bullet casing in his fingers as no sooner than he'd said it, Tara had stepped forward, refusing to let another person get murdered over it,

"It was me," she shouted fiercely, but Eugene interrupted her. "No it wasn't. It was me," he sobbed like that of a child. Once he began to explain how he made it through shaky cries, Negan listened intently, before walking away, harshly swinging the bat upward making everyone around him flinch. "Lucille give me strength," he whispered with his eyes closed, before turning back around to Rick who was practically emanating rage at what Negan had just done. "I'll be relieving you of your bullet maker Ricky boy. And everything you just scavenged? Not enough. You are on probation after this," Negan threatened, before waving his men down, one of them grabbing Eugene forcefully, "now let's move out. I'll see you next time. I'll tell Y/N and Daryl that you send your love,"

Rick held himself back, angry tears pooling in his eyes as he watched the Saviors leave. Little did Negan know, that was the last straw, and he had just incited a war. When Michonne returned from her mission of her own, she found Rick who hugged her close. "We have to fight back," Michonne whispered, as she ran her hands through his hair. "Yeah we do. I know that now," Rick confessed, sounding much less placid than before, done peace-keeping and bowing down to Negan and the Saviors. He vowed then and there that no matter how long it took, he was going to save you and Daryl, and he was kill every single last Savior for what they had done to his family, knowing where he needed to go now,

---------------------

Maggie climbed the wooden ladder, stopping at the top of the lookout spot to see people walking towards the gates. She squinted for a moment, before her heart warmed as she rapidly descended the steps, running to the gate to see her people walking in. Rick immediately greeted her with a warm hug, before whispering something to her. She pulled away, not being able to hear him as she stared at him confusedly. "You were right the whole time. We have to fight back," he agreed with Maggie, who had been frustrated with their lack of rebellion and action. Maggie smiled at his words, before hugging Michonne as people had their reunions, Rosita and Sasha sharing a respectful nod towards one another,

"There's someone you should see," Maggie said a bit more serious now as Rick glanced at her bewildered as he followed her over to the double wooden doors next to the building leading to the basement. Jesus glanced at Rick and Maggie nervously as she nodded, he opened the doors as Rick tried to look in, walking down the steps. His eyes widened in shock as he saw Daryl, but he was equally shocked to see him tied to a chair, writhing around in his spot. Once Daryl, had spotted Rick, his thrashing stopped. "Rick?" he asked gruffly, as Rick couldn't come up with any words to say, dumbfounded, as he felt a few tears well in his eyes,

He looked back at Maggie giving her a look that told her to explain. "Jesus was with Carl when they hid in the truck. He only wanted to make a trail to the Sanctuary but Carl didn't jump out of the truck when he was supposed to. He was deadset on going to kill Negan. Jesus went looking for him and found Daryl on the way," Maggie explained, as Rick and Michonne listened, while Jesus stood a bit further back. "Tell 'em the rest," Daryl grunted out angrily. glaring right at Jesus, which Michonne noticed, looking at Jesus who stared down at the ground bashfully, looking almost fearful,

Maggie sighed, as if she didnt want to say the next part. "Daryl managed to get out, thinking Y/N was already out and wanted to go back in and save her. Jesus knocked Daryl out to get him back here. Y/N is still at the Sanctuary," Maggie said regretfully, as Rick's gaze alternated between a nervous Jesus in the corner and a furious Daryl. "He refused to stay here, insisting on going back, so this was the only way," she stated as she pointed to the ropes keeping him constricted. At the sight of Jesus, Daryl began to move around in the bindings once again, wanting to strangle him for what he did. Rick looked at Jesus who began to stutter,

"I-I didn't know what else to do. If we had've gone back in, we never would've made it out safely without being seen," Jesus reasoned as he held his hands up, not wanting to be blamed. "Then you should've left me there. You could've run off like the little coward you are. You lied and told me you had her safely in the car. And you can't keep me tied up in 'ere forever. So you better hope you're far away when I'm not anymore," Daryl seethed threateningly as Rick intervened. "Alright. That's enough," he raised his voice slightly, "Jesus just get out of here." He nodded hesitantly as he left the basement, feeling Daryl's menacing stare on him the entire time, making him feel uneasy,

"Daryl, I'm gonna untie you, but do not leave the Hilltop. Negan doesn't know yer gone yet. And when he finds out, when he gets back to the Sanctuary, he's gonna have his people out lookin' for you. You can't leave the Hilltop. The only way you're going to be able to help save Y/N, is if you're here, not locked back up in the Sanctuary," Rick persuaded sternly, seeing Daryl's face shift slightly, knowing Rick was right. Once his anger had dissipated into his usual, normal anger-like state, Rick moved to cut the ropes as Daryl stood up. "What's the plan?" Daryl asked immediately, "how're we gonna get her back?" Rick put his hand out towards Daryl. "We can't make a move just yet. We have to be smart about this," he argued, as Daryl began to get riled up again at everyone's lack of action on the subject,

"We will save her soon I promise you t-" Rick started to assure Daryl, placing his hand on his shoulder, but Daryl shrugged it off, Maggie and Michonne watching him pace a little now. "Nah you don't get it, do you?" Daryl yelled, getting up in Rick's face, "she's the one who got me out of there. She saved me. Because I was too useless to save her. And now, she's stuck there. You don't think he's gonna know it was her who helped me escape? You don't think he's gonna hurt ‘er for it?" He raved and ranted, as Rick went silent, looking down, knowing the last part was probably true. Daryl's heart broke in two, thinking of you being punished for his disappearance,

"You ain't got a clue, man. You don't know what it's like in there. How scared she was. How scared I was," as he pointed at Rick accusingly, who just listened, Michonne's eyes filling with tears at the thought of what you both had to go through, and what it would be like for you alone now. "If it were any one of you in there instead of her, and she was here? She'd be making a move now. She'd be- she'd. Hell she'd be doin' somethin'," he fumed as he rambled, the others just letting him, as his resolve started to crumble slowly, as much as he tried to keep it up. "So, we've gotta. We've gotta save her- we've gotta...," he trailed off as tears welled in his eyes, trying to push them down, turning his back to his friends, as he tried to hide his grief,

He felt guilty. He just wanted you here, safe. He flinched as he felt a hand on his shoulder, turning to see Rick, who used the grip on his shoulder to pull him in as he stood, not wanting to reciprocate the hug, not wanting to admit the pain he was feeling, still trying to convince himself that he didn't need comfort; that he didn't deserve it. He was safe back at Hilltop, and you were still imprisoned in the Sanctuary, and he was the one being hugged and comforted. He felt pathetic as Rick held him tighter, making his tears fall faster. "We're gonna find her. I promise you. We're gonna figure this out," Maggie promised from where she stood, and she meant it. Daryl knew that she meant it. After seeing what Negan had done to Glenn, Maggie would do anything to prevent Daryl going through the same pain if he decided to kill you in a fit of rage upon seeing Daryl's breakout,

Rick pulled away from the hug, as Michonne stood next to him, both offering Daryl sympathetic glances, Michonne's gaze having a bit more conviction, as she would be ready to fight for you whenever the time came. You were one of her good friends, and not only that, but you were good. You were a good person. And Michonne wasn't going to let another good person suffer at the hands of Negan. "Let's gather everyone. We'll start planning now," Rick suggested, as he offered Daryl a small smile, who wiped away the few tears that had managed to spill out, giving a forceful nod in his direction, as they all walked out of the basement, gathering the others for a meeting,

---------------------

Gathered now in Gregory's office, chaos began to ensue at the hands of Gregory's cowardice and refusal to fight. "How many people can we spare? How many can fight?" Maggie asked sternly as she placed her hands on either side of the desk, looking at him at eye-level as he scoffed, leaning forward. "We?" he laughed, as the others began to grow angry. "We're gonna win," Rick forced, as Gregory rolled his eyes. "These are killers. We have farmers. They don't know how to fight," Gregory quipped, before Rosita piped up. "Give me a week," she promised, meaning it. "That was rhetorical," he corrected sassily,

"What happens out of my purview, stays out of my purview," he stated smugly, as Daryl jumped forward from his spot leaning against the wall, trying to walk towards him, as Rick stopped him forcefully with a hand to his chest. "You on our side or not?" Daryl yelled, not having time or patience for Gregory's dawdling. "I think I've made my stance pretty clear. You can go back to your little town now." Everyone rolled their eyes as Tara scoffed in disbelief, your group storming out of the room. "This is a joke," Tara complained. "We don't need him anyway," Daryl retorted as Enid rushed into the room, eyes darting to her in panic at her speed,

"Enid, what's wrong?" Maggie asked worried, but when she saw Enid's smile, she knew there was nothing wrong. She led the group outside, showing them the people who had gathered. "We want to help you fight Negan and the Saviors. Do you think we can win?" one of the women asked, as Rick nodded. "I know we can," he stated assuredly. Everyone smiled at the fact that they had more numbers now, as they started walking towards the front gate of Hilltop. "We're still going to need more people," Rick said as he walked, "we have to get back to Alexandria. If they come looking for Daryl, that's the first place they'll look and we need to be ready,"

"What if you didn't need to get back?" Jesus suggested, as Daryl still tried to contain his anger at the sight of him and everyone halted in their movements looking at him confused. "I think it's time to introduce you to Ezekiel and The Kingdom," he smiled as Rick looked at Michonne, unsure of who he was talking about. Within a few minutes, they had arrived at the Kingdom and were being questioned by two of the Kingdom's soldiers, as they requested an audience with King Ezekiel. "We're going to need your guns first," one of them said. "We only have two," Rick said honestly, handing them over. The two soldiers led them through the Kingdom, as they observed people chatting, gardening and running drills, training,

"Morgan?" Tara asks in disbelief, as a smile breaks out on her face, as she walks over to hug him, Rick smiling as he saw him, both of them reuniting. Morgan explained to a disappointed Daryl that he had brought Carol to get help here after a nasty run-in with the Saviors, but that she had gone on her way after that; a lie. Rick nodded as they made their way to see the King to convince him to join their fight. "Ezekiel, I bring like-minded friends from another settlement, Alexandria," Jesus greeted the King, doing a small respectful bow, as he turned to the others who were stood a bit away, cautiously eyeing the tiger that Jesus regretted to tell them about as he muttered an apology to them with a laugh,

"I welcome you all to the Kingdom, good travellers. What brings you here?" Ezekiel welcomes warmly as Ricks steps forward to plead his case. "King Ezekiel, Alexandria, The Hilltop and The Kingdom all have something in common; we're all controlled by the Saviors. We fought them once, and won. But we didn't know then that it was only an outpost. We know of your deal with the Saviors. So you know they rule through fear," Rick explained, but Ezekiel's face contorted with anger as he glared at Jesus who nervously spluttered. "I only told them of t-" but the King interrupted him. "We told you of our deal in confidence. Why did you break it?" he asked accusingly in annoyance,

"I want you to hear Rick's plans," Jesus reasoned. "And what plans have you, Rick Grimes?" Ezekiel asked, willing to hear him out. Rick looked around as the others nodded, turning back to the King. "We want you to help us fight the Saviors, to get freedom for all of us," Rick stated matter-of-factly as Ezekiel looked with worry and skepticism. "What you're asking is very serious," Ezekiel replied, as he seemed to contemplate Rick's offer. "Our people, good people, were murdered brutally by the Saviors," Michonne said sadly, as she walked to stand beside Rick, holding his hand in support,

Morgan's face hardened, as he looked over to Rick and Michonne curiously. "Who?" he inquired, as Rosita spoke up. "Glenn, Abraham, Spencer, Olivia. They kidnapped Eugene. They took Daryl and Y/N, he managed to escape, she's still being held at the Sanctuary," Rosita listed with a touch of spite, "you going to tell us you were right?" Morgan stared at Rosita in disbelief, immediately shaking his head feverishly. "No. I would never. I'm just real sorry they're gone," he said sadly, as Daryl began to pace nervously upon hearing your name, being constantly reminded of the fact that you were still in trouble. And every second the group spent here, was a second lost in getting you back home safe,

Ezekiel sat with a quizzical brow, taking in what everyone was saying slowly, as Sasha explained what they'd done to Glenn and Abraham. "We have strong people, but not enough people," Rick confessed, as Richard, Ezekiel's right-hand man looked between the group and his King. "We have people, and weapons. If we strike first, together, we can do it, Your Majesty," he pleaded, seeing the urgency of the situation. "You have given the King much to ponder, I shall give you my decree in the morn," King Ezekiel announces, as he stood. Rick nodded appreciatively, hoping he would accept their offer,

The morning after, King Ezekiel told the group that he couldn't offer his soldiers or his help, but could offer Daryl asylum, leaving the group angered and dismayed, Daryl more so than anyone. "You call yourself a King, but you sure as hell don't act like one. You not hear what we just told you? About our people? About Glenn and Abraham? About Y/N?" he yelled as Ezekiel looked down, shaking his head. "I can't risk my people's lives," Ezekiel argued, as the group walked off towards the front gate as they grumbled. "I ain't stayin' here," Daryl grunted, as Rick moved to put his hand on his shoulder,

"You have to. We can't have Negan finding you. If you're here, you can try convince Ezekiel," Rick urged, as Daryl fumed, but didn't argue. "We'll be back soon. I promise," Rick assured, as Daryl didn't reply, watching as the doors closed, his group now out of his view,

--------------------

On their way back, Rick and the others had come across a trap that the Saviors had set for a herd of walkers. It only took one glance between Rosita and Rick, for them both to know that they needed these explosives and they could be a real advantage to them. While Rosita got to work, trying to disarm the trap, a message came through on the long-distance radio that Jesus held belonging to the Saviors, as Negan's voice boomed on the other end, unaware that the Alexandrians were listening on the other end. "Simon, get your ass to Alexandria. Tear that place apart until you find Daryl," he demanded as the group looked at one another. Rosita stood up, having successfully stopped the explosives from going off and dismantling the bomb, explaining to the rest of the group what to do and how to do it. "We need to unwrap these explosives as quickly as possible and get back. Let's move," Rick said hastily,

Everyone worked at a quick pace in gathering the explosives, as a herd began to make it's way onto the highway. After a plan set out by Rick, the group had successfully gotten the explosives and managed to keep the herd on the highway, Rick insisting they might need it to their advantage at some point. As they drove away, the group laughed breathlessly as they all panted, amazed that they had pulled it off,

The group arrived back in Alexandria just in time, seeing the Saviors' vans pull up, driving into the settlement as they began to get out, circling the group. "Hello again," Simon greeted, as Rick walked towards him, pretending to be oblivious as to why they were here. "We'd thought it'd be a little longer before the next collection," Rick stated, referring to their supplies. Simon scoffed as he placed his hands on his hips. "We're not here for a tribute. We're here for Daryl," he laughed. "He's not here. We didn't even know he was missing," Rick lied, pretending to look confused as Simon waved towards his men,

"I'm sure you won't mind if we take a look around then. Everyone grab a buddy," Simon hollered, as he grabbed Carl's shoulder, as the group made their way around Alexandria, watching the Saviors loot the place and turn it upside down in search of Daryl. As they walked back to the front gates, after scoffing at the empty pantry that surprised the group, it having been fully stocked before they left, Simon spoke out. "Sorry we couldn't stay but we have a litany of other shit to attend to," he apologized with mock sadness as he walked towards the van, hopping in to close the door,

"Oh and Rick?" Simon asked, as Rick looked up, "if Daryl does turn up here. Let him know Y/N's getting a little lonely on her own." Rick's jaw clenched as he forced himself to nod at Simon's statement. Behind him, Carl stepped forward angrily, but Michonne grabbed his forearm, pulling him back as he breathed heavily at the mention of your name as Simon saluted, driving off with the rest of his soldiers. Rick looked at the others who looked just as angry and worried as Carl had been, noticing the urgency to get you back home safe; and soon. Rick huffed, having to deal with a missing Gabriel and a missing food stock,

-----------------------------------

MEANWHILE.....

You shivered as you hugged into the wall as much possible, trying to generate some warmth. You hadn't eaten since they had put you in here 2 days ago now. At some point throughout that time, you struggled to know when, Sherry whispered through the door on the changing of the guards at your cell, that she had managed to get Daryl out. You thanked her profusely, putting your trust in her now as you beamed brighter than you had in a while, happy that Daryl was hopefully home safe by now, though you knew he probably hated you for trying to play the hero, and staying at the Sanctuary. You didn't care, you'd rather see him angry, than see him in his cell any longer, than see him with new fresh wounds courtesy of Dwight,

Before you knew it, the door to your cell swung open, as you covered your eyes shakily, half from the shock of the door opening, and half due to your lack of food and water. Your vision blurred as a figure walked in, gripping your arm roughly, harshly hauling you off the floor as you cried out. You struggled to stay upright as you were dragged into a room finally, being thrown to the floor. You looked up to see Simon who was the one who had dragged you here. You stared up at him angrily, as he smirked. Before you could ask him anything, the door creaked open, as Negan entered, making you cower slightly, as he sauntered into the room with one Savior next to him,

"So how's my favorite wife doing? You enjoying your new room?" he taunted mockingly, as you stared at the floor from where you were sat, your dress from 2 days ago pooling over your legs, filthy. You didn't reply, as your lip twitched in anger. He walked towards you, as you refused to look at him, as he took your chin in his hand, gentler than you were expecting, as you flinched from his touch, but didn't move away, trying not to agitate him further. Your body shook from both the cold and from dread as he ran his leather glove-clad thumb, over your lip, swiping softly over the stitch that Sherry had done on your cut you had endured from his hit the days previous,

You hissed at the feeling of the rough leather catching in the stitch slightly as he only laughed at your reaction. "Now, back to business," he hollered, as he let go of your chin rapidly, making your face fall down as your head hung low. With a nod given, Simon pulled you up to your feet as you struggled to stay up, as he stood next to you ensuring you wouldn't fall down. You looked up at him now from where you stood, as he paced the room, Lucille resting heavily on his shoulder. "What I wanna know, is how you helped our little buddy Daryl and one of my wives, Sherry escape," he whispered menacingly with a wide grin. You knew he'd eventually come asking you about it, but it didn't stop your blood running cold at the question,

"W-what, I-I don't know what you’re talking about," you replied through shaky breaths, as you stood a bit taller, pretending you knew nothing about them even being gone, which was half true, as you didn't know Sherry had managed to escape after she came to tell you she had freed Daryl. Negan lumbered towards you ever so slowly, unsatisfied with your answer, as he leaned down slightly to be at your eye-level, smirking at you. After a moment of silence, and him staring you up and down, in one swift movement, he had stepped backwards and clicked his fingers. Before you could move, the Savior next to you had kneed you in the abdomen as you let out a pained cry, but closed your mouth quickly, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of hearing you cry. "I-I don't know anything," you repeated, more sure of yourself now. You had thought about it, being logical. 'If he's standing here asking you what you had to do with it, then he really has no proof at all. He doesn't know anything. He’s bluffing,’ you told yourself, maintaining your strong facade as he squinted, analyzing you more closely now, before he nodded again,

You braced yourself this time, seeing the soldier pull his small knife from his sheath, slicing you just at the edge of the skin on your forearm in a long jagged line. You immediately yelped from the cut, bringing your right hand to hold your wound, trying to stop the blood that flowed from it. You went to fall, but Simon only grabbed your forearm, dragging you back up. "I'm gonna ask you one more time. Don't make this harder on yourself, sweetheart. Daryl is gone, Sherry is gone. You were the last person she talked to. And suddenly, they're both missing," Negan's voice boomed, though you knew him better than he thought, and his voice faltered, clearly having no real evidence that it was you who had helped Daryl escape. You didn't know Sherry was planning on escaping, but after she confided in you about the life she lived as one of Negan's wives, you could understand why she fleed, not about to rat her out. She had helped Daryl after all, even when she didn't have to,

You felt one tear fall from your eye from the piercing pain in your arm, grateful that the cut hadn't been deeper, but still biting your tongue to keep your muffled cries under control. "So what. do you know about it?" he growled out, accompanied by a wicked smile. You lifted your head to look at him. "I don't know how they got out. I swear," you promised, putting an innocent, tearful look on your face. He shook his head angrily, looking for a confession from you. Negan nodded once again, as the Savior approached you once again with the bloody knife. You tried to get out of Simon's strong grip, as he moved to hold both of your arms now, as you fought back, thrashing around as much as possible with your fatigue and your wound that was now bleeding profusely,

"No please. I don't know anything," you begged through your tears that started to fall now, as he neared you with the knife, holding it to the bicep of your other arm, beginning to pierce through the skin. You let out a rough, pained scream as he began to cut your skin. "P-please, I don't know anything. You have to listen to me," you yelled through strenuous sobs. Negan seemed to have actually listened to you, as the soldier stopped just as he began to cut deeper, as you were left with much smaller, bleeding cut than on your other arm. Your hair stuck to your forehead from sweat as you panted rapidly now, looking at Negan, who was now leaned against the shut door of the room holding his bar. He stayed silent as he stared at you, intrigued,

You didn't wait for confirmation you could speak, grabbing your opportunity with both hands. "D-don't you think that if I had helped them escape that I would've left with them? I didn't even know Daryl had left, til just now," you weeped, looking at him with pleading eyes. He tried to make it look as though what you were saying didn't make sense, and that he wasn't letting it in, but you knew by the way he was silent, that he was most definitely hearing you out. "I-I mean, Daryl left me?" you asked, your voice cracking as you played your part once again, trying to ignore your blood dripping on the floor as you clutched your arm. You could tell Negan was being convinced, it was working. You just really had to sell it now,

In the silence, as Simon and the Savior shared confused perplexed glances at Negan's lack of speech and his surprisingly calm demeanor, his anger having completely melted away now, as his serious expression remained, but without the animosity it had moments prior. In a bold move, you walked towards Negan, as he waited a moment, before nodding at Simon, who reluctantly let your arms go. "Daryl left me here. He's not who I thought he was. I-I have nothing for me in Alexandria anymore," you croaked out, disheartened, as your tears continued to sting your cheeks. "He abandoned me. I-It's made me realize," you started, now in front of him, gazing up at him with water-filled eyes, as you moved your hand not covered in red to touch his arm. He flinched slightly, wanting to pull away completely, but he didn't,

That let you know that it was possible to sway him now. "Y-y-you were right the whole time. He doesn't love me. I-If he did, he would've rescued me. B-but he didn't because he doesn't care about me," whimpered out, as your fingers begin tracing small soft circles on his knuckles now. "B-but you do. You care about me. D-don't you?" you asked nervously through your sobs, as you looked up at him expectantly as you could see his stony exterior begin to crumble. In a final attempt, you broke down in tears, your hands shaking as you tried to hold your wound tight, crying for a few moments before finally, in the midst of your tears, you felt arms enclose your body as you gasped, but he held you tighter,

You allowed yourself to fall into his hold, wanting it to seem convincing. Your weak arms encircled his waist, as his hand reached to bring your head tighter into his chest as you cried, not caring that blood from your cut was now getting on his jacket. As your emotions began to die down, and your crying stopped, you were brought back to the fact that you were injured. "Shh, it's okay angel," he whispered, and you forced yourself not to smile smugly, at the fact you had fooled him again. You sniffled as you felt your body finally crumple, from exhaustion, from emotion, from blood loss, you weren't sure. He watched your eyes begin to flutter open and closed, blinking slower than normal, as he lifted you up, holding you bridal style now,

"What do we do?" Simon asked annoyed at his leader's naive fondness towards you, as Negan began to walk out, stopping in his tracks at the question. "Get Dwight into a cell. I'll be down to ask him a few questions in a bit," he replied nonchalantly, his signature smile back on his face. You stared up at him from where you lay in his arms as he gazed down at you, wanting nothing more than to push yourself out of his hold, and force yourself to crawl if you had to. But you couldn't, you could barely move from tiredness as you felt your vision darken, black darkness now surrounding you as you passed out. Before you knew it, you felt a cushiony bed beneath you as you opened your eyes fully with force, seeing a man looming over you. In a flurry, seeing him as a threat, you grabbed the first thing next to you, sitting upward rapidly to attempt to strike the individual as you released a loud outcry at your action,

But before you could, your wrist was caught by a strong hand halfway through the motion. You blinked rapidly, everything around you become clearer as you saw a man in a long white coat staring at you, with a scared, fearful expression. You turned your head to the right to see Negan clutching your wrist as he began to laugh amusingly. "Easy now, pocket rocket. This is Dr. Carson. He's just going to bandage you up," Negan explained with a toothy grin as a few pieces of your hair had fallen in front of your face, as you calmed your breathing, letting the syringe, being the first thing you grabbed from the steel table next to you, drop onto the bed as your posture slackened, easing as Dr. Carson shakily continued, finishing his bandage job as he looked at you startled, fearful you would have another outburst as you eyed him warily,

"Atta girl," Negan chanted, as he smiled at you, as you stared now at your bandaged arm. You swung your arms over the side of the medical bed now, looking at the patchjob and the small plaster on the smaller cut on the bicep of your other arm. "C'mon," Negan murmured, as he guided you off the bed. "Thanks," you grumbled to the doctor, as you walked out, his hand at your back, leading you down the hallway. You zoned out as you walked, before he coughed. You stopped and looked up, seeing the door to the same cell you had been in for the last 2 days. You gazed up at him in confusion, as your breathing quickened, dreading going back in there,

He must've sensed your apprehension, as he put his hand on your shoulder, turning you towards him now. "I know, I know. But I need you in here until I find out who helped Sherry and Daryl escape. I know it wasn't you. But I can't let you out until I figure out who it was," he comforted as you wanted to scream 'fuck you' in his face. He knew it wasn't you, despite the fact that it actually was you. But was still keeping you in here anyway. You faked being accepting, as you sent him a slight smile, trying to tell him you understood, even though you wanted to scream, as he placed a soft kiss on your forehead as you cringed at the action. You walked into the cell, sitting down again. "The second we find who did this, I'll come back and get you. I promise," he assured with a smile, as he closed the door, locking it behind him,

After a few minutes of silence, you let out a pained grunt, hitting the wall next to you in anger. As you sat in the darkness, you were unaware of what was happening down the hall in one of the other cells,

---------------

MEANWHILE.....

