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alchemistc · 1 year

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shoulda been a rockstar

Corroded Coffin makes it. Despite all odds, despite all the shitty crap that went down in '85, Corroded Coffin goes on to have an illustrious career - they win awards and hit the top of the charts and people genuinely fucking love them. They change the fucking genre and then just keep growing from there.

They break up for a time in the aughts, and then when they're all in their middler ages they have a drunken night together and decide to get the band back together - they've got kids now, wives and families and a million other things and one day Gareth's kid pulls out a tape from one of the boxes Gareth hasn't opened in thirty years - spends a week searching thrift shops and ebay for a cassette player even though his dad definitely could find one way quicker and when he finally listens to it he's a little transported, because this stuff is - this stuff is raw, and it's just a bit mean, and - and the vocals are all wrong, the voice is -

Gareth's son brings it to the studio and they all sit around the booth and listen with wistful sad smiles and -

"That's Eddie, bud," Gareth tells him, and he struggles with the memory, trying to think of where he knows that name from but -

"I think we recorded this when you were still a freshman," Jeff says, but that doesn't explain who -

"You mean that guy who murdered those people in your home town when you were in high school?"

And they all sort of blink and pause and hem around the point for a bit but -

"Eddie wasn't - listen, bud, I know what the official version of events is but Eddie - he didn't -."

"He died, right?"

And they all nod solemnly and share quiet looks between them and he thinks probably that's the end of that, and he feels sort of bad about reminding them of their dead maybe murderous friend, but he's a teenager, so he sort of forgets about it after that.

---

The dudes he runs into on his way to the booth give Paul sort of a shifty look, and Paul takes them in - they're both about the same height and they both look very vaguely familiar but they're in the studio and Paul never pays much attention to his dad's colleagues - ones got thick rimmed glasses and a crooked nose and a weird scar on his neck, and the other has a nest of short dark curls piled artfully atop his head and a nervously giddy grin plastered across his face and they're holding hands and Paul doesn't know them, so when he asks his dad about it he just shrugs and tells him they're trying some shit out for the reunion album.

Paul promptly forgets about them, too.

---

Corroded Coffin releases three singles before the start of the reunion tour that fans go absolutely batshit insane for. Jeff doesn't sing in them, which Paul thinks is weird as fuck, because Jeff's vocals are like a cornerstone of Corroded Coffin but the singer in all three songs reminds him of -

"You told me he was dead," Paul says, arms crossed and the tape he'd tossed at his dad still laying in his dad's lap, and his dad sort of maybe panics a little.

"Paul, you can't - he is dead. Eddie Munson died in the earthquake and that's what the whole world knows."

"Who the fuck is Steve E, then?" Because that's what the vocal credits on the song say, and there's definitely royalties going to this Steve E guy, and -

"Paul, you can't tell a soul. According to all government documentation Steve E is Teddy Eller's husband, and he's the vocals on those songs."

"And the truth?"

"That's - complicated."

Paul's not going to tell anyone, but it still sort of pisses him off that his dad won't at least tell him because he can keep a goddamn secret, okay?

---

"You can't play them live," Paul predicts, the day before their first show, and he thinks they all kind of look like dweebs, dressed like they haven't all spent the last eleven years filling out and aging, but they're excited, and they're letting him go on the first leg of the tour, so. Whatever. They can do what they want, a bunch of aging rockers trying to relive their glory days.

But they can't play the new singles live. Not when those songs have a voice that distinctive and that voice is apparently attached to a face that's supposed to be dead.

"That - those songs, we didn't really record them for - it wasn't for us," Gareth tells him, and he maybe, sort of, kind of gets it

It's a shame though, because of everything he's ever heard from CC's discography, these are some of the best.

"You could make it a gimmick, you know. Like - Corpse, or Daft Punk, or - that weird band you like, the ones with the cartoon avatars "

"The Gorillaz aren't weird, Paul, they're art."

He doesn't even bother to respond to the suggestion, and - that's that, Paul guesses.

---

"Shit shit shit -," the guy standing in the wings says, and Gareth sighs, rolls his eyes, grabs Paul by one elbow and the curly haired guy by the bicep and he drags them both further into the bowels of backstage.

"Where's Steve?" he asks, and the other middle aged guy from the studio with a different set of glasses on this time guiltily pops his head out from behind a massive amp.

"Hey Gare," he says with a dorky little finger wave, and Paul stares at them for a beat.

"Holy shit you're Steve Harrington." In his dad's freshman and sophomore yearbook, his dad has drawn devil horns on the preppy kids face. He only remembers because when he pointed it out, his dad had laughed hysterically for like ten minutes and muttered "I didn't draw that shit, his fucking soulmate did that when he was pretending he still hated his goddamn guts."

"Not technically?" Glasses says. "I changed my name when I got married."

"YOUR FAKE-DEAD HIGH SCHOOL FRIEND HAD AN ENEMIES TO LOVERS ROMANCE WITH THE PREPPY JOCK?"

Glasses blinks. Curly haired vocalist grins. "When you put it that way it is kind of cliche. Steve, I want a divorce."

"Oh gross," Paul says, because they're looking at each other all fond and lovey like his parents do right before they start playing shitty 90s love ballads really loudly from their bedroom.

"Super gross," his dad repeats, but he's darting his gaze between the two like he's watching one of those romcoms he pretends to hate whenever mom picks the movie.

"Eat my shorts," Curly Hair says, and it's the single most embarrassing thing Paul's ever heard so he sort of just sneaks away before his dad has a chance to figure out why the fuck they're hanging backstage like they're going to crash the bands show.

---

Paul still calls him Teddy even though the rest of the band drops the "T" any time they're not surrounded by managers and publicists and adoring fans. He's - the single most annoying person on the planet but also the only person Paul knows who can actually hold his weight when Paul starts debating about some obscure piece of music trivia. Teddy runs a D&D game in breaks between cities and fights Paul on game mechanics constantly because Paul hates min-maxing and Eddie doesn't give a shit about it as long as the RP is good, and Steve still puts on one of those stupid fucking masks once in a while and pretends to sing Teddy's vocals while Teddy wistfully watches his husband showboat in the wings of the stage.

His last night with the band before CC heads overseas and Paul has to go back and figure out how to do a summers worth of reading in two weeks, he corners Teddy halfway through a super-embarrasing gyration Steve's doing onstage to a lyric Paul hadn't realized was so suggestive until that very moment.

"Don't you hate it?"

Teddy looks at him sharply, and Paul knows - knows he fucking hates that this is the closest he'll ever get to that rockstar dream he probably spent his formative years imagining. He's got a limp that never goes away, and one time they'd all snuck into the hotel pool after hours and Paul had seen the map of scars across Teddy's torso, and sometimes Teddy reaches for the air close to his neck and makes a surprised face like he was expecting to have something their to dig his fingers into. And sometimes Teddy and Steve get maudlin and quiet and haunted and the band sort of pretends it's not happening until they snap out of it

"You ever heard of Damien Echolls?" Teddy asks instead of responding to the question, and it takes him a second but his mom is obsessed with true crime podcasts and it clicks, eventually. Paul nods solemnly, and Eddie gestures to the stage, where Steve - who is way too old to be as fit as he is, Jesus - is hopping around and hamming it up and actually doing a pretty good job of playing at a rockstar. "I'm alive and I didn't spend a couple decades locked in solitary and that stupid idiot loves me so much that sometimes I can't even imagine not loving everything about me, too."

Paul makes a gagging noise, and Teddy gives him a noogie.

"Yeah kid. I fucking hate it. But there are worse things."

---

It takes him twelve years and a whole ass law degree, but when Eddie Munson is posthumously exonerated, the band releases an EP with a dedication to the founding member of Corroded Coffin and Steve E on vocals. They're new songs, and they get away with it by pretending they'd found an old notebook buried in a storage unit and decided to honor their friend, but Teddy sort of cries a bit when he sees the songwriter credits.

He cries a lot, actually, but then, so does Paul.

#corroded coffin #steve harrington x eddie munson #steddie fic #outsider pov #steddie #i kinda hurt my own feelings with this one #eddie munson you shoulda been a rockstar

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biggirllifestyle · 3 years

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Ducks in the pond.

Summary: Being friends from the beginning does get its perks, but it's also such a heartbreaking scene when you’re a background character or so you think.

Pairing: Ransom Drysdale x OFC(Original Female Character)

Word Count: 4k+

Warnings: Small cursing, this got away from me so sorry.

A/N: I found my next victim Chris Evan characters, I’ll do better I swear.

Being surrounded by the elite is not something many can say they have experienced especially if it’s something you have been doing since a very young age when you were not even part of that social group. My mother did not come from a wealthy background, she didn’t come to the country with any knowledge of the language and without a penny in her pocket but thanks to a faithful day where she had met Harlan, he had offered a helping hand for my mother and from there on she became his lived in housekeeper.

The first time I ever met Ransom I couldn’t say that I wasn't tempted to punch him in the face, we were children when we met and everything that came out of his mouth was rude and condescending. Ransom was older than I and I knew he was Harlan's favorite and least favorite grandson, he was a rude snotty kid who used to pull on Megs and I’s pigtails every time he could get away with it.

I didn't know when it started but at some point, Ransom began to follow me around never leaving my side, I think it began the day that I finally gave in to my urges and punched his perfectly handsome face. My mom was mortified when she found out what I had done, Ransom's mother Linda was pissed and had demanded her father to fire my mother as a repercussion for what I had done but instead, he laughed and I had to apologize begrudgingly to him and from then on I had my shadow. That was how it was for the next few years, him following me around until we became inseparable, we were still coming from polar opposite sides of the societal spectrum even if he never treated me any differently from his rich friends.

While he was out partying with his private school friends I was working part-time jobs and doing homework to pay off my tuition, Harlan had offered many times to pay off school as a thank you to my mother's service through the years but I never accepted feeling guilt at his kind offer. There were times when my friendship with Ransom was tested as his rich dick persona would come out and he would sometimes disrespect my lack of social standings when he would hang out with his friends, I always hated that side of ransom because I knew that the words that he said were partially true, we were from different backgrounds his way of living was different from mine where I was dressed from thrift stores and low-grade shopping centers he was dressed to Gucci and Balenciaga but that didn’t seem to matter to him.

The only times that any of those comments bothered me was when it came from Ransom's weekly conquest, they were all beautiful women who seemed to have walked out of a photoshoot they were all thin and beautiful women who just oozed money from their pores if they even had pores since all of them seemed to be flawless. I always wondered what it was that I did for Ransom to be so faithful to our friendship never once did I have to compete with others because, in the end, he would always choose me this was also another reason why his conquest didn’t last long since their cruel remarks on my appearance and social standing was an ending point on the relationship, maybe it was the fact that I was always the one who saved him from doing something stupid like getting kicked out of his family or him ending up killing his grandfather.

Things changed when Ransom left for college he had gotten accepted to Princeton and off he went, our communication was limited since he was always so busy with school and me with my part-time jobs. I had forgone going to college to stay close to my mother and in the process, Harlan had offered me a small position in his publishing company which his son Walt was not too happy about. Everything was going well for me. I was living an adequate life. I had finally moved out and gotten my apartment, my work was going great and I had finally made some great friends. Ransom seemed to be doing well as he was passing all of his classes, he even became friends with his dorm mate, which he was forced to have if he wanted Linda and Richard to keep paying his tuition.

Everything was going well for both of us. Our friendship was thriving through the long-distance even if I was hiding a deep dark secret from him, the fact that I have been in love with him for a long time now. This has been a raging issue that I had been hiding for such a long time but I never thought of doing anything about it since most of the time I was fine with being his best friend, I relied this to Claire my friend from work after I hanged up on Ransom on our call of the week.

“That is the saddest and dumbest thing that I have ever heard,” Claire said as she sipped on her wine, “and I am saying this with a lot of love but if you don’t feel like it would work between you two maybe you should try to give yourself a chance with someone else.” I turned back towards her as I took out the popcorn from the microwave, she made a shrugging gesture before turning on the tv.

