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hbyrde36 · 9 months

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Life is a Game (and True Love is a Trophy)

Chapter 5

Ch 1 Ch 2 Ch 3 Ch 4 ao3 link

*Eddie - 1986*

As soon as he entered the library, Eddie scanned the room for Chrissy’s familiar strawberry-blonde ponytail. It didn't take long to spot her, and when their eyes met she waved him over to where she sat alone at a table in the back corner.

He took the chair catty-corner to her and set his lunchbox up on the table, unpacking his sandwich right away. He wasn’t surprised to see her sitting there with no food, even though it was lunchtime. He’d noticed she often sat in the cafeteria with nothing in front of her, trying to look like she was too busy talking with her friends to eat. It was worrying, and he wondered if anyone else noticed.

Chrissy smiled, looking at him expectantly as he settled in.

“This might sound weird, but, uh, I've been thinking a lot lately about Steve’s disappearance. Sort of looking into it, actually, and there’s some things that aren't really adding up.” He cringed at himself, already half regretting bringing this up to her at all. “Sorry, I probably sound like a total freak right now”

She shook her head adamantly. “No, Eddie. I think it’s nice. Steve might have been popular, but I don't think he had a lot of true friends, no one who was really there for him. I mean, look at what happened. He’s gone, and it’s like no one cares! His parents never even came home after the school reported him missing, isn’t that awful?”

Eddie blinked rapidly as her words sank in. “Wait, I always assumed his parents were the ones who discovered him missing?”

“No. We’ve been neighbors for years, well, we were neighbors, I guess. As soon as Steve began high school his parents started traveling. They were hardly ever home. It wasn’t until he missed a few days of school that the police got involved.”

“Do you remember noticing anything out of the ordinary in the neighborhood around that time?” Eddie asked.

Chrissy flashed him a weak smile, but quickly dropped her gaze to where her hands rested on the table as she spoke. “I think maybe, yeah. It didn’t seem all that weird at the time, but on Easter Sunday that year, I was sitting on the porch with my mom watching my little sister have an egg hunt in the front yard. I saw Steve come out of his house with a girl. She was young and she had really short hair. I only saw them for a minute, they got right in his car and left. I assumed she was a relative visiting for the holiday or something. Honestly, I was just happy he had someone to keep him company for once. I didn’t realize until the next day that he never came home. I still didn’t think much of it at first, he could have been away for the break or something, but later, when it was announced that he was missing, I knew something was wrong.”

“Did you tell anyone about it?” He had to ask. He could almost understand Nancy being overlooked, but if the police hadn’t interviewed Steve’s neighbors?

“Yea, Hopper came around door-to-door the first day of the search, asking if anyone knew anything. I told him about that day, and the girl. He said he’d follow up, but I don't know if anything ever came of it.”

Eddie recalled Hopper saying things were out of his hands now, that the government was handling it. Had the chief told them Chrissy’s story?

He thought of the photo hidden away in his wallet, but hesitated, wondering if it was safe to show her. She did seem to genuinely want to help, and what harm could it really do.

Eddie glanced around to make sure no one was paying them any attention before pulling the polaroid out and sliding it across the table.

“Is that the girl you saw?”

Chrissy peered down at the picture, eyes growing wide.

“That’s her!” She gasped. “Where did you get this?”

“I think, maybe it's better if I don’t tell you.” Eddie pulled the photo back, quickly tucking it away again. “It wasn’t anything bad, I promise.” He added quickly, not wanting to come off like a creep. “I just don’t want anyone else getting in trouble, so, the less you know the better.”

She reached over and patted him on the hand. “It’s fine, Eddie. I get it.”

“Thanks, and, um, would you mind not telling anyone that I asked you about this?”

She smiled at him warmly. “Your secret is safe with me. I’m just glad someone cares enough to keep looking for him. Steve was a sweetheart deep down, even if he didn’t always show it. “

The bell rang and they both got up. Chrissy could have taken off, but she hovered, waiting for Eddie to gather his things so they could walk out together.

“If you ever want to talk again, I'm here. About this or anything else, ok?”

“Sure thing, Cunningham. I’ll see you around.”

He didn’t know what he’d done to endear himself to the cheerleader, but he was glad for it. Maybe they really could be friends.

This was a bad idea, arguably worse than breaking into Steve Harrington's house, but Eddie had spent the whole afternoon thinking over everything he’d learned from Chrissy. It just sounded so odd. Even shitty parents had to show up when their kids disappeared, right? If only for appearances sake, at least. This whole thing about the girl was really gnawing at him too. Hopper was going to be pissed, but at least Eddie was coming right to him with it, and not running wild around town or whatever the fuck everyone was so worried about him doing.

It was weird going into the police station on his own two feet. Eddie always figured his first time inside would involve being hauled in wearing handcuffs, not him walking in voluntarily and politely asking the secretary if he could see the chief.

Hopper was out, apparently, but Eddie wasn’t in a hurry. He didn’t have anywhere to go but home, and this was important. Finally, after about 40 minutes, the man he’d been waiting to see came walking through the door. He frowned down at where Eddie sat and quickly hauled him up by the arm, marching him straight into an office. Hop closed the door and the blinds, which seemed like overkill but Eddie wasn’t gonna call him on it.

“What are you doing here, kid?” Hopper leaned back in his chair, lighting up a cigarette that quickly filled the small room with smoke.

“I know you told me to drop it, but I was talking to Chrissy Cunningham today and…”

Hopper slammed a hand down on the desk. “That’s right. I DID tell you to drop it. So why are you out there interrogating witnesses?!”

“I wasn’t interrogating her. We’re in school together, I bumped into her in the hallway and we got to talking. We’re.. friends.”

The older man almost cracked a smile. “You, Eddie Munson, are friends with Chrissy Cunningham?”

Eddie glared. “Believe me or don’t, chief, I don't care. She told me what she saw. Did you even look for this girl? Try and figure out who she is? Is she missing too?”

Hopper blew out a long plume of smoke, stubbing the cigarette out in the very full ashtray that rested on his desk. “Eddie, you have to let this go. I’m sure you mean well, but you don’t know what you’re doing.”

“I may not know what I’m doing but at least I care enough to try!”

“It’s not that I don’t care, kid, it’s out of my jurisdiction. There are things at play here that you don’t understand.” Hopper sighed, massaging his temples. “Look, I think you need to talk to Wayne about this.”

Eddie wrinkled his nose. “Wayne? What does he have to do with anything?”

“I have a lot of paperwork to catch up on. I’d ask if you need a ride home but I saw your monstrosity of a van out in the parking lot.”

It was a clear dismissal. Eddie wanted to keep arguing but knew it would be a waste of time. He stalked out of the office, slamming the door behind him.

Eddie got home just in time to catch Wayne before he left for his shift at the plant. He'd gone back and forth about it for the whole drive home, whether he’d mention his visit to the police station or not. Apparently Hopper had made the decision for him. Eddie’s foot was barely in the door when it started.

“Chief called.” Wayne said gruffly. He was standing in the kitchen by the door as if he’d been waiting on Eddie’s arrival. “I thought you were done with this, Ed?”

“Well I'm not!” Eddie snapped.

It was probably a little harsher than his uncle deserved, but Eddie was well and truly pissed off now. How dare Hopper call and rat him out. He was legally an adult for Christ’s sake!

“Do you know what I found out today?” Eddie seethed. “His fucking parents didn’t even know he was gone, Wayne, and once they found out they apparently didn’t give a shit. No one in this goddamn town seems to give a shit!”

“Ed..” Wayne looked taken aback by his attitude, and honestly, Eddie was a little surprised at himself too. He didn’t realize how upset he’d become about the whole thing. He wasn’t sure when his curiosity had become something so much more.

“What if it was me?” Eddie pushed. “Would you ever stop looking if something happened to me?”

“Of course not.” Wayne quickly replied. “But that’s different, you’re my boy.”

Eddie deflated a little at the reminder that maybe it wasn’t his place to do this. Maybe he was overstepping, but he just couldn’t let it go.

“I have to go, i’ll see you in the morning.” Eddie muttered, turning on his heel and straight out the door he’d just come through.

He speed walked to his van, pretending not to hear his uncle calling after him to stop. He needed to get out of there, take a drive, find somewhere to sit and think or something.

Eddie had never been a hike through the woods kinda guy. Though he’d never been to one, he always thought of himself as more of a city person. The anonymity that could be had in a place like that, where the population was so enormous, was intriguing. As well as the prospect of said population being a bit more open-minded than their small town counterparts.

He didn’t really know why he stopped at the pull off. The one closest to the trail that would lead him right to Skull Rock. He blamed Dustin and his stupid list for putting the idea in his head. The walk was longer than he expected, and by the time he reached the base of the rock formation, he had to take a seat and catch his breath.

He supposed it was as good a spot as any to sit and sulk about his day. Being in this place did weirdly make him feel close to the missing boy. Just knowing there was a chance that, in another time, Steve might have sat right where he was sitting now. Realistically, he’d probably had a girl here with him at the time, but Eddie decided to ignore that part of it, instead choosing to picture Steve right there, back up against the rock, smoking a cigarette from the pack in his jacket.

It was quiet out there in the woods. Usually Eddie hated the quiet, he’d much rather blow his eardrums out with a good metal mixtape than commune with the sounds of nature, but something about this moment just felt right. Like he’s exactly where he should be for once.

Eventually, it starts getting dark, and Eddie knows he needs to head out soon, otherwise he might have trouble getting back to the van. He decided to have one more smoke before making his way back through the trees. He lit up and pushed himself to his feet, arching his back to stretch until something made a satisfying pop.

The sound echoed, which was weird. Then it happened again, and Eddie realized it was the sound of branches snapping under foot. His heart raced. He didn't know whether to check it out or run in the opposite direction. He stood there, frozen in indecision, until a figure came bursting through the brush.

*Steve - 1985/1986*

El didn’t hide things from Steve anymore, no matter what Brenner said or threatened. Neither of them wanted to risk being caught unaware again, and so they made a promise to each other. No secrets.

It was Christmas 1985 when Steve figured it out. Honestly he felt a little like an idiot for not realizing it sooner, but that was nothing new for him. Feeling like he’s ten steps behind everyone else was kind of his default setting.

Steve had thought this holiday would pass like all the others during their time in the lab, with barely any acknowledgement from the various doctors, scientists, and staff. But Owens, it seemed, was determined to prove he was a good guy, or at least that he wasn’t as bad as the rest of them. He brought in a small 3ft tall christmas tree, which Brenner begrudgingly allowed to be placed in the rainbow room. It had lights but no ornaments. That was fine, Steve taught El how to make paper chains that they draped around it instead.

Since they had no way to buy gifts, Steve and El drew really bad portraits of each other, giggling as they shared them. All while enjoying one last surprise from the doc, a huge thermos full of hot chocolate.

Steve had been sitting on his realization all day, not wanting to ruin the mood when they were actually having a good time for once, But eventually it started getting late, and he knew they wouldn't have long before being forced back to their rooms.

Without a word, he got up from the table they’d been sitting at and moved over to the chess station. It had become their code for when one of them needed to have a serious conversation. One they needed to be sure wasn’t overheard. He waited for her to join him at the board and slowly moved out his first pawn.

“I think I know what Brenner’s doing, what he’s really had you looking for all this time.” Steve said, smiling brightly, the expression not at all matching the grave tone of his words.

Eleven returned his smile, letting them each make a few more moves before she replied.

“He says we are just exploring this new world, and making sure the creatures stay there. Sometimes he asks me to watch people over here though, the ones who speak differently, like at the mall.”

“The Russians, yea. I think that’s mainly about trying to make sure they don’t get ahead of us with technology, and that they're not trying to open another gate. That’s not what I mean.”

“What do you think it is?”

Steve hesitated, suddenly doubting himself. “It might be dumb, I could be wrong.”

She started to reach out to him, almost breaking character, before dropping her hand back down to her side. “You are smarter than you think, Steve. Please tell me.”

“I think it’s Henry. I think Brenner suspects that One is still alive in there and wants you to find him.”

He watched as the idea sank in, as she ran through her mental catalog of every interaction with the lab, every conversation with Papa. “If he is alive, he won’t be the same. He was bad before but if he has been living with monsters all this time…”

“He’ll be so much worse” Steve finished for her.

“Why would they want me to find him?”

“I don’t know. It seems like asking for trouble to me.” Steve would like to think that they wanted to find the guy in order to eliminate him as a threat, but somehow that didn’t sound like a Brenner move.

“What do we do?”

Steve chewed his lip. “Now that you know what you’re looking for, it should be easy to avoid it, right?”

“Yeah, maybe.”

A few months passed without incident, and Steve started to relax. Either their plan was working or his theory was wrong. He was glad for it either way.

He was marking the days off on his calendar when he realized they had missed an important milestone. It had been two years since they were caught and taken back to the lab. The anniversary had passed a little over a week before. His heart sank.

Two.

Years.

Two years, and he was no closer to getting them out of there than he was on day one.

Steve wondered if El realized it and just hadn’t said anything, or if she’d be just as caught off guard as he was. He knew she was with Owens today, so he could go see her right now if he wanted to.

It took twenty minutes for him to find a guard available to take him to the right floor, but at least the guy didn’t hover. He let Steve off the elevator and then went back about his business. It had taken some time after his possession for the lab’s personnel to relax around him again, but finally things were getting back to normal.

Steve was almost to the door of Owens’ office when he heard a gut-wrenching primal scream. He knew without a doubt that it was Eleven. He burst through the door, almost crashing into the doctor’s back.

Owens didn’t even turn around, he was staring up at El, who was floating several feet in the air. Blood ran down her face in streaks, and it wasn’t just coming from her nose this time. Her eyes and ears were also bleeding freely. She had one hand raised up in front of her, the same way she did when she needed to really focus her powers. It looked like she was fighting something only she could see.

Steve shook the doctor's shoulders, shouting. “What’s happening? How do we help her?”

The man finally turned, but before he could say a word, El went limp and dropped like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Steve lunged, only half catching her and just barely managing to cushion her fall.

“I don’t know what happened.” Owens said, dragging a hand over his face. “One minute we were talking and suddenly she just stopped responding. Her eyes…”

Steve got a solid grip on Eleven and stood up, cradling her to his chest.

“I should call Brenner.” The doctor murmured to himself. “Steve, can you take her up to the infirmary? I’ll meet you both there as soon as I can.”

He didn’t wait for a response before pulling a chair up and dialing. Something swung from the pocket of a coat sling over the back of the chair, catching Steve’s attention. It was a key card hanging from a retractable lanyard.

Steve didn’t think twice, he snatched it up while Owen's back was still turned and palmed it before walking out the door. He was met in the hall by the same guard who had brought him up. He let the guy take them down to the infirmary, which was on the same floor as his room, as well as the service elevators that he knew went all the way to the ground floor. He had a key, now all he needed was a distraction.

Luck was on their side twice that day, because the moment they stepped off the elevator, the building’s alarm started to go off. The guard pointed, urging Steve to continue down the hall, then he got back in the elevator to go off and deal with whatever was going wrong now.

Steve knew this was their moment, it was now or never, best chance they were gonna get. He ran to his room, El still cradled in his arms. She roused a little and he was able to coax her to wrap arms and legs around him. It would be much easier to run with her that way. He grabbed the bat he still kept next to his desk, it was the best he could do for a weapon.

He ran the length of the corridor, skidding to stop at the other set of elevators. Steve swiped the key card and to his relief the doors opened instantly.

It felt like ages before they reached the ground floor, but in reality it couldn’t have been more than a minute or two. He tapped his foot impatiently the entire way, praying no one was watching the cameras.

The doors slid open and Steve took a tentative step out. Someone spoke nearby and he froze, it was the last voice he wanted to hear in that moment. He thought they were done for. Brenner was facing away from them, but Owens, who he was standing there speaking with, was looking directly at them.

Owens tensed but allowed the Brenner to continue without interrupting. Steve didn't know what to do. He stood there frozen for a handful of seconds until he noticed the doc subtly gesturing towards the emergency exit door with his head.

Steve nodded dumbly and backed toward it, not taking his eyes off the pair of men until they were around a corner and hidden by the wall.

He carefully pushed the door open with his hip. The alarm was already going off, so he didn't need to worry about that, but the metal arm on the door sounded loud to his ears, in his tense and anxious state.

No sooner were they outside, breathing their first mouthful of fresh air in far too long, than the alarm changed pitch, indicating the building was going into lockdown. He’d gotten them out just in time, with not a minute to spare.

Steve took in their surroundings. The building was flanked by trees, which would provide excellent cover for their escape, but it was also completely enclosed by a tall chain link fence. He wasn’t sure how he’d get them both over it.

He shook Eleven gently as he walked towards the perimeter.

“El honey, I need you to wake up. We have to climb the fence and I don't think I can carry you over it. Please…”

She stirred, blinking her eyes open, and threw a hand out towards the barrier. Steve never got used to seeing El using her powers. He watched, slack-jawed, as an unseen force separated the links in a line that went about 7 feet up.

She sagged back against him and Steve squeezed her tight. He curled himself around her as he pushed through the narrow opening, scratching the hell out of his arms in the process, but thankfully leaving her untouched.

Steve ran as fast as he could, for as long as he could. He wasn’t in as good a shape as he used to be, the lab didn’t exactly have a gym facility, and El wasn’t as small as she used to be either. He managed as best he could, ignoring the burn in his lungs and biceps, as well as the sting from the scratches that still trickled blood.

When he couldn’t go another step, and felt like they were far enough away, Steve finally stopped to take a break. He carefully set Eleven down on the ground, leaning her up against a downed tree before plopping down next to her to catch his breath.

Steve rested his head in his hands and tried to think. It would start getting dark soon, but he didn’t know where to go. Home wasn’t an option. The lab knew his full name so it wasn’t a stretch to assume they knew his address too. Besides, he’d been gone for two years now, who knew if that house even was his home anymore.

He gasped in surprise when two small hands wrapped themselves around his wrists, pulling them away from his face. He hadn’t heard her wake up. El was looking him over with concern, appearing much more lucid than she had been before.

“You are hurt.” She said, fingers hovering over the smattering of small wounds on his arms.

“It’s nothing, I'm much more worried about you. What happened back there?”.

“It was Henry, One. He.. found me. I was here, and then I was somewhere else. Like the dark place, except it was different.” Her eyes grew more and more haunted as she spoke. “It was awful, Steve. He does not look like a man anymore, but he is not like the faceless monsters either, and he is so angry. He has been trying to find a way out, but every time he comes close I get in the way. It’s been him, this whole time. The creatures are part of him, he’s seen things. He knew your name.”

Steve gathered her up in a crushing hug, both of them shaking. For the first time he’s afraid that running away might have been a mistake. What if Henry tried for her again? He wouldn’t have the first idea how to help, or how to stop it, but the lab...

No, he couldn’t worry about that right now. He needed to find them some form of shelter to at least get through the night.

There was a rough trail not far from where they were resting, and Steve was pretty sure it would lead them to Skull Rock. It wasn’t a perfect solution but it would provide some cover. He hadn’t come at it from this direction before, but it made sense considering the side of town the lab was in. Steve wasn't exactly a boy scout or anything, but he always had a good sense of direction.

El insisted she could walk. Steve tried to protest but it was half hearted at best. He was utterly exhausted.

Steve smiled when he spotted the top of the rock, but slowed his steps as they got closer and he caught a whiff of cigarette smoke. Shit. He hadn’t expected anyone to be out here. He tip-toed closer, trying to make as little noise as possible, but was sure he stepped on a twig or two anyway. He heard the jangle of chains and his heart shot into his throat. Steve could only think of one person in Hawkins who wore chains. It couldn’t be.

He peaked through a small gap in the bushes and spotted a familiar head of dark curly hair. It was a little longer than he remembered, but unmistakable. If the boy was anything like Steve remembered from school, someone who regularly stood up to defend others and had a habit of adopting any outcast he came upon, then he was sure they could trust him to help.

Steve turned, ready to warn El that they had company, but instead, for the second time that day, he was just in time to catch her as she fainted. He knew walking all this way was going to be too much.

He cradled her in his arms and pushed through the last of the brush separating them from the rock.

The other boy went deathly pale, blinking hard several times as he stared at the new arrivals.

“Harrington? Is that really you?”

Steve felt a surge of sympathy for the guy, he knew they must be a sight, covered in blood and dirt.

“Eddie, please. I need your help”

Chapter 6

@penny00dreadful @buckleybarnes @steddie-there @yeahhhh-suga @goinsteddie @brbsoulnomming @the-s-is-silent @paintsplatteredandimperfect @estrellami-1 @herebedragons404 @epiclazershark @iaminmultiplefandoms @adaed5 @mentallyundone @hardboiledleggs @hotshot9 @manda-panda-monium @ellietheasexylibrarian @stxrcrossed186 @5ammi90 @meccaminayah @bestwifehaver @sofadofax

#steddie fanfic #stranger things #steve harrington #eddie munson #ao3 #steddie #canon is just a crazy game of d&d #sort of #eddie munson and dustin henderson are cousins #steve harrington and eleven taking care of eachother #life is a game

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katierosedreams2 · 4 months

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My new favorite Christmas gift

“Oh my god I love this so much!!” Emma said, letting out a little scream of joy as she took my photo of me going up the escalator at the mall. “I can not believe just how right I was about you Alexa!! Your body is so girly!! No one would ever know you're actually a boy!! I can’t believe I have my own life-size doll!! This is my new favorite Christmas gift I could ever get!!” She continued, not even trying to hide her joy. I guess I should explain exactly how I got here.

Emma is my stepsister. We're the same age, well she’s older by a few months. Our parents married about ten years ago now. My stepdad was almost never around, and when he was, he would take my mom on some trip or off on some date. He wanted nothing to do with me, much like my own dad who walked out on my mom and me when I was pretty young. A few years later, when I was eight, my mom remarried. She had always wished I was a girl and constantly told me about how she had always wanted a daughter. When she met my stepdad and Emma she just fell in love with Emma and was so happy to have her as a daughter. As I got older, I realized how my mom never let me do topical “boy” stuff. I was only allowed to have girls as friends, watch girly movies, and sometimes she even bought me a jacket or top or pants that were a girl's but were "just too cute to pass up". She so desperately wanted a girl. And once she got Emma she immediately started to spoil her with all kinds of clothes, shoes, make up. She even gave her the bigger bedroom. She pretty much got whatever she wanted.

My weird requirements didn’t go away when that happened. They just got worse. I had to join Emma in ballet and cheerleading all the way through high school. I was forced to join Emma and her friends, not allowed to have friends of my own. I wasn’t allowed to have short “boy” hair either. And most of my clothes were just plain generic men's clothes. I hardly owned anything, most of money went to Emmas' wardrobe. Don't get me wrong, my mom is very nice and loving. She is kind and caring and hasn’t completely ignored me, but it also isn’t a surprise that Emma is her favorite. When we were much younger, my mom and Emma used to have “makeover days” where my mom would teach Emma how to do her make up and dress and move like a lady.

Emma and I got along right away and were always close. I think she could see how my mom favored her over me and she kind of felt bad about that. She would often try to include me in everything she could so I wouldn’t feel left out. She would often convince me to join her and my mom on their “makeover days” and I would. My mom always seemed to treat me differently once they had finished putting makeup on me. She seemed to love me more and treat me better. Emma also loved being able to treat me like a doll. She loved dolls and always wanted to dress me up and have me be a “life-size doll”. I would always fight that. It was bad enough that my mom wanted me to be a girl, it was even worse that my stepsister and closest friend also wanted me to be one too!

Christmas was always tough because Emma got just about anything she asked for, not just for Christmas but for the rest of the year too. So I always sucked at getting her gifts. It was always some gift card to some place she liked. Over the last few years, my mom has gotten really sick of it. This year she had gotten so upset that she said now that I’m eighteen years old she would kick me out of the house if I did not step it up and get Emma something truly meaningful. Now I had no job, and was going to the local community college because I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. My parents were very wealthy and while I did have the smallest room in the house, it was still a big room and an incredible house. Also, I know that rent is crazy high, so I wasn’t really excited about the thought of leaving. I told my mom that I would get her a great gift, and then forgot all about our conversation.

I was getting quite distracted with this new friend I had made, Becka. She was one of Emma's friends. She had met in one of her classes and I had a huge crush on her. It broke my heart when Emma told me that Becka thought that her “gay stepbrother” was so much fun. I wasn’t gay. I'm not exactly why so many people have mistaken me as gay throughout my life. I asked Emma if she had corrected her about that, but she said no, that the conversation just moved on, and she thought it would be weird to just bring it back up. Becka also hadn’t brought it up to me directly, so I thought it would be weird to just throw that out there. So I tried to see if, over time, I could convince her that not only was I straight, but that I was into her. We talked a bunch, and she often invited me to hang out with her and Emma. But soon after that conversation with my mom, Becka started asking me to just hand out even when Emma was busy.

I, of course, was super excited to spend time with her, just the two of us. She was a lot more touchy-feely with me. Constantly holding my hand or putting her arm around my waist. She was also a lot more personal with the things she shared and would act flirtatiously with me even! It never came up that she thought I was gay, but I was suspicious that she still might think I was. She would constantly send me things, like clothes, shoes, nails, makeup, or hairstyles and ask what I thought about them. I wasn’t sure if that was because she still might think I was gay though. She did seem really satisfied with my answers, but I’ve been having those conversations with my mom and Emma my whole life. So maybe I just had a good eye for that stuff? Or maybe she wanted to see what I liked, so she could look good for me? That thought got me wondering about that even more and I desperately wanted to know the answer. So this just led to us hanging out and talking even more.