Negan strolled up to the cell that Simon had Dwight thrown in, after giving him quite the beating, leaving a nasty gash on his forehead. Without warning he began using Lucille to bang loudly on the cell door, making Dwight jump on the other side of the door. "Just as cozy as you remember, sunshine?" Negan asked tauntingly through the steel door, "you'll be surprised to know that when we went on a little search for your failed project, Daryl, I got back to find I was missing a wife. Or then again, maybe you're not surprised about that." Dwight looked confused as he hadn't known about Sherry escaping. "Hell of a coincidence that is, Dwight. Only reason I could think of is that you've moved to the wrong side of the tracks again," Negan suggested, as Dwight's heartrate quickened at the accusation,

"No," Dwight insisted, denying the accusation that was dealt to him. "Who are you, Dwight?" Negan asked after a pause of silence. "I'm Negan," he insists. Negan unlocks the door, as Dwight squints from the harsh light. Dwight stood up, staring Negan straight in the eye, who leaned against the doorframe, Lucille swung on his shoulder, as he noticed Dr. Carson out the corner of his eye. "Daryl ain't like you, Dwighty. So either he's on his way home, or he's on his way back here to get his girl and kill a bunch of us, mainly me and you," Negan explained, thickly, as he grinned at Dwight, who nodded, knowing what he was about to ask him to do. "Either way, you'll find him. And Sherry. You think you can handle that?" Dwight swallowed thickly, before his expression hardened, nodding at Negan,

"Brilliant," Negan cheered, as he stood up from he was leaning against the doorframe, "Carson, fix what you can." Dwight followed Dr. Carson, who stitched up some of his wounds, before he left, grabbing his weapon and some supplies to head out. On his way out, he headed to your cell, telling the guard that he was sent by Negan, who opened the door as Dwight walked in. The cell you had been put in this time had a window, so you looked up to see Dwight as he closed the door. Your expression darkened as you watched him walk towards you. "What do you want?" you asked angrily, as he crouched down in front of you, placing a plate with a piece of bread on it. You looked down at it, sneering at his attempt of a peace offering. You noticed the wounds he had on his face and the bandages he donned, knowing now that if Sherry had gone missing, Negan had suspected him and taught him a little lesson,

"You were the last one to see Sherry before she escaped. What did she tell you? Did she say anything to you?" he questioned with a stoic expression. You only stared back at him blankly, as you watched him get frustrated by your lack of speech. "Answer me," he growled out, trying to sound intimidating and threatening, "answer me or I'll tell Negan you won't talk." You laughed in his face gleefully, letting your head fall forward as you chuckled. He looked at you confused, and angry, as he glanced at the door every few seconds. "If Negan really had sent you, you wouldn't be looking around at that door every few seconds, as if you’ve just shot someone and tossed the gun," you grunted, laugh gone now, but replaced with a sinister smile, knowing he was in deep shit if he was coming to talk to you,

Dwight's lip twitched as he rolled his eyes at you, scoffing slightly. "My bet is, Negan doesn't know you're here?" you asked rhetorically, already knowing the answer from reading his body language. You watched him with fury, as you struggled not to lunge at him for the shit he had done to Daryl. "If I were you, I'd get out of here and count your lucky stars if I don't tell him about your little visit," you seethed, as you came closer to his face as you said it, clearly not meaning your threat lightly. Dwight rose to stand as he began to pace, still not leaving the cell. "Look, just quit being a stubborn bitch, and tell me. What did she say to you when she was in here? Did she mention anything?" he yelled, but not too loud that the guard outside would hear,

You thought for a moment, furrowing your eyebrows. "Now that I think about it, she said... she said something. She told me... she mentioned," you contemplated, trying to recall, as Dwight stepped a bit closer trying to hear what you had to say as he gazed at you curiously now,"that... you were a massive jackass." You shouted the last part as your thought-induced expression fell from your face as you now glared at him angrily. Without thought, Dwight swung his hand back, hitting you across the face as you breathed out a bit, before laughing as you touched your lip, taking your finger away to see fresh blood; he had reopened your lip stitch,

For a second, he looked scared at what he had just done and what it might mean for him. "If I were you, I'd get the fuck out. Now," you started venomously, your voice just above a whisper, as you growled out your words in fury, "by the looksof it, you have a hell of a lot more to lose than I do. And if Negan hates one thing, it's people touching his things. So I'd skedaddle before he gets here, and I tell him just about how and why I'm bleeding again, and who exactly was the cause of it. So. Get. Out," you yelled in a fit of fiery rage, cheeks red from anger, as you took the plate of bread, hurling it in his direction as you panted, his face looking a bit shocked and almost scared, dodging the paper plate. Your breathing was fast, and rage coursed through your veins. Knowing he wasn't going to get anywhere, he walked towards the door,

Just before he walked out the door, he heard your voice speak, turning around to look at you stoically and annoyed with your lack of information. "I hope you never find her. People like you don't deserve happiness," you stated angrily, as he stormed out, slamming the door. Your anger fell, as you smirked, happy to have one up on him as you wiped the remainder of the blood from your mouth. Though it wasn't bad enough for you to need another stitch which you were grateful for. After a few hours of sitting in the cell, your door was opened, as a Savior walked in. "Negan requires you in the communal area," he stated authoritatively as you nodded, getting up to follow him as he escorted you there,

Once you got there, you realized that all of Negan's people had gathered already, kneeling down as he stood next to the furnace, as you noticed Dwight was back from leaving to find Sherry, though you didn't see her anywhere. You walked nervously as Negan's eyes landed on you as you strolled towards him. "There she is," he reveled as he took your hand, placing a kiss at the top of it before leading you to stand next to 3 other women, who were all dressed the same. You figured in your head that they were Negan's other wives. You turned to one of them, who smiled at you nervously as you smiled back, both of you, and everyone else, unsure of what was happening,

Negan still had his eyes locked on you, as he smirked widely, making you uneasy. "You're gonna want to pay attention to this," Negan's voice boomed as he pointed his bat up to the stairs behind you. You turned as your eyes widened in horror, seeing a panicked Eugene standing on the stairs next to Laura, one of the Saviors. His eyes locked onto yours as you sent him a fearful look, as tears filled his eyes out of pure nervousness. You turned back to see Dwight heating the hot iron in the furnace, as Negan paced in a circle painfully slowly, as everyone watched on. "I have done the honor of finding the individual who helped 2 of my prized prisoners to escape," Negan announced wickedly, as your heart practically stopped,

'That's why he wanted me here. Fuck,' you thought to yourself, closing your eyes, preparing yourself for your fate of a melted-off face. Without warning, 2 soldiers grabbed Dr. Carson who you remembered from earlier. You couldn't help but look confusedly at the scene, wondering why he was being grabbed as he yelled and cried out in protest. "No, no , no! I didn't. I-I had no part in it," he pleaded truthfully, but Negan sent the top of his bat into his abdomen harshly as the man doubled over. You winced and your heartrate quickened as you watched a man be punished for your crime. "Found this tucked away in your desk," Negan spoke proudly, as he showed a note. You craned your neck to see the words 'goodbye honey' written on a piece of paper,

"You helped Daryl and Sherry escape, because you knew she hated him being held up here. Didn't you?" Negan asked cheerily, though it wasn't much of a question. The doctor shook his head vigorously, denying the accusation as he tried to speak but was still reeling from the pain. "Sherry told Dwighty boy here the whole story before she was ripped apart by walkers," Negan stated bluntly, pointing at Dwight who kept his eyes fixated on the fire in the furnace as he heated the iron. You fought the urge to gasp as you wondered how much of it was true. 'Is Sherry really dead?' you thought to yourself sadly. But you noticed Dwight's guilty face. You were the only one who knew he was lying about Dr. Carson helping Daryl and Sherry escape, because you were the one who had,

And if he was lying about Dr. Carson and Sherry's affair, seeing as he had planted the note in his desk, he could be lying about Sherry, knowing that he still had feelings for her. He was keeping Sherry safe by lying, throwing Carson under the bus for a crime he didn't commit, lying about Sherry being killed. As you were thinking, you were brought out of your thoughts, by the clanging sound of Negan grabbing the iron holding it ever so closely to Carson's cheek as he wept, begging for him not to burn him, as he thrashed around in the grip of the 2 Saviors. You felt guilty but reminded yourself if it wasn't going to be him, it was going to be you getting the iron. You stayed silent. "Tell me you did it. Admit it. And all is forgiven," Negan stated calmly, as Carson began apologizing profusely, admitting to the whole thing,

You were cleverer than Carson. You knew Negan had no plans to forgive. Negan dropped the flaming hot iron to the floor, dusting off Carson's shoulders as he nodded. Suddenly, in a split second movement, Negan had tightened the grip on the man's shoulders, all but throwing him in the raging furnace. You couldn't help the gasp that left your lips and the sick feeling that grew in your stomach at the sight. You weren't the only one to have gasped as you heard one of Negan's wives sobbing into the arms of another. You looked back at the scene, tears filling your eyes. You were a bad person. You couldn't help but feel guilty. Because you should. Dr. Carson had died because of you. Tears poured down your cheeks freely,

"Never should've doubted you, Dwighty," Negan laughed coolly, as he slung his arm around Dwight's shoulders, "Sherry was one of my favorites, I'm sorry." Though there was no sympathy in his voice. "I'm not," Dwight bit back cruelly, as Negan laughed at his coldness, though you read straight through it. You watched as Negan dismissed everyone, people scattering to go back to their work, and the wives back to their room. You stood still, unsure of where you were supposed to go, back to the cell. Did he want you to work for him now like the rest? Negan strolled towards you, seeing the tears running down your face,

His hand reached out to carress your cheek, guiding your chin up so that your teary eyes were now locked onto his face, struggling to see through your blurred vision from your tears. "C'mere," he drawled dramatically, again unsure if his sympathy was real or not, as he pulled you into him, as you mindlessly let yourself be guided down hallway after hallway, feeling his gaze on you every once in a while. Before you knew it, he opened the door to reveal his room, walking you in before closing the door behind him. Your crying had eased slightly, looking up at him in confusion. "I told you once I'd found the culprit, I'd come and get you," he repeated what he'd told you earlier, as he smiled at you, though you just stared at him with a blank, saddened expression, tears still flowing from the scene that you couldn't get out of your head, unable to escape the truth of knowing it was your fault it had occurred, but you wouldn't tell him that part,

"Oh honey," he consoled, as he moved to wrap his arms around your shaking frame. It didn't take a genius to see that you were a shell of the person you were when you'd arrived here. You cried even more as he smoothed your hair with his hand, making you want to push him off, but knowing you'd probably be thrown back in the cell, so you relented. He had hit you, he had watch you be tortured, he had you in a cell with no food or water for days. Your heart split in two as you thought of the only person you wanted to see in this moment; Daryl. "I'm sorry angel. I mean I had reason to suspect you. But I am sorry, for it all," he apologized as he held you,

You forced yourself to look at him, knowing what he wanted to hear you say, you may as well get it out of the way. "I-I'm sorry," you choked out giving you an expectant look that told you he wanted you to continue. "F-for trying to kill you. I-I'm sorry. I don't know what I was doing. It was a terrible lack of judgement. I-I guess I was trying to protect Daryl," you sobbed through your apology, but his icy glare told you to keep going. "B-but I know now, that he doesn't care about me like you do. He doesn't love me like you do," you whispered nervously, as he seemed satisfied, pulling you closer to him as he shushed you mockingly,

Your crying had ceased after a few minutes of standing like that. Eventually, he pulled away to look at you. "C'mon sunshine, give me a smile. I apologized. You apologized. It's forgotten. I hate to see you like this," he smiled smugly, wiping your dried tears with his thumb. You bit back every bit of hate you had, giving him a smile in return. "There's my girl," he cooed, as he stared at you. "Why don't you go take a shower? Get yourself cleaned up? Then we can go to bed," he whispered into your ear, as he kissed your cheek lightly. You nodded quickly, to get away from his lingering touch and partly because you wanted to be clean. He winked at you as you smiled, practically running into the bathroom,

You shut the door, turning on the shower as you quickly ripped the 3 or 4 day old dress off, but you couldn't be sure how many days it had been now. All sense of time had gone completely out the window as you stepped under the water, instantly beginning to scrub harshly at your skin, trying to avoid the bandage around your arm and the bruises that littered your skin from the beating you had took from the Savior as you were interrogated. You cried under the water, allowing yourself to fall apart, as you tried to wash yourself of any dirt, any memory, any feeling of his touch on you. You had held up your strong front for so long, as you finally allowed yourself to let go for those short few minutes that you stayed in the shower. You would've stayed longer, but you couldn't keep yourself standing for too long without needing to fall asleep, completely drained from the events from the days passed,

You dried off your hair as best as you could, before pulling on a pair of loose clothes, feeling claustrophobic even from your own skin right now, not needing anything constricting you. You took a deep breath, looking at your clean, but energyless body in the mirror, your eyebags dark and accentuated from the lack of sleep. 'You can do this. You're going to get out of here. I don't know when. But you will. You're going to survive this,' you told yourself, not allowing yourself to back down, to accept your fate. You were still going to do whatever you needed to do to make it home. You just had to stay sane. You took a deep breath once again forcing yourself to walk out of the bathroom, not wanting to keep Negan waiting or anger him further, having seen first hand once again what happened when that happened,

As you walked out, your nose smelled it before your eyes saw it; a tray of assorted food sitting on a trolley as he grinned. "Ta da. Realized you might have been hungry after the few days," he revealed, much too arrogantly for your liking. 'Might be hungry?' you scoffed to yourself. But your thoughts were silenced by the loud grumbling of your stomach. You smiled weakly through your fatigue as you made your way to your side of the bed where the trolley was situated. You sat yourself on the edge of the bed, relishing in the feeling of something soft after so many days of being stuck in that cell,

You turned around for a moment, watching as Negan lay sprawled under the covers on his side of the bed as he grinned at you, giving you a nod. You didn't need any more confirmation than that as you began to tuck into the food, not caring about being ladylike about it, only now realizing the weight of the hunger that you had been suppressing. As you ate, you felt Negan sit up in the bed but you didn't care why, as you felt his hand caress your shoulder. Your breath hitched, but you forced yourself not to flinch, letting him lean down to kiss your shoulder as you focused on the food. He did this until you had stopped eating, all but taking your last bite, before you practically collapsed into the bed, the lack of sleep hitting you,

You were so tired that you fell asleep almost instantly, not being able to notice or do anything to stop Negan from pulling you close to him to cuddle you; not that you would. To gain his trust back, you'd have to let stuff like that slide and engage in it yourself too if you wanted to survive this. You hated this; feeling useless. You wanted to help your group. Little did you know, they were slowly planning their revolt as they gathered numbers, meeting Ezekiel, making a deal with a new group run by a woman called Jadis, Daryl reuniting with Carol in The Kingdom, Rosita and Sasha coming up with a plan of their own, ready to execute it. All the while, you sat here, unable to do anything to stop any of it

PART 8 COMING SOON ;) let me know if you want to be added to the taglist <3 hope you enjoyed

TAGLIST: @onlyheretoread2 @lothiriel9 @iheartyouyou @catisnotademonn @goosegorl

#daryl dixon #daryl dixon imagine #daryl dixon x reader #the walking dead #twd #daryl dixon x y/n

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adzeisval · 3 months

Text

Why won't it stop?

Fang gets into trouble. Also on AO3.

From the moment Izzy appeared it was utter chaos. He had a hard time figuring out what was going on and who he was supposed to protect. There were English soldiers everywhere, they were on a beach somewhere.

Izzy thought back to his own death, the final struggle to get back to the Revenge. He had been in so much pain and he could barely move. He’d been so dizzy and weak that if Ed hadn’t noticed him struggling he would have died there on the beach.

Izzy looked around to see if there was any of the crew in a similar circumstance. Finally he caught sight of Fang running like mad toward a dinghy on the beach. He was at the edge of the battle; most of the English were fighting other soldiers, it looked to be Dutch guards.

Izzy had no idea what was going on but he made his way over to Fang since that was the only crewman he saw. He didn’t know what he could do to help Fang; he couldn’t move anything and he couldn’t shield him from sight somehow though his mind was trying to think of a way to do it.

Fang made it out into the water and away from the battle. Izzy looked around for what he was supposed to be protecting Fang from and couldn’t see anything at first. Fang wasn’t injured, there was no one coming after them, and it didn’t look like a storm was about to blow in.

“Fuck,” Fang cursed and Izzy looked down. Ah. The dinghy had a leak.

“Not sure what I can do about that,” Izzy said.

Fang looked up and almost right at him, “Izzy? You’re here aren’t you?”

“I’m here Fang,” he said and moved his hand through Fang’s hand.

“Ah, well I guess I’m in trouble still then,” Fang said. Fang took some rope and some fabric and tried to make a plug to seal the hole in the dinghy.

“I guess we’ll see if that works,” Izzy said, not quite sure why he was there.

“Well I guess I can catch you up on things while I row. It’s been a few months since you were here helping with that whole poison situation. Ricky’s at it again. This was going to be a trap for them to come rescue me like they did Jim a few years back. Dutch feel like they own this island so I escaped.”

It was always so odd coming back and not knowing for sure how long it had been or what was going on. He was always disappointed to learn that they were still dealing with Ricky. Izzy did rather hope that he would be around for Ricky’s demise but it would be good to know he had been killed and wasn’t a threat to the crew any more.

For the next two hours Izzy sat unsure of what he was doing while Fang alternated between rowing and trying to plug up the hole in the dinghy.

“Why won’t it stop?” Fang asked, “Izzy? Can you go to the Revenge and send them in the right direction?”

Izzy tried to leave Fang but couldn’t. He tried several more times but it was as if he were tethered to the dinghy.

“Thanks for trying,” Fang said, “I wonder…are you here because I’m not going to make it back to the Revenge?”

“I don’t know Fang,” Izzy said and tried to convey his confusion when the touched Fang.

“I guess we’ll see. I…I hope its not time for me to go, but I’m glad you’re here with me if it is. I miss you Izzy. I cried a lot when you died,” Fang said.

“I know Fang,” Izzy said.

Fang sighed and started rowing again. Izzy looked around for any sign of any ship as the water kept seeping into the dinghy. Another hour passed and Fang was panting and his face was red. The sun was beating down on him and if he had been captive it was unlikely he had had any water recently.

“Fang, I think you need to stop rowing.”

Fang looked around, “No one. I…I think I’m sinking, I don’t think I can stop it.”

Izzy didn’t know if he was there to help save Fang or if he was going to be taking Fang away. He didn’t know if there was any difference in feeling when he was supposed to collect one of his crew versus when he was there to help them. He couldn’t comfort Fang because he didn’t know what the outcome was.

The dinghy filled with seawater and eventually Fang got out of the sinking vessel and into the water.

“Floating takes less energy,” Izzy said, “Remember that.”

“Float,” Fang said.

More time passed. It was starting to look dire for Fang. It was a hot, hot day and Fang looked like he was getting tired even though he was only floating.

“I’m going to hang on as long as I can Izzy,” Fang said.

“Good, I want you to try to hang on Fang because I really don’t want to have to take you,” Izzy said. Maybe he had made a mistake with the whole guardian thing, now that he was possibly going to take his first crewmate. It was too soon. He had hoped that it was going to be many years before he had to do any of that.

Fang continued to float and Izzy stayed with him hoping against hope that someone would come and find Fang before it was too late.

“A ship!” Izzy said and fuck him it was the Revenge! He urged Fang to move and though he was weak he was able to thrash in the water. Izzy could go to the ship and went over and made sure that they saw Fang.

It wasn’t long before they were pulling Fang up and getting him into the galley to look him over.

“Izzy helped me,” Fang said, “He was with me. I was worried he was there to take me away.”

“Not yet,” Izzy said, “It will happen one day but not yet.” Izzy hoped that it was going to still be many years before he had to take one of the crew

#febuwhump2024 #febuwhumpday8 #ofmd #fang #izzy hands #fic

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mxchellesworld · 3 years

Text

Enemies

Spencer Reid x Reader

Synopsis; You and Spencer have always been at each others throats, what happens when you both finally snap?

Warnings; smut, unprotected sex, degradation, choking, hair pulling, impact play, slight exhibitionism

a/n; this is a product of my obsession with early season spencer having a dirty side no one knows about and you can’t change my mind

***

You loved your job. You really did. Growing up you knew you wanted to go into a job which would let you help others. That was just who you were, always selfless and ready to spring into action to be there to comfort anyone in need. This made you fit in perfectly with the rest of the team. They were all a family who welcomed you with open arms.

Well all of them except Spencer fucking Reid.

No one on the team knew why there was so much animosity between you two. Being the youngest ones there they figured you’d end up being two peas in a pod. Yeah that didn’t happen. Penelope describes the first time you met being like two cats fighting.

It was the way he always had to be right which just rubbed you the wrong way. Yeah you liked to prove points and make powerful statements but you didn’t make that your whole personality. It was like he lived to cut you off mid sentence just to see you practically blow steam out of your ears.

However being one to never back down, you had to match his energy and mess with him back. It started off simple with little office nuisances like hiding his pens or taking out all the staples in his stapler. But as he caught on, the snarky remarks on his side increased. And you couldn’t let that slide. So you had to up the antics, anything to wipe the stupid smirk off his face.

Everyday you woke up with a mental list on how to piss him off. Sometimes you’d help JJ pass out the files for the day and right when you’d get to Spencer you would lick you thumb to sort out the individual paper knowing about his germaphobic ways. You’d sit in your seat smirking to yourself as he scowled trying not to touch the contaminated edge.