“I am just saying Eric from accounting seems to be interested in going out with you, and hey I haven’t heard anything shifty about him from anybody else.” She browsed through a few movies before finally choosing one. I sat next to her setting down the bowl of popcorn in front of us as we settled down, “I’m just saying we big girls deserve some love so if that means you having to go on a date with a guy just so you could be able to get over your childhood friend, then so be it.”

I couldn’t help but think over what Claire said and I knew she wasn't wrong but a small part of me still wished that maybe Ransom felt just a little of that love that I felt for him but I knew it was probably a far cry, so I gave Claire a nod agreeing for her to set me up with Eric she squealed before reaching for her phone as she started texting someone after a few moments she put her phone down and mine began to go with off, it was Eric I gave a panicked look to Claire who just shrugged I sighed before answering.

“Hi, Eric how can I help you?” I said acting dumb, Claire swatted at my arm but I hit her back focusing on Eric who seemed to be having a conversation of his own.

“Yeah I heard from someone that you wanted to go out, and well I just wanted to know if the upcoming Friday was good for you I know this great Italian place that just opened up we could go after work if that works for you,” I was about to respond but I felt my phone going off again I pulled it away seeing Ransoms name on the screen, I debated on answering before ignoring it and returning with Eric.

“Friday sounds great”

After hanging up with Eric, Claire and I continued our movie before she had to start heading home as soon as she was gone I began to tidy up, after ignoring Ransom's call I thought about my friendship with a man who looked for the very best for his life. At some point, I had silenced my phone in the chance that if Eric were to send me a text I could just use the excuse of not answering, and that is how I had left it as I went to sleep since tomorrow started our winter break so there was nothing I had to worry about so with that thought I went to bed.

When morning came I finally had the chance to finally take a break and just lay in bed, everything was silent no noise whatsoever just the random drive of cars on the street and that was it after a while I finally got myself ready to get out of bed reaching for my phone I noticed that Ransom had called me nine more times leaving enough text messages that I worried that something might have happened. Dialing his phone as I began to get ready just in the chance if I had to rush out at any moment to meet him after the second ring he finally answered.

“Where have you been? I’ve been calling you all night do you know how worried I was,” Ransom said as he began to chastise me, I couldn’t believe he was doing this after we had talked before he started calling me liked a maniac I was about to tell him off and let him know that I didn’t think very highly of his little outburst before he stopped, “Now ducky this is what’s going to happen do you hear me your gonna finish getting ready, put your shoes on and come outside so we can go eat some breakfast do you hear me.”

I huffed out at him but did as he said as I finished getting ready, Ransom always did this ordered me around expecting me to follow his every whim without any form of repercussion from my part but I knew I would never really fight Ransom since all in all I was his only true friend. After finishing getting ready I rushed out of my apartment locking behind me before taking the stairs two at a time I soon as I got to the lobby I couldn’t help but take a small breath the small exertion from my actions after composing myself I walked out seeing Ransom's car, I couldn’t help the giddiness that came over me this would be the first time I would be seeing him after his no show for Thanksgiving so I was very excited to see him again as I got closer to his car ready to greet him excitedly I couldn’t help but notice that he wasn’t alone.

“Ducky it’s so good to see you I missed your pretty face,” Ransom said as he stepped forward to hug me but a hand stopped him from moving forward as I was left standing awkwardly from where I stepped forward to meet him, his companion stepped forward putting out a slender and manicured hand so I could shake.

“Hi, nice to meet you. I'm Caroline, Ransom's girlfriend, you must be the friend.” The way she said the word friend made me flush entirely it sounded so mocking when it came from her but I ignored it as I gave her a small smile. Ransom was watching our interaction before clapping his hands together, “Right so let's be on our way then.”

He walked over to the driver's side as he got in Caroline opened the passenger door and motioned me to get in first, I couldn’t help but look at her with a questioning look, Ransom seemed to have caught on to what she was trying to do as he motioned towards Caroline, “Caroline maybe you should ride in the back that way I can also have time to catch up with Ducky.”

Caroline huffed and crossed her arms like a child, the words that came out of her mouth made me feel so shameful I wanted the floor to swallow me whole, “I think she can fit in the back if we push the seats all the way forward I mean I wouldn’t mind moving it since I don't take up much space.” Ransom was about to protest against her but I moved forward pushing the seat forward as much as I could so I could squeeze myself through.

“It’s fine don’t worry about it, this might be the only opportunity I might have to feel as if I’m being abducted or something,” I joked as I positioned myself into the tight space of the back, Caroline seemed smug by her win as she got into the passenger seat Ransom turned to look at me as I avoided his gaze as I looked down at my phone he turned back around as he started the car, the drive to the restaurant was quite from Ransom and I’s point Caroline was going off about some friends of her who were currently on a break or something of that sorts.

When we arrived at the dinner I couldn’t help but feel a sense of calm, this was Ransom’s and I’s regular place we used to go to back when we were in high school, I used to work part-time here and sometimes he visited me as I sneaked him fries when I could. Ransom looked back at me with a soft smile I couldn’t help but to return until I heard a scoff Caroline seemed to not like our choice of location and she seemed to want to protest but Ransom ignored it and got out coming to her side as she opened the door for her, that seemed to placate her as she took his hand to get out. I huffed out a little breath as I began the agonizing task of getting out of the car without making too much ruckus where I would be noticed, when I finally got out I noticed that Ransom and Caroline were waiting for me I flushed hard realizing that they saw my struggle but I gave them a small smile before walking in front of them into the dinner.

Louise was at the counter and the moment she saw me she couldn’t help but let out a shout of excitement she called to Adam who was at the grill in the back as they both came forward to greet me, they saw Ransom and the excitement grew they’ve known us for a very long time so of course, they were glad to see him as well. Louise gave us a small shove as we went to our usual seat which was a booth at the back, when I was young I was scared to go anywhere near the booths but the good thing was that the seats here were spacious so there was nothing to worry about, Ransom scooted in but Coraline seemed to hesitate to look disgusted before sitting down at the corner.

“So how’s school? Are you having any problems with your classes, any subject you might be struggling with?” I asked as I moved around the salt and pepper shake, Ransom laughed as he beat an with a tirade of his Lit professor who loved to throw existential questions into the lesson as if that would help them finish their assignments on time, I couldn’t help but laugh at his whining as our server finally came to our table. There seemed to be a small tension coming from Ransom and Caroline but I chose to ignore it as I moved my attention to our server, he seemed to be about our age, and from what I could see he was new since I could sense his small hesitancy as he took our orders, I gave him a small smile as I tried to give him some reassurance of what he was doing.

“Don’t worry about it you’re doing a great job let me tell you when I used to work here back in the day it was hard, to say the least so no pressure and just take it one step at a time,” Tom as his name tag said relaxed as he gave me a cute and flirty smile that made me blush as I sent him a small shy smile as he walked into the kitchen to put our orders in when I turned back to Ransom he seemed to have a frown on his face at our interaction I made a funny face at him as he rolled his eyes before returning to his tirade. Caroline seemed too quiet so I ignored Ransom as I tried to make conversation with her,

“Are you also at Princeton Caroline?” She gave me a look before turning her nose at me.

“Yes I am in school at the moment but it's not like it matters I’m just doing it to pass the time while I inherit the family business,” she said as she moved around the straw in her drink, I gave her a confused look at her words because I couldn’t understand what she meant by “passing the time,” she must have seen my confusion before she gave a huff before continuing, “Daddy is paying for my tuition so I can go but I don't do anything besides hanging out with my friends or taking trips, there’s no point for me to be going to classes if there is no point to it since I’m just going to inherit my family’s estate and wealth.”

I looked at her with a mildly disturbing face at her words, how I wished I had the opportunity she had to go to college but that option was never one to be considered since it was much too expensive to pay off and I didn’t want to accumulate debt when I was trying to help out my mother with her immigration situation so I said nothing, Caroline seemed to have caught on to my reaction because she gave me a scathing look for even looking at her in that way.

Before anything further could be said Ransom butted in to alleviate the tension that had just arisen between Coraline and me, “So Ducky how’s work Uncle Walt said that he was giving you your team to manage Grandad’s new book, how's that going for you?” I gave him a small smile as I began to tell him about the work that we have been doing and how I’ve been getting along well with everyone except an older editor who keeps trying to override my directions every time I make them to the team. Ransom nodded along at that moment Tom came back with our orders setting them up on the table before turning to me with a small smile, “Do you need anything else, anything I could do for you?” I smiled at him as I was about to respond Ransom butted in,

“No, we’re good.” I looked at Ransom with a pissed look at the rude tone he had used on Tom, he didn’t seem to care as he glared him down until he walked away. I was confused by Ransom's attitude I’ve never seen him act this rudely to people without a motive so his change of character made me wonder what was going on with him and if it had to do with the woman who was sitting right across from me poking at her food uninterested to us.

“So you remember Claire?” I asked him as I ignored his previous way of being with our server, Ransom seemed to be focused on his food so he hummed as confirmation, “Well we were talking last night and she set me up with one of our colleagues, and well now I have a date next Friday!” I said excitedly, Ransom began to choke on his food and I panicked as I started pushing his drink closer to him, Caroline had left just a while ago to the restroom and still hadn’t been back, after he had calmed down Ransom looked at me very differently almost as if he was mad at me for what I had said.

“Are you serious do you even know this guy, how could you put yourself in that situation you haven’t dated anyone ever and you think that going out with this guy is your best option,” he stopped himself his hands balled up into a fist on the table, I couldn't help the tears that welled up this was new to me Ransom had never spoken to me like this before never in such a way as if to shame me not when I decided to go to not go to college and not when I told him about my accident from high school.

“Are you that desperate? if you were you could have just told me and I would have shown you a pretty good time.” The shame and mortification that came over me at his words were so great I let a tear slip from my face, Ransom seemed to realize that his words were far too harsh because he reached out to grab my hand I flinched away from him not wanting him to touch me at all, “I want you to take me home, right now Ransom.” He seemed to hesitate before he clenched his jaw before scooting out of the booth he set a few bills on the table and began to walk out I sat there for a few minutes before finally walking after him Louise gave me a wave and I saw Tom give me a smile and a wave until I was out the door.

Ransom was sitting inside the car already waiting for me to go in, I didn’t see Caroline anywhere and I almost went back inside to go get her before Ransom spoke up again, “She already left her friends came and picked her up half an hour ago.” I nodded before getting into the passenger seat, on the drive back to my apartment everything was quiet, only the hum of the car providing sound. After a while we were finally there Ransom parked but didn’t turn off the engine we sat there quietly for a bit before I finally turned to him, “I’ll see you at the Lagoon okay, I think you and I need some time apart to think about what happened,” I paused as I looked away.

“I love you, I’ve always loved you and I want you to give me the chance to grow from those feelings so I feel like this is the best option for me,” I stepped out stopping before looking down at Ransom who was still so stock still, I knew that my words were probably still processing to him but there was no turning back I finally said what I needed to say and I was ready for everything that was coming, “Patito, I need you to understand that no matter what I would choose you over everybody else.” And with that, I shut the door.

My date with Eric had occurred and it was the worst thing I have ever been on, believing that maybe this could be my chance to grow out of my love for Ransom I looked at the bright side but Eric was the worst he was rude and snobby and made comments about my appearance making it seem like I had to give him a thank you for even looking my way and I hated it. Ransom and I hadn’t spoken to each other since the day we went out and I hadn’t been able to think about it, so that night after my date I cried letting out the pent up emotions I had thought about the fact that maybe me falling in love or being loved would be a notion that could never happen.

During my little outburst, I heard my phone going off and without looking I answered it, the other person on the line was quiet before I heard an outburst, “What the hell happen where are you?” I was confused for a second before realizing that it was Ransom on the line, “Did that son of a bitch do something to you tell me where you are before I go kill him.”

I gave a few hiccuped breaths before Ransom calmed down with the softest tone I have ever heard from him, “Look Ducky I just want to make sure if you’re okay? Tell me where you are and I’ll meet you there in a heartbeat.” With that tone I was able to calm myself down as I told him I was at home, he gave a confirmation telling me he would be here soon as he ordered me to drink a glass of water before he hanged up.