Emma and my mom both noticed that I had taken an interest in Becka, unlike any of the other gal friends I had in the past. Emma thought that it was good that I was finally having "girl" talk all on my own. My mom seemed to agree and they both seemed to encourage our interactions. Before I knew it, however, it was the week of Christmas and I realized I hadn’t gotten Emma anything! I started to panic because I had no idea what to get her! I looked through every single online store I knew she liked, often asking Becka what her thoughts were about this skirt, or dress, or shoes or something. But Becka would point out that most of them wouldn’t make it in time for Christmas. I had told her about the ultimatum my mom had given me, and Becka was surprised I had given her such bad gifts. She said I had such great taste and clearly cared for Emma. She said that no clothes could be meaningful enough to make up for all the years I gave such bad gifts. I needed to do better.

She encouraged me to think back over all the years and see if there was anything that Emma always wanted but never got. If I could get her that, then I would give her a gift that would be truly meaningful. It took me awhile, going back in my mind over every purse, top, heels, makeup, everything I could think of that she wanted through the years. Just to realize she had gotten them all. There was nothing I could think of. And then I saw an ad for a “makeover day” from some salon, and I remembered all of those days my Mom Emma and I used to do. How she always wanted to dress me up and be her doll. I decided that it was free, quick, and meaningful. After all, it was the gift she always wanted and never got. It was the gift my Mother had always wanted too, she just never asked for it directly. She loved Emma, and was so glad to have her as a daughter, but she still truly wished that I had been born a girl. So I thought it would be my gift to them both. Emma could have her doll for the day and my mom could have her second daughter for the day. All I would have to do is wear some makeup and some girls' clothes for the day around the house, and they would both be happy.

So a few days before Christmas I wrote a card to Emma saying that I would be her doll and that she could dress me up however she wanted and I'd do whatever she wanted. In hindsight, I should have worded that very differently. I though shed put some makeup on me, have me try on a few things, see how silly I looked, and then we would just hang around and watch some Christmas movies or something. I also wrote a card to my Mom and told her that I would be Emmas' doll to dress up and command and that I would also be her “daughter” too. We could have a nice time just the three of us and have a special dinner. I knew my stepdad was out of the country for the rest of the year working and wouldn't be home.

I gave them both the cards that morning with the coffee I had prepared for them. They both looked at me suspiciously as I brought them their coffees on a tray with my handmade letters. They both took their coffees and had a sip, then proceeded to both read my cards. As they read, both of their jaws dropped almost in unison as the joy and realization of what I had just given them washed over their minds. They both looked at each other in shock. “Oh MY GOD!!! NO WAY!! I FINALLY GET TO MAKE YOU MY DOLL AFTER ALL THESE YEARS!!!” Emma screamed with excitement and she started to cry. The reality of all these years wanting and finally getting was almost too much. My mother was already crying. You could tell she was in a storm of emotions. She felt bad and guilty for wishing I was a girl, but grateful for this opportunity and excited to have me as one of her daughters. They both hugged me together and cried. I couldn’t believe just how big of a gift this actually was to them.

After a good cry and lots of appreciative thanks, the excitement quickly overtook them and Emma rushed off to her room to see what I could wear. I’m very skinny for a boy, and I'm not that tall either, only 5’6”. My mother was wiser and came out with a measuring tape to take my measurements to see if id even fit. It wasn’t very rewarding to hear we were both the exact same size, a woman’s small. Emma was overjoyed with the news that everything in her huge walk in closet was game. She hardly knew where to start. My mom suggested that we start with “her” makeup and hair, and then have fun seeing which outfits we would like to see “her” in. My mom and Emma both seemed so excited, and all too natura,l to start calling me female pronouns, almost as if they had been doing it behind my back for years.

Emma thought my Mom's idea was a great one, and they started to look for makeup inspiration. Emma commanded me to, in the meantime, go take a shower in her bathroom and use her soap and to shave off everything below my eyelashes. I felt like that was little too much for this one day, but I didn’t want to start this off by arguing against it, so I did what she commanded. I hardly had any body hair, mostly just a little in my armpits and my pubs, and some peach fuzz on my arms and legs. I wasn’t a hairy guy at all. So there wasn’t a lot of work to do. It did feel weird being completely hairless though. I dried myself off with Emmas' big fluffy light pink towels and felt kind of weird drying off my smooth skin. I looked at myself naked and hairless in her full-length mirror. I hadn’t seen my naked body like this before. I didn’t have a full-length mirror in my bathroom. I wasn’t very excited by what I saw. Maybe it was just because I had just shaved my whole body, or maybe because I smelled strongly like a girl, or maybe because I was in such a girly-looking light pink bathroom, but what I was seeing made me think I might regret this decision to be their doll. Staring back at me in the mirror was a long bond hair, tiny waist, hour-glass figure, no boobs, big hips, big ass, tiny little microndick, trans looking girl. My heart sank. I didn’t think I looked this way!!

I looked down at my dick, from this angel it didn’t look that small, not big or anything, but in the mirror it looked like it was just this little nub. And I had no idea I had such girly hips! I had almost no muscle tone, which didn’t help me either. I wrapped the towel around me and headed back into Emma's room. My mother and Emma were in a frenzy getting the makeup out and all the outfits they wanted to see me in. When they noticed my arrival, my mother expressed how me in a towel simply won’t do, that I needed to go put on one of Emmas robes. I just nodded my head and went back into her bathroom and looked in the back of the door at her robe collection. There were some fuzzy long ones, long and short satin ones, as well as long and short sheer ones. As I was looking between them, I head Emmas shout from her room for me to wear the short light pink satin one. It hardly covered past my butt, but the smooth feel of the satin wrapped around my smooth naked body felt amazing.

I walked out to see the two of them hovering around Emmas' vanity comparing photos of different makeup looks. I stood and waited patiently for them to decide. My mother told me to sit down. I looked at myself in the mirror, I felt like I had made a very bad chose, but it already felt too late to change my mind, they were both so clearly excited about this. They decided on the look and then my mother left to get herself ready for the day and Emma got to work on my makeup. As she worked away, I got a little glimpse of her progress in the mirror, but she had me mostly facing away from it, or closing my eyes weirdly, or making some silly face. I couldn't tell if that was for her internment or because she actually needed me to make that face. I also never saw their reference photos, so I had no idea how I was going to turn out.

My mother returned, and her makeup was done to the extreme, like she was going on a night out. She looked stunning. She’s always kept great care of her appearance and looked incredibly youthful for her age. Finally, I got to see all the work Emma did on me, and I couldn’t believe my own eyes!! There was no way that sexy blond bombshell staring back at me was me!! I couldn’t ever believe I was a guy!! Emma was very proud of her work, commenting on how pretty I was, and how I was more beautiful than most of the girls she knew. My mom seemed to feel the same way. I didn’t want to agree with them, but I felt like they were right. My mother then got to work on my hair and my nails as Emma did her makeup. She went all out to match my and my mom's appearance. You’d think there were just three girls getting ready to go clubbing or something, but it was only like nine in the morning! Emma seemed to work much faster on herself, then she did on me, and by the time my hair was done, she was almost done with her own makeup. I finished my coffee finally as I waited. I just sat and listened to them talk about how they should dress me.

Then my mom said that it's hard to tell exactly what they are working with, they had only seen me in silly boy clothes after all. She looked at me and said, “Stand up sweetie, take off your robe, let's see what your body looks like, girl!” I was surprised and shocked by this. I just stared confused, “That's a great idea mom! Let's see, Alexa, what kind of figure you have! It’ll make this decisions so much easier.” Emma chimed in. My voice shook as I nervously replied, “you want to see me, naked?!” My mother, kind of annoyed of me for even questioning her, “Yes, you heard me, take your robe off. Don’t be so silly about this, I’m your mother. I changed your dippers! And she’s your sister. We are all family here. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about.” I wasn’t sure what to do, but I felt like this was a battle I was going to lose anyway. She was right, we are family. I slowly untied the satin belt and let the robe slide off my shoulders as it fell to the ground.

My mother and sister gasped loudly at the sight of my naked body. “oh my god” my mother hardly got out from under her breath as she clearly couldn't believe her own eyes. “Holy shit Alexa!! You have like a perfect woman's body!!!” Emma said with both excitement and shock. They then both just stared, stunned and overwhelmed by what they were looking at. Their eyes just moving up and down, studding every inch of me, their mouths hung open in shock. “Turn around, let's see your back side.” My mother hardly got out, the mixture of excitement and shock clear in her voice. I slowly spun around, my face so red from embarrassment I could feel the heat in my cheeks. As I showed them my back, another stunned “oh my god” was let out from both of them. I completed my slow spin with my face looking at the floor, my eyes watering as the tears welled up. I knew why they were so shocked. It's because of how girly my body was, I just never knew it was that bad.

“Honey, I had no idea, this whole time it was like the universe was answering my dreams! You have one of the most perfect feminine figures I’ve ever seen! I mean your missing some boobs, but that can always be fixed. And your little thing is so incredibly unbelievably small! No one would even notice! Most guys wouldn’t even care you're a boy with how little it is, and how sexy and feminine the rest of your body is! They would be desperate to have a sexy little thing like you!” My mother spoke so quickly as her excitement took over her shock. This energy seemed to be contagious as Emma quickly jumped in. “Oh my god, I can’t believe just how right she is!! Or that I’m jealous of my stepbrother's body!!” I knew that was silly, Emma was one of the prettiest girls I know, and all the guys want to date her, she could literally be a model. “You couldn’t be more girly!! You really are so small, I think some girls' clits might be bigger than that! And why are your balls almost nonexistent? They are like the size of marbles, if even! Oh my god, this day is going to be even more fun than I thought it would be!! Mom, this changes so much about how we thought we would dress her!” Emma and my mother started to talk as they rushed into her closet to pick stuff out, leaving me to stand there desperately trying not to cry from my humiliation and embarrassment.

I tried so hard to contain myself as the experience of what had just happened and what had just been said about me soaked in. Their reactions were far too genuine to be fake, far too shocked and sincere. They really did think I looked like a sexy woman, and apparently, that my dick is so incredibly tiny and my body is the essence of femininity that most men would be happy to overlook the hard to believe fact that I was even a male just to have sex with me. I can’t believe it, I tried so hard to convince myself for years that I was just being silly. That my body didn’t look that feminine, that I did look like a guy. I hid myself in baggy clothes to clear up any thoughts that someone might have about my body being girly.

“Alexa, here, put these on sweetie.” My mother said, breaking me from my quick spiral into depression by handing me a small black g string thong. I was so numb at the moment I just took them, and without thinking, slipped them up my legs. Emma let out a laugh. ”Oh my god, I can’t even tell you have anything in your panties you're so small!! You were meant to be a girl because there's not a woman on earth who'd want that little thing!” My mother tried to cover up her laughter too. They both just thought it was so funny how much of a failure as a man I was. Emma then pulled out a very tiny black vinyl pleated micro skirt. “How’s this?” She said with an almost wicked smile on her face. My mom, as if reading her mind, knew exactly what she meant. “Yes! You pick out the top, I'll grab the stockings and the heels.!!” The excitement they both shared almost couldn’t be contained as they rushed quickly to complete the outfit.

My mother handed me a pair of sheer stockings. I knew how to put them on, although I had never actually done it before. I sat down and carefully rolled them up, trying not to tear the delicate fabric with my long fake nails. I slowly rolled them up my legs, taking great care as well. I then tried my best to match the tops and made sure they both looked nice. By the time I had finished, they had assembled the rest of the outfit. Emma motioned to the clothes laid out on her bed. “A sexy fun black vinyl off the shoulder crop top, to match the black vinyl sexy flirtatious skirt. Its perfect skirt for you because its very, very “MICRO”, just like you!” Emma and my mom both laughed at that. “And to top it off, these perfect six inch black patient leather “fuck me” pumps!” This caused them to both giggle again.

I already felt defeated, and just wanted to get this over with. I angrily grabbed the top. I immediately loved the feeling of the smooth vinyl in my hands. I slid on the top and as soon as I got it on Emma walked over and shoved two pieces of silicon into the top. It looked like I had small boobs! “What is that?” I asked, confused as to why she had this. “Sometimes you want the girls to seem a little bit larger, you stuff this in the bottom of your bra and no one knows! But they'll turn your no cup into a B cup! Your girly figure is even more complete!!” She said with pride in her voice. My mom thought that was a very nice touch. I sighed, I had no fight in me, and dreaded making this even worse as I slid the skirt on and zipped it up. It hardly covered the front of me, and only covered two thirds of my butt. “Oh my god your ass is so big and perky the skirt can’t even cover it! How do guys not hit on you every day with a booty that fuckable?” They both laughed again. My face red with embarrassment again, I slipped on the pumps and stood there feeling ridiculous, vulnerable, humiliated, and terrified about how well I resembled a sexy slutty girl that most men would fantasize about.

Then I noticed my mother and Emma had their phones out!! “Wait, are you taking pictures?!” I was horrified at the thought of any proof of this existing. “No sweetie, I’m filming this whole thing! This is just too precious to miss!” My mom said, smiling “I’m the one taking pictures! Hey, that’s a great idea! Let's have a photo shoot!!” Emma said with such excitement. “No please! I don’t want anyone to see this!” I desperately tried to plead to them. But they clearly didn’t care. “To bad girly! Start posing!” Emma shot back as she then started commanding me into poses that a girl would make in sexually suggestive ways. My mother continued to film. I looked down at myself as I reluctantly posed for them. I couldn’t see a single hint of masculinity. I hoped so desperately that this would had gone differently. That they would had dressed me up, saw how ridiculous I looked, and then moved on. But when Emma showed me some of the photos she took of me and I saw that the girl in the photos was the exact type of girl I would have touched myself too, I knew this was far far from over.

They picked out more outfits for me to model and take photos in. They were either something slutty a girl would wear to attract the attention of a guy, or ultra feminine outfits that only the most girl girls would wear, or some combination of both. This went on for hours. Finally, around one thirty, they decided to take a break and asked me to go make them both an iced coffee. They instructed that I stay dressed how I was. My pink vinyl pleaser adore snadels clicked on the tile floors as I worked. My white stockings with a light pink bow at the top were held up by the white garter belt lingerie set I was wearing. My tight light pink micro leather skirt that hardly covered my butt. It was hard to lean over or breathe from the very tight white leather corset they had wrapped around my torso. I felt so ridiculous because I was so aware how girly and sexy I looked.

When I returned, they had a new outfit laid out on the bed. A pair of five inch chunky heel black vinyl booties, red vinyl pants, a tight sheer white long sleeve crop top with a plain black pushup bra to wear underneath and a cropped leather jacket with fur trim. Emma was going through her closet picking out more clothes. My mom was on her phone. When I entered, she stood and took the coffee from me. “Wow, that outfit really suits you!" She said with a sparkle in her eye. "Thank you my little princess, I love you so much more as my daughter! Now be a good girl and go put on your new outfit, I’m going to go get ready too.” She said as she walked out of the room. “Get ready for what?” I yelled out to her but she didn't respond. Emma emerged from her closet half dressed, she took her coffee from me, as she turned to reenter her closet she casually said, “To go to the mall of course princess! Were going shopping!” “What!!??!!” I blurted out as fear washed over me. “You heard me girl! Go get dressed!” Emma responded with no empathy for me.

“No way! I can’t go to the mall looking like this!!” I started to panic. “I don’t want you to go the the mall looking like this!” Emma turned around quickly with anger in her eyes and yelled as she gestured up and down my outfit. “You look like a total slut! No, I want you to go to the mall looking like that!” She pointed to the outfit on her bed. “You said that you would do whatever I asked! You weren’t lying to me, were you?? Are you really going to ruin the best Christmas present I’ve ever received? Or the best present moms ever received?” She said sternly. I was quiet and afraid. I also felt guilty, but I didn't want to be seen by anyone I knew. “But what if someone recognizes me?” I shyly spoke. “Girl, I don’t even recognize you! There is no way anyone else could! Not go get dressed!” Emma turned and went back into her closet, and with that, the conversation was over. I hesitated, but I knew I really didn’t have much of a chose. I couldn’t untie the corset with my long nails and Emma had to help me.

I felt so nervous as I sat in the car on our way to the mall. Emma sat in the front seat and kept taking selfies of herself, my mom driving, with me in the back. I noticed she was posting them to her story on Insta. “You're not posting that are you?!” I said, the fear clear in my voice. “Yeah, but I never said it was you, I only said that I was on a girls trip to the mall with the fam.” She said like it was no big deal. “Stop fighting girls. Alexa, leave Emma alone, she can post whatever she wants. Besides, we're almost at the mall, and girls don’t fight at the mall. Do you understand a little miss?”she said sternly as she looked at me in the rear view mirror. “Yes.” I said, upset and defeated. “Good girl.” She said with a smile clearly pleased with how girly and obedient I was being.

The mall was, of course, super busy with all the holiday shopping people were doing, so we had to park pretty far from the entrance to the mall. My heart was racing as I got out of the car and a shiver ran up my back as the cold winter air hit my exposed mid drift. As we walked the long way through the parking lot, the sound of all of our heels clicking echoed loudly, calling for the attention of everyone nearby. Right away I noticed some guy just staring at us. I was completely humiliated. I can’t believe it, but I was really hoping Emma was right that no one would recognize me as a man. That would be more embarrassing than people just thinking I was a slutty girl. I did notice that both Emma and my mom had done their makeup to match mine in its intensity and very “extra” nature, their outfits were cute and trendy, but didn’t call for the same amount of attention as the outfit they put me in. My mom whispered to me “sway your hips a little more sweetie, really move them more, let your whole body get pulled along by your hips.”

I did as I was told, but out of spite I tried to completely over dramatize it. I felt completely ridiculous and was sure my mom would tell me to knock it off and tone it down, but instead she seemed to love it. “Perfect job sweetie! That’s mom’s good little girl! Don’t you dare walk any differently this entire time, or you’ll only be wearing g string thongs and short skirts for the rest of your life! Do you understand?” her intensity showed that she was serious. “Yes mom.” I was scared by her threat, she really meant it. As we got close to the doors to the mall there were tons of people around already, just coming and going, but all the people were staring at us as they went on their way. I saw a group of boys I knew from high school who had picked on me and, unfortunately, one of them saw me looking at them, and he must have thought I was checking him out or something because he smiled in a creepy way and winked at me as he said. “Hey babygirl, what are you doing later? You want a BIG Christmas gift?” His budds laughed as they stared at me, this lust clear in their eyes. I looked at the ground to hide how embarrassed I was. But I was thankful that he clearly didn’t recognize me.

Both Emma and my mother thought it was entertaining for me to get hit on. “Why don’t you blow him a kiss Alexa!” Emma teased me. “No!” I tried to get out under my breath. “Alexa, you said you’d be Emmas' doll and do whatever she said, now follow through on your Christmas gift and blow those strong good looking boys a very flirtatious kiss.” My heart beating so fast as I realized just how screwed I was. I had no pride left to swallow, so I did as I was told and blew them a kiss in a very dramatic gesture. My mom and Emma both giggled as we walked past them and entered the mall. My life was never going to be the same after this.

Our first stop was one of the first stores we came across. It was clearly a woman’s only store that seemed to only carry trendy clothes. Emma and my mom were both so excited, and they immediately got straight into shopping, looking at the clothes with such judgment and speed that you’d think it was their job. I just followed along next to them as they constantly held up one idem to me after another, both quickly gathering a small group of clothes. Emma looked at me, and noticed I had nothing, and was doing nothing. “Look sis, you’ve been on enough shopping trips with us to know how this works. It's just this time it's YOU we are shopping for. Now get to it and start looking for things you think are cute, trendy, or sexy. If it's not one of those three, move on. If it is, hold onto it, then you’ll go try them on. Let's work fast, this is only our first stop, and we only have a few more hours before the mall closes!” She then got right back to rifling through the racks of clothes.

She was right, I had been dragged along on these shopping trips my whole life, I knew most of the stores, I knew the “mission” of each trip. This time we were looking for trendy, cute, or sexy. Sometimes it's classy, or timeless, conservative, comfy, athletic, etc. I sighed as I accepted my task and got to work. It was actually helpful to keep my mind occupied instead of constantly worrying about what people were thinking of me, and why they were staring at me. Was it because they thought I was a super pretty girl? Or did they think I was some weird boy dressed as a girl? Neither made me feel good. But that all faded as I looked through the clothes. It was familiar and comforting. Before too long, the three of us had covered every inch of that store and met up at the dressing rooms, each with a dozen or so items.

“In you go sweetie! Remember we want to see every piece.” My mom commanded as she gestured to the changing room. I tried on one thing after another. Each time I came out and did a little modeling for them. They would have me turn around, and then judge it yes or no. My mom took the yeses once I had gotten them off and Emma took the no’s. Once I was finally back out in the clothes in the clothes I came in with, Emma was the only one waiting for me. “Where’s mom?” Emma started off walking as I rushed to fallow. “She’s at the register buying your new clothes silly!” She was walking so fast that I was struggling in my high heels to keep up as we waved our way through the store avoiding other shoppers and displays. “What do you mean my new clothes?!” I shouted back as I tried my best to keep up.

We exited the store to find my mother standing waiting for us with a shopping bag in her hand. As soon as we got to my mom, she took off, walking to the next store at a quick pace. Emma kept up just fine, but I felt like I could fall at any moment at that speed. Swaying my hips like my mother demanded was not the fastest way to walk. I repeated myself this time so they both could hear me. “What do you mean buying MY new clothes?!” the nervousness in my voice was clear. “What don’t you understand about that statement?” Emma replied as they were quickly getting farther away from me. I couldn’t go their pace and my mind was running so fast. Why would they be buying me girls clothes?? This is just for one day!? Just then, a slap on my ass brought me back to reality and I looked at the tall black guy who was clearly the only one close enough to do that. Even in my heels he towered over me. He just gave me a wink and said, “Hey baby girl.” In his deep voice. I was immediately filled with fear at the vulnerable nature I was in and wished I didn't look like a sexy girl or was forced to dress and walk like a slut.

Not knowing how to respond to this, “Hi.” I hardly squeezed out as I tried to walk away as quickly as I could. Emma and my mom noticed the whole thing, and they thought it was so funny as they giggled entering the next store. It was there that I finally caught back up to them. “ I don’t understand why we're buying ME clothes? This was just for today! And that's almost over!” I was frantic and overwhelmed by everything going on. “One day? I didn’t see a time frame anywhere on the card you wrote. Besides, you're too perfect of a girl for this to just be one day!” Emma said, so matter of fact. My mother then said coldly“Emmas' right Alexa. You're the second daughter I've always wanted, and the sister Emma deserves. So, if you are going to continue to live at my house rent free and have me pay for everything, then you will do so as my daughter. Full time. Every second, of every day. No exceptions. If you want to be a silly little pathetic boy that no girl would ever want, then you will move out and pay your own way through life. But you will be written out of my will, and you will receive no help from me either. Now you can have the rest of the day to think about this. But in the meantime, you will help us shop and enjoy the rest of our Christmas gift. And if you decide to leave us tonight, then these clothes Emma can wear, so there’s nothing lost there. Now go shop.”

She then went right back to shopping, as if she didn’t just tell me that I'll either live the rest of my life as a girl or be forced to not be a part of the family anymore. Well, now I had this crazy thing in my mind as I tried to shop. It was not easy with my mind racing, and I was much slower. I was completely numb as I went through the rest of the day. Going from store to store, looking at a bunch of clothes, then trying them on, then buying more. As the bags grew in numbers in our hands, I just grew more numb, almost on autopilot, hardly able to think, and only had simple short responses. My mom and Emma seemed to be loving this whole day, however. Once the bags got too many for us to carry, we walked back to the car to drop them off, then headed back inside the mall to now shop on the second story.

As we took the escalator up, Emma snapped another picture of me. “Oh my god I love this so much!!” Emma said, letting out a little scream of joy as she took my photo of me.“I can not believe just how right I was about you Alexa!! Your body is so girly!! No one would ever know you're actually a boy!! I can’t believe I have my own life size doll!! This is my new favorite Christmas gift I could ever get!!” She continued, not even trying to hide her joy. Once we got to the top, she stopped me and gave me a huge hug. I could feel just how happy she was. I wonder if she could feel the emotional battle I was experiencing. I looked at my mother, and I saw a pure joy on her face I had never seen before. She was clearly cherishing every single moment of this. As soon as Emma stopped hugging me, my mother did. She then held my face with such warmth and joy in her voice. “You truly are beautiful, and no matter what, I’ll always be proud that you're my child.” She then started to tear up at little and walked off to the next store. None of this helped me fight the battle I was expiring in my heart. I didn’t want to be a girl! But I also love my mom and Emma, and they seem so much happier with me as a girl. Plus, my mom has so much money, I would probably never have to work a day in my life.

As we approached yet another store my heart broke even more. I didn’t even know it could get even worse than it was. A voice spoke loudly behind me “Hey “Alexa”!! Damn, you sure look good girl!!” I recognized it immediately as Becka. My face turned bright red, and I was frozen in place. I was too terrified to face her. Emma was next to me and turned to her super excited. I slowly turned as the two girls greeted each other. “Becka you made it!!” Emma seemed so happy and cheerful. “Of course! I got your message and I had to come see this girl! I have to say, Emma, you under sold just how pretty she is!!” Becka couldn’t take her eyes off of me. “Wow, I really am stunned! You are one of the prettiest girls I’ve ever seen!! I can not believe that you’re the same person! Girl, I always knew you were a gay little slut deep down!! You are going to be able to get as many guys as you want with that perky ass, little waist, and big dick sucking lips!! I am so excited to have a new girl in our group!! But I need to be honest, I always saw you as a girl anyway, you were just too feminine for anyone to see you as a boy. And now that I see you all dolled up, I can't blame Emma and your mom for keeping you this way, it would be a true crime to the world to keep this girl disguised as a boy for even one more day!!” Becka was truly so excited and couldn’t get over just how girly I looked.

