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havethetimeofyourstyles · 3 years

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Chapter Two.

SERIES MASTERLIST | word count: 10.7k

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March 12, 2017

It had been a week and a day since her move to New York, and Luci had never felt lonelier. Don’t get her wrong, she knew it’d only been a week when she had several more weeks to come to make friends and memories, but as she began to settle down into her new home, she felt very alone.

Luci had called her parents approximately eight times within the past week—some of them were twice in one day—and all those calls were due to her loneliness. Ren and Beatrice were starting to get worried, and a bit annoyed despite being glad that their daughter hadn’t forgotten about them, but the calls were getting a little too much. And not much to their surprise, their Lulu always had something to talk about, which she mostly ranted about being a bit nervous and excited about rehearsals.

Currently, Luci was headed to rehearsals as she walked to the Metropolitan Avenue Station, a two minute walk from her apartment in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Knowing her directions and the subway quite well, she got on the G train and got off in Court Square in Queens. She walked five minutes to take the F train towards Manhattan, getting off on 7th Avenue before walking down the street where Broadway Theatre appeared in her sight.

Sighing, she thought about all the people she’d passed by. Seven train stops in total—people walking in and out of the train—less than ten minutes of walking, and despite the amount of people that rode with her on that train, she still felt like she was the loneliest person.

She understood the big city quite well; no one really paid any attention or cared as they just proceeded with their life while simply being someone she passed by and possibly would never see again. Luci would only hope that her new job would help her make friendships and change her view on relationships a bit better; she’s had a few bad relationships in the past, romantic and non-romantic that had messed with her mind throughout the years, but she’d rather not think about the traumatic events that impactfully took a toll on her mental health as she was walking into rehearsals for the first time.

Opening the door, she felt nerves rush through her body as she stepped into the Broadway Theatre where Miss Saigon would be in production for eight months. The theatre would be her home for the rest of the year. She’d work tirelessly, and devote her entire being to the role to be the best actress she could ever be.

All at once as she walked through backstage, it began to hit Luci. This was what she’d been dreaming of, and the realization had hit her hard once she walked through the doors and into the dark hallway that led backstage and the dressing rooms. There was commotion in the direction of the main stage and a few of her fellow cast members that were singing, could easily be heard as she was walking through the halls.

The behind the scenes action came to light once she walked through another doorway. Bright lights from the vanity illuminated the room, there were cast members reading from the script, and a few chatting on the couch. It was everything that she imagined and expected.

Luciana Suki was printed behind a black director’s chair next to the person who was playing the main role of Kim, Daisy Beck. Luci was a bit nervous to introduce herself to Daisy because she was one of the most iconic women on Broadway. She’d been acting on Broadway ever since she was a little girl; her mother was the head of the wardrobe crew and her father was part of the sound crew, so she practically bled and was born into the Broadway Theatre. It was easy for her to get her foot in the door because as her parents were busy, they would take her to the theatre and make her sit front row because they couldn’t afford a babysitter. And when the stage director needed a child to step in, they would have Daisy be in the show, and she would play the part effortlessly. She would stand center stage as the protagonist would sing to them while the bright light would shine upon them. Daisy Beck was a professional in all senses—she was the Meryl Streep of Broadway, and that intimidated Luci even more.

“Hi, Daisy.” Luci greeted, making Daisy turn her head from the mirror to her. “I’m Luci, the second Kim.” She added with a soft chuckle. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Luci put her arm out as Daisy stood up from her chair, meeting face to face with her.

Daisy’s expression held such power and confidence, and although Luci thought of herself as a confident person, Daisy was the different kind of confident; she was a different definition, a better use of a synonym that people most frequently use. She exuded the brilliance of self-assurance and certainty, like it was known to be that she had power. But then Daisy smiled brightly, making some of Luci’s worries wash away, but they were only stored nearby because the smile Daisy had on her face was more of an evil smirk.

“Daisy Beck.” She introduced herself, quickly shaking Luci’s hand before pulling away just as quickly as the shake. Daisy sat back down at her vanity and placed her Airpods in her ears before her new cast member got another word out.

Luci gulped, hanging her tote bag on the back of her chair before sitting down. She took a deep breath, easing her quiet nerves that were running around in her body. There was a bit of doubt in her mind about her career and the path she was on, but she quickly flicked it away, concentrating on the positive and the gratitude it took to get where she was, where she was sitting.

After a few moments of relaxing, easing into the loudness, everyone began to file out the door and head to the stage.

“Hi, Luci, right?” A brown-haired woman with hazel eyes beamed at Luci, and she couldn’t ignore such a friendly face.

Luci smiled, shaking her hand. “Yeah, that’s me.”

“I’m Nina. I play Gigi.” Gigi Van Trahn was a stripper in Miss Saigon at a club called Dreamland, hoping and dreaming for a better life in the States. “Is this your first Broadway show?” She asked curiously.

Luci shook her head. “I’ve done some shows off-broadway, if you can count that.” She smiled bashfully. She knew that she shouldn’t be embarrassed by being part of the off-broadway community because she had worked her way up, but she hated the weird eyes pointed at her and the whispered judgement everytime she said that she’d been on off-broadway, even though nothing was wrong with it, but for some reason, people had a certain distaste towards it.

“Yeah, that definitely counts! You should be proud of your upcoming; it’ll be historic once you move your way up.” Nina raised her brows and smirked. Luci smiled, breathing out a giggle. She loved when people were so hopeful of her climbing the ladder of success and dreams, and it made Luci giddy, if she was being honest.

Everyone made a distorted line across the stage, facing the thousands of red velvet cushioned chairs that would be the cast’s audience. The stage director, Tal, was standing downstage with a clipboard in her hand as she was talking to her assistant and pointing to the clipboard with a pen; the taps of her pen to the wooden clipboard echoed in the silent theatre. Tal was in her mid-forties; she had slick black hair, wore black framed glasses, and had a certain look of sternness that was made for scolding and confronting. Luci made a mental note to not get on her bad side because if looks could kill, then she’d see the light.

A minute later, they concluded their discussion before looking up. “Good morning, everyone! And we’re back here…again.” A coordinated laugh spread through the cast. “For the people returning: hope you all didn’t forget about me.” A small chuckle erupted. “But we have a couple new faces, so I’ll make this introduction brief and quick; I’m Tal, your stage director. I’ve been working in this business for a long time, so I know what I’m doing. This is my assistant Melanie, she’s just as educated and devoted to this play as I am, so if I’m unavailable, don’t hesitate to take things up with her.” Everyone nodded understandingly. “This is going to be a wild, stressful ride, but it’s gonna be a hell of a lot of fun, I can promise you that.”

A few ‘Hell yeah and ‘Period’s flew across the stage as people praised her words. Luci immediately felt comfortable with the space and energy that came from her fellow castmates. She was worried that she would have a constant feeling of being uncomfortable or as if she didn’t belong. But with Nina being so friendly, Tal and the cast uplifting and motivating the room, and minus Daisy’s weird and short attitude, she couldn’t help but feel like she did belong and that this was where she was meant to be.

Tal told everyone to get into a large circle to do a role call because there were a few new additions to the cast as the original cast before this day had departed from the production because there was either a better opportunity or it was time to say goodbye to this show.

After Tal individually called each name, the person was to introduce themselves, say what part they were playing, and a hobby they indulged in when they were not on stage. Usually, people didn’t pay attention to icebreakers and introductions because many found them boring, but Luci made sure to be attentive and memorize everyone’s names and faces since she was one of the few who was new to the cast and production. She also tried remembering their hobbies because she figured it would be a great conversation starter while trying to make friends.

It took quite a while to get to everyone, especially Luci since she was towards the bottom of the list because of her last name.

“Luciana,” Tal called out. Luci raised her hand, presenting herself with a smile. “Welcome to Miss Saigon.”

Luci stepped forwards a few inches inside of the circle. “Thank you, Tal and Melanie. Uh, my name is Luciana Suki, you could call me Luci, if you’d like. I’m playing Kim, alongside Miss Daisy Beck.” She looked at Daisy when she said her name, but Daisy had an unamused look on her face, but Luci ignored it. “A hobby of mine when I’m not constantly thinking about my job is knitting—I like to knit. Hats and scarves are my specialty and I have way too many in my closet for my own good, but I’m currently working on a cardigan and will do it for an hour if I have time.” Everyone clapped when she was done, and she stepped back out of the circle and into the line.

Next on the role call list was Samuel Talum, who had been making serious eye contact with Luci, but she avoided them, looking elsewhere.

“Hi, I’m Samuel. I play the second Chris. My hobbies include swimming on the roof of Soho.” Everyone laughed, but Luci didn’t seem to see what was so amusing about that, but she figured that was his personality since everyone found that hilarious.

Samuel looked at Luci as he stepped back into line, and this time, she reciprocated the eye contact. Her arms were crossed, face expressionless, which only made him smirk.

After introductions, Melanie suggested getting into groups to have a normal conversation to get to know one another and get more comfortable. The circle was concaving as the opposite sides were met. The theatre increased in volume and was filled with chatter and excited squeals; people hugged one another and jumped in circles, hopeful for another great season on Broadway.

Luci and Nina talked with some of the extras as they mostly asked Luci about her life and where she was from since everyone already knew each other.

“Hello, ladies.” Samuel walked up to the four women with a charming smile. The three immediately swooned for him as their eyes lit up as if he was the actual Oscar award himself. “Luci, it’s a pleasure to officially meet you.” He gave his full attention to her, taking his hand out. She politely shook his, not expecting him to kiss the back of her hand, locking eyes with her. She hated to admit it, but the action made her heart pound a little harder. Luci pulled away quickly, linking her hands behind her back.

“Good to meet you as well.” She gave him a small toothless smile. Avoiding his eyes, she looked back at the girls who were blushing and giving Luci a knowing look. They knew Samuel well enough to know when he had a crush, and they could definitely tell that he had a crush on her, to which Luci had a clear vision of it.

When the first day of ‘rehearsals’ were over, Tal announced that it was the same time tomorrow, and Luci was glad that she was finally had a routine again—waking up at eight in the morning to get her day started and leaving her apartment by nine to get to the theatre just before ten, which was when rehearsals started. Tomorrow’s rehearsals were going to be exciting since it would focus more on the play itself; Luci was itching for tomorrow to come.

Once Luci walked out of the theatre, saying her goodbyes to Tal and Melanie, and some of the cast that she made friends with, she was met by a fresh, chilly breeze, making goosebumps rise. It was the complete opposite of what she felt like inside the theatre: warm and flushed because there were so many people surrounding her, plus her nerves helped her stay warm; it didn’t help that they cranked up the heat inside the building as well.

As she was walking, passing by strangers that she’d never see again, she heard her name being called out from the distance. She thought she was hearing things, but she turned around to be met with Samuel who was jogging in her direction.

“Damn, you left quickly.” He smiled, which Luci had to admit that he was quite attractive—really attractive. A head of soft blonde hair sat perfectly on his head that if she were to mess with it, his hair would only get effortlessly better. His arms were so big and toned that she could see the outline of his muscles through his shirt (or she thinks that he purposely bought a small shirt to make up for the lack of muscles). He was tall, almost a foot taller than her that she had to look up when he spoke, but she didn’t let his height intimidate her. In fact, nothing about Samuel intimidated Luci, although she knew that that was his ultimate goal whenever he met someone new.

“Uh, yeah.”

“I was thinking…we should hang out sometime.” The suggestion made Luci raise her brows. “You know, since we’re gonna be seeing each other a lot, be co-stars, play the love interest together.”

Chris Scott, the role Samuel was playing, was a G.I sergeant who is making a return to America from Vietnam. Unexpectedly, he falls in love with Kim, who is a shy, young girl who also works as a stripper at Dreamland because of the fall of her city and the loss of her family from war. The club is run by the Engineer and caters to American soldiers. Kim and Chris have an affair, leading to feelings that are more than lust. Their affair leads to Kim getting pregnant and giving birth to their son, Tam. Eventually, Chris leaves and goes back home without the knowledge that Kim is pregnant. Kim and Chris are separated for years until he learns about his son, so he goes back to Vietnam to find Kim and Tam—the only difference is that he’s married to an American woman named Ellen. Kim urges Ellen that Tam should have a better life in America, rather than living on the streets, but Ellen is wary and refuses because she doesn’t want to lose Chris. Conflict, heartbreak, and unexpected endings flow throughout the plot of the story, making it a hit on Broadway.

Luci debated in her mind. She figured she could use some friends, some company, and she thinks it worked out perfectly since she was going to be seeing Samuel almost everyday. He got the impression that she wanted nothing to do with him outside of the theatre because of the polite but dismissive attitude towards him, but the look on her face when he proposed the idea was the opposite of what he had seen inside of the building.

To much consideration, Luci answered, “Sure, why not.”

Samuel sneered, walking alongside with her to wherever their route took them. It wasn’t like he was up to no good—purposely, at least. So, the two walked side by side, oblivious to what this might cause them.

April 21, 2017

Opening night.

The anxieties were crawling up everyone’s skin as they got into hair, makeup, and costume—specifically in that order. Everything felt rushed, like they were riding in a sports car, waiting to cross the black and white checkered line. But in reality, they were going the speed limit in a residential area.

Tal and Melanie made sure everyone got to the theatre at least two hours before the red curtain rose because she didn’t want everything to feel like they’re in a high-speed car chase, anticipating a crash.

The past five weeks had been an exhausting and intense thrill that Luci had never experienced before. The constant movement, the strain of her voice from singing too much, the tears from messing up a line, and the overwhelming fear of screwing up on stage had been her life for the past five weeks.

The day after introductions and icebreakers, the cast were to do a read through of the play, just to get an idea and feel of the script when rehearsing it with the cast. Since there were two rotations of the cast, the second cast—which was the one Luci was in—were to still attend readings and rehearsals when it was not their day to rehearse. They were to observe and learn the different techniques and acting that the first rotation provided so it would be easier to run through rehearsals without constantly stopping.

After the read through, which took two days, the rest of the week was followed by table work and blocking. Table work deeply goes into the script; it focuses on analyzing and getting to know your character—basically what purpose a character has. Blocking included roughly running through a scene organically, and seeing what works for both actors and what looks and feels better.

When the notes have been written down, the actors will stumble through the play without a script in reach. This process had slashed a bit of hope in everyone because of the difficulty in remembering the notes from blocking. Luci was properly beating herself up over it, and Samuel had reassured her that it was fine to make a few mistake since it was new and added in during blocking.

“Hey,” Samuel would call out after hearing another groan come out of her mouth. Luci would look at him with a frown, and he would comfortingly pat her shoulder. “Don’t beat yourself up over it, okay? You got this.” He would then walk away, giving her a wink that made Luci’s insides turn.

After three days of roughly stumbling through the play, working rehearsals were next. Everyone knew their lines, stage directions, the plot and depth of the characters, and the extra notes from blocking were implied to everyone’s brain. During working rehearsals, the cast needed to find a way to best tell the story to the audience. They worked in a large room that was a few blocks away from the theatre, and it had white tape all over the floor indicating where the character needed to stand. There was no mirror, just a blank wall that was painted black, so it was like they were in the actual theatre. The process was exhausting because the cast would run the entire play back for two more times for three days. So, when Luci got home, it would be five in the evening, and she would be ready to crash and call it a day.

In between working and dress rehearsals, the tech-crew, stage directors, stage managers, and designers would have their own rehearsals without the cast. They do this to make sure the lighting, music, and set were in motion and work smoothly for the play and audience. During these days, the cast would get a few days off, but they were to not brush the play aside just because they weren’t in rehearsals. They were told to do fittings with the costume crew so they could make their final adjustments for their character’s costumes. It was a more fun and light process where they could just stand on the elevated step and answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ when they’re being asked if it was comfortable or too tight.

After technical rehearsals, there would be two or three days for Q2Q rehearsals, which meant Cue-to-Cue, and the technical crew and the cast would get together and rehearse the bits where sound and lights were needed, which is almost every scene since it’s a musical and the characters seem to sing as they’re arguing. These rehearsals were very technical and necessary, and it needed to be executed with precision, so the cast and sound crew would be on the same page and in sync.

Dress rehearsals were more of a sigh in relief. It showcased everyone’s hard work and talent, but it was also a surreal moment because even though they worked and rehearsed every single day for this production, it still didn’t seem real. The few days of dress rehearsals hit the actors in the face because everything was coming together. Tal had let a few groups of people into the theatre to watch and give them a preview of the show so the cast had an audience to perform to during dress rehearsals.

And the moment everyone had been waiting for: Opening Night.

The audience was filling the theatre in as security ushered them to their seats. Some took a picture in front of the stage, the influencers held the Playbill program out in front of them, capturing the renaissance theme of the Broadway theatre to post on their Instagram story, and couples who were there for date night. Not to forget, the important journalists, who hyped this play up way before opening night, that were going to critique and judge all throughout the show; they were sitting in the mezzanine, only the best seats in the house as it provided a panoramic view of the entire stage, so they didn’t miss a thing. Broadway critics could be the most hurtful writers, and they have a way of letting people down in the most elegant and sophisticated way that made it seem like their words aren’t so bad.

Backstage was twice as chaotic as it was on the outside. Although everyone was quiet, humming and whispering the songs, the inside of their minds were driving them crazy. If someone outside of the production who didn't have anything to do with the play, walked into the room, they would immediately feel the tension bouncing off the walls and breaking the mirrors of the vanities.

Even though it was the first rotation that would be performing today, Luci still felt incredibly nervous because anything could happen. Daisy could get sick or not want to perform, so it would be Luci who would have to step in, unless Tal tells the understudy to. Aside from the nerves, she felt incredibly proud of everyone and her own hard work. Rehearsing for about five hours—sometimes she would stay longer just to get extra help—had tired her out, but she knew that once it was her turn to step on stage, the exhaustion and stress would be completely worth it, and that would be when she knew she made it.

Luci was in one of the dressing rooms, and she heard a knock as she was buttoning her shirt that was just for show when there was a zipper on the back of her top so it was easier to change when she was in a hurry. She opened the door, revealing Samuel.

“Hi,” he greeted, getting in the dressing room with her before he closed it behind him. The space was small, so the two were pressed up against one another. He placed a hand on her waist as the other rested against the wall behind her, leaning down to kiss her lips. “How are you?”

Luci smiled when he pulled away. “Good. You?” She wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

“Better, now.” He kissed the top of her head and Luci softly smiled, not used to the amount of PDA, even though they were somewhat in private.

Luci’s just as confused on how she was able to pull Samuel. After the first day of rehearsals when he caught up to her on the sidewalk and asked her to hangout, she found out that he was actually a really outgoing guy; she didn’t expect herself to laugh or actually enjoy herself when she said yes to his invitation.

After the first week of rehearsals, Tal had directed them to be more connected to their characters—to really feel what they’re feeling. This only enhanced their chemistry as love interests, making them closer. And on Wednesday evening, Samuel invited her over to his apartment. He knew what he wanted when he asked Luci to his place, and he really didn’t want to mess with her feelings, so he decided to be honest.

“Luci, listen. I just really want to fuck you,” he confessed straightforwardly, making Luci gulp. No one’s ever really admitted that fact to her, so it was quite surprising to hear as well as hot, if she was being honest. “I mean, I like you, of course I do. But I really don’t want a relationship right now, and we’re both stressed with rehearsals, so wanna fuck?”

He was right, she thought. She was stressed with rehearsals and the move, which she hadn’t even gotten the chance to buy proper furniture because she’s been so busy and also broke, so she could use a good fuck.

And she told him the same thing when she accepted his offer to hangout; she said, “Sure, why not.”

So, they’d been messing around ever since then—for the past five weeks. They had kept it on the downlow as he respected Luci’s wishes for not wanting to risk losing her first job on Broadway and have this ‘affair’ affect getting more roles. Samuel reassured her that people date and mess around off stage all the time—Luci raised her brows in suspicion since it was not his first rodeo—but he still kept the affection to a minimum when they were around people, no matter how difficult it was for him.

He leaned down to kiss her neck, leaving small kisses. “Hmm. Can’t wait to take you back to mine after tonight.” Samuel toyed with the zipper that was stitched on the back of her top.

“Yeah?” She smirked when he felt him nod against her.

He lightly nibbled her skin, making her softly gasp. “Gonna make you feel so good.” As lovely as that sounded, she couldn’t risk getting caught in the dressing room, so she pushed him away, earning a small groan that came out of his mouth.

“How about you save that for next week when it’s our actual opening night?” She said seductively, biting her lip as she refrained from laughing at his eager state.

“Fine, if you say so. Just know that you’re missing out tonight.” He teased, giving her a peck to her lips before quickly slipping out of the dressing room before anyone saw him.

Luci looked in the mirror, fixing her hair and taking a deep breath to rid the warmth of her cheeks that Samuel caused. Once she was presentable, smoothing out the creases of her costume, she headed out and heard that there was ten minutes until showtime.

Everyone was running around with a small flashlight that guided them through the dark backstage. The cast were getting last minute adjustments to their costume and makeup, a last minute run-through with their lines, and warming their vocals up as some of the technical crew were taping a small microphone to the side of their cheek.

The second rotation cast stayed back, hanging out for moral support for the main cast as it was a huge night for them. Luci was somewhat glad that she wasn’t part of the first cast because she felt like she could still use a lot of work in some scenes, so she had at least a week to get those scenes perfect.

As the crew walked back, Luci could hear the crew talk to one another through their headset, asking one another if things were set and if everyone was ready to go; the seats were mostly filled, just a few empty seats that were waiting to be filled by the people who were running late.

“Ready.”

“All set.”

“Alright, everyone, it’s showtime.”

The lights went down for a brief minute and a half, making sure the theatre was quiet from people being excited and startled when the room had gone dark, and then the red velvet curtains were pulled to the sides of the stage and the sheer screen was lifted. The orchestra began to play a soft melody as the opening scene started in Dreamland Bar.

Despite having seen the play multiple times during rehearsals and rehearsing it herself, she was in awe as she watched her cast members in action—true action with an audience in front of them and a very bright light that was shining directly on them. Luci had seen many Broadway productions, but getting to watch it from the side of the stage and actually being part of the production was just something so surreal to her.

The final scene was coming to an end; the orchestra intensified their music, the lights dimmed, the curtain closed, and the audience clapped—most of the room had given Miss Saigon a standing ovation. The curtain opened once more and the cast ran out to wave and blow kisses at the audience as the volume increased once it had gotten to Daisy Beck, the icon herself.

And just like that, five weeks of rehearsals and devotion, opening night was over. Luci couldn’t wait until next week because she could practically see the thrill and adrenaline that radiated off of her co-worker’s face, and that was a feeling she had been anticipating for.

Luci hugged the cast, congratulating them on their special, opening night. Everyone took pictures and videos with one another as they held bouquets of flowers.

“Daisy!” Luci called out once she approached her. Daisy turned around to be met with Luci’s arms wide open. She gave an emotionless smile, half-hugging Luci shortly as she only leaned her upper body against her but pulled away very quickly. “You did such an amazing job. I was so in awe of you on stage!” Luci exclaimed excitedly.

“Thank you.” Just like any other actor, no matter how much someone despised a person, they always took the compliment no matter what; it helped their egos grow in size, especially if it was from someone they couldn’t stand.

“You’re truly so magnificent up there…” As Luci was talking, Daisy’s eyes averted towards the corner where Samuel was standing; he was talking with some of the girls that played strippers at the club in the show. His eyes looked up, meeting Daisy’s eyes before he smirked and brought his attention back to the girls. The corner of her lip turned up, smirking as she felt herself blush from Samuel’s look.

Daisy and Samuel had some history together in the past. They go way back, all the way back to five years ago when they had roles in Chicago on Broadway. Just like any other cast members, they took a liking towards each other, and eventually got quite close. They both thought that their feelings were plain lust, but it was more of an emotional connection, so they tried being together and it lasted for a while until there were scandals and rumors going around that Daisy had been taking drugs just because she was seen partying with Samuel. The rumors eventually caught up to her, making her skin crawl and blood boil. So, she needed to be selfish and called it quits with him because her career was her pride and joy, and it was the most important thing to her at the time when she was just twenty-two.

When Daisy found out that Samuel was on board as the cast in Miss Saigon, she was absolutely thrilled because her feelings for him had never dissolved. And the main reason why she was annoyed with Luci on her first day was because she knew that Samuel was going to take a liking towards Luci, which he did; and now, Daisy was aggravated because she wanted her man back but he was too busy occupying himself with Luci.

Daisy looked back at Luci, pretending to pay attention to what she was saying. Luckily, someone had politely interrupted them, asking Daisy to do an interview with one of the journalists that critiqued the show, which she was ecstatic about.

When the theatre was empty, everyone left to go to an after party, which was at a posh cocktail lounge—a ten minute walk from the theatre and quite close to Central Park South—so everyone decided to walk; the adrenaline they still had kept them warm in the thirty six degree weather. It was quite late since they left the theatre at around eleven, so Luci decided that she wouldn’t stay long since her commute back home was still further than some of her co-workers.

The lounge was on the seventh floor of the W Hotel, and it screamed chic and expensive. It was separated into two open rooms, giving complete opposite vibes from each other. The more sophisticated and chic section of the room was filled with grey suede, cushioned sofa chairs with clean glass coffee tables placed in between those chairs. A black grand piano sat in the corner of the room with a large vase of fresh pink lilies and a few vanilla scented candles that were spread across the top of the piano. On one side of the wall were three semi-private booths with cushioned walls and a hexagon-shaped booth with LED lights surrounding the shape.

The second room, however, was where the full bar was. Something that caught Luci’s, and most people’s, attention was the bright sign that covered the entire wall behind the bar top and the bottles of alcohol. The light blue and red colored lights illuminated the entire section of the room. The bar room had the same type of sofas and tables with a chill-beat type of music that played through the speakers.

Peter, who played the first ‘Chris,’ had ordered everyone tequila shots; which naturally, made everyone happy as they cheered. Luci couldn’t remember the last time she went to the bar with some friends and completely enjoyed herself; all that had been on her mind before the move was the move itself, auditioning for the play, and her anxieties that came with moving to a city where she knew no one. So, a shot of tequila was very rewarding for her first proper night out in New York City.

“To a successful opening night! We’re gonna be back here when the second rotation gets their spotlight.” Peter saluted as everyone clinked their shot glasses together; Nina took a video of her and Luci to post on her Instagram story with Luci’s username and the longue tagged in the corner before downing the toxic liquid down their throats.

Everyone talked amongst themselves when Samuel placed his hand on Luci’s thigh. She quickly turned her head towards him, subtly pushing his hand off of it. He met her eyes, smirking and tilted his head as if he was saying that they should go into the bathroom, but Luci shook her head no, denying his silent request. Samuel rolled his eyes, averting his attention on the rest of the group, and Luci didn’t miss the way he shifted farther from her on the couch.

Luci was four shots in and she felt a slight buzz run through her head. The waiters were placing more drinks down on their table, but Luci knew she needed to get home, so she decided to call it a night and say her goodbyes to the group. She knew everyone lived relatively close to the theatre and the longue, so she didn’t expect anyone to take the subway with her so late in the night. What she did expect was for Samuel to offer her to spend the night or even walk her to the train station, but he simply waved at her, no private hug or kiss goodbye. So, she left without another word and walked over to the 57th Street Station and took the F Train down to Rockefeller Center where she had to get off and transfer over to the M Train that would take her towards Middle Village-Metropolitan Avenue, and eventually, home.

On the train, Luci busied herself with a word search that was downloaded on her phone, afraid that she might end up falling asleep on the subway, until the subway stopped at the station she needed to get off at and walked home.

The click of her heeled boots were quite loud against the wooden floor in the hallway that led to her front door. She lugged her tote bag on her shoulder, fumbling with her keys until she got to her doorstep. Briefly glancing at the neighbor’s door right across from her before turning her back towards it and opening her own, the door behind her suddenly opened.

Luci quickly turned around, expecting her cute and attractive neighbor, but instead, revealed a woman with red hair, hurriedly putting her coat on. The woman smiled at her, and for a moment, Luci thought she was on the wrong floor, but behind the woman was Harry in a black long sleeve sweater and khaki flared pants. His chocolate brown hair had looked like he ran his fingers through it so many times that it sat effortlessly messy, but Luci didn’t know that the red-haired lady had done it for him.

She was quite in shock to see him, even though she’d known he lived right across from her. For the time she had been living in New York, she’d barely even gotten a glimpse of him; either their schedules weren't aligned or he was avoiding her. It wasn’t like she was trying to catch him when he walked out of his apartment or in the elevator—maybe she was—but a few neighborly chats were all that she wanted.

“Hi,” Luci greeted once the woman rounded the corner and away from both of their attentions.

“Hey, Luci.” Harry softly smiled.

They both stood in their entryways, awkwardly staring at one another as they didn’t know what else to say. The neighborly chats had gone so much better in her head, and she was mentally rolling her eyes at herself for freezing up so suddenly.

But luckily, Harry broke the silence.

“Long night?”

Luci smiled. “Yeah, kind of. Just came from an afterparty.”

“Hmm, what was the party for?” Harry raised his chin, puckering his lips slightly. Luci glanced down at his lips, observing how naturally pink they were, or if the lady’s lipstick had transferred over to his.

She was quite surprised that he was still carrying the conversation, or maybe he was just as nosy as she was.

“It was for Miss Saigon, the play on Broadway. Today was our official opening night.” She fiddled with her fingers, completely leaning her side against the doorframe.

Harry slightly nodded. “I’d have to watch it sometime.”