Fifteen minutes later and an empty glass I heard knocking at my door when I opened it Ransom dressed in some plain sweats and the sweater I had given him for Christmas last year no matter what he wore he always looked handsome and this time I couldn’t help the tears that dropped. Ransom crowded me as he began to wipe the tears from my face. Here I stood my hair and makeup a mess dressed in the nicest dress that I had as the person I loved wiped my tears off my face.

“Did he do anything to you Ducky? Tell me and I swear that I will find him and kill him with my bare hands if I have to.” I laughed at his words nut I gave him a shake of my head telling him that nothing had happened. Ransom seemed to let out a breath before he moved us to the couch, we sat there in complete silence as Ransom held me close after what seemed like hours even though it was probably minutes I finally calmed down enough that I had stopped crying altogether.

“I called you today because I knew you had your date with that guy, I was mad, at you, at me, at that prick, and at fucking Claire for setting you up,” he took a deep breath before sitting up and pulling me away from him so we could be facing each other, “I thought of your confession and I am sorry for not calling you sooner but there was so much on my mind I have to tell you.”

I looked up at Ransom seeing that he was being completely serious and I couldn’t help the pull in my chest at the way he looked in that moment how much he has grown from when we were young and how much more he could do in the future, “I’ve been wanting to tell you for a long time now but I haven’t been honest with you at all, I don’t want to be your friend anymore and I haven’t wanted us to be friends since high school after we went to different schools,” I pulled away completely when he said that the tears were coming back and I felt as I couldn't breathe anymore Ransom could probably see my upcoming panic attack, so he did something I never thought would happen. He kissed me.

He kissed me.

That was the only thought that was going through my mind as my brain short-circuited, I stared up at him surprised not believing he did that Ransom stood before he started pacing rubbing at his neck before turning towards me, “This is not how I wanted to do it so I feel like I am already messing up but,” he paused as he took a deep breath before he came before me and kneeled so we were at eye level, “I have been in love with you since we were kids I think from the moment you punched me in the face and Grandad forced us to hang out, but I think the moment I knew was when I saw you at the dinner you were talking to some customers and I remember how you reached towards their little girl as you wiped something off her face and made her laugh.”

He leaned towards me just a little until our faces were just inches apart, his eyes darted down to my lips as I wet them, “I knew that if I could I would do whatever it took to keep you at my side even if that meant us only being friends, but I am done being your friend.” With that, he surged forward kissing me much softer than I thought my lips tingled at the contact after a few seconds he darted his tongue to swipe onto my bottom lip as I parted them for him before he began to kiss me a little bit deeper. When he pulled away I couldn’t help but let out a whine he chuckled at I flushed hotly at his laugh giving him a soft smile,

“Ducky you’d don't know how long I’ve been waiting to do that, I love you so much.”

“I love you too Ransom I always have and no matter how annoying you are with your little designer clothes and your dumb car,” he gave an offended scoff which I giggled at, “but I will always love you no matter what.”

Tags: @rmtndew

#plus size ofc #pluss size #plus size oc #ransom drysdale #ransom thrombey x reader #ransom thrombrey #original work #knives out

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jenoptimist · 3 years

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request:

can I request enemies to lovers with Lucas 👉🏼👈🏼🥺

✮ Pairing: lucas x reader (gender neutral)

✮ Genre: (one-sided) enemies2lovers | shopkeeper!au

✮ Additional info: miscommunication & misunderstandings

✮ Word count: 5.3k

♡ Yakult says: thank you so much for the request !! i decided to make this be in the same au as my florist!xiaojun fic but it takes place before it 🤪 don’t worry though, you can read this as a standalone !!

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Dream Puffs stood in between a quaint bookshop named Moon’s Bookworms and the one and only tattoo and piercing studio in your small town aptly named, Nakamoto’s Body Art Studio. All three buildings adhered to a similar color scheme which consisted of various shades of brown; Moon’s Bookworms was displayed with gold plated, elegant lettering and a dark mahogany colored body, Nakamoto’s Body Art Studio was written with bright neon lights against an umber colored building and the Dream Puffs building was the color of pecans, its name displayed in large, white letters. The buildings across the street were the exact opposite; the flower shop Rainbow V was colored in pretty pastels and the bright thrift shop Tern & Ten’s Treasures was a fusion of artsy and chic. There was an empty outlet just in the middle of the two stores, directly across from Dream Puffs, that was very obviously lacking the loud personalities all the buildings on that side owned.

Recently there had been rumors that the lot had been sold a couple of weeks ago and that whoever had bought it also would be moving into the apartment directly across from yours. Although your curiosity was peaked, not catching a single sight of the newcomer, you knew that you weren’t the only one. The other owners on the block had gathered around in the far corner of your cozy café, gossiping among one another. It seemed as if Yuta and Yongqin were doing most of the chatting, Kun and Taeil chiming in whenever they thought it was appropriate. Seeing as the rush of customers had officially calmed down, a few of your regulars in their usual seats, you allowed yourself to part take in their conversation when Yuta waved you over with that dazzling smile of his.

“So, y/n, what do you think?” The tattoo artist asked, his cheek resting in the palm of his left hand.

“What do I think about what?” You shot back quizzically as you sat down, automatically setting the nape of your neck on top of Yongqin’s arm when he rested it on the back of your chair.

“What kind of store do you think this mystery person will open up?” Taeil clarified, lazily fiddling with the straw in his iced-tea in between his index finger and thumb.

You hummed. “Maybe something for arts and crafts?” You weren’t good at guessing but you did know that a store that catered for specific types of painting and drawing materials were needed, judging by Taeyong’s constant complaints about how there should be an art supply store because shipping was too expensive every time he bought something online.

At your side, Yongqin practically began vibrating with excitement along with Yuta across from you. Their reactions were something you expected since the two of them, as well as and Taeyong, were extremely talented artists; where Taeyong and Yongqin drew for fun, Yuta’s job as a tattoo artists required him to draw on a regular basis and he absolutely adored it. As Yongqin and Yuta chatted excitedly, Taeil chiming in every now and again, your eyes zeroed in on Kun as he sipped on his latte, his eyes suspiciously shifty. Before you could voice out your question, someone entered the café and headed straight for the counter. You had sent Doyoung and Taeyong on their breaks ten minutes prior so you had no choice but to slip out of your chair and bounce over behind the counter.

While the customer’s eyes roamed the menu above you, you occupied yourself with wiping the counter and when you couldn’t pretend to clean anymore, you drummed your fingers on your thigh. Finally, the tall - and extremely attractive - man made eye contact with you. With a smile you hoped wasn’t awkward, you tapped in his three drink orders and asked if he’d like any of the sweets on display since he was studying them so intensely.

“Can I have one of each?”

It wasn’t an unusual request, plenty of customers had asked before because Doyoung and Taeyong were extremely talented at what they did. You always found yourself fighting for the position to be their taste tester against Donghyuck and Jungwoo whenever they came up with something new. There wasn’t any friendly small talk as you prepared his order, in fact whenever you caught a glimpse of the customer, his eyes were continuously roaming around the building. You were particularly proud of the interior design of the place. Taeyong had spent endless hours painting designs on the walls while you and Doyoung chose the furniture you thought would suit it the best. Your favorite part in particular was the copper wire wall grid that was used to display the instant pictures of the staff posing goofily and the regulars. Judging from the way the customer’s eyes locked in on the pictures on the wall, he did too.

“Thanks for coming! Hope to see you again!” You chimed while you placed the money in the register. It was unlikely to happen, you knew, because the man wasn’t one that you recognized. Dream Puffs often had customers that stopped by because they needed a pick-me-up during their travels. The only response you received was the incline of his head and a gorgeous smile before he turned to leave. You watched his back as he strutted away, your head tilted to the side slightly.

“Love at first sight?” Yongqin teased in a loud voice from your right and if you had been close enough, you would have thrown your cloth at him.

“Shut up Yongqin!”

“You will not believe what I just heard!” Yongqin exclaimed from somewhere behind you. It was half past six in the morning and you and the boys were setting up, Taeyong had just taken out a fresh batch of pastries while Doyoung was bent over the glass display case for the food, organizing the goods meticulously and adding glacé cherries to the cupcakes. You hummed in question as you snatched a croissant that you knew would be deliciously buttery, flaky and soft when you took a bite of it. “The empty store! You’ll never guess what it’s going to be!”

“A hardware store?” Doyoung guessed uninterestedly as he adjusted a cupcake.

“No!” You watched, mid-bite, as Yongqin walked by you and stood so that he was in clear view of the three of you. “A café!” Both the statement and the hot interior of the croissant had your jaw dropping.

“What?!” You exclaimed while you set your pastry on the flour covered counter, just beside the baking tray full of equally measured, unbaked cookies.

“Yeah,” he said, dragging out the vowels as he slowly bopped his head, “I know right. Dream Puffs might actually have some competition now.”

“Out of all places to set up a café.” Taeyong mumbled, his brows furrowed, flitting over to the other side of the room to grab his bottle of strawberry flavored water.

“Where did you get this information from?” Doyoung asked after he straightened himself out, crossing his arms over his chest.

Yongqin, who was watching Taeyong gulp down his beverage, mindlessly said, “Kun.” You pressed him for more information, recalling how shifty the said florist had been the other day. Yongqin tore his eyes away from Taeyong. “I don’t really know how he knew, he just let it slip yesterday.” He grabbed a glacé cherry and popped it into his mouth. “We should totally put on some disguises and scope the place out when it opens!”

Taeyong snorted. “As if you work here.”

“Well we don’t want you guys going out of business now, do we?” Yongqin reasoned as he ran his fingers through his pink streaked blond hair. “So, are you in?”

“Of course.” You said, picking up your croissant and taking a big bite of it.

The plan was discussed in pieces throughout the day while the three of you manned the counter. Yongqin stood to the side, switching from chatting to your customers animatedly as they waited for their orders and telling the three of you how he needed a temporary employee because Chenle was going on vacation in a few weeks from June until August. He stayed until he had to return to his own store since his younger sister had to go for her break. As the day dragged by, you insisted that Doyoung and Taeyong to go home early - they deserved it for all the work that they do - while you stayed behind to some additional cleaning before you locked up for the evening. Not bothered to cook dinner once you were home, you called for some takeout as you toed off your shoes. While you waited for the delivery driver to call you to let you know they were downstairs, you flopped onto your couch and mindlessly scrolled through your phone. When the call came, you were quick to grab your cash and dash out your door.

With a warm box of pizza in your hands, mini boxes of the sides you selected on top of it, you turned to make you way back up when a voice called out for you to hold open the door for them. You fulfilled their request by swinging your leg and waited impatiently for the weight to be lifted off of your foot so that you could run off and eat.

“Thank you! Oh,” the stranger said when you managed to flash them a quick smile, “hey it’s you!”

Internally, you groaned. What would it take for you to be able to eat your dinner? It was going to get cold. Plus you ordered their fudge brownie that came with ice-cream. Nevertheless you plastered on a smile while turning your head to the side that the stranger decided to occupy and found yourself looking at the tall and handsome man from a few days ago.

“Yeah,” you agreed, not knowing what else to say as you followed him into the elevator and also stunned by the fact that he could potentially have lived here all this time somehow without you ever seeing him. Although, maybe he was visiting a friend? “Are you the one who moved in across the hall?” You asked curiously after eyeing him press the button to your floor.

“Guilty as charged,” he replied, raising both his arms. Then, dropping them back down to his sides and stuffing them into his jacket pockets, he said, “my name’s Wong Yukhei.”

“Y/n. I’d shake your hand but, y’know.” You lifted the boxes of food for emphasis and he nodded understandingly. Yukhei got a few words in about the town, how cute he found it and how friendly the people were, before the ding! of the elevator finally signaled the end of your short journey to your floor. Yukhei allowed you to exit before him.

“Well it’s nice to officially meet you, neighbor.” Yukhei said, grinning cheekily as the two of you stood outside your respective doors, facing one another.

After replying with sentiments that mirrored his, you finally entered your apartment and all but sprinted to your coach and dug in. Your new neighbor seemed nice enough. You wondered what brought him over to this town–there was nothing particularly attractive about it except for the people that lived there, not that anyone living outside of the town would know that or anything. It was when you were halfway through your third slice that something dawned on you.