She got right into shopping with us as the conversation about my future took place between the three girls. I just listened to them figure out my own fate as I looked for girly clothes that I'd be forced to wear in this future. They talked about wardrobes, room decorations, going back to school as a girl, workout routines. They even went as far as me taking HRT, getting a boob job, getting castrated or permanently locked in a flat chastity, and dating men. Dating a lot of men. That part Becka and Emma seemed extra excited about, it made them giggle a lot. My mom even seemed supportive of all of their ideas. I was not allowed to object, it was their decision to make, and I was just to listen to them figure out the exact terms of conditions if I was to stay a part of this family. I was terrified at what I was hearing. As we shopped, every time the girls noticed a man checking me out, they made me do something to further humiliate me as they had me flirt subtly with each of them. They had me blow kisses, wink, check out the guy back, shake my ass at him or bend over to show him my ass. They thought it was so entertaining.

As we finished up at the last store, I was thankful for this trip to the mall to finally be over, so we could go home, and I can try and move on from this day. We had bought so many clothes, lingerie, makeup, purses, and shoes, none of which, by the way, were less than a four inch heel! Becka helped us carry all the bags back to our car. There were so many bags that they took up so much space that I could hardly even sit in the back seat. My mom drove us to go have dinner as her and Emma talked. Becka was going to meet us where we were going. I had no idea where that was, but to be honest, my feet hurt so bad that I didn’t even care, I was just so glad to finally be sitting down.

We pulled up to what looked like some kind of sports bar, I noticed it was full of drunk men, and my heart sank. My nightmare was far from over. Emma had me touch up my makeup and add even more lip gloss. As we got out of the car, my mother reminded me how she wanted me to walk, and I felt like a piece of meat, dressed like a slut, being forced to walk like a slut, into the lions' den. My heart was beating so fast as our heels clicked away as we entered the bar. These four glammed up girls called for the attention of everyone as soon as we walked in the door. All the men and what little women there were immediately checked us out. I was again wishing I wasn’t the slutiest dressed one. The men couldn’t seem to stop staring at me as we waited by the door to be seated.

This very pretty hostess showed up after a short time. “Well, don’t you four ladies look stunning! Be careful with the men here, they can come on pretty strong. Especially you sweetie, your outfits is tots cute, but the guys here might like it a little too much if you know what I mean?” She said cheerfully as she winked at me. “Don’t worry, that’s why we’re here, and that’s why she’s dressed this way, this girl needs some action!” Emma said, excited about the news. “This bitch wants to be near some hot studs who will defiantly hit on her! She needs a little self-esteem boost! A reminder that men want her. “ Becka chimed in. The hostess giggled “Well, in that case, I know just where to put you! The men are going to be all over you!” “Perfect! Let’s get this slutty princess some big dick to suck on!” Becka said kind of loudly so some of the guys nearby heard. She leaned in and whispered to me,"Don’t worry, I’m going to make your gay fantasies finally come true! I think it's so hot helping hook up two guys! Or even more! It's one of my favorite hobbies! And you are so fucking sexy even straight guys would want to use your girly little body!” I was completely humiliated, I didn’t want this!

We followed her to the table, which was quite tall, more like a mini bar, that was in the center of the place. We sat on tall bar stools, so guys could check us out from every angle of the bar. If I looked anywhere but the menu, the table, or the girls, all I saw was men checking me out. It was terrifying! Especially now that I know Emmas' and Beckas' true intentions! My mom seemed to even encourage their behavior. I was screwed and had no help from anyone. I had no appetite even though we hadn’t eaten all day. I was happy to be sitting again though. How do girls wear heels all day? I guess that’s why less and less do now these days. The waitress showed up and took our order. My mother got a cocktail, the rest of us us just got water, and we all decided to get salads. As soon as she left, the guys started coming up. Sure they tried to seem casual, just passing by or something, but they all wanted to stop and talk to me. Emma made me give out my insta to all of them. That way they could all dm me. Several of them would even touch me. Putting their hand on the small of my back or even right on my ass as they spoke to me.

I tried so hard not to totally freak out and run away, but I think they thought my disinterest was just me playing hard to get. The more I tried to blow them off, the more aggressive they would be and the longer they would stick around. I learned that if I wanted to get rid of them quickly, I should just comply and give them my info, and they would then leave. By the time we had finished and left the bar, my ass had been slapped ten times, patted twelve, grabbed over twenty, and I had given out my info to over thirty guys. Emma and Becka also got hit on and gave out their info too, but they didn’t get quite the attention I got. My mom even got hit on a handful of times, but she just told them she was happily married to a man with a huge cock. That seemed to turn the guys down real quick.

I was the first one out the door and let me tell you I sure was thankful to have that be over. Becka was going to meet us back at our house. I just wanted this day to be over! By the time we had gotten home, I was so tired, I was emotionally drained by this day. It didn’t go how I thought it would have at all. The girls took as many bags as they could and headed right for my room. I grabbed all that I could and hesitated to follow them to my room. My mind was racing with every step. Do I really want this to be my future? Do I really want to continue life as a girl in exchange for their support and money? I knew just how expensive everything was and how underpaid most people are. I wasn’t sure if I could do that on my own.

The girls dropped off the bags in my room and Emma started rummaging through them as my mom and Becka left to go get more bags. Emma pulled out some clothes and a shoe box, “Go put this on princess, and touch up your lips too.” She commanded as she handed the items to me on her way out the door. I took the outfit and walked into the bathroom. I looked in the mirror, still not recognizing the reflection of the pretty girl looking back at me as myself. I took my time and carefully reapplied the lip liner, lipstick, and then the lip gloss to recreate the look that Emma had made on me. I then undressed myself, carefully folded Emma's clothes in a nice pile. I took the black leather halter top she had picked and put it on. I put the silicon inserts back in to make it look like I had small boobs. I knew that’s what Emma wanted. Then I slipped on the black leather micro circle skirt. It was so short it couldn’t even cover all of my butt, a small amount was peeking out from the bottom. I opened the shoe box and pulled out the thigh high black leather high heel boots and zipped them up. I was so broken, looking down at myself and seeing the girly body dressed like a slut, the exact thing I would jerk off too. I was any and wet dream. Could I really accept this as my life??

I exited my bathroom to find that the girls had brought up the rest of the bags and were just finishing taking all of my clothes from my closet and putting them in a pile by the door. As my mom handed Emma the last item, I noticed her taking a pair of sizers and cutting them so they could never be worn again. A wicked smile came across her face as she noticed the shock and realization of what they had done set in and became visible. “What- what did you do!?” I was frantic as I rushed to check my dresser, it was completely empty, so was the closet. “Mom gave you a chose to make. These are your new clothes.” Emma said, gesturing to the large amount if bags on the floor and the outfit I was wearing. “You can either accept and be her new daughter, and my sister, or you can leave and be completely on your own. But she paid for these boy clothes, they’re hers, not yours. Same with the car you’re allowed to drive, the phone you use or anything else really!” My mouth just hung open in shock as I listened to Emma speak. My mother walked up and stood behind her, clearly supporting what she was saying.

“So you can either help us put YOUR new clothes away in YOUR new cute little outfit. Or you can leave. Right now. Without wearing MY new cute little outfit. But I’m not that mean. As a going away gift I'll let you keep that g string and the makeup you’re wearing, so you’re not completely naked. But that will be all that you own, that will be the only thing in the whole world to your name. It seems the least I can do, since I won't ever see you again.” her evil smile grew, and was matched by my mother behind her. They knew they had me cornered. I had no choice but to agree. “So what will it be “Alexa”? Are you going to be a good girl? Or a homeless girly boy with nothing but a thong?” My mom added sternly, upset with my quite stalling. “I’m sure the police won’t like that, but I’m sure the men in prison would LOVE that!” Becka snickered. She was clearly enjoying this.

With my head hung low and tears filled my eyes, I tried to speak, but I couldn’t even get a single word out. My whole world had crumbled, and I had no choice but to accept my life long, never ending imprisonment in femininity. I opened my mouth to speak, the girls clearly waiting with anticipation for my response, but I couldn’t even make a sound. I couldn’t verbally admit my fate as a girl. Instead, I hung my head, and whipped the tears from my eyes as carefully as I could to not ruin my makeup. I slowly started to walk, the girls clearly confused by my actions, but it all became clear as I slowly reached down and grabbed a short little vinyl dress from one of the bags and walked into the closet to hang it up. “Good choice.” Emma said, as my mother and Becka agreed. They all laughed, very pleased with themselves for the destruction of the rest of my male life. They then started to help by grabbing items and taking them into the closet to be hung. I tried my best not to completely cry as the girls talked about how excited they were about my chose. Becka loved teasing me about my future, and all the men that Emma and her were going to make me please. She loved rubbing that in.

Once we finished putting everything away, the girls decided it was very late, and they thought it was time for bed. They both wished me goodnight as my mom and Emma left for their rooms to go to bed. Becka went into her purse and pulled out a long box. “Practice up girl, Emma and I are taking you out for a party on New Years. We expect you to be a complete expert with your mouth, so you won't embarrass us by then. I know you'll have fun!” She said with a wink as she left my room. I opened it up and pulled out a huge ten inch realistic dildo. Once she closed my door and I was finally left alone, I started to cry uncontrollably as I collapsed to my knees in tears with the dildo sill in my hands. I knew I had to do this. I didn't want to, but I had to be a good girl. I had to be a good little slutty girl for the rest of my life.

-Katierosedreams Og Cap

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unhappycylinder · 1 year

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Hellfire's Newest Member (Eddie x fem!Reader) Pt. 1

Quick note: i got impatient and posted this lol. This has been on my wattpad for months and I wanted to post it here lol. This is just part 1, I've got like 16 more chapters I'll be posting soon! Lmk what y'all think

Warnings/summary: some family trauma, nothing too spicy yet, this is just backstory (and Dustin) so we can get into the good stuff next time

Masterlist

---

You stepped into your new room in Hawkins, Indiana, a town which seemed to have just about as much personality as the bottom of a shoe. Glancing around the empty, but spacious room, you thought about how many rooms just like this you had lived in before. With your dad working some secret government job, you moved around the country a lot and hardly ever had time to really settle into a space or get to know the people around you.

It felt like just when you started to get used to a routine somewhere new - finally started decorating your room and hanging out with people outside of school - your dad would be relocated and you'd have to go with him. Your mom wasn't in the picture anymore, she had been gone since you were 13, and the only explanation your dad every gave you was that "she didn't want to live this type of life anymore, and we weren't enough to keep her around," the last bit always stung when you thought about it.

Dad was quiet after mom left, and he didn't really seem to care what you did with your time as long as your grades came back fine and you weren't gone for an unreasonable amount of time. Plus, working most nights meant he hardly had the schedule to keep tabs on where you were.

Nevertheless, a fresh start in Hawkins felt necessary. The last place you had been was LA, which was waaaay too big and waaay to noisy for your taste. That was another thing that set you apart from people your age: you weren't really into parties and shopping and sports like most high school seniors were. How could you be? You were never anywhere long enough to play anything or get invited anywhere. You kept yourself busy with books, movies, music, and most of all Dungeons and Dragons.

The game which was being shunned as a satanic cult was your escape from reality and the only constant thing in your life. Yes, it was hard to find a group to play an entire campaign with, but you managed, plus your favorite part was creating characters and imagining fantastic new worlds you'd love to explore. In fact, a good amount of the boxes you brought with you, which contained everything you owned, were full of binders, manuals, books, and figurines you had collected in your years of playing.

You started unpacking, throwing your childhood stuffed animals on your queen sized bed in the corner of your room, and stacking your plentiful collection of books and movies on the floor and on your desk. You were about to pull out your favorite books - The Lord of the Rings trilogy - when your dad knocked on your door

"Hey y/n, sorry to interrupt...uh I just got called into work so I'm gonna head out, but I'll leave some money on the counter for you"

"Oh okay, thanks. Do you know when you'll be ba-"

Before you could finish, he was out the door. You shook your head and returned to your packing, hearing your dad's car drive away outside.

-----

By the time you finished packing it was already dark outside and you could hear faint talking outside your window. You walked over, pulling your curtains aside, and looked to your neighbors house to see two young boys, probably around 14-15, standing in between your house and the next. One of them was wearing a hat that said "thinking cap" on it, which you thought was funny, and the other was taller and had wavy black hair. They seemed to be arguing about something

"No Dustin, Lucas said he has his championship game tomorrow and there's no way he's gonna make it to Hellfire"

"Eddie is gonna KILL us man!"

They we're talking pretty loud, and you were pretty tired and didn't want to hear their bickering while you tried to fall asleep, so you opened your window

"Hey, idiots!"

The boys shut up instantly and looked over to you

"Listen, I really don't mean to interrupt, but I don't know who you are or who this Eddie guy is, but your bickering over him is really getting in the way of my sleep and I have had a very, very, long day of unpacking"

They looked at you, wide-eyed, before the shorter boy in the hat moved closer to your window

"Oh um, sorry, our bad. And I'm Dustin by the way, I live just there," he gestured to the house next to yours, "and this is my friend Mike"

"Pleasure, I'm y/n," you didn't want to be mean to them, so you figured you'd go ahead and introduce yourself, "well I'm gonna go get that sleep I mentioned, and please just keep your voices down."

"Aye aye, captain," Dustin said with a salute before he and Mike walked away from your window towards his house.

You closed your window, took off your sweaty clothes, turned off your light, and crawled into your new bed, nervous for your first day at school tomorrow.

----

Part 2

#eddie x reader #eddie x fem!reader #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson #eddie fic #stranger things fic #stranger things #stranger things 4 #eddie munson fic #eddie munson smut

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it-happened-one-fic · 2 years

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A Companion Quite as Enjoyable - Jade

Author Notes: Hiking with Jade with a dash of daisies. That is honestly all there is to this one. Simple but I enjoyed writing it and I hope you'll enjoy reading it. Reader is, once more, gender-neutral.

Type: Fluff/Platonic or Romantic

Word Count: 1303

I paused, resting a hand against a tree and breathing heavily from exertion. Up ahead I could clearly see the young man I'd been trailing after what seemed like hours. His eyes were bright as he knelt, finishing a quick sketch of what was no doubt a mushroom.

His book shut with a snap and he stood, slipping the book into his pocket and turning to look at where I stood in one fluid motion. “We’ll be at a good resting point soon… Do you believe you can make it?”

At first I couldn't decide if his grin was simply amused or mocking but the closer I drew to him the more I felt it was the latter. “You know Jade, when you said hiking I didn’t realize you meant an excursion quite like this one.”

He tilted his head, mismatched eyes glittering with poorly concealed amusement at my evident fatigue, “Yes, well. I suppose I should have warned you that I have grown quite used to such exercise.”

Mocking, Definitely mocking.

He turned, leading me further up the invisible path he seemed to know by heart. It made me wonder exactly how many times he’d gone hiking up this mountain. But I followed him with no complaint because, despite the fact I was alone in the woods on a mountain with Jade Leech of all people, I wasn’t concerned.

This venture had, to my surprise, turned out to be quite enjoyable. It was true that the walk was exhausting but I’d learned quite a bit about my infamous classmate.

He was an avid lover of plants, especially mushrooms and the poisonous variety. He also was an exceptional landscape artist. His little sketches were both accurate and attractive. He could also be quite the chatterbox as I'd learned when I'd questioned him about one mushroom that had been glowing an ominous orange color.

I smiled to myself as I thought about the almost charming quirks I’d discovered about my current companion. It was hard to view him as quite so scary or intimidating now that I’d seen him geek out about mushrooms.

“Y/n, we’re here,” His ever calm voice caught my attention, sending my gaze sliding back to where he now stood. He held a branch just slightly out of the way to reveal a sight that immediately made me smile. It was a veritable field of daisies.

What it was doing out here in the middle of nowhere I had no clue. But if my time at NRC had taught me anything it was to enjoy life’s little delights. So I did, trotting out into the clearing with a bright smile.

“My, you do look pleased.” I turned at his words, vaguely startled to see Jade smiling at me as he unloaded our lunches from his oversized yellow backpack. I’d honestly completely forgotten about Jade’s presence.

His butler persona was back in full force but I hardly cared. Instead, I found myself trotting back over to him as gleefully as ever which only seemed to further amuse him, “I take it you like these flowers?”

I nodded almost immediately at his question, “Yeah, I guess they remind me of home.” Something familiar in a largely unfamiliar world.

I smiled at him, refusing to let such thoughts dampen my current mood, “When I was little I’d pick bundles of daisies and present them as bouquets to my mom. The stems were so short she’d have to put them in juice glasses.”

I chuckled slightly at the memory and shook my head slightly, “Poor things never lasted very long since I would always squeeze them half to death before getting them to her….”

I trailed off, realizing I’d been rambling when I noticed his smile. I hurriedly turned my gaze to my food, clamming up in embarrassment.

I hadn’t actually talked to anyone about home since I’d gotten here and I certainly hadn’t expected the first person who would hear about it would be Jade.

“I see,” He sighed slightly and I glanced over at him to see him looking out across the field with a singularly odd expression. “I suppose these flowers are quite common since they even grow where you’re from.”

I tensed slightly at the direction the conversation was taking. It would be awkward if he asked where I was from. Especially since I’d been keeping the fact I was from an entirely other world a secret.

“Do you like them?” The question spilled from my mouth in a desperate attempt to steer the conversation in some other direction. My attempt was a success considering he turned to me with wide-eyes as if he were surprised by my sudden question.

“I… I hadn’t ever really thought about it. They are nice enough I suppose.” I hummed, half-way amused by his faltering reply. I didn’t think I’d ever seen him falter save for in extreme situations.

“They’re edible, you know. I’ve never eaten any so I don’t know if they’re any good, but they aren’t poisonous or anything at the very least. Ruggie might have some recipes for them.” I thought out loud, recalling something my mom had once told me years ago when I was small.

I glanced over in time to watch as his expression brightened with sudden interest. He leaned forward, intrigued by my fun facts, “Are they? I may have to collect some to try at the Monstro Lounge.”

I snorted at his newfound scheme, Azul would likely have a fit, “Like I said, I don’t know if they’re any good so you might want to try some for yourself before putting them on the menu.”

He hummed thoughtfully, probably thinking about how he could bully his housewarden into putting them on the menu, tasty or not. I almost felt bad for telling him but I found myself grinning as he put down his lunch as went about collecting flowers.

I kind of felt bad for Ruggie too since I’d mentioned him. Jade would probably harass him about getting some recipes…..

“Y/n,” My head snapped up to see Jade looking down at me, a bundle of flowers in each hand. He wore a polite smile, one that I now recognized as a mask that he frequently wore around customers. That wasn't strange. What was strange was that he was holding out one bunch of flowers in front of me, “For you.”

I stared wide-eyed at the dainty flowers just in front of me, I certainly hadn’t expected this. I looked back up at him, confusion likely showing in my eyes since his smile changed from carefully crafted to amused in a blink and you’ll miss it instant.

“As thanks for accompanying me. It’s difficult to find anyone interested in joining me on a hike, much less a companion quite as enjoyable as you have been.”

I hesitantly accepted the bouquet, my hand brushing his surprisingly warm hand as I took it. I don’t know why but I’d thought his hand would have been cool to the touch, instead it was warm, just like any other hand.

Something else that made him a little less intimidating and a little more approachable. I smiled up at him as I pulled the bouquet close to my chest, “Don’t mention it. I had fun.”

He straightened, his amused smile still in place, a tiny glimpse into his actual thoughts, “Then can I expect your company on my next trip?”

I grinned outright at his oddly playful question, nodding my head without hesitation, “I wouldn’t miss it for anything.”

He nodded, apparently pleased with my response, “Then I will look forward to it, Y/n.” I didn’t respond but as I watched him pack away our leftovers and his bunch of flowers I realized that I too would look forward to our next outing.

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motownfiction · 7 months

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ruination

After spending all day crying, screaming, and punching an old friend in the face, Will is more exhausted than he’s ever been.

Actually, that’s not true. Will was much more exhausted when he was seventeen, after he and Lucy brough baby Elenore home from the hospital. She just couldn’t get used to how loud the world was, how cold. And maybe she never got used to it because if it weren’t for her impulsivity, her emotions, her desire to be held and loved and cared for, none of them would be here now.

This afternoon, Elenore told Will and Lucy that she’s pregnant. What’s more, she’s planning to keep it, which still knocks the wind out of Will’s lungs. He could hardly believe it when Lucy decided to have Elenore, but Elenore having a baby herself? Will thought she would have learned from their awkward, exhausted example. He keeps thinking he could change her mind, but he knows it’s not his place. Besides, he thinks he’ll like being a young grandfather. He can run around the park and dance around the floor in ways that the other grandfathers couldn’t dream of.

That doesn’t make it any easier.

When he closes his eyes, he pictures Elenore with her life around her ankles. Sure, she’s older than he and Lucy were when they had her, but not by much. Elenore is twenty-one, and if she has this baby in March, she’ll still be a month away from twenty-two. She’s a young twenty-one, too, what with her sense of humor and flair for the dramatic. She’ll be a fun mom, that’s for certain. But Will can’t stop sighing. There’s something so selfishly awful about watching the little girl you raised to be careful, to be responsible, to be confident within herself, choose exactly the path you wished she wouldn’t. There was supposed to be more for her. College wasn’t supposed to bring about the ruination of her life.

The problem is that he said those last few things out loud, not long after Elenore worked up the courage to tell the truth. She turned bright red and cried harder than she did when she was a brand-new baby. Said she couldn’t believe he couldn’t see it from her side. Him, she said, of all people.

How could you say I’m ruining my life? she asked. How dare you say my baby will ruin my life? Did I ruin yours?

Will’s breath hitches just thinking about it.

Of course Elenore didn’t ruin his life. She changed it. She made it. Anything he could have been without her was for naught. Will was meant to be Elenore’s dad, and everything after that was because of it.

Elenore was supposed to be anyone she wanted to be. Not who her parents made her. Not her teachers. Not Charlie in the middle of a too-early midlife crisis. Leave it to Charlie to become middle-aged well before he’s supposed to. It was always like he couldn’t wait to have five o’clock shadow and a habit of drinking during the day.

The problem is that he said those things out loud, too.

Oh, Daddy, Elenore pleaded with him. Don’t you see? I’m doing this because I am who I want to be.

Will could cry. And before Lucy comes back into the bedroom, he does. Just a little.

This is not the ruination of their lives. Nothing ever is. Not Lucy’s teenage pregnancy, not Sam’s death, not what happened between Elenore and Charlie. This will not ruin Elenore’s life, and it will not ruin his. Not now. Not ever.

It will change it.

It will make it.

(part of @nosebleedclub september challenge -- day x!)

#drabble #writeblr #ch: will o'connor #ch: elenore o'connor #year: 2005

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harleiquina · 10 months

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All TV series I've ever seen II

Let's see how many I remember from this time period.

1940 - 1970

1980 - 2000 (this post)

2010 - Now

1983 - V

Aliens have come to Earth but they are nice and willing to help us... or so they say.

Everybody remembers Diana eating rats, the dramatic face reveal of any reptilian, Freddy Krueger beeing a good guy (this time) and I'm sure Stephenie Meyers wish that Reneesme/Jacob had the same level of acceptance than "the child from the stars" (name given in Latinoamerica, don't know if it was also used in the original show) and whats-his-name.

Saw it on TV but we also bought the bootleg DVD because my mom and aunt never saw the ending of the show as kids.

1985 - Amazing Stories

I hardly remember anything (I was too young when it was played on TV) but I do remember beeing traumatized by Christopher Lloyd's severed (and reattached) head.

It was created by Spielberg, some stories land better than other ones. Maybe I should try and rewatch some?

1986 - Sledge Hammer

Is he sexist, violent, gun-lover and conservative AF? Yes... but he's also hilarious! This is satire people! Don't be like the NRA that gave somekind of award to this fictional character because they have the same level of comprehension than a brick.

Saw it on TV but it is also available on Youtube.

1986 - ALF

Alien finds himself on a typical american family house and chaos begins.

Do you live under a rock? Don't you know who ALF is? Just go watch it.

It was on TV when I was growing up, I'm pretty sure you can find it anywhere.

1989 - The Simpsons

I will keep on saying it, we argentineans speak in 3 languages: Spanish, Lunfardo (a Buenos Aires dialect but each province has their own as well) and Simpsons' quotes (latin spanish obviously, everyone agrees that it's the definitive Simpsons). Earlier seasons are better, we all know that... they kind of lose us when the original latin dubbers were replaced (it would seem that Disney brought them back but I hardly watch TV now, so I don't know)

1989 - Eureeka's castle.

I don't remember a THING about it but my family says that I was obsessed. It's a Muppet-style show of a young witch apprentice and her friends.

Upon further looking, it was co-written by R. L. Stine? So I didn't got into Goosebumps as a child but got this... who knows?

1989 - Agatha Christie's Poirot

I haven't watched everything just yet (it's been on for 20 years, people!) but I do like David Suchet's Hercules Poirot (my family disagrees because for them Poirot will always be Peter Ustinov). Hey, at least it's not Albert Finney!