Now, that brightened Luci up, almost sobering her. She beamed at him, and Harry couldn’t deny the slight blush that appeared on his face once she so stunningly smiled at him. He pursed his lips, refraining from smiling so widely just from the mere sight of her grin.

“Yes, please do!” He smiled at her excitement before nodding his head.

A few awkward seconds passed, and Luci had the need to lie down after the day that she had. So, she sat straight up from her leaning position, placing her hand where she was resting to balance herself. “Well, I should get some rest.”

“Yeah, yeah, of course.” He stood up straight as well, taking a step back into his apartment as his hand held the door handle. “Sleep well, Luci.”

“You too, Harry. Goodnight.” A yawn took over her and she covered her mouth instantly. “Oh, Harry?” She called out, catching him before he closed the door. He raised his brows, her voice stopped him from shutting the door. “Maybe we could hang out sometime? I could use some friends and you seem really nice,” she suggested.

Maybe it was the slightest buzz that was wearing off, making her have the need to use up all the rest of the confidence she could gather up in her body and spew out the suggestion.

But whatever it was, she was glad that she did because Harry answered, “I’d like that.” She gave him a lazy smile, eyes drooping, and Harry knew that she needed to sleep.

After another bid goodnight, the neighbors both closed their doors for a night’s rest, but not before they both smiled into their pillow and replayed their conversation over and over in their head.

April 29, 2017

It was Saturday evening when Luci walked into the Broadway Theatre with the biggest smile she’d ever made in her life. Ignoring the nerves, she was back in the chaos and nervous tension the large theatre held for her very first Broadway show.

She spent the entire day preparing herself just so everything went smoothly. Her alarm woke her up at 7:30 a.m so she could take a walk around the neighborhood for a fresh start to her day. The sky started out as gloomy while the sun was just waking up as well; and the parts of the neighborhoods that she passed were quiet—the only thing that was heard were the honking cars over the birds flapping their wings above her—since it was the weekend and everyone loved sleeping in on the weekend.

Luci was still discovering new things, such as stores, dining, and secret passageways while her Nike running shoes padded against the cement of the sidewalk; that's what she loved about New York—there was always something new she’d discover in this city, and it was a never ending journey that never failed to make her gasp and giddy.

She stopped at a smoothie place before walking back to her apartment; and when she got to her front door, she looked at Harry’s, which she seemed to make a habit out of every time she walked in and out of her apartment, and she wondered if he was awake at this time—he seemed like a morning person, she thought. She debated knocking on his door before she left to go to the theatre to tell her that she was finally performing tonight, but she decided against it, wanting to hang out with him at some place else rather than her workplace.

After making herself a breakfast to go along with her drink, she took a shower and made sure to take extra care of her skin and body since today was such an important day for her; she wanted to feel good so she could look good, especially for tonight.

In between brunch hours, her mother called, making her squeal.

“Hello, mother!” She couldn’t contain her excitement over the phone.

“Oh, hi, My Lucky! How are you?” Luci could hear the bustling street through the phone as they walked through the city. Ren and Beatrice had flown into New York to watch her on stage as promised; Nathan was planning to fly into the city after work as well. Luci offered to pick them up at the airport, which required a car that she didn’t have, but they decided against it, knowing that she had a specific routine before a show and they didn’t want to interfere with that pattern.

“Oh, y’know, just doing nothing. Boring, plain, old me,” she joked, making Beatrice chuckle.

“How’re you handling your nerves?”

Beatrice always knew that inside the confident exterior that Luci had always presented herself with, there was still a shy and nervous girl that was always so hard on herself.

“I’m okay, Ma. More excited than nervous, I think, but y’know, once it’s minutes away from showtime, I’m gonna be a nervous mess,” Luci stated honestly, nibbling on the corner of her lip. She got herself comfortable on her forest green sofa that turned into a bed, and draped the tan, soft plush blanket over her legs. Her apartment was finally coming together, and she was thankful for her few days off of work so she could make her apartment feel like home.

“I know you’ll do great. Plus, all of us are gonna be in the crowd supporting you.” Beatrice encouraged her. “Anyways, I can’t walk and talk at the same time, especially when we’re walking through people, but I just wanted to check up on you. So, I’ll let you go and we’ll see you later! Oh, your father says hi and that he loves you. Bye, my star. Shine your heart.”

Her mother always talked like she was in a hurry, but it never failed to make Luci smile—it was as if Luci was listening to a voicemail, or remembered a fond memory, or looking at a photograph; Beatrice was a timeless treasure, Ren would say.

The rest of the day went by smoothly; Luci mostly watched some television on her iPad since she didn’t have a TV yet, caught up on some reading, and lightly went through her lines and quietly sang the songs. Once it hit 3:30, she was out the door and on the subway by 3:45.

When she walked into the dressing room where everyone was getting ready, her cast members looked at her warily with sympathetic eyes. Luci was confused, but she figured that everyone was just nervous, so she sat down at her vanity and was surprised to see Daisy sitting next to her. She thought that Daisy wouldn’t be here for Luci’s opening night and she was more surprised to see that Daisy was getting ready as she didn’t just want to stand on the sidelines, waiting for Luci to screw up to step right in.

“Hey,” Luci greeted with a smile, but Daisy simply ignored her, going back to do her makeup. Luci slightly frowned but shrugged it off before she sat down.

A few moments later, Tal came into the dressing room.

“Luci,” she called out, making her look up into the mirror, meeting Tal’s eyes. “Can we talk for a minute?” Luci nodded, eyes slightly widening like she was a deer in headlights. She followed Tal out of the dressing room and into a more private room down the hall.

She crossed her arms as a breeze passed by, sending a chill down Luci’s skin and she wished she had grabbed her jacket on the way out. “What’s up?”

Tal took a deep breath, not knowing how to break the news to her newest cast member. “So, there’s been a change for tonight,” she started, and Luci wondered if Samuel wasn’t going to play Chris tonight but instead, Peter or the understudy, Michael. Tal looked up, thinking about her words carefully and how to say her words as gently as possible. “Daisy is gonna perform tonight.”

She wished she hadn’t spoken so soon on how smoothly her day was going.

Luci stared at her mindlessly, blinking a few times. She felt like she was hearing things or dreaming, like her words hadn’t processed correctly in her brain. But when Tal was giving her a certain look of guilt, that was when Luci knew that her mind wasn’t making anything up.

“W-What?”

“I know it was supposed to be your night to perform, but Daisy said that she wanted to perform tonight…” Luci could tell that Tal was holding back on more information. “She said that she doesn’t feel like she needed to rest, so she’s gonna perform every night until she says so.”

Tears were forming over Luci’s eyes and it suddenly became difficult for her to see or hear. She curled her lips into her mouth, refraining a sob that was settling in the base of her throat.

“She knows, right? That it’s my night to perform?”

Tal nodded. “Yeah, she knows quite clearly. I even reminded her, and we got into this argument; she basically told me to choose between her and you, and-”

“It’s okay,” Luci interrupted, not wanting to hear the rest of that sentence because she knew that Tal had chosen Daisy, which she didn’t blame Tal for doing because why would anyone choose between the face of Broadway and some actress that no one even knows about? Tal knew that she didn’t have any power over Daisy even though it was Tal’s show and she was the stage director.

“Luci, I’m sorry. You’re free to go home though, if anyone is gonna step in, then it’ll be Wendy.” Daisy told Tal that she’d rather have the understudy step into her place if anything happened, and who was Tal to say no to her?

Luci nodded sadly, putting her head down for a moment before she looked up. Tal had the same look Luci had on her face because Tal genuinely felt bad that this had to happen. Luci walked away and back into the dressing room to once again, meet everyone’s dreadful stare. She grabbed her belongings, and Daisy pretended to not notice that Luci was there.

She felt a surge of anger running through her body as she looked at Daisy, and she was not one to let things happen to her without defending herself. What she was going to do could possibly cause Luci her job and maybe any role that she comes across her path because that’s how much power Daisy had, but the power Daisy exposed and portrayed didn’t make her any more powerful than she thought it did.

“If you’re the reason that’s depriving me of my job, then how about you tell me that. Don’t have people doing that for you because if you really wanted me out of the show, then you would’ve told that to my face right when you met me.” Daisy continued looking into the mirror, but she was alert to Luci’s words. Everyone in the room was silent, listening to the confrontation happening right in front of them. “Just sitting there and not having the urge to look me in the eye and tell me yourself is just downright cowardness.”

Without another word, Luci left the room, passing by Nina on the way out, asking if she was okay and Luci muttered ‘Yeah, fine’ before huffing out a sarcastic laugh and walking out of the theatre. She felt bad for giving her friend such a cold and short attitude, and she only hoped Nina understood why she was acting that way.

Suddenly, everything felt very…loud. On the outside, there were honking cars, people shouting at those road ragers, and the harsh wind that blew through her ears. All of that contributed to the loud thoughts running through her head, the disappointment of her hopes had made her feel dizzy, and the heartache of her crushed dreams had made her heart sink. Everything had gone smoothly up until now, and she hated herself for thinking this was all too good to be true.

Luci clutched at her chest as if she was holding her heart in the palm of her hand, signaling it to slow down its erratic beating because she couldn’t keep up. If she had felt heartbreak in the past by dumb boys who didn’t know how to treat her right, the pain that she felt did not compare to having her dream being crushed and ripped away from her in the split of a second.

Sure, she may be dramatic in that moment, but it was everything that she was feeling and it was a valid feeling. She felt like the world was against her and she was perplexed on how to operate this minor section of her life.

“Luci?” Through the midst of her chaotic and saddened mind, the voice that called her sounded quite familiar. She turned around, finding Harry standing a distance away from her before he walked forward.

“Harry…” Her tone was calm as she breathed out a sigh of relief, but her exhale was staggered. Tears glossed over her eyes, making her neighbor and the bright lights blurry, only seeing colored spots until she blinked and her vision cleared up as the tears streamed down her face.

“I thought it was you. Aren’t you—oh.” Harry was interrupted by the collision of her body as she wrapped her arms around his waist, loudly sobbing in his chest. Usually, she wasn’t like this; she wasn’t one to cry in front of people or show any emotion that she was truly hurt—it just wasn’t her. But she could no longer pretend like the events that happened prior didn't happen, and she really needed some comfort, a hug, anything.

Luci felt his hesitancy when his arms wrapped around her body, and she felt bad for hugging him without permission, but her comfort had taken priority. When he eventually did take her fragile and shaking body in his arms, it did everything she was looking for justice. The embrace was warm, even when it was cold and windy out; the hug seemed to have warmed both of them up. A sense of safety, and a complete sigh of relief came to mind where Luci felt like she could take a breather for a slight moment. His strong, muscular arms wrapped so perfectly around her that Harry felt like it was him who needed this hug instead of her, but he wouldn’t admit that because she was clearly being vulnerable in front of him, despite just talking less than a handful of times.

She pulled away, and he suddenly missed the warmth of her body for a split second before his attention turned to her wiping her tears away.

“Hey, are you okay?” He asked concerningly.

“Yeah. I’m sorry for just hugging you out of nowhere, I-I should’ve asked.” Harry stared deeply in her eyes, and even in the state that she was in, her eyes were still bright; the lucidity of the bright lights outside of the theatre sparkled in her eyes, and it made him smile at how beautiful she looked even when she was crying.

He snapped out of his thoughts, realizing that he hadn't answered her yet. “No, it’s okay, don’t worry about it. Just…are you okay?” His concern for her made her feel slightly better.

“I’m good now. Uh, thank you for the hug,” she said bashfully; he gave her a soft smile, nodding his head. “W-What are you up to tonight?”

“Oh, uh,” he chuckled, scratching the back of his head. “I actually came to watch the play. You mentioned you were in it right?”

Luci’s expression softened. “You came to see me?” She felt like she could cry all over again at the fact that he was at Broadway Theatre to see her perform; her heart flipped instantly. Harry nodded, placing his hands in his black pinstripe trousers. “Well, it’s a good thing you caught me out here before you went in because you’d be disappointed to not see me when the show starts.” He furrowed his brows in confusion, tilting his head to the side like a lost puppy. “It’s a long story…if you have time?”

Immediately, Luci knew she wanted to keep spending time with him, and she hoped he felt the same. Plus, she was in a vulnerable state, and she needed someone to be with her.

Harry was hesitant at first, but he realized that she probably needed to vent to someone, so he responded, “Yeah, sure.”

She smiled softly, wiping the excess tears off her face before walking further away from the theatre; Luci texted her parents and brother in the family group chat saying: not performing tonight :( so I won't be at the theatre. I'll explain later. Seconds later, they blew up her phone with a thread of ‘WHAT?!’ and naturally, Nathan sent a series of curses, making Beatrice scold him in the chat for his language.

Harry and Luci walked until they landed on a Burger & Fry joint near Times Square. The sound of food made her mouth water, especially after crying; she needed to replenish and hydrate herself.

The two sat in a pink leather booth; the restaurant had a decent amount of people for a Friday night because the volume of chatter was heard over the music blaring through the speaker. It was a somewhat retro-themed diner with checkered flooring, a jukebox in the corner for show, and the wardrobe the employees were wearing; it was a fun and cool vibe.

Harry and Luci felt a bit awkward; they both weren’t expecting to end up in a diner together when they were supposed to be inside the theatre. They both avoided eye contact, looking around the very pink restaurant before a waitress arrived at their table and took their order.

From what Luci could tell, Harry was a quiet and shy guy, but that was just an observable trait, which was half-correct. But the only reason why he was shy was because Harry was closed off and didn’t let too many people in, so sitting down with Luci at a diner—someone he'd only spoken with a couple of times—was very new to him.

He fiddled with his rings—her personal favorite was the square Ruby gemstone with a gold band—and she knew that she needed to say something quick before he'd never talk to her again.

“So, Harry, can I ask what you do for a living?” His head propped up from looking at the bubbles from his soda in his Coca Cola glass cup.

He nodded. “Yeah, I’m a middle school teacher. I teach Language Arts.”

“Fun! How long have you been teaching?” Luci placed her elbows on the table, interlocking her fingers as she rested her chin on her hands, giving him her full attention.

“For about eight months.” He told her the basics of his life, not voluntarily, but because Luci asked an abundance of questions and was genuinely interested in his life.

She learned that he was from Manchester where his sister and mother live and his father lived in Birmingham. He has a cat, which his mom had been taking care of ever since he left to go to college in America. He went to UCLA, becoming a double major in English and Education, which led him to wanting to become a teacher in the midst of essays and research. He decided to stay in America, ending up in New York for the change of scenery (Luci could tell there was more to that story than he led on), and was fortunate enough to get a job at East Side Middle School in Manhattan.

Harry also mentioned that the four stacks of grading piles had gone down to one, finally being able to have a Friday night free, so he wanted to watch the play. Luci’s lips twitched up, but she curled her lips into her mouth, suppressing a large smile into a small one as she thanked him for wanting to spend his free time watching the show.

He’d never talked that much, Harry thought. In between his stories and facts about himself, the food had arrived and Luci was still asking him questions. It wasn’t like he minded; he appreciated Luci being so attentive and interested in his life as a way to make small talk and make friends, but those were just the basics that he would tell anyone if they asked.

Harry then asked how long she’d been acting for and on Broadway. Luci told him that her career started when she was six and had been acting ever since. She shared her aspirations and dreams; becoming part of Broadway was her first dream, which she somewhat achieved, and Hollywood was her next stop whenever the time was right. Harry poured the same energy she did, asking questions and interacting with her answers to those questions.

Her mood seemed to decline as she explained why she was outside of the theatre crying.

“It just felt like she ripped my dream from me and ripped it apart. I-I don’t even know when I’m gonna get my chance to perform.” Her lips turned downwards as she felt a new set of tears glaze her eyes, but she pushed them back, not wanting to cry again.

“I’m sorry that happened to you. I’m sure it’ll be soon, and whenever that happens, I’ll be there to see you perform on your opening night,” Harry said genuinely; and Luci felt like she could cry all over again, not because of the destruction of her dream that happened in two minutes, but because Harry was possibly one of the sweetest guys she’s ever met.

He surprised himself with his words, but he meant them. Throughout their conversations and getting to know one another, he felt himself relax a bit more, shoulders slumping. He realized that Luci was a very ambitious and motivated woman, making him admire her quality traits; she was also very easy to talk to, slightly chuckling at a joke that she made because he appreciated badly-made jokes since he made them himself. But maybe he’ll bring out the jokes another time when they hang out again.

After an hour of staying at the diner and chatting with their table completely cleaned off besides the last-minute decision to order milkshakes, they finally decided to head home. They split the bill—only because it was fair and this unexpected night wasn’t a date—before they got on the subway towards home. They sat on opposite sides of each other, which Luci wasn’t expecting, but when Luci got on the subway cart and took her seat, Harry sat right across from her.

Once they both reached their respective doors, they gave each other a small smile before mimicking each other’s actions as they turned the key and opened their doors at the same time. Taking one step in, they turned around, standing in their doorways just like all the other times they’d bid their goodbyes to one another.

“Thank you for tonight, Harry. I really appreciate you being there for me, even if you didn’t have to.” Luci said, leaning against the doorframe.

He nodded. “You’re welcome. Thank you for a great night as well. I had fun.” His statement made her face lighten up. “Well, goodnight, Luci.” He walked further into his apartment as did she, and she softly waved at him before they closed their doors.

Despite not performing tonight, her night with Harry wouldn’t have happened if the unfortunate events were fortunate.

And that was the most positive thing that came out of tonight, and she was really focusing on the positives now.

come talk to me about your feelings, thoughts, and favorite moments! thank you for reading <3 next chapter will be posted next saturday!

#harry styles fanfiction #harry styles angst #harry styles fluff #harry styles writing #harry styles series #harry styles x ofc #harry styles au #harry styles ff #harry styles fic #harry styles x reader #harry styles smut #harry styles story #boyfriend!harry #actress!oc #harry styles #harry styles solo #hs au

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onewithnomightypowers · 3 years

Text

clandestine (chapter 4)

PAIRING: Tom Holland x fem!Reader

SUMMARY: Y/N is an up and coming actress, married to a once hotshot actor, Harrison (Haz). What happens when her co-star, Tom, makes her realise that she is stuck in a loveless marriage. A marriage starts crumbling and a new romance stars brewing.

chapter 4: darling can’t you hear me?

A/N: i do not encourage cheating. this chapter is musically driven so i would recommend listening to ‘hit me baby one more time’ by britney spears, ‘sos’ by abba and ‘end game’ by taylor swift, while reading the chapter. also there is slight smut in here. i hope you guys like this chapter!! feedback is always appreciated.

warnings: smoking, drinking, slight smut, cursing

word count: 1.6k

important: bold and italic are character thoughts

main masterlist series masterlist chapter 3 chapter 5

Tom and Y/N had been individually invited to their common friend Lily’s house warming party. They, however, decided to go together as friends.

Most of the people Y/N knew in London were all in the same circle and were all present at Lily’s. Lily was a smart woman and a social butterfly, but she was not the smartest when it came to befriending real and trustworthy people.

The house was packed with people. Everyone was taking a swing at the karaoke machine attached to the TV in the living room.

Y/N and Tom made their way to the kitchen where all the drinks were.

“Remember, you’re driving us home.” Y/N said, snatching the beer from Tom’s hand.

“Why can’t you drive?” Y/N chugged the whole beer at once.

“Oops”, she said, wiping her mouth from the back of her palm.

They both diverted to their separate ways, trying not to confirm the obvious. They were the talk of the town, or the party in this case. They were knee deep in rumours. Everyone had been gossiping about something they had heard from a friend of a friend.

Rumours spread like wildfire and in their case, most of the rumours were true. But the biggest red herring of the town was that Haz and Y/N were separated and were on the verge of filing divorce, and Y/N was getting the heat of it.

Those who were sober enough to sustain a conversation, came up to her and asked her the exact same question.

“So what is up with Haz? How is he? Haven’t seen him around in such a long time”, asked a girl, whose name Y/N couldn’t remember.

She was clearly out for ‘the scoop’ everyone else was.

“Oh he’s nice, he’s actually coming to London next week”, this was the thirteenth time Y/N had repeated that sentence tonight.

“So will he be accompanying you to the premier?”

What is she, a tabloid journalist?

“I don’t know actually, we haven’t talked about that”

---

Tom hated parties, he preferred intimate gatherings, where people would have meaningful conversations instead of the shallow small talk. He was an ‘intellectual’ in that sense, as Y/N had pointed out. He was insufferable since he couldn’t drink as he had to drive Y/N home, and she was nowhere to be found. He found himself entering the bathroom in Lily’s room to escape. Little did he know, Y/N felt the same way. He entered the bathroom to a modern masterpiece.

Y/N was sitting inside the bathtub with her legs hanging out of it. Her white wine glass was to her left, next to a Marlboro box with a lighter poking out it. The shower curtains were pushed to the right side of the tub.

She had a cigarette in her left hand and her phone in her right. He could only assume that she was playing candy crush like the middle aged woman she was. He couldn’t help but take a picture.

Y/N didn’t notice him until she heard the sound of the phone camera.

“I see you lasted an hour out there”, she said, ashing her cigarette on the box.

“Which is more than you”, he sat on the edge of the tub.

“Ugh, I couldn’t take their questions about Haz anymore, like seriously why do they all need to ask me the exact same question individually, I should literally just announce my life’s status with a fucking lou-“, Y/N was interrupted by Tom’s sloppy kiss.

She tastes like wine

He found himself on Y/N's lap and started kissing down her neck. She smelled like her Gucci Bloom perfume mixed with alcohol and smoke. Tom made it to her breasts and started sucking them, in an attempt to leave his mark on her.

There was a knock on the door. “Go away”, Y/N screamed, between small, light moans. “Um, okay”, the person said from behind the door. Y/N moved her hand to the rim of Tom’s shirt and started to pull it up, accidently toppling the wine glass next to her, spilling wine in the bathtub.

Tom broke away to see what had happened. “You’re a mess, darling”, he continued kissing her. “But I’m the mess you love”. Both of them were so intoxicated at the moment, they ignored the use of the word ‘love’. It was something which neither of them had said out loud before, but felt deeply.

“We should go, they will think we are canoodling together”, Tom said.

“But we are canoodling together”

“Yeah but still”

“Fine, but you owe me one”, Y/N said in frustration.

Tom got up from her lap, Y/N stuffed her phone and the cigarette box in her pocket.

“What are we going to do about that?” Tom pointed at the wine glass on the bed of the tub.

“Its white wine so it wouldn’t stain and we were never here”

Y/N opened the door and merged into the sea of people, leaving Tom behind.

---

She found herself in an utterly boring conversation with Lily and her ‘girl squad’. They were talking about the latest Dior makeup line.

How can someone talk about makeup while drunk?

She noticed that Alan was done with his powerful performance of ‘hit me baby one more time’. “Who is next?” he asked the crowd, raising the microphone. Y/N found an opening to escape the conversation. “Me!” she got up, grabbed the mic and climbed the wooden coffee table.

“Who wants to recreate the ‘SOS’ scene with me from ‘Mamma Mia’? Of course I’ll be Pierce Brosnan” she screamed into the mic.

“I’ll be your Meryl Streep”, Tom walked over to the karaoke machine to take the spare mic.

Y/N turned on the music, “I want everyone to sing the chorus with us”

“Where are those happy days, they seem so hard to find, I try to reach for you but you have closed your mind”, Y/N stepped off the table and started to walk towards Tom, never losing eye contact with him.

“Whatever happened to our love? I wish I understood, it used to be so nice, it used to be so good”, Tom turned his back to her just like Meryl Streep in the movie.

“So when you're near me, darling can't you hear me, S.O.S. The love you gave me, nothing else can save me, S.O.S”, everyone sang this part excluding Tom.

“When you're gone, how can I even try to go on? When you're gone, though I try, how can I carry on?” Y/N sang this part alone. Tom turned slightly to look at Y/N, he could see it in her eyes that she meant every bit of what she was singing.

“You seemed so far away, though you were standing near. You made me feel alive but something died, I fear”. It was Tom’s time to shine. He noticed that almost everyone in their audience had pulled out their phones to record it.

“I really tried to make it up, I wish I understood. What happened to our love, it used to be so good”, Tom tried his best to overact.

“So when you're near me, darling can't you hear me, S.O.S. The love you gave me, nothing else can save me, S.O.S.” they all sang it, together, on top of their lungs.

Tom and Y/N were, now, standing back to back.

“When you're gone, how can I even try to go on?” Y/N repeated the lines after Tom.

“When you're gone, though I try, how can I carry on?” they held each other’s free hand in a way no one could see it.

The music stopped playing, they turned to look at each other. “Now don’t expect me to do the dirty dancing lift with you, I don’t want to break my back”, Y/N spoke into the mic. The whole room burst into laughter.

---

They were on their way to Y/N’s Camden apartment, their home for the time being. Tom was driving and the local radio was playing at a low volume. Y/N was looking out the window, it was past midnight, and the streets were stranded.

“And now, ‘End Game’ by Taylor Swift”, the radio jockey said.

Y/N was not paying attention to whatever was playing but Tom was. He turned up the volume for her, knowing her, he knew that she wouldn’t want to miss it. Y/N finally noticed the chorus and got excited. She looked over at Tom, giving him a glance that said ‘you know me so well’. He noted the glance, grabbed her right hand delicately and pulled it up to his mouth to give it a kiss.

She took her hand back to increase the volume even more. They had stopped at a red light.

“I hit you like bang”, Y/N sang along, making a ‘bomb blasting’ gesture.

“We tried to forget it but we just couldn’t, and I buried deep hatchets but I keep maps to where I put ‘em”

“Reputation precedes me, they told you I’m crazy” Tom also sang with her.

“I swear I don’t love the drama”, he let her sing this part alone.

“It loves me” she bopped Tom’s nose, scrunching her face.

I love her so much

“I love you so much”, he said.

She looked up, grinning like a devil, saying nothing.

Shit did I say it too soon? Yeah it’s too soon, she’s going to fucking leave me now

“Is it cool that I said that?” he was confused by her silence. The light had turned green and the cars behind them were honking, but his eyes were stuck on her beautiful devilish face.

Just before he turned his wild eyes on the road, she said it.

“I love you too, Tom.”

@mysticapples17

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fandomtrxsh19 · 3 years

Text

So, when I read ACOSF, I made kind of play by play notes as a listened to it( I read the audiobook) so.........here’s the chaos

HEAVY SPOILERS FOR ACOSF!!

CASSIAN SAID FUCK

WHOA there’s a LOT of swearing in this

“It’s SEVEN in the morning gods damn it” -nesta archeron

OVERSIZED SHIRTS FOR THE WIN

Feyre and Rhys have 5 houses? Not surprised...

full, inviting breasts......BIG BOOBS OMG CASSIAN YOU HORNY SON OF A BITCH

7 siphons to keep his magic under control? Dayum

So, she rode this unnamed male like a fucking roller coaster?

Depression sex? Depression sex

“Her father was ashes in the wind” DAMN THATS EDGY

“A moment of release among the darkness inside her” NESTA BBY THIS ISNT HEATHY

“She avoided both of them” not surprised

OOOOH RHYS HATES HER TEA IS BEING SPILT

So, depression sex and depression alcohol? Yup

*checks chapter count* 80 CHAPTERS??!?! Oh shit this is gonna be a triiiip

OOOOOOOOO RHYS AND NESTA BEEF

Feyre trying to apologize to nesta........she’s trying

“You’re done, Nesta” The fuuuuuck.....

So, nesta’s moving and training with cassian...........Feyre, this isn’t a good idea omg

Feyre holy shit what the fuck are you doing, you TOTAL HELICOPTER SISTER?

“I never want to speak to you again!” damn

ELAIN TRAUMA!!! Yay???

MOR FOCUSED CHAPTER!!!?

she has brown eyes? Ok

FUCK SHES WEARING A BLUE DRESS FUCK

nesta knows about mor NESTA KNOWS ABOUT MOR!!!

“I am worthless and I am nothing. I hate what I am.” DAYUM I’ve been in that exact mindset numerous times. I can relate, Nesta

Briallen? Who the fuck is that?

Scars being trapped in magic? Good fuck that’s dark

“Ooh a dark skin character? Lit

OH SHIT SHE CANT FLY HER WINGS ARE CLIPPED

Is her name Emery?

“I am the monster your fear” BBY OMG GET THERAPY

Gwyn? Seems a bit aloof

“Two gentle conversations” GOOD JOB

Fairy lights omg lol

Nesta reading smutty books.....I’m imagining this omg

THE HOUSE IS ALIVE? Sweet

OMG ELAIN SHIT!!!! BBY

“All she wanted to do was touch him” OOOOOHHHHH NESSIAN

“All I need is a hot meal and a good book.” Mood

Nesta’s worried about Mor??? REEEEEEE

“Nesta needed Feyre more than she realized.“ OOOOOOO

OOOOOOOOO FAE BARGANS

They’re bound by magic on the body?? Ooh

IT’S TRAINING TIME BITCHES

“I don’t hate you too,Cassian” OMGGGGGG REEEEE

Nesta SMILED

THEY MENTIONED VALKYRIES!!!!!

“You might be my only friend.” HMMMMMMM

*hears how cassian was born * OMG HOLY SHIT CASSIAN

*hears cassians backstory* DAMN THESE CHARACTERS NEED THERAPY

OOP SLIGHT DEPRESSION SEX

OOP CLOTHING REMOVAL

“I’ve loved you since the first moment I held you in my arms.” HMMMMMMMM

I’m loving this Nessian sparring training.