“I know who it is!” You said loudly, barging into Nakamoto’s Body Art Studio. As expected, Yongqin was getting his forearm tattooed by Yuta. You greeted Jaehyun, who was flicking through a magazine, with a high five as you passed by the reception desk and took one of the wheeled stools and sat on Yongqin’s other side, opposite Yuta.

“Know who?”

“The new store owner! I met him yesterday.” Yuta finished the line he was working on before looking up at you briefly to acknowledge your presence before resuming his work. Yongqin was the one who prompted you to continue. “His name is Wong Yukhei. He was the really tall one from the other day.”

“The one you fell in love with?” Your friend teased. You mimicked his words, voice as high as possible, while making a face at him before groaning dramatically, thinking about how amiable Yukhei had been in the few minutes that you were together.

“Guys, he ordered all of the food we had on display.” You chewed on your bottom lip. Maybe his friendly behavior was an act, he did know that you work at Dream Puffs after all–you literally co-owned the place. “You don’t think he’s going to steal everything the guys make do you?” Both of your friends scrunched their faces which only served to make you groan loudly again.

“That’s rough buddy.” Jaehyun said from his position on the right side of the room, the sound of him flicking his page loud and clear when Yuta removed the tattoo gun from Yongqin’s arm.

“What’s rough?” Jungwoo asked confusedly, his voice sounding further than usual, probably just having stepped out of the separate room that he used to pierce their clients.

You stood behind the register, watching with narrowed eyes as Yukhei and some unfamiliar people filed into the building directly across from yours, each carrying supplies. It had been days and days of you heatedly watching their every move as they worked on their space. While they were all having the time of their lives interior decorating, you were practically tearing your hair out at the thought of having competition that was a mere twenty steps away from Dream Puffs. It wasn’t that you didn’t trust Doyoung and Taeyong’s ability to bake or your barista skills and it wasn’t as if you were the only café in the area or anything - there was another one just on the other side of town - but he really couldn’t have set up literally any other kind of store?

What was even more infuriating was that Yukhei was acting really chummy with you and the others outside of your working hours. It even became a regular thing for Yukhei to wait for your shift to finish so that the two of you could walk back to your apartment complex together. Admittedly, even though you enjoyed your own company, it was kind of nice having someone to talk to on the way home.

“You’ll scare away the customers if you keep making that face.” Taeil said, his eyes never wavering from the page that he was reading. It was a new book for the book club that he created recently, said it would bring in more customers. He shared a table with Jeno, who was reading the same book, and Mark, who was playing Luigi’s Mansion on his Nintendo Switch.

You sniffed, tilting your head to the side. “I’m not making a face.”

“Dude, you so are!” Mark, who was sitting across from Taeil, said after taking a sip of his banana milk.

“Don’t listen to them,” Jeno told you nicely, “of course you’d be making a face, I mean, that guy is gonna make a store that could potentially out-business you.”

You threw your hands at his direction as if to say exactly! with wide eyes. “We’re practically enemies!”

“Enemies,” Taeyong repeatedly lowly from beside you, amusement ringing in his voice. “As if.”

You gaped after throwing him a look. “What’s that supposed to mean.” Before your friend could reply, your attention was redirected elsewhere with the call of your name. Taeyong bumped your hip and scurried off. You turned to face none other than the man himself. “Yukhei,” you smiled, “the usual?”

“Please. Oh and could I also get...” He listed five other drinks and then picked out some food to bring along with him. As you prepared his order, the two of you talked about your plans over the weekend and even though you were aching with the need to ask about his shop, you said nothing.

“He’s the enemy.” You whispered firmly to yourself. “Do not get distracted by his cute smile!”

“Cute smile?” Yongqin startled you by popping up from behind you. “Is this about Yukhei?” He asked loudly, tone full of mischief, as he nudged your side.

“Who else would it be about?” Taeil countered.

Mark and Jeno chuckled while you raised your eyes to the ceiling, briefly reconsidering your choice in friends. Maybe you should stop giving them free drinks. Your gaze flickered to what would be Yukhei’s shop and found him sipping on his drink as he leaned on the glass, chatting to someone. As though he felt your eyes on him, he did a double take and beamed at you.

“He’s the enemy.” You whispered to yourself once again, hoping that you would actually begin believing it soon, as you raised your hand to wave at him–he kept smiling at you until the person next to him clapped his shoulder and you would have loved to know what he said because Yukhei all but whipped his head towards him, his eyes practically bugging out of his head.

It had been almost a month since Yukhei had moved into town and he still hadn’t opened up his shop. That was something that you kept in the back of your mind, even as he continued to be cordial with you and the others. Although you kept referring him as ‘the enemy’ to yourself, at this point he was your friend. There was no point in denying it or anything, considering that somehow your relationship with him progressed from only speaking to one another when he ordered stuff from Dream Puffs and when the two of you walked home together, to actually hanging out. You guys had actually agreed to start watching movies together every Saturday night and regularly went over to each other’s apartment to keep each other company.

In fact it was actually Saturday and instead of receiving a text from Yukhei about what food he should bring over with him, it was one asking you to meet in front of Rainbow V. After texting him an affirmative, you changed out of your pyjamas and headed out.

The nearer you got to Rainbow V, the more you could make out the distinct figure of Yukhei; he was leaning against the door of his shop, his left foot on top of it as he scrolled through his phone. You allowed yourself to stare at him for a little bit longer before taking bigger steps towards him.

“Hey,” you greeted once you were close enough, “what’s up?”

Yukhei returned your greeting, stuffing his phone into his pocket as he stepped forward to mirror you before raising his hand. When you gave him the high-five you assumed he was waiting for, he clicked his tongue and wrapped his large hand over yours. Startled, you looked at him with wide eyes.

“Wrong,” he grinned, a playful gleam in his eye, “you forgot our handshake already? Y/n, you wound me.” He placed his other hand on top of his chest, where his heart was, dramatically as he said the last part.

“I didn’t forget,” you countered. “You got it wrong, dummy, it starts with a fist bump.”

Yukhei huffed, the grin he wore turning into something much softer. “You’re right.”

Instead of releasing your hand like you thought he would now that it was clarified, he continued holding onto it and even lowered it slightly as if he wanted a better look. He turned it this way and that way slowly while staring like he was inspecting it. As he did that, your eyes flitted over to the beanie that covered his forehead (you liked how it looked on him, it looked really cute on him,) before travelling down to the rest of his face; there was a spark of something in his eyes, his head at an angle, as he stared at your hand in his. It was the look someone got when they found something they had been missing for a long while.

You cleared your throat, warmth creeping up your neck all the way to your cheeks. “Is there something you want to show me?”

“Yup!”

And with that he interlocked your fingers, fished what sounded like a bunch of keys from his pockets and unlocked the door. He made quick work of turning on the lights, allowing you to be greeted by the sight of minimal style interior. There were large potted plants by the door, a long island with seating as well as booth tables. String lights were hung all around the cream colored wall, providing additional lighting to the dim lights. Yukhei lead you around the space, excitedly telling you about the work that had gone into it and how he had difficulty choosing what kind of style he wanted.

“It looks amazing,” you complimented as he gestured for you to take a seat closest to where the register was. “It’s going to be a great café, I can tell.”

“Thanks,” he smiled shyly, “that really means”-he paused, tilting his head to one side with confusion written all over his face-“did you just say café?”

“Mhm,” you nodded, “looks like Dream Puffs is going to have some serious competition now.”

Yukhei released a hearty laughed. “Y/n, I don’t know where you got that information but this isn’t a café.” Your jaw almost dropped in shock and you stumbled with your words before settling for a ‘huh’. “Yeah, dum-dum, it’s going to be a boba shop.”

“Boba. . .shop.” You echoed slowly.

Yukhei nodded, “yeah.”

Later on the stroll home, after the two of you spent an hour or two in his shop with him telling you what kind of flavors he planned to have on the menu and pulling some suggestions from yourself (“what about toffee popcorn with, I don’t know, maybe whipped cream and actual popcorn at the top?”), he asked who told you that he’d be opening up a café to which you grumbled ‘Yongqin’, he let out a heart laugh again. You could feel the tremors that went through his body as he laughed since you were tucked warmly under his arm and whether or not it was because his laughter was contagious or how weirdly intimate the situation felt - it was the way he took of his beanie and adjusted it on your head, insisting that you looked cold (you were) and the way the two of you were practically glued to each other’s side - but you huffed out a laugh before smiling to yourself and leaned into him more.

“Hey, y/n,” Yukhei called once you unlocked your door. You turned to face him and found him aiming his phone straight at you. “Smile.” Instead of smiling, you made a silly face at him and jogged inside your apartment after the tell-tale sound his phone made that indicated that he snapped a picture of you.

It was only when you were taking off your jacket and shoes that you realized that he hadn’t asked for his beanie back. Although you knew that you could easily make the short trip to him across the hall, you decided that you would give it back the next time he was at your place.

“A little birdie told me that you and Yukhei went on a date last night.” Yuta said the following morning, barging into your small office and then plopped himself on the couch that was placed near your work desk.

You were quick to shoot his statement down with, “your ‘little birdie’ is wrong.” After typing a quick ‘Kind Regards’ along with your name and position at the end of your email, you swiveled your chair around so that you could face your friend. He was scrolling through Instagram, double tapping every few seconds. “Who was it that told you that, anyway?”

“I don’t snitch on my sources.”

“I’ll give you twenty-five percent off whenever you buy coffee for a week.”

“Sold,” he said while he typed something quickly on his phone before lowering it so that he could flip himself over on his stomach and look up at you through his lashes. “It was Taeil. He fell asleep in his office and when he was locking up he said he saw you two mooning at each other alone in Yukhei’s shop.”

“We were not mooning at each other,” you sniffed, skimming your hands down your thighs. “What? We weren’t!” You emphasized when he gave you an unimpressed look.

Just as Yuta was about to reply, probably something sarcastic by how he arched his brow, his phone chimed to signal a text. He tutted at you before re-arranging himself so that he could reply with ease. You watched as his eyes read the message quickly before the corner of his mouth quirked upwards and he huffed out a laugh, typing furiously. While a large part of you was curious as to what could have elicited that reaction, you chose to turn back to your computer screen and browse through your email inbox.

“If you aren’t dating him,” Yuta said after a few minutes of silence that involved him typing away while you binned some junk mail, “then what’s this all about?” From the corner of your eye, you saw him lift his phone towards you so that you could read whatever was on his screen. Turning, your eyes skimmed through his text, your eyebrows all but crawling to your hairline. He allowed you to grab the phone from his hand so that you could zoom in on the picture that followed the texts from Mark–his words were all in capital letters followed by several exclamation points. You opened your mouth to say, well, literally anything but nothing came out so you snapped it shut. Wordlessly, you handed Yuta back his phone before logging out of your computer.

“I have to go,” You said lowly, dazed, as you stood up. “I have to- will you tell the guys I’ll be back soon?” Yuta gave you an affirmative and then you were off, practically sprinting towards the door.

On the way back to your apartment complex, your thoughts were full of Yukhei. You could admit that you had a big crush on him. It was difficult not to, you thought, what with how sweet and thoughtful he was. He was also funny and knew how to brighten up the room. But did that mean you wanted to date him? You weren’t sure although you knew that you certainly wouldn’t mind going on a date with him to find out.

Soon enough, you found yourself in front of his door. You stared at it for a long time, your heart racing, before you found enough courage to rap your knuckles against it. There was no answer. You tried an additional two times before you decided to leave it be, that you could talk to him later after your shift because he would probably be by the door, waiting for you with that big smile of his. You nodded to yourself and turned to walk away.

“Y/n?” His groggy voice came when you had taken three steps away from his door. “What’s up? Are you okay?” You turned on your heel (he looked adorable with his bedhead) and nodded stiffly, your heartbeat picking up speed again. “Want to come in?” He invited, opening his door wider.

You cleared your throat. “Yeah.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be at work right now?” He asked, locking his door after you shuffled in.

“Yeah but there was something I needed to talk to you about.”

Yukhei took a seat beside you on the couch and you tried not to concentrate on his knee that leaned against yours or how he automatically rested his arm on the back of the couch so that you were practically laying on it.

“Texting me wouldn’t have done, no?” He teased.