Petty tactics soon turned into heated arguments about the smallest things. Like who was able to call shotgun to drive with Morgan, which usually ended with Hotch making you both sit in the backseat like grounded teenagers. You felt bad for the increasing lines on his forehead you knew the both of you caused. But it was never your fault, Spencer started it so you had to finish it.

Today was no different. You had flown out to a case in California. During the flight the younger members sat in the four seats facing each other with Spencer sitting on the couch in front of it, while Hotch and Rossi sat in the seats towards the back discussing Jack’s soccer team.

“Last time I was in L.A. was for spring break in college. I met a pretty girl, had some fun. I wonder what she’s up to,” Emily said casually.

Morgan extended his fist for her to bump then spoke out, “Pretty Ricky over here had some lovin the last time we were here too,” he said ruffling Spencer’s hair. He scrunched his nose trying to tame the brown locks which now reached his shoulders.

JJ spoke up from digging into her bag of cheetos, “Yeah, Lila right? Did anything ever happen after?”

Spencer cleared his throat before speaking up, “N-nothing happened after we kissed. I saw her again and that’s it.”

You picked up your head from resting on Emily’s shoulder, “What couldn’t get it up genius?” you snickered. The girls made noises of disgust while you and Morgan laughed.

“For someone so hot that was certainly cold mama,” he said shaking his head.

You looked over to see Spencer glaring at you, his brown eyes turned into little slits, to which you smiled and closed your eyes sleeping on Emily’s shoulder for the remainder of the flight.

It had been three days since the case had started. You were dealing with someone who was killing older women, obviously surrogates for a maternal figure or lack of. With Penelope’s expertise you were able to find who it was but now you needed the reason behind it. The rest of the team was out searching his house and job, which he hasn’t visited for the past month. Hotch had made you and Spencer stay back to look at victimology and dig deeper with Garcia to find something about his life.

Safe to say you guys were not seeing eye to eye about the unsubs motive. While you believed he was killing them because of his mother’s absence in his childhood, Spencer came to the conclusion that it was because she was too controlling over his life and manipulated him. You had both approached Hotch and he sided with Spencer on this. You couldn’t help but shoulder check him as you walked out of the conference room.

After that, the last part was to catch the unsub which you were all involved in the take down. Luckily it went by smooth as Derek was able to deescalate the situation. It was late at night and the team decided to wait and fly back in the morning. Having one last night in the hotel you decided to get a few snacks from the tiny pantry that was in a room around the corner from yours and watch a movie before bed.

While you were bent over picking out some chips you heard the door open and footsteps approaching. You quickly got up and started apologizing for being in the way until you saw who it was.

“Oh it’s just you,” you said rolling your eyes and looking back at the snacks.

He scoffed before responding, “Listen Y/n I know you’re mad Hotch sided with me instead of you but at least be a little mature.”

You stood up pointing your finger at chest, “Listen Spencer,” you said mocking his words, “I know you’re a submissive little bitch who lives for approval, so why don’t you go suck Hotch’s dick some more and leave me alone.”

You were about to turn around again when his hand grabbed you by the wrist you had pointing at him. He pulled you to his chest, leaning down so your faces were inches apart.

“I dare you to say that again.”

You gulped as he spoke. You had never been this close to him. You could feel his breath on your face as you inhaled the scent of his sweater. Peppermint. Your eyes trailed from his wet pink lips up to his caramel eyes which were boring into yours. You didn’t know how much time passed until he spoke again.

“Who’s the submissive little bitch now,” he said emphasizing by switching his grip. His hand let your arm go and instead found its place in the back of your head, cocking you back by your hair to strain your neck to look up at him. You let out a whimper at the pain cursing in your scalp.

You looked up at him with wide eyes. Your breathing was getting heavy and he wasn’t even doing anything. Of course he noticed much to your dismay.

“Oh don’t tell me this is turning you on,” he cooed lowly.

You sucked in a breath, trying to rub your thighs together in search of friction. He looked down and saw you shifting your weight on your feet, an evil smile on his face.

“I bet you’re just soaking through those little pajama shorts,” he said leaning to whisper in your ear. His unoccupied hand drifted down between your legs, rubbing on your clothed heat. You nodded as you huffed out a sigh.

“Tell me what you want.”

You could feel your face get hotter than it already was. Your throat was dry from the anticipation building up, “I want you Spencer.”

“I know you can do better than that sweetheart.”

You almost moaned at the name. It took everything in you to muster up the courage to ask him such a lewd request.

“I want you to fuck me Spencer,” you all but whined, “I want it so bad. Please! Make it hurt sir.”

With that he let go of your hair and stepped away as if nothing happened. He looked you up and down, taking in how disheveled you looked.

“Go to your room and wait for me at the edge of the bed with nothing on. Leave the door open so I can get in. You have 5 minutes.” With that he turned on his heel and left.

You were gaping like a fish for a while until his words sunk in you dropped the snacks in your hands and speed walked into your room. You chucked off your slippers in a corner and peeled off your sweater and shorts. You were about to remove your bra when he walked in and closed the door, making sure the ‘do not disturb’ sign was on the handle.

He strode over to where you were you kneeling. He grabbed your jaw in his hand while the other went to his belt.

“I thought I told you I didn’t want to see a single fucking piece of clothing on you.”

“I’m sorry sir,” you tried to whimper out.

“Sorry isn’t gonna cut it. You wanted me to make you hurt? I’ll make it hurt princess.” You knew he was a man of his word. And that was a promise he was going to make sure he followed through on.

“Bend over the bed.”

You got up quickly not trying to further anger him. You debated turning around to look back at him. The sound of clothes dropping to the floor had you shaking in anticipation.

He approached you placing one hand in the center of your back, making you instinctively arch it, your clearly soaked panties on display for him to see. He had his belt in his other hand which he trailed on your behind. You weren’t ready for the blow. The surprise impact made you let out a moan.

“Fuck Spencer,” you mewled.

You heard the belt whizz in the air before you felt the impact, “Who?”

“Sir! Please fuck me already,” you basically sobbed out.

He dropped the belt and hooked his fingers into your panties, tugging them down hastily, “Yeah say it louder. Let the whole floor know who makes you such a fucking mess. Who’s slut are you?”

His hands dipped into your folds gathering you dripping essence before spreading it around and teasing your entrance with his finger.

“You, sir! I’m your slutty mess,” you could feel the tears starting to slip past your eyes and he had barley spanked you.

You let out a whine of dissatisfaction when he removed his fingers. However just ask quickly you felt his throbbing cock line up with your soaking cunt. You could feel inch by inch as he slid in slowly. You hissed at the stretch and he let out a groan and silent curse. That was the only peace he have you before he started fucking you with a quick pace.

The moans were slipping out of your mouth but you tried to hide them by biting on the cotton sheets. Spencer was having none of it. He pulled your head up by your hair, using it as leverage as he rammed into you from behind.

“Such a greedy fucking cunt. Take my cock like the perfect fucking whore you are,” he gritted out. His harsh words lit you aflame. You swore you could cum from them alone.

“Harder sir fuck! I need it,” you were moaning in between sobs. He was hitting a spot you never knew you had inside you. You knew no matter how hard you tried to replicate it later, nothing could compare.

Without slowing his pace he lifted one of your legs onto the bed. Your knee was digging into the sheets as he kept his bruising pace. You wanted faster so he complied. You could feel the marks forming on your hip where he was holding onto you.

You knew there would be a noise complaint sent to your room. The sound of skin slapping and your desperate moans bounced off the walls. However Spencer wasn’t quiet himself, the groans he let out behind you were driving you mad.

He could feel your walls clenching on his cock. The hand on your hair shifted to your throat as he started to add pressure. Broken moans were having a hard time slipping out of your lips.

“That’s it princess. You wanna cum for me?”

You tried nodding the best you could letting out a broken “Please”. He let up the pressure on your throat, letting you take in air.

“Please,” he mocked how desperate you sounded and laughed, “be my good little slut and cum all over my cock.”

His hand slipped down to your aching clit rubbing quick circles. With a few more thrusts of his length perfectly hitting your cervix you came. The breath was taken out of your lungs. You trembled as he continued to search for his release, stars prickling behind your eyes. He never let up on your clit. The overstimulation quickly building up a second orgasm.

“Sir I ca-can’t take it,” your hand reaching back to try and stop his thrusts. You knew you could. You were drowning in the waves of pleasure crashing over you.

“You can and you will,” he said pinning your hand behind your back. You trembled as you came for a second time. You let out moans of his name and curses, which triggered his release.

He stilled his movements, spilling his warm seed inside your aching cunt. He stayed there for a minute as you both caught your breathes. You sighed at the loss as he pulled out. You could feel your mixed release dripping down your thighs.

He reached down to grab his boxers and pulled them up. You felt him walk away for a minute then return with a damp towel to clean you up.

“Can you stand?” he asked and you nodded pushing yourself up to avoid adding pressure on your surely red behind.

While he helped you pull on a tshirt you heard a knock on the door.

“We will talk about this tomorrow agents.”

Fuck. You shared a look of wide eyes before groaning. That was going to be an interesting conversation.

#spencer reid smut #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid fanfiction #criminal minds smut #Criminal Minds Fanfiction #mgg smut #mgg x reader #matthew gray gubler smut #matthew gray gubler x reader #chellewrites

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thevalleyisjolly · 3 years

Text

Wishlist for the next TUC episode:

Esther gets free of whatever restraints she’s in and Ricky tosses her the bat in a very “Go get him, babe, I’ll hold your flower” moment

Esther and Ricky battle couple

I’m just saying, “Ceremony” is a cleric/paladin spell so either Kingston or Cody (I know it would be hilarious if it were Cody but come on, it’s gotta be Kingston) casts it and Ricky and Esther just get married in the middle of the battle, Pirates of the Caribbean style

Ricky: “Esther! Will you marry me?” *Esther bats a monk out of the air* Esther: “Honey, I don’t think now’s the best time!” *the Umbral Engine shudders ominously* Ricky: “Now may be the only time! I love you. I’ve made my choice. What’s yours?” Esther: “...KINGSTON! MARRY US!” *Kingston Brown, pretty much born too old for this shit, dealing out those heals and making sure no one dies* Kingston: “I’M A LITTLE BUSY AT THE MOMENT!”

Hilarious baby planning talk in the middle of a very serious battle. Look, Null wants to destroy the future, the most important thing they can do right now is to start planning what colour the baby room is gonna be

Esther and Sofia fucking up Tony Simos

Esther and Sofia planning baby play dates while fucking up Tony Simos

Esther and Sofia sharing the killing blow on Tony Simos

JJ gets a good hit in (it’s what he deserves)

The rest of the Order of the Concrete Fist shows up and beats up Tony’s interloping ass, their monastery does not exist for some toxic white guy to cherrypick and manipulate for his own ends

Alejandro just gets to have fun. Give the man a mace or something! He spent so long being a wizard, he deserves to get into that melee fight and enjoy himself

“Esther! You never told me hitting people with a stick was like this! Kingston, you need to call me more often, I am happy to help any time, my friend!”

Dale shows up, having broken out of heaven all on his own, because all the forces of heaven aren’t going to stand between him and Sofia and the baby

Again, and I cannot reiterate this enough, Esther and Ricky battle couple

#dimension 20 #the unsleeping city #d20 spoilers #tuc ii spoilers #manifesting rickyesther battle couple for the next episode #i am actually not very stressed about the upcoming combat #i genuinely do not believe that brennan will kill esther or harm her completely human fetus with no special celestial protections #esther will be fine; tony may be an asshole and null may be terrifying but esther will be ok

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ricksbowen · 4 years

Text

simply, utterly | pt. 4

IN WHICH: ricky makes your homecoming a whole lot better than you’d like to admit.

INSPIRATION: fair-weather friend — bruno major, prom queen — catie turner

A/N: i really suggest listening to fair-weather friend while reading this. i’m casting harrison osterfield as the harrison in my story because i love him, thanks

pt. 1, pt. 2, pt. 3, pt. 4, pt. 5, pt. 6, pt. 7

“So that’s it?”

“Apparently,” Ricky groaned, hugging his pillow as he explained his situation to Big Red for what felt like the 5th time. He had explained everything, from the moment the both of you shared while singing to your words after both of you kissed. The redhead’s brows were furrowed in thought and his eyes were staring into blank space. He was thinking; that was never good. “Big Red?”

Big Red shushed him, murmuring, “I’m thinking.” A few more seconds of silence followed until the trance Big Red was in broke. “Yeah, I got nothing. You’re fucked, man.”

“I know!” Ricky stuffed his face into his pillow, letting out a muffled scream while Big Red patted his back. “Why do I like her?”

“That’s what I was thinking about. I thought you hated her, Ricky.”

“I thought so too!” Ricky yelled, his voice quieted by the pillow in his face. Big Red patted his back sympathetically, shaking his head to himself until an idea popped into his head. Immediately, he started hitting Ricky, a smile growing on his face while Ricky only winced at his hits.

“Hey— Red!” Ricky groaned, rubbing the area where Big Red hit him while Big Red ignored his complaints.

“Dude. Homecoming is coming up,” Big red exclaimed, eyes looking at Ricky expectedly. He expected a reaction to come out of him, a sudden realization at what Big Red was trying to imply, only to find nothing.

“Okay. So what?”

“So, you idiot,” Big Red drawled out, rolling his eyes at how oblivious Ricky could be. Did he really have to explain his genius plan? “You take her! Ask her out!” The encouraging grin on his face grew with each word he spoke.

“You’re aware that she wants nothing to do with me,” Ricky deadpanned, raising a brow at Big Red.

Big Red waved his worries away with his hand, blowing a small raspberry as he did. “Just ask her out! What do you have to lose?” Big Red asked, raising his eyebrows at Ricky as if he was challenging him to answer. Ricky already had an answer.

“My dignity.”

—

“Hey, Y/N.”

You turned to look over your locker, the cold look you had kept on throughout that day softening at the sight of Harrison, one of your classmates. You had him in your chemistry class in your sophomore year, when he nearly blew up your lab station because he added too much of one chemical. While Harrison began freaking out, you were practically crying from laughing— who would’ve thought that one of the jocks would react so badly?

“Sorry— I thought you were someone else,” you said apologetically, turning back to the things in your locker. Ever since the day you and Ricky made out, you had been avoiding him like the plague. While you usually went out of your way to mess up his hair or make fun of him, you found yourself making various turns in the halls just to try and avoid Ricky. You saw him try and reach you every time he saw you, yet you always got away.

You didn’t want to speak about feelings— especially when it came to Ricky. In a way, it terrified you to think of him in that way despite your want to think of him as anything other than an enemy. But you didn’t want to make things complicated; the deal was to return to your normal relationship after the musical. Nothing more, nothing less.

Life had been getting in your way too. Ej’s break up with Nini was unexpected, to say the least, and you found yourself sneaking into his room at night to comfort him and allow him to rant to you ( while you subtly called him stupid since you were the more honest sibling ). You had to be there for him.

You looked at Harrison from the corner of your eye, seeing the evident nerves that were coursing through his veins. Grabbing your things and slamming your locker shut, you looked at the boy up and down before speaking. “You’re nervous,” you stated blatantly, watching his eyes widen at your honesty. “What happened?”

“I wanted to ask you a question,” Harrison said, shoving his hands in the pockets of his ( cliche ) letterman jacket.

From across the hall, Big Red patted Ricky on the back and shook him gently. “All you gotta do is ask her to homecoming. It’s simple, alright?” Big Red clapped him on the shoulder, trying to get him hyped up and less nervous. “Nothing to lose other than your dignity, buddy. I believe in you.”

“I can’t go right now,” Ricky protested, turning his head to look at Big Red. “She’s talking to someone— Is that Harrison Dupont?”

“The dude that looked like he fell out of a bad high school movie? The blonde one?” Big Red squinted at you and Adrien, eyebrows raising when he saw you nod and smile brightly at the jock. “Since when did she know him? I swear he’s always reminded me of Harry Osborn,” Big Red muttered to himself, watching as you laughed at a joke ( that probably wasn’t funny— Ricky was funnier ) he told you. You then leaned up on your tip-toes and kissed the blonde on the cheek, a subtle smirk making its way onto your lips. “Oh, shit.”

Hopefully Ricky didn’t see that.

Ricky definitely did.

He felt his heart sink when he saw the action, any small chance he had with you going down to the negatives as his shoulders slumped. Of course, you were serious about what you said after you kissed— you had always been the no-bullshit type. But some childish part of Ricky thought that you were joking, that you realized that you wanted him in the same way he wanted you.

He had to stop watching so many rom-coms.

“It’s okay, man,” Big Red mumbled, patting Ricky’s shoulder while Ricky nodded his head.

“You know what? You’re right. It’s fine,” Ricky said, as if he was convincing himself that it was okay when it reality it wasn’t. How could he think that he even had any chance with you? “I’ll just bring you to homecoming. It is your first dance.” Ricky forced a grin, bumping Big Red gently and ignoring the protests he tried to utter.

You had been enemies from the start— he shouldn’t be feeling like this. Might as well take his mind off of you.

—

“You’re going with Gina? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Says the person who said that she’s going with Harrison Dupont,” Ej deadpanned, fixing his tie in the mirror. He stood next to where you sat, your makeup strewn all over your table as you tried to put your makeup on. “You know that he’s a total di—“

His words were interrupted by Ashlyn, who was supposed to help you with your makeup ( until she gave up ). “Isn’t he that one jock? The guy that’s kinda like Harry Osborn?” Ashlyn asked from your bed, not looking up from her phone as she tried to find your homecoming date on Instagram. It only took her a few minutes, and for his page was the first that popped up. “No way do you know him,” she stated, glancing at you with raised brows.

“Is it really that hard to believe?” you asked, turning to look between Ashlyn and Ej. Both of them gave you nods in response, making you groan and turn back to your mirror.

Your hair was held up with a few white clips, a simple hairstyle that fit your dress: a rose red, a-line, spaghetti strapped dress that went above your knees. Your make up was simple, yet pulled your whole look together with rose red lipstick. Frankly, you thought you looked hot ( and you did ).

“All we’re saying is that it’s a surprise. You can barely exist next to most of the guys on my team without telling them to ‘fuck off.’” Ej gave you a pointed look through the mirror, his face softening when the sudden realization that you were growing hitting him at that moment. He felt like such an older brother as he watched you get yourself ready; you grew up so fast.

“You’re not one to talk; you’re going with Gina!” Ashlyn said, giving Ej a look. “Since when did that happen?”

“Just— Outta nowhere,” Ej mumbled, avoiding Ashlyn’s eyes as he looked at himself in the mirror. He had to be hiding something - he was avoiding the questions you and Ashlyn were throwing at him. “Can you do my tie? It’s just,” Ej sighed, his tie coming loose in his hands as he tried to fix it. “Not working.”

You tutted him teasingly, standing up to fix his tie. “East High’s own senior class treasurer can’t even tie a tie,” you tsked, grinning at him and laughing when he rolled his eyes. “I’ll add that onto the list of things I know that you don’t.”

“Must be a short list.”

“Oh, fuck off,” you laughed, Ashlyn and Ej letting out their own laughs at your words. You walked to your window, picking up the purse you planned to bring ( you really had nothing in it other than chapstick and mints ). Your eyes trailed up to the view from your window, immediately landing on Ricky’s dark window. Maybe he wasn’t going to homecoming. You didn’t know whether you felt relieved or disappointed.

But it didn’t matter. You weren’t going to homecoming with Ricky.

—

Ricky saw you walk in.

You were behind Gina Porter and your brother, and while you were usually the epitome of bluntness and independence, you almost looked shy walking into homecoming. Your eyes were searching for someone — Harrison, most likely — but instead of finding the tall jock, your eyes met his.

Of course, he had to sit at a table close to the entrance.

You played it off, rose-colored lips tilting up into a smirk that Ricky didn’t respond to. He was gaping at you, not-so-subtly admiring you to the point where Big Red nudged him.

“You’re drooling,” Big Red muttered, a teasing tone behind his voice while Ricky quickly averted his eyes from you. He saw you walk away from the corner of his eye, the breath he didn’t know he was holding escaping him. Ricky put his head in his hands, trying not to let out a yell.

“She’s trying to kill me, I swear.”

The night went on. You sat alone, eyes on your phone as you tried to ignore the nagging feeling in your stomach.

“You too?” The familiar voice made you look up from your phone, a tight-lipped smile appearing on your face at the sight of an obviously heartbroken Carlos. You knew how he was feeling.

“Yeah. Where’s Seb?” you asked, watching as Carlos shrugged and picked at his nails. You knew they were going to homecoming together ( you called it from the start ), but seeing Carlos without Seb was odd. Seb wouldn’t stand up Carlos, would he?

“Not sure. I texted and called him.” Carlos sighed, the hurt evident in his face. He leaned forward in his chair, shifting his attention onto you. “How about you, Y/N? I can’t really imagine anyone wanting to stand you up.”

“Harrison Dupont,” you grumbled, listening to Carlos suck in a breath. Now you know why people reacted that way when you told them your date. Your eyes looked back at the entrance for what seemed like the hundredth time, the little amount of hope you had that Harrison would show up replaced with hope for someone else. “Carlos,” you said, a smile on your face as you nodded at Seb, standing at the entrance.

Without a word, Carlos stood up from his spot, walking to Seb and exchanging a few heartfelt words with him. You saw a smile creep up onto Carlos’ face, and you sighed in relief when they made their way to the dance floor ( of course ).

You wanted what they had, but Harrison wasn’t here. You continued to watch the crowd, a chuckle rumbling in your chest at Ricky and Big Red’s slow dancing and a hint of a smile tugging at the side of your lips at the sight of Ej and Gina dancing. But as your eyes wandered, it led you to an image that you didn’t want to see.

Harrison Dupont kissing another girl, his arms wrapped around her as they danced to the music.

You wanted to throw up.

You listened to the song end, sending a quick text to Ej about walking home as you grabbed your purse. You stood up from your chair, ignoring the stupid lump forming in your throat as you made your way to the entrance as quickly as you could.

“See? I told you it wasn’t that bad. The next dance you need to go to—“

“Ricky.” Big Red interrupted him, nodding in your direction as you made your way outside. He had just finished slow dancing with Ricky, ignoring the stares from the others around them. Ricky had nearly made him fall over his own feet while they danced, and Big Red almost body-slammed him into 5 couples when he twirled him. They were a mess, but it was fun.

Ricky shook his head stubbornly, shoving off the want to go follow you as he looked at Big Red. “No. I promised you a good time—“

“And you gave me one. Check up on her, man, I’ll be fine.” Big Red smiled encouragingly, motioning with his hands towards the direction you had gone.

With a grin that screamed, ‘thank you,’ Ricky ran out, head turning to look for you.

He didn’t find you until he saw you on one of the courtyard benches. Hanging lights were wrapped around the few trees, yet no one was around to see just how pretty it was. But you were there, head in your hands as you tried to get the image of your date and another girl out of your mind. You were shaking, and it didn’t take much to know that you were crying.

You never cried.

You were either going to punch him or say a comment to dodge his questions.

You felt someone sit next to you, and you immediately wiped the tears from your cheeks as you looked at who was sitting next to you. There he was: Ricky Bowen, pretending it was a coincidence that he found you outside and sat next to you on the same bench.

You sniffed. “If you’re here to throw me a pity party,” you said, voice hoarse from your crying. “Just go back inside.” Your voice cracked at the end of your sentence, more tears rolling down your face. You avoided looking at him, your eyes set on the concrete ground.

“I just thought you needed some company,” Ricky replied, listening to you scoff.

“I don’t need company. Especially from you,” you grumbled, wiping underneath your eyes and sniffing. You didn’t want him to see you like this; the oh-so-strong Caswell sibling, crying over a jock as if she had fallen out of a high school movie.