ELAIN! SHES IN THE STORY KIND OF

Elain has small boobs........same

“I thought I would drop by to see how you were doing.” AWWWWWWWWW

Yayy.....awkward sister talks........

“She was the monster.” Nesta.............I can relate.

Nesta’s angry at Elain.............

Elain’s trying to reach out and Nesta’s denying it.

MY HEART

AGAIN...THE👏RA👏PY👏

“No more seeing her sisters without her permisson.” That’s smart.

Soooooooooo......Rhys is now a German Shepard.........?

OMG CASSIAN KILLED EVERYONE THAT HELPED KILL HIS MOM........good for him

“Use that training and make me.” OOOOOOOMGGGGGG

Rhys is overprotective of Feyre and shields her......daaaaaaaaaaaaamn

“What exactly happened in the cauldron?” FEYRE BAD IDEA BAD IDEA BAD IDEA

Again, Nesta, ✨THERAPY✨

Put a stop to what, D-does the IC know of the ✨depression smut?✨

“There was touching, but with her permission” WE 👏STAN 👏A KING👏

THAT ASKS👏FOR👏CON👏SENT👏

“Who do you think I am?” “A drunk fool who’s wasting my time?” OOOOOOOHHHHH SHOOTS FIRED!!!

Emery and Nesta to Emery’s cousin: GO HOME YOUR DRUNK ASSHOLE

*hears Nesta’s grand✨mama✨* me: grandmama, it’s me....ANASTASIA

Bruh...NESTA BIT CASS’S EAR

ugh the tool

“Baby making” hehe lol

“Nesta like gwyn”...............could she also be biiiiiiiii??????????!!!!!! YAY FIRST FRIEND IM PROUD OF YOUUUUU

NESTA SMILES AGAIN YAY!!

Alright, Meryl is BITCH

GWYN’S A QUARTER NYMPH?? Cool

“She’s failed everything.” BBY

HER POWERS? HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT SILVER FLAMES

ICY FIRE??? FUUUUUUUUUCK

Nesta must’ve been petrified being surrounded by fire

It’s a dream? THE FUCK

WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT SHE WAS DREAMING????

Cassian saw HER TRAUMA?????? FUUUUUUCK

HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HER POWER IS DEAAAAATHH FUUUUUUCK

THE BABY HAS WIIIIINGS!!!!!!

Why is Rhys angry about the wing thing?

Ohhhhhhhhhh shiiiiiiiiiit the tool

*hearing the possibilities of half Illyrian baby* OOOOOOOOOOOOHHHH FUUUUUCK OMG

“I loved it when you fucked my mouth cassian?” GAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH NEEESTAAAAA THIS ISNT HEALTHY

“What could go wrong?” DONT JINX IT

fairy monsters? OHOHOHOOOO

NONONONOOOOOO NOT AN ASH ARROW

BLACK EYES???? Fuck fuck are they in the cauldron?

OMG THE KELPIE IS DOING SHIT TO NESTA!!! Are they on the cauldron?

the MAAAAAAASK

ohOOOOOOOMGOMGOMGOMG SHE SUMMONED THE FUCKING DEAD REEEEEEEEEEE

Omg NESTAS POWERS ARE SO FUCKING COOL

She LITERALLY HAS AN UNDEAD ARMYYYYY

death HERself........badass

“Because you and cassian has been giving each other sultry looks all morning” SHE KNOWS

“For the first time in her life, she finally felt good in her own skin.” GROWTH

Omg Nesta created a swooooord!!!!! Cool

ITS INFUSED WITH MAGIC??? HELL YEAH

“I can’t lie to her!” SIIIIIIIMP

“I’d be careful when fucking her.” Oh amren

FUUUUUUCK FUCK BOOOOOOOOO TAMLIN

“You will not touch us.” YES TELL HIM

“I can’t believe Feyre ever loved tamlin.” ME TOO

“Elain saw everything Nesta did.” Daaaaaaaaamn

OOOOOOOO NESTAS PIIIIIIIISSED

OOOOOOOOOOO SECRETS FEYRE’S PIIIIIIISED

Nesta messed up and I think she realizes that

Rhys is pissed now and wants to kill Nesta....SHIIIIIIIT

Nesta: heads for a tavern me: NONONONONO GODS DAMN IT YOU’VE COME SO FAR

“I will fight for him. For us. Until I can’t anymore.” FEYRE IS GONNA BE A GREAT MOM

“Wishing to disappear into nothing.” I’ve been there.

“Cassian knew Nesta hated herself, but didn’t know how sometimes she wanted to unexist.” I RELATE TO THAT SHIT

“She had been born wrong.” AWWWWW BBY SHIIIIIT

“Was she worth being counted?” I CAN RELATE

*hearing Nesta blaming herself for her fathers death and for the horrible things she’s done, saying she can’t fix it* SHIT IM CRYING (I’m not joking)

“ I deserve nothing.” I CAN RELATE BITCH IM ACTUALLY CRYING

*hears Cassian calmly reassuring and comforting her* AWWWWW I NEED THIS QUOTE

CASSIAN CARES SO MUCH FOR HER I LOVE THIS

(I really needed that cassian talk. I literally wrote most of the quote down just in case. Thank you SJM)

EMERY CAN SENSE THE SEX HOLY SHIT

“After he’d fucked her with her fingers...” O NONONONOOO

*skips to chapter 52*

Lanthis??? Who the fuck is that?

“Gwyn and Emery are my friends” SHES GROWN SO MUCH!!!

26 dimensions? OH THIS IS SOME DOCTOR STRANGE SHIT

IT CANT BE KILLED

cassian and Nesta really went *yeet* .......... I’m sorry

THE SWORDS NAME IS ADORAXIA!!!!!!!!!!!sounds like a dnd character IDEAS

OHOHOHOOOOO BLACK THRONE AND A CROWN DEATH QUEEN NESTA WITH HER HAIR DOOOOOOWN

Rhys vs Cassian standoff *western duel music starts*

NESTA APOLOGIZED FOR EARLIER IM SO PROUD

Did Elain have a vision? DID SHE???

“I want you to seduce him.” NESTA THE HIDDEN BARD ROLL FOR PERSUASION

Mor teaching Nesta the waltz? NESTA AND MOR CAN NOT HATE EACH OTHER

Are they back at their childhood home? Because oooooooooooof ✨ childhood trauma✨

MOR AND NESTA HAVING A CONVERSATION YAY!!!!! (This’ll make rping them so maybe easier)

“We’re in a book!” Holy shit they know. HIDE THE FANFICTION

The relationship between Nesta, Emery, and Gwyn is so wholesome

“Oh FUCK you” .... NESTA

“I was just checking on dessert” MOOD

MOR AND NESTA ARE HAVING A FRIENDLY CONVERSATION

I sense tension between amren and Nesta

ERIS WANTS NESTA????

“I’m not with you.” Lier

A SNOWBALL FIGHT WITH THE BATBOIS??? Holy shit they do have one(1) brain cell

A sleepover with Emery, Nesta, and Gwyn? SIGN ME UP

“Do it for the miniature Pegasus!” INSIDE JOKES

OOOOHHH i see the gwynriel ship

Wait....HER POWERS MADE THE HOUSE BE ALIVE??? Sweet

Alright 2 months til FEYSAND baby

The mating bond between cassian and Nesta?????.............

“Say it, SAY IT” GODS DAMN IT NESTA SAY THE FUCKING THING

So, Nesta’s afraid she’s gonna loose her humanity?

EMERIE NESTA AND GWYN ARE IN THE BLOODRITE? Fuuuuuuuuuck

OH NO EMERIE!!!!!!

“High Fae bitch” PUT THAT ON A SHIRT

OMG OMG OMG HELL YES VALKRIES

oh Cassian you restless bastard you

*hears Emerie’s backstory and their heart to heart* AWWWWWW I LOVE THEM

“The morrigan.” The fuck Eris?

“She’d hit the archway of stone” OOOOOOOOOOF

“For being my friends when I didn’t deserve it.” AWWWWWWWWWW

What about Feyre’s pregnancy???? Hewwo?

“Lord of bastards” heh true that’s cassian alright

Wait, OTHER set of wings

CASSIAN!!!!!!!!!!

“Now, I’m going to slit your little throat.” FUUUUUUUUCK NONONONOOOOO THIS ISNT CASS FUUUUCK

What’s the trove?

NONONONONOOOO WHYD HE GET STABBED SHIT HE GOT STABBED

Nesta’s pissed.....MAGIC TIME

wait wait wait wait wait HES NOT STABBED HELL YEAH!!!!

“You are my mate, Cassian.” ITS ABOUT FUCKING TIME

Nessian: kissing when the world is in ruin

“She started bleeding hours ago. “ BABY TIME???

*hears the blood and feyre’s appearance*!FUUUUUUUUUCK

So, no C section? OOOOOOH SHIT THEYRE DOING IT

IM SCARED IM SCARED IM SCARED

“Silent babe?” Shiiiiiiiiiiiiit

Nesta Nesta Nesta What the fuck are you doing???????? FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK

SHE HAS ALL 3! ONONONOOOOOFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK

OHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOOOOOOSHE PLUCKED IT FUCK

SHE STOPPED TIME?????????

WHOS the female voice?

“ I love you, Feyre” SHE DID IT IM SO PROUD!!!!!

What is she doing what is she doing what is she doiiiiingggg?

GIVE WHAT BACK?????

WHAAAAAT? A BARGAIN WITH THE FUCKING CAULDRON???

feyres alive? FEYRE’S ALIVE!!!!!!!

NESTA THE MVP!!!!

*the sister hug* AWWWWWWWWWWW

AWWWWWW I LOVE THE NAME NYX!!!!

How much did the Cauldron take from Nesta, tho?

FEYSAND IS BEST PARENTS

Alright, I want to see LOADS OF WHOLESOME FANFICS AND FANART ABOUT DOMESTIC IC AND ELAIN AND NESTA GOT IT?

#acotar #acowar #acofas #acomaf #acosf #acosf spoilers #feyre archeron #elain archeron #nesta archeron #rhysand acotar #cassian acotar #azriel acotar #morrigan acotar #mor acotar #amren acotar #gwyneth berdara #emerie acotar

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feminaexlux · 4 years

Text

Branded

It’s the @lukanette-exchange fic! After a long while it’s here!! @kingsglaivian I hope you enjoy! Also thanks to LBSC and @quickspinner in particular for finding the cool soulmark prompt lol

I am super, super excited to share this with you!

Original prompts: “childhood friends AU, soulmate AU, and an AU of the exchangee's choice.”

∴

It’d been just a few minutes after they first met when she first wrote her name on him.

She had come closer and stared over his shoulder when she saw he’d been drawing something. Was it a drawing? It looked like he had been drawing circles on a bunch of lines. Oh, Maman had showed her how music was written, it was music! “Hi! Are you drawing music?” She had asked cheerfully.

The boy had startled, apparently not having seen Marinette earlier. His pencil had marked across the entire page. “Aah!”

“Oh no!” Marinette whined. “You messed up!”

“Y-you made me do that,” he frowned. “You scared me.”

“Are you drawing music?” Marinette continued asking.

“Oh, yeah, yeah I am,” he said, turning the pencil around and erasing the errant mark. “I think about music all the time.”

“So what does that mean?” she asked, poking at his paper.

“That’s uh… that's…” he thought a bit. “I think that’s D and the next one is F and another D but this one’s higher. It’s a song from a video game.”

“You play video games?! Papa and I play games too!”

They talked back and forth about a bunch of different little things and he completely forgot what he’d been doing. Then it got to the point where Marinette had pulled out one of her markers and started writing her name on his arm. “– and if stays tomorrow it means you found your true love!” Marinette smiled up at the boy she’d been talking to. He looked like he was a few years older. Maybe he was even 10? Maybe he was younger, he looked really kinda small to be 10.

She was at the playground next to her family’s bakery. She’d been running around and playing with a few other kids there, but she saw this one boy sitting by a tree in the shade. He looked like he was alone and Marinette wondered if he’d been bullied. She knew what that was like, even at the tender age of 5. But it was easy to talk to this boy, he was much less Crazy Mean Boy than Kim was. He was more like Nino! And Nino was nice.

“Is that your name?” the boy asked, staring at her neatly written letters. “Marinette?”

“Yeah!”

“So if it stays tomorrow you’re my true love?” He asked, confused. “Mom told me that writing names on other people is bad… But why?”

“Maman and Papa have their names on each other’s arms,” Marinette said. “It’s not bad! Oh but you have to draw over it ‘cause it’s important that you do it,” Marinette added.

“Why?”

“It’s important,” she clarified. It looked like he was going to keep asking why until his mom called out.

“Ay laddie, it’s time to go,” a lady with a long braid said in their general direction. She had a girl on her hip and was walking over to the boy. “Why hello there lass, are ye makin’ friends with me boy?”

“I’m Marinette,” she said up to the lady. She wasn’t Lass, she wanted to say.

Marinette saw the boy quickly pull down his sleeves from his hoodie to hide her name. “Itwasnicetomeetyoubye,” he said quickly, before Marinette could whine about him hiding her name. He ran away to hold onto his mom’s hand. “Let’s go mom,” he continued, pulling his mom away in a slightly embarrassed fashion.

“Don’t ye want to say farewell? We won’t be ashore fer a while son.” Well, she didn’t know at the time he had wanted to run away and hide so the nice new girl wouldn’t be weirded out by his mom like most people were.

“See you tomorrow!” Marinette yelled after him.

She didn’t.

∴

It’d been just a few days after they first met.

Luka scrubbed and scrubbed at the M on his wrist but it wasn’t coming out. He’d scrubbed himself raw at the sink, his flesh feeling tender and his skin close to bleeding. He’d written over the girl’s marker with a pen a few days ago, idly curious if the mark would stay. At least he’d written over just the M, thinking about the nice girl who’d been curious about him.

“Luka?” He heard his mom call out. No, no, no. It wasn’t coming out and his mom would see it and she’d freak out and he’d have to make an excuse or find some of her makeup or something. He’d been told to take off his hoodie by… that man and so he ran back to the bathroom to try to do something about the M on his wrist.

Anarka opened the door. “Luka, my boy what are ye–” Oh no oh no she saw the mark. He put his hands back in the sink and kept scrubbing, starting to cry. “Luka what…” His mom started, initially alarmed and then… and then she came over to hug him.

“Mom what do I do?” He cried. “It’s not coming out!”

“Who'd… no, it doesn’t matter. Luka stop doing that, it’s not going to come out. It doesn’t, lad.” His mom took his hands from the sink and started to dry them. “It stays no matter how hard ye try to get rid o’ it.” She spoke to him with the rare moment of solemnity. “Ye'e been Branded, and there’s nothin we can do about it.”

“I don’t wanna be Branded!” he wailed.

In a quiet, heated hiss Anarka whispered “This is why I told ye to never write names on yerself!” She looked at her son crying and sighed, shaking her head. Luka would realize later she’d been more disappointed in herself that she’d let him get Branded like he did. She thought she warned him, but how could she blame him for something no one ever thought would happen at 7 years old?

Who finds their soulmate at 7?

But it’d be a shackle for the rest of his life. Luka would grow up wondering if this M would ever be part of his life again, whether M would even want to be his partner. If he did find someone else to be his partner, they’d wonder if they’d ever be loved like whoever this M was. “Here,” Anarka sighed. “Ye can’t get rid of that Luka. But ye can cover it. Forget about it now, lad,” she said gently, taking off the wide leather cuff she had on that had covered her own Brand. “This 'ere’s yers now. I’ll get ye all freshened up. Granpa’s waitin for us,” Anarka said, pasting on a fake smile.

Luka hated that man. He was angry and hateful and mean, but Anarka had wanted to see her own Ma again, to have her Ma help guide Anarka in the raising of two children Anarka never originally planned to have. Granma was nice. But Granpa? No. Luka swore to himself he’d never be like Granpa.

His mom put the cuff around Luka’s Brand, looping twice to fit the small wrist better. “All covered up now. Is that fitting, Luka?” He nodded, staring at the “S” on his mom’s wrist.

“Was… that dad?” Luka asked, pointing at the Brand.

Anarka laughed. “It stands for Scotland,” she said lightly. “It stands for the Sea. It’s not yer da, no,” Anarka lied.

∴

It’d been a few weeks since Marinette met Adrien Agreste.

She’d been convinced Adrien was her True Love, and was continually disappointed every morning when his name disappeared off of her arm. “Tikki, it disappeared again,” Marinette sighed.

Tikki shrugged. “Maybe he’s not ready?” The Kwami had seen this before. The Brands were a form of magic that humans had that linked two souls together, signaling that they’d found their soul’s mate. A person would have to write another’s True Name on themselves somewhere, and it would disappear at sunrise if it wasn’t meant to be. Sometimes, though, it depended on if the other person was even capable of loving back. A Brand that had disappeared earlier might “take” later, when the soulmate was ready.

Tikki wasn’t sure if it was a good thing for Marinette that Adrien wasn’t capable of loving Marinette back yet. Maybe Adrien had a different name? The kwami wasn’t going to put forth the suggestion that it might not be Adrien at all. Marinette seemed convinced, and Tikki knew better than to doubt her bearers.

Marinette’s parents proudly wore the names they had on their arms, a very simple “Tom” on Sabine’s wrist and a beautifully formed script of “Sabine” scrawled across Tom’s massive forearm. Of course it simply encouraged Marinette into writing several names on her own arms throughout the years, even if most people found writing names on themselves taboo.

Recently, though, it’d just been Adrien’s.

None of the attempts ever stuck.

“It’ll happen one day!” Tikki said cheerfully. “I believe that you’ll find your soulmate one day. But right now you should get ready for school!”

∴

It’d been a few months after Juleka showed him that the picture curse was broken that he met the girl that’d been able to break it.

“I’m Ma-ma-ma-Marinette!”

He’d laughed a little and it hurt her feelings. Good job, Luka, that was a great first impression. Luckily he was able to apologize and smooth it over.

It tickled him, just a little bit, that he’d met another “M” in his life that he actually ended up liking. He ended up liking her a whole lot, which… ultimately kinda sucked because she’d been interested in someone else. Well, that was alright. He’d been used to the idea that he’d never find “the one” since he technically already had and lost them so many years ago.

But this one? This “M”? She was pretty cool and he found himself more interested than he’d ever been in anyone before.

There’d been one other “M” in his life a couple of years ago before his mom decided to move them all back to France, and Paris in particular. Her name had been Meryl and she was a pretty awesome girl, but she’d been several years older and already in University. She’d still given Luka some attention though, apparently finding it cute that she had a boy doting on her like he did. She was nice and she said he’d look good with some blue in his hair, and it’d been the last thing she said to him before she found herself her own soulmate. It hadn’t been Luka, of course.

He’d gotten into a fight with Granpa over his hair after Luka had dyed it. Juleka joined him by dying her hair purple. Anarka had finally had enough of her and her kids being put down and said she was going to go back “home”. It’d been a hard conversation with Granpa, but after Granma had passed Anarka and her kids had little reason to stick around in their Scottish family house. Anarka’s little wildlings were less little, and Juleka and Luka were both in their tweens to teens, largely old enough to handle themselves now.

Anarka had found some nearly-derelict fishing barge and spent a few weeks with her kids fixing up the ship, making it their new house, and they left Scotland as soon as they could. She sailed the newly christened Liberty back into Parisian waters, claiming the Seine as her new home. She gave a little wink to Luka, a nod to the new “S” in Anarka’s life that her Brand now represented.

It’d been good to see his mom coming back into her old self, the wild, chaotic, free spirit that she’d always been. He was no longer embarrassed of her like he’d been so many years ago. And he had to be honest to himself, the boat wasn’t the first choice he’d make in having a place to come home to, but something about Paris just felt right.

Juleka had been feeling better too. The younger Couffaines had been under their Granpa’s oppressive shadow for too long. And now they were slowly discovering more of themselves over time.

Rose was one of the first friends Juleka had made after coming back to Paris a few years ago, and they were “best friends” since. Today, Juleka showed him a neatly written “Rose” in a flourishing script on the back of her right hand. Juleka apparently hadn’t minded getting the Brand at all. “Marinette did this too,” Juleka smiled. “She’s been drawing names for people who ask. It’s so cool,” Juleka mumbled.

“She’s amazing,” Luka said out loud. Jules gave him a look and even he couldn’t figure out what it meant. “What?”

“She’s got eyes on Adrien, you know.”

“I’ve heard your schemes, I know.”

“I’m on team Adrienette.”

“Alright.”

“She deserves to be happy.”

“Sounds good.”

“It’d be weird if you two dated, anyway.”

“But we’re not dating. She doesn’t seem to notice me.”

Jules frowned at that and grumbled something that sounded to Luka like “she notices and it’s weird.”

He thought to himself, Not where it matters.

∴

It’d been a year since Adrien lost his mother, and Marinette finally said the words “I love you” to him.

Yes, it was a video recording and yes, Felix had apparently gone through and deleted it before Adrien ever got to see it, but she’d done it! She’d done the thing! She could do it again! It had to be easier the second time, right? The second… time.

She couldn’t bring herself to do it. It’d been nearly a full year of her attempting Adrien’s name on her arm, and nothing changed. She’d stayed up and watched it fade out when the sunlight hit it during a few fitful mornings. She wrote his name so often it stopped looking like a word and more like a familiar pattern. Just shapes and no meaning.

Marinette had tried out a few different names over the year as well, just so she’d be certain… in a slightly unsettling way. She kept it discreet, writing on her ankle or in another place easy to cover up in case it was… taking. She’d written “Nathaniel”, once. It disappeared. She’d written “Chat Noir” and nearly sighed in relief (and maybe deep down in slight surprise) when it disappeared. Not that it was his real name anyway.

She’d secretly tried “Nino” once, even though he and Alya had gotten together. It hadn’t stuck. Nino and Alya hadn’t asked for Marinette to write each other’s names down, and maybe… maybe that was actually healthy? Like they didn’t need any external validation in order to really enjoy time spent with each other.

There might have been a lesson in that.

She tried “Kim” and “Wayhem” and “Theo”, even though the last one kinda creeped her out a bit. She tried “Kagami.” Nothing stuck.

There was still one name she hadn’t tried but… but she’d been absolutely terrified of it. Luka had more or less admitted to the world at large that he loved her after he’d gotten akumatized. There’d been genuine affection that was unfiltered, unbiased, uninfluenced by whatever the magic was that made names stay on people. He didn’t seem to mind that she was so, so into Adrien. Even if she wasn’t his soulmate, he’d love her.

S-So she’d be able to do that for Adrien! Yes, that made sense. Yes, that soulmate stuff was all kid fantasy anyway. Even if it was demonstratively real.

But if Adrien found his soulmate and it wasn’t Marinette… what was she supposed to do? Just step out of the way?

∴

It’d been a decade since Marinette and Luka first met except neither remembered that first time when they were young children, even if they’d been in the same place: the park nearby the bakery.

He’d held onto her as she broke down crying about the heartbreak and how tired she was. Luka told her he’d listen and be there and hadn’t lied about any of it. It was why she chose to sit next to him after letting her infatuation go and stepping out of the way for Kagami, watching Adrien and Kagami have their Sweetheart’s ice cream together like it was always meant to be Adrien and Kagami instead of Adrien and Marinette.

Marinette chose to sit next to Luka instead of going home.

She went to bed that night deciding that the whole names and soulmates and True Love thing was just a big huge distraction from what she really needed to focus on, which was getting through school, defeating Hawkmoth, and getting her name out there as an up and coming Fashion Designer!

It lasted all of 3 days until she finally gave into her curiosity and wrote an L in the crook of her left arm before going to bed. She really had meant to write out the rest of his name, but then her phone buzzed and there’d been an akuma alert. She sighed and rolled into action.

Her Lucky Charm gave her a guitar pick. That was a little too on-the-nose, Tikki? Ladybug zipped over to the Liberty, somehow not surprised that Luka was still up and leaning against the Liberty to overlook the Seine, looking cool and thoughtful. Actually, scratch that. He looked a little haggard and worried, and he’d been expecting to see Ladybug. Well, at least it meant she didn’t have to go in and wake him up.

“… you must return the Miraculous after…” Ladybug trailed off, noticing as Luka reached out to take the bracelet that he hadn’t been wearing any of the normal… accessories he chose to wear most of the time, most notably the leather cuff he usually had on. Something bothered her and she caught his hand before he touched the bracelet. She turned his right hand over and looked at the pen mark on his wrist. “Is that an M or an E?”

Luka pulled back his hand immediately, embarrassed. “An… M,” he said reluctantly.

Then Ladybug remembered it’d been incredibly rude of her to ask. “Oh, I’m so sorry I-I shouldn’t have done that.”

“It's… been 10 years since I got that, I don’t even remember much about it,” he shrugged.

Ladybug smiled, biting back a sudden urge to scream, and offered Luka the snake Miraculous again. “If you agree… I’d like your help, Luka.”

Ladybug, Chat Noir, and Viperion were able to save the night and have everyone able to go to bed on time. She picked the Miraculous back up from Viperion, who seemed to be confused the akuma victim wasn’t who he’d expected it to be. “Anything wrong, Luka?”

“No… no, I’m glad I was able to help. I’m okay,” he said, clearly still a bit frazzled. Ladybug furrowed her eyebrows at him and he eventually sighed. “I guess I’m worried about a… friend. She’d been going through a lot so I’d been… I’d been waiting to see if she’d either call me or… or God, I don’t know,” he laughed, a little bit in disbelief. “I almost thought she’d been akumatized tonight. I’m so glad it wasn’t her. But it kinda makes me feel like crap for even thinking that.”

“It’s kind to be worried about your friend. W-Which friend by the way?” Ladybug asked. “I could pay her a visit if you’d like?”

“I don’t know if she’d appreciate that, actually,” he sighed. “She can kill me later if she wants, but yeah it’d be great if you’d check up on her. It’s Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

Instead of being worried that Luka was worried over her, she asked “Is she your M?” Ladybug got blindsided by her own question, but she only felt the impact and implication after she asked it. “Oh no, no, I’m so sorry I’ve been so rude.”

He blew out a breath. “I wish,” he mumbled. “I don’t know,” he said, his tiredness making him slightly more obvious about being miserable. “I guess I could know for sure by writing out her name.” That was said like he had been convinced it’d disappear…

“I’m pretty good at writing out names. If you want I could write… the rest of her name out on your arm?” Ladybug offered impulsively.

“… Sure,” he agreed. He watched her as she grabbed a nearby marker and wrote out Marinette on his arm. “Wow, that… looks pretty dead on to her signature.”

“Pfft,” Ladybug laughed. “That’d be the worst identity reveal ever. Marinette’s signed a few things for me too, I’ll have you know.”

“You might have a future in crime with your forging skills if you ever decide to stop being a hero,” Luka chuckled.

“I’ll stick to saving Paris, don’t worry,” Ladybug giggled. “You do have to write over it yourself if you want it to stay. I mean… if she is… you know…”

Luka nodded. “I know. Probably a long shot. Thanks,” he said.

“I’ll check up on her. Thank you for caring, Luka,” Ladybug smiled. “And you know, I’ve got a good feeling about this one,” she said quietly, biting her lip while tapping his arm. “I’ll be off. Have a good night, 'Bug out!”

Ladybug landed in her bed and detransformed. Tikki floated back to her little nesting spot while the kwami watched Marinette pull out her phone.

hey luka just got a visit from LB! thanks for thinking of me

Marinette looked down into the crook of her arm, grabbing a marker and filling out the rest of Luka’s name. She’d recognized that M on his arm.

Had it really been 10 years when she first met him? It was kind of funny that she didn’t remember until now. He hadn’t given his name back then but she remembered the disappointment the next day when her new friend didn’t show.

Had it really been a whole year of writing… the wrong name on herself?

It’d been months since Luka told her she’d been the melody in his head. Months.

And she had spent a week in heartbreak over the wrong boy.

It’d just been a few days since she decided she was going to let Adrien go. And she found her soulmate after that? How lucky was she? Marinette looked up at the sleeping Tikki and squinted suspiciously. Maybe she was Lucky™, except that she had apparently met Luka when she was 5.

Marinette stared at her phone, watching the minutes go by. She wasn’t going to be able to sleep tonight.

The sun rose after an agonizingly boring time of rolling back and forth in her bed, too excited to go to sleep but too tired to do anything productive. She kept checking the name on her arm and it’d still been there all throughout the night, but now at first light… she was… scared. She closed her eyes and covered her head with her pillow, half dreading what she’d see if she looked down at her left arm where she wrote his name.

“It’ll be there,” she said to herself, feeling more certain of that than anything. The warmth of sunlight hit her left arm. She lifted the pillow off of her face but kept her eyes closed. Slowly she opened one eye.

His name was still there. “It’s you,” she whispered, feeling the tears fall from her eyes.

She launched herself out of bed, turning into a little hurricane of activity. She threw her jacket on and ran downstairs, kissing her Maman and Papa on the cheek and telling them she’d be out for a while. They’d been too surprised to see her up at the crack of dawn to complain much, just insisting that she take her phone with her and that she wear proper shoes.

She ran down to the subway entrance and guessed the nearest station where Liberty would be moored, taking the subway train there. She emerged from an entrance about 10 minutes later, ignoring the confused looks the other commuters shot her since she’d been a mess of pigtails and pajamas. She ran toward the Liberty, climbed up and leapt over the railing onto the ship when she saw that the gangplank wasn’t extended.