You shot a quick glance at him, took in his cute little smile and then stared pointedly ahead at his carpeted floor. “I didn’t really think about that at the moment.” You replied, your shoulders lifting to your earlobes. The only thing you had thought about was how you wanted to see him when you confronted him about what Yuta had shown you. Yukhei prompted you to tell him the reason for your visit. “Well, um, earlier Yuta showed me a text from Mark and I’m- we’re- your phone wallpaper?” The arm beneath your shoulders was gone in an instant and Yukhei jolted to his feet. “So it’s true?” You asked, peeking at him through your lashes. His expression was one of horror, arms splayed at his sides as if prepared to explain himself.

“Please don’t be mad! Taeil took the picture last night because apparently he saw us? I don’t know, Mark told me so I asked him to send me the picture and, well, I thought it was cute you know?” You did know. Taeil had managed to snap a shot of you two in front of Rainbow V - didn’t Yuta say that he only saw the two of you in the shop? - and it was when Yukhei had been laughing with you under his arm, a smile resting on your face. “I know I probably should have asked you, I don’t know what I didn’t. I can change it now if you want? Please don’t be mad at me.”

“I’m not mad,” you assured, looking him in the eye so he knew that you meant it. He visibly relaxed, the tension bleeding out of him at your words. Once he stopped looking so panicked, he looked at you with wide eyes before darting them towards the floor. It seemed the roles were reversed this time, what with him avoiding your gaze while you continued staring at him. He raised a hand to cover his eyes while the other went to hug itself around his waist. “Hey Yukhei,” he still refused to look at you, “would you maybe want to go on a date with me?”

That immediately gained his attention. “What?” His voice was soft, coated in disbelief. “Are you serious?” After you insisted that you were, never once breaking eye contact with him, a large smile blossomed on his face and he let out a loud whoop, punching the air in triumph. As if remembering that you were there, he dropped his arm, although the smile remained on his face. “Apparently there’s a boba place opening tomorrow, right in front of Dream Puffs, what do you say we try it out?”

“I’d love to but I’m worried about seating.”

“Don’t worry, I’m on good terms with the owner.” Yukhei winked. The two of you dissolved into a fit of laughter shortly after.

“I’ve gotta get back to work,” you said while you stood up from the couch once both of you sobered. “But I’ll see you later?”

“Of course!” Pleased smiles were plastered on both of your faces even as he walked you to the door.

You had barely stepped foot into Dream Puffs before Yongqin wrapped an arm around you and lead you to a table where Kun, Yuta and Taeil were seated, two vacant seats in between Kun and Yuta. Taeil let out a small titter, a smile that was too wide etched on his face as you and Yongqin sat down.

“Tell us everything!” Yongqin exclaimed, “spare no detail!”

“I will but first,” you said as you turned to face him. “You brat! You knew that he wasn’t opening up a café, didn’t you? You totally tricked me!”

There was no hint of guilt from him, just a shit-eating grin that reached from ear to ear. “Maybe so. Now go on, tell us!” You rolled your eyes, feigning annoyance but couldn’t fight off the smile that gradually grew wider and wider on your face as you recounted the recent events that transpired between you and Yukhei.

#ummmmmmm so this probably wasnt what u had in mind when u said enemies to lovers??????#honestly idek what this is myself rip #i think i might have to upload a completely different one ://#i didnt want it to be yk the usual things like being against each other in school etcetc #i guess enemies to lovers but they're assassins would have been good?????#why did i only think of that now rip oh geez #regardless of the fact that i completely botched ur request-i hope u enjoyed reading it at least????????#also update on my problems on the app: its still doing that thing i mentioned while editing so i think from here on out i might have to use #my laptop when i work on my fics :////////#im working on the werewolf!lucas fic now so hopefully i have it up by tonight !!!#anyway here come the tags:#wayv #wayv scenarios #wayv imagines #wayv au #wayv fluff #wayv lucas #nct #nct au #nct scenarios #nct imagines #nct lucas #nct fluff #super m #super m lucas #wong yukhei

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halo-jpeg · 3 years

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Bearable | A Reddie Fanfiction

Read it from the beginning

Chapter 8.5

The sound of the lock tumblers rolled shut in an almost satisfying timbre- it told Stan, in finality, that his shift was up and it was time for him to go home, that Roses on Deane had carried him through one more evening and was now seeing him off, waiting for his next return the night after. Taking a step back after removing the key from the door, Stanley glanced left at the sign reading 'closed' hung daintily from a hook just above the glass window. The red LED plant lights inside still shone in the dark corners, eerie yet comforting. With a slow inhale and then a clipped exhale, Stan spun on his heel, hitching his courier bag more securely over his neck and shoulder and setting off for home. The Portland streets were dark, the clock reading just late of 10:00 pm, thick clouds coating the sky and blotting out the stars. Keeping his gaze set forwards, Stan settled into a brisk walk, a bouncing pace that was more than familiar to him by now- even though he was no longer hurrying to evade bullies, the habit of being quick and silent stuck to him like a welcome burr. It wasn't necessarily a bad habit to be in, was it?

As he walked, closer and closer to home by the step, he busied himself in scanning the buildings, the businesses, attempting to identify the plants lining the streets with his new and limited botanical knowledge. A pale terracotta pot overflowing with rippling sunshine-yellow marigolds sat on the front porch of a thrift store, and then a few doors down outside of a place selling home-sewn fashion were bunches of hydrangeas, pink, purple and a pale blue. Petunias outside of a laundromat, bright pink begonias marking the entrance to an ice cream parlor with a large sign saying it was closing for the winter- distractions distractions. Stan heard a whip-poor-will sing it's little nighttime song somewhere behind him and found himself smiling warmly, almost instinctively reaching towards his back pocket for his bird book before realizing he didn't carry it with him anymore and letting that smile fall again. A shiver ran it's course up and down his spine for a reason he wasn't certain of. Suddenly he felt uncomfortable, shifty, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end and a frown crawling over his face. Walking a little quicker, Stan crossed his arms over his chest and lowered his head as if that would hide him from anyone or anything that might cross his path. Distractions distractions. Birds and flowers.

Warblers, Alstroemerias, Common Loon, Lilies, to busy his mind Stan went over all of the Portland-resident birds and all the Roses on Deane-resident flowers, trying to ebb the near-flowing paranoia building in his head. All at once a thought unfurled like one of the colorful flora he was thinking about- Did you really lock the shop door? Stan chewed his lip, clasping his hands together and forcing his legs forwards once more. Yes, he locked the door, he was sure of it- and even if he didn't who was gonna rob a flower shop? He needed to take his OCD medicine the moment he got home. Recently, with work and school, he had started taking it at night. It often wore off by the end of the day, letting silly thoughts like that pop up like moles. More birds, more flowers, less thinking. Northern Goshawk, Carnations, Yellow-Bellied Flycatcher, Daisy. Walk walk walk. Stanley's head was trapped in some strange in-between where one half was racing and the other was sluggish and slow, like molasses- he hated it, the feeling like he couldn't quite register that things were moving to fast. He just wanted to be home with Bill, with Eddie, in his bed or at the stove cooking something up for the three of them. Anything at all- maybe he could clean his room or the lounge or the bathroom- maybe he could offer to do the laundry. Stan shivered again, and another wave of discomfort rippled through him. Birds. Flowers.

Red-Breasted Nuthatch, Orchids, Winter Wren, Orange Princess-

Stan stopped dead in his tracks. All at once, the smell of oranges hit him in the back of the throat. It was sickening, suffocating almost, like the near-toxic, too-sweet taste of children's medicine. He screwed up his face and clenched his jaw, trying to pinpoint where and why that scent had hit him so suddenly. Then, a thought, a realization not driven by his OCD popped into his head and his face drained of it's colour. Now the only thing he could think of was Dick Halloran, a character from The Shining, that stupid horrorbook that Bill had forced him to read. Dick had this power called 'The Shine', see, and whenever something like a premonition or a message from someone else who 'Shone' hit him he smelled this smell, the oranges, overwhelming, tangy, sickening. Every time this scent is mentioned in the book it is a bad thing. Maybe now it is a bad thing. Stanley has to force his legs to move, to carry him again, faster faster faster; he's basically jogging now and he'll turn up home slick with sweat and that means he'll need to shower for much too long but he doesn't mind right now. He might scrub his skin raw later, but right now his sudden nagging fear won over.

Stan had played baseball in elementary and the beginning of high school so he wasn't a terrible runner but he had hardly half the stamina Eddie would have had were he in this situation, despite the bug in his brain he called asthma. It had only been a few moments and Stan, in his panic, had sprinted away his energy; Stanley needed to be smart about it, to conserve his energy, his breath. Something dark and urgent bubbled up in his chest and he knew he needed away. Slowing to a hasty jog Stan focused solely on his breathing and going the right way. Home was closer now, less than three blocks, he could see the building. Gooseflesh broke out over his arms and for the briefest, briefest moment he swore he saw a flash of red lit white by the streetlamps across the street from him, low, on the ground or in the gutter or from a sewer drain. He didn't stick around long enough to be certain. Birds, please. Flowers.

Swainson Thrush, Rose, Rusty Blackbird, Sunflower, White-Throated Sparrow, Peonies, one after the other Stan pumped out name after name until he ran out of flowers and only knew birds; at some point after he started naming any bird, not just the ones here in Portland or even Maine or even the whole of the United States- he was desperate for anything to say, any image to conjure up to replace the fearful ones his brain was fighting to depict. The India Peafowl, or the Peacock more often, was what ended up taking the coveted 'Throne of Distraction'. He knew the bird well and spent a whole thirty seconds imagining every detail about it, the royal blue feathering of it's crown, breast, abdomen, the crisp white of it's auricular and superciliary, the places above and below the eye. They had white-and-back wings that had a total span of five feet and six foot tailfeathers of emerald green, blue, yellow, the shapes of eyes, almost, grand and royal and silently threatening. By the time he forgot about the peacock he was crossing the street towards his block and his lungs were protesting greatly. His hair was dampened despite the chill in the air and his palms were sweating profusely.

In a burst of confidence since he was now faced with the homestretch, Stan risked a look over his shoulder and then immediately hated himself for it. You never look over your shoulder, isn't that what Bill always said about horror movies? Was this even like a horror movie? Which rules were real and which were fiction? Which ones applied to real life? Stan snapped his head forwards once more and now he was driven by terror in it's rawest form, cold and sleek like the scales of a snake or the glimmer of a dark poison. His veins burned with this terror, his eyes wide and glossy, his throat pinching up and disallowing a scream. Oh, God, the thing he thought he saw- Eyes, orange, burning like hellfire, promising so many things, horrible, horrible things, a tall man, a shadow-man, something deadly and threatening in the way he stood and the way he held his weapon ready to raise and ready to strike. Stan was quick to smother the sight, the memory of the sight under the heel of his mind's shoe to forget about, to abandon, no-siree he was not crazy he didn't need to go to the loony-bin the funny farm the madhouse he was just okey-dokey all 100% okay yessir.

Birds birds birds flowers oranges grackles grackles marigold- His mind was gone by now, shrouded in some thick fog, out of reach, his soul ripped from his body to view himself in some sick third-person form. Icy numbness ate through him leaving only the terror, the sleek-cold terror as he stumbled onto the doorstep of his building and ripped his key from his bag at lightspeed, scolding himself for not getting it out sooner and then scolding himself again seconds later for fumbling, almost dropping the thing. He jammed them at the door, missed the keyhole, jammed again, missed, again, missed- finally, the keys slid into place and he cranked them to the side, ripping the door open and not even bothering to recollect them. He sent himself flying for the stairs, not trusting the elevator and getting more images from his book, The Shining, the faulty elevator moving on it's own accord, New Years Eve, party poppers, black gold silver people in suits- As Stan raced up the steps he finally found his voice but decided he could not scream, could not alarm anyone else, could not draw any attention. If you asked for help, for salvation, you got people killed and you still got fucked in the end- and, one part of Stan was horrified that none of this was even real.