1990 - Caloi en su tinta (Caloi in his own ink - Argentina)

It wasn't a series properly said... it didn't have a story to follow. Caloi was a very important artist in my country (his character Clemente became a staple in our comics just like Mafalda) and he had this TV show where he curated animations of all kinds, from all over the world. I remember seeing a stop-motion version of Barber of Sevilla and I think that I also saw Queen's Innuendo videoclip for the first time in here.

Some stories were funny, others melancholic, elegant or grotesque... but all of them were Art, with a capital A.

1990 - Twin Peaks

I don't understand the hype around this show. The only thing that I though was cool was to have a season and a half to find the killer.

Before someone tells me "you have to think how ground breaking it was in the time it came up" or "it's high end art, open your mind to it" trust me I can do that... it doesn't change the fact that I don't see why so many people like it so much.

I'll grant it a few points for showing us David Duchovny as a trans woman FBI agent that saves the day on the episode she shows up. I did like the character.

1993 - The Nanny

What would happen if instead of María taking care of Von Trapp's children in the Alps, we had a jewish it-girl from Flushing, Queens? That was Fran Drescher's pitch, the rest is history.

I got to confess I usually get bored with sit-coms but this is the only one that I can watch over and over again (and the final episode still brings single tear in my eye). Yeah, the whole plot of Fran trying to get pregnant was dragged for too long, but still it's like 3 or 4 episodes, no biggy (unless my memory fails, it's been a while).

1993 - Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

For whatever reason a alien (?) race decided that teenagers are the appropiate warriors so they choose 5 Angel Grove locals to kick Galactic-Witch Rita's ass. Monsters that grow size but still look like rubber suits, the Rangers use spandex but for whatever reason they release sparks when a blade touches them. Still sweet little 4 year old me loved this show.

I checked a few episodes on Youtube not too long ago and I was pleasently surprised by the fact that each monster represented a struggle the Rangers where having on their civilian life... so facing and defeating them actually helped these kids in their ordinary life. A nice message that I completely forgot while self-convincing myself that this show was a lot dumber than I remembered.

Oh! By the way when it was on TV I watched -maybe- up to season 2. When the movie came out I was shocked that Jason, Trini and Zack were not in it.

1993 - The X Files

The most recognizable tune ever, the OG monster-of-the-week format, a skeptic + a believer, some comedy, another bit of drama and , in ocassions, straight-up horror = one of the greatest TV shows ever made.

Regardless what people think I preffer Agent Dogget (there, I said it!!) to Mulder, but of course that sunflower-seed eater, porn aficionado, spooky guy will always be loved either way.

Of course I didn't watched on TV (my mom and aunt had that privilege, I was literally a baby) but I got the whole series on bootleg DVD.

1993 - Frasier

I only watched a few mixed up episodes and I have the first 4 seasons on bootleg DVD but it was my aunt who liked it the most.

A psicologyst with a radio TV show has to live with his dad and his brother visits very often.

You might recognize them as Sideshow Bob and his brother as well.

1994 - Friends

Watched it on cable when I had it, mixed up as usual but still... for whatever reason sitcoms bore me... and this is not the exception. Again, I don't understand the hype.

1995 - Xena: Warrior princess

Ancient Greece, a female warrior... my (probably by the time we got it in Argentina) 6 year-old self loved this show. Until certain fling with Hercules... I didn't liked romance then (or now, but I'm a little more tolerant as an adult) and it ruined the show for me.

Yes, now I see certain undertones that my youngself didn't. I get it. Leave me alone!

1995 - Hercules: The Legendary Journeys

Yeah... I didn't liked Hercules but I watched a few episodes either way. I always liked a good fight on TV.

1996 - Sabrina, the teenage witch

Who didn't wanted to have magical powers growing up becuse of her?

I can't really tell how many season I've watched because, as I said, in Argentina you were lucky if the TV channels bought more than 2 season to repeat on end. Still... I didn't quite liked it as much once she left for collage. Kinda lost its magic *wink, wink*

1996 - Millenium

The year 2000 was upon us and the promise of the end of the world, so Chris Carter decided to play a little bit with it.

Frank Black is a retired agent that has a peculiar way of getting into the mind of the criminals (the audience is the only one that knows that he can see what the criminals see... live) so he is called over an over again to help on different cases.

It ended too soon (got cancelled I believe) but it has its final episode in season 9 of The X Files (if I'm not mistaken). It deals a lot with religion (mostly Christianity) and its a lot darker than Mulder & Scully's adventures (with the exception of that one episode where 4 demons get together in a coffe shop -desguised as old men- and tell their latest works done).

1997 - Meego

I got to be honest with you... I hardly remember anything from this TV show. It was basically ALF but with a human playing an alien instead of a puppet. Still we remember it fondly at home so I guess it was good enough?

1998 - Charmed

Argentina beeing Argentina, I saw a few seasons... maybe... I do remember that I liked more the original 3 sisters.

It's fun... sometimes cheesy... as any tv or film of that time.

1998 - Will & Grace

As I said, sitcoms end up becoming boring and repetitive. But that doesn't take away that sometimes jokes are good... some are very 90, but ah, well...

2000 - Dark Angel

Maybe I saw 2 season on TV but I was obsessed.

Typical supersoldiers experiments developed this superhuman creatures that got tired of beeing an experiment and broke out the facility when they were children, so now as grown ups live in our society. The lead Max (Jessica Alba) has a job as a courrier but every now and then steals, that's how she meets Logan a journalist with vigilante tendencies that needs someone to do the dirty work.

2000 - CSI (later known as Las Vegas)

Have I ever watched a show just to laugh at it? Yes, and it was called CSI, the original (I saw a lot of Miami as well).

I had a few glimpses here and there from this procedural that were the definition of Deus-ex-machina and later I decided to give it a shot just to see if, within this universe, it made sense. And nope.

If one of mom's doctors dissed House for his nearly-impossible diagnosis... I'm pretty sure some forensics did the same with Grissom's team.

Side note I really love Ted Danson, that guy is awesome.

2001 - Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

At first I thought it was a yet another The Brain + Person that explains him like many others... but Goren and Eames are the best detective duo. PERIOD.

You get to see them investigating (so Goren, mostly, doesn't know everything off the bat... he does go to the library, kids) and Eames is not just a blank space for the audience to jump in and have Goren explain everything to her. My favourite moments are when she can add up to his theory by just having the female side of things.

Goren isn't the typical I-only-think kind of detective (like, let's say Poirot) he can -and will- get into dangerous situations when needed.

You have to watch for D'onofrio's performance.

I like Jeff Goldblum as well... but his season was kinda... meh

2002 - Los Simuladores (The Pretenders - Argentina)

What if there was a group of people to solve any kind of situations? And what if this situations are quite basic, borderline stupid, like meeting the in-laws, giving a hard exam at the end of the year and such?

This is it, that's the plot.

This was a huge hit back in the day but it took me a decade (almost) to watch because if you knew argentinean tv and film as I do... you wouldn't believe that there are actually some good ideas burried very very deep in the mud.

2002 - Monk

A detective with OCD is soooo good at his job but cannot be a detective again because of it (it got worse once his wife died in a attack). Fun and wholesome... maybe it did dragged for too long.

And no matter what... we are Sharona stans in this house!

2002 - CSI Miami.

Just like CSI I watched it just to make fun of it (and because in cable they will put all CSIs together in one afternoon so it was easier to compare them).

At least this one didn't take itself too seriously!

2003 - Tru Calling

Med student has a weird ability where dead people can reach her and make her repeat the day to try and save their lives.

It ended too soon on a great cliffhanger that we will never see resolved. Damn it!

2004 - Lost

We all know Lost... it started great... and it ended.

Luckily for me the TV channel where I was watching it stopped after season 4 and I never bothered to try and catch up again.

2004 - House MD

Sherlock Holmes goes to med school and instead of solving crimes, he solves impossible diagnostics.

Gotta give it to Hugh Laurie for beeing a lovable a-hole the whole time.

It did lasted too long for me, I didn't watch the final seasons but I did watched a few mixed up episodes in cable so I kinda know what happens after, lets say... season 4? (the final one I've watched, maybe).

2004 - CSI New York

Same as the others. Just watched for Gary Sinise and Edward Furlong's guest appearence.

2004 - Miss Marple

I was never a fan of Miss Marple in writting... but on TV she is less annoying.

How come she is never suspicious? She's always around when a crime happens!

2005 - Invasion

Does anybody else remembers this TV show set after the Katrina hurricane that, apparently, also uncovered a race of aliens living underwater that have a body-snatching way of taking over the world? It's only 1 season, got cancelled I believe and I watched it on TV at 6 or 7 AM while getting ready to go to school. Ah, old times!

2005 - Mosca & Smith (Argentina)

(Mosca can be translated as "Fly" -the bug- but in this case is the character's Last Name so I'll leave it as it is)

Buddy cop with two overly eccentric characters. A silly comedy with some really in-depth meta humor of argentinean justice system. Some jokes are in poor taste... and I think it got raunchier in it's second season (I didn't watched it because one of the leads was replaced and the 2nd actor didn't had the same punch)

2005 - Bones

A forensic anthropologyst helps the FBI to solve crimes.

This is the BrainTM taken to an extreme. Dr. Temperance Brennan just can't be good at eeeeeverything. This kinda changed as seasons passed but still... who says smart people is always entirely clueless about how to be a normal human? And why so egocentric? (Most truly smart people are usually super-humble because they know that there is a lot more to learn).

In any case, it is fun. Watched on TV (earlier seasons) and continued on bootleg DVD.

2006 - Ugly Betty

The main reason why I didn't listed Betty, la fea in here it's because it is a telenovela (soap opera) everybody in Latinoamérica watched it. Some things are not so good (maybe I'll write about it one day) but overall it had a good story.

Those dubious things got changed in the U.S version... and it changed the whole story. It was easier to create something new than trying to bring people on board using a name that is well beloved to a certain ethnicity... just saying.

2007 - El Hombre que volvió de la muerte (The man that came back from Death -Argentina)

Think of a mash up of The Count of Montecristo and V for Vendetta.

It was a remake of a TV show done in the 60s... 70s? By Narciso Ibañez Menta, a Spanish actor that was naturalized as argentinean and was our very own mix of Boris Karloff (with his love for make up) and Vincent Price (he did a lot of Edgan Allan Poe stories as well). The original story was about Elmer Van Hess, who was subject to different experiments. The lab caughts on fire, he's inside and survives. For whatever reason his organs end up being given to other people so he embarks on a quest to retrieve them.

The remake also had Elmer Van Hess who was a happy fool about to get married, his boss and associates set him up and ends up in prision for fraud. Not happy with that, his boss strikes a deal with a Doctor so Elmer can be his human guinea pig (in order to do so, he asks other inmates to torture him while in prision so his only escape would be to go with the Doctor). He's experimented on as results he gets superhuman strenght and, of course, the chemicals affect his brain turning him into a very dark and blood-lust creature. The lab is set on fire, everybody thinks he died but he comes back 10 years later ready to take revenge on all of them. He was very cruel and his idea of revenge was very Saw-like... but deep down he's still in love with his almost-wife and she's the only one that can sort of ease him in the worst moments.

For an argentinean fiction it was very good.

2008 - Fringe

The X Files but even crazier? You got it.

Mom and I did got lost after season 4... but we still have the bootleg DVDs, it's just that we should start all over again and we don't have a lot of time 😝

2008 - The Mentalist

A guy is so good at reading people that decides to ripp them off saying that he's a medium. He got the wrong guy, this guy kills his family so now it's personal!

Patrick Jane's quirks might be amusing in the early episodes but after a while you, just like everyone else on the show, will want to punch him in the face.

From my little corner of the Earth I scream: Justice for Cho!! He also deserved a happy ending!

2009 - Doll House

A bunch of people got their memories wiped and now they receive other memories (fabricated sometimes) to take on dangerous tasks.

Dubious consent galore... but overall the premise was engaging. It lasted 3 seasons, the third one included a time-jump... the end didn't quite landed for me but... meh! It's entertaining at least.

2009 - Flashfoward

The entire world fainted at the same time. Everybody had visions of the future... so now some things need to be prevented for whatever reason.

Only one season, got cancelled. I don't remember a thing except the tribute to one of Jorge Luis Borges stories (El Jardín de los senderos que se bifurcan/ The garden of paths that bifurcate) and another to David Bowie's song Scary Monsters and Super Creeps. That's all I remember, I swear.

2009 - Modern Family

Sitcom that broke some barriers on what a typical family looks like. It's fun...but yeah, it also bored me.

Note to everybody: not all latinos sound like Sofía Vergara... not even Sofía Vergara sounds like Sofía Vergara the whole time.

#very vague tv reviews by harleiquina #very vague reviews by harleiquina #tv shows #1980s #1990s #2000s

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oatmealcrisp-freak · 1 year

Text

have a deleted scene from Single !!

Ah.

His phone was ringing.

Kusuo blinked down at it, then back up at his screen and decided that he could take a break from his work for this. He was pretty well caught up with the manual he was writing, he just had to check it over with Kumi then send it in to the client for their approval or any revisions they may be seeking.

Stretching his back he groaned, then sighed in pleasure as the tension popped into relief and swiped the screen to accept the call.

Yuuta’s face popped up, his grin wide.

“Hey, big bro! How’s it hanging?”

‘How’s it hanging’? Heh.

Kusuo snorted immediately as he picked up the phone. “You’ve been watching Aiura too much.”

The kid flushed, immediately a little embarrassed, and scratched his cheek. Then he shrugged and grinned shamelessly.

“Yeah, and? She’s so cool! She came in second in her last race, you know, she was robbed. They had to have messed around with the finish line capture, I’m positive of it.”

This kid went through hyperfixations like most people went through trousers. When Kusuo had met him it’d been that soda commercial, then it’d been Super Sentai, then Neon Genesis Evangelion which had horrified his mom and briefly retraumatized Kusuo thanks to his older brother’s own obsession with that series. Those had only been the most notable ones, there’d been plenty and many others along the way.

Now he was into racing and wanted to be just like his idol, Mikoto Aiura, who’d also hailed from Hidariwakibara.

Of course that was difficult when you were in college majoring in Information Technologies with a minor in publishing.

It was hard to believe the little lost brat he’d saved from getting run over had grown into this reasonably intelligent and vivacious young man.

“Even Aiura loses sometimes,” Kusuo said with a shake of his head.

And thank goodness for that, otherwise Aiura would get bored and a bored Aiura was a chaotic Aiura who was eager to throw earthquakes into everything she touched. The racing track would never survive if Aiura had it too easy.

“Aw big bro, you don’t know that! You don’t even follow racing. That’d be like saying you lose,” Yuuta said, his head bouncing in the frame of Kusuo’s screen as he seemed to jog up some stairs. “It’s literally impossible.”

‘If this kid ever finds out about Mikoto’s crush on me, my life is going to be ruined,’ Kusuo realized not for the first time with an ominous chill down his back.

“Anyways, did you call for a reason?” He said before they could start getting even deeper into these dangerous weeds.

“Oh! Right, yeah, you called me so I just thought I’d call back since I got a minute.”

Yuuta frowned into the screen. “Your messages are always so vague, you really need to work on that.”

Then the kid grinned. “What are you, a secret agent or something?”

Kusuo snorted and a small smile was stealing his mouth before he could stop it. He shook his head.

“Hardly anything so important, Yuuta.”

“Why not? You’ve got the secret mountain lair,” Yuuta laughed. “Reams of cash to your name, uh.”

His big eyes flicked around and then he waggled his eyebrows into the camera. “Secret technology patents. Why couldn’t you be a secret agent?”

Then Yuuta paused and tacked on, “Or something.”

Kusuo sniffed with all the gravitas he could muster. “Too much work.”

“Hah!”

It was good to see the kid laugh. Yet again relieved that Neon Genesis Evangelion hadn’t awoken anything in the kid, Kusuo tilted his head. Short green hair tousled up in messy half curls from the lip of a red beanie. His nose was red with the cold, and his hoodie was drawn up high around his chin. Kusuo made a note to self to send him better winter clothes for Christmas.

“Anyways, mom was hinting at something too,” Yuuta said and gave him a suspicious look. “Are you up to something?”

Yeah, this was a good enough opening to drop the bombshell.

“Hm,” Kusuo said, spinning in his chair until Yuuta could see a certain someone behind him.

#freaks fics #i really want yuuta in here but this isn't hitting it for me

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honney-pies · 8 months

Text

Ma Cherie ❤︎

Family Bonding

Pairing: Inumaki Toge/F! oc/ Okkotsu Yuuta

Length: 2.3k

Summary: Kanae has some bonding moments with Satoru and there's totally no angst

Content warning: this chapter contains major spoilers for jjk season two, elements of temporary character death, stabbing, excessive bleeding, and toji

A/N: guys i actually remembered to post! as always there is a self insert version on my blog and you can also find me on ao3.

Teaser -- Chapter One

─── ⋆⋅ November 2016 ⋅⋆ ───

Yuuta and Kanae had just finished a job with Inumaki and were currently waiting for him outside of a convenience store while he got his throat medicine. Since the two had their conversation a couple weeks ago, they have been getting closer and more open with each other. Toge noticed and thought it was quite cute, Kanae also noticed how the pair had also been getting closer since their last mission. She also thought it was cute.

She saw Yuuta fidgeting and knew that he was going to ask something that he felt was an invasion of privacy, though it hardly was.

“Um Kamo-”

“Kanae, ‘kkotsu,” she interrupted.

“Kanae-san, how do you know Gojo-sensei outside of school?” She looked at him as she tilted her head to the side.

“What do you mean?”

“I know you’ve told me a little bit about how he was the one who raised you, but how did that happen? Why did it happen?” Kanae finds it amusing how quickly he became comfortable enough to ask personal questions without stuttering. She smiled at him and hummed.

“Well technically we first met when I was one, but I don’t remember that for obvious reasons. He said it was boring since I couldn’t talk yet. Our parents made a deal that I would basically be his puppet if the time ever came he would need support or something like that. I don’t know the details of it and I don’t care all that much since I know he wouldn’t put me in that position without asking me.”

─── ⋆⋅ March 2001 ⋅⋆ ───

“Satoru-kun, why don’t you spend some time with Kamo-kun while we grownups talk?” Satoru knew that he shouldn’t say anything and just go along with it, but that didn’t stop him from making a rude remark to his mom; being the chosen one had its perks.

“So, you’re how old?” No response. Just the baby babble and the smashing of toys.

“What’s your name?” Again, no response.

“Do you know how to do anything?” At that the child stood up and took a couple shaky steps before falling and laughing, she was clearly proud of herself.

“You’re not interesting.” The young girl huffed and went back to her blocks and all Satoru could do was stare at her. Semi entertained.

─── ⋆⋅ November 2016 ⋅⋆ ───

“So you’ve known him almost your whole life?”

“Yeah pretty much!” The pair saw Inumaki exit the store and he quickly met the two out front and began the walk back to the school since it wasn’t that far away.

“Any more questions?” Yuuta looked lost in thought and then looked back at her.

“Kanae-san, what was it like growing up with Sensei?” Kanae laughed a little at that.

“He’s one of the loudest people I know, he was there for all my school stuff, he got banned from my school at one point because he and my brother were caught threatening a kid for making fun of me. They would walk me to and from school and Sho-nee was the only one allowed to get me from school if Yaga-san wasn’t available. It was annoying but a lot of fun too.”

─── ⋆⋅ April 2006 ⋅⋆ ───

As the young girl walked through the barrier of the school she wanted to go straight to her room and not come out. Unfortunately Suguru knew something was wrong the whole walk home.

“Kanae, would you like to talk about how her school day was,” he asked. She shook her head. Her frown practically a permanent feature on her face. He grabbed her hand a little tighter.

“How about we make cookies?” He laughed at how bright her eyes became and Kanae practically sprinted to the kitchen. He called Satoru and told him to head to the kitchen once he’s done with his meeting with the elders. It’s comical how quickly he showed up after that.

“Kanae, how was school?” Satoru really needed to learn how to read the room a little better. Kanae frowned and then her eyes got watery.

“Today was bring your mom to school day.” The other two looked at each other with wide eyes, holding a conversation with no words and only glances.

“How was it?”

“Awkward. Some of the mom’s asked questions, but they were pretty nice to me after I told them she died,” she said, “But a couple of the kids made fun of me and the moms looked at me weird, I didn’t like it at all and it made me feel sad. One boy said that I can’t have a family and when I tried to tell him I did he just yelled over me!” Satoru and Suguru could tell she wasn’t going to feel better soon, but they would do all they could until she did.

“We’ll walk you to school tomorrow, okay?” She nodded her head as she watched the cookies bake in the oven. They took silly pictures and watched a silly movie.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day the three of them made sure to leave a little early to talk with the school and with the boy. The boys went to deal with the insolent child.

“Kanae, who’s the boy who made you feel bad?” She pointed to a boy with the ugliest fucking haircut and they stalked up to him and started bareting him.

“Who do you think you are talking to her like that?”

“How dare you say she doesn’t have a family?”

“Do I need to talk to your mother?”

“You ever do it again, we'll take your cat!”

“Satoru, too far,” Suguru whispered before saying, “we’ll burn your house to the ground instead. After making sure your cat isn’t inside.”

“U-Uh I don’ have a cat.”

“What the hell is wrong with you?”

“What, do you like dogs more?” The boy shakily nodded his head.

“What are you, a psycho? We should take your dog!”

“Suguru, too far,” Satoru whispered before telling the boy if he ever pulled a stunt like that again he would track him down and eat his bed.

“Satoru, what is with you and eating things?”

“Don’t ques-”

“Gojo-san, Geto-san, what are you doing to that poor boy?”

In the end Shoko had to come to the school and bail them both out of trouble, but not before it was stated that they could never step foot on the school grounds again.

Kanae was so embarrassed, but happy when she found out. Satoru bought her a phone so she could call them if something happened again, Suguru bought her charms for it and they spent the afternoon bedazzling it while sitting in the corner of Shoko’s room while she got ready for her “hangout” with Utahime.

─── ⋆⋅ November 2016 ⋅⋆ ──

“Your brother?” Kanae looked straight ahead and she felt Inumaki nudging her arm with his shoulder.

“Did I ask something I shouldn’t have?”

“No, you didn’t. It’s just a sore subject, maybe not the best one for right now.” Yuuta looked at her and saw the sad smile on her face.

As they entered the school grounds, Yuuta noticed how Kanae avoided walking across a couple cracks in the ground. Upon closer inspection he also saw that the concrete was slightly uneven and had splotches of discoloration surrounding it. They were only slightly darker than the rest of the ground, small weeds growing through.

Just when he was about to ask about why it wasn’t as pristine as the rest of the school, Inumaki bumped shoulders with him and shook his head.

‘Not a good time, maybe later,’ the boy signed.

─── ⋆⋅August 2006⋅⋆ ──

Kanae had been hanging out with Yaga learning more about how cursed energy flows when she got a text from Satoru letting her know that they just left the airport and would be home soon. Of course she had been planning on meeting everyone at the barrier, but Yaga had wanted to finish more of the lesson before she went to go goof off with her “bestest-not-brother-brothers” for the rest of the day. Yaga had a sneaking suspicion that Kanae saw Satoru more as a father and Satoru saw her as his daughter no matter how much he tried to deny it. Especially after what happened with her mother. It had been a while since the two of them had been away from each other for that long, even though it had only been two days, and called each other regularly and texted frequently. After Yaga decided that she had done enough of the lesson he let her go run off.

Kanae was extremely excited to see her brothers after the two days apart, nearly three! There was also a very pretty girl who she spoke to on the phone named Amanai. She was also excited to meet her. Though from what her brothers had told her they could only meet for a minute or two since she was supposed to meet and ‘assimilate with Tegen-sama’ whoever and whatever that was.

When Kanae arrived at the entrance of the school she hadn’t been prepared for what she saw. Her doting brother was lying in a pool of his blood as a dark haired man stood over him. The man began to walk away, towards her. Well towards Tegen-sama and the Plasma Star Vessel - Amanai - but she didn’t know that at the time. What she did know was that she was scared. Kanae was scared that she was going to die and this time no one would be able to save her from death like they had from her mother.

Before she knew what was happening, a blade made its way just under her collarbone and a scream ripped its way from her throat. She didn’t remember seeing the man move, let alone that quickly, but she did remember his face. A scar across his bottom lip, bright green eyes.All Kanae could think is how much the man looked like her mother as he threw her towards her future guardian, her protector.

She could feel the blood leaving her body and that terrified her, but that’s not what scared her the most. What scared her was that she couldn’t feel Satoru. She had never been able to describe it all that well, mainly because she didn’t fully understand what ‘it’ was, but she always knew if he was close. She could hear his heartbeat and feel his blood move. But now she couldn’t feel either. She felt nothing from him and she couldn’t help but sob. She sobbed for what felt like forever to the poor girl as she wished all the blood would go away, that all the blood would return to where it was supposed to be.

“Toru-nii please! Please wake up!” Kanae repeated this over and over as she clung to him like a lifeline, ignoring the pain wracking her small body, like he would come back to her. Her throat had become raw and her voice became hoarse, but she didn’t stop. She couldn’t stop until he came back to her. Kanae could feel her consciousness starting to drift away. Her body was tired from crying, loss of blood, and loss of energy. As she began to lose hope for Satoru to wake up, she voiced two final sentences.