“Marinette!” she heard Luka’s alarmed shout. She knew he’d be up. She knew it! He ran over to her. “What the heck–” He’d been wearing a different hoodie, a long sleeved one that covered up both his arms. She frowned at him, noticing the dark circles under his eyes.

“You’re up early,” she said.

“S-So are you! And you’re-you’re here? What’s wrong?” His voice had dropped from a high pitched panic to his deeper, concerned tone in the span of two words.

She took off her jacket and extended her left arm. She saw him flush but start pulling up his hoodie from the hem, taking it off and tossing it aside. He turned his right palm up to show her the name written across his forearm.

Their names had stayed. He breathed out. “Did Ladyb–” She cut him off, her hands on either side of his face to pull him down, planting a kiss on his lips. They pulled back a second after, looking at one another in surprise.

“It’s you,” she said, resting her forehead against his shoulder. To be honest she’d been embarrassed that she’d just kissed him in the disheveled state she was in, having left to see him as soon as she got out of bed, but she felt giddy and… right.

He pulled her in, wrapping his arms around her to hug her tight. “And… it’s you.”

#marinette dupain cheng #luka couffaine #lukanette endgame #soulmarks #fxl fic #lukanette exchange 2020 #lukanette #endgame lukanette

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demivampirew · 4 years

Text

So we meet again - part 3

Henry x Reader x Chris

Summary: A recent graduate recounters someone from her past with who things did not exactly ended up in great terms. She holds a grudge on him for that and still has unanswered questions about what happened.

You can find part 1 and 2 in the Masterlist

Triggers: cursing, drinking and mentions of dead relatives.

Finally, after a raw couple of months, you're luck was starting to change. You finished and published your book and it was a sensation among the academic community. Not much after lunch you received a call inviting you to a discution of your work held in Harvard University and the interviewer was not other than Steven Pinker himself - a cognitive psychologist, linguist, and popular science author. He is Johnstone Family Professor in the Department of Psychology at Harvard University. In fact, his point of view in the topic of language acquisition was something you talked about in your book. That was a great day in your career. You decided to go to the pub to celebrated with your friend Mark -he was the only friend you could celebrate good news with, since your other two friends were always busy, one with her shifts in the hospital and the other with her son. - Guess who is going to have a special event to talk about her work on Havard University? - you said smiling to your friend as you sat next to the bar. - Beyoncé? Not, I know the answer... Meryl! - Mark joked - Haha, pretty funny - you replied sarcastically. - Congrats, babe! - he cheered as he handed you a Guinness - Thanks, love. - you thanked him happily and drink the cold beer. - So, have you heard the news? - he asked you as he raised an eyebrow - What news? - you questioned confused - Superman broke up with blondie. - he informed amused - Oh. Well, bad for them I guess. - you replied trying to show how little you cared about your former friends - Do you want to know how I know they broke up? - Not really, but I have the feeling you will tell me anyway. - He was here yesterday and told me himself. He also wanted to talk to you, so he asked me to give you this. - Mark said as he handed you a piece of paper with a phone number on it. You grabbed the piece of paper and tore it up into tiny pieces and then gave it back to him. - Mark, sweetie, would you do me the favor of put this into the trash can? - you requested and he did as you told him, looking you as if you were crazy. - Oh, damn! Someone's pissed. - he pointed out. - Someone's tired of being a punchbag.- you implied - Everytime he shows up in my life, I end up crying and feeling awful. So I want him far away from me. If he comes back again, tell him I want him to fuck off and leave me alone. - you demanded and took another zip of your drink. - Ok. I'll do it - he promessed, looking at you afraid, like if you were a hungry tiger. - Changing the subject, will you help me plan a surprise birthday party for George? I could really use a hand. - Absolutely, count with me for anything you need, love.- you assured him. - This is for you - said Charlotte as she approached you from the other side of the bar, handing you another beer.- This is from the gentleman over there- pointed out the bartender, as she nodded in direction where the tables were and a young man was smiling at you as you took at look at him. You recognized him immediately; it was not other than Captain America. You grabbed the beer and raised it in a sign of thank you and started to drink it. He then stood up and started to walk towards you. He sat next to you on the bar and smiled at you. - I'm Chris.- he introduced himself, offering you his hand. - Y/N - you replied shooking his hand. - All drinks of this lovely lady are on me.- he said to Mark and Charlotte and the three of you burst on laughing and he look at everybody, confused, knowing that there was an inside joke he was missing. - Don't worry about it, all of her drinks are on the house.- Mark explained- She's part owner of the place. - Seriously? - he asked surprised, looking at you, smirking - Kind of.- you added - My uncle is the real owner. My father helped him built the place and after he passed, my sister and I inherit his part. But, my uncle is the real owner. - And one day, unless he decides to have kids, this will be yours.- Mark pointed out. - Apparenty that's what Uncle John wants.- you shrugged, like if it wasn't a big deal. - Impressive. - Chris exclaimed - More impressive is the fact that she's a start in the academic world. She's a genious.- your friend bragged on your behalf. - Oh, yeah? - the actor asked curious - Yes. She's a proffesor on the best college in London and also wrote a successfull book and now she's going to have an event throw in her honour at Harvard University. - Wow, it looks like I found a really smart woman.- he said smiling.- I really find that extremely attractive. - Do you want to know to know what I find attractive? - you asked with a seductive voice, getting closer to him. He had his eyes set on your lips as you talked. - Please do tell.- he replied - Iron Man. - you replied as you started laughing and he joined your laugh. - Haha, very funny.- he told you - Not only smart but also hilarious. - Well, who said that you can't be both? - you asked as you finish your beer. - Good point. I like your sense of humor. Will you like to entertain me so more with your cute jokes on somewhere more private? - I don't have sex when I drink.- you indicated him. - You're very direct, aren't you? - he laughed amused and you shrugged. - That was not my plan...at least not for tonight. - he explained and winked. - I was thinking more of a private conversation about your work and life and things you enjoy, while we have a good laugh with your incredible funny comments. - I'd love to do that. Another day, maybe? - you questioned as you saw your uncle come out from his office and approach you. - Absolutely. Will you like to have dinner with me tomorrow? - he questioned - Sure. - you replied - Here's her number.- interrupted Mark as he handed Chris a piece of paper with your phone number written on it. - Sweetie, do you need a ride home? - asked you your godfather. - Yes, please.- you prompted. Wait for me for a minute, please? - you requested - Sure. Mark, Charlotte, I'll see you tomorrow.- he said goodbye to his employees. - Bye, John- both bartenders saluted him. - Ok, so you text me and then we'll arenge everything, ok? - you told Chris. - I'll call you in the morning.-he promesed. - Alright.- you replied and say goodbye to everyone as you went to the door. In the ride home, you were looking through the window and smiling. - You seem pretty happy.- teased you your uncle and you laugh. - I am. Today I got a call from Harvard; they wanted me to talk in an event dedicated to my book and the host is not other than Steven Pinker.- you explained - I don't know who he is, but I'm pretty sure he's important, so congratulations.- he exclaimed, just as excited as you were. - He is. He's one of the people whose work I discuss in my book. - That's great, darling! - he said happy for you - Now tell me, is that the only reason you're smiling? - he said and gave you a quick look while raising an eyebrow and then set his eyes back on the road. - I saw you talk with Chris Evans. - I'm surprised you know who he is. - you replied amused - Hey, I'm only 47 and I love Marvel movies. Of course, I know who he is.- he reproached you laughing. - You're right, sorry. - you apologized. - So, I heard you're going out with him. - Yep. He asked me out to dinner tomorrow. - What about the other superhero? - he questioned and gave you another quick look to see your reaction. - What superhero? - you asked, pretending to be confused - You know who I'm talking about. - he called out your bullshit, he knew you were pretending not to know- Superman. - He's out of my life. He's been out of my life for a while. - you replied without smiling. - It seems like you're not out of his. He's been on the pub constantly in the last few weeks, always looking at the bar, my office and the entrance. I'm bet my life he was looking for you. - Maybe he's waiting for me to introduce him to another friend so he can date her.- you told bitterly. Your uncle decided not to comment on the subject anymore. After you got to your place, you went straight to the bathroom to take a quick shower before heading to bed, when you saw that you had a direct message on Instagram. It was from Henry. "Could we meet and talk, please? I really need to talk to you" he wrote. You looked at the message for a moment, and as you were about to reply, you remembered the whole situation with Tara, and that made you angry. So, instead of replying, you blocked him and left your phone as you entered the shower.

#henry cavill #chris evans #henry cavill x reader #chris evans x reader #henry x reader x chris #henry cavill fanfic #henry cavill fanfiction #chris evans fanfic #chris evans fanfiction #demivampirew #my gifs

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missjanjie · 4 years

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As If We Never Said Goodbye | Jankie

Title: As If We Never Said Goodbye Summary: After their senior year of high school, a summer camp reunion is held when seven former campers return as counselors. While a lot has changed over the past six years, some haven't at all - especially for Jan and Jackie. Word Count: 1955 Relationship(s): Jankie (Jan Sport/Jackie Cox) Rating: G

read on ao3

The reunion among all the former campers was truly a heartwarming one. All of the girls were happy to see each other after six years, eager with curiosity to see how much had changed (and how much hadn’t). There was screaming and hugs all around as everyone was quick to get reacquainted, and they had a whole weekend to themselves before the campers showed up.

“Oh, well that’s just not fair,” Jan clicked her tongue and shook her head. “How did they all grow up to be models?” she asked, gesturing to Gigi, Nicky, and Jaida.

Rock nodded. “It seems like just yesterday I was fighting Nicky over pokémon cards while Jaida tried to stop her from convincing Crystal to eat glue again. Time flies.”

Jan nodded, but she’d stopped listening, instead, she was looking around, looking for something, someone.

As if she could read her mind, Rock tapped her shoulder. “Your girlfriend’s coming,” she said and cocked her head in that direction.

“Shut up,” Jan shoved her lightly. “Jackie was my summer camp bestie. I missed her,” she insisted.

Before Rock could call her bluff, Jackie ran over to them. “Jan! Rock! Hi!” She gave each of them a big hug - though Jan’s might’ve lasted a bit longer. “Oh wow, you guys look great,” she observed.

“You’re not even looking at me,” Rock retorted before she wandered off to get reacquainted with the rest of her old friends.

Not that Jackie noticed, as the world around her became nothing more than background noise when she laid eyes on Jan. It was hard to believe this was the same girl that picked her first every soccer game and sang the loudest every karaoke night. Her eyes sparkled with the same enthusiasm she seemed to get just from existing. In a way, Jackie felt like she was back home. “It’s so nice to see you again.”

Jan was grinning from ear to ear, practically bouncing on her feet. Memories of that summer never fully left her mind, it was some of the most formative months of her life, she had learned so much about herself, stuff she might have otherwise ignored for another couple years. And a lot of that was directly due to Jackie. “You too. It’s been way too long. And you, wow, you look amazing too.”

“God, we have so much to catch up on, I don’t even know where to begin,” Jackie mused.

Jan started to speak, then her eyes widened. “The time capsule!” She looked around, then began calling out for all the girls to gather back around her. “Guys! We need to dig up the time capsule,” she grinned.

The memory dawned on everyone around the same time, the group of them talking excitedly among themselves, trying to remember where it was buried, where they could get a shovel to dig it out. They settled on splitting out in two groups – Crystal, Gigi, Jackie, and Nicky would retrace their years-old steps to find the burial site while Jan, Jaida, and Rock went to find shovels.

“I know we’re close,” Crystal remarked. “I can feel it.”

“This must be it,” Gigi pointed to a spot where there was dirt piled up, standing out amidst the grass, with a border of rocks around it. “I remember Nicky and I spent ages looking for enough pretty rocks.”

Nicky chuckled softly. “We had very discerning tastes.”

Jackie was only vaguely paying attention, mostly waiting for the other group to return. “Do you guys remember what you put in?”

“I know Jaida and I both put our paper mache projects in there, so I hope they didn’t disintegrate,” Gigi mused. “What did you put in?”

“I remember what she put in,” Crystal announced, elbowing Jackie’s side and grinning far too broadly. She had watched Jackie work on her item for hours on end, she didn’t know it could take someone that long, and Jackie didn’t even let her see the final result.

Jackie blushed. “And you need to be quiet. I don’t want to ruin it,” she said pointedly.

Crystal just giggled. “Relax, she’s not even here.”

“Who’s not here?” Jan asked as her group returned with shovels.

“Nothing, don’t worry about it,” Gigi cut in, much to Jackie’s relief. “So, who’s doing the digging? Because I call ‘not it’.”

Jan chuckled and ushered her out of the way. “Rock and I got it, don’t worry,” she assured as the two of them started digging. “This shit is heavy though, no wonder Brooke and Kameron wouldn’t let us do it,” she recalled with a laugh.

“Aw, I miss them,” Rock hummed. “We should look them up on Instagram or something later.”

“I bet they’re still hot,” Nicky mused, causing some of the group to look at her oddly. “What? I couldn’t have been the only one thinking it,” she insisted, to which the girls reluctantly conceded to.

“Okay, we hit it!” Jan called out, she and Rock hoisting it out of the ground and setting it on the grass. “Oh, I’m so excited!” she said as if her whole body wasn’t nearly vibrating with enthusiasm.

Rock was the one to actually open the capsule (which was actually a toolbox they had all decorated), taking out the letter they had collectively written first, then squinted as she tried to read. “I’m gonna be honest, you guys, I can’t decipher any of this. We’ll have to go around and read our own entries later.”

Jan went to look through the capsule while Rock set the letter aside. “Let’s see… I recognize this little guy,” she cooed, holding up Nicky’s stuffed sheep.

“Meryl Sheep!” Nicky’s eyes lit up as she grabbed the toy. “Aw, my collection hasn’t been the same without you.” She looked back to Jan, gesturing for her to continue.

“We have Gigi and Jaida’s paper mache projects,” Jan continued, holding up the two crafts, one of a helmet that could fit the average baby doll, and the other of an apple with a comically angry face painted on. “And Rock’s Pokémon card,” she continued.

“Wait, gimme that!” Rock grabbed the sealed plastic pouch it was in. “D’you guys know how much this is worth?” She got blank stares in response, save for Nicky who shared her excitement.

“Smart move preserving it,” Jan hummed. “My mixtape!” she grinned, holding up a CD. “Miss Vanjie helped me burn a CD, and I put a song that made me think of everyone, like Burning Up for Crystal, Lady Marmalade for Nicky…” she continued looking down the list, her cheeks suddenly reddening. She didn't want to announce that she'd picked Alone by Heart for Jackie. “Well, you get the idea,” she summed up, reaching into the box and grabbing the next item, only to drop it. “Jesus Christ! Why is that there?”

Crystal picked the furby off the ground. The fur was partially singed on one side and had a bald spot on the other. “Oh yeah, I forgot I put Arson in there.”

Gigi pinched the bridge of her nose. “Tell me you didn’t actually name it ‘Arson’.”

“It survived being tossed into a campfire, Gigi,” she retorted as if the name choice should have obviously made sense. “There should still be another thing in there, right?”

Jan nodded, picking an envelope up from the bottom of the box. “Jackie, this must be yours, right?” she asked, holding it up and displaying the heart drawn in the center.

Even though it had been six years, Jackie’s heart started racing as soon as she saw that letter. Her throat tightened and her face flushed red. “I… Yeah… That’s mine,” she swallowed thickly, forcing herself to add, “read it.”

Jan looked at Jackie with a flash of concern in her expression, but obliged nonetheless, peeling off the Star Trek sticker the envelope had been sealed with and taking the note out.

“Dear Jan, I know we’re supposed to put something in the capsule that makes us think of our whole camp experience, but that’s actually why I’m doing this. My favorite part of the summer is you. I love how you pick me first every time we play soccer or kickball even though you know I can’t play. I love the way you spent your free hour helping clean all the paint and glitter off of me after Crystal’s project exploded (she’s watching me while I write this, I think she’s mad I told her she can’t copy my idea, and she’s probably watching you now, standing with Gigi anyway),” Jan looked up, noting that Crystal was standing with her arm around Gigi’s waist - all of them giggling at that before she continued.

“I love that you spent all week talking about how much you love horror movies, but wouldn’t go outside during Halloween night. I also love what happened that night, though I don’t know if it meant anything to you, or if you were just caught up in the moment. What I’m trying to say is, I don’t know where we’ll be when you read this, if we have girlfriends or pretend to have boyfriends, but right now, I love you. I love you a lot. Sincerely, Jackie.” Jan hadn’t realized tears were forming in her eyes until she finished reading and had to blink them away. The wave of emotion that hit her was hard to describe - twelve-year-old Jackie had poured her soul into this letter, and it made her heart swell.

It was clear that neither Jan nor Jackie were ready to say anything yet. “That was beautiful, Jackie,” Jaida offered, trying to ease the tension that had built up around them.

“Wow… I didn’t realize you felt that way,” Jan finally said.

“Really? Not even a little?” Nicky chimed in before Jaida elbowed her to get her to shut up.

Jackie let out a breath that vaguely resembled a laugh. “No, it’s okay,” she said to Nicky and Jaida before turning back to Jan. “It was one of those things that everyone else just knew.”

Jan chewed on her lip. “Everyone except me. I wish I’d known, though. Because I felt the same way - don’t say it, Nicky - the whole time.”

“I think you guys need some privacy,” Gigi said gently. “Why don’t you take a walk or something?”

Jackie nodded and already turned to start walking away. “Good idea,” she said, heading down the hiking trail with Jan doing a quick jog to catch up with her.

“So, um…” Jan cleared her throat. “Are you dating anyone?”

For the first time since the envelope came out, Jackie smiled and let herself look at Jan. “No, I’m not, are you?”

Jan shook her head. “I’m not either,” she said, then suddenly stopped walking. “Wait…”

Jackie stopped, turning back to look at her. “What?”

Wordlessly, Jan cupped Jackie’s face and kissed her deeply. It was nothing like the chaste peck they’d shared during the Halloween party six years ago. It was heated and fervent, both of them holding onto each other for dear life until their lungs begged for air. “Yeah,” she smiled as she stood upright, “the spark’s still there.”

“Did we just sign up for a summer romance, then?” Jackie asked with a light laugh.

“At least… Where are you going to college?”

“Columbia, finally moving out to the big city.”

“I’m not surprised in the slightest,” Jan chuckled. “I’m going to The American Academy of Dramatic Arts which…” her eyes went wide, “is also in Manhattan.”

Jackie’s face broke into a broad grin as she pulled Jan into a hug. “Isn’t that amazing?”

“Yeah,” Jan agreed as she melted into Jackie’s arms. “It’ll be nice to not have to say goodbye this time.”

#hi look what all that summer camp talk inspired lol #unbeta'd bcs i have no patience #jankie

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rennyforpresident · 4 years

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Renny’s BBSim: Second Chances Week 7: When It Rains, It Pours

Welcome back to Biiiiiiiiiig Brother!

@brentrobinson @cirie-sandra-michaela @flopbb-22 @flungevictee @fucklauryn @iantxrry @kaysarswhore @maxdoesbb @music-obsessednerd @pawn2393 @paymeincashnottears @phylisisley @rennyforpresident @swampassthing @wheremy--demons--hide

Jury: @theminionjcfucked

Previously, @theminionjcfucked was evicted over @iantxrry. @cirie-sandra-michaela, @fucklauryn, and @flopbb-22 were on the wrong side of the vote; was it strategy? Was it tomfoolery? Was it something more?

Have any of our alliances shifted in the house?

We’re still going strong! Who will @cirie-sandra-michaela choose to side with in the end? Will he have to make that decision this week? Let’s find out

This competition is TOUGH. Not only are these houseguests hanging from disco balls and being swung around in every direction, glitter bombs are going off every 10 minutes.

But on the bright side, Big Brother has paid for the rights to play ABBA’s Greatest Hits during this competition!

The people can’t take the heat! As soon as Waterloo comes on, @cirie-sandra-michaela drops. When Dancing Queen comes on, @paymeincashnottears and @swampassthing just CAN’t help but jump off the disco ball like Meryl Streep jumps off the dock during the musical number in Mamma Mia (2008)! @iantxrry falls shortly after that, and screams so loudly that it spooks @fucklauryn off her disco ball!

Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight) starts playing, and the speed of the disco balls picks up!

@flopbb-22 wanted to win so badly, but just couldn’t hold on.

The competition is STIFF, but this time, no one wants to make a deal. That’s bad news for @phylisisley, who gets knocked off just as the chorus of Name of the Game starts

The final two both look at each other, and know that neither will put the other up. @kaysarswhore: “Drop? I really need that letter.”

@pawn2393 makes a split decision....

@kaysarswhore! You are our first TWO TIME HOH of the season! You have secured your safety and earned the right to nominate two of your fellow houseguests for eviction.

@pawn2393 and @kaysarswhore are immediately in the storage room doing a celebration dance.

@kaysarswhore in the DR: “I am SO ready for this week! I can finally play again!”

At the nomination ceremony, @kaysarswhore decides to air it all out to the house.

@kaysarswhore: “I said when I won that I wasn’t going to be afraid to play this week. @fucklauryn, when I nominated you last, you survived! I want to find out if you can pull it off again. @phylisisley, you cannot be trusted. @iantxrry has been feeding me info for the past few weeks, and I know all about the dirty, underhanded game you’ve been playing. You shouldn’t be here, and I hope you leave this week. This ceremony is adjourned.”

@phylisisley immediately gets up after the meeting and gets into a screaming match with @kaysarswhore. This is the kind of shit the announcer would say “see the crazy fallout from the nomination ceremony, next time”. Plates are broken, tables are flipped, even the wall yeller outside the house is afraid.

@fucklauryn in the DR: “Well shit. It’s hard for me to feel bad after watching @kaysarswhore tear @phylisisley apart. She really went in.”

@phylisisley in the DR: “What @kaysarswhore doesn’t know is that I’ll get my revenge. There’s no way in hell I’m letting that bitch take me out. I mean, for fucks sake, there was a PLANE that flew over the house talking bad about her. When I stay and win HOH, it’s OVER.”

Clearly, tensions are running high in the house. That means that the veto is more important than ever

Will one of the nominees save themselves from the block? Will @flopbb-22 work with his bestie @kaysarswhore to keep the noms the same? Will @iantxrry secure her first veto win of the season and shake up the house? Will @paymeincashnottears finally get some screentime? Let’s find out

After the very first round, @paymeincashnottears buzzes in with the incorrect answer! She says “Nomination” instead of “Nominations”, and is eliminated from the competition

Everyone else manages to make it to the end of the competition, but @kaysarswhore and @flopbb-22 fail to score even a single point for themselves

After calculating all of the point totals, in third place with 3 points is....

@iantxrry. You have not won the power of veto. That means it comes down to our two nominees. The winner of this weeks veto is...

@phylisisley! You have won your second POV!

Immediately after winning, @phylisisley turns to @kaysarswhore and says “Well how about that? Looks like karma’s got it’s kiss for you, huh?”

Before she can grab the veto, @kaysarswhore grabs it from the pedestal and throws it into the pool. Eventually, it’s fished out and put around @phylisisley‘s neck.

The DRAMAAAAAA of it all!

At the veto ceremony, it’s clear that @phylisisley will use the veto on herself. But with her target off the block, who will @kaysarswhore put up in her place?

@kaysarswhore: “I really have no other people in this house that I want to see go. @paymeincashnottears, I don’t have a reason to put you up, but I also don’t have a reason to keep you safe. Because of that, I am nominating you.”

@paymeincashnottears in the DR:

Now that the nominees are locked, the houseguests just have to sit and wait for eviction night. While they wait for Thursday,

@swampassthing and @iantxrry bond over having recently survived the block. They realize the power structures in the house right now, and figure out that if they don’t have each other’s backs, they might as well kiss the money goodbye.

While these two bond downstairs, in the HOH room, @kaysarswhore and @flopbb-22 are bonding, too.

@kaysarswhore: “Can you believe my absolute shit show of an HOH? I mean I said I wanted to play the game this week, but this is insanity!”

@flopbb-22: “I know!! And you know who’s to blame?”

Both at the same time: “ @phylisisley!”

@flopbb-22: “You know........ there is something we could do.......... I’d be more than happy to do it for you............ let’s

FLIP

THAT

MATTRESS!”

While @phylisisley is laying on her bed, @flopbb-22 comes in a flips the mattress with her still on it. Normally, production would step in, but they wanna see how this one plays out. (Yeah we all know who Grodner’s favorite is this season)

The two argued for a while afterwards, but eventually things settled down.

The next morning, however, @flopbb-22 woke up devastated. She remembered the events of the night before, and felt so bad that she immediately woke everyone else up and called them to the living room.

@flopbb-22: “I just want to say, from the bottom of my heart, that my behavior in this house has been shameful. @phylisisley, I hope that there are no hard feelings, and I’m happy to talk privately after this. I promise I’ll stop making this game personal and start being a little more vulnerable with everyone. Love you guys <3″

Everyone could feel that @flopbb-22 was genuine; what reason does he have to lie?

That afternoon, in the backyard, for the SECOND time this season

@kaysarswhore gets dragged by America yet again. This time, the banner says

It’s a little hard to read, but the houseguests eventually make it out. @kaysarswhore spends the rest of the day in her HOH room being comforted by @flopbb-22 and @pawn2393.

Finally, it’s eviction night!

(ignore that it says celebrity sdffdkjlsj)

Julie: “Houseguests! I’ve been told you’ve been getting into some antics this week! I’d love to hear more!

@iantxrry, what’s been the best part about living in the BB house?”

@iantxrry: The game! I’ve loved this game my whole life, and getting to play it for a second time is a dream. It’s SO much fun”

Julie: “ @pawn2393, what has it been like being on slop this season?”

@pawn2393: “Awful! I honestly just swallow it without chewing; if I can’t taste it, it’s easier that way.”

Julie: “It sounds like you’re all having fun then! Now let’s ruin it with another vote to evict!”

@fucklauryn: “Round Three! I’ve done this before, and I have to say, I think this one may be my last. @paymeincashnottears is a wonderful person, and I could never say a bad thing about them. I genuinely hope you keep me here longer so I can help you all out, but I completely understand and there’s no hard feelings! Good luck to you all, and I look forward to being friends after this!”

@paymeincashnottears: “Hey guys! I know we’re halfway through now, but I still haven’t gotten into my groove yet! I wanna play this game, and I hope you’ll keep me to let me do that! Love you all!”

Julie: “Wonderful! Let’s vote.”

Of course @cirie-sandra-michaela wouldn’t vote out his own ally. But the rest of the first four votes all go to evicting @fucklauryn.

What? Two more votes to evict @paymeincashnottears? Could the pawn really be going home? It’s up to @swampassthing to break this tie.

Julie: “When I reveal the name of the evicted houseguest, they will have one minute to gather their belongings, say their goodbyes, and exit the Big Brother house.”

Julie: “ @fucklauryn, come on out!”

Julie: “ @fucklauryn, this was your third time up, were you ready to go?”

@fucklauryn: “I wouldn’t say I was ready, but I definitely knew. @paymeincashnottears wasn’t a threat, and for some reason everybody thought I was! When you get that label early, it’s just really hard to shake it off.”

Julie: “How do you think the remaining houseguests will play now that you’re gone?”

@fucklauryn: “Well, of course I’m rooting for my ride or die @cirie-sandra-michaela. But I can see @phylisisley making it far too! She showed how much fight she had in her during that veto comp this week, so it’ll be interesting to see what she does next!”

Julie: “It’s been lovely having you here, thank you so much for playing again.

We’re officially at the halfway point! The game only gets better from here on in. Until next time, from outside the Big Brother house, I’m Julie Chen. Goodnight.”

Okay I actually went nuts writing this this is insane dlfsdjfa;sk. I hope y’all forgive me for making you actually the messiest people on earth

#bb22 #bbsim #bbsim second chances

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amazingphanisnotonfire-imagines · 5 years

Text

Reggie//Heartbroken (part 3)

part 1 part 2

“Okay, so according to this book, babies learn how to talk in the womb. So we should be talking to it as much as possible.” Reggie’s leg bounces as he reads from the book he bought a few days ago. You place a hand on his thigh and he slowly stops.

The pale blue walls of the hospital make the two of you feel even more uncomfortable than you already were when you walked in. The woman at the reception gave the two of you a dirty look, and Reggie had to physically pull you away from her before you started either shouting or crying. He wasn’t entirely sure which one would be worse. There’s two other couples, also in the waiting room of the maternity unit.

One of them is sat in the corner, quietly whispering about names and gender. Both of them radiate excitement and the man keeps kissing the woman’s hand every so often, making the two of them giggle.

The other couple have brought their three other children along. One still in a pram who is sleeping, although you don’t know how. Not when it’s siblings are screaming, crying and fighting with each other.

Yours and Reggie’s future is right in front of you. Two possibilities, although you’re not sure if either couples have another man in the picture that may or may not be the dad.

“I er, I don’t think they can learn to talk this early.” You reply, pulling your attention away from the posters on the wall. There’s a few for new mothers about the support they offer. Another couple for adoption. And one right in the corner for safe sex. If you’re here though, its a bit too late for that talk. The thought makes you smile a little, until a kid screams bringing you back to reality.

“I suppose so.” He sighs and closes the book.

“You can keep reading though. Some of it may be helpful.” You say, trying to make him feel better. Reggie is just as nervous as you are. He didn’t think he’d be here at 17. Maybe 27, but not 17. And definitely not with you. “I’m sorry.” You whisper and he snaps his head to look at you.

“What for?”

“For this.” You sigh. “I can’t imagine you expected to be here at this age, especially with me.”