If Stanley could only make it up to his apartment than he would be alright. He would be just fine. Peachy. Right as rain. The problem was that the stairs seemed to be getting longer, reaching up and up into infinity, a stairway to heaven. Birds Stan needed birds flowers too birds and flowers flowers and birds then he'd be just fine if only he had his bird book, Lincoln's Sparrow Dahlias Purple Finch Azalea White-winged Crossbill Poppy Evening Grosbeak Chrysanthemum Birds Birds Birds Birdsbirdsbirdsbirds-

Stan's mind froze. Everything came to a grinding halt. His hand rests on the brass knob of his apartment, his home, but he does not remember ever reaching the top of the steps, ever rushing down his hallway. The icy chill that had been coursing through his veins was drained all too suddenly, jarringly, leaving him with wide eyes and heavy breathing as well as a sprawling sense of confusion. The... the panic, it had been so raw, so real. The sight of the shadow-man had been so vivid. The sweat on his brow and his back and in his armpits, it was real too- he had been driven into a spiral of terror, but was it in any way possible that Stan had imagined it all? Why, suddenly, did he feel so... alright? Why, just like that, was all of it gone? The dread, the doom, the smell of citrus. Stan wasn't crazy, no, he took pills to stop his crazy, needed to take his pill, needed to make this blinding sense of what?? ease into nothing, needed to return to being just another guy in the sea of other guys in Portland Maine.

Just like that, in the blink of an eye, everything had vanished and he was okay again. Stanley Uris was just fine. Peachy. Right as rain. He might- is probably- just be a little tired. So what? People got tired all the time. All he needed was some sleep and a shower and maybe to scrub his skin right off because this sweat was making him sticky and gross and he hated it. What he needed was to get control of himself. Letting his head fall gently, silently against the door, Stan let his eyes close and tried to even out his breathing. He felt like he was a little bit silly. The shadow man he had been so convinced he'd seen was supposed to have been Jack Torrance, but Jack Torrance was fictional and Stan was just tired. That was all. After two more minutes to control his breathing, he opened the door and made straight for the bathroom. He didn't even stop to note how Eddie and Richie were practically tangled up in one another and sharing a bowl of popcorn.

#reddie #reddie fanfiction #richie tozier #eddie kaspbrak #stan uris #stanley uris #ben hanscom #bill denbrough #beverly marsh #mike hanlon #the losers club #it #it movie #it chapter 1 #it chapter one #it 2017 #it chapter 2 #it chapter two #it 2019

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flannelpunkcalum · 5 years

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Demons (Leading Me to Do Their Dirty Work)

Michael Clifford One Shot

I wrote this for a friend ages and AGES ago and everyone wants to flirt with demons so I repurposed it! It’s 8k of witch!reader adventures, hope you enjoyII

Disclaimer: there’s blood, violence, and absolutely no smut. That’s not a joke. Read accordingly.

Y/N should have known as soon as Lucy came in that something was wrong. Usually she came in all in a huff, or a bright whirlwind, talking about something she had seen on her way back from class or why organic chemistry was going to make her cry. This time the only thing that announced her arrival was the door slamming and sick silence. Y/N should have known right then and there. Maybe it would have saved her.

“Hey, how was your tutorial? Did you tell your TA that-” Y/N turned around to face Lucy and cut herself off. You couldn’t be a witch without instinct, and something about Lucy screamed wrong.

It was probably all the blood.

“Jesus, are you alright? Did you get mugged?” Y/N stood up from her desk chair, grabbing a roll of paper towel. Lucy shook her pale head as Y/N started wiping at her cheeks. She looked like death, or like she had just met him. Blood dripped out of her hair onto the carpet and her black shirt glistened too deep for it to be soaked with anything else.

“No, I’m - the blood isn’t mine, no. It’s - Y/N, I really need your help.”

That almost shook Y/N worse than all the gore. Lucy was - well, cold, she tried to be untouchable, but Y/N was almost sure she was going to see tear tracks appear in the blood on her roommate’s cheeks. “Of course. Tell me what’s going on, you’re freaking me out.” She said, trying not to show the way her stomach lurched. It felt bad. It felt like a premonition.

“It’s Michael.”

Y/N had known it wouldn’t be easy. Canada was a totally different country, and university - yeah, she had taken AP classes, but that didn’t mean she was ready, you know? Having a roommate, taking care of herself, it was all going to be new. But that was something everyone went through at one point or another. The real trouble was the magic.

She didn’t remember how old she had been when her mother had pulled her off the lawn and told her in a sharp sharp voice that pebbles belonged on the ground. Little, anyway. “We don’t make things fly outside. It’s dangerous. Okay?”

That lesson in particular had ended with her mother going “Oh, sweetheart, stop crying. It’s alright, (because Y/N had always been a bit weepy)” and taking her inside to read stories, but there were more. Witchcraft ran in her mother’s line like a heart disease, and Y/N had the power like her mother and the grandmother before. She’d been a bit haywire as a kid - emotionally she had always been a bit watery, but her power was a flame and it had taken her some time to get it under control. It was supposed to be easier, now. She could lift proper big things, like luggage and TVs - not that it did her much good because she wasn’t supposed to where people could see - brew any number of potions (most of them she did in the microwave instead of a cauldron) and chat with the ghosts in the old buildings. And now that she could control it the whole magic part was easier, she supposed, but she still sometimes did sleep-magic and on top of first year in uni it was a lot.

She hadn’t intended on talking to anyone about it, even if she hadn’t been able to finagle her way out of getting a roommate, but Lucy was - well. She was something else. Lucy thought there was a siren in the basement and that the room at the end of the hall had a dead body in it and she knew deep in her bones that the building was haunted. Even if Y/N did cast a little spell to make her sleep deeply through any sleep-magic she might have caused, she was always on edge around her roommate, and it didn’t help that things tended to float when she was nervous. She thought she had been doing a pretty good job, but Lucy had a thing for looking for trouble, and there was nothing that said trouble like a witch.

Y/N could still remember how she found out Lucy knew. She still wasn’t sure exactly when her roommate had figured it out, but she remembered realizing her secret was out. It was a nightmare. “...and so I need to get a new copy of the lab manual, which blows, unless - oh, d’you think you could find it? With your-” Lucy had wiggled her fingers in the air like they were glitter.

It took Y/N a long moment to figure out what she was getting at, but - magic. Fuck! Her stomach dropped straight through the floor and the glass of water in her hand started to freeze over. Lucy, for her part, looked just as shocked as Y/N felt. “Oh, shit, I was - I didn’t know - well, I thought, but - Y/N, don’t panic, I’m not going to tell anyone!” Lucy had been mostly-but-not-really joking, as was her custom, but she hadn’t expected Y/N to wear her guilt on her face like that.

It had been a rough night, but they’d gotten through it, and it did make things easier - Y/N could wake Lucy up now if she was freaking out, and finally she could talk to someone about the ghost in Lucy’s closet. Lucy, too, got to “peel back the veil between worlds” and beg Y/N to show her what would be on her midterms. They gave and took with this, just as they had with the floor space or who was going to vacuum. Everything had been good until that night when Lucy had come home in blood and silence.

Here was the thing about Michael. He was Lucy’s pal mostly, someone she had met at a friend’s party, and they got along like mad. Lucy usually insisted that Y/N come along when they went on excursions because they needed “adult supervision”, and although Y/N usually resented being dragged along to things she usually didn’t mind when this happened. Mikey would just show up at their door sometimes (and she didn’t know who the hell was letting him in the building) with tickets to go play laser tag, or go to frat parties where he’d be decent and not ditch them. Y/N thought he was a nice guy. He was cute, too - he had bleach blond hair that made her think he was bad but a smile that made her feel really good sometimes. Lucy always said that Michael was a trip, and Y/N was sure it would have been all too easy to fall for him, but.

But.

Here was the thing. Y/N had only really asked her mom about why she had divorced her dad once, when she was young. She didn’t remember it clearly, but she did remember the pain on her mother’s face when she told her that the magic was a gift and not to ever, ever doubt that, no matter what some people would say. Y/N knew what that meant - people wouldn’t like it if they knew, sometimes. People wouldn’t trust her. She knew she had to hide that part of her to stay safe. She didn’t like keeping secrets from people she was close to - she didn’t like wondering if Peter and Marukh from math would still want to hang out with her if they knew she could find out how they died. Not that she would, but still.

So yeah, maybe she’d never really had a serious boyfriend, or someone she considered her best friend. She’d been safe up till now. She’d stay that way. Lucy had been different, of course. She’d connived her way into Y/N’s life. Y/N had vowed not to let it happen again.

But Mikey was very cute. And nice. And he gave her looks she didn’t need magic to decipher.

That was all.

“Oh, god.”

Lucy’s voice snapped Y/N out of it. She must have gone quiet for a moment - it was Michael, something was wrong with Michael, and there was so much blood on Lucy - but she edged her way over to hold the back of a chair, just in case she did take a tumble. “Is he-” She started, voice strained, but Lucy didn’t have the chance to interrupt her before she fell silent. She didn’t want to say it out loud. Maybe then it wouldn’t be true.

“He’s not hurt. He’s fine. It’s just - you know how I do that thing where I go to a thrift store and if something looks haunted I try to buy it?” Lucy said, in a voice as close as she could come to sheepish. She pushed her hair back, but mostly succeeded in smearing blood over her forehead.

Y/N could feel misery replace itself with dread. She could guess where this was going. At least Michael wasn’t dead, right? “What did you do?”

“It’s Halloween, Y/N, okay, and I saw a Ouija board at the Goodwill and I was going to that party with, like, Mikey and them anyway, and I knew he’d like it but I said not to try it tonight because it’s Halloween and he didn’t listen so I stuck around to make sure everything was okay and it wasn’t! All the lights went out and blood started pouring from the faucets and it was just real bad. And I thought you might - I thought you might know what to do.” Lucy finished with a gasp.

Y/N didn’t know what to do.

Ghosts were one thing. Pixies, brownies, all the Fair Folk, they were dangerous when crossed but nothing she couldn't handle. Even beasts could be tamed. Demons were different. All they did was hurt and cause chaos. They were greedy for power, sex, any sort of vice, and they'd do anything to get it. Cowardly witches avoided them because they’d drain the magic and life from a witch to make themselves stronger. They were sadistic, dangerous creatures. Y/N didn't like them at all.

She knew what she had to do, though. It was Halloween; demons were strong on Halloween night, but so were witches. “Okay,” she said, after taking a very big breath. “Lucy, I need you to get a bag. Do you have any salt?”

Lucy reached for her backpack, but she looked nervous. “I - I don’t know.”

“Nevermind,” Y/N said, pulling a box of sea salt out from under her bed. “Any iron?”

Y/N didn't usually like to go to Michael’s place. The building gave her weird vibes, plus she didn't know how she felt about his roommate, Calum. Luce usually brushed off any of her concerns with “...okay, but he's hot tho”, and she wasn't wrong, but there was something shifty about him. Y/N was pretty sure he was a drug dealer, or in some kind of gang.

She remembered the last time she had been over there. They'd just been stopping to pick the boys up before getting drinks - Mikey had guided her out the door by the elbow as they headed to the bar. It felt embarrassing, the way she remembered that touch. Over the course of the night their group grew from four to eight as they met up with friends but still every time she looked up, it seemed, his eyes were on her

It took her five minutes to get everything she’d need together, stealing thread from Lucy’s sewing kit and filling the backpack with scented candles. They used stainless steel knives filched from the dining hall for iron. It wasn’t conventional, but if it saved Mikey’s life that didn’t matter. The backpack jingled almost cheerfully on Y/N's back as they finally made their way out of the building. “I can’t believe no one’s called an ambulance for you.” Y/N murmured as they sped through the lamp-lit streets. She could see drops of blood on the sidewalk from Lucy’s trip over - she looked like the final girl of a horror movie.

“It’s- it’s Halloween, they probably think it’s makeup.” Lucy replied. “It doesn’t matter. Can’t we walk any faster?”

Y/N knew that it was a bad idea for her to draw attention to herself, but she wanted to. Wanted to sprint through the streets. Now that Michael could be dead - damn it, why had Lucy left him alone, why hadn’t she just called Y/N? - she was letting herself mourn what she had never let herself feel. She wasn’t really big on divination, but they would have worked, she had known it. If he came out of this unscathed he probably still wouldn’t want her - what kind of a first date was a fucking exorcism? It wasn’t fair. She hadn’t asked for this. Hell, if she could have she might have given her “gift” to Lucy weeks ago. Let her have her fun.