Ricky ignored the hurt your words brought him, simply choosing to nod his head. “You don’t have to talk to me,” he offered, looking up at the hanging lights. “We can just.. sit here. You can cry, I can just look at the lights.”

You raised your head from your hands, placing your chin on the palms of your hands as you let out heavy breaths. Silence followed Ricky’s words, the only sound being your sniffles and the faint bass from the dance.

“He was with someone else. He was kissing and dancing with her,” you spat, spite and hurt hidden deep within your words.

The sudden want to confess everything that had happened to him was too strong, your emotions controlling you as you stared blankly ahead of you. “I should’ve expected it,” you wiped the mascara from under your eyes. You chuckled humorlessly to yourself, shaking your head. “You probably think I’m stupid.”

“There’s nothing stupid in believing in someone,” Ricky murmured in response.

“I thought for sure that you’d come out here to make fun of me,” you murmured. “Especially since.. you know..” you trailed off, hoping that he knew that you were talking about the kiss the both of you shared.

“I don’t hate you as much as you think I do, Y/N,” Ricky said softly, his tone sincere as he looked at you. Your eyes were downcast, a useless way of avoiding his eyes like the plague. You felt guilty for pushing him out, for being too caught up in thinking about what you felt that you didn’t think about what you were doing to him. A small part of you wanted to go back to how they once were: arguing in classes and pissing each other off.

A huge part of you wanted to have your hands intertwined with his.

You looked at him with eyes glassy with tears, the faintest of smiles on your face. You had to have looked like a mess with your messy makeup and smudged mascara. But to Ricky, he had never seen you look so pretty.

“Do you want to dance?” Ricky asked, the idea leaving his mouth before he could catch it. He gauged your reaction, watching as you cocked a brow at him as if to silently ask, ‘are you serious?’ “It’s homecoming,” Ricky explained blatantly, shrugging his shoulders. “You deserve to have at least one dance.”

“What if someone sees us?” you asked hesitantly, watching Ricky stand up and take out his phone. He scrolled for a few seconds before choosing a song. ‘Fair-Weather Friend’ by Bruno Major began to play, and he offered his hand out to you.

“Then let them,” he said, and a smile lit up your face at his response. You took his hand, standing up and placing your arms around his neck.

You felt his hands hold your waist, his touch gentle as you both began to sway to the music. “I don’t know how to slow dance,” you confessed quietly, making sure you didn’t step on his toes as you both danced to the beat.

“Just follow my lead.” The chorus came around, and Ricky twirled you, your dress floating up at the move before settling back down. He pulled you flush to his chest, humming the song softly to you as you followed his movements.

Once the chorus came once again, a laugh left your lips as you tried to twirl him around. “Nice moves, Bowen,” you remarked, your comment lighthearted and making him laugh.

“I try.”

You both danced as if you had known each other for forever ( in a way, it was true ). Each small step and each small sway was performed as if you had been dancing with each other for years rather than playing a teasing game of cat and mouse.

You could tell the song was coming to an end. Your head was on his chest, your sadness gone and replaced with content. Quietly, and almost shyly, you mumbled, “Thank you for making this night so much better.”

Ricky could feel his heart pick up. He knew he was in too deep.

“Anytime, Y/N.”

—

TAGS: @softpeteparker, @jointherebellion215, @l-tt-e, @broken-from-fandoms, @uwupxterparker, @room-3o4, @eternaleviee, @hobistigma, @fangeekkk, @wcnderwoo, @myrandom-fandomlife, @multifangorl, @tomshufflepuff, @ggclarissa, @decaffeinated-fangirl, @religious-pizza-roll, @rororo06, @svelby-g, @sarcarstic-space-weirdo, @whoseblogsthis, @hxney-bunches-x

#ricky bowen headcannons #ricky bowen angst #ricky bowen smut #ricky bowen hcs #ricky bowen imagines #ricky bowen #ricky bowen x reader #joshua bassett hcs #joshua bassett angst #joshua bassett imagines #joshua bassett x reader #joshua bassett #hsmtmts #high school musical: the musical: the series #big red #ej caswell #ashlyn caswell #gina porter

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retvenkos · 4 years

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amends pt. 4 // ricky bowen

High School Musical: The Musical: The Series - Slow Burn Ricky Bowen x Stage Manager!Reader Fic. Summary: That’s asking a lot of the theatre gods. Then again, it does include a lot of drama, so maybe it might just work out. pt. 1 // pt. 2 // pt. 3 // pt. 4 // pt. 5 // pt. 6 // pt. 7 // pt. 8 // pt. 8.5-ish // pt. 9 // unfinished

To say that you had been having a hectic week was a gross oversimplification. Ricky and Nini drama aside, the entire main cast was at each other's throats. Gina was sabotaging Nini by making the role of Gabriella an oversaturated triple threat with dances that were impossible to memorize, Ricky and EJ were trying to give each other concussions with basketballs, and at any given moment, all four of them would jump at each other’s throats to secure the lead. Part of you was glad that you never became an actor yourself. Underhanded tricks and backstabbing blows were not things that you were eager to have on a daily basis. That doesn’t stop you from being in the middle, though. Perks of being in charge! You get to deal with everyone’s drama.

To top it all off, you had two essays due the next day, and you had only started on one.

The only one thriving was Seb, who was perfect every time you saw him - onstage and off. You tried to figure out what his secret was, but according to Carlos, there wasn’t one. Perfection simply happens to ‘unproblematic cinnamon rolls’ naturally. What a concept.

But all shows hit stormy, turbulent waters at some point in the rehearsal process. Hopefully, it would be smooth sailing from that moment onward. You didn’t think you could handle much more. That’s why you were so relieved when you got a text from Ricky’s friend, Big Red, asking if he could be a part of the crew. An extra pair of hands was just the thing you needed.

Turning the corner to where Carlos had said rehearsal was going to start, you almost ran into a few, wide-eyed ensemble members. It was only after you started to weave your way to the front of the group that you realized why they had looked so shaken.

Nini and EJ. Standing a few paces away from the group, a pointed space between them as they argued. Their voices were low, but any conversation that had been happening in the hallway had stopped as everyone listened to them with bated breath. You moved to stand next to Big Red, vowing to talk to him after you finished listening to what happened between Nini and EJ. In your defense, it was your job to know what was happening between your leads chemistry wise. After all, Ricky had texted you to let you know that he was going to be late to rehearsal (it was a group text to you, Carlos, and Miss Jen. It’s not like he had any reason to text you personally. It’s not like the two of you had been texting all week and he was the only reason you were sane or anything…). So Nini and EJ were going to have to be Troy and Gabriella, and this betrayal of trust was complicating things.

“Summer’s over.” The tension in the hallway was palpable. Nini’s face was set in harsh lines, and although you couldn’t see his face, you could imagine his eyes widening in panic as his jaw worked soundlessly, trying to come up with an answer.

You turned to Seb as he pretended to be reading from his binder. He looked at you, his head never moving. “Are they…?” you whispered, trying to remain inconspicuous as Nini now faced the group. His nod was almost nonexistent, but the look in his eyes told you everything. Great. So much for clear skies and smooth sailing. You looked at how EJ looked at Nini longingly, the realization of how badly he messed up dawning on his face. Then you looked at Nini, her face solid stone while her head and heart raged within. A hurricane was coming, that much was certain.

Carlos and Natalie ran out of the room that everyone was waiting outside of, effectively disrupting the dark mood that hung in the air. You took that as your cue to start getting Big Red up to speed on where the musical was. If there was going to be a disaster, you needed all hands on deck.

…

“Since when was blocking like going to hell in a handbasket?” Gina chuckled slightly at your remark as you watched scene seven of your beloved musical crash and burn. Well, not the entirety of scene seven. The first part was great. The ensemble did a killer job being comically terrible at their audition. They Sharpay and Ryan audition was ridiculously good, and Ashlyn killed it as Ms. Darbus. But then it happened. Miss Jen (insisting on using the names of the characters) ushered Sharpay and Ryan offstage and called for Troy and Gabriella to enter stage left. That’s when it all started to go downhill.

You looked down at your notes for the scene as Miss Jen tried to work with the lovely couple onstage. Was it even worth fixing? Part of you wanted to scrap the scene entirely. I mean, sure, maybe it was worth mentioning to Nini that she needed to be more natural in her movements, but did you really need to tell her and EJ to actually look at one another when they sang? If they couldn’t pretend to even be apathetic strangers, could they really transform themselves into being pretend lovers by opening night?

“No, dear, that would be upstage.” You looked up as Big Red furrowed his brow, moving so that he could push the piano in the correct direction. Another note: make sure to teach Big Red blocking terms. Nothing would ever get done if the basics couldn’t be handled.

Your phone buzzed and you tore your gaze away from the mountain of corrections you had. It was from Ricky.

from: ricky

(3:15 p.m.) i’m on my way. my mom got an earlier flight, got held up with family stuff.

You bit your lip as you read his text. Things were very confusing with his family, but you didn’t exactly know how. There had been hints of it at auditions and when the two of you talked about meeting up to practice lines or study for math on the weekends (not that you would ever have the courage to actually get together with him), but Ricky had never explicitly told you much. Not that he had to or anything - you were just worried about him. You could tell that it bothered him. You figured that you would get there in time. Friendship takes time to grow, and personal stuff like that was usually disclosed later on.

to: ricky

(3:17 p.m.) we’re in the little theatre. get here as soon as you can.

Your fingers hovered over the keyboard. Should you tell him that Nini and EJ broke up? You fought with yourself; it wasn’t your business to tell, but it would give a reason as to why he was needed so badly. But then again, if Ricky thought that Nini was available, wouldn’t he try and pursue her again? And wouldn’t that cause her to quit the show from the drama? Wouldn’t that then lead to EJ dropping out too? The last thing you needed was people dropping out or calling it quits. There were only so many actors, and the last thing you needed was a change in dynamics this late in the game.

(3:18 p.m.) miss jen is about to go off the deep end.

Ricky texted back a panicked emoji and you smiled as you locked your phone. It wasn’t a lie, that much you realized as you watch Miss Jen try and salvage the scene with some good, old fashioned girl talk.

Carlos turned around to look at you, a distressed look on his face. “If we can’t get this together soon, we’re going to be behind your schedule.” You sighed, flipping to the schedule at the front of your binder. You had spent hours making sure there was a time for everything. You even color-coded it.

“Maybe we could get some of the individual choreo learned outside of rehearsal time?” You gave Carlos a knowing smile. “You and Seb still have to learn Bop to the Top.” You winked at him jokingly and he laughed, a blush growing across his face.

…

You and the copy machine were good friends. Especially at this point in the rehearsal process. So when Ricky said he needed to borrow someone’s copy of scene seven, you had grabbed Miss Jen’s key off of her desk and made toward the copy machine in the teachers' lounge. Most of the teachers recognized your face in there at this point - you had been making copies for teachers since your first year as a TA for Psychology.

You grabbed the warm pages off of the copy machine and made sure to align them before stapling them in the correct order. Then you sat down at a table and (getting out your pens) started to mark down the entrances and blocking for Troy. Lord knows EJ wouldn’t help Ricky - especially after what went down earlier.

You felt bad for what happened if you were being honest. EJ and Nini were never the perfect match. They both needed someone different. You just weren’t sure if that someone that Nini needed was Ricky or not. They had history, sure; they also had chemistry in spades. But it takes more than that. You knew that. Love was hard.

You let your mind drift to Ricky, with his small smiles and sad eyes. You remembered how happy he used to be. All you wanted was for him to be that happy again.

A teacher walked into the lounge and pulled you from your thoughts. The scene. Ricky.

You quickly finished writing the blocking with a few additional notes and stuffed your pens in your backpack. You made a mental to-do list for when you got home as you walked back to Miss Jen’s office. You stopped outside and rose your hand to knock, but heard something inside before you could make a sound.

“My parents are splitting up.” You knew that voice. It took everything in your power not to gasp. “For real.” You stepped away from the door slowly, letting the voices from inside the office muffle with each step.

You weren’t meant to hear that. You shouldn’t have been listening in on their conversation. If he wanted to tell you he would have. But poor Ricky. It all made sense now. What he said at his audition. The snippets of conversation you heard when he and Nini fought. The reason he could be so despondent. Why he was so afraid of losing people.

You looked down at the copied scene in your hand. Rifling through your backpack to get a pencil, you wrote a note at the top corner of the last page.

--- taglist:

@snowman-spidey, @dinsey-chanel, @ruefulposts, @mightdielater, @ggukstoe, @wallacetdog, @onceuponafanfiction, @goodnight-n-dayglow, @prttybitchin, @loyalucas, @hxney-bunches-x, @hxzstxles, @parkeroffline, @madamestarlet, @parkerharrington, @fudgemesteveharrington, @hobistigma, @farfrom-peter, @fangeekkk, @tori-marie, @amxx44, @onceuponafanfiction, @softpeteparker, @filmqvakers, @wcnderwoo, @stitch-flo, @liberty01, @kxhliforniaa, @ilymarkchan, @complete-trash-101, @dystopianchic13

#hsmtmts #high school musical the musical the series #ricky bowen #ricky bowen x reader #x reader #fic #fic series #slow burn #stage manager! reader

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semi-occasionally-writing-stuff · 4 years

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Of Bullets & Blood - Chapter 1

Read on AO3

Summary

C.C. Tinsley. A preacher’s son. Now a bounty hunter who will do whatever it takes to find who killed his wife and son.

Ricky Goldsworth. A former samurai running from his past. Now a bounty hunter trying to stay honourable in a land riddled with crime.

At first glance, these men were opposites in every way. However, through betrayal, blood, corruption, and the crimes of a serial killer, they will find that they have much more in common than they first expected.

Western/Samurai AU!

Chapter 1 - The Honour of a Samurai

Now when Ricky first promised to his Father that he would always fight with honour. Face to face. To look his opponent in the eyes as he took their life. He did not consider that perhaps one day he would be face to face with 4 men armed with guns, all hellbent on blowing his head off from a considerable distance. So here he was. Hiding behind a boulder with his katana and bow, chips of rock falling into his hair, waiting for the right moment to strike, or waiting for a bloody death.

“C’mon you coward! Get your ass out behind that rock and face us like the warrior you claim to be!” one of the men cackled.

Ricky sighed. He knew he needed to come up with a plan before they realised that they could save their ammo by flanking him. He looked to his left and saw a bush next to a large oak tree.

“I could roll quickly and hide behind the bush and then move behind the tree, but I need a distraction first,” he muttered.

Ricky smirked as he remembered the small bottle of whiskey he bought from the general store a few hours earlier was still in his pocket. He was planning on drinking it after he dealt with the small gang, but he felt like getting shot was not the preferred alternative.

He quickly took out his handkerchief and stuffed it into the bottle, carefully lit a match and set it on fire.

“This better work,” he grumbled as he threw it blindly in the direction of the gunshots.

As soon as he heard the shatter of the bottle and the confused yells of the gang, he rolled quickly over to the bush, moving swiftly behind the tree, and drawing his bow and arrow.

Inhale. Aim. Exhale and let go.

The arrow made its home in the chest of the biggest one who had taunted him earlier. Ricky barely gave the others any time to react. 3 more arrows embedded themselves into the remaining men’s flesh and the forest returned to its natural silent state.

Ricky surveyed their small camp. Not much was there, a couple of coins, some provisions, and a few tents. He picked up the cans of food and pocketed the coins while trying to push away the guilt. He needed it more than them and it was bought with stolen money, so it didn’t really belong to them anyway. They were too busy being dead to use it after all.

He sighed as he took the bounty poster out of his pocket and walked over to the bodies of the 4 men.

“Joseph Adams…blonde hair, 6 ft 3, scar on his forehead. Does it always have to be the big ones I need to carry? Why can’t the mastermind be some 5 ft maniac instead?”

Ricky pulled the arrow out of Joseph’s chest and dropped it to the side. He then threw the man over his shoulder and started walking in the direction of his horse.

He whistled and then yelled, “Francesca! Come here girl!”

Within a few seconds he could hear the sound of thumping hooves getting closer and soon saw the black horse he was calling for.

Ricky grinned as he stroked her face, “Hey girl, sorry for the wait. These boys didn’t want play nice. They never do.”

Francesca whinnied and bumped her nose against Ricky’s face.

“I know, I know! Let’s just drop him off at the Sheriff’s office, get our money and head home.”

Ricky draped the Joseph over the back of his horse, climbed up onto the saddle and started riding east towards the nearby town of Tombstone.

_____________________

“Got a dead Joseph Adams for you, Sheriff!”

Gordon Goondis had been the Sheriff of Tombstone for 15 years, he was in his 50s, had a massive grey moustache and was the sternest man Ricky had met in America.

Goondis gave him a once over and nodded, “Throw him out back. He make you work for it?”

“Don’t they always?” Ricky mumbled as he crossed the room, walked out the back door and dumped the body in the cart.

When Ricky walked back in, there was $45 sitting on the Sheriff’s desk.

“About time someone brought him in. Heard him and his gang had caused all sorts of trouble a town over. Did you deal with them too?”

“Yeah, they didn’t seem too happy to meet me,” He chuckled.

“Not many people are Goldsworth. Another poster should be up tomorrow. The Axeman this time,” Goondis sighed. He took out two cigars and offered one to Ricky.

Ricky nodded in thanks and took one. Lighting the Sheriffs and then his own, “You figured out who he is? I know he isn’t exactly good at killing his victims, but he’s been causing enough of a stir round here.”

“It’s the butcher, Billy Nelson. A couple deputies went to pick him up earlier today, but it didn’t go well. Mike ended up taking an axe to the shoulder. He’ll recover but Gene wasn’t so lucky. I would’ve gone after him myself, but I was tied up with another issue out of town. A damn shame,” Goondis sighed as he leaned back in his chair.

Ricky nodded and looked down. He knew what it was like to lose a friend. To lose the people you love. It was a part of why he did this. He didn’t need the money; he had taken enough with him from Japan to last him a lifetime.

“Sorry to hear it. I’ll see what I can do.”

The Sheriff stood, blew out some smoke and put his hand on Ricky’s shoulder, “Thanks son. The poster will be up at 8am, you’ll have some competition so make sure you ride straight for the bastard as soon as you get it. You may have only been taking bounties for 6 months, but there ain’t anyone else I trust more to take him down.”

“Got it. Thanks Sheriff.”

Goondis grunted, patted his shoulder twice and walked out into the street. Leaving Ricky alone with his cigar and the $45 on the table.

Ricky liked Goondis, his mannerisms where similar to his fathers, it reminded him of home in a way. But he never really liked this part of the job. Taking the money felt like he was just some thug for hire. Like a Rōnin. The very thing his parents had taught him not to be. For if he were to become one, he would shame the family. But when Ricky thought back on what was left of his family, on the fact that the only thing connecting him to them were the weapons he used and that not even his name was something those that he left behind would recognise, the shame would subside enough for him to take the money and leave.

And if that night Ricky was plagued by nightmares of his father’s fury and the desperate pleas of his mother. He would never breathe a word of it to anyone. Sticking to the code of honour was the only thing that separated him from the criminals he hunted. Even if following that code led him to his death. It would be an honourable one and that would satisfy his spirit.

#cc tinsley #ricky goldsworth #buzzfeed unsolved #bfu #tinsworth

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danwhobrowses · 3 years

Text

AEW - Best and Worst Booking Decisions from Double or Nothing 2020 to 2021

As I promised back in my WWE Post Reviewing the Booking of Mania 35-36 it is time for me to run down AEW's booking over the last year.

Double or Nothing 2020 was AEW's first PPV of the Empty Arena Era, which they pulled off with the inaugural TNT champion being Cody'd, Brian Cage's debut and murder of Darby Allin, Hikaru Shida began her mammoth title reign, Moxley and Brodie Lee put on a fantastic show with their short build and we finished off with the wacky Stadium Stampede. But since then, it's had some ups and downs.

As I said with the WWE one, these are my opinions: some of which will act within hindsight rather than within the moment.

There will also be spoilers from the Dynamite after DoN 2020 to the end of DoN 2021, you have been warned

May 2020 Best - FTR They told us one day they would wrestle the Bucks and the world shall rejoice, and after several teases on BTE following The Revival's release from the E, FTR arrived and the division got even more stacked because of it.

Worst - Mike Tyson loses to his shirt AEW did try with Tyson, pushing for some shared history with Jericho as they began to stand off with one another. But his struggle to cleanly tear off his shirt really made the confrontation awkward and it wouldn't go anywhere.

Best - Baker becomes the Roll Model Baker's injury was a huge blow given how she was finally getting over thanks to her heel turn and bloody battle with Shida. It would've very easily killed her momentum to be off TV, but AEW instead played into Baker's injury by making her flaunt her heelish hilarity, starting with her being a wheelchair-riding 'roll model', this would begin Baker's time entertaining in spite of injury.

Worst - Allie and QT begin What was this huh? Now Allie in a red dress was a sight to behold but the whole romance angle where a very married Allie had a brief period as a babyface and pairing with the also very married QT Marshall. We all knew it was gonna lead to Butcher and Blade jumping the Natural Nightmares, but it really overstayed its welcome.

Best - The TNT Open Challenge We will get more on this but Cody's win of the TNT title was met with concern given the monster push of Lance Archer - not to mention the dismal design of the championship itself. But Cody did his best to add prestige via the weekly Open Challenge, which would showcase a lot of talent in a similar way to Cena's US title Open Challenge.

June 2020 Best - Brodie goes on the Recruitment Prowl Being the leader of the Dark Order, Mr. Brodie Lee needed a new direction after being felled by Jon Moxley. What he decided was to add to his ranks; bringing in Dark Standout Alan Angels, enticing Colt Cabana and extending a hand to Anna Jay. These choices bolstered the Dark Order's ranks to last much longer, especially with their segments in BTE showing all their comedic flair.

Worst - Sammy Guevara eats his words The Speaking Out movement affected AEW just as it did most of wrestling, leading to the release of Jimmy Havoc. But Sammy Guevara also got done in by his egregiously vulgar comments he made regarding his attraction WWE's Sasha Banks in an old interview that had now surfaced. While this isn't a booking decision per se, it was the fault of AEW to have not caught this on their background check. Sammy would rightfully be suspended with a full apology, seminars taken and a direct conversation with Banks herself to make amends.

Best - Red Velvet stirs in Red Velvet would debut on Dark in June, showcasing talent which would later be enhanced and explored later in the year, adding Red Velvet did indeed bolster the women's division a bit more, showing AEW's dedication towards building new stars was still alive.

Best - Wardlow vs Luchasaurus rocks the house Lumberjack matches are more miss than hit, but the long-awaited match between Wardlow and Luchasaurus was a sleeper hit for the month. Big time spots of athletic hosses slapping meat and flipping feet continued to showcase Wardlow's dominance with a big win over the Dino-man, just a good wrestling match worth the wait.

July 2020

Best - Open Challenge Opens Doors Cody's open challenges started with the AEW roster, but they soon expanded to being for indy talent and cross-promotional challengers too: Enter Eddie Kingston. The Mad King made an instant impact in his hardcore challenge against Cody, which quickly earned him a contract with the company. Also among the challengers was Ricky Starks - who would also get a contract - and Warhorse, who had rallied the fans into giving him a shot - and AEW did play into his popularity, having an answer for a lot of Cody's offense until he hurt his leg for the finish. It was smart booking even if Cody was bound to win.

Worst - Cardona's time is Radio Silence You gotta feel bad for Matt Cardona, he has all the makings to be a great star, but he just suffers from either company disinterest, injury or poor timing. The latter was the case for his AEW time, since AEW were having to deal with WWE's COVID outbreak by extension of any partners, Cardona only had a rare appearance backing up Cody a few times and while he did find himself in Impact, it's sadly not as green as the other side.