“Dad please don’t leave me, you promised! You promised to stay with me!” Her blood mixed with his until there was no separating them and she began to feel her cries be answered. She could feel Satoru again. Kanae could feel one of the most important people in her life had begun to wake up. She felt his arms move to hold her and she felt as if everything would be okay again. Her tears had stained their clothes and she could feel the snot from her nose move its way into her mouth and it bothered her immensely, but she would rather deal with it than to let go of Satoru.

“I’m here, Kanae. Toru-nii’s here… your dad’s here,” Satoru said these words in a mantra until the young girl began to loosen her hold on him enough for him to look at her. He saw blood coating the left part of her chest and in the back of his mind he could tell that it wasn’t his blood. That thought alone was more than enough to send him into a panic. He saw the stab wound and placed his hand over it and pulled her closer to his chest, pressing a soft kiss on to her temple.

“I’m sorry for scaring you like that. I won’t do it again. Big Bro-dads shouldn’t go back on their promises.” Kanae looked him in the eyes and furrowed her brow.

“Wha’s a bro-dad?” Satoru laughed a small, quiet laugh at the tired girl. Nothing like his usual one.

“Me of course! I’m your bestest big brother and I’m going to be your legal parent when I’m legally allowed, so you can’t go away now, at least not when we’re so close to finally saving each other!” Kanae smiled at him and rested her head against him.

“You’re the best bro-dad ever, Toru-nii.” And all Satoru could do was pull his little girl as close as he possibly could without hurting her and promise to himself that he would try his damn hardest not to scare her like that again.

─── ⋆⋅ November 2016 ⋅⋆ ──

Once they reach the main training grounds, they see Gojo helping to train the other first years when he got a phone call.

“Hello? Ah yes, this is his guardian… another one? Yes, I'll be there shortly.” Kanae let out a small snort and pulled out her phone, sending a quick text.

“Do you want me to go get him, Gojo,” she asked. He looked at her through his bandages and smiled.

“I’m sure Megumi-chan would love that!” She smiled and looked over at Yuuta.

“Would you like to come with me?” The boy in question tilted his head to the side.

“Where are we going?”

“To go get a little crotch goblin,” she replied.

“... Huh?”

____________________________________________________________

a/n: thank you so much for reading!! the next chepter, 'what once was,' is heavily revolved around suguru and kanae's dynamic along with satosugu, so yeah lol. it will contain spoilers for jjk season two and jjk 0, i'm also going to refrence spoilers for the shibuya arc as well, so be aware please.

#jjk #jujutsu kaisen #inumaki toge #okkotsu yuuta #honney-pies #ma cherie #inumaki x oc #yuuta x oc #yuuta okkotsu x inumaki toge

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apollosarrows-world · 1 year

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Part 3, I had to re blog my last part cos I forgot the tags lol 😂 this part Is form precys pov and so will the next one hope you like them

After nearly a year of weirdness Percy was looking forward to seeing. The best people In the world he's mom and little sister. They had him convinced that the best people had the rottenness luck . He's moms parents had died in a plane accident when she was only 5! She then moved in with an uncle that didn't really care about her.

She wanted to be a novelist so she worked though high school to get in to a college with a good creative writing program. She had even named ophelia after her favourite play by Shakespeare he couldn't remember which one he always found he's plays a little boring.

But then her uncle got cancer so she had to quit school to take care of him . After he died she was left with no money no family and no diploma . The only good brake she ever got was meeting are dad . I don't have any memory's of him just a warm glow and a Bear trace of a smile.

Ophelia probably doesn't even have that . And mom doesn't like to talk about him it always makes her sad . Ophelia used to ask about him but she stopped a two years ago for some reason. Maybe she didn't like to see to look on moms face wen she'd.

See they wasn't married she told us he was rich and important. So there relationship was a secret. Mom said he went on an important journey and never came back. Lost at sea my mom would say lost not dead lost at sea . The just the idea had made ophelia terrified of the ocean.

She would work odd jobs Took night class to get her high school diploma and raise me and my sister on her own. Still she never complained not even once but we weren't easy kids . Ophelia had gotten bullied and kicked out of school for well for what She would see .

Monsters as a kid it got her into a lot of tumble. But after she got kicked out of her last school I hardly seen her anymore. 8 times in 2 years. And she never mentioned them again . Which was good cos gabe ugliano always got really mad wen she did .

Gabe was are sep dad he was nice for the first 30 seconds we knew him then showed he’s colours as a world class jerk . Wen me and fee were young we used to call him smelly gabe . Im sorry but it’s the truth the guy The guy reeked like moldy garlic pizza wrapped in gym shorts.

Between the 3 of us, we made my mom's life pretty hard. The way Smelly Gabe treated her, the way he and I got along ... well, when I came home is a good example.

I walked into our little apartment, hoping my mom would be home I walked into our little apartment, hoping my mom would be home from work. Instead, Smelly Gabe was in the living room, playing poker with his buddies. The television blared ESPN. Chips and beer cans were strewn all over the carpet.

Hardly looking up, he said around his cigar, "So, you're home."

"Where's my mom?"

"Working,"

”And ophelia "

“How should I no”

he said. "You got any cash?"

That was it. No Welcome back. Good to see you. How has your life been the last six months?

Gabe had put on weight. He looked like a tuskless walrus in thrift-store clothes. He had about three hairs on his head, all combed over his bald scalp, as if that made him handsome or something.

He managed the Electronics Mega-Mart in Queens, but he stayed home most of the time. I don't know why he hadn't been fired long before. He just kept on collecting paychecks, spending the money on cigars that made me nauseous, and on beer, of course. Always beer.

Whenever I was home, he expected me to provide his gambling funds. He called that our "guy secret." Meaning, if I told my mom, he would punch my lights out. I tried to keep Ophelia form it as much as possible and she never mentioned anything about it. but some times I would wander if she was okay wen I left. He was always harder on her .

I don't have any cash," I told him. He raised a greasy eyebrow.

Gabe could sniff out money like a bloodhound, which was surprising, since his own smell should've covered up everything else.

"You took a taxi from the bus station," he said. Probably paid with a twenty. Got six, seven bucks in change. Somebody expects to live under this roof, he ought to carry his own weight. Am I right, Eddie?"

Eddie, the super of the apartment building, looked at me with a twinge of sympathy. "Come on, Gabe," he said. "The kid just got here."

"Am I right?" Gabe repeated.

Eddie scowled into his bowl of pretzels. The other two guys passed gas in harmony.

"Fine," I said. I dug a wad of dollars out of my pocket and threw the money on the table. "I hope you lose."

"Your report card came, brain boy!" he shouted after me. "I wouldn't act so snooty!"

I slammed the door to my room, which really wasn't my room. During school months, it was Gabe's "study." He didn't study anything in there except old car magazines, but he loved shoving my stuff in the closet, leaving his muddy boots on my windowsill, and doing his best to make the place smell like his nasty cologne and cigars and stale beer.

I dropped my suitcase on the bed. Home sweet home.

Gabe's smell was almost worse than the nightmares about Mrs. Dodds, or the sound of that old that old fruit lady's shears snipping the yarn.

But as soon as I thought that, my legs felt weak. I remembered Grover's look of panic-how he'd made me promise I wouldn't go home without him. A sudden chill rolled through me. I felt like someone- something-was looking for me right now, maybe pounding its way up the stairs, growing long, horrible talons.

Then I hear my door open I panic a second thinking gabe was going to come in. But as I look up I she Ophelia running up to the bed . Jumping on it causing me to jump a little as she tackles me in a big hug.

“Looks like someone missed me” I say hugging her back tightly .

“Not at all who told you that” she says sarcastically as she Berries her face in my chest.

For some reason this Took for ever lol 😂

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icemavs · 2 years

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caught up in you (no retreat, baby ch. 3)

word count: 2.8k (masterlist) hello all and welcome to the third installment (finally) of no retreat, baby! sorry it took me so long to get this updated, I had some family and school things happening but all is well now. this was again beta'd by my wonderful friend Carter so pls thank them!! pls leave comments and such and enjoy! (I'll post an ao3 link too)

Wednesday

Rooster rolled over in bed to find his alarm clock glowing red and showing the time 02:37. He had been home for just over four hours and three of those hours consisted of tossing and turning in bed trying to fall asleep. He couldn’t get his mind off of what the girl at the bar had said to him about Hangman. There was no way in hell that Hangman liked him, and even if he did, it’s not like Rooster liked him back. Rooster could hardly stand him as a fellow pilot let alone as someone who felt that way about him. Right?

When that boy broke his heart, then just a year later his mom died, and he had no one left but Maverick, Bradley had closed himself off to other people even more. After losing his father when he was young, he was always hesitant to let anyone in the way he let that boy into his life. By the time Maverick barred him from getting into the Naval Academy, Bradley had had enough of people being in his life and pretending to care that he all but swore off relationships for good. Sure, there had been people here and there – quick hook-ups on deployments when the time on the ship got to be too long or one night stands after a bad day of training – but he hadn’t been in an actual, honest-to-god relationship since. He didn’t need it in his life, flying was all he ever wanted to do, and he didn’t need emotions and people to get in the way of becoming the best.

His mind started to wander back to Hangman. Jake Seresin was damn attractive, but outside of his reputation as a pilot, Rooster knew very little about him. They had crossed paths briefly during pilot training years before. Hangman was in the class ahead of Rooster at NAS Corpus Christi, and Rooster was there on assignment night when he saw Hangman selected to fly the Super Hornet. The only thing going through Rooster’s mind at the time was that he couldn’t wait for the following month’s assignment night where he was sure to get assigned the same aircraft. As far as Hangman’s pilot reputation went, he stuck to his callsign. Everyone had a callsign for a reason, and Rooster heard by word of mouth that Jake was called Hangman because he once left his wingman out to dry on a training sortie. Whether or not that was the actual story was only known by Jake and the pilots who named him, but something like that sticks with a guy.

As he began to think back to the mission at hand, and the fact that he had to be awake in just a few hours to train for said mission, he finally drifted off to sleep.

***

When the alarm clock sounded just a few hours later, Rooster made the executive decision to veto his morning run and lay in bed contemplating how he was supposed to get through the day being around Hangman. He told himself that it would just be a normal day, and nothing that happened the night before meant anything. It was a product of the alcohol and friendly competition between two pilots vying for the same position.

He hopped in the shower to rinse off the night prior and reenergize himself for the inevitably grueling day of training ahead. Maverick had them all sweating and working harder than they had worked since they were at TOP GUN initially. This had to be some mission they were training for because all the low-level bombing runs and air-to-air fighting was out of the ordinary for typical training. Finishing up in the shower, he threw on his flight suit and headed out to his car.

Upon pulling into the parking lot, Rooster saw Hangman and Phoenix walking in together from Phoenix’s rental car. Hangman had gotten a ride from Rooster the day before, so Rooster figured that Jake just didn’t have a car and caught a ride with whoever he saw first. The weirdest part about it was that the two seemed to be engaged in a serious discussion about who knows what as they walked toward the hangar. After he saw them walk into the building, Rooster hopped out of the car and walked in himself.

Good mornings and other greetings were passed around the room as everyone made their way to their seats and waited for Maverick to show up. Hangman and Phoenix seemed to have finished their discussion before they got around everyone else, but there was a bit of an uncomfortable feeling in the air when Rooster walked by them.

What the hell could they have been talking about where I notice that things are weird? Rooster thought to himself. He was notoriously aloof when it came to the people around him, and he knew this, so when he did notice that something was off it made him curious.

“Good morning,” Maverick said, walking to his little podium from the direction of the flight line. “Today our focus is thinking on your feet and working on decision making in the air.” He paused to look around the room. “Outside of the normal safety things, you will get very little information in the pre-mission briefs for today’s training. An intelligence representative is here today to give you the replicated threat information, but other than what they give you, every move you make will be made on the spot.”

A smattering of mutters could be heard throughout the classroom, but one voice stood out over the rest.

“And what are you going to be doing, sir?” Hangman asked.

“You’ll get to figure that out once you’re in the air,” Maverick replied with a small smirk gracing his lips. He must have had something up his sleeve, but knowing him and his flying style, there was no way of knowing what it would be.

The intelligence analyst then entered the room and gave a short briefing on what aircraft Maverick would be replicating – a Russian Sukhoi Su-30 – which gave them an idea of what sort of countermeasures and maneuvers they would have to keep in the back of their minds. In addition to the aircraft information, the analyst gave them information on the goal of the mission: protect a set of buildings and don’t let Maverick within 10 miles.

Rooster had flown against replicated Su-30s plenty, and was sure the rest of his classmates had as well, so that wasn’t what he was worried about. What concerned him was the fact that Maverick was the one who was the replicator. The pilots he had flown against before had about the same or lower skill level than himself, but Maverick was a step above almost every aviator in the United States Navy. Hence, why he was teaching this mission.

After the rest of the briefings and safety of flight admin things were finished, the crew headed out to get their gear on and make their way to the flight line. Bradley took his time putting on his G suit and thought about what he was going to have to do once he was in the air. It looked like Hangman took his time, too.

The two ended up walking down the hallway, not talking, and Rooster just assumed Hangman was thinking about flying the way Rooster was trying to. Unfortunately, Rooster’s mind was wandering the way it seemed to every time he got around Hangman these days. He noticed the toothpick Jake always seemed to keep in his mouth and the way that his lips closed around it. Hangman must’ve noticed the way Rooster was kind of, not-so-subtly staring at him and glanced over.

“Something you want to say, Bradshaw?” he asked. The sentence may have seemed hostile, but there was no malice behind the words.

Rooster said nothing but turned his gaze back to the end of the hallway.

“You know,” Hangman started again, a hint of mischief in his tone. “I know why your panties are in such a wad over Maverick.”

Rooster didn’t stop walking or look at Hangman, but his breath hitched in his chest.

“He was flying with your old man when he died, wasn’t he?”

Now, Rooster stopped walking and whipped his head around at Hangman. Without saying a word, he grabbed Hangman’s flight suit near his chest and shoved him against the nearest wall, causing the pictures hung there to rattle with the force. His forearm was pressing on Jake’s collarbone, dangerously close to his throat where it would’ve cut off Jake’s breathing. His other hand was balled into a fist at his side.

“Woah there, Roo,” Hangman said nervously. “Listen, I didn’t mean anything by that.”

Rooster leaned in a little closer to Hangman’s face and unclenched his fist but kept it at his side. He didn’t acknowledge the little flip his stomach did when Hangman said “Roo.”

“Then why open your mouth, Bagman?” Rooster asked quietly, but didn’t actually mean it as a real question and he wanted to make sure Hangman knew that.

The two just stood there, breathing heavily. Rooster didn’t let up on the pressure he was putting on Hangman’s chest and didn’t back away, but Hangman didn’t stand down either. Their breaths mingled in the small space between their mouths.

Bradley’s eyes darted down to Jake’s mouth where he was still sucking on that damn toothpick. For just a second, it crossed Bradley’s mind to close the distance between them and get rid of that stupid toothpick and shut him up himself, but the bang of a door closing somewhere down the hallway snapped him out of it.

He shoved off of Hangman and without a word, started back down the hallway toward the flight line.

Just 20 minutes later, Rooster was in the air where he belonged. He knew what he was doing up there. Down on the ground, where thoughts and feelings mattered? Not his forte. When it came to what other people were thinking, he never knew; and he especially never knew what Hangman was thinking. One minute, Hangman was giving Rooster a soft look that had “fuck me” eyes just under the surface and the next he was making some snarky remark about Rooster’s flying. And why on God’s green earth did it make Rooster so goddamn confused? At first he couldn’t stand him, but that night they caught each other just outside their rooms when Hangman was letting the other pilots out after a night of drinking, Rooster felt something a little different. Something warmer.

“Fox two, Rooster!” came through the radio and Rooster suddenly remembered that he was flying a multi-million dollar military fighter jet and made a confused sound.

“Another Fox two, Bradshaw!,” came another voice. “Hey! Earth to Rooster!”

It was Payback and Fanboy from a few miles away calling out their air-to-air missile shots on a rapidly approaching Maverick. They needed cover while they followed up their shots in the hopes that they could keep Maverick away. And Rooster was the one that needed to provide that cover. Not think about his stupid potential crush on Hangman. The last thing he needed was to become known as the guy who constantly zoned out while he was flying. It wasn’t a good look. He whipped his jet around to follow the shot and had his finger over the button in case he needed to fire one of his own, but he had no visual on Maverick.

About two seconds later, Maverick came blowing by Rooster’s left wing, turned his plane around quickly, and was nose on with Rooster before Rooster could even say, “Fuck.”

“That’s a lock,” Maverick said over the radio. “You’re dead Lieutenant Bradshaw. See you on the ground.”

Rooster swore under his breath and descended down a few thousand feet before facing west to head back home. On his flight home alone and unafraid, he let his mind wander without checking himself this time. He thought back to Hangman and the night he showed up at Rooster’s door, very drunk but apparently coherent enough to remember what had happened the next day. Rooster thought back to the warm palm on his thigh and how he could still feel it there the next day, and again when they were in the showers. Fuck, maybe he did have a thing for Hangman. But it’s not like there was anything he could or would do about it. They were in a competition to see who was the better pilot to lead one of the most deadly missions in recent naval aviation history.

Rooster wasn’t sure if he was ready for that himself, but as he thought about it more, he wasn’t sure he was ready to lose his competitor either.

***

The warm water was running through his hair and down his back when Bradley heard a couple of the other pilots walk into the locker room. It was the end of the day and they had already finished their debriefs, so he heard most of them just saying their goodbyes, presumably showering at home instead.

Perfect, Rooster thought to himself. I’d rather have the shower to myself anyway. I can use all the hot water now.

Rooster scrubbed his hands down his face to wash away the shitty day he’d had; from Hangman and his stupid comment in the hallway to getting shot down in the air because he was distracted, Rooster was ready for the day to be over. As he splashed his face with water held in his cupped hands, Rooster didn’t notice the sound of footsteps making their way into the showers.

“Some flying Mav did out there today, huh, Roo?” Hangman’s voice made Rooster jump what felt like ten feet in the air and land facing Hangman.

“Uh, what?” Rooster replied stupidly. He shook his head as if to clear it. “Um, yeah he played his part well. Too well, if you ask me. I thought this was supposed to be training, not get the shit beat out of you.”

Hangman nodded but didn’t say anything and kept his body turned toward Rooster as he started doing the normal shower things like washing his hair and his body.

His really nice, really defined, really tanned body. That Rooster definitely wasn’t staring at. Nope, not at all. Turns out it didn’t take much to lift Bradley out of his sour mood.

Once he realized that he was staring and it was probably weird, especially after what happened in the hallway today, he turned back around to finish up his own shower. There really wasn’t much left for him to do other than stand under the warm spray, so that’s just what he did. Until he heard the water behind him shut off and a pair of bare feet padding back out to the locker area.

He turned around, shutting his own water off as he did so, motivated by some unknown force and shuffled back to the locker area himself. He quickly dried off and began to throw some clothes on that he found hiding at the bottom of his locker.

Rooster heard Hangman walking his way and turned to find him wearing only a pair of running shorts with his hair sticking up every which way. If the pattern were to continue, this interaction would be the one where they yell at each other, considering the other one before the flight had been so quiet, he didn’t think that counted.

Jake stopped about a foot away from Bradley, not saying anything and looking down at the floor.

When he looked up, his eyes were kind and held a glint of something warmer, too. “Listen, I’m sorry for what I said earlier today,” he said. He opened his mouth as if to say more, but quickly shut it again.

Instead of saying anything else, Jake stepped forward and put one hand on Bradley’s face with the other hovering near Bradley’s hip. Jake closed the distance and their lips met in the most gentle kiss Bradley had ever experienced. He didn’t know a kiss could be that soft. At first it surprised him, and Rooster froze up, eyes wide open and his breath stalled. After about two milliseconds, he realized he enjoyed what was happening and reciprocated. His hand dropped the Hawaiian shirt it was holding and moved to grip Jake’s strong waist.

Hangman pulled away a short distance, hand still on Rooster’s face and eyes trained on Rooster’s. Jake gave a small smile with pink lips and Rooster tried his best to find words, but there were none coming to mind. Hangman patted Rooster on the cheek and stepped away, letting his fingers linger on Bradley’s waist.

Bradley’s arms dropped to his sides and he stood dumbfounded in the place Jake had left him while he watched Jake walk toward the door. He stopped and turned around.

“See you at The Hard Deck later?” Hangman asked, a big grin slowly creeping onto his face.

Rooster just nodded dumbly back and kept his eyes trained on the door after it closed behind Jake.

#rooster x hangman #hangster #sereshaw #top gun #maverick #jake hangman seresin #bradley rooster bradshaw #hangman #rooster #top gun: maverick #glen powell #tgm #hangman x rooster #miles teller #tom cruise

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oh-hey-big-zam · 2 years

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(She's a little) Runaway

Post summary: When Chrissy and her mother's contentious relationship comes to a head, the only thing Chrissy wants is to see Eddie Munson play guitar at the Hideout. This simple desire changes both of their lives more than they could expect.

Pairing: Chrissy Cunningham/Eddie Munson

Word count: 15K

Content warnings: verbal and physical parental abuse, explicit sexual content

The sleepy town of Hawkins, Indiana, lay silent and still, apart from the occasional hooting owl and the hurried scuff of a girl's sneakers on the pavement. The girl in question, Chrissy Cunningham, had always found the silence of the town, especially at night, odd and oppressive, although she knew most people found it calming and serene. When she'd been a young child plagued with insomnia, she felt like she must be the only person in the whole world who had the urge to get out and explore the town when it was bathed in it's oddly beautiful darkness. She imagined that everything, from her school playground with it's creaky swing sets, to the corner store where she snuck an occasional candy bar past her mother, would take on a different dimension at night. She'd read about liminal spaces in one of the big school encyclopedias a few years ago and become fascinated with the concept. Everything in her life was much the same; wake up, school, cheer practice, home, pick at dinner, finish schoolwork, go to bed hungry. She went to the same places and saw the same people and did the same things; she didn't really mind it for the most part, but something in her ached for change, for newness, for disruption.

Maybe that was why she'd put on dark eyeliner that day instead of her usual light baby blue eye shadow. She'd been at the drugstore earlier that week, picking up her father's sleeping pill prescription, when she saw Joan Jett on a magazine cover, all big hair and leather, staring her down. Almost daring her to do something, anything, besides exactly what she was supposed to do. She'd bit her lip and grabbed a dark eyeliner pencil from the makeup counter, sliding it into the pocket of her skirt surreptitiously.

She'd gotten a few odd looks at school and almost considered wiping it off in the bathroom, until Eddie Munson had approached her. Their lockers were only a few feet from each other, but they hardly spoke; Chrissy considered him to be part of a different world, although one she kind of admired deep down. He had looked at her and nearly done a double-take; when she felt his eyes on her, she'd looked up to see him smiling at her almost curiously. He began to walk towards her, and she straightened her back, feeling her insides clench.

“Like the new look, princess,” he said idly, leaning his hand on the wall above her head.

She laughed a little shyly. “Please, don't call me that.” She knew that a lot of kids at school called her princess behind her back, because her parents owned the biggest house in town, a palatial home with roman columns at the front door and a lawn manicured to perfection. Some of the girls said she'd only gotten the head cheerleader spot that year because her mother had written a check for two new school buses to replace the ones in deep disrepair. She tried not to let it bother her, but she felt like sometimes people didn't bother to get to know her beyond the facade she showed to the world.

Eddie put his hands up apologetically. “Sorry, I just...it's not what I expected from you, is all. You kind of look like a rock star.”

She felt her face grow hot and knew she must be turning red like some idiot schoolgirl. Although she was eighteen, the furthest she'd ever gotten with a guy was a disastrous roller rink date that ended with a broken ankle.

“Really? I mean, I just wanted to try something different, I guess. I wish I could play like Nancy Wilson, but my mom won't even let me have a guitar.”

“That's a shame, pr- Chrissy. You know, my band plays Tuesdays at the Hideout. Not exactly the Garden, but you gotta start somewhere, right?”

She felt a flutter in her chest; somehow he'd hit on exactly what she was feeling in that moment. “Yeah...gotta start somewhere.”

He smiled at her and she gazed back at him, all dark curls and bright eyes, and she could almost see a tattoo on his chest if he pulled his shirt down just a little...

He cleared his throat, breaking her reverie. “Gotta run, trig's not gonna fail itself. But yeah, come see us if you ever-”

“Tuesday! That's tonight!” she blurted out.

He nodded, grinning. “You know your days of the week, alright. Yeah, we play around 10:30 usually.”

“Oh...” she furrowed her brows, turning away slightly. “I don't know if...”

“Your mom will let you?” he finished for her.

“I- how did...yeah.” She turned back to her locker, looking wounded. “I mean...I can try to ask, but I doubt she would go for it. She's really, um...what she says goes, you know? Like, always.”

He nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. “You know, it's not my place or anything, but there's always going to be people who try and tell you what to do, where to go, how to dress. Parents, boyfriends...at some point, you have to draw a line in the sand. Otherwise, you'll wake up one day and not even know who you are.”

Chrissy's face burned in embarrassment. She wanted to lash out at him, to tell him he didn't know her, didn't know what he was talking about, but somehow he'd pegged her instantaneously. Was she that much of a cliche?

“I'm sorry if that...I didn't mean to upset you.”

“No,” she sighed. “You're not wrong. It's just hard, you know?” She looked up at him, hoping he understood on some level. He didn't seem like the type who'd grown up with parents who made you feel like you needed permission just to breathe.

“Yeah,” he said simply. “If you ever need to, you know, talk, or just get a little late teenage rebellion in, you know who to call.” He winked and pulled at her tight ponytail playfully; she turned towards him, but he was already making his way to his next class before she could react.