Y/N was a good witch. A nice witch. She didn’t curse, hex, or even do passive aggressive cantrips. She played by the goddamn rules but her crush was still being hounded by a demon and even if he wasn’t hurt it was still a bitch of a situation.

“Y/N. You okay?” Lucy’s eyes peered out of her bloody face.

“Yes.” Y/N said, and her voice came out surprisingly calm. Actually, it was kind of a shock she hadn’t started crying by now. Maybe she did have more iron in her. Maybe… maybe when her friends needed her most she could pull it together to save them. Maybe that was the only fucking upside to having dangerous powers and idiot friends.

“Well, we’re almost there. Fuck, I’m glad you’re around.” Lucy added with a mumble. Y/N appreciated it. Lucy totally owed her.

They tramped up the stairs to Michael’s apartment, and Luce thankfully did not complain. Y/N had a bad feeling about this as soon as she crossed the threshold, and she wasn’t about to ride an elevator in a building where demons had been unleashed. They had to be smart now - had to be careful. Y/N had only dealt with a demon once, and even then, she was mostly standing by and watching. She knew what to do, in theory. It was gonna be okay. Lucy and Mikey were idiots, they couldn’t have summoned anything big and nasty, right?

Even if Y/N had forgotten Michael's apartment, she wouldn't have had any trouble picking it out. Bloody fingerprints stood out on the white paint, and as they moved down the hall a group of trick or treaters, dressed as dragons and princesses, skirted the door nervously. Y/N's stomach flipped. Kids often knew things adults didn't, and if these kids wouldn't even knock on the door for candy, well - that wasn't good. That wasn't good at all.

Lucy seemed to be getting more and more antsy as they approached the door. “Makes me feel sick just looking at it,” She mumbled, nodding at the blood before knocking on the door with an open palm. “Mikey? It's me. Hurry up.”

“What’s the password?”

Y/N almost had a heart attack when she heard Michael's voice - he was still alive. But why wasn't he letting them in? Was something wrong with him? Lucy caught the look Y/N was giving her. “We figured it would be good to, like, have a sign and countersign in case one of us wasn't - we didn't want to take a chance, alright? Don't panic, kid.” She turned to the door again. “Festinare.”

“Gravissime.” Michael's voice sounded tight, stressed.

“Habeo eius. Aperi ianuam.”

“Is that French?” Y/N asked, fingers tightening around the straps of her backpack. Lucy probably nodded, but by then Michael had opened the door and Y/N couldn't be asked to focus on anything else. He looked a wreck - he was just as bloody as Lucy, or worse. His shirt was soaked enough to stick to his skin, and his hair had some new red streaks she was sure didn't come from dye. All the way up to his elbows she could see where he had tried to clean it off.

“Thank fuck. Y/N.” Mikey said, putting one hand on her shoulder. “I'm so - come in, please. Thank you so much for coming.” His grip was strong, and he pulled her inside so fast she would have fallen over had Lucy not been right behind her.

“Sorry,” Lucy said, yanking the door shut behind her. “I'm just- Mikey, are you okay?” She coughed - she was probably breathless from fear.

Y/N watched Michael run a hand through his hair, leaving it even more blood-soaked. “Well, my sink’s not fuckin’ bleeding anymore, so that’s something. Things have quieted down, but it’s not - something doesn’t feel right. In here.”

Y/N could feel it, too. It was like a too-dark street and a close call with a kitchen knife and a jolt in the elevator all rolled into one just standing in his entryway. “Whatever you summoned is still around. We need to do something, and quick.” She said, letting the bag slide off her shoulders and reaching for the zipper. “Michael, do you have-” She was interrupted by the sound of Lucy coughing again, taking breaths that seemed to rattle on the way out.

“Sorry, I’m-” Lucy tried to explain, but covered her mouth as another coughing fit took over. “I’m fine, it’s just-” She started to cough again.

Something wasn’t right. Mikey was already in enough danger; Y/N had to protect her other friend right now. “Luce, go wait in the lobby. Michael can help me fix this.”

“No, Y/N, I-”

“You’ve already done enough. I can take it from here.”

Determination flashed in Lucy’s eyes. “No, I can stay, I can control this-” Lucy broke off into another violent set of coughs, and this time Y/N watched as she drew her hand away from her mouth with something thick and black on her fingers. Moving faster than she thought capable, Y/N grabbed her friend’s wrist as the ink slowly formed drips from her fingertips. Meeting Lucy’s eyes, she lost her grip for a second and couldn’t fucking breathe.

Lucy’s eyes were black, all the way through.

The wrist was yanked from her hand as Lucy fell to her knees, clawing at her throat. Strong hands wrapped around Y/N’s waist. Michael pulled her into his body as Y/N finally woke up and reached out to her friend. Lucy was screaming. Y/N had never heard Lucy scream before. She was trying to get to her feet but fell, and the second her back hit the ground it arched until Y/N thought she would snap. That black oil was pouring out of her mouth now, making a puddle on the floor. Mikey swore and started dragging Y/N away with a strength she didn’t know he had. Lucy collapsed again, shakily turning onto her stomach, still coughing like an elder god - how was she still breathing?

Y/N had been fighting Michael’s grip the whole time - she could help, she was a witch, chrissakes - but now she stopped, eyes wide. The puddle was drawing away from Lucy. It pulled along the floor, gathering itself like a video in reverse, almost boiling. It bubbled a few inches off the floor, then a foot, and with a sound like glass breaking everything went white and when Y/N blinked back into vision -

Fuck.

Lucy was still shaking on the floor. Standing over her was Calum, Michael’s roommate, in the centre of a black stain on the hardwood.

Y/N understood now.

The feeling of uneasiness she got around him. That slimey fuckin’ grin. The way Lucy had been nervous all night - she had chalked it up to the horror of the Ouija board, but it was that demon in Lucy's body, trying to trick her. The foreign mumbling at the door - it had been Latin. Y/N couldn’t believe she’d been so blind on Halloween.

Michael had gone still, too, and Y/N knew she didn’t have to look to see her own terror echoed on his face as that thing Calum stepped closer to Lucy. He looked irritated, although Y/N knew she should be thankful he wasn’t mad enough to set her friend on fire. “She takes a beating, but she just won't quit.” He stood over her and curled one hand in thin air. “I like that in a girl.” Lucy's body uncrumpled on the floor as her head, then shoulders, then torso began to rise up off the floor. Calum levitated her until the toes of her converse hung an inch off the floor.

Y/N couldn't have resisted Michael's grip if she had tried. Most demons didn't have enough power to boil a teaspoon of water. If Calum - whatever it called itself - could make Lucy hover like this they were in more trouble than she thought. The blood had been one thing, but this… “Y/N, breathe.” Michael whispered, so close to the shell of her ear she could feel his lips on it. She breathed. Wait, why was Michael holding her back? She was here to take care of this, and Satan or not that was what she was going to do.

“Michael,” She said very quietly as Lucy stirred and Calum mentioned something about being inside her, “I need you to go into the bedroom and shut the door and don't come out until I come get you.”

She felt his body shift to hold her tighter. “Fuck - no! I'm gonna protect you and I'm gonna protect Lucy once I figure out - you need to stay back.” Michael whispered frantically.

Y/N's stomach flipped when he said he'd protect her. She knew it couldn't happen, though, he'd die or worse, and she strained against his grip. “Michael, I know tonight's been weird but you have to trust me, I know what I'm doing and you'll only be in more danger if you stick around.”

“What’re you gonna do, Y/N, you can't kill a goddamn spider-”

“You can't stand up to him. You need to listen to me-”

“Don't be stupid-”

“I can save Lucy if you just let go, I-” Y/N was trying not to attract the demon’s attention, but Michael, he wouldn’t listen.

“What are you gonna do, Y/N?”

“I'm a witch!”

Y/N was released so suddenly she almost fell. She hadn't expected that to work, but it hadn't exactly helped. Calum's head snapped over to where Michael and Y/N had been arguing and with a flick of his wrist Lucy dropped to the ground so fast her head bounced on the hardwood.

Oh, shit. Just being in his line of sight felt like being pinned.

“I knew it.”

Y/N hated to turn her back on Calum, especially as Luce groaned and came too, but something in Michael's tone scared her more than that demon did. She glanced over her shoulder at him, but what she saw made her freeze and turn slowly to take him in.

Michael had changed. Y/N had been his friend since the start of the year, and she knew him, but this wasn't her Mikey. His relaxed slouch had disappeared; he looked about three inches taller. His shoulders looked not just broad but broad, giving him a dangerous frame. Nothing had changed - no, everything had changed. This wasn't Michael. This had to be someone else.

That was Y/N's hope, anyway, that he had been possessed, just like Lucy. What she saw in his eyes told her that couldn't be possible. They were so cruel. They weren’t hiding anything.

“I knew it.” Michael said. Even his voice had gotten deeper. “It had to be you. Lucy was too… fuck, you were clever. You hid it so well, little witch.”

Michael was a demon. Michael was a demon. And he knew. Y/N took a step back from him. “You've got power, Y/N, I can tell.” He continued with a smirk like a dagger. “Too bad you'll never be able to use it.”

Y/N was just trying to process. She was in a demon's lair - demons with power, obviously, who knew what she was. Demons she had considered friends. They'd kill her. But it was Michael. Fuck! She couldn't believe she'd had a crush on him.

Focus. She had to focus. She could get them out of here if she just - she had to think clearly, but it was hard when betrayal was still registering. “I can send you back to Hell. Or - or you can let Lucy and me leave and we'll call it even. No one gets hurt. Michael, come on, I know you're not like this.”

The demon Michael smiled properly, and it was worse than his smug little smirk. “Why would I do that, sweetheart? I've worked so hard to get you here and I'm not letting you go.” He was going to reach out any second now, Y/N knew, reach out and grab her and feed until only her body was left. Shit. That was if she was lucky.

“I came here ready for an exorcism, remember? It's Halloween, Michael. I'm stronger tonight. I can cast you out.” Y/N didn't hear any conviction in her voice, but Mikey as a human had been pretty stupid.

Michael's smile didn't falter. He leaned down, so that the space between them shrank and his nightmare eyes met hers. “I'm stronger, too.”

That was all Y/N could take. Her backpack was still in her hand, and she finally opened it, reaching for the stainless steel knife. “I wouldn't do that if I were you.” Calum's voice floated over, and she turned, fists closed tight around her weapons.

He'd scooped Lucy up from the ground and was holding her against him tight, with one arm wrapped around her waist. The other arm held her head back, so her throat was exposed. You could see an artery in her throat pounding like a small animal trapped under her skin. “See, you probably could send my friend to Hell, but then I'd have to slit poor Miss Lucy's throat and watch her choke on her own blood.” Lucy squirmed in his grip, but Calum moved his hand to close around her throat and that quieted her. Y/N shifted nervously, but Lucy didn't look like she was being strangled yet. Yet. “I don't really want to get into that tonight. So maybe you put the iron down and I'll maybe let your friend live, hm?”

Lucy wet her lips. “Don't do anything stupid, if he kills me I won't have to study-” Calum's hand tightened, and she fell silent with a little gasp for air.

The knife clattered to the floor. What choice did Y/N have?

Calum smiled wider. “Good girl.”

“Let her go.” Y/N said, trying to keep her voice even. She wasn't going to rise to this monster’s bait. “I did what you asked.”

Calum moved his hand away from Lucy’s neck to start stroking her hair. Lucy was clearly uncomfortable, but at least she was less likely to die. “Never said I'd let her go,” he said, in a voice meant to be casual. Lucy swore and started fighting in his arms again, but his hand tightened in her hair and yanked. “I won’t kill your pretty little friend, but I will make her wish I had if she doesn’t behave.” He continued, like he was telling Y/N what he liked on his sandwiches.

This was all wrong. It was happening too fast. Y/N was trapped and she’d put the girl who was, apparently, her only human friend in danger and the boy she had once liked wanted to kill her. They’d effectively disarmed her, and without that salt and iron Y/N didn’t like her chances. She still had power, but so did the demons, and she was fucking outnumbered. She found herself blinking back tears all of a sudden, trying to keep out of a panic. “Oh, for fuck’s sake.” Calum muttered, rolling his eyes. He started to drag Lucy back, ignoring her thrashing as they headed to his bedroom.