“No.” He agrees. “But did you expect to be here with me?” He asks, nudging your shoulder softly. The corner of your lips curl into a small smile and he mirrors it. “See. Its an adventure.”

“Yeah, I think I would have preferred like a camping trip or a holiday abroad type of adventure.”

“Eh.” He shrugs. “What can you do?”

“Practice safe sex.” You reply making him chuckle.

“Yeah.” He nods. “But I think its a bit too late for that.”

“You don’t say.” You reply and he takes your hand in his, giving it a soft squeeze.

“Y/n Y/l/n.” A woman calls out. You and Reggie stand and he quickly shoves the book back in his bag. He’s still holding your hand as you follow the woman out of the room.

“Don’t you think you’re a bit too young to be having a child?” A woman asks from behind you. You and Reggie turn around to see the too happiest couple staring back. The woman has an eyebrow raised while the man is trying to suppress a laugh. You squeeze Reggie’s hand and he knows you’re either gonna yell or cry, so he jumps in.

“Just wait until you find out I’m one of two possible fathers.” He replies, leaving everyone in the room shocked. “Yeah, its like Mamma Mia type thing...minus the singing.” He adds before you pull him away. “But, there’s always time!”

“Reggie!”

“What?” He says, a small smile on his face.

“Did you actually see Mamma Mia?” You ask him confused. He expected you to shout at him for telling everyone your business. So asking if he’d actually seen the film was a pleasant surprise.

“Yeah.” He replies. “Meryl Streep is an icon.”

“...Right.” You say slowly. You may be possibly having his child but there is still so much you don’t know about him. You’re hoping to change that, wether or not he is the father.

“Do you want to just lie there?” The sonographer interrupts your little moment and you smile at her, before getting on the chair. “And lower your jeans to your hips and pull your shirt up a bit.”

“Thats how we got here.” Reggie tries to joke but you and the sonographer just stare at him.

“Reg.” You shake your head and he sighs, looking at the floor.

“So, this is your first scan right?” She asks while putting the gel on. You nod while shivering a little and Reggie laughs. “Are you guys excited?”

“Kind of.” You shrug and look at Reggie. He’s looking around the room anxiously and you take his hand in yours, giving it a squeeze.

“What about you, dad?” She directs her question to Reggie who just shrugs awkwardly.

“He, err. I don’t know who the dad is.” You admit quietly.

“Ah.” She says. “Thats okay. We can help you work it out.” She reassures you. “Is he one of the possible fathers?”

“Yeah.” The two of you nod and she smiles.

“Great!” She says enthusiastically and you start to feel a little better. “Do you want to see your baby?” She asks and the two of you nod again. She moves the probe thing around your tummy and you and Reggie look at each other. “And, there’s your baby.” She points to the small blob on the screen and you gasp.

“Its so small. Reggie, its so small.” You turn to look at him but he’s already staring at the screen, tears running down his face and you laugh a little before wiping them away.

“Holy shit.” He mumbles before looking at the sonographer. “I mean, wow.” He says quickly and she laughs.

“Its fine. I’ve heard worse things.” She assures him and he nods.

“Thats our baby.” He says in disbelief. “I er. I mean your baby.” He corrects himself and you frown.

“Do you want me to print out some pictures?” She asks and the two of you nod quickly. “Great! I’ll just take a few measurements and then you can go.” She says and starts busying herself.

“Reg?” You ask and he tears his gaze away from the screen. “Everything’s gonna be okay, right?”

“Yeah.” He nods. “Everything is going to be perfect.” He says, pressing a kiss to your forehead.

“Okay.” The sonographer starts. You’re now sat on the chair while Reggie is stood beside you. “Given the dates you’ve told me, its too close to work out who the father is.” She explains and the two of you sigh. “But, you can find out when the baby is born. I’m gonna give you a few pamphlets to look at together and then you can make a decision.” She says, and gives you a stack of paper.

“Thank you.” You take the pamphlets and Reggie helps you up. “Have a good day.”

“You too.” She replies with a bright smile.

You and Reggie walk back down the corridor, you shove the leaflets in your bag while Reggie looks through the sonograms.

“I’m so putting one of these on my bedside table.” He says excitedly.

“Maybe you should hide them until we tell people.” You reply and glance over at him. He barely seems to register what you said, too busy staring at the small dot that is your baby. A soft smile is on his face while he’s looking at them and he’s so engrossed that he doesn’t notice that he’s about to walk into the man from before.

“Reg.” You say, trying to get his attention. You grab his arm and pull towards you and he stumbles pushing you into the wall.

“Shit.” He says, his eyes are wide as he looks you over, checking for any injuries. “Are you okay?” He asks and you nod, laughing a little.

“Fine. Although maybe I should have let you walk into that guy.” You say and he smiles.

“Maybe.” He agrees and the two of you laugh while the guy glares at you. “Come on.” He says, putting a hand on your back. “Do you want me to take you back home?” He asks and you nod. “Hey!” He eyes light up and you can tell he’s had an idea. “We should celebrate!”

“What?” You ask as the two of you walk to his car.

“Ya know, that you’re having a baby that is possibly mine! We should celebrate!” He continues and opens the car door for you.

“How?” You ask.

“Oh, you’ll see.” He sends you a wink before shutting the door.

------

“Really?” You cross your arms and stare at him. “This is how you want to celebrate possibly having a child?”

“Whats wrong with this?”

“Its a high school party.” You reply, pointing to the house. The music from Reggie’s house can be heard from two streets away, and there’s people hanging out the windows, some on the roof, others being sick in the driveway.

“Again, whats wrong with that?” He repeats his previous question and you huff.

“I’m going home.” You say angrily and start walking home. Why did you let Reggie pick you up.

“Oh, come on. Don’t be like this! Its supposed to be fun!”

“How is this fun for me Reggie?!” You shout. “I can’t drink, I can’t dance, I can’t have any fun.”

“Why can’t you dance?” He asks confused.

“Because everyone in theres is going to be drunk and flailing around.” You explain.

“Ah.” He sighs, not realizing what he’s done.

“You find out you might be a dad and the first thing you do is throw a house party because you’re parents are out of town.” You shake your head at him before sitting on the curb, your head in your hands. “I can’t do this. Neither of us are mature enough. You’re still throwing high school parties for christ sake.” You sob.

“Please don’t cry.” He pleads and sits beside you. “Please, please don’t cry. I’m sorry.” He says, pulling you into a hug. “I’m an idiot okay. But I’m trying, I promise.”

“What if its not enough? This baby is going to be a permanent thing in my life. Its going to affect literally every part of me. I don’t know how I’m going to tell Sweet Pea. He’s going to hate me, and then Josie will know, which means everyone else will. My parents are going to kill me, my whole life is ruined. And now, I’m the girl who doesn’t know who the father of her kid is. No matter how ‘mature’ we are, it’s never gonna be enough because we’re still only 17 and we still don’t know what to do.” You continue to cry and he squeezes you. “Why did I have to sleep with you? Why couldn’t I have just cried and eaten ice cream like any normal person after a break up.” You say and Reggie moves away from you, hurt by your words.

“You really regret sleeping with me?” He asks, his eyes are wide with sorrow, and his bottom lip is trembling.

“Don’t you?” You ask.

He thinks about it for a few seconds before shaking his head. “No. I don’t.”

“Why not?” You ask. “I ruined your entire life.” You laugh bitterly.

“Y/n Y/l/n.” He says sternly and you raise an eyebrow at his tone. “Stop saying that. You haven’t ruined anything. Just because you’re bringing a kid into the world, doesn’t mean your life is going to end. Its just going to change a bit. But I’m excited for the change. Even if it isn’t mine, its going to change me for the better, I can feel it. And I think its going to change you for the better too.” He says, nudging you softly. “So, how about we have one last night of teenage fun, before we change and mature and grow into better people.”

“But, I can’t do fun.” You reply and he rolls his eyes.

“Says who?”

“Every parenting book ever.” You say and he laughs, before standing up and dusting his jeans off.

“Come on.” He holds his hand out to you. “You’re about to have the best night of your life.” He says and helps you up.

“Whatever you say Mantle.” You dust your jeans off and follow him into the very loud and crowded house.

As soon as Reggie walks in, cheers can be heard from around the house making him laugh.

“Reg! Are you joining us for beer pong?” One of the football players ask and he shakes his head.

“Not right now. Maybe later though.” He replies and grabs your hand, pulling you through the party, making sure you have plenty of space. Once you’re in the kitchen he lifts you onto the counter making you giggle.

“So, what do you want to drink?” He asks.

“The last time you asked that we got so unbelievably drunk that we ended up sleeping together.” You tease and he shakes his head.

“Thats why this time, its not gonna have any alcohol in it.” He replies. “So what do you want?”

“Hmmm, surprise me.”

“Okay! One surprise coming up.” He says before moving around the kitchen. A minute later he’s stood in front of you, handing you a red cup.

“What’s in this?” You ask, eyeing the weird coloured liquid suspiciously.

“A surprise. It has all the parts of a drink you would find at a high school party, just without the alcohol.” He says and you raise an eyebrow. “Okay, weird colour? Check.” He says and you nod. “Odd smell that you can’t quite figure out whats it from but it smells like a drain?” He asks and you sniff, your nose crinkling.

“Check.” You grumble.

“Able to stain almost anything?” He asks and you look at him confused before a wicked grin spreads over you lips. You stick your finger into the cup before flicking the substance at his white shirt.

“Check!” You cheer and he starts mumbling to himself while wiping at his shirt.

“Now drink it.” He says and you tilt your head to the side.

“Are you sure its safe.”

“Yes I promise. Let me taste it though just in case.” He takes the cup from you and has a small sip. His face scrunches up and the taste and he forces himself to swallow it. “Maybe, er don’t drink that. Coke and orange juice do not mix well together.” He sighs, placing the cup beside you.

“Why do you think it would in the first place?” You ask and he shrugs.

“I dunno, I had an idea and rolled with it. Now, what else do you want to do?”

“Dance?” You reply and he smiles brightly.

“Coming right up.” He helps you off the counter. He leads you through the living room and down a corridor to the other side of the house. The two of you stop outside of a closed door and he takes a key from his back pocket, before unlocking the door. He opens it, letting you go in first and you gasp as you look around the room.

“You have a games room?” You ask in disbelief. There’s a huge TV mounted on the wall, with all of the games consoles you could dream off, old and new. There’s a pool table near the back of the room, and countless of arcade games.

“Yeah.” He shrugs and you look at him.

“You’re full of surprises Mantle.”

“Well, be prepared to be fully shocked.” He says and makes his way to the TV, turning it on.

“Why?”

“Because I’m a pro at Just Dance. The best in Riverdale in fact.” He says and your jaw drops. “I know, I know.”

“You still play Just Dance?” You ask and he looks offended.

“Whats wrong with that?” He says and you shrug.

“I just thought we left that in like 2013 or something...do you still play now?” You ask, a smirk taking over your features and he looks at the floor. “You so do!”

“Shut up.” He mumbles. “Do you want to dance or not?”

“Yeah.” You nod and he starts setting it up. “Reg?” You ask.

“Hmm.”

“I feel like I should tell you something.”

“What?!” He asks, standing in front of you in an instant. “Are you okay? Is the baby okay?”

“We’re fine.” You laugh. “Its just, I was the best Just Dance player on my street sooooooo.”

“Ohhhh, is that how its gonna go?” He asks. “You’re going down Y/l/n.”

“Bring it on Mantle.”

-----

“Reg!?” A frantic knock on the door distracts you from trying to teach Reggie how to play pool. You have no idea why he had the table if he didn’t know how to play, but you thought you could teach him, making something helpful come from dating Sweet Pea.

“Yeah?” He asks, opening the door.

“Err.” They start and look between the two of you. “Josie’s here...she’s brought Sweet Pea.” They finish and you and Reggie share a look.

“Do you want me to take you home.” He asks.

“Nah.” You shake your head. “This is your party, enjoy it.” You smile, and pat his shoulder before passing him. “I really enjoyed tonight. Thank you Reggie.” You say sincerely and kiss his cheek. Once your back to the main bit of the party, you start to feel overwhelmed. The smell of sweat, weed and alcohol is making you feel nauseous and you’re sure you’re starting to sway.

“Come on.” Reggie places his hands on your hips to steady you. “You can lay down in my bed for a bit.” He says. You start to argue, saying that you’re fine but he picks you up and carries you to his room, gently placing you on his bed.

“Thanks Reg.” You mumble and he smiles at you.

“No problem.” He replies, stroking your hair. “Now, what else do you want to do?” He asks from the bathroom. You can hear him fill a glass up and he comes back a few seconds later, handing you it. You take the glass from him and start to sip.

“I dunno.” You shrug and lie back down.

“What about drugs?”

“Excuse me?” You say.

“Not literally, but if I put this lava lamp on.” He says and switches the lamp on in the corner of the room. “And play this music.” He presses play on his stereo and some weird music starts playing making you scrunch your face up. “It’ll make you feel like you’re on drugs.”

“What makes you think I did drugs before I got pregnant?” You ask and he lays beside you.

“I dunno.” He shrugs. “I didn’t really know you before this.” He motions to your stomach.

“Yeah, true.” You agree.

“You feeling any better?” He asks and you nod.

“Much better. And I’ve thought of something else I want to do.”

“Whats that?” He asks.

“Jump into the pool...from the roof.”

“...okayyyyy. Let me think for a minute.” He says and you smile to yourself, knowing that he won’t be able to figure this one out. You take a minute to close your eyes and listen to the soft music playing. Its sort of drowned out by the music from the party, but its there, and even though its weird, it makes you feel calmer. Even with your ex downstairs with his new girlfriend.

“Got it!” He says and you open one of your eyes to look at him.

“I’m listening.”

“Stand on the bed.” He says and you do as you’re told. “Okay.” He says and stands on the floor in front of you. “You may not be able to jump from the roof into a pool. But you can jump from my bed, into my arms. Which may not be as high, but it is much safer. Plus my arms are so much better than a bit of water.” He explains and you laugh before jumping. He catches you easily and the two of you laugh loudly. “Hey, I’ve er. There’s something that I want to do.” He says quietly once you’ve both calmed down.

“Yeah?” You ask. His eyes flicker from yours to your lips, before he starts speaking again. “And whats that?” You whisper.

“I’d like to kiss you. If er, if thats alright.”

“Yeah.” You nod. “I think thats safe.” You say and the two of you lean in. His lips brush over yours and you’re about to close the gap, when... “Reggie. Put me down.” You say quickly, your eyes widening.

“What? Why?” He panics and lets you go, helping you steady yourself. “Are you okay? Did I do something wrong?”

“No.” You shake your head. “I’m gonna be sick.” You add and rush off to his en-suite.

“Again, did I do something wrong?” He shouts after you, and despite the fact that you’re emptying you’re stomach into the toilet, you can’t help but laugh. “You didn’t drink any of that stuff right?”

“No.” You shake your head, wiping your mouth and flushing the toilet. “It just happens.” You say. You wait for a response, but don’t get one. So when you’re sure you’re finished you stand up and wash your hands. “I hope this goes away soon.” You start as you walk from the bathroom, wiping sick from your shirt. “It’s supposed to stop in the second trimester or something, but I hope it goes away sooner. Because otherwise this baby is already kicking my as-you’re not Reggie.” Your eyes widen once you realize who you’ve been talking to. “Josie, what are you doing in here?” You ask slowly and she stares at you, sonogram in her hand that Reggie didn’t do a great job of hiding.

“You’re pregnant?” She asks and you stutter.

“Who’s pregnant babe?” A familiar voice asks and you close your eyes, cursing. Once you open your eyes again, both Sweet Pea and Josie are staring at you, while Reggie runs into the room.

“Josie and Sweet Pea are on their way u-ah.” He sighs and leans against the doorway.

“Who’s pregnant?” Sweet Pea repeats.

Heartbroken taglist: @i-love-you-green @thoseawkwardturtles @chipster-21 @mavelfanatic @bellarkebxtch @heda-mikaelson @findingmyselfinthismessedupworld

riverdale masterlist

#heartbroken #reggie #reggie mantle #reggie mantle imagine #reggie mantle x reader #reggie mantle x you #reggie imagine #reggie x reader #sweet pea #sweet pea imagine #sweet pea x reader #riverdale #riverdale imagine

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365days365movies · 3 years

Text

February 11, 2021: The Bridges of Madison County (1995)(Part 1)

Y’know, if you were going to tell me that one of the most famous American romances of all time was directed by this guy...

I would be very surprised. And surprised I am, because The Bridges of Madison County is indeed directed by Clint Eastwood, who also acts as one of its leads alongside one of the most famous actresses of the time. That, of course, would be Meryl Streep, who’s going to get yet another Best Actress nomination for this role. Believe it or not, this is going to be her 8th for BA, and 10th nomination overall, with only 2 wins included (one for Actress and one for Supporting Actress).

Finally, this is another period piece, also taking place in the 1960s. I guess historical romances were real popular in the 90s to 2000s. Go figure! This will probably be the last, as I have a hankering to move onto another subgenre. So, shall we? SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap

At a home in what I can only assume is Madison County, Iowa, siblings Carolyn (Annie Corley) and Michael Johnson (Victor Slezak) arrive at their now deceased mother’s home for the execution of her will. They learn that she has wished to be cremated, and for her ashes to be scattered over a local bridge, which they are...NOT happy about, goddamn! Respect your mother’s wishes, guys, dear Lord!

They uncover an envelope containing photos from 1965 that they’ve never seen, all of which show her posing near various The Bridges of Madison County. Upon looking at them, Carolyn has a realization, and asks Michael to come along. They ask the lawyer and Michael’s wife to leave them, and they go through it in private.

The letters

See, they’ve found letters to their mother from Robert Kincaid, a photographer for the magazine National Geographic, seemingly confessing to an illicit secret love affair. However, he’s also dead, and has asked for his ashes to be scattered off of the same bridge. Michael (whom I REALLY don’t like, by the way, he’s an ABSOLUTE dick) believes that he influenced her to do the same, but Carolyn’s not sure. Also amongst the letters is a key.

The key opens a chest, within which is a camera and a collection of other items, as well as a letter addressed to them both. Written in 1987, it’s addressed to Carolyn because she knew that Michael would be a little pissbaby about it (look, I REALLY don’t like him, he’s being an ass). In the letter to them, she confesses to them the affair, which took place when Robert Kincaid went there to photograph The Bridges of Madison County. The entire affair is documented in three notebooks, which they begin reading.

1965! Italian immigrant Francesca Johnson (Meryl Streep) is cooking dinner for her husband Richard (Jim Haynie) and her two teenaged kids, all of whom are on the way to the Illinois State Fair to exhibit Carolyn’s prize steer. The marriage is passionless, and the kids aren’t exactly opened up to her mother.

It doesn’t seem like a bad life, but it is kind of a dull one. Or, y’know, complacent and stable because not every relationship has to be a sequence of whirlwind passion and glory, and one shouldn’t abandon a good loving situation for a WEEKEND-LONG FLING GODDAMN IT I AM SICK AND TIRED OF INFIDELITY IN THESE GODDAMN MOVIES HOLY SHIT EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THE LAST FOUR FILMS HAS FEATURED IT AND I AM SICK OF IT

For the record, I’ve never been cheated on, nor have I cheated on anyone, but this trend in romance movies...troubles me. Seriously, I get that the last few, especially In the Mood for Love, have looked at infidelity as a serious issue, but...just one. Just one great romance movie that doesn’t require infidelity for its main couple to get together. Please? I mean, if you include the never seen Rosaline or betrothed Paris in Romeo + Juliet, that movie also had infidelity in it, meaning the only ones WITHOUT ANY FORM of infidelity in 11 DAYS have been Dirty Dancing and Pretty Woman. Guys. C’mon.

Yeah, yeah, OK, moving on. Sorry, that rant’s been building for a bit.

Anyway, the kids and Richard take off, leaving Francesca by herself at the house. As she’s doing chores, who should pull up but photographer Robert Kincaid (Clint Eastwood), who’s looking for Roseman Covered Bridge to photograph it. But, he’s lost, and he asks Francesca for directions.

However, the directions there are pretty complicated, and even Francesca seems to get them mixed up. She agrees to show him there in person, and the two take off in his car.

In the car together

The two get to know each other a bit over the course of the drive. Robert notes that he’s been to her hometown in Italy, having been there once because he considered it pretty. She’s fascinated by the decision, but I’m not sure if its because she thinks he’s crazy, or because she thinks he’s intriguing

They make it to Roseman Bridge, where Robert takes some preparatory photographs and Francesca walks along the bridge itself. I will say, I live in a place with some covered bridges, and is it weird that I feel like visiting a nearby one tomorrow? Honestly, I think that’s exactly what I’ll do. Maybe do some birdwatching nearby, contribute to the Great Backyard Bird Count, something, y’know?

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Out of appreciation for her help, he picks her some flowers, which she claims are poisonous. The two bond over this, and he drives her back home. And that SHOULD be it, as the two part and introduce each other by first name. But, she offers him some iced tea, and he accepts. HERE we go.

In the house, the two continue to bond, and Francesca begins to reveal some frustration with her home life, as well as her life in Iowa as compared to what she had dreamed of. To that, Robert says the following, which he claimed he wrote one day on the road.

The old dreams were good dreams. They didn’t work out, but I’m glad I had them.

That is...that is a nice line WAIT. Am I buying into this coupling? ALREADY?

So, here’s the thing thus far about this month. Some couples have had great chemistry, and some haven’t been perfect. On the top for me so far are Richard and Vivian from Pretty Woman, Johnny and Baby from Dirty Dancing, Emma and George from Emma, Yuri and Lara from Doctor Zhivago, and the highest being Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan from In the Mood for Love (although, that one amounts to wishful thinking). But all of those took a little bit to build up. so HOW IS IT that I’m already shipping these two (despite the infidelity, of course)?

Francesca seems to agree with me as she watches Robert wash up outside, after having invited him to stay for dinner. He helps her prepare dinner, then charms her (and me, incidentally) with charming stories and dinner jokes. Real talk, I like Robert, he’s a charming guy.

After dinner, she notes that she was once a schoolteacher, but her kids and husband didn’t approve of her working. 1960s, after all. She brushed this off, and asks the location of the most exciting place he’s ever...been...shit, this is an example of excitement being introduced into a boring life, huh?

That trope is one of the most annoying to me in these movies. The Notebook had a bit of that, and I wasn’t a fan, but this is the first time that it’s a straight-up example of that trope. And...I’m buying it? WHY AM I BUYING THIS

Francesca becomes a bit conflicted at this point, and the two share some brandy together. But we’re shot back into the present day, where Michael (UUUUUGH) accuses Robert of trying to get her drunk to take advantage of her. However, Carolyn sympathizes with them both, citing her own currently faltering marriage.

Back in 1965, the two have a slight disagreement about how they live their lives. Robert leaves for the night, and they surprisingly don’t do anything untoward. However, I’m ore than willing to bet that Francesca’s now thinking about it. She gets a phone call from Richard in Illinois, but begins to tear up as Robert leaves. She steps outside in a bathrobe and flashes the wind.

That night, she writes a message to Robert, and drives out to the bridge, where she leaves it for him. She tells him to give her a call, inviting him over the following day. The next morning, he sees the note while taking a picture of the bridge, then calls her afterwards and accepts the invitation. He also invites her to come along with him to take pictures of the bridges, which she accepts in turn.

OK, let’s go for a Part 2! See you there!

#the bridges of madison county #clint eastwood #meryl streep #annie corley #victor slezak #romance february #user365 #365 movie challenge #365 movies 365 days #365 Days 365 Movies #365 movies a year #historical romance #trapstr #fuckyesmerylstreep #meryl*

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ispiderdudei · 4 years

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Only-part five

prologue part one part two part three part four part five

dad! Tom Holland x OC

only masterlist

my masterlist

Summary: Tom was living his dream as a rising star in Hollywood for the past six years. Even though it was everything he ever wanted he missed everything that he left behind. His family back in London. His best friend who’s career had also taken off and though they were roomates they never had time for one another. His first love that was torn apart by a dumbass decision. He wished he could take it all back. All the stupid decisions he made in the past that could have been the other way around if he choose the right choice. What happens when he wakes up one day in the life he should have chosen?

warnings: nervous Tom, kinda fluff, Blythe being a smol bean, um yeah that's about it

word count: 3289

authors note: I feel like everyone of these I have an excuse on why I'm late to post. Well, it’s because I’m a senior in high school who has to apply to a million scholarships so I don't have to worry about student loans, but I’ll survive:) I also am taking three college classes and ironically English is the one that is killing me. I thank you for your patiences and wish me luck. Idk when the next part will come out but don't worry it’s happening. Also you know, just feel free to send me an ask anytime like I don’t mind (PSA this is my favorite look ever pic is definitely not mine)

After Blythe’s little incident and a good ten minutes of Lennon tending to her daughters small wounds they finally were able to calm her down before making their way back to the party. Tom was still overwhelmed by what happened earlier and it made every worse case scenario run through his mind. It was mostly about how he imagined Lennon finding out. The more he thought about telling her the more he backtracked his plan all together. Tom wasn’t going to tell her today. He knew that for sure, but that didn’t mean he could wait forever. Tom didn’t know exactly how this scenario would play out but he really didn’t want to at the least. He didn’t want Lennon to hate him and he also didn’t want her to act like she forgave him automatically.

He decided he needed to find the right opportunity because that’s what is best for everyone. He needed to wait it out because he still didn’t know if it was permanent, so why would he jeopardize it. If Blythe had come in a few moments later he would be hating himself even more. No matter how much he wondered if Lennon's lips were still as sensational as he remembered them to be. Another part of him wondered if he felt guilty just being so close to having an intimate moment with her how much more of that would build up inside of him.

Lennon brushes the curls out of her daughter's hair one last time before giving her a soft smile, “Are you going to be okay now?” The girl sniffed and nodded watching her mother stand up. Lennon turned to Tom giving him a sorrowful look and it made him panic even more because he knew what it was for.

Lennon and Tom grabbed the food while Blythe trailer behind them as they all walked back outside. Tom noticed more people than he did before, but that was because he just wasn’t paying attention earlier when he walked in with Xio. He saw many faces familiar, new, and old. It made his mind wonder on how the hell he was going to converse with them and still take on the persona of this other Tom. It was easier for him to talk to Harrison and Xio because they knew it wasn’t him. It wasn’t easy to talk with Lennon, but he was comfortable in the small conversations they have had so far.

“Can I go back to playing,” Blythe asked her mother in a more chipper mood looking at a few kids that Tom didn’t recognize.

Lennon nodded looking down at her. Blythe smiled rushing over to them stumbling a little. “Be careful please,” Lennon yelled at her letting out a sigh, “That child is a spitting image of you, I swear.”

Tom looked at Lennon shaking his head, “She’s a hundred percent you.” He meant every word their daughter was definitely a copy Lennon from the short time Tom knew her. Blythe didn’t have to do much to tell Tom that she was Lennon’s daughter because she was so much like her. He didn’t have to think about the fact that she had the same physical features as him but her mannerisms were like her mother’s.

Tom couldn’t remember much from his childhood. Well, he couldn’t remember some things, but he did remember Lennon. She was always so happy and full of energy. She never seemed to slow down and kept him on his toes when he was around her. When something sad would happen she would be back to herself in no time. Blythe proved that to Tom just mere seconds ago when she was a mess and then went straight to her task before she got hurt. It was almost scary how much their personalities were almost the same.

Lennon just scoffed at Tom rolling her eyes, “You only say that because you’re too stubborn to realize she is a girl version of you.”

“You can’t tell me that child who is stopping to pick the dandelion to make a wish is mini me,” Tom asked as he watched the five-year old stopped dead in her tracks looking down at the weed before picking it up and holding it tightly with one hand squeezing her eyes shut as the children rush pass her before blowing it out with the biggest smile on her face.

Lennon let out a laugh, “Well, I remember both of us doing that if I do recall.”

Tom smiled softly, “I’m glad I did because most of my wishes came true.” Well not exactly for him but the other him. You’ve learned by now Tom has always had the biggest crush on Lennon no matter how much he didn’t want to admit it. Lennon liking him back was a shock and he never expected her to return the feelings no matter how many times Haz told him to grow a pair and ask her out. She was too perfect for him

Lennon gave him a sly smile rolling her eyes, “You were always one for cheese Tom.”

Tom shrugged, “What can I say?

“Ah, Thomas, nice to see you not overthinking things,” a thick Irish accent said behind him making the hairs on the back of his neck. Tom knew it anywhere because it was one he had to reason with when was dating Lennon and to be honest it still gave him anioxty to this day.

The funny thing about Lennon’s father, Alex, is that he is the living embodiment of James Bond, Pierce Brosnan’s version, of course. One of his most fond memories of Lennon’s father is when Lennon, him, and Harrison went to see Mamma Mia in the Cinema. He took Lennon home after and he was face to face with the man when walking her to the door swearing he would break out into a song by ABBA at any given moment, or run off with some Meryl Streep doppelgänger to Kalokairi. He would never do that to his wife though. They were far too in love.

It wasn’t that Tom enjoyed Lennon’s father’s company it’s just something you don’t exactly need when you have everything else running through your mind. Having to deal with the man he had been afraid of since he started dating Lennon wasn’t at the top of his list. He respected the man as much as he did his own father, but he knew that in his old life the man probably hated his guts. Tom won’t blame him for it because he would only blame himself. Hell, he already did.