–

Their encounter had played in the back of her mind for the rest of the day, making it hard to concentrate on her World History lecture. Eddie Munson had known her name, had invited her to see his band, had pulled her hair like a boy with a crush. It was ridiculous, she tried to tell herself, to think there was anything between them. She had seen him around school for the last few years, generally disrupting the usual proceedings in one way or another. If he wasn't making a loud, impassioned speech about the value of nonconformity in the lunch room, he was riling up one of the teachers and getting sent to the principal for the hundredth time. The most recent had been in their senior health class, where the professor had tried to teach them abstinence per the state guidelines, only for Eddie to pull a condom out of his jacket pocket and blow it up like a balloon.

“Ladies!” he had declared to everyone's stunned silence. “See how much this thing stretches out? If your boyfriend ever says condoms are too small for him, don't believe it!” He'd gotten into some deep trouble for that, she knew, although it was the talk of the girl's room for days afterwards.

“He's such a freak!” one girl in her cheer squad had sneered as she applied foundation.

“I don't know,” Chrissy had said, shrugging. “I think he was trying to help; it's not like just telling us not to have sex is actually teaching us anything. And it was pretty funny.”

The girl had rolled her eyes and stomped off in her dress-code violation heels. “Marry him, then.”

As Chrissy boarded the bus home, she felt oddly invigorated and was determined to bring Eddie's show up when she got home. Maybe if she got lucky, they'd even let her borrow the family car for the night. As soon as she stepped through the door, however, she heard her mother slamming drawers in the kitchen and felt her insides freeze up. Her mother, Laura, had a way of inflicting her various moods on everyone else in the house. She steeled herself and walked to the kitchen, hoping she would get lucky enough to bypass her mother's wrath.

“Hi, mom,” she chirped. “How was work?” Her parents co-owned a law firm in the center of the town, although her mother usually tried to be home in time to make the family dinner.

“Fine, Chrissy,” she hissed through clenched teeth. Rough day, then.

“I, um, mastered that move I was talking about at practice today. You know, the back handspring.”

Her mother was silent for a few moments. “Don't say 'um', Chrissy. It makes you sound ignorant. Remember what I've told you about precision of language. You need to leave a good impression with everyone you meet.”

Chrissy rocked back on her heels, knowing if she said anything in response it would be considered 'talking back'.

“Food smells good, what are we having?”

“We are not having anything. Your father and I are having chili, and you are having half a rice cake. You're still not where you need to be; you promised you'd be at 105 by September, remember?”

Chrissy bit back a protest. All she'd had that day was a slice of grapefruit for breakfast, and a small carton of skim milk for lunch. She'd worked really hard at cheer practice earlier, and she felt ready to eat a horse. She thought of Eddie, of seeing him play guitar in a crowded bar, and stayed silent.

“Is there a problem, dear?”

“No, mother.”

Laura looked at Chrissy full-on for the first time and nearly shrieked in horror. “What are you...who put that whorish makeup on you?”

Chrissy was already at her limit, and her mother's comment felt like a kick to the stomach. “It's not whorish, mom, it's just dark eyeliner. Lots of girls wear it.”

Her mother laughed viciously. “No, no, not in my house. Take it off this instant.”

Chrissy thought again of how she's felt talking to Eddie, how he'd understood immediately the kind of oppressive atmosphere she lived in.

You gotta start somewhere

Chrissy flushed, resisting the urge to stomp her foot like she had when she a young girl. “I don't want to, mom, I like it. People like it.”

“People? Oh, I see now. Some boy made you feel like you were special and pretty and now you want to defy your mother. Well, let me tell you, that's not how things operate here. You will act like an appropriate young lady and not embarrass your parents. We know what's best for you.”

“It's just...fucking eyeliner! Why can't you let me do anything without your approval, when am I supposed to figure out what I like and who I am? I can't live under your thumb forever, I'm not a kid anymore!”

The sound of Laura slapping Chrissy across the face reverberated through their fully refurbished kitchen. Chrissy choked back a sob and turned away.

“I don't know who you think you are, Christine Aurora Cunningham, but you will not use that kind of language in this house,” her mother said curtly. “If you think you know what's best for yourself, then feel free to find your own way in life.” She turned back to the pot of chili on the stove and stirred, clearly through with the conversation. Chrissy stood straight, trying to look taller than she felt.

“I will,” she said simply, striding away quickly. She left the house, slamming the ornate door behind her.

Chrissy had walked for what felt like an eternity before she came across the town's local fast food place. The tacky neon pink and blue sign declaring that the restaurant had both burgers and fries glowed like a beacon, and she was drawn to it like someone who'd been lost in the desert for days. She stood at the counter to order, feeling like she was on the verge of passing out from hunger and stress. A girl with wild, dyed-black hair and a spiked choker stood on the other side of the counter and looked her up and down. “Yeah?” she said simply, indicating that Chrissy should either hurry up and order or get the hell out.

“Oh!” Chrissy said, shaking herself. “Um, sorry, I never eat, like, burgers or anything. What do you...recommend?”

The cashier chuckled a little disdainfully, and her dark lipstick flashed against white teeth. Chrissy twisted her hands around the hem of her skirt and felt like maybe she should forget the whole thing and keep walking.

“Uh, I guess the double cheeseburger is pretty good. It's got mustard and ketchup, you know, the usual. Do you like pickles?”

“Uh...sure?”

“Alright, double cheese it is. You want fries and a coke or what?”

“Oh, gosh no! The burger is more than enough, thanks. Like I said, I never do this.”

The cashier smiled, a little more warmly this time and took in Chrissy's small frame and wide, deep-set eyes.

“Alright, it'll be up in a few. And hey, it's on me. Gotta celebrate the little things, right? Looks like it's the first cheeseburger you've had in ten years.”

Chrissy wasn't sure what to say but, since the cashier was suddenly being nice, she decided to press her luck a little. “Hey, do you know Eddie Munson? Sorry if that's a weird thing to ask, but you kind of look like someone who would know him.”

The girl laughed wryly. “Sure, I know the guy. What about him?”

“This probably sounds strange coming from me, but is he seeing anyone?”

“Hmm, not last I heard, no. Why, are you into him?”

Chrissy twisted her hands together, feeling like a girl at a sleepover gossiping over boys. “I mean, I don't know. I'm going to his show tonight, and I guess I was just curious, that's all. Did you guys ever-”

“Nah, he's not really my type, to be honest.”

“Oh, what's your type?”

“Cheerleaders.” The girl flashed a grin at Chrissy and winked.

“Oh!” Chrissy said, giggling. “That's cool. I mean, I'm not...”

“Yeah, yeah, order's up.” She slid Chrissy her tray of food. “You enjoy that meat now.”

Chrissy blushed furiously and skittered away; the girl at the counter slipped on a pair of headphones and started blaring Metallica loud enough that Chrissy could hear from across the room.

The girl sat, nibbling at the huge burger and contemplating her next move. She only had a few dollars stored in her skirt pocket; it wasn't like she could get that far on her own steam. She had no doubt that if she returned home, her mother would freeze her out for a few days and then go back to acting like nothing had happened between them. There was a part of Chrissy, though, a part she'd been secretly nurturing since the first time her mother had thrown a cruel remark her way, that never wanted to go home again. She was an adult now, and only had a few months left of her senior year before she didn't really need to rely on them anymore. She'd gotten into a few state schools, with Indiana University specifically offering her a full-ride cheerleading scholarship. All she really had to do was make it to August and then she could start the rest of her life.

That was still five months away, though. Was she just supposed to stay inside this Burger Hut until then? The only thing that was clear to her in the moment was that she had to make it to Eddie's show at the Hideout tonight. It had become a symbol for everything in her life that she was never allowed to do, all the missed friendships and daring fashion choices and normal family outings that every other person seemed to take for granted. She had lived with the dirty secret of her mother's dysfunction for so long that it almost seemed to be part of her, but sitting alone in the dingy diner with the smell of fries wafting around her, she felt freer and more normal than she had in a long time. Maybe August wasn't so far away, she thought. Maybe it was time for a real change in her life. She stood up, brushing crumbs off of herself, and placed the empty tray near the garbage can.

“Thank you!” she called out, wondering if the goth girl had heard her over the sound of Nothing Else Matters.

Chrissy continued walking, feeling a chill creep into the air as the sun descended and stars began to peek through the dusky sky. She wasn't sure exactly where the Hideout was, but she knew it was somewhere on the other side of town, the part where a family like the Cunninghams generally had no business going near. She wished she was wearing something besides a skirt, both because of the deep March cold that was making her legs feel numb, and the fact that she was walking through an unfamiliar part of Hawkins alone at night. She continued her hurried pace, wrapping her arms around herself and trying to stay alert to her surroundings.

As she approached what she thought was the right area, the eerie silence made her feel on edge. She felt a muscle in her jaw tighten and realized she must be clenching her teeth, an old anxious habit that she thought she'd gotten a handle on. She blew out a breath slowly through her nose, realizing she was probably working herself up for nothing. She had enough things to deal with as it was, and she resolved to continue on with what confidence she could muster. She approached what seemed to be a guns and ammunition store, and an older man in the parking lot smiled at her in what she hoped was a purely friendly way.

“Evening there, dear. You look a little lost.”

“Uh...just looking for the Hideout. I'm not from around here.”

“The Hideout, eh? Lot of noise they're playing these days. I remember when they played the classics, Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard. You might be a little too young to remember, though. How old are you, anyway?”

“Twenty-four,” Chrissy lied, trying to stand straight and tall despite her fatigue. She was getting an odd feeling from the man but tried her best to stay calm.

“Hm, you look younger than that, sweetheart, but I guess you kids like that type of music these days. Ah, well, if it's the Hideout you want, you're on the right track. Just go up the road a ways and turn right when you see the liquor store, can't miss it.”

“Thank you,” Chrissy said shortly but politely. “Have a good night, sir.” She turned on her heel and walked briskly away, hoping he was being truthful and not luring her into a bad situation. She thought maybe she was being a little paranoid, and not everyone was out to get her all the time. But she also wasn't naive enough not to see the potential danger she faced in a strange place in the middle of nowhere. She wished her mother had given her insight on how to stay safe in a world where she could be targeted at any time, instead of keeping her locked away in the gilded cage she'd flown. Thankfully, Chrissy saw a grimy-looking sign ahead that said Lou's Liquors and quickened her pace. She turned and saw a nondescript looking building; as she came closer, she saw red flashing signs for Michelob and Budweiser and a banner that said she had finally arrived at the Hideout.

She felt relief flood through her and leaned against one of the support beams on the porch. A couple of scruffy-looking older men sitting at a table stopped their card game to look her up and down and smile. She smiled back at them, feeling much safer now that she was surrounded by lights and noise and the smell of cigarettes. She made her way inside and found a spot at the bar; as she looked around, she was surprised to see a few girls who were about her age drinking lemonade in a booth. They giggled and she overheard a bit of their conversation.

“This bar is fucking nasty, why did you make me come here?”

“You'll see when the band gets here, girl, trust me.”

“The band? Oh my god, grow up. You can't keep doing this groupie shit when you go to school next year.”

“Why not? Bloomington has a ton of local bands, I bet. But this guy is on another level, he's like full-on Van Halen level hotness. Even his name is Eddie. Hawkins' own little rock star,” the girl cooed, sipping her lemonade.

“You're such a loser,” the other girl intoned, stirring the ice in her glass.

Chrissy's eavesdropping was interrupted by the slim female bartender approaching her. “What'll it be, hon?”

“Oh, um...” Chrissy had come this far, farther than she ever thought she could, and decided to take another risk. “Uh...Budweiser, please.”

The woman raised her eyebrows, and Chrissy realized she was still wearing her high school cheerleading uniform. She tried to think of an excuse as to why she had it on but settled on staying silent and trying to look mature. The bartender smirked and poured her a glass. “Alright, but let's stick to just the one. I've had too long of a day to have to take some prom queen to the ER to get her stomach pumped.”

Chrissy flushed and took the glass; it's cool condensation felt oddly soothing to the touch. “Thank you, ma'am.”

“Oh, god, please don't call me ma'am. I'm only twenty-eight.”

“Sorry,” Chrissy said, sipping the beer and wrinkling her nose at the odd taste. After a few more sips, she felt it go to her head and found she didn't mind the taste as much. She pushed the glass, moist with condensation, away so she didn't chug the whole thing out of nervousness. She swung her legs against the aged wood of the bar, watching the minutes tick by on a Busch Light branded clock above the register. She strained to try and hear the rest of the girls' conversation, but they had moved onto other topics like what they were going to wear to prom that year. It seemed she had some competition, after all. She snorted to herself, placing her hand over her mouth. Since when was she vying for the heart of Eddie Munson? They had never spoken outside of a single school assembly during her sophomore year. She had arrived late and hadn't been able to find a seat with anyone she knew, so she settled in next to the group of oddballs who tended to band together. In her lateness that morning, she'd forgotten to grab a pencil from her supplies at home.

“Excuse me,” she said, turning towards the person nearest her. “Sorry, do you have a...pencil?”

Out of the corner of her eye she'd assumed the person with long, dark curls was a girl. To her surprise, she saw it was a boy, with impossibly brown eyes that looked through her, amused.

“My, my, Cunningham, I figured you were the type who'd sooner die than leave home without all your school supplies.”

Chrissy had frowned, feeling like this boy she didn't know, whose gaudy rings and ripped jeans were definitely not in line with the school's dress code, had no business telling her how to live.

“Yeah, my alarm didn't go off, and my mom was yelling...I mean, she was telling me to hurry up and get to school, and I forgot half my stuff. It happens, you know?” She wrapped her arms around herself and clutched her elbows defensively.

“Oh, yeah, happens to the best of us. Not to worry, my lady, you've caught me on the one day of the year where I happen to have a writing utensil.” He shook his hair wildly, and a stubby pencil fell out of the tangled mane. He caught it in midair and brandished it at her, bowing facetiously.

Chrissy scoffed, although she was a little amused at Eddie's antics. It had been a rough morning at home, full of the usual seething vitriol, and the way this boy seemed to approach life with such confidence and verve made her usual anxiety feel a little less heavy.

“I'm Chrissy, by the way. Although I guess you know that somehow?” She posted it as somewhat of a question, wondering how this odd boy knew of her when she'd only transferred into Hawkins High a few months ago.

“Eddie Munson, although people in your little cheerleading squad tend to call me Eddie Munster behind my back. You know, cause I'm such a freak?” He winked at her, grinning widely, and she wasn't quite sure how she was meant to take that.

“Oh, um...I mean, I just came here not that long ago. I'm not really part of the group, I guess, just part of the team. You know, Go Tigers and all that.”

“Yeah, but you will be soon enough. Cute little thing like you. You'll have all those halfwit basketball players eating out of your hand before you know it.”

Chrissy blushed furiously; she thought about saying that he wasn't a freak at all, that he actually looked pretty cool, and that he had made her feel better after her shitty morning. But then the principal started droning on about how marijuana was a gateway drug, and Eddie started cracking jokes with his friends, and she sat quietly, not wanting to be associated with the 'weird kids'. Their mutual silence had stretched across the years, across a thousand days where she'd been the quiet, kind, studious girl destined for greatness, or at least destined to get out of Hawkins, and he'd been the loud, outrageous troublemaker who didn't have much of a future ahead.

Chrissy thought about that conversation as she wiped a jagged pattern in the condensation of her beer glass. Her eyes flicked to the Bud Light clock anxiously. 10:40. She felt her breath catch in her throat. Was the show cancelled or something? Had she really gone through all this only to have to sit here alone, with a beer rapidly growing warm and Elvis Presley playing on the dusty jukebox? Finally she saw activity on the small show stage at the far end of the bar. A group of guys, all probably eighteen or nineteen, started setting up amps and instruments. They looked vaguely familiar, and Chrissy guessed they were part of the board game club Eddie was in. Hell Dungeon or something. She looked at them again out of the corner of her eye, not wanting to be weird; to her dismay, Eddie was nowhere to be seen amongst them.

She beat a frantic pattern against the bar with her fingertips, wishing Elvis would stop droning on about being lonesome tonight (you and me both, Presley). She took a sip of her beer, which had taken on an extra dimension of bitter, cheap flavor now that it had been sitting out for nearly 30 minutes. She closed her eyes, wondering if maybe she should just walk home and beg for forgiveness, when finally, finally, she heard his voice.

“What's up, Hawkins? We are Corroded Coffin and we're here tonight to play some real music. You guys ready to rock?”

There were some murmurs of halfhearted assent from the scattered patrons of the bar, most of whom looked like they hadn't been home in days.

“Woo!” the girl with the lemonade yelled; her friend ducked her head down, whispering at her to shut up.

“Alright,” Eddie said uncertainly, scanning for any other friendly faces. His eyes settled on Chrissy, who turned her barstool to face him fully and gave a little wave. Eddie looked taken aback, but his face broke into a wide grin and he gave a small wave back. The girl with the lemonade turned ostentatiously around to look at Chrissy; after looking her up and down, she turned back to her friend and started whispering. They giggled, and Chrissy was pretty sure she heard the word 'bimbo' amongst their quiet chatter. Her face felt heated, but she resolutely looked ahead towards Eddie and his band.

“You guys might remember this one from your glory days. One, two, three, four!”

The drummer kicked in, beating out a rhythm, then one of the other band members began playing a bright-red electric guitar. Eddie's left foot began to tap in rhythm to the song; tossing his long hair back, he stepped up to the mic in one quick move and began to growl the lyrics.

You show us everything you've got

You keep on dancing and the room gets hot

You drive us wild, we'll drive you crazy

The bar began to come alive, with even some of the people who'd probably been drinking for the better part of the day shimmying in their chairs. The girl who'd come for Eddie practically leapt out of her booth and made her way to what passed for a dance floor in front of the stage. Her friend sighed and trailed behind her, but even she seemed to enjoy herself as the song went on. Chrissy, smiling, tapped the rhythm of the song against the bar, although she felt too self-conscious to go up and dance. Eddie was a vision, kicking and shimmying as the energy of the music made it's way through him. Although the lyrics were a little insipid, Eddie had a way of making the constant refrain of 'I wanna rock and roll all night and party every day' unique and full of life each time.

The rest of the band actually wasn't bad either; they played together like a well-oiled machine, and Chrissy guessed they were pretty good for a bunch of guys who were still in high school. She wondered if it was the same Corroded Coffin lineup from the legendary middle school talent show performance. She hadn't been at Hawkins High then, but she'd heard they had played Jefferson Airplane's White Rabbit, or most of it at least, until the principal hopped on stage and practically wrestled the microphone away from a scrawny young Eddie. When Chrissy asked why, the girl telling the story just scoffed and said “The song's about drugs, Chris. Like getting high?”

It was just another moment in Chrissy's life where she'd felt stupid and naive, although at the time and she laughed as if it were obvious. She had always felt a bit out of step with the rest of her classmates, too lost in her own head to fit with the bubbly girls around her but too stifled and sheltered to fit in with Eddie's group of friends. She couldn't see herself being into board games or anything like that, but she was definitely starting to see why girls always seemed to fall in love with lead singers. The way Eddie commanded the room was exhilarating, and the way his hands moved up and down the microphone stand as he sang was making her feel a little strange. As the song finished, Eddie caught her gaze and threw her a quick wink. Chrissy's hands clenched around the bottom of her skirt and her mouth was suddenly dry. Not wanting to finish her dusty, room-temperature beer, she ordered a diet coke just to have something to hold onto.

The band quickly dove into a song with a driving bass line that Chrissy hadn't heard before, although she liked it immediately.

Whoa, Black Betty

Bam a lam

Whoa, Black Betty

Bam a lam

Black Betty had a child

Bam a lam

The damn thing gone wild

Bam a lam

The song was chaotic and vibrant and so different than the usual big band standards her dad played in their spacious living room. Chrissy liked those songs just fine, but they tended to blend together into background noise after a while. She couldn't imagine hearing a song like this and not wanting to move along with the fast paced instruments. Eddie moved his narrow hips in time with the song, singing and playing guitar and putting on a performance all at once. The song was over before she knew it, but they quickly moved into a Bob Seger song before the sparse audience had a chance to catch their breath.

“Enjoying it, hon?” the bartender asked, interrupting Chrissy's reverie.

Mm-hm,” Chrissy said, sipping her soda through a tiny, thin straw.

“I know not a whole lot of rock stars come out of Hawkins, Indiana, but if anyone does, it'll be that boy,” she said, gesturing to Eddie, who was crooning about old fashioned rock and roll. “You know he came in here every week for six months asking me to keep his band on retainer? Said I didn't even have to pay him if he could just get a chance to perform with his friends. That's a real artist, you know?”

“Yeah,” Chrissy said dreamily. “I bet he could make a whole stadium of people want to get up and dance.”

“Think he's got his eye on you too, darling. Hasn't looked anywhere else all night.”

Chrissy smiled, watching Eddie dance across the stage as the song reached it's conclusion. There was a smattering of applause from the audience and Eddie bowed graciously.

“Alright, folks, time for a quick intermission. We'll be back to rock your faces off in just a few short minutes.”

The girl at the front made her way towards Eddie as he walked off the stage; he gave her a quick smile and kept walking towards the bar. Panicked, Chrissy tried smoothing out her skirt, wondering if her hair still looked halfway decent. Smiling, he swung his long legs over the nearest barstool and plopped down next to her.

“As I live and breathe, Chrissy Cunningham made it to my show after all.”

“Uh, yeah, you know, it was no big deal. I figured I should do something for myself for once.”

“Damn, girl, cutting straight to the heart of the matter. How did your mom take it?”

“Uh...not well, actually. It doesn't matter, though. You were great up there! I didn't know you were such a good singer.”

“Ah, it's nothing. The sight of my tight jeans and flowing locks have convinced this fine audience of my meager talent. Most of being in a band is about putting on a show, anyways. I could be the greatest singer or guitarist in the world, but if I just stood there not moving I don't think people would give a shit.”

“I think you're right. Not about not being talented, though, because you are. I just mean, I think you could go far with this. Even the bartender thinks so.”

“Aw, Shayna, were you two having girl talk about me?” He leaned his chin on his hand and gave a shit-eating grin to the bartender, who rolled her eyes.

“I didn't say anything that wasn't true, kid. You've got talent and showmanship, and if you took it seriously you could get somewhere.”

Eddie gasped with mock offense. “What makes you think I don't take this seriously? I mean, I washed my goddamn shirt and everything.”

“Well, writing your own songs for one thing. Graduating high school for another.”

“Ok, you got me on the songs thing. But there are plenty of famous musicians who didn't graduate. Like, uh...” He looked to Chrissy for help, shrugging his shoulders.

“Eric Clapton?”

“Eric Clapton!” Eddie shouted, slamming his hand on the bar in triumph.

“Oh, wait, actually, he got kicked out of college, not high school.”

“Close enough!”

“Alright, alright. Honey, tell this boy to quit messing around and finish school. My little brother just graduated and I'm pretty sure he used to eat paint chips.”

Eddie glanced at the clock and bit back a curse. “Gotta get back out there, sorry ladies.” He looked into Chrissy's eyes. “You can stay, right?” Chrissy nodded, feeling her insides churn. He smiled, picking up her small hand and planting a kiss on it. He ran back to the stage and started playing something from AC/DC. Chrissy felt like she knew the song, but couldn't care less about what it was called just then. Her head felt sort of floaty, and she looked at her hand as if it were an alien creature. Holy shit. So she hadn't misread their conversation from earlier. Was he really...interested in her? The two girls who'd been sitting in the booth earlier stomped past her on their way out, throwing her a dirty look. Chrissy couldn't help but feel a little bit of satisfaction as they left.

If you'd asked Chrissy a month ago about what boys she liked, she'd have said that she was more focused on her grades and doing what was expected of her. She hadn't quite understood when all of her friends went boy-crazy as soon as they hit puberty. Now, though, it was like the last five years had caught up with her in one fell swoop. She wasn't sure what had wrought this change in her, what secret yearning had finally been brought to the surface. It was like that single, simple conversation with Eddie had sparked something that she'd kept buried for too long, and it was all she could do to keep from bursting out of her skin. Even if she went back home and made up with everyone, she felt like she wasn't the same person now as she had been this morning. It was funny how things could stay the same for so long, and then shift so dramatically in such a short time.

She watched Eddie on stage, all energy and vitality and pure giddiness. He loved being up there, she could tell. Was there anything in her life that gave her that much satisfaction? Did she even like the things she spent most of her time doing? She felt both proud of and jealous of Eddie, wondering how a person could be so comfortable in their own skin and mind. It was no wonder that she was drawn to him; he seemed to be everything she couldn't be. But what the hell did he see in her? Chrissy didn't have time to ruminate for much longer. The band was kicking into gear for the last song in their set.

“I want to dedicate this song to...someone who's finding their way in the world. And I hope you know that you don't have to do it alone,” Eddie spoke into the microphone before counting down the start of the song.

Little ditty about Jack and Diane

Two American kids growing up in the heartland

Chrissy liked the song, although the chorus always made her feel a little sad. “Life goes on, long after the thrill of living is gone.” Wasn't that the truth? How about a song for someone who never even had a thrill in the first place? Chrissy couldn't get too moody, though; the sight of Eddie grooving along and giving his best Mellencamp impression was too much fun. As the song wrapped up, a few people began making their way towards the bar to close their tabs. It looked like Chrissy and those girls weren't the only people who'd come to see Eddie's band. Eddie bounced towards her, still thrumming with energy from the performance he's just finished.