Best - Sue is Over The Best Friends as babyfaces walk the line perfectly of being a group of goofball man-children but also legitimate and talented wrestlers. The cherry on the top though was the Friends' entrance to Fyter Fest in Trent's mom Sue's mini-van for their tag title match, immediately getting Sue over with fans. Sue would also be a cult figure for BTE in her skits with the Dark Order, being the only person ever to make Brodie Lee break character and corpse.

Worst - Cody cannot elevate Hager Cody's defenses led to Hager (and his wife) looking for a title match, the sale of it being a more legitimate bout with the weigh in and packages didn't pull off in the match though, being quite slow and simplistic. Hager still remains a wrestler who lacks any more potential than what he has now but knows the right people.

Best - Taz promos around Mox's COVID absence Due to the aforementioned outbreak, AEW were forced to reschedule their main event when Renee Young had contracted the virus, exposing their world champion Jon Moxley by extension. This meant that Brian Cage would have to wait longer for their match (though not as long as UK fans are waiting for AEW to come overseas), so AEW decided to let Taz carry them over this predicament, which he did marvelously by reviving his FTW title and handing it to Cage. It added some extra heat and something for Cage to carry around as if he had won the personal victory over Moxley already, and it would lead us into the following week's rescheduled Main Event at Fight for the Fallen.

August 2020 Best - Brodie Destroys Cody After a lot of defenses and Cody getting the 'finished product' TNT title, fans wondered how Cody's defense against Mr. Brodie Lee would go. And boy did we get a spectacle, the Exalted One demolished Cody, Anna Jay then choked out Brandi as the rest of the Dark Order held the Nightmare Family at bay, and we were left with the visual of Brodie on top and Cody and Brandi at their feet, covered in the shredded remains of the old TNT title that Cody had reigned with. It was great storytelling and a great way to elevate Brodie as well as finally putting the Dark Order over, the stable rode the highest they had been since their debut while Cody disappeared to film for the Go Big Show.

Worst - Bea and Sadie get released, Mel stays AEW did their best to keep as many people they could during the Pandemic, but due to the travel restrictions Bea Priestley was very much land locked and Sadie Gibbs was not getting a second chance at her botched debut. It was a shame because of how talented both women were, Bea especially since rumor has it she might be en route to the E. What was baffling was that Mel, of the failed Nightmare Collective, remains on AEW's payroll despite not having appeared for over a year, hard to add that up.

Best - Thunder Rosa makes her challenge Before the Forbidden Door, NWA opened their doors to AEW while the pandemic prevented them from filming shows. With champion Hikaru Shida lacking a built-up challenger, fans were interested in Thunder Rosa's intrigue about Shida's challenge, and would be pleased to see AEW roll with it too. Rosa and Shida made for a great cross-promotional feud which'd lead to a great match in the following month. To this very day, Thunder Rosa's appearance on AEW is one of the brand's most vital steps in terms of strengthening their women's division.

Worst - The Deadly Draw is on Youtube Speaking of the Women's Division, AEW had also decided to have an all-women's tournament called the Deadly Draw. 'Random' tag teams would be forged in a tag tournament that'd give women some time to show their stuff. Unfortunately, this would mostly be on Youtube - save for the Finals - and be dominated by Fans' disdain that Allie and Brandi were making the finals. The method of picking was not handled well since we didn't really get any mismatch teams aside from Nyla, and the amount of women we got were not all spectacular with Rache Chanel and the former Cameron being a part of it. While Ivelisse and Diamante would win too they only got some crappy medals, all of which leaves a bitter taste following Ivelisse's release.

Best - Deadly Draw gives us Conti, Diamante and Savoy That being said, the Deadly Draw had its saving graces. For one the use of Veda Scott on commentary, Madusa as the host and Shaul Guerrero as the announcer were nice touches, we also got to see Tay Conti, Diamante, Ivelisse and Nicole Savoy wrestle - the middle two win. Conti would turn out to be the most important of the lot with her team and friendship with Dark Order's Anna Jay, getting over because of their chemistry and making it to the semi-finals.

Worst - Conti to Dark Order doesn't develop Conti and Anna's friendship meant that soon after, Jay had extended an offer for her friend to join the stable. For weeks we saw Conti carry around this invitation but then: nothing. Conti never joined Dark Order and this didn't beget any friction between the friends either - in the end it became a missed opportunity as Conti dances on the edge of being supported by the Dark Order but not a part of the Dark Order.

Best - Jericho and Cassidy Debate With Mike Tyson unable to appear more to feud with Jericho, AEW slotted over-as-fuck Orange Cassidy to face Jericho. While Jericho got the win in the first match, we were graced with a fun 'debate' hosted by Schiavone and with a guest appearance of Eric Bischoff. Cassidy's monologue during the debate was great too.

Worst - Cassidy's first win over Jericho isn't as big as it should be Unfortunately, when Cassidy did get the win over Jericho was not as good as the first, getting clunky at times with some miscommunication and slow pacing. They would have their rubber match in the gimmicky Mimosa Mayhem which would also be a bit of a mixed bag.

Best - Hardy and the Mad King Squad Up Despite solid starts, Private Party, Lucha Bros and Butcher & the Blade had struggled a little to find success in AEW, but they would gain some benefit by associating with Matt Hardy and Eddie Kingston. Hardy worked well as a mentor to the similar styled tag team to his younger years, while Kingston's evil grin to the camera did signal that Kingston's new squad would be up to no good.

Best - Moxley and Allin make another classic Allin and Moxley somehow just click, they click so well that you could put them in a match every week and people wouldn't complain, hell there's fanart of Moxley essentially adopting Allin in the same vein as Shota 'Shooter' Umino. Anyway, Allin vs Moxley is always fantastic, and it made sense for the feud that was growing.

Best - You're Out of the Elite! Hangman's slow burn storytelling has been sublime, and it was at a new height when FTR started sniffing around Hangman like lions around a wounded gazelle. Feeding into Hangman's alcoholism - established since his inability to beat Jericho or PAC in his hunt to be world champion - FTR exposed doubt within Page that the Bucks were ousting him out and would soon turn on him. All of which were mind games to sow discontent between him and Omega in their bid for the tag titles. The cherry on the top came with Hangman's removal from the Elite, after a stellar feud in Revolution being brought up, Hangman impulsively screwed out the Bucks from getting another title match, after a dressing down and being kicked out of the group we pan to a shot of Hangman staring into a mirror cracked - perfect storytelling.

Best - MJF campaigns against Moxley MJF had been undefeated and fans have wondered when rather than if he would get his shot. And when he set his eyes on Moxley it is spectacular. The faux presidential campaign was right up MJF's alley as he looked to write out Moxley's go-to finish of the Paradigm Shift, this also had great easter eggs like MJF emulating Samoa Joe's shove on him to one of his entourage, as well as his lawyer Sterling being a good addition for the feud.

September 2020 Best - Allin/Starks, Johnson/Carter are bangers September came out with some very impressive matches, for Dynamite it was the culmination of Allin and Starks' feuding but on Dark we got unsigned Lee Johnson and Ben Carter blow the roof off, immediately both names were a topic of scouting and it remains a top level match.

Worst - Billy Mitchell's cameo Early into Miro's debut we got some vignettes of 'The Best Man' enjoying his other past-time as a gamer. While this wasn't the right way to go in hindsight, the cameo of Billy Mitchell - a controversial figure in Arcade Gaming - was quite out of place for AEW as well, many having to look up who the dude was anyway and why many gamers were disgruntled about it. 'Celebrity' Cameos can only really work if you know who they are.

Best - Kingston stories a weird finish into a Title Match It would've been a Worst moment on this list when Eddie Kingston lost a battle royale for a title shot by being pushed off the turnbuckle despite leaving to the apron via the middle rope. However, when winner Archer came down with COVID, AEW was put in a reverse Fyter Fest scenario, a champion but no opponent. This allowed Kingston an in to use the fact that he never technically went over the top rope to barter a title match, which he used to impressive effect.

Worst - Sydal Slips The Shooting Star Press is a difficult move to pull off, and dangerous to botch. It had also been the staple of Matt Sydal, who was the Joker in the Casino Battle Royale of All Out, but when he did his Shooting Star he slipped and faceplanted. While it's not a booking decision it is a sore spot, Sydal has partly recovered as a full time worker and a mini-feud with Nakazawa to save face on the botch, but he has only once tried the move again.

Best - Will Hobbs impresses When Sydal botched and hit the floor though, Will Hobbs was the one you saw roll over inconspicuously to check he wasn't hurt. The youngster had already been impressing on AEW Dark on a regular basis and his appearance alone in the Battle Royale was an encouraging sign. Hobbs would also put on a strong performance in that match, which would lean in on being more utilized on Dynamite, his momentum would also carry to Double or Nothing with another strong run in a Battle Royale mostly pitted against Christian Cage.

Worst - The Matt Hardy incident Perhaps the lowest point of All Out was the Broken Rules Match. Hardy and Sydal had overshot their spear spot from a forklift to a table and Hardy hit his head hard. Hardy wobbled with signs of concussion as the match to and fro'd about being called off, Hardy though was having none of it - since the stipulation would have him retire had he lost - he would continue for a scaffolding spot for the finish but it did put a lot of heat on Guevara and AEW for allowing the match to continue. Matt would make a recovery and have a cinematic match with Sammy to finish the tainted feud, but from there BROKEN Matt Hardy was seldom seen.

Best - Deeb arrives Serena Deeb is one of the most technically gifted women on wrestling. Someone so grossly underutilized by WWE that it's baffling that the best thing they would do with her on the main roster is shave her head for the admittedly great Straight Edge Society but then release her for not keeping up kayfabe in her personal life. This was the month though that the current NWA Women's Champion debuted on AEW Dark and would later get signed, Deeb adds veteran experience and technical mastery to AEW's women's roster and she is a cert to be AEW Women's Champion someday.

Worst - Fans fight Tooth and Nail but Swole/Baker doesn't deliver Despite Britt Baker's rise to superstardom, her return feud with Big Swole became a bit of a mishit. The build was fine with Swole often getting the better of the wheelchair-bound Baker, so for Baker's return AEW had set a cinematic match in her dentist's office. The match was placed on the Buy-In, which pissed a lot of fans off and had them strong-arm Khan into putting it as the opener, and it didn't pay off. The match was par at best, ending with Baker losing as well, while the quickly-put-together match of Private Party vs Silver & Reynolds shone brightly on the Buy In in the spot this match should've taken. Listening to fans is of course good but AEW had the hindsight to judge whether the match was worth it in the eyes of the fans and they picked wrong.

Best - Parking Lot Brawl But for every par match AEW has they always sneak in a blinder, and it was Best Friends' 5-Star Parking Lot Brawl against Santana & Ortiz that pulled it off. With Orange Cassidy coming out of the boot of the car, Santana & Ortiz's Dead Presidents' appearance and Sue getting a brand new minivan and flipping off the Inner Circle duo at the end, the match was a fantastic closer for the night.

October 2020 Best - Brandon Cutler gets the W Brandon Cutler had AEW's longest losing streak, and they loved to ham it up, except Peter Avalon also had AEW's longest losing streak too. They had tried working together but couldn't find the common ground, so when Avalon turned on Cutler we were set for one of these men to get the win. After two no contests due to double count outs and double disqualifications, Cutler and Avalon had a no rules rubber match on Dark and it was great. Cutler got his win in probably AEW Dark's best feud storytelling - though it probably should've been on Dynamite or even the Buy In of the PPV - giving a payoff years in the making.

Worst - Nyla/Shida II is built on Dark Hikaru Shida had gone through the majority of the Women's Roster, so with new manager Vickie Guerrero, Nyla Rose wanted her title back. The problem however was that all of Vickie's calling out of Shida after a Nyla squash was on Dark, so the match was poorly built. You feel bad for Tony Khan because he tried this so more eyes would go on Dark but it was also a reminder that title matches should be built on the Main Show.

Best - MJF and Jericho get musical MJF had decided once again to try and get in with the Inner Circle, only this time he was faring better thanks to his chemistry with Chris Jericho. What we got was Le Dinner Debonair, a pompous, broadway-esque musical scene that fit the larger than life and delusional heel aura of both men's ego. While some people called it 'too goofy', it was also named one of the best TV moments of the year.

Worst - Miro feuds over an Arcade Machine Fans wanted one thing from Miro: the beast, but AEW did not lead with that. Instead they had him feud with Best Friends because they were thrown into an Arcade Machine he was playing. While it's not the level of feuding over shampoo, it was still rather dumb and contrived given how the rest of this weak feud was telegraphed leading up to Kip and Penelope's wedding - despite Miro's attempts to subvert Wrestling Wedding Tropes.

Best - Leyla legitimately impresses In October, 'Legit' Leyla Hirsch came out of nowhere and made the best of her moment. A non-title debut against champion Hikaru Shida on Dark proved an extremely entertaining affair as Hirsch got to showcase her physicality, and then that was followed instantly by a NWA Women's Title shot against Deeb on Dynamite - which she also really impressed in. While it took a while for AEW to announce Leyla as a signing, it was a definite plus to see Olympic qualities in the Women's Division.

Worst - Jericho can't get Luther over When Jericho got a whole Dynamite to celebrate 30 years in the business he had a lot on his plate, several cameos from Slash and Hiroshi Tanahashi made it a special moment but the Main Event didn't work. Luther is sadly another one of those Brutus Beefcake cases of knowing the right people, and while Luther could probably go when he was younger, currently he isn't the best. People wondered if Jericho could carry Luther in his match with Chaos Project but unfortunately it didn't land, Luther after all has his place on the undercard throwing Serpentico around, he doesn't need any more than that.

Best - The Cleaner shows signs of returning After an Anniversary Show meant that Moxley had gone through another opponent in his mammoth title reign, AEW had set up a tournament to name the new Number 1 Contender. At this time as well FTR had already dealt with Hangman and Omega but their post-match embrace was not reciprocated by Omega, who had more or less washed his hands with his partner. The two were in different places, Page had descended further into the bottom of a drink without any of his friends while Kenny had become focused upon being a singles competitor again. Metaphorically winking to the hard cam, Omega would enter in an over the top fashion with cheerleaders of the Jacksonville Jaguars dancing with brooms to hark the slow arrival of the Cleaner. His disgruntled face after squashing Sonny Kiss was also meme quality.

Worst - Brodie's Reign is cut short Brodie Lee's TNT title reign was great, it had put the Dark Order on top and his segments on BTE were extremely entertaining too. An emphatic return of the dark haired Cody Rhodes did invite a rematch which would be a more brutal affair than Cody's prior squashing, but sadly Brodie would not retain. His reign only lasted a month and in hindsight that would be the only time Brodie held gold, while he stated he had no regrets on how short his reign was it was not great booking to put it immediately back on Cody as if Brodie only held it because Cody had another show to record.

Best - Dog Collar Match was great Result notwithstanding though, the Dog Collar match proved as brutal as it was entertaining. Another match that elevated the TNT title's prestige, Lee and Cody tore into each other in a match that could've easily screamed Vince Russo late-WCW failure. But the men pulled it off with their raw talent and nobody looked bad out of it.

November 2020 Best - Kenny vs Hangman I Since AEW's inception, Hangman Page has been on a slow course to squaring off against Kenny Omega. This came to a head in the finals of the No.1 Contendership Tournament, the confident Kenny vs the angsty Page proved an effective opener which further spiralled Hangman into depression while Kenny would return to the top of the card.

Worst - Hornswoggle in a nappy? The Inner Circle's Vegas skit was probably too much, it had some good moments like Hager and Wardlow continually staring at each other as they beat up people in the club, also the appearance of an Elvis Impersonator and Konnan. But the bit finished on a weird note trying to homage The Hangover by having WWE's former Hornswoggle appear in a baby's nappy, it was just weird no ways around it.

Best - Cargill and Top Flight make an impression November saw the debuts of new members of the Women's and Tag Division. The Martin brothers impressed as the new vibrant and athletic tag team, putting on a wild show against The Bucks. Jade Cargill would start AEW by confronting Cody with the tease of one Shaquille O'Neal, but the moment the camera panned to Cargill she had one word printed on her and it was 'Star'. While Top Flight are halved by injury, Cargill has continued to show her growth.

Worst - Shida vs Abadon has a short build When Abadon debuted on AEW Dark she put on an impressive match with then-not-champion Hikaru Shida, the story being that Shida was weirded out by the Living Dead Girl. Since then, Abadon had been undefeated in her sporadic appearances - partly delayed by injury - so she was put on a course to reignite this storyline with Shida. However, they didn't get enough time, only a couple segments of Shida trying to prove herself not scared and an AEW Dark segment when Abadon jumped Shida and hit a Cemetery Drive on her. A decent match would follow, but we could've done a lot more.

Best - Hobbs turns to FTW Will Hobbs had grown more and more impressive with each appearance, put over as well in promo by Jon Moxley too gave him a lot of credit. During Darby's feud with Team Taz, Hobbs had often come to make the save to prevent Darby from being injured, however he did have a habit of arriving a little late. This proved to be intentional when Hobbs turned heel, aligning with Team Taz to learn under the ECW Legend. While Hobbs has yet to taste gold, he has of recent found himself elevated by the feud with Christian Cage and should Brian Cage move away from Team Taz, he would clearly be the top choice to take the FTW belt from him.

Worst - Cody Hogan's his title loss When it was time for Cody to drop the TNT belt again, fans would hope that it would be a similar case of Cody putting someone over red hot like he did Brodie. However, instead Darby defeated Cody with a series of roll ups which Cody kicked out in 3.1, a very Hogan vs Warrior title change with Cody also having to keep the spotlight on him by handing the belt to Darby before Darby's moment was further interrupted by Team Taz's attack.

Best - Darby has gold At the very least, Darby being crowned TNT champion after finally beating Cody was a perfect narrative for the talented and albeit batshit crazy masochist Emo Skater Boy. Darby's reign would also be consistently good and maintain Allin's star aura against opponents of all shapes and sizes.

Best - PAC is BAC Due to COVID, several of AEW's international talents were land-locked and unable to appear, but when the UK's borders loosened slightly The Bastard PAC made an emphatic return to reestablish Death Triangle. This had also come off the heels of Eddie Kingston trying to sway Penta away from his brother and kick Fénix out of his group. PAC's mini-feud with Kingston would remind the world that AEW had some world class talent to put in against Kenny Omega as well as reminding the world that PAC is just amazing as a wrestler.

Best - Bunkhouse match blows the roof off Dustin Rhodes seems to have carved an interesting spot for himself as the 'Obscure Gimmick Match Master'. Currently teasing a Bullrope match with Nick Comoroto, he shone brightly in the culmination of the long-winded QT/Allie storyline which lead to a Bunkhouse Match against the Butcher and the Blade. It had old school qualities with amazing spots that continued a long chain of AEW pulling off impressive gimmick matches even if the feud wasn't as impressive itself.

Best - Mox and Kingston, Feud of the Year 2020 You know what was an impressive feud though? Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston. Imagine winning feud of the year for something set up in September to November? And most of it was promo, but these were two of the best promo guys in the world, touching on their roots, their former friendship, the lengths either would go and all coming to a head in an I Quit Match. Kingston made you believe every word he said when he declared that he would never quit and he wouldn't stop until he was champion but come the match Moxley proved more resilient than words can be. Getting Feud of the Year is not bad going for what originally started as a one-off title match because Archer got COVID.

December 2020 Best - Brodie Lee Memorial Show Near the end of December the wrestling world was shocked by the death of Brodie Lee, the Exalted One was someone fans really wanted to see be a major world champion someday, but he had tragically succumbed to a Lung condition. At this time too AEW were promoting a 2-part special of New Year's Dash, but delayed the shows a week to put on a memorial show for Brodie. With matches picked by Brodie's eldest son, AEW did perhaps the perfect tribute show, with a perfect blend of clips and tributes paired with matches that honored the Big Rig. Brodie's influence was shown with Silver emulating Brodie's outfit, Eric Redbeard appearing, FTR renaming their Goodnight Express to the Big Rig, and the TNT title being handed to Brodie Lee Jr. - who became AEW's youngest signing - and a special t-shirt being the highest selling t-shirt of 2020, with proceeds going to Brodie's wife, Amanda. Brodie's influence still reigns in AEW as the Dark Order have become somewhat gatekeepers to the TNT title and the quote 'It's [day], and you know what that means' being frequently used or displayed via signs to start off an AEW show.

Worst - Ben Carter slips through their fingers Ben Carter had proven a sensational talent on his AEW showings, quickly having rose to having a match on Dynamite. However, AEW did not get his signature on the dotted line, and the E came a-callin'. The loss of the now-Nathan Frazer was a rough blow for AEW business since it showed that WWE could still outbid them if they wanted someone enough, and AEW made the mistake of not signing him before other companies started sniffing around.

Best - IT'S STIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING! The 'Winter is Coming' special had many big things happen, but one of the biggest of all was the return of Sting. Instantly Sting's T-Shirt sales broke records in AEW (until the Brodie shirt would break Sting's) as the WCW legend had made his return to TNT in a veil of snow staring down Darby Allin, nostalgia was high on this moment.

Worst - STIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING does nothing for a month But. There was a problem with Sting's arrival on AEW, he wasn't exactly spry in his 60s and AEW were cautious in wanting him to come back into the ring despite being classed as an active talent. AEW did miss a mark by promoting Sting to just do the same interview over and over, more than once in fact, you gotta do something with Sting to get the fans excited.

Best - Taz chokes out Cody While feuding with Darby, Cody became involved when he dropped the TNT title to Darby and got attacked by Team Taz all the same. When this led to a verbose conflict between Cody and Taz over the legitimacy of the FTW championship, Cody made the mistake of turning his back on Taz after diminishing his philosophy because Taz's son Hook was training under his factory rather than his father. Jake the Snake did warn him not to turn your back on someone you respect, but maybe he should've warned him to not turn your back on a Human Suplex Machine, because Taz immediately put him in the Tazmission - to a huge pop from fans - choking out the younger Rhodes to further personalize their feud.

Worst - Dynamite Diamond Ring doesn't change MJF had used the Dynamite Diamond Ring sporadically as a weapon to cheat in matches, but it anything it was a glorified brass knuckles that had limited prestige. When AEW had the chance to give it new prestige by having it fought over a year after MJF won it, they decided to simply keep it on MJF's pinky finger. As a result we had a battle royale and a match that kinda went nowhere narratively, and AEW should've really just made the ring a one-off or given it to someone else to signify a young up-and-coming talent getting a rub.

Best - The Acclaimed prove they're not all talk Not to be outdone by Top Flight, who they seem destined to have an eternal rivalry with, The Acclaimed put on an impressive showing in their title match with the Bucks too. Max Caster's diss tracks continue to slowly win fans over but this was the moment the Acclaimed turned into a mainstay of AEW's tag division.

Worst - TNT ask for no more surprises While reported months later, fans were alerted that after Sting's debut, TNT had asked AEW to not do any more surprises. Business-wise it made sense since they wanted to promote any big moments on the show for a greater viewership, but Wrestling-wise eliminating the shock factor would be a detriment to the business as a whole. AEW have managed to work their way around such things by promoting 'mystery entrants' or debuting surprise characters between other promoted segments but it is still a questionable decision by TNT to request such a thing.

Best - This is Bear Country Next on the 'XX impress on Dark, get signed up' is the tag team of Bear Country. Different to Top Flight's flippy talent and the Acclaimed's knack for mind games and more technical wrestling was two big hoss men running roughshot War Machine-style, there's not much else you need to sell with that, Bear Country was just good stuff and provided another style AEW's tag division could use.

January 2021 Best - Negative One With Brodie Lee Jr. now signed to AEW, he started to make appearances as Dark Order's new leader 'Negative One'. And instantly, Brodie Jr had become an excellent presence. With great understanding of the business for such a young age, Negative One would delight audiences on Dark and Elevation be it on commentary or simply being the feral prince that often accompanied Preston Vance, Anna Jay and/or Tay Conti. The kid was having the time of his life too.