Tom let out a nervous laugh that didn’t have to be forced because his he was so anxious he was scared Alex would sense something off about him because it has happened many times before. The man was like a bloodhound on a search for its owners next game while on an afternoon hunt. “Well I am trying. Being laid back was a goal I have for the new year of my life.”

Lennon's father took a sip of his drink before winking and pointing at Tom mere seconds after the glass left his lips. “That’s always been a good goal of yours. Glad you are finally living up to it.”

“Awe, come on dad, Tom has already been doing that,” Lennon beamed looking at her husband making Tom give her a timid smile. Alex gave him a look that Tom has seen before.

He was having serious déjà vu and it wasn’t the good kind. It was like a happier version of the memory before and Tom was slightly scared. The memory was when Tom asked for her father to approve him asking Lennon for his hand in marriage. They were never engaged when they called things off but Tom wanted to do it so desperately.

It was at a dinner party Nikki decided to hold for something Tom couldn’t quite remember, but he did at the time. It was only them and a few family friends nothing too special; him and Lennon were a few months into their relationship that still felt surreal to Tom.

He knew he needed to talk to Alex and he was scared out of his mind. He feared rejection the most because he knew the man hardly trusted him when he was just friends with his daughter. Lennon was off with Xio and a few other girls that were invited and Tom took the chance. He saw him standing on the porch talking to his father and knew it was now or never.

Taking a deep breath he walked over to the tall Irishman trying his best to not stumble and fall on his face while on the way to ask the man the question that will change his future. As he approached closer Tom had second thoughts but he tried his hardest to hide them so it wouldn’t get the best of him. He was sticking to his plan no matter how much he wanted to not ask all together.

Alex noticed Tom approaching upon first glance and gave him a smile. Tom looked between the two men giving them both a nod while putting his hands in his pockets.

“Lennon leaves you alone for a couple of minutes and you don’t know what to do, am I right Thomas?” Alex said smiling down at him earning a laugh from Dominic.

Tom smiled nervously, “Uh, no, actually I came over here to talk to you about something. I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

“Not at all,” Alex reassured him, “This old man was just getting a good point around about London’s traffic laws.”

Dominic shook his head, “I’m sure we can continue our political debate later. Perhaps over another game of golf. I can play easier so I don’t win.”

“I think that’s how you play naturally Holland,” Alex playfully said back earning a laugh from Dominic.

Tom’s father looked towards the kitchen at his mother who was motioning for some assistance from him and let out a site tucking his hands in his pockets, “I suppose the spouse is calling me. Perfect timing for you, Tom.” He gave both his son and Alex a nod before walking off.

Tom gulped, he hoped it wasn’t noticeable to the man standing in front of him because if he knew how terrified he was there was no telling on what he was going to say in their next conversation.

Alex slung his arm around tom’s shoulder patting letting out a chuckle, “Your father is something Thomas. Maybe that's why I like you so much.” It was something said so simple, but it gave Tom a spark of hope and eased his nerves at the thought of Lennon’s father liking him. “Now, my boy, what is it you need to talk to me about,” Alex asked as he lead tom to a secluded part of the Holland’s yard stopping looking down at him as he waited patiently for Tom to speak.

Tom stood a little taller than normal adjusting his jacket as he tried to relax his shoulders, “I, uh… well sir you are well aware I have liked your daughter for a while. Even before we were dating.”

Alex narrowed his eyes at Tom. It wasn’t out of anger, no, far from it. He was doing it because it seemed he was trying to piece together at what Tom was getting at. Alex is an intelligent intellectual that can seem to figure things out quickly and it usually was a problem or a person that he was able to solve. Tom, however, was scared to say anything before the man spoke. He felt like he was constantly trying to impress the man. “I’m well aware of you’re infatuation for my daughter, yes. You two have been dating for a while I hope you’d at least expect me to notice.”

Tom’s eyes widened, “O-of course, Sir. I had no doubt that you are i-in-informed of Lennon and I.”

The man let out another deep throat chuckle, “Now Thomas, you don’t need to act nervous around me we’ve known each other for quite some time and I think it's only fitting for you to not stress so much around me.”

But that was the thing, everything that was going through Tom’s mind at the moment was making him nervous. What he was doing could make or break him and Lennon’s relationship. He was scared shittless to say the least. He cleared his throat hoping years of acting school and control of his voice could help him the situation he was in, “Well, you see, what I’m going to ask might.”

“What would that mean,” Alex asked his voice laced in concern. It caught tom by surprise. It only made tom’s mind wonder to Alex thinking the worst-case scenario. “Is there something you need to tell me Thomas.”

It was that look.

Tom let out a nervous laugh, “I guess I said that wrong and can see where you are interpreting what I’m saying as something negative, but I promise it's not.”

The olderman placed his hands on his hips, “Well go on.”

Tom took a deep breath, “Well let me start out by saying I love your daughter more than anything. I think she is breathtaking and her flaws are just as beautiful as her perfections. Lennon has taught me how to stay grounded through everything and has given me more second chances than I could count. She is amazing and has this presents about her that makes me want to know than I already do about her. Even our relationship started as friends she is always proving that she is the one that I’ve always wanted to have a life with as I grow older. I know your gonna say we are too young and that I’m crazy for even thinking you’d say yes. And believe me I have prepared myself for your rejection-”

“Yes.”

Tom didn’t even processes Alex’s reactions. “I just want you to know that I’m not going to stop asking, because I know she is my future. Not some stupid movie deal or another musical opportuinity… What?”

“Yes, Thomas you have my blessing.”

“You’re serious.”

“I can take it back if you like and say no,” Alex state bluntly.

“No!” Tom said a little too loudly making some of the people close to them turn to the sudden raise of his voice. He cleared his throat, “No. I uh- I just- I didn’t think that would work out so well.”

“For Christ sakes,Thomas, don’t tell me you have flashcards prepared.”

Tom let out another laugh, “Something like that yeah.”

Alex rolled his eyes, “You try too hard. I do trust you, Thomas, because Lennon trust you. Do I think I’m crazy for approving for my daughter to marry so young? Yes, but I rather it be with you than some son of a bitch that I know wasn’t good for her.” He looked over Tom’s shoulder and smiled.

“Hi dad,” he heard from behind him, “Tommy.” The two men didn’t say anything. “Did I interrupt something?” Lennon raised an eyebrow before intertwining her fingers with Tom.

“Not a thing Lennonbug,” Alex said smiling at his daughter proudly before giving the same look to Tom.

This was everything he wanted.

However, he didn’t want to think about the look Alex was giving him right now, “How have you been improving Thomas?”

Tom’s palms were sweaty as Lennon gripped his arm. This wasn’t him being scared shitless asking her father to marry her. This was him being scared shitless on what to say to the man in front of him in an opposite way. “Just… going with the flow…” Tom mentally cursed himself because he would never say that.

Both of them gave Tom an odd look before looking at each other. Before either one of them could speak on Tom’s choice of words the voice of Nikki came from the front porch, “Okay everyone lunch is ready. Let’s hurry and eat before Harry dies of starvation.” Before everyone could trample over to the plastic table outside that was filled with a full buffet Nikki stopped them, “But before we do so we should congratulate Tom for achieving all that he has. I’m proud of you for blessing me with the two most adorable children and the best daughter in law a mother could ask for.”

Tom smiled at his mother nodding in appreciation placing a hand on Lennon’s back. “Thanks Mum,” there was a slight pause as if everyone expected him to say something else, “What are we all standing around for let’s eat, I’m famished.”

The guests cheered before making there way to the table. Blythe ran up to Tom grabbing a hold of his had pulling him towards the crowd of people waiting in line, “Come on Daddy we need to hurry up if you want to get something to eat.”

Lennon laughed at the little girl, “Hang on little bird we need to wait for our turn. There are still going to be quite a bit of food left by we get to the table.” She turned to Tom, I’m going to get Eli and make sure you don’t put too much on her plate. We don’t need the incident we had at the twins party. As for you,” she turned to her daughter, “ You need to at least have a few vegetables on your plate if you want any cake.”

“Okay, Mummy,” Blythe let out another annoyed groan tugging Tom’s had more. Making him

practically stumble to the line of family and friends.

The party unfolded like any other everyday gathering with Tom able to avoid questions his brothers threw at him throughout lunch. Most of which were covered by Xiomara, and the slight uncomfort he felt when Lennon got up to go get something from the kitchen didn’t help his current situation.

Just when Tom thought he couldn’t bare his siblings grilling him about his current life a sense of relief came over him as the voice of Lennon came through the back door. Her smile was as bright as the glow of the candles lit brightly on the cake she was holding. Her voice carried the familiar tune as everyone else around him began to sing happy birthday.

Lennon set the cake down in front of him, placing a hand on his shoulder making him tense up. He made sure to not flinch so much. Being put in a situation that might make everything go away the next day made Tom start to panic. What was he supposed to do in this situation? Everyone tuning into the song with their gaze on him. Blythe plopping down next to Tom leaning over looking in awe at the pastry in front of her father.

“Make sure you wish for something good daddy,” The little girl whispered as the short song came to an end. He knew that but what the hell was he supposed to wish for. She looked over at him with her doe eyes, “Can I blow them out with you?”

Tom gave her a tight smile nodded allowing her to slide into his lap as everyone huddled around them. Tom shut his eyes and told himself to just live in the moment. With Blythe’s weight shifting in his lap and the feeling of Lennons hand on his shoulder this moment couldn’t have been more perfect. He couldn’t wish for this life to last but he could just let it temporarily engulf him with happiness.

That was his wish to just see what happens next with what could have been.

taglist: @let-me-luve-you @lemondropirwin @afterglowparker @underooshields @mybitchborky @theamuz

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trashinaglass-archive · 5 years

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First Talk Show

Y/n filmed her first movie and appears on the Late Night Show with James Cordon

Warnings: Cringey conversations and a Spill Your Guts/Fill Your Guts segment

A/n: I was inspired by an imagine written by another blog that was based on Jimmy Fallon’s Loaded Qestions. I lost it, but I’ll make sure to tag her when I find it again! (Or if you’re her, hit me up and I’ll tag you)

“Here to promote her new movie, Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again, y/f/n!” James yelled, introducing you as you walked out from behind the curtain. You high fived the crowd as you passed them, a big smile on your face. You make it to the stage and hug James, waving to the crowd again as you sit down. You greeted the other guest, Bryce Dallas Howard, who was promoting her new Jurassic World movie.

“How are you two doing tonight?” James asked the both of you.

“Good,” Bryce said sweetly with a smile.

“I’m nervous,” you admitted as you shrunk into yourself with a cringe smile on your face.

James laughed as you did that. “That’s right! This is you first talk show, isn’t it?”

“It is,” you told him. “But I’m really excited. I’ve always thought they look so fun, so I’m excited to take part in one.”

“So you are playing the young Donna Scheridan. And this is your first film, correct?”

“Correct,” You answered.

“What was it like, for you, walking onto this movie set knowing your going to be working with Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Collin Firth, and so many other big stars?”

“It was terrifying!” You answered him. “I’m never going get over how I met Meryl. I was literally crying like a baby when I met her.”

“Really?” James said, prompting you to tell more.

“Yes! Well, what happened was... I’ve always loved Abba, I grew up listening to Abba, and My Love, My Life has always been a song that makes me emotional. So the first day I was on set was the day Meryl and Amanda were filming My Love, My Life, and the scene is so sweet and so emotional, I just started pouring tears. So when they were done, I walked up to her like ‘Hi, you’re so amazing’ while just weeping. It was so embarrassing.”

“How did Meryl react to that?” James asked you laughing.

“She thanked me, but I could see the gears in her head turning like ‘who the hell is this little girl, crying all over me’”.

“That’s amazing. Now, many people know you’re dating Spider-Man currently, Tom Holland,” James brought up.

“Yep, dating Spider-Man. I dare anyone to try and mess with me,” you joked.

“When you were hired, did he give you any advice? Anything to help you along the way?”

“He... was an angel,” you said. “I was so nervous throughout the entire process. I didn’t want to disappoint Meryl, I didn’t want to let Benny or Bjorn down, and I really didn’t want to disappoint the fans, you know? So, I honestly think I had a meltdown at least once a day, and Tom was always there to just be there like ‘chill out, you’re gonna be amazing’ and all that jazz. So he was amazing at being that rock and support system, which is always amazing.”

“And we know Tom as the one to spoil everything for the MCU,” James brought up making everyone laugh. You laughed and nodded to the crowd. “Did you ever worry about spoiling like he has?”

“Not really, no,” you began. “In his defense, I’m just working for Abba, Mamma Mia. He works for Marvel. Like the scenes and the things they do for Marvel is so crazy and so anticipated, literally saying what someone’s hair looks like is a spoiler. It’s crazy. And it’s so exciting, the movies and the things they get to do, I would have a hard time keeping everything to myself too.”

“Did he ever come home after work and just spill everything?”

“As much as he could, yeah. They hide so much from him so he couldn’t tell me about him and someone else’s scene. It’s always ‘I did this flip and said this line’ but he’s always really excited, he has to get out as much as he can.”

“That’s cute. He’s a precious boy,” Bryce told you.

“He is, he really is,” you agreed with her.

“What was it like for him, we saw one clip from the movie that was your character giving birth. What was it like for Tom to see his not pregnant girlfriend giving birth to a fake child?”

“He was so funny about it. I think it’s a great day when you can call your boyfriend after a long day of filming and just be like ‘I had a baby today, how did your day go?’ His face was the best.” You told them laughing.

The interview went on as you and Bryce talked about your movies and stories to share. It finally got to the point where you prepared to do a Spill Your Guts or Fill Your Guts segment. You were super nervous, but it was one of your favorite games, you couldn’t help but feel excited.

James welcomed everyone back as the commercial break ended. He showed the choices you had to take part in: crickets, hot sauce, blood head cheese, bull penis, sardine smoothie, cow tongue, deep fried butter, and cod sperm.

“You know, where I’m from fried butter is a staple fair food item,” you said smugly.

“Well, thanks for sharing that cause I know not to give it to you,” James replied back. “You can ask first since you’re the guest.”

“Fun, let’s see,” you said as you spin the table around. “That bull penis looks appetizing, doesn’t it?” You said as you place it in front of him. You looked at the question and smiled. “Oh, good. You’ve had multiple Marvel actors on the show and did an Avengers bus segment. Why wasn’t Tom included?”

“Oh no,” James said quietly.

“Oh no is right, you either face the punishment of that or face the wrath of me,” you told him making the audience laugh.

James looked at you choosing his fate. “Well there was an issue with scheduling...” James started to say.

“No there wasn’t, James. Don’t lie to me,” you teased him.

James laughed and shook his head. “Alright!” He yelled and took a bite of the bull penis making you gasp in disgust. “That was disgusting, alright. I’m going to give you this,” he said as he turned the blood head cheese to face you.

“What even is this?” You asked as you looked at it closely.

“I have no idea, y/n, but you’ll know if you don’t answer,” James said quickly. “So y/n. There were many rumors about Tom and Zendaya dating before you announced your relationship. Did you ever have bad feelings towards Zendaya during this time?”

“Honestly, no because there were rumors that I was dating my brothers roommate so it was all cool,” you said confidently.

“Really? None at all?” James challenged you.

“None at all,” you repeated looking at more options for James to eat. “I want to give you the sardine smoothie... just cause I don’t want to drink it myself,” You said with a laugh. “Are all the questions gonna be about Tom and Marvel?” You asked looking into the section with the cameramen. “Out of all the Avengers and Marvel actors, who do you like the least?” You asked making everyone ‘ooh’.

“That’s impossible, they’re all so amazing!” James exclaimed.

“That’s why it’s a hard question.”

James looked at the smoothie for a second. “You know, just because I love them all,” he started to say before he lifted the glass to his mouth. You play gagged as you watched him drink it.

“That was horrible,” James said as he wiped his mouth, sipping some water. “I’m going to give you the cod sperm.”

“Yum,” You said as it got closer to you.

James flipped over the card and laughed. “I hope you meant it when you said yum because you’re eating that sperm,” he said to you.

“Oh hell,” you said preparing for the worst.

“How many inches is Tom,” James asked making your jaw drop.

“Oh my gosh, how can you ask that on television?” You asked him. You thought for a second wondering what you can say to get out of the situation. “You know what, I don’t know how many inches, but I do know it’s plenty enough to make a girl see stars,” you said with a smirk. The crowd went wild, and it was James’s turn to drop his jaw.

“How can you say that on television?” James mocked you. You shrugged, and looked at the cod sperm in front of you.

“I just hope his mother doesn’t watch this,” you said looking at the camera as James closed the segment. You stood up from the chair and went to give James another hug. “Thank you so much, again, for inviting me. It was so fun,” you said.

“Of course, good luck on the movie,” James told you. You walked away and eventually got to your dressing room. You picked up your phone and called Tom.

“I cannot believe you answered that question,” Tom said laughing before you could get anything out. You laughed at how fast he was to bring it up.

“I’m sorry, I was not eating that shit,” you told him. “I figured that was a good way to answer and not give away actual information.”

“It actually was. That was a smart move.”

“Thank you. Do you know if your mom was watching,” you asked still concerned.

“She was watching, but it’s fine.” Tom said calmly.

“Noooo!” You yelled. “I’m never showing my face in front of her ever again,” you said dramatically making Tom laugh at you.

I’m not confident in this, but I hope someone likes it. Again, I was inspired by someone else’s work, but I can’t find it. I’ll tag her as soon as I do though. She was a great writer.

#tom holland #tom holland imagine #tom holland one shot #tom holland blurb #tom holland x reader

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artificialqueens · 5 years

Text

How Far I'll Go Chapter Six (Ninex) - Mia Ugly, Meggie

A/N: We’re baaaaack! Hi hello how are you? LIFE is crazy. We’re so sorry it took so long to get this chapter to you guys, but honestly, Snatch Game was probably the hardest thing we’ve written. It’s hard to be funny. I’m going to be way nicer to queens who do badly on Snatch Game from here on out because it’s not easy, mama. Anyway. We hope you enjoy this SUPER MEGA SIZED CHAPTER (10.5k!) to make up for the super long hiatus. And hopefully we’ll be back with more very soon. Come visit us on our blogs: @mia-ugly and @artificialmeggie

Previously: The runway was purple, but Blair’s Scarlett O'Hara realness wasn’t enough to save a poor performance and she was sent packing. Brooke and Vanjie are (most definitely) probably still messing around, and Nina and Monet had a moment backstage when Nina narrowly avoided elimination. Or was it a moment? Oh, and Nina’s probably losing his mind.

To come: Katya, Snatch Game, a hotel bar date, and a musical number.

Nina wakes up and is still on Drag Race.

He might be having some kind of a nervous breakdown (and breaking into song periodically) but that’s showbiz, kid.

And now it’s time for the fucking Snatch Game.

Shower, shave, dress.

Prepare for another sloppy Branjie moment in the elevator (and thank God, Nina gets to avoid that for a change). Nina Bo’nina is riding down alone, and the two of them chat distractedly on their way to the conference room.

A few of the mentors are there, but no Monét and no Trixie.

Nina tries not to let that bother him as he nibbles his toast and drinks his coffee. He’s focused this morning, ready for whatever happens next. He’s been thinking about Snatch Game since the moment he got the All Stars call, is determined that this is going to be his challenge (of course, he might have had that thought about the last challenge too… No, nope, move the hell on, girl.)

Nina doesn’t see Brooke until they film the Werk Room entrance. The man looks exhausted. There are circles under his eyes that the makeup guy has done his best to cover, but it’s still obvious Brooke is not at his best. It makes Nina remember that - no matter how stupid the Canadian is being about Vanjie (and no matter what sort of history he has with Nina’s equally stupid heart), Nina still loves him. Will probably always love him in some kind of way.

“No coffee this morning?” he asks quietly as they’re waiting to get mic’d.

“Not enough.” Brooke pulls down his hideous knitted beanie (where the hell does he keep getting those? A P.A. should - frankly - take them away.)

“Have a late night?” Nina doesn’t really want to know, but if Brooke needs to talk about it -

“Oh no. No. Just - thinking.” He rolls his neck. “Like - we know what’s coming up, right? And last season - it wasn’t my best look.”

Nina barks out a an embarrassingly loud laugh. “No kidding.”

“You didn’t have to find it that funny.”

“It’s pretty funny.”

“You’re a dick, you know that? No matter how sweet Monét thinks you are.”

This makes Nina stop laughing. “Sorry - what?”

“He was just going on about you when he was watching Asia film our scene last episode. Like - ‘try this, Nina does this, blah blah.’”

Nina doesn’t know what to think about that. It makes him feel a bit warm and light-headed, but absolutely incapable of responding.

“Clearly you’ve got her fooled. I know what you’re really like.”

“Haha, yeah.” Nina’s voice is weak and he hopes to God Brooke doesn’t immediately clock his blush. Luckily, Vanjie chooses that moment to start flirting with the sound guy, and Brooke’s attention is suddenly elsewhere. Yes, yes, that’s good. Nina will have to keep Vanjie close by at all times, just in case he needs to distract Brooke.

They all romp into the Werk Room together, Shea and Asia working their few seconds in the doorway for all it’s worth (“pose for me, pose for me, POSE”). They talk a bit about Blair going home, but before they can say much about it there’s the sound of a video message, and the television flickers to life.

“Ladies,” Ru’s face comes onto the screen. “I picked you queens for All Stars because you represent the best of the best. But on second thought… I think I’d like to see some other queens in your place. Sorry, not sorry.”

The video ends.

“What the hell does that mean?” Shea asks.

“Nah, nah.” Vanjie is shaking his head in denial. “We don’t need no more hos up in here. We got too many of y’all already.”

“Hello, hello, hello!” The door opens and Ru comes into the Werk Room, followed by the mentors. Nina tries to smile and look as excited to see Ru as he’s always supposed to be, but - he can’t help being worried about whatever the hell twist is coming up. (Monét winks at him as he comes in, so that’s something. Nina will keep that one brief moment like a diamond in his pocket.)

“Ladies, for this week’s maxi challenge, it’s time for another All Star Edition of Snatch Game!”

Most of the queens around Nina are delighted - except Brooke. Nina can see him smiling, but it’s fragile and fake, and his arms are folded very tightly around himself, legs crossed at the thigh even though he’s standing; a clear indication he’s stressing.

“This time, however, to celebrate my recent single ‘Queens Everywhere’— available now on iTunes—we’re going to do things a little bit differently. I know you’re all amazing queens, but for this Snatch Game, I’d like to see if you have any other queens inside you.” Ru raises a suggestive eyebrow. “Not to give Miss Vanjie an unfair advantage.”

Vanjie’s jaw drops even as he laughs, mutters “shade” through his perfect teeth.

“For this Snatch Game, I’m asking you to channel one of your sisters. We’ve had a lot of iconic queens on this series, so you’ll have plenty of personalities to choose from. And luckily you’ve got some experts here for inspiration. Hashtag Snatch Game All Stars. Gentleman, start your engines. And may the best All Star… win!”

“The fuck?” Vanjie whispers to Nina as soon as Ru leaves. “Bitch, I had a damn plan. I brought the little gold trophies and everything. Watched all the fucking movies. Now I got to be one of y’all’s tired asses? That ain’t fair.”

“Trophies, like - you mean Oscars?”

“Sure, whatever.”

Nina has to admit that he’s kinda thrilled about this twist. He’d been telling anyone who will listen who he was going to be for the Snatch Game if he ever got another chance. He’d had a couple back-ups, of course (they’d all been told to bring a former queen, so honestly, they should have seen this coming from a mile away), but this really couldn’t have gone better for him.

He feels bad for some of the other queens though, especially Vanessa (the bitch was prepped to do Meryl Streep - Brooke’s idea, and a fucking hilarious one. He’d kill to see it).

“X-Queens assemble,” Monét calls over at him, and Nina pats Vanjie on the shoulder, goes off to sit with Monét and Asia.

Monét looks good. Real good. He’s in some loud patterned sweatshirt that has tiny slices of pizza all over it, and another pair of thick-rimmed glasses (white, or maybe baby pink?), and he’s smiling at Nina like - no, nope. Move along.

“It’s actually the Avengers that assemble,” Asia tells Monét, who rolls his eyes at her.

“Girl, you can’t be a bigger nerd than me. I won’t accept it.”

“Yeah, ‘cause knowing about the Avengers is real obscure, serious fan-only shit.”

“The shade, Miss Asia! Nina West, are you going to defend your mentor?”

Nina holds his hands up. “You’re the fearless leader, you got this.”

“The pair of you.” Monét shakes his head. “All right, what you got for Snatch Game?”

“I’ma be Brown Cow Stun-ning, yes, honey.” Asia pops her tongue after a pretty admirable impression of Monique Heart.

“And Miss Nina West?” Monét is looking at him with an eyebrow raised. Nina wonders if he’s heard the interviews, if he already knows.

“Miss Vaaaanjie,” Nina says, “Bitch, you know I don’t play games. Don’t play Monopology, Uno, Twistah, Tag, Marbles -”

“Jesus Christ, stop it.” Monét is covering his face with his hands, while Asia is cackling. “Does she know?”

“Not yet.”

“She will live. Okay, okay, I ain’t worried about either of you. Take me straight to the finale, win me that serious mentor coin.”

They run through a couple ideas for jokes, focusing more on Asia (who struggled last time and still has a bit of anxiety flaring behind her contacts). There’s a break for lunch, but it’s weirdly quiet, subdued. Snatch Game is an opportunity to stand out, to prove you deserve to be there. It’s also an opportunity to crash and burn in front of Ru, the judges, and later on - the world. So there’s that.

After lunch everyone starts putting on their paint, fixing their wigs. The cameras zoom in to get some Werk Room chatter about who is playing who, and of course they’re all dying for Vanessa’s reaction (as soon as he sees Nina pull out his pink-petalled Barbie-head dress from its garment bag, the pussycat’s out of the Prada bag).

“Noooo, bitch,” Vanjie shouts across the room, but he’s smiling. “Oh, I’mma have to whup your ass if that’s what I think it is.”

“Deuces!” Nina shouts back at him, throwing up the sign as well, while Brooke covers his face.

“That ain’t right, it ain’t right. Thought we was friends, sis.” Vanjie is laughing about it, though; Nina knows they’re cool.

“Who are you playing, Miss Shea Coulée?” Asia calls over to her sister, who is fussing with a nasty looking green wig.

“Paaaarty…” Shea drags out the word, working that vocal fry for all she’s worth. “I’m going to be Adore Delano, darling.”

Nina Bo’nina Brown thinks this is the funniest thing she’s ever heard, can’t speak for laughing so hard. Shea seems entertained by it at first, but her smile starts to tighten a little after the laughter continues a bit too long.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing, nothing. Just - good luck, girl.”

“Who are you doing then?”

“Yeah,” Cracker interjects. “You were Jasmine Masters for your season’s Snatch Game right? The judges loved it.”

“Right. So why mess with perfection? I’m going to do Miss Jasmine Masters.”

A couple of the girls stop what they’re doing when she says this.

“You’re going to play the same queen?” Cracker repeats, a bit shocked.

“Yeah. I was sickening last time, I’ll be sickening this time.”

“Aren’t you worried that they’ll read you for not showing them what else you can do?”

“Nah. They’re gonna be laughing too hard.”

“Mmmm…” Vanjie makes a low, skeptical noise.

“Trust and believe, Vanjie,” Nina B. calls over to her. “Trust and believe.”

The cameras have to reset then to film Ru’s entrance into the Werk Room, and catch all the queens’ “surprised” reactions.

“Hello hello hello, kitty girls!”

Nina beams, claps his hands, that whole production. He’s feeling pretty good though - the energy is real. He’s actually excited for this challenge, ready to show Ru what he can do. (That’s how he felt last year too, then Silky went and yanked the win right out from under him. But no time to dwell on that now.)

“How are my All Stars? I thought I’d take a little look-see at what you were planning for us. And I brought along one of our extra special guest judges to help me out.”

From behind Ru, Katya Zamolodchikova comes in waving and smiling, teeth glowing white against her red lipstick.

“Oh my god! Get your own thing!” Trixie yells from across the room, and Katya does that ridiculous/adorable silent laugh that Nina has seen on “UNHhhh” too many times to count.

“Thanks for coming, Katya!” Ru says cheerfully.

“No problem, Ru. Thanks for unlocking the attic door!”

“Well, it was a special occasion. And I was feeling generous.”

They go from station to station, cameras following them around silently, and Nina fusses a bit with his dress while eavesdropping on their conversations with the other queens. There is a bit of concern for Brooke, who’s playing Detox (no big surprise there). How is Brooke going to make Detox funny seems to be the main issue. Nina has the same question. Brooke seems more confident than last season, though, so Ru and Katya wish him luck.

There’s some controversy over Nina Bo’nina playing Jasmine again, but the girl won’t be convinced to try something else. Nina listens to some of the critiques, ignores some of the others. He’s interested, but he also knows he needs to focus on his own performance, and not get in his head. He’s not as bad as Brooke at over-thinking things, but no one goes into goddamn musical theatre who isn’t at least a little bit destroyed (psychologically speaking. Okay, maybe also a bit romantically. It’s fine).

“Nina West!” Ru says close to Nina’s ear, and he almost jumps a foot in the air. (Girl, Katya is standing four feet away from you, be cool, be cool.)

“Hello, hello, hello Christine,” he says, immediately launching into his Vanjie impression. Both Ru and Katya laugh - and Katya’s smile up close is completely unfair, like a smile cut out of paper, perfect and sharp-edged.

(“I don’t know her!” Vanjie shouts from across the room.)