Demons didn’t sleep. Who knew what could be in there?

Y/N started to chase him mindlessly, still on the verge of tears. A hand wrapped around her wrist, jerking her back. She had almost forgotten about Michael, and now he was leering at her with anticipation. His wicked grin faltered a little when he saw her tears, but Y/N hated him for it; it was just a show to get her to trust him again. “Hey, hey, calm down, little witch. Show me your pretty smile.” He said, tugging her closer, but Y/N didn’t want to play that game. Crying wasn’t going to save her friend. Putting up a decent fight gave them both a chance.

She closed her eyes and reached for power inside her, feeling it tingle down her fingertips. Michael hissed, so she knew it was working, but his grip on her wrist only seemed to get tighter - Y/N had to grit her teeth to keep from making some pitiful sound. She focused. She wanted this to hurt. She thought of fire, lapping over her skin like water. She thought of brilliant white light. She held on to her anger and pushed with her mind.

“Fuck!” The demon cried, releasing her. Y/N opened her eyes.

Michael had taken a step back, and the hand he had used to grab her had changed. It was as if black ink had been injected into his veins - some coal-black lines went all the way to his elbow. Y/N didn’t have time to feel proud, though. With a growl, Michael pushed her with both hands, hard, and Y/N felt her feet leave the floor from the force of it. She hit the wall behind her with a thud that resonated through her body and an ache that followed. Before she could recover, Michael caught her wrists and pinned them to her sides.

I WAS HOPING TO PLAY NICE

Y/N cried out and closed her eyes. She had never heard a voice like that before - if she was even hearing it. Whatever Michael was doing jarred her bones, and she couldn’t help but fight his grip. That voice hurt. She couldn’t take it.

And Michael knew it.

“I was going to make a deal with you.” He continued, rage still seeping out of his voice. “Y/N, look at me. Look me in the eyes, love.” His grip tightened around her wrists again and she obeyed almost immediately, still shaken. He was so close to her she could feel the heat radiating off his body, so close his smile seemed grotesque.

“Good girl.” His hold on her wrists loosened. “Now. I don’t want to fight you. You’re a little too strong, Y/N, baby. We’d tear each other to pieces. So we’re gonna make a deal.”

“I-I’m not-”

QUIET

Y/N was quiet.

“We’re going to make a deal.” Michael repeated, taking a deep breath. When he met Y/N’s eyes again he was smiling like he had a plan. She shivered in his grip. “We’ve already agreed that as long as you don’t try to kill me, Calum won’t kill your friend. But if I’m going to let you go... I need something in return.”

Y/N could tell Michael knew what he wanted already. Deals with demons were dangerous, but… they could be evenly matched. A fight could kill them both. And she had to think about Lucy, too. “You can have a week off my life.” She said, forcing herself to hold his gaze. He just laughed and moved closer. His nose brushed hers. Y/N could feel herself start to pant.

“That’s very generous of you, little witch, but I won’t take that much from you. Surprised? I do have a heart, you know. At least, I used to. No, I don’t even want a day.”

Her heart had lept when he said he wouldn’t take much, but this sounded too good. Maybe Mikey had seemed nice, but demons weren’t kind; he had some plot twist waiting for her. “I’ll take just one night.” He said, smirking. That didn’t… that didn’t sound so bad.

“One night of you in my bed.”

Oh.

Y/N tugged against his hold on her, glaring, but the demon kept talking with his smooth voice. “I know you have a sweet little crush on me, baby. I know you want me. I’d go easy on you.” He dropped his voice to a sinful whisper. “Bet you’d like it.”

“Stop.” Y/N could feel herself blushing and she turned her face away.

“Bet you like being pushed around a little, being told what to do. Being my good girl. The boys on campus can’t quite do that for you, can they? I could.” Y/N’s cheeks were burning now, but that wasn’t all. “Maybe I’d have you ride my thigh until you’re shaking, but I wouldn’t let you cum, make you wait until you’d sucked Daddy’s cock to - oh, baby, you’re getting wet.”

Y/N had a fire in her belly and she didn’t know what it was from, but she let it come out as anger as she turned to face him. “I’m not.” She said, holding his gaze firmly.

His knee pressed itself between her legs, making her yelp and try to fight his grip again. He barely looked inconvenienced. He leaned in until his lips brushed against her ear. “You shouldn’t lie to your Daddy, sweetheart. I can smell it on you.”

Y/N wanted sorely to deny it. She really did. But she knew what she liked and apparently, so did Michael, because she could feel her pulse pounding through every part of her. Would it be so crazy to agree? Sex with a demon didn’t automatically get you possessed, she was pretty sure, and - okay, maybe on a night when she’d had a little too much to drink she’d thought about Michael and how his ever-present stubble would feel against her neck, between her thighs. It was… unconventional, but if it saved her life… plus it had kind of been a while, she'd be honest, and demons were literally meant for sin, it probably wouldn't be bad-

“Okay,” she murmured. She closed her eyes.

She expected him to just rush in then, but there wasn't some crushing kiss. He didn't grope her - he eased up on her wrists, actually. She opened her eyes again, slowly now. He was still looking at her, but his smile had eased up a little; there were less teeth in it. When she gathered the courage to meet his eyes something had changed. “Was it the daddy thing? Was that what did it?” His teasing tone was different, too. It was light. Before it had been bleeding dark and mean.

“...shut up.” She mumbled, a little cautiously. She had just agreed to be his for a night; she didn’t know what the fuck kind of rules he was going to come up with. He didn’t try to hit her, though, so maybe that was good. He smiled instead. Maybe that was worse, but right now, looking at it, Y/N didn’t think so.

“No, it’s cute. Whatever floats your boat, Y/N. Sorry about the push, by the way, but - to be fair you weren’t exactly going easy on me.” He winked as he let go of her wrists (although his knee was still in between hers and dangerously high).

Y/N wasn’t going to get caught up in this again. If the old Michael had been talking to her this way she knew she would have melted a little, but she had to forget about that. “You’ll let Lucy go. Forever. You and Calum. No chasing her.”

“I - what? I wasn’t exactly planning on getting Luce into this, although if that’s what you’re into then-”

“No.” The harshness of her voice surprised both of them. “I’m not joking. You let her go, you leave her alone, you let her walk out of here unharmed. If I-I sleep with you. Those are my terms.” Y/N wasn’t falling for any of their stupid tricks again.

Michael looked a little annoyed, but none of that nightmare anger flashed across his face. He took a very deep breath, probably because demons were assholes and he knew that making this deal was killing her. “In the morning. Sunrise. We’ll let you both leave. I swear.”

Y/N relaxed, just a little. Okay. Okay. “And Calum can’t hurt her in the meantime.”

“That’s - yeah, okay, that’s fair. Calum!” Michael yelled, turning away from Y/N.

Calum poked his head out of the bedroom, frowning. Was he not wearing a shirt? “I’m a little busy, Mikey.”

“I’m making a deal with Y/N, you have to let Lucy go at sunrise.”

Calum cocked his head, looking Y/N over. It felt like being searched at the airport. “...yeah, alright.” He started to head back into the bedroom, and that was when Y/N saw the scratch on his cheek. Maybe she didn’t need to worry so much about Lucy.

“And you can’t hurt her.” Michael said, in a voice that bordered on the dangerous tone he had used on Y/N.

That got Calum to stop. “But I - what am I supposed to do, she’s already tried to stab me like three times -”

“You’re six hundred years old, Calum, figure it out.” Michael rolled his eyes, giving Y/N a “can you believe this idiot” kind of look that she felt all too tempted to enjoy. Calum huffed and closed the door with a jolt.

Y/N knew it was stupid to trust a demon, but there were certain rules they had to follow. As long as she held up her end of the deal, Lucy would be safe.

Oh, shit. Her end of the deal.

Y/N looked back at Michael. He wasn’t smirking at her anymore, and he wasn’t trying to mentally undress her - at least, as far as she could tell. That had to be good. Or bad, maybe, it wasn’t like she had experience with this. “Try not to look so eager, princess.” He drawled, finally pulling his knee out from between her legs. “I’m gonna go easy on you. Start you off slow.” He stepped back, giving Y/N room to breathe for a second.

She thought about running as Michael surveyed the apartment, but only for a moment. It would only make him angry, and besides, they still had Lucy. Maybe it didn’t look like it, but she was just as trapped as she had been with her wrists in his grip. It made her anxious, though, to see him being calculating. She didn’t want this to be so satisfying to him. “What are you doing?” She asked, after a silence that felt like ages.

“Hmm? Oh, I was just - dunno where to start us off, since I’ve thought about fuckin’ you on, like, every flat surface in here.” Michael said. Y/N heard herself gasp. She couldn’t help it. He turned to look at her, smiling a little. “You’re pretty when you blush.”

“I- thanks.” She said lamely, still trying to process what he had said. Was he gonna try to do something crazy with her? Did she want him to? Maybe she’d better try to head this off at the pass. “One night in your bed was the deal, I’m not - I’m not gonna do you on the coffee table.” Her voice shook, although Michael looked pleasantly surprised despite that.

“Alright, alright. You’ve got some bite in you, Y/N, can’t believe I didn’t see it before.” Michael had the audacity to look fond, and that was what finally pushed Y/N over from fear to anger. “My smart little witch.” Michael continued.

“I’m not your anything.”

Y/N had been feeling a little bit better about this ordeal until Michael gave her that look. “That’s where you’re wrong, Y/N. You’re mine for the next six hours, and I’m not gonna stand around talking till my time runs out. So.” Y/N squeaked as he caught her waist, lifting her up and spinning her around to sit her on the counter. “Why don’t you kiss me?”

“This isn’t your bed,” Y/N said, but as Michael’s hands tightened around her waist again she leaned in and gave him a kiss on the lips, just a little one. His hands stilled.

She drew back fully, leaning far enough to take him all in. His lips had been warmer than she had ever thought. Not that she had- shit.

He had planted his hands on either side of her body, and as she watched him he reached out to gently hold her chin. She steeled herself; she didn’t pull away. “It’s a start, babygirl.” He smiled, and then he leaned in and Y/N’s world went electric. He started slow, like he had said, but his lips were giving and insistant when they pressed against hers. She had been worried that he’d try to shove his tongue down her throat or taste like blood, but he was just all soft and he still smelled like his cologne. She’d thought about this - not, like, in specifics, just - this was better.

It didn’t take long for him to deepen the kiss and tug her in closer, still keeping his grip on her chin. She moved with him. His free hand found hers blindly and closed around it, pulling it up to Michael’s hair as he pressed closer to her. Y/N could figure out what he wanted, so she tangled her fingers in his hair as he pressed closer, close enough that their chests brushed. Fuck, she wished she could hate him for this. He was hot as hell - just the contact of his mouth made her feel like she was burning up. She didn't want to kiss him back completely, but she wasn’t dead in his arms, either; she didn’t know if she could help it. Just as his arm wrapped around his waist and pulled her in, she used her grip on his hair to gently (mostly) tug his mouth away from hers for some air. The kiss had been almost sweet, but she was already short of breath.

Michael wasn’t, though. His cheeks were pink, but he looked at Y/N with oceans of calm. “You're… something. You really are.” He was still holding her chin, and he ran his thumb along the side of her jaw in a way that she wasn't stupid enough to call tender. “I'm gonna wreck you tonight.” He said so gently she almost shook.

Fuck.

Michael drew her in for one last kiss - just a peck, really, it was almost innocent. He took her hands and helped her off the counter, which Y/N didn't mind because her legs were feeling a little wobbly. As he lead her through the apartment, he turned and gave her a little smile over his shoulder.

“I might be a demon, but I’ll have you calling God’s name tonight.”

Y/N blinked.

She was so fucked.

#mc one shot #mc blurb #michael clifford one shot #michael clifford blurb #my writing #one shot #okay now we should be under the cut so i'm gonna add the fun tags #witch!reader #demon!michael #sorry i couldn't write them boning #it just was Not Good #for any of us #and i feel bad not posting anything for a while #so here we are

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