Worst - TNT title doesn't get revamped enough With the original finished product of the TNT title handed to Brodie Jr, there was an opening to make a new TNT title which learned from the criticisms that the original had. Unfortunately we did not have this, we mostly just got a Black strap. Granted COVID would've been a part of that but given how long Darby's reign was, we could've put work towards giving us a better looking TNT championship.

Best - Dark Order turn face, help the Hangman On BTE Dark Order found their feet with their flair for comedy, one of the segments that began this was Evil Uno's selling of Brodie's throwing of papers, the bit originated from Lee discovering that Hangman had once reached out to the Dark Order website sometime at the beginning of his depression spiral. Because of the rejection, the Dark Order had fostered an animosity against Page with frequent 'Fuck Hangman' chants, and yet Hangman would sporadically appear in their hangout, starting his own 'Fuck Hangman' chant when kicked out of the Elite in a brutal show of Page's self-loathing. From there though the Dark Order had softened to the Anxious Millennial Cowboy and after a face turn they had grown to become AEW's most popular faction and a much-needed friend for Page. While Hangman wouldn't officially join the Dark Order, it definitely proved to be an entertaining chapter in Page's story from an unlikely source.

Worst - Team Taz will jump Darby, but not Sting During their feud, Team Taz were seen to jump Darby Allin whenever they could, didn't matter if he had Cody or Moxley on his side they would still try to get the upper hand on the TNT champion. But now that Sting has arrived, Team Taz decided to stop doing that. As much as it was AEW protecting Sting from bumps, it really diminished Team Taz as well because five men that included Ricky Starks, Powerhouse Hobbs and Brian Cage were scurrying away from a lone 60 year old with a baseball bat.

Best - Bullet Club in AEW Tama Tonga might refute it, but the appearance of Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson in AEW was big, and their arrival to aid Kenny and then to two sweet him with the Bucks was an image definitely worthy of closing the night. From Gallows and Anderson's arrival to AEW led to Impact's doors being opened, which has recently led to Omega being the Belt Collector.

Worst - Callis' feud with the Bucks is gimmicky When Kenny won the AEW World Title at Winter is Coming, he had began a full on chaotic turn with Don Callis as his manager of sorts. The Young Bucks however were still firm babyfaces and were perturbed by Callis' actions that were ousting the Jackson brothers out of Kenny's social circles. Some bits were good, Callis really laying in thick the fact that he felt the Bucks had lost their edge, but the majority of it was a bit too much soap opera for my liking, the fake shiner was probably where it jumped the shark.

Best - Tay Conti shows her improvement against Deeb Tay Conti had grown a lot as a wrestler since her debut, and when set to challenge Serena Deeb for the NWA Women's Championship we had the story of 'Jack of All Trades vs Master of One'. Leaning more into her Judo and martial arts background, Tay Conti showed the wrestling world that she had arrived as a wrestler thanks to the AEW machine. WWE's loss had officially become AEW's gain as Tay Conti continues her rise to perhaps being one of the biggest female stars in the company.

Worst - Archer can't win a feud Having lost to Cody in May and then Moxley on the Anniversary episode, Archer was put in a no-win situation by feuding with Eddie Kingston. Now Kingston is great, but the problem was that both men desperately needed to win a feud for credibility, and Archer was the one who lost. Archer continues to be sold as a monster but also someone who will lose all his major feuds. Suffice to say, more can be done with the Murderhawk Monster.

Best - MJF sows seeds of discontent Having officially gotten in with the Inner Circle, MJF now had Chris Jericho's ear and he was ready to spread his poison. This started with the ousting of Sammy Guevara - Jericho's protege of sorts - before moving on to sowing tension between Jericho and Santana & Ortiz. This would be the beginnings of an excellent swerve by AEW, which we will get to later.

Worst - Santana and Ortiz aren't even the Inner Circle's tag team? Because of MJF's sowing though, we had a weird scenario where the Inner Circle were debating who was their official tag team? Debating between Jericho and MJF the singles competitors, Sammy and Hager the singles competitors or Santana & Ortiz the tag team. In this as well MJF and Jericho won, which was more sowing on MJF's part but it does still leave the worrying sense that AEW's tag division is perhaps too big as Tony Khan waits for the right moment to introduce a Trios title.

Best - Wardlow vs Hager was surprisingly good Another recurring narrative of MJF joining the Inner Circle was Jake Hager and Wardlow staring each other off whenever they could. In order to 'bury the hatchet', Hager challenged the War Dog to a match, and surprisingly this was Hager's best match in an AEW ring so far, big men slapping meat with the right conclusion of Wardlow winning.

Worst - The Waiting Room fades out While Britt Baker was injured but not Wheelchair bound she had started an interview show on Dark called 'The Waiting Room', it had a few flaws here and there but eventually it showed on Dynamite to decent effect. But after that it was gone, which is a shame because it could've easily been a longstanding segment for either of AEW's shows at the time to give some promo segments or interviews to AEW's talent.

Best - Private Party are leeched After working under the wing of 'Big Money' Matt Hardy, Private Party turned heel to compliment Hardy's newfound persona as the Company Leech. The heel turn has somewhat revitalized the once-promising tag team and proved they can play either side, it even got them an Impact Tag Title shot and an impressive match on the PPV.

Worst - Whatever Snoop Dogg was doing Snoop Dogg made an AEW appearance where he was insistent on doing a spot, but it didn't really work - much like it didn't really work when he tried it in WWE. Snoop as a guest wasn't the worst idea in the world and it is good that he's willing to bump on the show, but could does not always mean should.

Best - Jungle Boy and Dax put on a masterclass In the middle of FTR's midcard feud with Jurassic Express - the one that'd involve Marko Stunt being kidnapped - Dax Harwood and Jungle Boy crossed paths in an excellently technical match. The match received high praise that'd further put Jungle Boy over while also giving worthy praise for Harwood's wrestling ability.

Best - Jungle Boy gets some Baltimora While on the subject of Jungle Jack Perry, Tony Khan had decided that he had a library of songs he owned or could own and use as entrance themes for some of AEW's more earmarked talent. This would begin with Jungle Boy, who was given Baltimora's 'Tarzan Boy' per the suggestion of Joey Janela. Immediately Jungle Boy had something the fans could use to rally behind, a chantable song that embraced all that Jungle Boy's character was.

February 2021 Best - JD Drake makes an impression JD Drake does not look like AEW's typical wrestler, but that's the point. On his debut on Dark he surprised many with his great offense and agility, even able to pull off a moonsault. Quickly Drake was signed and becomes the odd one out but also the oft-ignored voice of common sense in the Wingmen faction of prettyboys. He's having a lot of fun with it too and has put on good matches, recently against Rocky Romero.

Worst - Women's Eliminator Tournament partly goes on Youtube The Women's Eliminator Tournament opened up the Women's Division in a big way, but COVID meant that not all of it could be filmed in Jacksonville. So like the Deadly Draw, the tournament had to spend some of its time on Youtube. Now I have no problem with Youtube being used, it's a wider medium that can be accessed at any time, but it did mimic the downsides of the Deadly Draw and alienate the TNT-only audience, especially since Dynamite rarely showed highlights of the tournament progress.

Best - Women's Eliminator Tournament exceeds expectations That is however, the only criticism with hindsight one can give the Eliminator Tournament. Because not only did it give us the return of Riho, Yuka Sakazaki, Ryo Mizunami, Emi Sakura and Aja Kong, but it also graced us with the talented debuts of Maki Itoh, VENY (aka Asuka, who also wore Hana Kimura's robe) and Mei Suruga. In addition Shida provided Japanese commentary for the Joshi matches sporting a strikingly beautiful white suit. The tournament did not have a bad match at all; with VENY vs Sakura, Suruga vs Sakazaki, Sakazaki vs Sakura (which had Sakura perform a fantastic entrance), Serena Deeb vs Riho, Leyla Hirsch vs Thunder Rosa, Riho vs Rosa, Baker vs Nyla, Conti vs Nyla and the finals were all great and unique matches. The non-tournament 6-woman joshi tag match was also excellent and so was the surprise winner of Ryo Mizunami and her title shot against Shida at Revolution.

Best - Moxley brings the IWGP US Championship Jon Moxley may've lost the AEW World Championship, he still had a title on hand he could use: the IWGP US Championship. While NJPW had intended to keep it mainly on NJPW Strong during COVID, New Japan also allowed Moxley to bring his title on rare occasions to AEW, later to the point where he could defend it. It was definite good business and the next thing is why it was such a big deal.

Best - THE FORBIDDEN DOOR OPENS! 'New Japan will not work with AEW' - that was what we were told in the early stages of AEW, but we held out hope. We got more hope when Harold Meij stepped down from NJPW but still the 'Forbidden Door' remained shut, all the way until Beach Break when a hooded figure came up to Jon Moxley, hit a GTS and revealed himself. KENTA, the holder of the IWGP US Championship Briefcase he won in the inaugural New Japan Cup USA tournament. The internet went wild, the forbidden door was open and there was no way fans will let it close again.

March 2021 Best - Sting debuts cinematically Team Taz's feud with Darby came to a head with a Tag Team Street Fight. It was Sting's first AEW match and fans were concerned on how many bumps he could take - memory of his 'career-ending' match with Rollins echoing in the mind. AEW though would not make that mistake, deciding to go cinematic to protect Sting and give him time to recover from any bumps caused - as well as win the match like one HHH refused to do - the match itself was fantastic with Team Taz and Darby fitting in a ton of extreme spots and Brian Cage just flexing all over the place.

Worst - Archer feuds(?) with Sting After said Street Fight though, Sting continued said momentum with: Interviews. Worse yet these interviews started being interrupted by Lance Archer, who wanted to take Sting's TV time from him. This amounted to nothing as well because after Sting put an endorsement on Archer, the Murderhawk Monster would decide not to fight for a spot and come in to save Sting and Darby from time to time. If we were gonna establish this alliance we could've done more with it, sadly AEW keep on following up Sting wrestling with a ton of Sting talking.

Best - The Pinnacle debut MJF's snaking in on the Inner Circle was paying off dividends, but after an unsuccessful challenge for the tag titles, the Inner Circle had announced a 'War Council' to discuss their future. It looked as though MJF was gonna completely oust out Jericho from his own group, but out came Sammy Guevara. Absent since leaving the group, Guevara had unraveled MJF, revealing that the Inner Circle was wise to MJF's plot all along: except they weren't. MJF had played 5 steps ahead of the Inner Circle, because he wasn't trying to steal his faction, he was setting up his own. FTR, Spears, Wardlow and MJF swarmed the Inner Circle for an epic debut which would be known as the Pinnacle.

Worst - Cody beats Penta despite a shoulder injury At this point fans were beginning to wonder how Cody Rhodes would write himself off of TV. His wife Brandi was halfway through pregnancy and the Rhodes had announced a Miz & Mrs-esque reality show too. So when Cody was kayfabing a shoulder injury and pitted against Penta El 0M, fans were hoping that this time Cody could not finagle his way into defeating a charismatic and popular member of the roster who could use the rub and has a history of kayfabe breaking arms, and yet he did. The feud set up ended up being a one-off that harmed Penta more than it did good, he had done the arm breaker but Cody just shrugged it off and won anyway. It was growing all too apparent that clean Cody losses will remain to be few and far between.

Best - Penta Says that Alex is a Great Hype Man There is one saving grace to the Penta/Cody mini feud though and it's that pseudo-Dark Order member, Spanish announcer and interviewer Alex Abrahantes had been paired with Penta as his translator/hype man. Sporting some Rollins-esque outfitting of gloves and jackets, Abrahantes added extra venom to his translations which of course gave Penta a lot more vibrance. Alex as well seems to be having a whale of a time doing so.

Worst - Team Taz Dissension starts, but will pause for 2 months In the aftermath of their Street Fight defeat, Cage had drawn the ire of his Team Taz comrades by showing Sting some respect. This led to some light tension between Cage and the rest of the team, especially Ricky Starks. While this could've worked towards a Cage face turn, the tension fizzled out, only reigniting recently.

Best - Jade, Velvet and Shaq impress at a Crossroads The special episode 'The Crossroads' had been set up to promote a mixed tag match which served as Jade Cargill and Shaq's AEW wrestling debut. Competing against Cody and Red Velvet, the match did put fan minds at ease by keeping Shaq's spots simple but classic, while Velvet and Cargill ran the show in the ring. Shaq took a table bump as well which was cool and the match started Jade's star-level momentum on a high.

Worst - Shaq just, disappears In the aftermath of the table spot Shaq was put on a stretcher and into an ambulance, but when we went backstage to get some comments from Shaq before being sent off we found that the ambulance was empty. A weird thing considering that in a few days Shaq would be back on TNT anyway like that had no continuity, it was a strange decision nonetheless.

Best - Exploding. Barbed Wire. Deathmatch! AEW and their penchant for gimmick matches is an interesting relationship, but the moment this match was announced it had garnered a lot of hype. I mean it's not every day you see an Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch, and Kenny and Mox had already tore into each other in Full Gear to the point where they legitimately broke state laws. The match was every bit as brutal as promised, homaging Onita many a time through Mox but also with the wired up baseball bat, 99% of the match was freaking awesome.

Worst - Fizzling. Barbed Wire. Deathmatch. Sadly, that 1% that wasn't would be the final visual of the PPV. Moxley is defeated and the whole ring is gonna blow, Kenny and co have scurried and Mox is handcuffed and KO'd in the middle of the ring. Disregarding the warnings of the Butcher, Blade and Bunny, Eddie Kingston rushes in to help his former friend, past enmity be damned, he cannot free Mox in time and in a narratively pivotal act of self-sacrifice drapes himself over Moxley to take the blow. And all we got was a fizzle, a few sparklers and fireworks would end the night unfulfilled, undoing all the good the match had delivered. It would be AEW's most unsatisfying moment caused by a botched ending that could never be undone.

Best - Mox and Kingston reunite to rule the promos Although they could not take back the botched finish, the storyline still allowed a new dynamic of Moxley and Kingston reuniting as chaotic street brothers eyeing up the Elite for a fight. One King of Promo would be enough but two was just fantastic, you could watch Kingston and Moxley bounce off of each other all day and still remain thoroughly entertained.

Worst - Kingston doesn't get a crack at Kenny It was however a shame that draping your body over your friend to protect him from an intended explosion was not enough to validate a feud between said person and the creator of the explosive device. Kingston looked all but set to try and avenge his friend by facing Kenny, but it would not turn out to be. The closest we got was a jump and a One Winged Angel, which is a shame because Kingston vs Kenny would've been fantastic - but alas, Mox and Kingston jumped over Kenny and just went for the tag teams instead.

Best - AEW support Cezar Bononi and his wife Cezar Bononi was doing fine as part of the Undercard faction of the Wingmen with Pretty Peter Avalon, Ryan Nemeth and JD Drake. Behind the curtain though Bononi's wife Camila was suffering from Leukemia and needed a Bone Marrow transplant, her sister was a match but she was in Brazil so they needed an emergency visa so to do the transplant on time. Thanks to the collective efforts of fans and the continued exposure AEW provided for Bononi, Camila's sister would make it in time and Camila herself got her transplant and seems to be doing well.

Worst - Big Money Matt loses his quarter, but it doesn't go anywhere In the conclusion of the chapter where Matt Hardy tried to leech his way into Hangman Page's profits, Hangman had defeated Hardy in a 'Big Money' match which meant that Page had won all of Hardy's money over the last quarter. This opened an avenue to see what Big Money Matt could be like with No Money, but it amounted to very little. In fact the worst we got from Matt was eating olives, a missed opportunity for sure, we could've even had Matt be hounded by loan sharks and debt collectors but alas, it didn't dent his money in the end, at the very least Hangman got his lawnmower.

Best - Elevation elevates Mizunami, Leyla and Limelight In March, AEW debuted a more canonized version of Dark called Elevation, which'd be used to show off a bit of the undercard and allow more opportunity to climb the rankings. In the first month of Elevation, we were graced with several good matches, usually including one of three Elevation Regulars. The Eliminator Tournament Winner Ryo Mizunami would go on a series of bouts with female talent such as Tesha Price and KiLynn King where she effortlessly fit into the role of AEW's women's division gatekeeper, meaning that whoever beat her would get a solid rub - and Abadon did. When Mizunami returned to Japan, one of the people she felled took over from her duties and that was Leyla Hirsch, Hirsch had teamed successfully with Mizunami a couple of times as well and has effectively used her spot to get some wins in. On the men's side, NJPW Strong regular Danny Limelight was given his namesake with some high profile matches including Jungle Boy, Frankie Kazarian and Dark Order's 10, not to mention Takeshita, Omega, Kingston and Moxley in later months, the Team Filthy member definitely taking the show's name to heart.

Best - Cassidy wonders where his mind is Not long after Jungle Boy had obtained Baltimora, plans had been made to give Orange Cassidy a new theme too. The pick was an inspired one with The Pixies' 'Where is My Mind?' - which many would be familiar with as the ending song to Fight Club - the song suited Cassidy really well, and after positive testing on Dark it was used for the next Dynamite to close off the night.

Best - Arcade Anarchy delivers in spite of a weak feud It should probably be a word of caution to not face the Best Friends in a gimmick match in AEW, because they hit a new gear whenever they do. The feud with Miro and Kip was poor, and fans were more than happy for it to end on the PPV when Miro got his win, but AEW insisted on one more match: Arcade Anarchy - agreed to by Kip. In spite of fears this match ruled: Trent's return with Sue was great, Kris Statlander's return was a huge surprise, it took all 3 Best Friends to keep Miro down and we finished the night with Where is My Mind playing us off. Despite the weak feud, AEW had finished strongly which made reheating Miro a lot easier.

Best - Tully Blanchard wrestles in 2021 The culmination of Jurassic Express vs FTR came in the Crossroads in a 6-Man tag match. Made extra bonkers because Tully Blanchard was FTR's third man in the match. They of course limited his spots and a Shawn Spears return would prove the difference, but it's an entertainingly ridiculous thing that Tully Blanchard both wrestled in 2021 and won: wrestling is just crazy.

Best - Final 4 of Casino Tag Royale put on a Show AEW have played around with the 'Casino' concept for a few stipulations; regular battle royale for men and women, ladder match, and then tag royale. This royale finished strongly though with the final 4; John Silver, Fénix, PAC and Jungle Boy. Four absolutely over stars brawling out in mini-matches that left fans salivating for more, after Silver and PAC were eliminated Fénix and JB put on an absolute treat of a finale, which ended with Fénix getting the win for Death Triangle to face the Bucks.

Best - Silver earns Sting's respect with a Dislocated Shoulder John Silver was voted by Dark Order to take Darby Allin's open challenge for the TNT title - offered because it was the anniversary of Brodie's debut. Silver vs Allin became a great match, made even more impressive since Silver dislocated his shoulder early in the match and kept going. While Silver couldn't bring the title home to the Dark Order, he got a show of respect from Sting - which in turn would lead to the Dark Order coming to Darby and Sting's aid at times.

Best - Maki Itoh breaks America Fans of TJPW or twitter's tdegifs were very familiar with the charismatic foul-mouthed hard-headed former idol Maki Itoh, and seeing her in the Women's Eliminator tournament paid dividends despite her first round elimination. Itoh's popularity skyrocketed, she had an It factor which pissed off Jim Cornette for extra adulation, and come Revolution's Buy-In, Maki Itoh had arrived in Jacksonville for one of the biggest pops of the night. Itoh proved charming and entertaining even though she was aligned with the heels, to the point where she even main evented the inaugural Elevation against Riho. Sadly Itoh would have to return to Japan and unsuccessfully challenge for Rika Tatsumi's TJPW Princess of Princess Championship (her tag partner/former longstanding rival/sauce boss/Pink Striker Miyu Yamashita would however win), have her twitter hacked and set up a new division of her faction 'Saitama Itoh Respect Army 2021' with Yuki Kamifuku and Marika Kobashi, but she had made her mark and then some, the world was a simp for Maki Itoh, and she allowed it because she needed the monies.

Best - Rosa/Baker break the ceiling Itoh vs Riho wasn't the only cross-promotional women's main event AEW gave us, because 2 days later on St. Patrick's Day Smash, Britt Baker and Thunder Rosa's unsanctioned match would deliver on one of the highest rated matches in modern women's wrestling. A bloody and fantastic affair instantly rose Baker and Rosa's stakes in a fitting end to their rivalry, but one that also didn't cost Baker any standing because it technically 'didn't count'. It remains to this day AEW's best match in the women's division.

April 2021 Best - Miro ditches Kip After months of hanging with Kip Sabian and Penelope Ford, Miro had become fed up with Superbad. The acceptance against his wishes to fight the Arcade Anarchy proved the last straw as Miro set his focus on capturing any and every title within his reach, with or without Kip. After a few weeks of not seeing Sabian, Miro attacked him, writing Sabian out of action with a legitimate wrist injury while Ford was dealing with an allergic reaction to her eyelashes, with Kip gone Miro could finally be who we were waiting for: at freaking last.

Worst - Interference finishes beget questions of Faction Bloat Although not as bad as WWE, many matches on AEW seemed to end one way or another with factions fighting one another, clean finish or not. This did of course grind on fans and cause questions to arise that perhaps there are too many factions in AEW, they have a point, though easily fixable without splitting any factions up.

Best - Bucks descend to heeldom Don Callis had been a thorn in the Bucks' side for a while, but his words had got in their head, they were indeed the most successful when they were cocky assholes. Although they did save Moxley from being swarmed one time, the six-man tag proved too much for them: they didn't want to see the feral Moxley take out their old and storied friend and so they chose Kenny over morality. No longer annoyed by Callis, the Bucks became absolute shiteating heels again, which benefits the climate of the tag division.

Best - Jade is elevated by being sought out While Jade Cargill would only sporadically appear for squashes, AEW have done well to slow burn her star power by having managers try to get her as a client. It's simple storytelling but effective, because people want Jade it means that Jade is desirable and that makes her more important as a talent.

Best - Baker DeManDs her title shot Because the Unsanctioned Match 'didn't count' Britt Baker had carried the acclaim of that match even in defeat. Baker had stopped dossing around too, legitimately rising up the ranks to the Number 1 spot like a looming shadow to have her crack at Shida's title. It could've been easy to give her a shot by virtue of her performance but AEW did it right - and gave Tay Conti her shot in the process - which made Baker much more valued in her title hunt.

Best - Cage upsets the Hangman At the Number 1 Spot, Hangman Page looked like he was on course to fight Kenny Omega, but when asked about this prospect Page dodged the subject entirely. The thought though would weigh on his mind in his match against Cage, where he was practically squashed in an upset fashion, it was a surprising plot twist and delays Page's clash with Kenny while also adds to Cage's reputation.

May 2021 Best - Varsity Blonds add some Hart The Varsity Blonds had done well considering that they started as being an undercard pair-up and grew into a talented young combo homaging Brian Pillman and Steve Austin's team of the Hollywood Blonds. But adding Nightmare Factory upstart Julia Hart just added the missing piece for the blonds, as a trio they look the part, and their rise feels earned as they put on a great showing against the Bucks.

Worst - QT loses to Cody after all that Cody's Ace Problem had transitioned to the point where QT Marshall was picked to turn on him next, collecting a small portion of the Nightmare Factory who felt that the students were secondary to Cody's ego. When it came to the exhibition Cody won by DQ, but got assaulted by the Factory, so when they had a proper match we had a choice: elevate this new faction or have their leader lose, guess which they chose? QT tapped out to the Figure Four and Cody prevailed.