“So who are you going to be?” Katya asks, completely straight-faced, as soon as she and Ru have stopped laughing.

“I don’t know, still making up my mind,” Nina says, back in his normal voice.

“And the uh -” Ru gestures to the hideous floral Barbie dress, “gown?”

“Do you like it? One of my best gowns. What’s funny?”

Katya is wheeze-laughing. Katya is wheeze-laughing because of something Nina said! He stores that one next to the Monét gem from earlier; hopes to have enough for his own tiara in the unthinkable event that he doesn’t win.

“Now on Season 11’s Snatch Game, you were hilarious, you played -”

“Harvey Fierstein and Jo Anne Worley-”

“Yes! And really, it might have been one of the strongest performances in Snatch Game herstory.”

Nina smiles gratefully (only slightly furious that Ru’s saying this despite the fact that Nina didn’t win. He deserved to win).

“So how can you possibly outdo yourself this time?”

“I’m not trying to outdo myself, I’m trying to do something different. Like Katya, when you played Björk -”

“Yes, yes, back to me,” Katya says, nodding.

“Completely different from Suze Orman, but still so funny. That’s what I’m going to do. Just - mix it up.”

“All right, Nina, good luck. Can’t wait to see it,” Ru says, moving on.

It’s fine. It’ll be fine.

As soon as Ru and Katya leave the Werk Room it’s a mad dash to get dressed and made up and before Nina knows it, before he can light a bunch of candles on an altar and find whatever religion will bring him the most luck, they’re all being rounded up and led into the studio for the Snatch Game.

Okay.

Brooke’s Detox look is iconic, the yellow and black striped bandage dress from the Season 5 premiere (probably borrowed from Detox herself) hugs his perfectly padded body, but he’s absolutely trembling as he walks beside Nina. Nina has to squeeze his shoulder, tell him it’ll be fine.

“It’s fun, Brooke. Just have fun with it,” he murmurs as he hits the bright studio lights, has to blink until his vision adjusts (the first thing he sees is Monét and Nina’s blinded by him).

Okay.

The mentors are sitting along the sidelines, ready to watch the show play out. Nina wasn’t expecting that, but it’s - fine. Monét smiles at him, and Nina’s going to use that smile as a good luck charm - a rabbit’s foot, a four leaf clover, whatever. It’s impossible not to feel lucky when someone who looks like Monét goddamn X Change smiles at you like that.

“Welcome to the first All Stars ‘Queens Everywhere’ Snatch Game!” Ru says after they’re all mic’d and seated, upbeat music playing behind him. “Let’s meet our contestants.”

Katya beams from where she’s sitting behind her glittery podium and microphone.

“It’s everyone’s favorite queen that we found digging in the dumpster outside - Katya!”

“And yet I’m still hungry!”

Katya smiles at Ru and then snaps her teeth at the other queens.

“And - just when you thought we’d finally seen the last of her - halleloo! It’s Shangela!”

Shangela raises one hand in the air, nodding seriously. “That’s right, I’m back again, bitches. And I ain’t even in a box this time, baby.”

“Ladies, are you ready to meet the queens?”

“Yaaaaaaaaaas,” they answer in tandem.

They reset so that Ru can film the introductions, and Nina’s heart starts rattling like bones in a bag. He’s buzzing with adrenaline and nerves, but he’s going to channel that into a goddamn win. That’s right, he tells his inner saboteur - you can fuck off. This challenge is mine.

“The heart of Season 10 - Monique Heart is here!” Ru starts with Asia, whose Monique look is extremely correct.

“Hello world! Hello America! Are you brown cow stunning?” She tosses Ru a ridiculous cow-patterned baseball cap. Ru briefly feigns excitement before throwing it over his shoulder in distaste.

“Burn that,” he murmurs to one of the camera crew. “Next up, we have the original party-queen - Adore Delano!”

Shea Coulee stretches her arms in the air before making a peace sign, growling “Party,” in a gravelly voice.

“How are you doing Adore?”

“I mean, I’m good, you know? Like. Excited to be back. Where am I again?”

Nina has to turn his mouth into his shoulder to stifle the laugh that bubbles to his throat immediately. He wasn’t sold on it when they were discussing it in the Werk Room, but Shea is killing it as Adore. Her voice, her delivery is hilarious. The makeup is flawless. Her perpetual open mouth is complete perfection. As always, Shea Coulee is slaying the competition. Nina’s stomach gives a nervous jolt, so he sucks in a deep breath and reminds himself to pay attention.

He realizes he’s missed Ivy’s introduction, but Katya is gagged at the illusion of, well - Her - that Ivy is turning today. A mid-length honey blonde wig barely brushes Ivy’s shoulders and her red bustier is covered in rhinestones (and, of course, the scythe and hammer.) The look is great. The accent, on the other hand… Nina sighs a little, but tries not to get comfortable, regardless of how terrible Ivy’s Russian accent is.

Vanjie is seated at the end of the top row, decked out in red lace, a large pair of dark sunglasses balanced precariously on her nose. There’s no denying the air about her: Miss Vanjie is living Miss Valentina’s French vanilla fantasy, and no one could doubt it.

Ru beams at him. “Valentina! How wonderful to see you again!”

Vanjie draws in a deep breath. “That’s right, Ru, it’s me - Valentina. I’m back, and this time, I just want you to know, I fully learned all the words to ‘Greedy.’”

“Excellent! You want to sing us a verse right now?”

“No,” Vanjie answers, extremely primly, and even in his gravelly voice, the delivery is enough to make Ru laugh.

“Maybe next time.”

“Probably not.”

Then Ru’s looking at Nina and - oh, god, why did he think coming back for All Stars was a good idea again?

“Miss Vaaaaaanjie is here!” Ru trills.

Nina sucks in a deep breath and - “What’s the grease, mama?”

Down the row, Brooke buries his face in his hands, but his shoulders bounce with laughter. Ru is giggling loudly. Even Katya and Shangela are agape at the spot-on impression like it’s the first time he’s done it, the first time they’ve heard it.

He lets himself relax a little.

“Three seasons in a row.” Ru consults his cue cards. “Girl, aren’t you tired of competing yet?”

“Mmhmm.” Nina shakes his head vehemently, the wig he pilfered from Vanjie weeks ago flying around his shoulders. (He really does owe Brooke one for that.) “Nah, girl, you know I’m still trying to get my own show. Like Vanjie of Love or some shit like that. You know, something where these triflin’ hos gotta pay me some damn attention.”

In his periphery, Nina catches Brooke cut his eyes to him. He hopes this is okay. They haven’t really discussed the Branjie territory in regards to his jokes, but he kind of assumed it was fair game. Besides, he isn’t planning on directly hurting anyone’s feelings. He’ll keep it light, keep it fun. Besides, they’re the ones who marketed their portmanteau and gave the profits to charity. It’s practically public domain at this point.

“Next up we’ve got - oh my goodness, it’s Jasmine Masters!”

Nina Bo’nina gives Ru an extremely “over it” look. “Yeah, and I got something to say.”

“Now Jasmine - no tea, no shade, but haven’t you been on Snatch Game before?”

There’s a bit of an awkward pause before Nina Bo’nina waves him away.

“Bitch, I’ve got something more to say.”

Ru chuckles a bit, “I bet you do,” and moves on to Brooke.

“Another former All Star contestant, welcome Detox!”

Brooke looks sullen and concerned. He gives a little nod at Ru and the contestants.

“Detox, what’s the matter? You don’t look happy to be here.”

“Oh, am I not smiling?” Brooke asks through his extremely full, painted-on lips. “I can’t feel anything above my neck.” He shapes his mouth into a grotesque smile using his hands, and Ru almost doubles over. Okay, okay. Nina feels a little less worried about Brooke.

“And last but not least, we have - um, Aquaria! Hey girl!”

“Hi Ru!”

“Aquaria, is that the new way you’re spelling your name?” Cracker has written Acwareea on her name-card. A couple letters are backwards.

“Huh?” Cracker looks down at the name card. “Oh, I can’t spell my name. Actually, I can’t spell anything.”

“Okay then.”

“You know, some girls chose to read books, I chose to turn looks.”

“Yeah, you did! Now let’s get ready to play the Snatch Game!”

They break for a few adjustments on the cameras and microphones, and Nina tries not to hyperventilate, and then fuck - they’re rolling again.

“Here we go. The first question is for Katya. Katya, All Stars Season 1 paved the way, and brought back some of the most celebrated queens of all time to compete. This time, instead of competing in pairs, the queens are competing in BLANK.”

Be funny, be funny, be fucking funny. Nina tries to think like Vanjie and writes down an answer as soon as he’s got one, hoping it will be good enough.

“Okay, pens down. Katya?”

“I said competing in traction.”

“In - traction?”

“Yeah, you know, when all the bones in your body are broken and you’re in the hospital bed with your leg in the air.”

“That would certainly be a different kind of competition.”

“I’d watch it,” Katya says seriously, and Ru laughs.

“Let’s go to the Queens and see if we have any matches. Miss Valentina. What did you write down?”

Vanjie has put a lace mask on over the bottom of her face. She mumbles something indecipherable.

“What was that?” Ru asks. Vanjie mumbles something again.

“Valentina,” Ru says, clearly picking up on the joke. “Take that thing off your face.”

“I’d like to keep it on please.”

Ru shakes his head slowly, and at last Vanjie removes her mask.

“Now, Valentina. What did you write?”

Vanjie flips her card over, and Ru starts to wheeze with laughter. “That’s what I wrote down. I’d like to keep it on please.“

Vanjie’s Valentina voice is slipping, but she’s hella charming anyway, as always.

“I’m sorry, my dear, but that is not a match. Moving on to Aquaria - oh! You’ve got a new outfit.”

Miz Cracker was scrambling to put on a new wig and geometric headpiece made of iPhones while Ru was speaking to the contestants. She looks great, and she’s killing Aquaria’s affected head wobble.

“This season the queens are competing in BLANK.”

Cracker flips her card to reveal Aquaria’s instagram URL. “I wasn’t born when All Stars Season 1 aired, so I just wrote this.”

“Oh, okay - not a match.”

“I’m young,” Cracker insists, and Ru nods, patiently.

“We all were once. What did Miss Vaaaaanjie have to say?”

“I said we’d have to compete in swimsuits,” Nina says, flipping over his card.

“Swimsuits?”

“Yeah. Cause maybe then Michelle won’t read my ass for filth every damn week.”

Ru gapes at him, like he can’t believe he just came for Michelle in Snatch Game.

“Swimsuits be glamor when everybody else is doing them too, bitch!” Nina pops his tongue.

Ru laughs, high and clear, and then turns to the other Nina. “What about you, Jasmine? What do you have to say?”

Nina Bo’nina slaps her hands on the table and purses her lips. “We gonna be competing in making viral videos to get Justin Bieber’s attention, Ru.”

The room — pauses while Ru tries to save face with a polite chuckle. Nina West can practically hear the shade rattle sound effect that will inevitably be edited in at this exact moment.

Jasmine Masters probably wasn’t Nina Bo’nina’s best option (anyone could have told her that and, good god girl, they really tried). It’s not working. Nina doesn’t think any of it’s working.

Ru clears his throat, shakes his head. “I’m certain you could teach them a thing or two about that, but unfortunately, it’s not a match.”

Nina Bo’nina shrugs.

Ru shuffles his cue cards and moves on. “This next question is for Shangela. In All Stars Season 2, we changed things up by letting the queens choose who would be eliminated. This season, as well as eliminating each other, the queens will have to BLANK each other.”

There’s the scribbling of markers from the queens around Nina (who like to think he’s got this answer down blind.)

“Okay, pens down. Shangela? This season, the queens will also have to…”

“I knew what y’all were looking for, because y’all are nasty…” Shangela turns her card around. “But I’m a lady, so I said they’d have to ‘tuck’ each other.”

“Tuck each other!”

“Sometimes a girl needs a helping hand, mama.”

“Ain’t that the truth. Let’s see if we have any matches! Katya, what did you say?”

Ivy looks a bit startled to be called on first, but she beams with her red lips, flips her card over. “I said eat each other. To consume each other’s power and fill the gaping void that lives -” She pats her chest. “Right here.”

Katya (the real Katya) shrieks, but Ru shakes his head.

“I’m sorry, that’s not a match.”

“Da,” Ivy says solemnly, in her terrible Russian accent. “Da. It never is match. Like me and Trixie. Match but… No match.”

And, okay, Nina might imagine it, but it seems like the studio goes eerily quiet as everyone waits for Trixie’s reaction. She’s smiling, but it looks forced. Katya clears her throat but laughs, which seems to dispel the weird tension that formed.

Ru, oblivious to the entire thing, moves on. “Miss Vaaaanjie, what did you say?”

Nina sighs and flips his card, feeling pretty pleased with himself. “I said date each other. You know, I still be lookin’ for that Notebook shit.”

“Oh yeah, we know. No more Post-Its, right?”

“No more Post-Its, never again. I ain’t got the time, Mary!” He glances over at Brooke, raises his eyebrows seductively. “Hey, how you doin’?” Behind him, the real Vanjie mumbles something under his breath.

“I’m sorry, my dear, that’s not a match.”

“Bitch, it might be!” Nina says, still looking at Brooke, and Ru bends over laughing, stomping his foot into the ground. It’s adrenaline, it’s power, it’s like Nina knows this challenge is his.

“You ain’t even know!” he continues, channeling angry Vanessa as much as possible. “Just ‘cause one tall blonde bitch did me wrong don’t mean they all will. Shit.” Nina crosses his arms over his chest, leans back in his chair, sees Brooke duck his head and blink rapidly a few times.

That might have been too much. He just got caught in the moment and… Fuck. Dial it back a little, but stay focused.

“Moving on to Aquaria,” Ru says. Aquaria, this season the queens will have to BLANK each other.”

“I said ‘copy each other,” Cracker says tightly, in Aquaria’s low voice. “And it’s too bad Miz Cracker isn’t here. Maybe then she would have won something.”

“Oho!” Ru laughs, a bit scandalized. “Not a match, my dear.”

Cracker shrugs and throws the card over her shoulder. “Someone save that so I can call and ask Cracker if she wants more of my sloppy seconds.”

“Adore Delanoooo!” Ru trills the last syllable as he turns to Shea, who tosses the long green waves over her shoulder.

She flashes Ru one of Adore’s signature winking, mouth-open, tongue-out smiles with a peace sign.

“What did you write down, darling?”

“I said ‘party with each other,’” Shea drawls in Adore’s affected tone, adding more fry than is entirely necessary, but it gets the point across. She’s goofy and perfect.

“Party with each other,” Ru repeats.

“Yeah! I mean, you guys all look super cool. I’d hang out with you, smoke a blunt, eat some pizza. You know, party!”

Ru tsks. “Sounds like a great Tuesday night, but unfortunately not a match.” He turns to face the contestants, where Katya is sitting with her hands folded primly on her stack of cards. “Back to Katya! In All Stars Season 3, BenDeLaCreme shocked the judges by sending herself home. This season, Michelle Visage will shock everyone by BLANKING herself.”

Katya takes a minute to ponder, pressing her index finger to her lips then writes something on her card. Nina and the other queens follow suit, and when their time is up, Katya is smiling ferociously.

“Let’s see what our contestant put down. Katya?” Ru faces her. “Michelle Visage will shock everyone by doing what?”

Katya clears her throat. “I could have gone the obvious route, you know.”

“Obviously,” Ru says.

“Instead, I said, ‘sacrificing herself.’”

“Sacrificing herself?”

“With fire. To the Gods, honey.”

“Okay… Any particular God?”

“…Satan.”

“Of course. Let’s go to our queens. Detox, this season Michelle Visage will shock everyone by…”

Brooke flips his card over. “I said motorboating herself. I mean, if anyone could do it -”

“I don’t know how shocking that would be… but either way, I’m sorry, not a match. Vanessa Vanjie Mateo! What did you say, my dear?”

Nina flips over his card. “I said cloning herself.”

“Cloning herself?”

“Mmm-hmm. Need two of her to manage your ass.”

Ru laughs, and Nina thanks every God he knows the name of. The burn landed!

“And now she got that done, she’s gonna clone me some Canadian bacon.”

“Is that right?”

“Hell yeah it is.” Nina does not look at Brooke or Vanjie. “But only the good parts, baby. Trim all the fat; I’m a growing girl, need more protein in my diet.”

“Bitch, you couldn’t handle that much protein,” Vanjie-as-Valentina cuts in, and Ru fans himself.

“A controversial question! Let’s go to Monique Heart, see what she said. Michelle Visage will shock everyone by…”

“I said believing in herself.” Asia-as-Monique-turns her face to the camera. “Like I believe in myself, America. And that’s why I’d like to take this moment to announce my run for office.”

“Which office is that?”

“Whichever.” Asia’s got Monique’s flighty passion down perfectly. “One of the big ones, you know. And thank you, America, for your trust. I won’t let you down.”

Ru reads the last question of the night. “In All Stars Season 4, history was made when we celebrated the first Drag Race double crowning. This season, we’ll be making history with a double BLANK.”

Shangela is already shaking her head knowingly. There’s a scrabble of writing from the queens.

“Ladies, pens down. Shangela?”

“I’m giving the people what they want, Ru. I ain’t proud. I had to say a double fisting.”

“Did you really have to say it though?”

“Actually, mama, I did. The PAs have my children.”

“Ha! All right ladies, let’s see if we have any matches. Adore Delano. This season we’ll be making history with the first double BLANK.”

Shea holds up her card proudly. “I said the first double… elimination.”

Ru is quiet for a moment. “That’s actually been done before.”

“It has?”

“A couple of times, actually.”

“Oh.” Shea is unfazed. “Well. I don’t watch the show.”

Ru wheeze laughs, and so does Nina.

“I mean, I don’t know who any of you people are.”

“Sorry, Adore. Not a match.”

Shea shrugs, flashes a peace sign.

“What about you Katya?” Ru moves over to Ivy.

“Well, I thought about what Trixie and I like to do behind the scenes of ‘UNHhhh’ and I just had to put - fisting!” She flips her card.

“It’s a match!” Ru exclaims.

Everyone is laughing, but Nina can’t help check out the subjects of Ivy’s joke. The real Katya Zamo is smiling but - her teeth look clenched. And over with the mentors, Trixie Mattel is not smiling at all. She’s staring at her hands in her lap, systematically picking at the baby pink polish that adorns her fingernails. Hopefully none of the cameras pick up on that.

“I’ll see you later tonight!” Ivy continues, pointing at Trixie. There’s a halfway amused smile on Trixie’s face right away, but Nina feels like he was punched in the stomach. Something��s going on between the two of them, clearly. It hurts to watch - not like watching Vanjie and Brooke hurts (that’s more like watching two attractive bricks smash together). But Trixie and Katya - there’s so much history there. So much darkness. And God knows enough people have been convinced they’re in love -

“Monique Heart, what did you put down? This season we’ll be making history with the first double BLANK.”

“I said the first double crowning, dahling.”

“I’m sorry Monique, we already did that as well.”

“I know y’all did it, but I feel like it didn’t really count because my ass wasn’t wearing one of those crowns. It should have been me, and that’s a fact, America. And facts are - what? Facts.”

Ru laughs for a moment before turning to Nina. “What about Miss Vaaaanjie?”

“I said the first double wedding. And before y’all even ask: I do.” Nina glances over at Brooke, hoping he isn’t hitting this note a bit too hard.

“You do? Who’s the other happy couple?”

Ivy interrupts before Nina can answer. “Trixie! I’ve been meaning to ask you!”

“Oh honey,” Trixie calls out, looking flushed and uncomfortable. “I know I said I’d give more to charity this year, honey, but my generosity has limits.”

Behind her podium, Katya’s face is absolutely expressionless.

“Well, queens, we’re out of time,” Ru announces. “Which means the winner is… Xanax! Talk to your pharmacist. See you next time on the Snatch Game!”

Nina throws ‘deuces’ at the cameras as they get some closing B-roll, keeping up his Vanjie-persona until the very end. As soon as the director yells “cut!” Nina lets out the breath he’s been holding for the past two hours. God, it went by fast, but now he’s feeling every second of it. His muscles ache like he ran a marathon this morning and then tried kick-boxing for the first time.

“Nice work, ladies,” P.A.’s are congratulating them as they leave the set, but Nina barely hears a word. He de-drags, does some of the talking head interviews he loves so much (has to look shady about Nina B.’s performance, and worried about Brooke. Nina doesn’t put on an act or anything - he is kinda worried about Brooke. Brooke did ‘okay’ - better than Celine for sure - but didn’t stand out the way some of the other queens did. And if Brooke goes home tomorrow night - fuck. Nina doesn’t quite know how he feels about that).

Brooke was also kind of weird as they took off their paint in the Werk Room. Nina thought at first that he was in his head about the Snatch Game, but now he’s starting to wonder if his answers as Vanjie might have fucked Brooke up a bit. He hasn’t had a chance to address it, but he’s going to have to tomorrow, just to make sure they’re cool. He thinks it will be okay. He’s pretty sure. Basically. Almost positive.

Nina might be working through some latent confidence issues as he pushes himself for four miles on the elliptical later that night in the hotel (work through the pain, he reminds himself), but it’s fine really. Nothing to see here. Move along.

His legs ache and his face drips sweat, but he feels—good, actually. Solid about his performance. (He did last year, too, but he’s trying not to think about that.)

Dolly is singing about ways to make a living in his ears. He’s not assuming - but he is preparing. Just in case. If he has to lipsync for his legacy, he wants to be ready. Wants to win this one more than any other challenge, and call him crazy, but he feels like there’s a real chance. He can’t pinpoint why exactly, but there’s some kind of feeling settling down into his bones, making him think that maybe maybe maybe—

Underneath that, something uncomfortable has wormed its way into his psyche. It has almost nothing to do with the actual competition. It’s stupid and predictable and oh-so-not what he should be concerned with while on the set of All Stars for Christ’s sake. But he is and he’s here and he’s feeling things, and Nina taught himself a long time ago that feeling things fully for a while and then letting them go is far more beneficial to his mental health than taking the Brooke route and bottling everything up and burying it under vodka cranberries and couch cushions.

So sure. Okay. He’s feeling some kind of way about this thing that he saw that he wasn’t even supposed to see and isn’t even any of his business, but that’s just Nina’s luck for you. So that’s what he focuses on (or tries not to) as he turns up the resistance and pushes through the last of his workout.

He’d risked a glance back at Monét right before the PAs had shoved them off the soundstage. He’s in the business of gem collecting now, savoring those moments, polishing them up for later use, and maybe he wanted a ruby tinted the exact shade of Monét’s lipstick as they’d smiled across the room at each other.

Instead, he’d seen Monét reaching out to Shangela, crimson lips puckered, arms outstretched, ready for the kiss Nina couldn’t make himself watch.

Maybe they had kissed, Nina didn’t know; he’d made himself turn away before he could inflict any more psychological damage on himself. (He’s choosing healthier options now, remember.)

Of course they hadn’t had a moment after the last runway. Why would he think that? When Monét could have anyone he wants, and Nina is practically an amorphous blob. Like. He knows drag queens are all touchy-cuddly most of the time, and he knows that there’s probably nothing going on between Monét and pretty, perfect, halleloo-ing Shangela. But there could be, right? And goddamn, that would actually make sense. As opposed to whatever madness was going on in Nina’s head last night.

He adds even more resistance to the elliptical - just for “fun.” Or maybe spite. And yeah, okay, one night of really solid work in the hotel gym isn’t going to turn him into Naomi Smalls with legs up to his asshole or anything, but it’s a start. And the sooner Nina can convince himself that he isn’t doing this for Monét (or anyone other than himself because he likes exercise, damn it), the better.

He’s a grown-ass adult. He recognizes delusion when he sees it in the mirror every morning. It’s time to face facts—he and Monét had one (wondrously) sensual, albeit (incredibly) drunken night months ago. Monét had left the ball in Nina’s court. Nina was too chickenshit to do anything about it. Now they’re tentative friends (Monét is his mentor after all), Nina might be going crazy (this whole bursting-into-song-but-not-really thing has gone too far), and it’s all just so messy.

Nina wipes his face, stretches, and heads out of the hotel gym. He probably looks like a sweaty disaster (okay, there’s no ‘probably’ about it) and he’s waiting for the elevator down to the floor with his room, when the doors “ding” open and he’s face to face with Monét.

Could be worse. Could be Branjie again.

“Get in loser, we’re going drinking!” Monét says, with a wide smile on his face.

He’s so fucking charming that Nina momentarily forgets that he himself is a hot damn mess. Literally, like hot. Dripping with sweat.

“Um.” He gets into the elevator anyway because - he’s gotta go somewhere. “Are we?”

“If you want.” Monét gets strangely shy as soon as the elevator doors close. Or maybe that’s just in Nina’s mind. “Was the Mean Girls reference too much? I feel like maybe it’s played out.”

Nina laughs out loud, awkwardness momentarily forgotten. Monét never seems anything but confident and composed, and that one moment of doubt is - surprisingly endearing.

Not that confident, composed Monét isn’t completely endearing as well. Like. It’s all good. It all works a little too well for Nina. Everything about Monét is working a little too well for Nina lately.

Shit, the elevator is moving, decision-making time is limited.

“I kinda look like - this?” Nina waves a hand at his damp self.

“Fine as hell, girl,” Monét says with a grin, “and no pressure, obviously. Though if I’m drinking alone at the hotel bar, it’s going to look a little sad. And, look, I can make sad work for me, that’s not a problem. But after the day I’ve had -”

“Oh, the day you’ve had. Yeah, I forgot how stressful it must have been. Competing on a reality show and all that.”

“Fuck off. Uh oh, we’re passing your floor -”

“How do you know which floor is mine?”

Monét blinks at him, briefly speechless, mouth agape. (It makes something spark like a firework in Nina’s chest, shoot colours across the night sky.) The moment passes and then Monét doesn’t even have the decency to look embarrassed, just smiles like a gorgeous monster as he taps his temple. “That’s classified mentor information.”

“Yeah?”

“Hell yeah. You don’t want to know about my top-secret dossier.”

“No, I - don’t.”

“You sure you don’t?” Monét winks at him, and the elevator dings as it reaches the ground floor. “Ah, shit, missed your stop. Better come do shots with me.”

“I mean, I could just press the button again.” Nina doesn’t know why he’s resisting, he wants to get tipsy with Monét more than he wants to do most things (aside from win All Stars and run for office someday maybe).

“Nah, girl, this elevator only goes down. One-way elevator. Sorry, should have told you.”

“Guess I’m out of options.”

“Guess so.”

They look at each other. Nina remembers the man that asked him up to his room the night of the finale. Nina remembers the taste of his mouth, the way Monét kept kissing him, like he couldn’t get enough. Nina -

- is clearly exhausted. And still delusional. But fuck it.

They go to the hotel bar (isn’t this how all the bad stories start?) and Monét buys them both a tequila sunrise and tells Nina way more than he should about Trixie Mattel.

“So her man and her are split. She’s feeling some kind of way about it.”

“Of course she is. Haven’t they been together for, like, ever?”

“Something like that. Fuck.” Monét drains his drink, motions for another round. “We’ve been talking about it, but I’m not - you know. I love her, she’s incredible, but - I’m not - her best friend.”

“You’re not Katya,” Nina says quietly, and Monét scrubs his hands over his face.

“Yeah. That.”

“So why isn’t she talking to Katya, then? You guys have your phones; Katya’s here now, for Christ’s sake.”

Monét shrugs. “Beats me.”

“Are they -” Nina doesn’t have any right to this information, but - he figures that Monét wants to talk about it. “Potentially… do you think -”

“Who the fuck knows? Honestly, when I said I’d come back to do this show, I did not think it would be like being in high school again. Like who is crushing on who, who is hooking up, it -” He darts a look over at Nina and then snaps his mouth shut. “I mean.”

Nina looks away. Finishes his second drink a bit too quickly. “You want another?”

“Okay,” Monét answers before Nina can even finish the sentence.

The bartender is particularly attentive, gets another round in front of them right away. He’s got a lot of smiles for them both, says, “This round’s on me, I’m a huge fan,” as he walks off to help another customer, and Nina - can’t help it, he’s a masochist - raises an eyebrow at Monét.

“Think you’ve got an admirer.”

“Yeah?” Monét rolls his eyes. “More like you do.”

“Should we turn this into an awful romantic comedy where we make a bet about who he likes more?”

Monét laughs like he’s shocked at himself. “Girl! Okay, but what happens at the end? Who wins?”

“Well, if we’re following the formula, we probably both realize that real love was right in front of - you know, I don’t know. You, you win.” Fuck fuck fuck, what the hell is Nina even saying? He watched too many Hallmark movies last Christmas. “That voice, that ass, right?” He tries to make it into a joke, even with Monét’s eyes all honeyed and serious on his face.

Monét purses those perfect lips, presses them into a semi-smile. “Just… didn’t want to assume nothing.”

They talk for another couple drinks, and it’s - shit, it’s easy. It’s never this easy with someone Nina likes. He knows he can be funny, knows he can bring out the charm (with the right amount of alcohol in his system) but usually if there are feelings involved it all goes to hell. Nina gets weird and in his head and laughs too loudly and spills his drink everywhere.

But with Monét - it shouldn’t be like this. It shouldn’t be this easy, especially with all the longing covering up the background like terrible flowered wallpaper. It shouldn’t be this easy for Nina to stop over-thinking things and just exist in the presence of this gorgeous person.

But it is. It is easy. That’s the worst part of it all.