“Hey, give me a few minutes to pack up all the equipment and stuff, huh? Don't go anywhere.”

Chrissy lifted her soda in agreement and glanced at the clock. Her stomach did a little flip as she saw that it was around a quarter to midnight. Well, if her mother tried to send the police after her, they'd have to come quite a ways to find her here. She glanced around at what remained of the bar patrons; one man in particular gave her a leering smile. She smiled back politely and hoped Eddie wouldn't be too long. Chrissy hadn't actually expected him to want to talk to her after the show; she wondered if the food from earlier was making her look bloated. She played with the loose threads of her skirt nervously and blew out a breath, suddenly wishing she was the kind of person who smoked cigarettes. She was on the verge of asking the bartender for one when Eddie sauntered back in, holding out his arms and grinning.

“So, where are my flowers? Or are you more of a wine girl?”

“Oh, you mean like an after-show gift? Sorry, I didn't bring anything but myself.”

“Well, that's even better.” He slid onto the stool next to her, drawing his legs in close to hers. Leaning his head on his hand, he eyed her appraisingly.

“So how'd we do? Did I stick the landing?”

“Oh yeah, I love John Mellencamp.”

“John Cougar Mellencamp.”

Chrissy laughed. “I don't think that's his real name.”

“Yeah, but he made it his name, you know? That's the thing about life, Chrissy. You don't always need to go with the role you're assigned. If you want your middle name to be Cougar or Tiger or Xanadu, you can just...go by that. You get to choose who you are in this life, and if people don't take you seriously, then fuck em.”

“Hm,” Chrissy said. “This seems like a very pointed segue.”

Eddie chuckled and tipped an imaginary hat when the bartender slid him a cold beer. “You know, I couldn't help but notice you're still in your uniform. Not that I don't think it's cute and all, but I've been turning it around in my head ever since I saw you here. I'm thinking you and your mom got into it about my show or your grades or whatever it was, and you stormed out before you even got a chance to change. Am I close?”

Chrissy had to keep her jaw from dropping. “Jesus, how did- am I really that much of a cliche?”

“No, no, I mean, there's nothing wrong with being a cliche. Look at me, you know? A three-time high school senior with ripped jeans and delusions of musical grandeur who sells weed on the side. And I'm guessing you are trying to find your footing away from your horrible mother for the first time in your life. No offense.”

“None taken. You're right, about everything. She is horrible, and...I don't know, it's like all of a sudden something came over me. I've spent my whole life doing exactly what she wants and she still hates me.”

Eddie took a long pull of his beer and sighed. “I mean, I hear things sometimes. You know how high school gossip is. Someone told me that you transferred out of your last school because your mother didn't approve of the people you hung out with.”

“Yeah, that's right. I had one friend, my best friend Dayna, who my mother completely hated. She wasn't even bad, like she got good grades and did sports and was nice to everyone, she just wasn't completely under anyone's thumb. She was her own person, and I really admired that. She always told me I should stand up for myself, and one day I talked back to my mom when I shouldn't have. She flipped out and cursed out Dayna's mom, and the whole thing was so fucking embarrassing. I was almost glad to leave because everyone saw me as the girl with the psycho mom. I never talked to Dayna after that.” She stirred her tiny soda straw and bit her lip, trying not to get emotional.

“That fucking sucks. But I don't think your mom hates you. Some people are just like that, they feel the need to control everything around them. Unfortunately, that applies to their kids too. They don't see you as a person, just an extension of themselves. It makes it hard for you to know yourself after a while.”

Chrissy cocked an eyebrow at him. “You sure know a lot about me considering we've had maybe one conversion in the last two years.”

“Ok, this is going to sound kind of stupid, but if this music thing doesn't work out, I'm actually pretty interested in psychology. I've read a couple of the books they have in the library, and there's this one about narcissistic parents and how they affect their children's emotional well-being. And, given what I've heard about you, it kind of struck a chord.”

“So am I a case study or something?”

“No, sorry, that came out wrong. I mean, I didn't mean it like that, like you're just some kind of intellectual curiosity. I've...ah shit, this is embarrassing.” Eddie rubbed his neck and looked sheepishly at Chrissy, who scoffed in response.

“Please, we've already spilled all my dirty laundry. Don't think you can get out of being vulnerable now.”

Eddie laughed. “Alright, yeah. I've had a thing for you for a little while, and I kind of asked around to see what your deal was. And I've been hoping for an opportunity to...shit, I don't know, get to know you? Like, not the fake you that everyone else sees. Like the vulnerable, real you. I've just always had the feeling there was something beneath the surface, I guess.”

Chrissy smiled and fought the urge to kick her feet against the barstool in delight. “I've got a thing for you, too. Just seeing you be so comfortable with yourself is really inspiring.”

“Huh. Inspiring is not a word that's usually used to describe me. Usually, it's more along the lines of, 'dirtbag', 'delinquent', and 'waste of taxpayer money'.”

“Don't get too excited, though. I mean, I've never even kissed anyone, so I don't even know about all that. I mean, I know, but I don't know.” Chrissy blushed red and ran her fingertips along the bar, trying not to look Eddie in the eye.

“Never been kissed, huh? Well, we've got time, Cunningham. I'm certainly not going anywhere.”

“You mean tonight or in general?”

“Take your pick.”

“Shayna's right, though. You should finish school and at least try to get of Hawkins. You sound like you'd make a good psychologist. I'm...leaving in August. Got a full ride to Indiana U.”

“No way,” Eddie said, bemused. “See, that's what happens when you pay attention in class instead of finding new and inventive ways of getting sent to the office.”

“I, uh, wasn't planning on going home tonight. Or, ever again, really.”

Eddie turned away from his beer to look at her with concern. “Was it really that bad?”

Chrissy shrugged, worrying her bottom lip with her teeth. “I just...I mean, I don't know if I can make it until August with like, six dollars in my pocket. But I want to stay away for as long as I can. It's not just some teenage rebellion shit, it's...you always hear about bad dads, but no one ever tells you that moms can be just as shitty.”

“Yeah, I've been there, too. Not as bad as yours, but...fuck, Chrissy.”

“I'm sorry if this is too much. I don't mean to bother you with the garbage pile that is my life.”

“No, god, it's...I'm really glad you came tonight. I'm glad you came to me about this. I like you, and I want to help you as much as I can. You've got a fire in you, Chris.”

She scoffed. “Yeah, right, tell that to Dayna. I couldn't even stand up for my best friend.”

“You were what, fifteen? And probably terrified of what would happen if you spoke out of turn. I don't know if you know this, but kids aren't supposed to be afraid of their parents. They're supposed to keep you from the bad shit in the world, not add to it. Everything you're feeling now is good. It means you're strong, that you can think for yourself and be your own person. And I'm going to help you, I promise. Let's just take it one step at a time, okay?”

Chrissy nodded, though she hated how Eddie was looking at her with something like pity. She didn't want to be the broken girl, the scared and meek and pathetic girl. She wanted to be brave and full of life like he was. She leaned forward and kissed him, tasting beer and a remnant of something smoky, maybe a cigarette or a joint. She reached up to slide her hands into his luxurious hair, and he cupped her tired face in his hands, running his thumb along her jaw. She hummed into his mouth, feeling finally like all the pain, all the exertion and uncertainty and head-spinning anxiety of the day had been worth something if it led to this. He pulled away first, gently placing his forehead against hers and breathing deeply.

“Do you want to...I mean, it's not much, but do you want to come to my place?”

“Yes please,” Chrissy nodded, hoping she didn't outwardly show the desperation she felt.

“Come on,” he said, sliding off the stool and wrapping their fingers together. They made their way to Eddie's van which was parked behind the bar. As they pulled away, Chrissy leaned her head against the plush passenger seat and closed her eyes, feeling like if home could be a person, it definitely took the form of Eddie Munson.

Eddie's dark van pulled up to his uncle's trailer with a crunch of gravel that cut through the deep quiet of the night. Chrissy glanced around with some trepidation; it was one thing to get into a boy's car, but to willingly go to his home carried a certain connotation in her friend group. She wondered what her parent's country club friends would think of her coming to a place like this in the middle of the night.

“Don't worry,” Eddie teased. “The knife-handed ghouls only come out for the terminally naughty children.” He waggled his fingers at Chrissy in an imitation of Freddy Krueger and she batted him away, laughing. “Please, I couldn't even finish that movie. It was too scary for me.”

“That's because you didn't have me to cuddle close to. And if I can take on the incessant bullying of Hawkins' illustrious basketball team for half a decade, I think I can handle one measly sleep demon.”

Chrissy cringed a little, thinking of all the times she'd heard her fellow cheerleaders and their obnoxious boyfriends use Eddie as a verbal punching bag, either amongst themselves or to his face.

“I'm sorry, Eddie. That really has to suck.”

“Ah, you know, eventually you start to embrace those parts of yourself that don't quite fit with what society wants you to be. And I've got my people, you know, the band and my D&D club. God, imagine me with the in crowd. I'd probably be some little sycophant with cropped hair and a polo shirt following Jason Carver around like a whipped dog.”

“Ew,” Chrissy wrinkled her nose. “I hear he gets these big kegs to get girls drunk at parties. Who would even sell alcohol to that sleazeball?”

Eddie laughed melodically, and Chrissy swore her heart skipped a beat from the way his eyes crinkled up. “Chrissy, you are truly a girl after my own heart.” He locked eyes with her and leaned forward, running his long fingertips along her jawline. She leaned into his touch, eyes fluttering closed. She was truly exhausted, physically and mentally, and wanted nothing more than to burrow into Eddie's embrace and stay there until everything in her life made sense again. She'd been told time and time again that guys only wanted one thing, that they would say and do anything if it meant they got theirs and would leave girls in ruin without a second thought. But Eddie...god, she wanted so badly to put her faith in him, to believe that he wouldn't just use her as a distraction or toy. She'd had crushes, sure, even whole fantasy relationships in her head with Tom Cruise or the cute boy in her civics class. This was different, though. Here she was, actually on the verge of something real, and she had no idea how to proceed. How could she even know that Eddie felt the same?

“Chrissy? Still with me?”

She opened her eyes to see Eddie inches away from her face, looking at her with bemusement. “I think you went somewhere else for a little bit there.”

“I'm sorry, Eddie, I'm just so tired. But I don't want to disappoint you.”

“How could you possibly do that?”

“I've never, um, you know...”

“Had sex?”

“Uh,” Chrissy chuckled, suddenly finding it hard to make eye contact. “Yeah.”

“I kind of figured when you said you'd never kissed anyone. But it's fine, please don't feel like you need to do anything for me to be here for you. I like you, Chrissy.”

She suddenly felt the need to choke back a sob. She put her feet on the car seat and wrapped her arms around her legs; it didn't make sense that anyone would just like her. All her life, Chrissy had felt the need to perform, to maintain a certain standard, to fit a mold. How often had anyone just liked her for who she was and not what she could do for them?

“Hey,” Eddie said softly, wiping her eyes with familiar tenderness. “Come on, it's not that hard to believe, is it?”

Chrissy shook her head, unable to even express the tumult she felt within her. Maybe she would regret all this in the light of day, but she decided to go against her instinctual hesitance and take a leap of faith. She had come so far already, and everything about Eddie seemed welcoming and warm in that moment. She didn't care that he'd just been a face in the crowd before today, or that her parents were probably worried sick. For once, she knew what she wanted with perfect clarity, and there was nothing to stop her from getting it. She launched herself forward, wrapping herself around Eddie's narrow shoulders and burying her face in his neck. He smelled like cigarettes and sweat and god she never thought that could be a comforting scent. He snaked his long arms around her waist and pulled her closer until she was fully in his lap. She bit back a moan, letting her legs fall on each side of him.

“Oh shit, Chris. Is this okay?”

“Mm-hm.” Her hands fluttered through his hair and over his slender neck, and she peppered his stubbled jawline with small kisses.

“Thought you were tired.”

“Suddenly found a reason to stay awake.” She pushed herself against him, feeling the friction build between her legs. “Touch me, please.”

“Okay,” he gasped, taking her mouth in his and pushing his thumbs against her nipples, kneading steadily. She moaned into his wet and open mouth, feeling an unfamiliar sensation build within her. His hands slipped under her shirt and he skirted his fingers along the edge of her bra. “Can I?” he whispered into her ear; she nodded and continued rubbing herself steadily against him. He unclasped her bra and slipped it out from under her shirt, tossing it to the passenger seat. Chrissy gasped as he felt his mouth around her breast, sucking and pulling and biting. The feeling built within her, but she needed more sensation.

“Can I, um, take off my underwear?”

Eddie looked up from her chest and grinned. “Be my guest.”

She stood up as best she could and slid her underwear off with some difficulty; throwing them aside, she resumed her grinding but found the rough denim of Eddie's jeans unpleasant against her bare skin.

“You ok?” Eddie asked, sliding a hand under her skirt and rubbing the inside of her thigh pleasurably.

“Uh...is there anything else we can do?”

“I mean yeah, there's lots we can do. What did you have in mind?”

Chrissy closed her eyes, focusing on the pressure of Eddie's hand beneath her skirt.

“You like that?”

Chrissy nodded, breathing deeply.

Eddie's hand made it's way closer to her wet center, and Chrissy tensed with anticipation. As his callused fingers glided smoothly between her folds, she gasped at the new sensation. Eddie pushed onward, filling her with one, then two fingers.

“Ohh...” she moaned, feeling the heat pool low in her midsection. “That's...good, Eddie.”

“Yeah? Should I keep moving?”

“I think so. Just...go slow. It's really tight. I've never even...you know.”

“Chrissy, you are so fucking beautiful.” Eddie rocked his fingers slowly back and forth, earning a stuttering gasp from the girl. “I like you so much, seeing you like this, you're so fucking gorgeous. I want you to come for me, can you do that?”

“Mm-hm.” Chrissy felt like she was floating above herself as Eddie brought her closer to orgasm. The hours and days and years of stress and fear melted away, and her whole world boiled down to the feeling of Eddie and his deft fingers. She knew she must look a sight, a girl in her cheerleading uniform sans bra and underwear, letting herself get stroked by a long-haired boy who still smelled a little like old beer. She couldn't bring herself to care, however; all that time spent being overly concerned about what people thought had never made her feel anything like this. As the pressure building within her finally tipped her over the edge, she vaguely registered Eddie pressing kisses along her cheeks and chin and mumbling words of praise.

“That's it, baby, I love watching you come. Fuck, you're so good.”

“Mm, Eddie.” A spent Chrissy slid her arms around Eddie's neck and nestled into his chest, sighing peacefully. He wrapped his arms around Chrissy's slight frame and managed to get his van door open while holding onto her. She finally gave into her needling fatigue and let herself be carried through Eddie's front door and into his darkened room. Before slipping into unconsciousness, she felt Eddie's lightly muscled body, firm and warm against her exhausted form. She did what she could to cuddle closer, feeling his wild hair tickling the back of her head.

“Rest easy, Chrissy. I've got you.”

“Thank you, Eddie.”

–

The sound of a mourning dove cooing it's familiar song awoke Chrissy at a quarter to seven. She realized it was still fairly dark in the small bedroom as she peered around, still fatigued from her long night. Eddie had draped his long arms around her protectively and it was all she could do to wriggle free. Yawning, Eddie opened one eye and grinned at the sight of her standing over his bed.

“Morning, beautiful.”

“Hi,” Chrissy said, stretching her arms straight up in an attempt to get her blood flowing. “God, I'm still exhausted. How do you stay out so late and still get stuff done?”

“Hm, define 'stuff'. See, I'm not so much with the athletics and the rah-rah and the making teachers like me. I'm more of the sleep in the back of class and hope there aren't any group projects kind of student.”

Chrissy laughed, letting her arms fall around his neck and pressing in towards him. He breathed her in deeply and pressed his hands against her back, making her shiver.

“I wanted to thank you for last night, Eddie. I know I'm not, like, cool or experienced like the girls you usually, um, hang out with.”

“First of all, you wildly overestimate how many girls I 'hang out with'. Like, I can count them on one hand, which is a funny coincidence, because usually it's just me and old lefty here.”

“You're left handed? Me too!”

Eddie pressed his left hand against Chrissy's palm before twining their fingers together. He reached forward to press a kiss to her knuckle. “See, I told you there was something about you I liked. Only the best people are left-handed. It's like a sign that there's something special about them. You think Paul McCartney would have started the greatest band in history if he was a boring right hander? He probably would have gone into finance or something. And Jimi Hendrix? Come on, now.”

“For someone who's interested in psychology, you don't seem to be familiar with the concept of confirmation bias. Like, you want left-handed people to be cool, so you disregard any data that doesn't fit in with your theory and exaggerate the few examples that do fit.”

Eddie scoffed and rolled his eyes. “You're no fun, Cunningham. What's life without a little magical thinking?”

Chrissy shrugged, letting her hands card through Eddie's tousled hair. “I guess I'm used to always acting logically. That probably sounds pretentious or something, but I don't know, I find it comforting.”

Eddie pressed a kiss to Chrissy's mouth, earning a soft moan from the girl.. “You have to admit, it was pretty illogical to walk all night through a rough part of town to see some shitty high school band play Kiss covers for a dozen drunk people.”

“You shouldn't keep selling yourself short, Eddie. You have something that a lot of people want.”

“Yeah, I keep it in a lunchbox under my bed. Ten for a gram.”

“I mean...I don't know, charisma or charm or something. All the reading assignments in the world can't give someone that kind of confidence.”

“Is that why you ran away? Because you found me charming?”

“No, I mean it's not just that. When we talked in the hallway yesterday, I felt like you saw me. Like you understood me somehow, and I just wanted to...I don't know, chase that feeling.”

“Ah, now we're talking.” Eddie continued his trail of kisses down Chrissy's neck and settled on her collarbone. She arched her neck back to let him keep going, and he grinned wickedly. “You came to the right place, my girl. I know all about chasing a feeling against all logical thinking. It's pretty much how I live my life. Because, you know, you and I don't really make sense.”

“Don't we?” Chrissy said breathlessly. Her eyes had sunk closed as Eddie kept kissing along her collar, nudging the fabric of her shirt aside to nibble at her upper chest.

“Not a bit,” Eddie said darkly. His fingers skirted along the hem of her shirt. “Do you, um, want this off?”

“Ah...” Chrissy's eyes flicked towards Eddie's digital clock, and she saw that school started in just under an hour. “Yes, but we should really start getting ready. I mean, I don't even have any clothes to wear.”

“You mean for school? Ah, come on, we can play hooky today. I'll take you down to the music store and show you where I first learned to play.”

“Mm-mm.” Chrissy pulled away despite her body aching for Eddie's continued touch. “One thing at a time. Can't leave home and start skipping school.”

“Alright, alright, you win. Why don't you hop in the shower and I'll find you something to wear. My uncle should still be in bed, he doesn't get home until three most nights.”

“Thank you, Eddie.” She pressed a kiss to the space between his earlobe and jaw, making him chuckle darkly. “I promise, we can do anything you want after school's over.”

“Anything, huh?”

“Within reason, obviously.”

“You and I have very different definitions of reason, Cunningham.”

–

Eddie pulled into his usual parking spot, far from the prying eyes of teachers or goody-two-shoes freshman who would rat him out for the weed smell usually emanating from his vehicle. Chrissy, clad in Eddie's favorite Van Halen shirt and a pair of his ripped dark blue jeans, was drumming a beat on the dashboard.

“You're lucky I like you, Cunningham, otherwise Madonna would never be playing in this here van.”

“Oh please, she's the queen of pop!”

“Yeah, pop, as in popular, as in-”

“Yeah, yeah, contrarian Eddie has to hate anything that plays at the Starcourt Mall, I get it. But come on, at least admit she's a good singer.”

Eddie shrugged noncommittally and pulled a cigarette from the pack in his jeans pocket. “For a blonde.”

“Thought you liked blondes.”

“Only ones who wear my Van Halen shirts.”

“It was either this or Slayer. You should really do more laundry, Munson.”

“Mm, the maid took the week off.” He grinned wolfishly and leaned towards her, catching her mouth in a kiss. Chrissy giggled and leaned into him; a flash of memory from last night's activities went through her mind and she pulled away. Eddie quirked an eyebrow at her and lit his cigarette.

“Sorry, I just don't want to get too...”

“Excited?” Eddie lay his arms languorously over the steering wheel; Chrissy watched the smoke curl up and fill the inside of the van.

“Something like that.”

“You know, for someone who never did any of this before you've taken to it pretty quickly. Not that I, uh, mind.”

“Well...it's not like I never thought about it. It's just different for girls. Me in particular, with how I was raised and everything. It's like when you're a kid you just never question what you're told, but eventually you start to think for yourself and realize not everything is the way people say. Like, with you, everyone I'm friends with says you're kind of, um...”

“Mean and scary?”

“Yeah, I guess, but you're really nice and smart, and you even gave me your favorite shirt.”

“It looks better on you than it ever did on me, trust me. Want to try?” Eddie brandished the cigarette at her.

“Oh gosh, I don't know. Maybe another time.”

“No worries, doll. You and I have plenty of time to get all your teenage rebellion on.”

The fact that Chrissy was leaving Hawkins in a few short months hung between them, unspoken. Chrissy cleared her throat and leaned her head on Eddie's shoulder. “Yeah,” she said, closing her eyes. “Plenty of time.”

–

Chrissy walked into her Civics class a few minutes late, still smelling like cigarettes. Most of the students turned their eyes towards her as she walked in, and she felt her face grow hot; she'd been hoping to make an inconspicuous entrance. She knew it was probably just some kind of social instinct and it didn't mean everyone was sitting there and judging her, but she vowed to never do the same if the roles were reversed. Only a few minutes after the teacher started going over the results of their most recent quiz, an announcement came over the loudspeaker.

“Christine Cunningham, please go to the principal's office.”

She bit back a groan and stood up, making her way to the door. So much for being inconspicuous.

–

Chrissy opened the door to the principal's office; as expected, her mother stood there looking harried and pale.

“Christine, dear, oh thank goodness you're safe!” Laura swept her into a hug for the benefit of the onlookers in the office; only her nails digging into Chrissy's arms foretold the wrath that was about to unfold as soon as no one else was around. Chrissy really, really wished she had taken Eddie up on his offer to skip school.

“Everything all right, Mrs. Cunningham? You said she didn't come home last night?” The principal, an olive-skinned man called Mr. North, asked. His sharp eyes flicked between the two, looking for any sign of distress.

“Yes, and my goodness, her father and I were so worried. Christine, where on earth did you get to?”

“I, uh, stayed at a friend's last night. Didn't I tell you?”

“No, dear, it must have slipped your mind. As long as you're all right, it's nothing to worry about. Mr. North, do you mind if I take her home for the day? As I said, her father and I had an awful fright when we couldn't reach her.”

Mr. North looked at Chrissy squarely. “That's fine with me if it's fine with Chrissy. I know how much she values her perfect attendance.”

Chrissy knew he was giving her an out, a chance to explain that no, she hadn't just forgotten to mention she was staying at a friend's house. Eddie's voice rang in her mind. Tell on the bitch. But for some reason, she couldn't bring herself to be honest. Part of her was scared that, if she told the full extent of her home life, something would happen to her parents that could put their own futures at risk. Would her mother be charged with abuse or neglect? What about her father? What would that do to their law careers, to their idyllic home and enviable place in the community? She knew, objectively, that none of that really mattered, that she had a right to speak up about her mistreatment, but her years of being trained to think of her own needs last made it impossible to speak in that crucial moment. She nodded solemnly.

“That's fine, Mr. North. I can spend some time with my parents.” She thought about quietly asking him to pass a message to Eddie, but by then Laura was nearly dragging her out of the office by her elbow.

–

Chrissy's mother continued quickly down the hall, nearly frog marching her daughter towards the parking lot. Chrissy's eyes were cast downward and she could feel hot tears welling; she hoped that since just about everyone was in class by now, no one would see her shameful position. She looked up and saw a younger boy at his locker, maybe a sophomore, with long, dark hair slightly reminiscent of Eddie's, only with more pronounced bangs. She gasped to herself, realizing where she recognized the boy; he was in Eddie's roleplay group along with a gaggle of other underclassmen.

“Mom, wait, I just need to talk to my classmate really quickly.”

Laura scoffed, looking at the boy appraisingly. “This is your classmate?”

The boy, who'd clearly been cutting class to read some kind of game manual, looked up at the two women, startled and confused.

“Yes, please, I'll be two seconds.” Chrissy broke free of her mother's grasp before she could object further and leaned towards the boy. “Hey, are you in that group with Eddie? The, um, hell something.”

“Yeah, it's Hellfire Club. We play this game, Dungeons and-”

“Uh-huh, yeah, listen, I don't have much time. Can you please do me a favor and pass a message to Eddie for me? Can you please tell him that my mom came to pick me up and I'll get away as soon as I can.”

“Are you...okay? I mean, do I need to call the cops or something?” The boy looked between Chrissy and her mother, clearly still bewildered.

“No, I mean, it's fine. Just tell him, ok, please? Tell him I'll see him as soon as I can.”

“Sure, um, what's your name?”

“Chrissy Cunningham.”

“I'm Mike Wheeler.”

“Thanks, Mike. I really owe you one.”

Chrissy went back to her mother, smiling contritely. Her mother grabbed her arm hard and continued marching her forwards. Mike watched them go, all thoughts of his Monster Manual forgotten. Laura pushed her daughter through the doors that led to the parking lot and followed suit, throwing one last disdainful look back at the boy.