Best - SCU put it on the line For several months, SCU had put a challenge on themselves that if they lost in tag competition (not singles or battle royales) they would split up. It had worked well because they were undefeated since, but being at the top of the rankings with a heel Young Bucks signalled the inevitable clash between the two teams. The question would be could the Bucks really end the team they welcomed to AEW on Day 1, their friends, the first World Tag Champions of their company, and the answer was yes. A bloodied affair of near falls and the Bucks hamming up any emotional bonds they once had led to a fantastic match that has put a tragic end to SCU.

Worst - SCU's embrace is cut short But immediately after that we cut to Mox and Eddie trashing their locker room. AEW would return to show SCU's final embrace but a 'previously on' is not as effective as seeing it when the wound is fresh, it was the end of a partnership that had spanned a decade, all the way back to Fortune, Bad Influence and then The Addiction, it deserved the time to linger.

Best - Blood and Guts! Last year it was planned that the Elite would face the Inner Circle in a WarGames-esque match called Blood and Guts. But COVID had prevented this, so we changed to Stadium Stampede. With the Inner Circle feuding with the newfly formed Pinnacle, AEW made the right call in bringing Blood and Guts back a year later to clash the two factions against one another. And it truly did live up to its names, a brutish match which cemented the Pinnacle as one of AEW's top factions.

Worst - Blood and Guts (nor Stadium Stampede II) doesn't finish the feud Big gimmick matches like these should be feud enders, but AEW wanted to put the two factions at odds again. With the threat of disbanding, the Inner Circle got a rematch for Double or Nothing for Stadium Stampede and while it wasn't bad fans did feel that the feud should've ended at Blood and Guts. In addition, Stadium Stampede wouldn't even finish their beef as they look to divide into 3 mini-feuds again.

Best - Miro crushes Darby Without Kip, Miro was a monster and he immediately went for gold. A perfect usurper for Darby Allin's TNT title reign, Miro destroyed the fearless and near-indestructible daredevil - who was protected from the squash because Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky had thrown him down some stairs last week - his look over to Sting as they both accepted that they were likely losing this match was a great moment between Miro's destructive force. And as TNT champion Miro is great, his thanking of God for various things are both charming and hilarious but he also manages to pair it with psychotic menace, long may the Best Man reign.

Worst - Cody's American Dream wins over Ogogo's valid points After submitting QT in his match, Cody's celebrations were cut off by Anthony Ogogo, the Olympic Bronze Medallist and former Boxer in QT's Factory, who KO'd Cody and covered him with the UK flag. A feud with Ogogo could've been the saving face moment for the Factory but instead Cody opted to zone in on the flag thing. Painting Ogogo as the 'Anti-American Foreign Heel' did not sit well for anyone who wasn't an uber-American 'Patriot' since the concept was heavily outdated, in addition Ogogo was making real valid points about why he disliked America: pointing out the gross flaws in the country's healthcare system and Cody would reply with how his pregnant wife and unborn daughter were black, choking up his words to garner sympathy. This all falls flat given how Ogogo is also black and never once implied that Cody was a racist. With the chance to put over the Factory with a charismatic young competitor, Cody instead decided to win without even using a finisher - because it was Memorial Day Weekend and America always wins, at this point the Factory remain pretty tainted now since Cody has beaten every member he's faced (and Dustin beat the other one). Saying things worked out on 'Focus Groups' didn't help Cody's defense as to why the feud went the way it did either, it was an outdated narrative with a result that all but screws over the Factory.

Best - The Forbidden Door opens again While none have risen the heights of KENTA's shocking arrival, the Forbidden Door did remain open for some more appearances from NJPW's personnel. Yuji Nagata made a big return to TNT to fight Moxley for the IWGP US Championship but also Ren Narita and Rocky Romero made appearances, the latter having a mini Roppongi Vice reunion with Trent. AEW had also extended the forbidden door to DDT with Konosuke Takeshita impressing on AEW's first house show and on Elevation, and recently a Joker Card appearance for Lio Rush.

Best - Shida gets recognized, and a revamped title After a year of holding the AEW Women's Championship Hikaru Shida had been the subject of criticism from neckbeards acting like she was the 'female Brock Lesnar'. Some were annoyed that Shida's title reign had lasted so long and were blind to the fact that this was clearly intended so Baker could win in front of a crowd. The Dynamite before Double or Nothing though AEW did right by recognizing Shida's work ethic and title reign and by presenting her with a new and larger Women's Championship. While people may complain that they could've unveiled this new title at the PPV I felt it was right to at least let Shida enter the PPV with this title considering how long she had held the Women's Division down. Some poor builds aside, Shida had carried the division with strong matches and worked behind the scenes as well for improving the division, as well as producing the Women's Eliminator Tournament. In this house we do not disrespect Hikaru Shida.

Best - Double or Nothing 2021 And we end on the crescendo, and what a crescendo. The full-time return of fans were graced with an excellently feel-good PPV - aside from Cody beating Ogogo - which had all the competitors perform at a high level. Starting hot, giving Jungle Boy a big unexpected win, Mark Henry debuting and topping it off with Stadium Stampede signed off a big and entertaining year for AEW and closing off with the returning crowd chanting Judas: masterful chef kiss level idea.

The aftermath of DoN while mentioned will probably not be touched on next year because damn were these posts long, but at the very least I did it for WWE and AEW as I said I would. Let's hope that both companies can rise to higher heights and avoid lower lows in the next year when we retread these ppvs again.

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shhh-no-ones-home · 4 years

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hang tight chris motionless x reader

+++++++++ Request from @svintsandghosts to go with the song

This ended a little more angsty than I was originally planning but I hope you like it anyways 😅 and sorry it took so long lol

Song: I surrender by Natalie Taylor

tag list: @alilpunkrock @theoneandonlykymberlee @cynic-spirit @thisplace-ishaunted @musicsexandpizza69 @ryansitkowskiswifey +++++++++ I heard Chris laugh from across the lot, doing a bit for Ricky's tour update video. I just shook my head and sat on the ground outside of the bus, playing on my phone. It had been a slow day so far and the weather was amazing so I didn't really wanna be inside at the moment. I sighed deeply as I heard them talking amongst themselves, admiring Chris from a distance.

"Daydreaming again?"

I heard Justin say, drawing my attention up towards him as I squinted in the sunlight.

"Aren't I always?"

He handed me a beer before sitting down next to me and lighting a cigarette.

"Still about you know who?"

He nodded towards Chris before waving over at them. I popped the top off the bottle and shrugged.

"I don't know what my problem is."

He sent me a look before making a sarcastic "okay" face.

"Do you have something to say?"

I asked slowly. He just laughed at me, blowing smoke out his nose and taking a drink of his own beer.

"Maybe you should tell him."

I snorted harshly.

"Do I look like someone who would be so bold?"

He raised a brow at me before shaking his head.

"You could be. I mean, what's the worst that could happen?"

I sighed.

"He laughs at me? He doesn't like me back? It makes things weird? We can't be friends anymore? Need me to keep going?"

He shook his head and took another swig.

"Did you ever think that none of that stuff would happen? That maybe he does like you too?"

I sent him a skeptical look.

"Is there something you aren't telling me Marrow?"

He just shrugged and took a long drag.

"Nope."

I drew my brows together.

"Whatever. I'll think about it."

He groaned as he stood up off the ground.

"You think to much."

He said before walking over to the small group of guys still chatting and doing their interviews for Ricky's video. I frowned and looked back to my phone. Maybe I do think too much.

°°°°°°°°° I paced around the bus contemplating our friendship again. On one hand if I told him, I wouldn't have to feel like this anymore. I wouldn't have to feel like I'm holding the biggest secret from my best friend. It was killing me on the inside. I ran my hands over my face as I walked in a line, back and forth through the bus. When I heard the door I didn't stop, my back was to it anyway. When I turned around I froze.

"You okay y/n?"

Chris said concerned, making his way past me to the fridge. I just stared at him. When he turned around he drew his brows.

"You look scared, what's up?"

He tried again, moving to sit at the table. I just stayed there where I was, frozen, unmoving and unspeaking. He took a drink, watching me. When he put the bottle on the table I jumped before shaking it off and continuing my pace. I knew his eyes were on me as I moved but I didn't want to talk. Part of me thought that if I did something would slip out on accident.

"You know you can talk to me right?"

He tried again but I just kept walking. My thoughts were going a mile a minute now. I just hummed in response. As I walked by him he caught my arm, making me halt in my tracks and stare down at his large hand engulfing my forearm. My gaze followed to his eyes.

"Y/n what's wrong?"

I just shrugged.

"Nothing."

I croaked out and he let go of me. I continued my pace, crossing my arms over my chest this time.

"I got a call from Bea earlier."

He said and my body stiffened at her name. Maybe that was another reason I didn't tell him. If he knew I liked him while having a girlfriend, what if I ruined it? I couldn't do that to him. That would be completely unfair.

"Oh?"

I asked, turning around to pace back. He half smiled, finally getting what he wanted.

"She said she was gonna come see the show in a couple days."

he looked to me for approval... Like you would do with any person you wanted your best friend to like. Now I was feeling guilty. How could I have been so selfish.

"Cool."

I said quickly and his face fell.

"You don't like her do you?"

He asked, his face going straight. I just shrugged.

"It's not that I don't like her-"

He realized a brow.

"So you do like her? Cause that response sounded a little unenthusiastic for someone who likes her."

I shrugged again and kept walking, fiddling with my finger tips.

"No I think she's great, really."

He laughed.

"Yeah, that was convincing."

I glared at him as I walked past him again.

"She's great."

He shook his head at me.

"You can just say you don't like her y/n it's fine."

I sighed heavily.

"But it's not, cause you like her."

He looked a little confused.

"Well yeah, I wouldn't have started dating her if I didn't at least a little bit. or at least to begin with."

i sent him a look. what was he getting at?

"But you're my best friend, you come first and I want you to like her too."

he finished and I inhaled sharply.

"What do you want me to say Chris?"

I said annoyed.

"I don't know, how about the truth?"

he said sternly. I turned to looked at him and put my face into my hands and groaned loudly. I could feel tears stinging my eyes and i really didn't want to do this. I looked back up at him, trying to hide the hurt in my eyes.

"I think she's great for you."

I kept walking, when I turned back around he had stood up.

"We both know you don't think that's true."

I stepped past him and he caught my arm again, pulling me to face him.

"What is the deal? i just want you to answer the question"

I stared at him intently. If I blinked I knew tears would fall.

"i care about your opinion."

I let out a laugh, squinting and letting the tear fall. His face softened.

"Y/n, what are you crying?"

I looked down at his hand in my arm and finally let my emotions go. He'd caught me, literally. He placed his other hand on my other arm and tried to lean down to look at my face.

"Y/n?"

I let out a short laugh.

"It's because I love you okay!"

I screamed at him, hot tears rolling down my face.

"Are you happy now? It's because I love you. I have for a while now."

I pulled my sleeves down over my hands and crossed my arms over my chest, his hands never letting me go. I looked down at the ground and shook my head, Swaying my body a bit.

"I didn't wanna say anything because I knew you didn't like me like that. And then I just, I just started letting you go and you found someone else. Someone better than me. She's better than me at everything: making you laugh, making you feel yourself, hell she's so much prettier than me too. And I hated that feeling even more than you not loving me back. So yeah I dont wanna give you my opinion. you two dating has been killing me, you were killing me."

He looked so sad. I never meant to hurt him but he needed to know.

"She's not better than you."

He said quietly, stealing my attention back.

"She could never be better than you. And Everything you just said is a lie. I wanted your opinion on her because I was debating whether or not to dump her. We've only been dating for a few months but i hate who I am when I'm with her. She makes me feel so broken, and I hate myself for it. And then when you left after we started going out I thought it was because of me so I stayed with her. I needed someone to make me feel like a person but she doesnt do that. not like you do. I needed you, hell, I still do."

He had tears starting to fall from his eyes now too, thin streaks covering his face in black makeup. I inhaled deeply before shaking my head.

"All those times you messaged me after I left... You could have said something. Told me to come back. But you didn't."

He looked down, ashamed.

"I thought you didn't want to come back so I didn't want to try. I know you, you don't change your mind so easily. But then you agreed to come on this tour and I was so excited. To be able to see you everyday again gave me hope."

He looked back up at me with the saddest puppy dog eyes.

"I'm sorry."

I said, barely Above a whisper. I was broken.

"I'm sorry too."

He managed.

"Please don't leave me again."

He pleaded, squeezing my arms. I shook my head.

"I don't think I could if I tried."

I laughed out, trying to make the situation lighter. He pulled me into a tight hug.

"I love you y/n."

I pressed my face into his neck.

"I love you too Chris."

#wattpad #x reader #chris motionless #chris cerulli #request #imagines #miw #one shots #218

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happys-crazy-queen22 · 4 years

Text

Title: Secret Santa

Gif credit @that-english-reject

Third Christmas imagine

Hope you all enjoy.

Happy Reading Dollies.

Tag list: @chriscrosscerulli. @ilovetaquitosmmmm. @ryansitkowskiswifey. @musicsexandpizza69. @myanaconda-will-consider1t. @thisplace-ishaunted. @nocturnalherb16. @alilpunkrock. @baylishh

Christmas on tour was wild, the band went crazy. They decorated the tour bus in lights and garland, Ricky even hung a mistletoe above the door for the members who had girlfriends.

This year they decided to do secret Santa, everyone got to pick a name and of course you got Rickys of all people. It wasnt that you didn't like Ricky it was the complete opposite. You had the biggest crush on him and you couldn't believe that you actually got him. So you wondered around with him for awhile before the show started one day to see what he really wanted or really liked to have without giving him the hint that you were his Santa.

"So Rick, have you been a good boy this year"? Your question made Ricky laugh almost spitting his monster out of his mouth.

"Why do you ask"? He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Well, if you don't tell anyone. I'm an undercover elf for Santa". You giggled. Ricky rolled his eyes with a smile.

"I bet Chris got my name and he sent you to ask me ideas for Christmas, right"?

"I can't say".

"Just tell him I've been a very good boy and I want this vintage camera that I saw at a antique store. It's three hundred bucks and I know he can afford it. He just bought five hundred dollars in shiny pants and makeup".

"Alright, I'll let Santa know". You said walking away from him. Three hundred dollars was kind of pricey for you, you didn't know if you could afford it or not but if Ricky wanted it then you'll find away to make it happen.

Ricky sent you a picture of the camera and where to find it. Oddly it was in the city that you were in just for a couple days so when the guys went on stage you snuck off and got the camera hiding it in your suitcase surrounded by your underwear and bras. No one would look there. Just say you're not going to be eating fancy anytime soon. Romen noodles for months in your future.

Christmas was around the corner and the guys were all excited, Vinny wanted to scream who he got and it was funny. He couldn't keep a secret at all which was good for you cause you knew who he got and what they got. Ryan would get a shock and probably kill Vinny with it in his sleep.

It was officially Christmas and things were hot. Did you know that cooking a turkey in the oven, that said oven hasn't been used before until now makes a small tour bus feel like death is melting your skin off with a blow torch? Well it does. So Ricky had a great plan to sit outside in the snow and open presents while the turkey cooked.

"Vinny you go first". You suggested with a smirk.

"Sure, here you go Ryan for those lonely nights in the bunk". Vinny said with a laugh.

Ryan opened the box slowly, he didn't know if something was going to jump out at him. He busted out laughing when he pulled out a blow up doll. Everyone laughed, Ryan's face was beet red.

"Thanks man, I'll make sure she comes an visits you during the night". Ryan laughed shaking his head.

"Y/N, you want to go next"? Vinny asked.

"Yeah, here you go Ricky". You handed him a box with a red bow on top. He looked confused.

"I hope you like it". Ricky smiled as he started opening it, then his jaw dropped and a excited squeal came from him.

"I love it thank you. Its just what I wanted". He said with a hug.

"I'm glad you got it. It's a really neat camera". You shyly said.

The secret Santa's kept going, you were next Chris got you and he surprised the shit out of you by getting you front row tickets to a chip and dales show. It was kind of awkward and all but you had no clue why he got you those.

"Um thanks". You shyly laughed.

"If you don't like them you can sell them or whatever".

"No it's cool, just have to find someone to go with me".

After the awkwardness went away you went to check on the turkey leaving the guys to talk.

"Can I ask how much that was Ricky"? Ryan asked as he watched Vinny try blowing up the blow up doll using his mouth.

"I think it was three hundred. Why"?

"Just asking".

"Come on man why"?

"I was playing on Y/Ns phone and her bank sent her a balance check and she's broke this month. That camera took all her money".

"Then why would she get it"? Ricky felt guilty and horrible that you would spent the last of your money on him.

"She wanted you to have it so thats what you got".

"But I didn't want her to be completely broke. We really need to put a limit on how much to spend".

"Why would you suggest a three hundred dollar camera to her"?

"I thought she was asking for Chris".

"Me? I can't afford that much".

"Please, we see who's wearing new pants every show and who spent hundreds on make up from hot topic". The others eyed Chris.

"Fine. What do you want us to do"?

"I don't know, I can't let her spend this much on me".

"Then why not make it up? Like she's going to need things this month make her a gift basket"? Vinny suggested. Vinny had an idea? Wow. The guys were amazed.

"You're surprisingly a genius". Ricky smiled. "I'll go shopping for her tomorrow, gotta do some snooping to make sure I get the right things".

"Hey guys turkeys done". You poked your head out the door.

"Great, we're starving". Vinny rubbed his belly.

"Where do you put it? You just ate a whole solid chocolate reindeer".

"I have a high metabolism, you know being a drummer and all". He winked as he passed you going to sit on the couch.

"Right". You laughed, going to get the plates. Ricky had the turkey and everyone was ready to eat. Christmas dinner was served.

That night Ricky tip toed and sorta went through your stuff but for a good cause he had to make sure to get the right things.

The morning came and he was the first one up and out the door heading to the nearest mall. The first place he stopped was bath and body works. He maybe all in black and very goth but if you wanted to smell like vanilla then he would go in just for you.

He dodged the sales lady and went straight to the lotions grabbing the bottle that looked like the picture he took and ran to the check out.

He went to hot topic and got you a few eyeliners and some eyeshadow. Even a cool neckless that he thought would look great on you.

Then final stop was walmart, he grabbed your kind of deodorant, razzers, shaving cream, shampoo and conditioner. He even went down the aisle that he promised himself that he wouldn't go down until he was married, the feminine aisle. He grabbed two boxes of tampons the right kind he check four times to make sure. He grabbed something called lady wipes, he thought you might like them too. Ricky picked up odds and ends of what he thought you would like, chocolates, snack foods, stuff that none of the guys would eat but you would like. Your favorite cereal, bagels and cookies. He went all out for you.

Not forgetting the basket.

Ricky rode in the cab putting the basket together, making sure everything was going to fit. He may have went over board but he didn't care at all.

Pulling up to the bus he paid the cab driver and headed into the bus. It smelled so good, you had took Christmas leftovers and made a casserole for everyone.

"Y/N"? He called out, the basket in his hands a smile on his face.

"What the heck, Ricky"? You said with a chuckle, your hand covered your mouth in shock.

"I know it doesn't make three hundred dollars but it's a thank you and a start. If you need anything I'll get it just ask".

"Oh, Ricky. You didn't have to do that, I'm good". You said with a shy smile, you didn't know he knew about the money troubles.

"No its no problem. I feel bad that you spent that much on me and you didn't have it. I wish I can take the camera back". He said with a frown.

"Don't you dare, I wanted you to have that. I wouldn't have gotten it if I didn't think that I could manage with what I got in the bank".

"But you worked hard for that money. Putting up with us and dealing with our shit. You deserve more". Ricky sat the basket on the floor next to him and walked to you, grabbing your face smashing his lips on yours.

"God, I've waited a long time to do that". Ricky breathed out. You blinked a couple times to make sure you really saw what happened.

"Why did you kiss me"?

"Because I like you and not because you bought me the camera which I love by the way". He let out a laugh as did you. "But I've never had someone do that for me and takes as good of care of me as you do. You're sweet, caring, good hearted, smart and beautiful. I can't resist you".

"You're a smooth talker Ricky Olsen and extremely kind to do that for me". You kissed his lips this time.

"I want you to never have to worry about money again so I'm upping your pay too". You laughed rolling your eyes.

"You don't have to do that too. The basket is enough".

"How about the next day we're off I take you on a date and we can officially go on a date and say we're dating"?

"I'd like that. Plus I get to try all my new lotions and shampoos".

"Speaking of lotions, never send me to get them. I almost died in there. There's perfume being sprayed everywhere and my nose couldn't take it. I thought I was going to die".

"You're so funny". You kissed him again, he wrapped his arms around your waist keeping you in his embrace.

"Thank you".

"You're welcome, Merry Christmas". He rubbed his nose with yours and kissed you again.

"Merry Christmas". Best Christmas ever!

#ricky horror x reader #ricky horror imagine #ricky olson imagine #ricky horror fanfiction #ricky olson #motionless in white fanfiction #motionless in white #motionless in white imagine #chris motionless #ryan sitkowski #vinny mauro #motionless in white christmas

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laylacooke · 4 years

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A Wounded Paw & A Full Heart || Rio, Harsh, & Layla

TIMING: The day after the Wolf Pack meeting. PARTIES: @3starsquinn, @notsoharsh, @laylacooke SUMMARY: A hunter, vampire, and a human walk into a bar... help a werewolf with an injured paw. WARNINGS: Mentions of self-harm, depression, and fixing a hand injury.

Shame seemed to sit heavy in the girl’s heart after the way she had acted last night at and after the wolf meeting, and she had paid a hefty price for it with a broken hand. Doing the best she could to hide it from her roommates, Layla had used up almost all of the ice in the freezer. But the pain was starting to become a problem and the swelling had gotten too bad. Luckily, she knew just who she could call.

With Rio now on his way to get her, she waited just down the road aways from Ulf’s trailer. The last thing she had wanted to do was get anyone caught or in trouble.

Orion had just recently met Layla, but it seemed like the girl had a knack for getting injured. Not that Rio could really judge. He had his own fair share of injuries recently, and most had been his own fault. Like almost drowning in a lake or tripping down a hill. He had nursed a black eye for like a week trying to recover from that one. Still, he had to worry about the girl. She clearly knew something about the supernatural aside from being a werewolf, but with Lucas’ injuries and the number of hunter’s in town- his own family included - Rio needed to keep an eye out to make sure none of these injuries turned fatal. Was he really up for that task?

He had borrowed Ricky’s truck for this, his own car still at his parent’s house. He pulled up to the maps location that Layla had sent and saw her along the road, not near anybody’s house. Weird. “Uh hey” Rio rolled down the window as he pulled up and immediately took notice of the hand. “Jesus, that looks painful. Jump in.”

Layla was starting to shiver from the pain and cool breeze that was blowing through the trees. How did she keep managing to get herself hurt? Okay, last night was her fault. Punching trees in anger as hard as humanly...no, animalistically possible would do that to a person. And Salva did say something about the broken nose she had left him with a few days prior to the wolf meeting, but it still wasn’t smart on her end, and it seemed whatever had happened to Layla last night, not only physically broke her, but emotionally as well.

Seeing the headlights of the truck, Layla began moving forward to meet him, “Thanks, Rio.” Going to the other side of the vehicle, she opened the door with her good hand and climbed in cradling the other one close to her body, “Do you know where WC General is?” She wasn’t the same girl he had seen just the other day when they were fighting off Francesca. Her demeanor was different and her voice was just a little quieter with no inflection or life to it.

Orion weighed his options. To ask or not to ask. Speaking from personal experience, Rio knew if he had been in this situation, he wouldn’t want to be asked what had happened. But that was usually because he hadn’t had a good explanation for it. Rio hoped that this situation was different. But whatever it was, Rio thought better. For now at least. Something was wrong, Rio just wasn’t sure what. “It’ll heal.” Rio began. He was sure she knew that Werewolves had enhanced healing, but speaking from his own experience, it would take some time. “If it’s broken, they’ll have to set it first. But once it’s back in it’s right position the healing process will speed up.” He hated speaking from experience.