Monét is laughing and grabbing for his arm (just like finale night in the other hotel bar) and there’s heat in Nina’s cheeks that isn’t just from the alcohol, and Monét’s lips are glistening and wet as he pulls the straw between them and sips every last bit of the cocktail into his mouth.

Nina swallows thickly, leans into the sound of Monét’s deep rumbling laugh, reaches for his knee when he starts to slip off the hotel barstool.

How many drinks are they in now? Four? Five? More? The room is spinning.

Nina is laughing. Light, airy. Not giggling exactly but laughing and his cheeks are burning and Monét is looking at him through narrowed eyes.

“Be careful, Nina West,” Monét says, and his voice is low and dangerous. “Be careful lookin’ at people like that. They might get… ideas.”

Nina’s breath hitches in his throat and he swallows hard. “Ideas?”

“I might get ideas.” Monét smiles crookedly; his eyes are half-closed and sleepy as he rests his chin on his hand and leans against the bar. “You never texted me.”

Nina’s so glad he’s drunk. So glad he missed his floor, even if it has led to this. Because this conversation, this thing has hung between them for the entirety of filming and it hasn’t been uncomfortable exactly (because they’re adults, thank you very much), but it hasn’t been wonderful either. And Nina more than anything wants to rewind back to May, go to lunch, talk about anything and everything and nothing with Monét until they fall back into hotel sheets and kiss and kiss and kiss until—

“Why didn’t you ever text me?”

Nina clears his throat. “I was… I… I wanted to.”

“But?” Monét’s eyes are wide and pleading now. Still glassy with the alcohol, but inquisitive, bright, waiting to see how Nina is going to explain himself.

Nina is too, to be honest.

So he shakes his head. “I don’t know. Honestly. I don’t have a good reason. I wanted to. I should have.”

Monét ducks his head, takes the paper straw from his drink and twirls it between his middle and ring finger. It sends tiny droplets of tequila sunrise all over the wooden bartop.

“I thought about that night a lot, Nina West,” Monét says quietly, wiping at the droplets with a damp beverage napkin. “I don’t do that. That’s not like me.”

“Me either,” Nina says.

Nina knows that if they were sober this would be a very different conversation. There would definitely be more emotions, there might even be some yelling (although that doesn’t really seem like Monét’s thing and he’s never been one to raise his voice, so maybe not). Either way, they aren’t sober, and now they’re the sleepy kind of drunk and exhausted, so they just sit there at the bar staring at each other, not sure what to say next.

“Why’d you pick me?” Nina finally asks. “For the competition? Because of… that night?”

Monét shrugs and pulls his credit card out of the back pocket of his jeans. “Just wanted to win, girl. That’s it.”

“Shit, I don’t have—”

Monét waves him off. “I got it. Consider it after-hours mentoring.”

Nina thanks him repeatedly as they stand (clumsily) and make their way out of the hotel bar (stumblingly) and back to the elevator. When the doors shut behind them, Nina has a brief flash of all the things that two consenting adults can get up to in an elevator (some of which he has seen in recent days). But no. No. They had their chance, right? The ship has sailed.

Nina’s room is a few floors beneath the mentors’ (apparently), so he steps off before Monét.

“Can you find your way back to your room?” Monét asks, and Nina wishes he could says ‘no. No, I’m going to get completely lost, no, I’ll fall down every two steps if I don’t have you holding me up. No, I need you to linger in my doorway, I need to panic about whether I should try to kiss you goodnight, I need to think about inviting you in.

(I wouldn’t. Of course I wouldn’t. So - unprofessional. But - it’d be nice to think about.)’

“Yeah.” He smiles. “I’ll manage.”

Monét grins. Nina likes to think there’s a bit of disappointment around the edges of it, but he’s also a couple drinks in, and wears the rosiest of glasses at the best of times.

“Thanks for the company and conversation, Nina West.”

Nina nods. Doesn’t touch him, doesn’t look over his shoulder at Monét as he leaves the elevator.

But he doesn’t go back to his room either.

He wanders the hotel. Presses the down button and gets on a different elevator a few minutes later.

Nina’s going to regret this tomorrow when he’s exhausted, but he just can’t imagine shutting himself in his dark little room and lying down right now. He’s vibrating, on edge. It’s a bad idea, because there’s nothing more depressing than a silent hotel after midnight - something about the lateness of the hour makes all the shine come off. Nina’s feet lead him down one hallway and down another, and he doesn’t realize he’s heading to their usual breakfast-conference room until he hears… music?

Yes, there’s definitely music coming out of there, the casual strumming of a stringed instrument that doesn’t have anywhere to go. Someone might be humming too, it’s hard to tell from a distance.

Nina follows the sound.

The door is open, just a bit, and all the lights are on. Sitting alone in the room is Trixie Mattel, bent in concentration over her autoharp.

Out of drag, she looks smaller, more vulnerable. It’s clear just how young she is. She’s picking at a tune, murmuring something under her breath. Nina suddenly feels a warm breeze against his skin, and the melody that Trixie’s playing becomes clearer, a delicate bluegrass riff that would be at home on Nina’s old Emmylou Harris or Linda Ronstadt records.

Along with the warm breeze comes a gust of dandelion seeds, floating through the hallway like tiny wisps of cotton. Nina feels like he’s alone with Trixie in the middle of a waving wheat field, sun-baked and desolate. He can smell the cracked soil beneath his feet, hear the sound of crickets chirping in time with Trixie’s brittle melody.

Oh no. That thing is happening again.

Trixie starts to sing:

“You’re the brightest star in any room.

I’m never lonelier than when I’m with you.

I miss something that’s never happened.

I miss a place I’ve never been to.”

Her voice is quiet at first, but it grows louder.

“There are some bridges that you cannot cross

Say it again ‘til I convince myself

But all this certainty it feels like loss.

I wouldn’t risk this much for no one else.”

Trixie gets to her feet, starts walking through the wheatfield as she sings the chorus.

“And there’s a wide field between us

How you traveled all those miles without me I don’t understand

I’m always on the edge of falling

And you could pull me over just by reaching out your hand

If you’d only take that chance.”

She keeps plucking at the harp, and Nina feels words welling up inside him, ready to spill from his mouth (when he starts singing, he’s thinking of Monét. Because of course he is.)

“This sort of thing, it don’t come easy

I never know just what to do or say

It feels impossible, believe me

That you would ever look at me that way.”

He thinks of Monét’s lips on Shangela’s after the Snatch Game. He thinks of Monét’s eyes on him at the bar. (“Be careful lookin’ at people like that, Nina West.”)

“There are some bridges that you cannot cross

I built up walls around this paper heart

But when I see you I forget it

All of the reasons we should be apart.”

Trixie harmonizes along with Nina as he sings the chorus.

“And there’s a wide field between us

How I traveled all these miles, baby, I don’t understand

I’m always on the edge of falling

And you could pull me over by just reaching out your hand

But could I ever take that chance?”

Nina sings the last line one more time, feeling the weight of his hopeless longing rising like a tide inside his chest. “If you’d only take that chance…”

“Nina?”

“Um.”

Trixie is sitting in the conference room, staring at him. She’s holding her autoharp but there’s no flowing wheatfields or whatever. Somehow Nina ended up in the doorway, just standing there. Fuck’s sake. Is he dissociating? Musically??? This is unbearable.

“How long have you been there?” Trixie asks, confused.

“Um, just got - here, so -” Nina’s face is probably turning bright red, and he’s hoping against that he hasn’t just been shouting song lyrics blankly at a terrified Trixie Mattel for the past few minutes. “Are you okay?”

Trixie winces. Then she nods.

“Yeah, of course. Just - yes. Couldn’t sleep. Figuring some - stuff out. You?”

“Just - you know. Having an emotional spiral.”

“Oh honey…” Trixie’s smiling but her voice is soft and sad. “My first perm was an emotional spiral, honey.”

Nina laughs in a brittle way, because 1) Trixie’s hilarious and 2) it’s obvious she’s trying to make him feel better.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not right now,” Trixie sighs, shakes her head. “But thanks.”

Nina leaves her to it. After - whatever that just was - he feels ready to crash at long last. He’s still a bit buzzed from the tequila, but his nervous energy has banked, and he heads back to his room. He’s ready to sleep, ready to deal with tomorrow when it gets here.

So of course, there’s someone waiting for him outside his room.

“Nina West.” Maya the P.A. gives him a slow, broad smile the moment he comes into view. “Found your way back, hey? Great. We need to talk.”

Interlude: Trixie

Conversation with:

swamp thing

i cunt believe i agreed to this

Fuck autocorrect CANT

It knows what you REALLY MEANT

It knew i was texting you and assumed

I’ll take it

You’ll take anything

I ain’t proud mama

I’m hunnnnnngry

For serious though, things okay there?

For serious serious

4 C-ri-us

GROSS

That’s gonna be my dj name

Please welcome to the stage

Why do I talk to you

Why do i even know you

Yes things are find its just weird

Being back on set

And like also runnign a business and

planning a tour and all of it. At least

they let us keep our phones

Must be hard being successful

I’m crying for you

I didn’t know you could still produce tears

I squeeze em out

Like milking a cow

Just need the right suction

Stop talking to me

What can you say that you won’t get sued for

I want drama

Who’s fisting who

Ha monet wishes she was fisting someone

Shes like middle school crushing on a queen here

Its kinda cute and sad

If love isn’t pathetic i don’t want it

And there’s last seasons whole thing

#branjie

sell those hats

That is not about hats

I saw them at a show in LA last summer

They’re fucked up in love, mama

IN LOVE???

Who even are you

I’m a person who has eyes

that can see things

Are they not together? They’re togther right?

NOPE

Are you fucking kidding

I don’t believe it

Since when are you this romantic

I’m not romantic

I have no romance in my bones

It’s just OBVIOUS

Well not to them

Ahhhh the gays

When will we figure our shit out

Realize what’s right in front of us

You gone?

Yeah sorry

Going to pass out

Don’t die or anything

Whiel i’m gone

Aren’t you sweet

Conversation with:

sure thing

Doing anything fun tonight?

Or just missing me

Babe?

Ok sorry filming again

Call you on break

Do not let me do this again

I don’t care what they offer me

(id o care what they offer me)

Breaks over talk to you after?

How was your day?

Call me if you want

I’m done for the night

Just getting white girl wasted alone

In my hotel room

At the mini bar yes i’m that famous now

I’m gonna crash call me if you get this

Love u

Conversation with:

swamp thing

I dreamt that i was in a bsatroom

At mcdonalds that one you puked in

After the show in philadelphia

Do you remember? Probably not

And you were there and fucking

Gordon ramsay was there (!!!)

And he wad hitting on you

And i wasd so pissed off

And thrn this lady came in and was like

‘You can’t be in here, this is for ronald only” And i fully shot her with a GUN

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN TRACY

I just woke up and feel like a monster

She was just doing her job

Ronald mcdonald needs his private shitter

And i just killed her

I killed a living dream person

Thank you for sharing this with me

I feel so close to you right now

Yeah i don’t confess dream murder

to just ayone

But WHAT DOES IT MEAN???

Latent Ronald mcdonald fetish

Clearly

I’m not a doctor or anythng

But i’m sorry you’re dying

Yep yep makes sense

I always knew it would end like this

fuck/marry/kill

me/gordan ramsay/ronald mcD

(you wanna know what the D stands for)

No i want to sleep

For 3 more hours

But i’m on reality tv again

You should havw stopped me

Maybe this dream was a warning!

I’m supposed to save you

From endng up on Chopped

What did you dream about?

U have to tell me even if it’s sexy

That’s the law

Another teeth falling out one

Mama you know that’s my kink

Conversation with:

sure thing

Good morning sexy thing

I’m so tiiiiiired

Don’t make me get up yet

Hey are u alive?

Yes

Yay u r alive!

I called u yesterday night

And at lunch

U ok?

Did u get my messages?

yes

Can i call you?

I miss your voice

I cant talk right now

Sorry

I’ll call you tonight

After filming?

Sure

Love u gorgeous

Hey just called left a message

Give me a shout later

I miss you

Brian

Have you seen the pics

from the MTV Movie Awards?

Ummm ok

No i’ll look them up

Fuck my lashes are so uneven

U breaking up with me over lashes

Lol

U and kat are pretty cuddly

Haha

are u being serious

Ur joking

Are u ok? Can i call u?

I’m out right now

Call you when i get home

But we’ve talked about this before right

U know we’re friends

Me and Kat

We’re just friends

U know this

Yeah i have lots of friends

And we don’t hold hands and kiss eachother

All the fucking time

So we’re fdoing this over text?

Is that what we’re doing

No i’ll call u later

Call me ok? I love u

U cannot be jealous of katya

She’s my Business Partner

And it’s DRAG

We touch each otehr all the time

We all do

Gotta go call u later

Conversation with:

swamp thing

Can we talk?

Not if ur busy

Let me just stop blowing this senator

And kick the clowns out

And get thes handcuffs off

No i’m not worth it

Keep these good things goin

It was winding down anyway

Gettin awkward

I have yoga tomorrow

Whats up pussycat

This is gonna sound really weird

Have you seen the pics of us

from the movie awwrds

Probably blocked them out

why????

am i like a troll

No more than usual

David texted me about them

And he’s all pissed off??

Because of us holding hands

Like so so stupid right

WHAT???!

Thats crazy!

Im so sorry

This isn’t the handmaids tale

He can calm his tits

(sorry, not to attack him just) Has he seen our shows??

What did you tell him

To fucking call me!!!

And he hasn’t

And i’m on this stupid set and can’t just go

See him and convince him how crazy he is

I’m so sorry

Do you want me to call him

I’ll call him

Tell me what to say

No don’t

Don’t worry

Its fine

I’ll talk to him

Conversation with:

swamp thing

Hey are you awake

If youre awake call me

david and I are done

over the phone

FUN

sorry you’re clearly asleep

I’m just a little drunk

brian

he said some things

that ive been thinking about

maybe call me tomorrow if u can

guess ill see you soon anyway

dont die while im gone

miss u

#rpdr fanfiction #nina west #monet x change #vanessa vanjie mateo #brooke lynn hytes #ninex #eventual branjie #background trixya #smut #angst #musical #all stars au #how far i'll go #hfig #mia ugly #meggie #concrit welcome #on set fic

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angrylizardjacket · 5 years

Text

Asher Kids Do An Interview

Choose an OC.

Answer them as that OC.

Tag 5 people to do the same.

Tagging @siriuslymooned @sam-writes @toplesstaylor @rogerandhishair and anyone else who sees this and wants to do it!!

[aydtd]

Note: Astrid is the oldest. Cate is the middlest. Barney is the youngest.

1. What is your name?

Cate: Cate Taylor.

Barney: Barney Clarke- Taylor... Sun.

Astrid: Astrid Taylor.

2. Do you know why are you named that?

Cate: It’s short for Catherine.

Astrid: Is that what it’s short for?

Cate: Shut up.

Barney: What are you short for?

Astrid: That’s just how I grew.

Barney: You grew?

Astrid: I didn’t come out of ma at five-foot nothin’, yeah I fuckin’ grew, ya turnip.

Cate: Barney’s short for Barnabus.

Astrid: Barney’s short for a giant.

Barney: Taller than both of you.

Astrid: Taller than everyone.

Cate: ’s not difficult to be taller than Trid.

Astrid: Shut it; Barney what’s the deal with your last name?

Barney: Clarke is my professional name, I was born a Taylor, and I married into Sun. So legally I’m Barnabus Sun-Taylor, but I’m usually credited professionally as Barney Clarke.

Astrid: Huh. Nice; I didn’t realise you and Mickey [Barney’s partner] hyphenated. I’m named Astrid ‘cos dad liked how it sounded.

3. Are you single or taken?

Barney: Taken. [Barney wiggles the fingers off his left hand, to show where a wedding ring sits neatly on his ring finger.]

Cate: Taken? Taken. Not married though, almost made that mistake before.

Astrid: Single as.

4. Have any abilities or powers?

[There’s a long silence, the three of them look at one another with confusion.]

Barney: I played a superhero once.

Astrid: Oh yeah, you were good in that, what was it-?

Barney: X-Men.

Cate: Did you really forget X-Men?

Astrid: He’s been in a lot of movies!

5. Stop being a Mary Sue.

Cate: The next time you read an alcoholic, lesbian, disaster Mary Sue, can you please send me a link?

Astrid: Hey!

Barney: I’m pretty sure it’s ‘Gary Stu’ for me?

Cate: You’re not a Gary Stu... Actually-

Astrid: Maybe a little?

Barney: I’m successful, there’s a difference, I think.

Cate: (amused) Did you put yourself through the litmus test?

Astrid: There’s a litmus test?

6. What’s your eye color?

Astrid: Blue.

Cate: Blue.

Barney: Ma’s eyes all the way; green.

7. How about your hair color?

Barney: Ginger.

Cate: I dunno, I think I’d consider myself a strawberry blonde.

Astrid: We’re a weird sliding scale between mum and dad; I’ve got dad’s blonde hair.

8. Have any family members?

[They look at each other with amusement.]

Astrid: (sarcastically) No, I’ve never seen these people before in my life.

9. Oh? How about pets?

Cate: My daughter’s been asking about getting a dog and I’m pretty sure Joe’s gonna get her one if he gets wind of how much she wants it.

Astrid: God, imagine her little face if Joe gets her a puppy, oh Christ.

Cate: She’d cry, she’d absolutely cry, like happy tears but... oh, God I’m gonna get a dog aren’t I?

Barney: Pets are great; I love Sir more every day.

Astrid: I hope [Cate’s] dog is nothing like Sir, that cat is an asshole-

Barney: Only to you.

Astrid: Barn, your cat is an asshole.

Barney: You’re an asshole.

10. That’s cool, I guess. Now tell me something you don’t like?

Astrid: Barney’s fucking cat.

Barney: Astrid.

Cate: Calm down you babies. I don’t like wearing high heels.

Astrid: Seconded.

Barney: Thirded.

11. Do you have any activities/hobbies that you like to do?

Barney: I box.

Astrid: That’s your go-to, isn’t it?

Barney: Fine, I also enjoy swimming, spending time with Mickey, and mixing drinks.

Cate: That’s cute.

Astrid: I enjoy drinking the drinks he mixes.

Cate: That’s less cute.

Barney: Drinking isn’t a hobby.

Astrid: Alright, I enjoy going to pubs to listen to music, driving fast cars, and spending time with pretty people.

Cate: Yeah, that checks out. I don’t have a lot of time for hobbies, though I play music, my bass mostly, and, ah, studying languages I guess. And spending time with Claud [her daughter], obviously.

12. Have you ever hurt anyone in any way before?

Astrid: Bar fights, mostly. Smacked a few assholes who’ve heckled Barn’s movies while I’m trying to watch them.

Barney: That’s actually kind of sweet. I’ve only been in one bar fight, and Trid finished that guy off, but other than that, and a few stunts gone wrong, a few hits in boxing, not really.

Cate: (visibly uncomfortable) Not, uh, not physically.

13. Ever… killed anyone before?

Astrid: What the fuck? No.

14. What kind of animal are you?

Cate: I think I’m a meerkat.

[Astrid immediately raises her hands up to her chest like paws, perking up and looking around, imitating a meerkat. Cate smiles, and imitates the gesture.]

Barney: Yeah, I can see it. Trid’s that terribly taxidermied- ah, [he pulls out his phone, and taps away at the screen for a moment] cheetah!

[Astrid shoves him, but both he and Cate are laughing.]

Astrid: You’re your asshole cat.

15. Name your worst habits?

Barney: Oh, Mickey actually hit the nail on the head when we did the Husband Tag on their channel the other day- follow Mickey, they’re sunteamick, all one word, on YouTube.

Cate: What did they say?

Barney: I’m too unperturbed.

Astrid: You’re too chill?

Barney: They said I’m a danger to myself because of it; got hit in the face at boxing a few months ago, broke my nose - not the first time, but still not pleasant - and went home instead of to the hospital because I didn’t think it was that bad. It wasn’t; I still should have gone to hospital but it wasn’t that bad. Much worse things could have happened, it’s just a nose.

Cate: You need to be more perturbed?

Barney: I need to be more perturbed.

Astrid: Being unperturbed isn’t exactly a habit.

Barney: I also leave the cap off the toothpaste after I use it.

Cate: That’s bad and you should feel bad.

Barney: I do, but I’ll never change. It perturbs Mickey.

Astrid: My worst habit is that - I’m a stunt driver sometimes, right, and I do mad dangerous stunts, and every time I get injured or have like, a near death experience, I don’t think like ‘oh maybe I should slow down’, I think ‘how long until I can get this fuckin’ cast off and get back behind the wheel?’.

Cate: You’re an adrenaline junkie.

Astrid: But only with dangerous car stunts.

Barney: You perturb me.

Astrid: Good.

Cate: I bite my nails.

16. Do you look up to anyone at all?

Astrid: Physically or metaphorically?

Barney: You look up to everyone physically.

[Note; Barney Clarke is 6′4. Astrid Taylor is 5′0.]

Cate: Our parents, obviously. They’re very successful, and have been through a lot. I grew up idolising them because they’re my parents, but as I came to know more about them as people, it was just natural to idolise them as people too.

Barney: Yeah, mum and dad, also Alec Baldwin.

Cate: Alec Baldwin, really? I wouldn’t have picked that.

Barney: Did you see him in Streetcar? [he hums appreciatively] That man’s career, his talent, all the stuff of legend. Meryl Streep, too.

Cate: Yeah no, I get that.

Astrid: Meryl Streep can get it.

17. Are you gay, straight or bisexual?

Barney: Uh, I’m pan?

Cate: I’m probably on the asexual spectrum, I haven’t thought about it in a while. Not aromantic though, I guess I’d be bi or pan romantic? Queer. I’m queer.

Astrid: I’m- look at me, I’m a whole damn lesbian.

18. Do you go to school?

Astrid: I take a few classes here and there, but I actually didn’t finish high school, dropped out in Year 10 with my parent’s blessing and started working as a mechanic.

Cate: I haven’t studied in a while but I have a Masters in Public Relations.

Astrid: And she speaks like eight languages.

Cate: Five.

Astrid: Still, you’re a very impressive lady.

Cate: Thanks, Trid.

Barney: I finished high school, but I’ve been working pretty steadily since then, don’t have a degree or anything.

19. Ever want to marry and have kids one day?

Cate: I’ve got Claud, I almost married her dad, but... but that would have been bad for everyone. I’m not in a hurry to get married, let’s say.

Barney: Mickey and I don’t really want to be parents just yet, maybe one day, but we’re happy just spoiling Claud when we can.

Astrid: Oh, absolutely seconded; that kid is terrifyingly sweet for how spoiled she is.

Barney: She’s so great.

Cate: She really is.

20. Do you have any fangirls/fanboys?

Astrid: I run a Barney stan account on Twitter.

Barney: Really?

Astrid: Fuck no, but he does actually have fans.

Cate: I guess we all have fans in our own way, but a lot of that, like minus Barney, who’s genuinely a star, is more because of mum and dad.

Astrid: Imagine if Claud grows up to be a Queen stan on tumblr.

Cate: That’s horrifying.

21. What are you most afraid of?

Cate: The concept of Claud finding smut about Joe.

Astrid: The concept that Cate’s found and read smut about Joe.

Barney: Why would she need it? Couldn’t she just-

Astrid: Maybe before they were together?

Cate: I hate you both.

Barney: Well, that’s not a ‘no I haven’t read smut about my boyfriend’. Also I’m afraid of submarines.

Astrid: Submarines?

Barney: The big hole in the front of them gives me anxiety.

22. What do you usually wear?

Barney: Astrid doesn’t get to answer this one because she doesn’t know what fashion is, and dresses like a single dad in the middle of his mid-life crisis.

[Astrid shrugs but keeps quiet; her shorts have oil stains on them.]

Barney: Good. I’m a fan of colourful button-downs and slacks.

Astrid: Gucci [pronounced Gucky, like ducky but with a G] button-downs, you mean.

Barney: (quietly, but with a lot of feeling) I hate you.

[Cate is laughing too hard to answer. She wears a pastel sweater and well fitting jeans.]

23. What’s one food that tempts you?

Astrid: Kracken Rum.

Cate: That doesn’t count as food.

Astrid: I’m not changing my answer.

Cate: Fine. Original Glaze Krispy Cream Donuts.

Barney: Like the ones dad used to buy us when we’d visit him on tour in America?

Cate: Yeah! God they’re good.

Barney: I’m always tempted by whatever Mickey cooks, though they don’t do it a lot. I usually cook. I enjoy it a lot.

24. Am I annoying to you?

Cate: No, you’re fine.

25. Well, it’s still not over!

Astrid: How many questions left?

26. What class are you (low/middle/high)?

[All three of them seem to become uncomfortable with the question.]

Cate: We- we’re comfortable. Our parents are Roger and Ash Taylor, we’ll always be comfortable.

27. How many friends do you have?

Cate: I’d say we’ve all got good circles - very different circles, sure-

Barney: If Astrid could stop collecting my pretty-boy costars that is.

Astrid: (smugly) It’s not my fault I’m good at making friends with your pretty-boy costars.

Barney: I’m glad people don’t realise we’re related, sometimes.

Astrid: Because I embarrass you?

Barney: (grumbling under his breath) Because everyone thinks you’re cooler than me.

Astrid: Men are so easy to get; look good, drive fast, and drink hard. Once they find out I’m gay and I can help wingman them really well, and maybe fix their cars, I’ve got ‘em, hook, line, and sinker.

Barney: That’s a bit of a generalisation, don’t you think?

Astrid: Fine; pretty boys in Hollywood are easy to get.

Barney: That much I’ll give you.

28. What are your thoughts on pie?

Cate: Actually, Barney, that apple pie you made for Easter was stunning, I was meaning to tell you.

Astrid: Easter was months ago.

Cate: I’ve been busy!

Barney: Thanks, I can send you the recipe if you like.

Cate: I’d never have the time to cook it.

Barney: I’ll make it for you again, then.

29. Favorite drink?

Astrid: Kracken. Rum.

Barney: Peanut butter and chocolate milkshake.

Cate: (again, uncomfortable) Orange juice, I guess.

30. What’s your favorite place?

Barney: The kitchen of my LA apartment, with a roast dinner in the oven and Mickey sitting at the kitchen island talking to me about their day.

Cate: Awww!

Astrid: That’s really sweet, Barn.

Cate: Well mine’s probably being side of stage at one of dad’s concerts with Claud with me.

Astrid: (quiet) Mine’s gonna sound stupid.

Cate: No, it’s- well, maybe.

Astrid: It’s just- I don’t really have like a favourite favourite place, you know? I have like, moments with people that just stick with me. Like, I shared a cigarette with Ben [Hardy] during one of Cate’s gigs and I just remember talking and laughing and looking up at the stars, and I could hear my talented as all fuck sister playing inside, and I just- it was lovely.

Cate: Trid...

Astrid: And you know, I do remember X-Men, you know? Because when you flew with that scream-thing you do in the movie? I fucking cried. I was so fucking proud, dude. My favourite place is in a cinema watching my little brother on the big screen, or at a bar watching my sister smash out some of the best rock and roll of our generation, or watching dad play, or seeing mum’s smile when she’s finally happy with an outfit- fuck, sorry I didn’t mean to get all sappy and shit.

Barney: No- Trid, no, don’t apologise.

31. Are you interested in anyone?

Astrid: Not in a long-term sense.

[Cate and Barney share a frown, before turning their identical ‘are you kidding me?’ looks on the interviewer.]

32. That was a stupid question…

Barney: Yeah, I’m married.

33. Would you rather swim in a lake or the ocean?

Cate: Ocean, always the ocean.

Barney: Yeah, I’m with you on that one.

Astrid: But the ocean has submarines in it.

Barney: Well I can’t see them so it’s fine.

Astrid: Fair cop, I also have to say ocean.

34. What’s your type?

Astrid: (teasingly) Cate likes cute, goofy actors with dumb perms and big grins and-

Cate: Astrid likes all girls ever, especially if they buy her a drink.

Astrid: Guilty as charged.

Barney: Two opposite ends of the spectrum? Every girl ever and Joe Mazzello specifically?

Cate: ... Pretty much.

35. Any fetishes?

[Astrid opens her mouth, but Cate smacks her hand over her mouth.]

Cate: That’s information I don’t need to know about my sister, thanks.

Barney: (grinning) Bondage.

Astrid: (muffled) Nice.

Cate: Christ.

Barney: That’s the tame shit, Catie.

Cate: You are my Baby Brother, shut your mouth. Ow!

[Astrid has bitten Cate’s hand. She removes her hand from Astrid’s mouth.]

Barney: I’m a married man!

Cate: I don’t want to know what you guys are into, and I don’t want you to know what I’m into, okay? We all know too much about our own family, I’d like some modicum of privacy.

Astrid: Yeah, after you see your mum bare it all in a photoshoot from the seventies with Bowie, life does get a little weird.

Barney: Oh, I forgot about that. Okay, moving on.

36. Camping or outdoors?

Astrid: Camper van.

Barney: I like hiking, but not really camping.

Cate: Claud camps in the backyard sometimes, it’s fun to join her, sometimes we stargaze.

Astrid: That’s a grossly cute image to end on.

Barney: Does Joe stargaze with you guys?

Cate: (blushing) Once or twice. Claud fell asleep on him last time. It was pretty cute.

Astrid: Oh that’s actually really cute.

Cate: Yeah, it was.

#aydtd extended universe #ask your destiny to dance #the angry lizard writes #joe mazzello x oc

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