“Oh yeah, I’m familiar.” Rio grinned, letting out a breath that almost sounded like a laugh. “I’m a local.” He realized that besides almost dying together and exchanging information and secrets, the two didn’t know much about each other. He wasn’t particularly good at making friends either. Instead, he just let off the brake and started driving in the direction of the hospital. “You’re safe right? It’s not like that vampire or something else that did this right?”

Her eyes were set on the massive amounts of towering trees that sat just beyond view. She listened as Rio spoke about her hand and how it needed to possibly be reset in order to heal. Her ribs had already felt much better and the bite marks were already gone. It was something else that Layla would physically mend from, but emotionally, she wasn’t sure. She felt broken and lost. Alone. God did she feel so alone.

She knew he was doing his best to cheer her up and reassure her that everything would be okay, but would it? They had only just met. She knew nothing about him or his family, just like he knew nothing about her. Why not give him something? Anything. “I found out the man who sired me is from one of the deadliest lines of werewolves known to man. I broke his nose, too.” She continued to stare out the window.

Lucky for both of them that White Crest was a small town. The hospital was a pretty short drive from just about anywhere that needed to get to it. Probably on purpose, considering the town’s less than stellar history. Orion never gave much thought to how werewolves had been turned. The how had never much concerned Rio just as it had never concerned the Quinn’s, though for wildly different reasons. But Layla gave up some pretty private information to Rio. And a scary one at that. “Woah. That’s uh- yikes.” He wasn’t exactly sure how else he should respond. “Good for you,” Rio wasn’t really a violent person by nature but couldn’t exactly blame Layla for punching the werewolf. It didn’t sound like much of a consensual change. “Did he do that to your hand?” Rio asked, one final question before he turned into the hospital parking lot and tried finding the closest open spot that he could. “Wait there,” Rio said, jumping out of the truck and circling to the other side and opening it “Grab onto my arm, the truck is a bit tall.”

The trip to the hospital was quicker than she had thought it would be, but she was grateful. Her hand was pretty bad off and throbbing intensely from the jarring around in the car. She had held off on answering Orion seeing him park the truck. Before she had time to open the door, she had noticed he was there waiting on her. Taking his arm, she slid out of the truck, feet hitting the ground, “No. He didn’t. I did. Last night.” It was the first time she had looked him in the eyes, her eyes tired and heavy, “I punched a tree.” Turning her attention back to the hospital, “Harsh said to meet him in the back.” Layla pulled out her phone, and with her good hand, slowly sent a text to the number he had given her. When she was finished, she shoved the phone back into her pocket and looked back to Rio for guidance not wanting to think.

Orion wasn’t sure if Layla doing that to herself was a good thing or a bad thing, but he decided that it was better than someone doing it to her. Punching things in a fit of anger was normal, right? People did it all the time in movies. Rio had never really done it before, but it didn’t necessarily mean anything bad. Aside from some anger management issues maybe. “Oh.” Was all he could really think to respond with. Great. Still, Rio was worried about the girl. “You know Harsh?” Small town, indeed. Though Rio barely knew anything about the man honestly. Aside from him being curious about the mimes in town as well. “We can cut around here to the back. Hopefully he can find us. Have you met him in person yet? If not, he will recognize me.” Rio led the way towards the back of the hospital, wondering exactly why they were even meeting here in the first place.

“No. He just said he could help me. He saw my post online.” Her voice was flat. No emotion held. Just numb. Had Rio seen it? Ari had already been yelling at her through text messages for posting online that she needed help. Couldn’t Layla do anything right? She felt like she was sinking lower and lower with every passing moment, and much like last night, she wanted to run again. Take off and never look back, but she needed help, and both Rio and this Harsh guy had been kind enough to assist her. Without hesitation, despite what her head was telling her, she followed Orion to the back of the hospital, “How’s your side?” It was the first caring thing she had asked, and for the briefest moment, Layla almost felt human.

Layla had posted something online? About needing help? Orion glanced at Layla curiously. She was… peculiar that’s for sure. A new face in town that had already made an impact. But she had reached out for help, which was a good sign regardless. Asking for help was a start that Rio himself had never really mastered, and while a certain amount of caution should be exercised when asking for help from a group of complete strangers, it was still good that she had done it. Better than try to deal with this wound and whatever other problems she had on her own. “My side?” Rio asked curiously, already almost forgetting the wound he had suffered from the vampire that had attacked them. “Oh! That. It’s fine, basically all healed up.” As far as injuries went, his had been pretty mild and though he hadn’t inspected it much since that morning when he finally got home, he was sure that it had probably healed up by now. “Thanks for asking.” Rio smiled, leading her around a corner and presumably where they should be meeting Harsh. “Should be somewhere around here I think.”

Layla was grateful that Rio was okay. Her mess had put him in danger, and it was something, along with everything else, that had been weighing on her mind. If she had gotten him killed, she wasn’t sure what she would have done. Maybe people didn’t need to be around her. Maybe it was for their own good. Keeping her distance was something, she needed to start practicing again. She had gotten too close too soon, and that meant that danger for herself and everyone else was highly possible, “Good. I’m not the best person to be around, so I’m just glad you’re okay.” She walked silently behind him hoping they would run into this Harsh guy soon. She just wanted some relief from the physical pain she was in for the time being, but she had also had the lingering thought to just let it be, since physical pain was a good distraction from mental pain.

As far as his spur of the moment choices went, Harsh was feeling mostly pretty good about this one. It wasn’t like this was anywhere close to his worst use of hospital resources. The ‘doctor’ he had dragged into helping was really more of an intern, but he was decent and had never killed a patient intentionally as far as Harsh knew, and he was pretty sure that the guy couldn’t mess up treating a broken hand. He had left the guy in an empty exam room to wait before making his way to the back doors of the hospital. Poking his head out every few minutes, he lifted a hand when he spotted a familiar face and an unfamiliar one. “Hey, you the one with the broken hand?” he asked when they got close enough. “I’ve got the doc waiting for you. C’mon. Things are pretty busy in the ER, no one’s gonna notice you sneaking in.” He opened the back doors and nodded at a waiting wheelchair. “If you ride around in that, no one’ll ask questions.”

What was Harsh doing here? Not that Orion had much of a chance to talk to him while they were breaking into a mime restaurant. Did Harsh work here? “Uh hey there!” He perked up, waving at the man. Did Harsh remember him? They hadn’t spent that much time together and Rio wasn’t exactly a super memorable person. “Why are we sneaking in again?” Rio leaned over and asked Layla. It wasn’t like her hand wasn’t broken? Would the regular emergency room not work for them? But if Rio had learned anything over the last few months, it was that he was probably better off to just go along with the plans. Rio sighed, resigning himself to his fate and slinking towards the wheelchair, “I’ll push you. Jump in the wheelchair”

Layla’s ears perked when the door opened and she heard an unfamiliar voice. Seeing Harsh, she moved closer. Without saying anything, she raised up the mangled paw before looking back to Rio, “I don’t have insurance or an ID. I’m basically nobody. It was either this place or some walk-in clinic in the shitty part of town.” She looked to the wheelchair. It wasn’t the worst thing in the world, and if it got her the help she needed then so be it. Of course, Layla had hated taking advantage of medical care that wasn’t technically free, but she had no choice. If her name came up in any systems, it might have sent red flags to places that didn’t need red flags popping up. It was already established, what she had done earlier in the night was dumb, so her name was floating around somewhere out there, but maybe it wouldn’t come back to bite her in the ass anytime soon. Finding a seat in the wheelchair, Layla, already pitiful enough as it was, slumped over a little more to add to the effect and to hide her face slightly.

Harsh gave Rio a quick nod. They might not have talked much the last time, but that hadn’t really been the ideal place to chat. He wasn’t entirely sure this was either. “It’s fine. You’re not the first person without insurance I’ve seen sneak in here. You’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do. Follow me,” he said, motioning for Rio to follow along as he made his way down the hallway. This part of the hospital was mostly empty, darkened hallways stretching out on either side of them. “We usually just get deliveries here, no one’s gonna be poking around. So… can I ask what happened to your hand?” he asked, glancing back at Layla. Rounding the corner and heading down another hallway, he stopped at the third door on the left and lightly knocked before opening it. “Hey doc, got your patient here for you.”

Orion supposed he couldn’t quite understand the situation she was in, but he didn’t need to. His family had never really needed a hospital, but if something had been serious enough they certainly could have afforded it. But it helped that his father was a doctor. He followed Harsh into the building, pushing Layla along the halls in a wheelchair and trying his best to make it look like they belonged there. He was fairly certain that he would not have fooled anybody. Luckily, they didn’t pass many people to begin with. Harsh asked Layla how she injured her hand and he followed along quietly. He knew the how but he wasn’t sure he completely understood the why. She had been honest with him about the information shared. Overly honest even, considering Rio’s own spotty past with the truth. It wasn’t his place to demand the entire story right now. Like why she was with the guy that had turned her.

Layla kept her head down as they trailed through the halls of the hospital. The place had smelled like death. Her wolf senses had reassured her of that. She hated hospitals, and this had been the last place she wanted to be, but it was the best option. Hearing Harsh’s question, she debated on whether or not she should tell the truth, but what did that matter? It’s not like it was a matter of insurance not paying, when there was no insurance in the first place, “I punched a tree repeatedly because I was angry.” She was quiet. Embarrassed almost. Glancing down at her wounded hand, she wrapped her other one around almost tempted to squeeze it as tight as she could out of anger, but she refrained from doing it considering how bad it was already hurting and because Rio was literally right behind her pushing the wheelchair.

“Must have been a nasty tree. I’ve been there,” he said, offering a small smile as he held up his hand, showing off a few faded scars on his knuckles. “I broke three fingers punching through a wall once, it wasn’t pretty.” Harsh held the door to the room open and ushered them inside. The room was as sterile and unfriendly as the rest of the hospital, a timid man in scrubs standing next to the exam table, though he looked to relax a little bit upon seeing who he was treating. He moved to Layla’s side quick enough.

“So you’re the patient? Pleased to meet you, I’m--” The man cut himself off, glancing at Harsh, who mouthed ‘no names’. His smile faltered for only a moment before the doctor turned his attention back to Layla. “I’m your doctor. Let me see your hand please.”

Harsh moved to clap a hand on Rio’s shoulder, giving him a little sideways grin. “Small world, huh? I didn’t think I’d see you again so soon. Everything been… mime free for you?”

Orion felt weird, listening to them comparing self inflicted anger wounds. Was that normal? Was Rio… abnormal? He supposed that much should have been obvious by now. He had never exactly been a normal kid. Rio waved at the doctor awkwardly when they snuck in, noticing that the doctor didn’t introduce himself and definitely hadn’t asked for any other names. Right. No ID. This was all some kind of shady deal, but at least it was actually taking place in a hospital instead of like the alley behind a fast food joint or something.

While the doctor got to work on Layla’s hand, Rio stared at the doctor as he worked. So when Harsh touched Rio’s shoulder Rio twitched in surprise. “Sorry. I’m uh- a little jumpy apparently.” He thought if he had been scared enough that would eventually go away. Apparently not. “Yeah, same here. But everything’s been okay. No more mime run-ins yet. How about you? Do you work here?”

She listened as Harsh explained his own wounds, even glancing to look at the faded scars. She had gotten angry in the past, but never enough to hurt herself, let alone to the point of breaking her hand. To say the past week had been hell was an understatement. She had made a lot of dumb decisions, but what hurt the most was the feeling in her heart knowing about Salva followed by the cherry on top of the wolf pack meeting and how it had left her feeling pretty alone and useless. The ideas they had. The information she had found out, and on top of that, the fact that Salva was there and had jumped on her with his words in front of everyone.

As she was wheeled into the room, she noticed the doctor come over and attempt to make an introduction before he was stopped. Slowly holding up her hand, she let the man inspect it, but let out a low growl when he started to get too close to it. It was already starting to feel cold and numb, and she knew that was a bad sign, but her trust was very low at the moment. If Layla had been smart, she would’ve let Ariana be in on this, because, for some reason, Ariana made her feel safe and like the world wasn’t out to get her, even though she was starting to value Rio’s friendship more than she could currently show.

Hearing the growl, the doctor jerked his hands back. “Alright, well, that definitely looks broken. I’ll get you a brace and something for the pain.” He turned around, busying himself with a few small drawers, fishing out the necessary supplies. A moment later, he turned back toward Layla, offering pills and a small plastic cup of water. “That should help. I don’t want to hurt you, but I do need to try to set your hand. I can get you some ice too, if that would help.”

Harsh nodded at Rio. “Yeah, I’m an orderly, but we’re always short staffed here, so sometimes I have to help out the nurses and doctors with other things. But yeah, I’ve been good, no mimes as far as I’ve seen. I’m glad you and the other guys are okay too. I still feel bad you all got dragged into checking that place out.” He gave Rio’s shoulder another little squeeze before turning his attention back toward Layla.

Moving to her side, he knelt down, bringing him closer to her level in the chair. “It’s a little tricky, but we could try to get you an x-ray. That’ll be harder to hide though. Do you think you’ll be okay with just the brace and the meds? Whatever you think is best, I’ll get it done, don’t worry.”

Orion laughed, wondering how Harsh possibly felt like they had been dragged into that situation. “Don’t worry, Winston and Ricky don’t get dragged anywhere. They willingly choose to stroll into the dumb situations. It’s just me that gets dragged along.” Besides, it hadn’t been all bad right? Surely there had been something good that came out of breaking the law, trespassing and being attacked by some unknown monster? Surely. Rio just hadn’t looked at the brighter side. “But that’s awesome. I’m glad you’re safe too!”

“I think the brace and meds will probably be fine, yeah?” An x-ray was certainly more conspicuous, as Harsh warned. Plus, the thing was going to heal. And quickly, once it had been set back into place. “Here,” Rio offered his own hand to Layla, “Use your free hand to squeeze if there’s pain. It helps distract. You won’t hurt me.” That was probably a lie, given Layla’s strength. But it wasn’t a pain that he couldn’t tolerate. It would be over as quickly as it began most likely.

Layla looked up at the doctor and back to the pills that now sat in one hand and the cup of water just in the other. Taking the pills from his hand, she tossed them in her mouth and soon chased them with the water. Giving the cup back to him, she noticed as Harsh lowered down to meet her eye level. Hearing him explain everything, Layla’s mind raced. She had never been in this situation or had to make these decisions on her own. Her parents had always been with her. The day she broke her ankle at cheerleading practice. The time she had to get stitches after falling off of a slide when she was a little girl. However, it didn’t sit well with her having Rio speak for her, and she growled at him, too. But as she looked back to Harsh, she finally accepted the doctor’s suggestion not wanting to get anyone into more trouble than they were already potentially in, “Just do whatever you think is right. I don’t care.”

Layla noticed Rio’s hand nearby. She had felt bad for growling at him, but didn’t feel the urge to apologize. Instead, she took his hand and gripped it knowing that what was about to come next was going to hurt a lot. She had just hoped the medicine would start kicking in sooner rather than later.

Great, his choice. Harsh wasn’t the best for that. He exchanged a brief look with the doctor before shifting on the spot a little. “I think the brace should do it, but you’ve gotta let the doctor touch your hand enough to figure out where things are so he can try to get them back in place before he gets the brace on. Hang on, let me grab you ice to hold for a second first,” he said as he straightened up and moved to a small, refrigerated cupboard. Pulling out a bag of ice, he handed it to Layla. “Hold onto that for a minute then let the doctor do his thing.”

The doctor tentatively shifted closer, brace ready in one hand. “Those painkillers should kick in soon. They’re… a little strong, but that seemed necessary. Once we’re done here, I’ll make sure to get you more.”

Harsh was doing his best to help Layla out, but clearly the pain was getting to her. Growling wouldn’t have been Orion’s top suggestion in a room of people she didn’t know, but of course this wasn’t his life. Layla could make her own choices, something that Rio needed to learn. Especially after the incident with Skylar. “Thanks for your help with this.” Rio spoke to Harsh again, acknowledging that the situation was a bit… delicate. “I uh- well I was just the uber today but I appreciate you helping out. Especially like… quietly.”

But even with the help from this… doctor, Rio was still worried. Or well, if this man even was a doctor. He worked at the hospital, but Rio wasn’t convinced he was old enough to hold any medical license. As long as he could fix Layla’s hand, it didn’t really matter what his credentials were. But Layla seemed to be in worse shape than just a physical wound. Something was hurting her. And just at that moment, Rio could tell that the doctor had gotten started, because suddenly force clamped down on his wrist and he was hurting.

Layla did as Harsh and the doctor instructed, but her grip on the ice was limited and it had brought tears to her eyes as she tried not to make a sound. She wanted to stay quiet. Keep things private. And she didn’t want to draw attention to the room, but as soon as the doctor began feeling her hand, Layla whimpered in pain. Her grip was weak in that hand, and before long, she could barely hold the ice anymore. Letting go, the bag fell to the floor with a thud, but her hand was still held up for inspection as it shook with weakness. It was her grip on Rio that she gave no second thoughts about it, and if she didn’t let up, she might not have been the only one walking out with a cast.

Whimpering, she looked away not wanting to see what came next. If bones were going to be forced back into place, she knew she was probably going to let out more than just a few hushed moans, but she did feel the medicine start to work a little, mostly as she seemed to not be as sad as she once was, “Rio…” Looking up to meet his eyes, she stared into them with her own sad, little wolf eyes looking for some distraction or something to keep her from thinking about the crack she was soon going to hear.

Even Harsh couldn’t hold back a wince as the doctor did his best to carefully maneuver the broken bones back into their proper place. It might not be perfect, without an x-ray, it would be hard to be precise, but the guy seemed to have a good idea of what he was doing at least. Harsh stayed close, one hand going to Layla’s shoulder. “You’re gonna be fine. I can throw on some music or something, if that would help. This shouldn’t take long,” he said, with a brief glance up at the doctor to confirm. He got a brief nod in return as the doctor continued.

It didn’t seem like a pleasant feeling, that was for sure. Layla whined in protest but she was staying relatively still and letting the doctor continue his work. Harsh offered to turn on music, which was a good idea. Any kind of distraction could help. Even if it didn’t completely stop the pain it could work to ease it. “Try some deep breaths. Focus on the music. Make your own music video!” Orion got a little too excited on that one maybe, but they needed to stay positive around Layla right now. It would help. “Or uh- you know anything. Try to imagine a story and it’ll be over soon. Promise.” At least he hoped, assuming that this man actually knew what he was doing and was helping her hand. He glanced over at Harsh, wondering exactly why he was helping Layla in the first place. Was she paying him? How did they even know each other? “So how’d you get roped into this? Rio asked Harsh curiously.

The young wolf tried to stay focused on Harsh and Orion, but the pain of having her bones shoved back into place made her yelp louder than she had wanted. Closing her eyes, she tried to fight the tears, but couldn’t as they began staining her fair, but flushed, cheeks. “Music. Put on music. Please. Anything.” Layla tightened her grip on Rio’s hand and left her eyes tightly shut for the time being. She just wanted it all to be over with. The grinding she felt and the immediate pain left her squirming. Why had she punched a tree? Why had she been so stupid and punched a tree the way she had punched Salva? Anger. Her anger had gotten the better of her yet again. Burying her face into her shoulder, she let out a small scream of pain and frustration.

“You got it.” Harsh moved to fiddle with a small bluetooth speaker on the counter, putting on some upbeat music. “Let me know if you want me to change it or anything.” At least this part of the hospital was empty enough that the music probably wouldn’t be overheard by anyone. He winced in sympathy before turning his attention back to Rio. “She was asking for help and I could offer it, so… I did,” he said, with a little shrug. That was all there was to it, well… all either of them needed to know. The whole soul and vampire thing weren’t important right now.

After a few likely excruciating moments, the doctor let out a breath and fumbled for the brace, quickly fixing it into place. “There, that should do it. You’ll have to wear that for a few weeks. If there’s any problems, uh… contact Harsh and he’ll get in touch with me and I’ll see what I can do. I’ll um… I’ll have him write you up a prescription for more pain meds if you run out of these,” he said, offering a small bottle of pills.

“Wow. Well that was super nice of you. To help a stranger.” Orion smiled towards Harsh. He had helped the three of them at the mime restaurant too, despite only knowing Winston prior to meeting up. And now he was helping Layla out too. “You seem like a really good person, so I really appreciate your help over the last few weeks.”

When the doctor was finished and the cast was on, Rio could finally relax. The pain in his arm had been intense, and he wasn’t convinced she hadn’t cracked a bone or something in his wrist. But even if that were the case, it would heal. Just like her own wrist, which almost made Rio want to laugh when the doctor told her how long she’d have to wear the cast. “Thanks Mr. Doctor.” Rio thanked the doctor that had helped Layla before turning to her, “You doing okay? Does the hand feel any better?”

With the music giving her something to focus on, Layla was able to relax some and relax her grip on Rio’s hand. And by the time the doctor had fit the brace onto her arm, the medicine was already in full swing, “Is it red? Cause I loooovvveeee the color red, but like I totally can’t see certain colors anymore, because of reasons.” She held her arm up and examined it, before taking the bottle of pills and shaking them. Turning her attention to Rio, she grinned before looking back to Harsh and the doctor, “You guys are great, you know that? You get a howl of approval.” An unexpected howl came from Layla’s mouth, before shaking the bottle again. However, Rio’s question had caught her attention, “I’m doing great, Star Boy.” Shoving her arm in his face, she posed an important question, “Wanna sign it?” She looked back to Harsh and the doctor, “You both can sign it too.”

“I just do what I can,” Harsh said, with a little grin, rubbing the back of his neck almost sheepishly. There was something nice about Rio’s praise… as unwarranted as it might have actually been. Still, he was doing a good thing here. What did it matter if his motives weren’t totally pure? That wasn’t the point. He found himself grinning a little as the pain pill’s effects started to kick in. Well, at least she seemed a lot happier. That… wouldn’t last, but it was nice to see her smiling a little. The howl was a little odd, but… probably better to ask about that another time.

The doctor nodded to Rio and then laughed a little awkwardly at Layla’s question. “Maybe another time. Just try not to do anything too strenuous while it’s healing. Well, I think that’s all. Harsh will see you out,” he said, already making his exit.

Harsh moved to Layla’s side, lightly patting her shoulder. “You might want to let people sign it tomorrow. For tonight, just get some rest, okay? I’ll walk you to the door and Rio’ll make sure you get home safe, right?”

The pain meds had kicked in, which Orion would have considered a good thing aside from the howl. Rio sighed, smiling despite the stress that she was causing him. It was good to see that she was better, even if it was only temporary. But she really needed to work on keeping the werewolf thing a secret. “Uh thanks. Nice nickname.” He laughed, scratching at the back of his neck awkwardly. He actually sorta liked it, if he was being honest.

Rio followed Harsh out of the room and back out the back door, trying to help guide Layla as they walked. “Good idea. We can sign it tomorrow or something. Once you get some rest.” He didn’t know if they just left now or what. Did they owe Harsh money? Or some favor or something? Maybe it was best to let Layla handle it herself. Preferably once she was more lucid. “Okay, welp thanks again Harsh. Layla, let’s get you home.”

Layla couldn’t stop grinning from ear-to-ear. She had felt so good. She couldn’t wait to be home to Ariana. But first, she had to get home. Taking their advice, she lowered her arm and held it close to baby it.

Once everyone had parted ways, she made sure to follow Rio closely. The car ride home was another story. One that involved Layla hanging her head out the window and letting the cool night air hit her in the face, but it was nice. Everything just seemed so nice. Waking up in the morning, once the medicine had worn off, would be a different story, but for now, she’d enjoy her false sense of happiness.

#para: a wounded paw & a full heart #3starsquinn #notsoharsh #wickedswriting #self harm tw

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