“What the fuck?” Mike whispered to himself. His thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of an incoming hall monitor; he quickly ducked into the nearest bathroom until they passed by.

–

“God damn it, I can't believe the fucking nerve of that woman.” Eddie sat at the lunch table with an empty tray, his leg jiggling anxiously.

“Yeah man, it was like she was her prisoner, or something. Like she was full-on perp walking her own daughter down the hallway.” Mike shook his head at the odd scene he had witnessed, crushing Doritos into tiny shards with his palm. “I didn't know what to do. I mean, maybe I should have said something or done something, but it all happened so fast, and the woman was like, scary. Like she could probably kick my ass and make it look like an accident.”

Eddie sighed, rubbing his face with his hands and looking up at the harsh fluorescent lights of the cafeteria. “You didn't do anything wrong, Wheeler. That woman is a monster of epic proportions. I wouldn't want you mixed up in all this.”

“What is this, Eddie? What is going on with you and Chrissy? Since when do you guys even talk?”

“Since yesterday, pretty much. It's a long story and not mine to tell, really, but she came to my show, we got to talking and, you know, her home situation isn't exactly Leave it to Beaver.”

“The Cunninghams have the biggest house in town, don't they?”

“Yeah, well, apparently domestic abuse knows no class.”

“Jesus, Eddie. What are you going to do?”

“Whatever I can. Honestly, if you'd told me a week ago I'd be ready to go to bat for little miss cheer captain, I'd...ah, hell, who am I kidding? I've liked that girl for-fucking-ever. Never thought she'd get mixed up with the likes of me, though.”

“She's lucky to have you in her corner, you know.”

Eddie huffed a laugh and tousled Mike's hair, earning him a playful shove. “Come on, man, I just got it to look good.”

“Trying to impress your little California girlfriend? Assuming she's a real person and not a figment of your adolescent imagination.”

Mike flipped Eddie off and returned to his lunch.

–

“Where are we going? Home's the other way.”

“Oh good, those hard drugs didn't destroy all your brain cells.”

Chrissy wrapped her arms around herself and tried to sink as far into her seat as she could. “What are you talking about, mom?”

Laura scoffed. “Please, Chrissy, you take off all day and night and come back wearing some kind of degenerate getup reeking of smoke. I know the kind of girl who does that sort of thing and it is not the girl I raised. I have to assume you were under the influence of something to speak to me the way you did yesterday. And believe it or not, I'm prepared to forgive you. Assuming you straighten up and fly right and write an apology letter to me and to your father. He was worried sick last night.”

“Were you?”

Laura's sharp red fingernails dug into the steering wheel, leaving dents in the hard rubber. “Of course I was worried, what kind of mother would I be if I wasn't?”

Chrissy shrugged, looking out the window at the clear blue sky above them. “I don't know, I mean you seem to really hate me. Nothing I ever do is good enough.”

Chrissy's mother seethed, although she seemed to be trying to hold back her anger to some extent. “I just want what's best for you, Christine. We all go through phases when we're young, lord knows I had plenty of idiotic thoughts and feelings. But I grew out of them.”

“Who told you your feelings were stupid?”

Laura jerked the car forward as the light in front of them turned green, making Chrissy's body push uncomfortably against her seatbelt. “That doesn't matter now, dear. Your father and I agreed a long time ago on how we would raise you, and it was more or less the same as how our parents raised us. To be respectful and well-mannered and-”

“To skip meals?”

“I don't - you don't – please, Chrissy, you haven't skipped a meal in years.”

“Two baby carrots is not a meal, mom.”

Laura shook her head in aggravation. “Since when do you talk back to me like this? Who put all these ideas in your head about food and makeup and humiliating your parents by running away like some slut? Did you spend the night with a boy? Is that why you're wearing those ratty, disgusting clothes?”

Chrissy shrugged, feeling bored with her mother's haranguing. She felt a little kernel of satisfaction at this fact; she had been anxious, ashamed, even terrified before during her mother's rants, but never bored. She took it as a small victory.

“So what if I was, mom? I'm eighteen, I really don't need your approval to do anything any more. I didn't even want to come home, honestly.”

“Oh, I see, you're all grown up now. Where are you going to live, darling? With your little druggy boyfriend? How are you going to feed yourself?”

“Honestly, mom, I'm so used to starving myself it won't be that hard. I guess I have to thank you for that, at least.”

“That's enough!” Laura braked hard in the middle of an intersection, causing the cars around her to swerve and honk furiously. Chrissy unbuckled her seat belt and managed to open her passenger side door before her mother could put her hands on her. She started running back the way they'd come, back to school, back to safety, back to Eddie.

She heard her mother scream her name at the top of her lungs and pumped her legs faster, ducking into a nearby gas station. Chrissy ran into the station's bathroom, shutting the door behind her. To her dismay, there was no lock on the door, but she doubted Laura would want to cause a public scene by grabbing her daughter and dragging her out. She gasped, trying to catch her breath and calm herself down. She'd known it was a bad idea to goad her mother, but she honestly couldn't help herself. She had finally gained a modicum of self-esteem and independence, and she couldn't sit there and let herself be beaten back down again. She didn't know if Eddie would let her just move in with him after a day of knowing each other, or if it was even a good idea, but she still found herself wanting it. She knew it was crazy, but she felt safer with him than she ever had with her parents or their friends or even her own cheerleading peers. Eddie was her safe place, her goddamn lighthouse in the darkness, and she'd be damned if she let Laura Cunningham, small and mean and petty Laura, keep her from pursuing something with him.

Chrissy took a deep breath and opened the door, trying not to touch too many surfaces. She began to make her way out of the store, until a gruff voice behind the counter said, “Bathrooms are for customers only.”

She jumped and turned to look at the cashier, who was staring her down with a slight aura of menace. “Oh, um, I'm sorry, I was just...” Chrissy trailed off, certain that this man could care less about her story.

“I guess that makes me a customer then,” she laughed nervously, looking around for the cheapest thing she could purchase. She grabbed a small plastic bag of almonds and handed it to the cashier, who still stared unblinkingly at her.

“You want a bag for this?”

“Um...no? No thanks, I think I'm good.” Chrissy brandished a dollar and two quarters at the man, who took her money with a sweaty palm.

“You can keep the change, thanks.” She quickly grabbed the almonds and nearly ran to the door, before stopping to look at a customer near the beer aisle. They had long, dark, curly hair and were pacing nervously in front of the cooler.

“Munson, you gonna buy something or look 'em to death?”

“Yeah, yeah, give me a minute, brother.”

“Eddie?”

He twirled to see Chrissy standing in front of him, looking like he was a cool drink of water in the Mojave Desert.

“Chrissy? Oh my god, are you all right?” Eddie took her in his arms, pressing her tightly to him and burying his face in the girl's neck. She half-laughed, half-sobbed with relief, hugging him back and breathing him in.

“Yes, I'm okay. My mom, she took me out of school, and we were arguing in the car, and I think she was going to try to hit me again...I just ran, Eddie. I didn't know what else to do.”

Eddie placed his hands on her shoulders and looked deeply into her eyes. “She is never going to get the chance again, Chrissy, I promise. I don't care if I have to keep you at my side every minute of the goddamn day and carry one of those baseball bats with nails in it, but I will not let her fucking get near you again, you hear me?”

Chrissy smiled, nodding. It was now or never, apparently. “Eddie...can I move in with you?”

“Yes, of course you can. If you don't mind sharing a dinky little trailer with two gross dudes.”

“That sounds...fucking awesome.”

Eddie grinned widely and kissed her; their reverie was interrupted by a sharp, sudden voice.

“Christine Cunningham, you get over here right this goddamn minute.”

Chrissy felt like her stomach had been punched; she turned to look at her mother, wild-eyed and shaking with anger. Eddie stepped in front of her protectively and stood straight, trying to look intimidating.

“Mrs. Cunningham, you need to leave. She doesn't ever want to see you again.”

“Well, that's not exactly up to her, is it?”

“Yes it is!” Chrissy nearly shrieked, stepping out from behind Eddie. “Mom, you are a horrible, heartless person who never treated me like I deserved. For eighteen whole years, all you ever did was hurt me and make me feel like it was my fault. Now it's my time to decide who I want to be. And right now, the most important thing is that I don't want you in my life. If you ever try to come near me, I will call the police and tell them you're harassing me. That's not a very good look for your firm, is it, mom? For your own daughter to tell everyone how abusive you are. The least you can do now is leave me the hell alone.”

For the first time that Chrissy had ever seen, her mother genuinely looked stricken and at a loss for words. Part of her wanted to feel a little bit bad for her, but at the same time she felt elated that she had finally said all the things that had been simmering just below the surface for so long.

“Fine, Christine. I won't ever bother you again. Don't expect to hear from your father, either. You're on your own now. I hope it was worth it.” Laura walked away, and Chrissy thought she could see her mother's tear-streaked face through the gas station window. She turned to Eddie, who was looking at her joyously.

“Fuck, Chrissy, that was incredible. I'm so goddamn proud of you.” He held her close as her breathing and heart rate returned to normal.

“What were you doing in here, anyway?” Chrissy asked, her face still muffled against Eddie's chest.

“I was trying to decide if having a beer before confronting your mother was an amazing or awful idea.”

“Awful, I think. Not to mention it's like nine in the morning.”

“I'm glad I have you here to talk me out of my bad ideas.”

“I'm happy to.”

“Promise me you'll call the minute you get to a pay phone, all right?”

“I will, Eddie, I swear. I'll call and tell you all the amazing events that I'm sure will take place during the two-hour bus ride.”

“Hey, two hours is a long time. And who knows what might happen? I've seen some weird shit on Greyhound buses, trust me.”

Chrissy giggled and hugged Eddie for the millionth time that day. The bus to Bloomington was running late according to the latest overhead announcement, but it would pull in any minute, separating the two for the first time in months.

“Have I told you how proud of you I am? I mean, a full ride to IU is...you're going to do great things, Chrissy.”

“Don't.” Chrissy shook her head. “Don't say that like this is the last time you're going to see me. We've talked about it like a hundred times. You'll work at the Hideout for now during the day and play shows at night; now that they're actually paying you you'll have plenty of money.”

“Yeah, but not college money.”

“Well, you don't need to go to college if you don't want to. You can do the music thing or just stick with bartending for now. It's up to you, Eddie.”

He scoffed, pressing his forehead against hers. “Yeah, like you're going to want to come home to a loser who works in a bar and makes minimum wage.”

She took his face in her hands and gently stroked his cheeks with her thumbs. “Eddie Munson, I love you no matter what you do, okay? Please get that through your head, because I have to get on this bus in like three minutes, and if I think you're sitting here feeling bad about yourself I'll just defer for a year.”

“Absolutely not, young lady,” he grinned, knowing she was teasing him. “Promise you won't run off with some hot, rich pre-med guy?”

“Nah, they're not my type.”

“Oh really, what's your type?”

“Dorks in denim vests who play Def Leppard loud enough for the whole town to hear.”

“Hm, lucky for me.”

A last-call boarding announcement sounded over the intercom; Eddie picked up her bags and they made their way to the bus. He placed them in the storage space as gingerly as he could, trying to ensure they wouldn't be crushed by any other bags during the ride. Chrissy gave Eddie one final hug, not wanting to let go.

“Hey, you'll be fine out there. Trust me, you're a lot braver than you think. If you can take on the wicked witch of Hawkins, you can take on anything.”

Chrissy sighed, nodding. “Yeah, hopefully that's the hardest thing I'll have to do for a while. I couldn't have done it without you, Eddie.”

“Yeah, you could have, but I'm glad I was here to help. Love you, kid.” Eddie pressed kisses to Chrissy's lips and forehead before she boarded the bus. She gave one last wave to Eddie through the window before the bus screeched to life, pulling away in a cloud of dust. He stood waving for what felt like an embarrassing length of time before lowering his arm. He made his way back to his trusty van and shut the door, feeling like a breakdown was imminent.

Surprisingly, the cloud of anxiety and hurt passed, and he blew it out in a deep breath. He turned on the radio and began tapping his fingers on the wheel to one of his favorite songs.

I looked out this morning and the sun was gone

Turned on some music to start my day

I lost myself in a familiar song

I closed my eyes and I slipped away

Chrissy always said that he had saved her, but she had saved him too. She had shown him there was more to life than detaching and hiding yourself in late nights and smoking too many joints. She had taught him that real love meant smiling and waving as the girl of your dreams rode away to live out her dreams and stand on her own two feet. She was right, of course, she always was. Four years was nothing, and they had the rest of their lives to figure everything out. The world was vast, and they were young and alive, and had nothing to fear anymore. He figured that real love was also believing that their words were true, that it was taking the plunge to trust and faith despite a lifetime of being shown otherwise. He would wait for her, and she would wait for him, and they would be even better for the growth they would have together and apart.

Eddie reached into the back of his van and dug around until he found an empty jar. He procured a black marker from somewhere in his pants pocket and wrote a small phrase on the jar, then placed it carefully on the seat next to him. As Boston continued singing about Marianne walking away, Eddie sang along with his whole heart, hoping he would stay in Chrissy's heart as much as she had nestled her way into his. The jar, emblazoned with “Chrissy's engagement ring” written in Sharpie, glinted merrily in the sun.

#stranger things #eddie munson #chrissy cunningham #chrissy x eddie #eddie my beloved

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aurora-carson · 11 months

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Carson James Harper

a continuously growing skeleton below the cut :)

Carson has lived in Aurora Bay his whole life. Specifically in the same apartment complex, he resides in now.

Carson’s a Mama’s boy through and through. He’d bend over backward for his mother, and now that he’s working for his own rent, really appreciates how much his mom did when he was young. Mom’s the only person who consistently still refers to him as CJ.

Dad was never in the picture, and Mom never really took the time to explain why. The only constant thing he knew about his dad was the same sentence his mother always said, “you wouldn’t want to know him anyway”

Carson struggled in school constantly. It was hardly ever due to a lack of wanting to learn. He loved learning new things and exploring during hands-on activities. Science class as he grew older was always a constant favorite. But there were many teachers who gave up on the “loud, interrupting, never able to sit still, constantly off-topic, social butterfly” student. To the point where a few even told him he’d never amount to anything.

The older Carson grew, the less Mom was home. As soon as she could leave the boy on his own, she would be back to working ridiculously long hours. He didn’t understand it back then.

Given that he didn’t have a consistent adult in his life, Carson became the kid that just went with whatever crowd. He had his limits, sure. But he was the first kid to agree to a dare, or throw the first punch- and usually the one to take the fall too.

He has been arrested a time or two- and hates himself for it. Having Mom come bail you out because you can’t handle your beer is embarrassing, and he’d rather sit for his whole time than have her come to pay money to get him out.

He did- miraculously- graduate high school, but decided that college wasn’t for him. (“I don’t need to pay people to tell me my brain is broken and I’m going to fail.”)

He put his skills to use working in food, and bars around the island. He could talk to people all day and prided himself on being able to match energy levels. Working with his hands kept him focused enough that he felt productive, and his boss quickly learned tips and tricks to help Carson thrive.

A sweetheart all around, but one who doesn’t take shit he doesn’t deserve any more. With Mom and her boyfriend off doing their own thing, Carson does what he wants now, he can often be found spending time on the beach surfing.

#aurorabay.intro #love my adhd child pls

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tumbleringismycopingmechanism · 1 year

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So, I got an ask to answer all questions from the last ask sheet I reblogged. Here you go:

01: Do you have a good relationship with your parents?

Not really I guess? I mean, it could be so much worse, but my father's practically a stranger to me because he was hardly ever around and my mom pretty much closed herself off emotionally after my older brother died (I was still very young back then), so I also feel like I barely know her. But we usually all have a pretty nice time during holidays and they both support me financially as best as they can, so I don't really think I have a right to complain much.

02: Who did you last say “I love you” to?

I'm not sure I've ever said that to anyone. There's a similar phrase im German (it roughly translates to "I hold you dear") that you usually use with family (and I guess friends?), and even that one I barely use. I just never had one to say it to, I guess.

03: Do you regret anything?

Yes. But if I were to list every regret of mine, we'd be here for a while. Though in rare moments I can't bring myself to regret anything, because it made me who I am. (Most of the time I'm not really happy with who that is, so of course I have regrets then.)

04: Are you insecure?

Yes. Maybe less so here with the anonymity of the internet, but not by much.

05: What is your relationship status?

I'm currently single.

06: How do you want to die?

No idea, I'm open to suggestions. (jk😆)

07: What did you last eat?

White cookie poki sticks

08: Played any sports?

I'm terrible at litterally any sport you can imagine, but sometimes I like to go swimming, biking or hiking.

09: Do you bite your nails?

No. (But to my shame sometimes the skin around them without noticing.)

10: When was your last physical fight?

If I had to guess, when I was still a kid and me and my younger sister used to fight a lot. I can't really remember though.

11: Do you like someone?

Yes, several someones which is why I had a little crisis that ended with me now considering that I might be polyamorous.

12: Have you ever stayed up 48 hours?

Not quite, but I think something close to it several times.

13: Do you hate anyone at the moment?

No one particular person that I actually know in person, but of course I hate Homophobes, Transphobes, Racists etc.

14: Do you miss someone?

Yes, but that's a bit complicated.

15: Have any pets?

Nope, also never had any. And while I would love to have little animal companion, I feel like I should not be trusted with having to keep something alive...

16: How exactly are you feeling at the moment?

Okay-ish. Have a bit of a headache, but otherwise I'm fine and as I said answering the ask that prompted this post, I'm delighted there's someone who cares to know so much about me.

17: Ever made out in the bathroom?

Nope.

18: Are you scared of spiders?

Yes.

19: Would you go back in time if you were given the chance?

Depends how much I could go back. I'm a big history nerd and would love to see some events as they happen.

20: Where was the last place you snogged someone?

In front of a parking building in summer 2021. I did not really enjoy it.

21: What are your plans for this weekend?

Mostly doing stuff for uni. I also partake in the production of a local culteral event this weekend.

22: Do you want to have kids? How many?

Nope. For similar reasons as with the pets.

23: Do you have piercings? How many?

If holes for earrings count, then those, in the usual spot. Apart from that, no.

24: What is/are/were your best subject(s)?

I usually got straight As in everything but P.E., but often times they felt undeserved (e.g. in Latin - because even 4 years after my graduation and with additionally completing the entire Duolingo course, I still barely understand a word when I come accross it).

25: Do you miss anyone from your past?

Yes; see answer 14.

26: What are you craving right now?

Affection. I always do.

Also, to finally be through with the semester and all my exams so I can have some sembelence of free time again.

27: Have you ever broken someone’s heart?

If so, I honestly don't know. As far as exes go, I have three (that generously counting, as you'll see). With the first one I was together at the start of Elementary School. When I broke up with him, his mother lamented to mine that he was heartbroken, but he never seemed to be so in school and also, we were like 7, so I'm not sure it even counts.

With my second ex-bf, I thought I would be breaking his heart, be he told me that he usually doesn't feel any emotions (intently) and that he pretty much didn't care that I broke up with him.

And with my last ex, I can't even tell you whom of us broke up, so I can't imagine that I broke his heart. (We haven't spoken since, so I have no way to guess either.)

28: Have you ever been cheated on?

Don't think so, no.

29: Have you made a boyfriend/girlfriend cry?

Not as far as I know, no.

30: What’s irritating you right now?

My headache. And I'm getting slightly hungry.

31: Does somebody love you?

Bloody good question. As far as I know, no. (Some of my family members sometimes claim they do, but I have a hard time believing it, since I think they'd at least try to spend time with me from time to time if they really did.)

32: What is your favourite color?

Black, but most of the time I enjoy it more when it's paired with other colours.

33: Do you have trust issues?

I don't think so.

34: Who/what was your last dream about?

I don't really remember... The last time I still remembered what I dreamt when I woke up, I posted it here because it was Good Omens related. So if you scroll back enough, you can read it.

35: Who was the last person you cried in front of?

I don't cry in front of other people. (To be fair, I hardly ever cry on my own either.) Although, come to think of it, one time I cried in school in front of a floor full of people - but none of them noticed.

36: Do you give out second chances too easily?

I don't think so.

37: Is it easier to forgive or forget?

Forget. To forgive I have to figure out why it even still bothers me and most of the time I have no idea.

38: Is this year the best year of your life?

So far it is. But January isn't even over yet, so that's hardly an achievement.

39: How old were you when you had your first kiss?

20.

40: Have you ever walked outside completely naked?

No.

51: Favourite food?

Pizza or curly fries, I think.

52: Do you believe everything happens for a reason?

Probably not everything, but most things. (And by "for a reason" I usually mean a logically reason, not some almighty higher force or something.)

53: What is the last thing you did before you went to bed last night?

I started answering an asked, but got too tired and finished it this morning instead.

54: Is cheating ever okay?

No.

55: Are you mean?

Sometimes, I think. Most times I will apologize though. But as far as I know I also often come across as mean when I'm actually not, so... Think of that what you will.

56: How many people have you fist fought?

Noone, as far as I remember.

57: Do you believe in true love?

I mean, it kinda depends on how you define "true love", but yes.

58: Favourite weather?

Summer rain/thunderstorms.

59: Do you like the snow?

Only to look at and for pretty much nothing else; so technically no.

60: Do you wanna get married?

Not necessarily, but I do want a relationship.

61: Is it cute when a boy/girl calls you baby?

I think I wouldn't like that nickname much.

62: What makes you happy?

The most: texting to/talking with people I like and who I feel might like me back. But also reading, singing, dancing, painting, writing, on rare occasions hiking, learning new stuff.

63: Would you change your name?

If I ever manage to publish a book I think I might do it under a pen name. If I ever get married, I might consider it. Apart from that, no, I don't think so.

64: Would it be hard to kiss the last person you kissed?

Yes.

65: Your best friend of the opposite sex likes you, what do you do?

That's a hard question, because I don't really have any irl friends, let alone a best friend. And without a specific person in mind, the question is kinda pointless, because the answer would be based purely on speculation.

66: Do you have a friend of the opposite sex who you can act your complete self around?

I don't think I have anyone (at least irl) that I feel like I can act my complete self around. My little sister probably comes closes, but she's obviously my sister, not my friend, and also not of the opposite gender.

67: Who was the last person of the opposite sex you talked to?

(Actual talking:) Some guys with whom I work on a project for uni together. We had a seminar together this morning.

(If texting also counts:) The lovely @jdoegainer 🥰🥰🥰

68: Who’s the last person you had a deep conversation with?

I'm not sure what counts as "deep".

69: Do you believe in soulmates?

Yes.

70: Is there anyone you would die for?

I think so, yes.

If you made it this far thank you (and sorry 😅). Also, if any of the answers isn't specific enough, feel free to ask again. Also also, if you're the one who sent me the anonymous ask for this, feel free to text me 😊

#me #asks #thanks for the asks #i love getting asks

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desertdaddypsp · 2 years

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I’m Unhappy. Let’s work this thing out!

Dear Bruce,

I’m writing this to you in the form of a letter for two reasons: one, I’m not ready to share this with you personally, and two, I feel that by writing this letter it will give me a chance to experiment with different ideas and how, ultimately, to share them with you. So, here goes.

First, I love you, Bruce! You are one of the warmest, most patient and accepting men that I have ever known. When my mom asked me why I chose you, I told her, “Mom, Bruce comforts me. When I am with him I feel like I am truly home and that makes me feel loved.” All of that is true.

But, if I’m truly honest with myself and you, l have to tell you that I don’t think our relationship is passionate. Bruce, I need passion!

I felt passion when we shared our bed with Adrian. You enjoyed him sexually and so did I. That young, Latino was sexy. Our sex lives together were hot! Adrian was passionate in bed and I loved every single second of it. I was getting what I needed from him and it made me feel wanted and appreciated for my sexual prowess. It boosted my self image.

Do you remember the night that the Bears group wanted to go see Dune at the theater? I asked you if you minded that Adrian came over while you were away. You said that you didn’t mind so I invited Adrian to spend the evening with me. I had to admire him because he wouldn’t agree to come over to see me without you being there unless he made sure that I had run the idea past you and that you had consented. Only a truly good man would have done that!

That evening, Adrian complained that he was all sweaty from work and asked if he could take a shower. I proposed that we shower together. OMG! That shower was the things that fantasies are made of.

As we let the warm water course over out naked bodies, we held each other close. It felt so wonderful to be held in his arms! We soaped each other up, rinsed off and began to kiss passionately. Nibbling on my ears almost made my knees buckle. Soon, he turned me around with my back to him and proceeded to enter me. We made love in the shower. Then he asked if we could try a Golden Shower. I as apprehensive but I agreed. I knelt and let Adrian’s hot urine flow over my body, even in my mouth. I had never done anything like that, but as I did I felt a warm emotion wash over me. I had just given myself over to Adrian. I trusted him and that trust made a huge impression on me.

Later, he suggested that we move to the bed and we proceeded to kiss passionately. We did other sexual acts that led up to penetration. At first, slowly but them the rhythm intesified. We became loud and animalistic until he exploded. Afterwards, he held each other and fell asleep. My heart was swelliing with love and passion as I lay there holding this beautiful man who had just made love to me. I watched him sleep. I listened to his soft breathing going in and out. I was fulfilled. I had a very passionate evening and it was just what I needed.

As you know, Adrian finally left our sexual relationship in favor of his new boyfriend. I was crushed! Today, I hardly have any contact with Adrian. It’s too painful for me.

What I’m trying to say, Bruce, is that I miss that passion in my life. I need that kind of passion in my life. I have always wanted more from our sex life. While it was enjoyable, it never provided me with the passion and heat that I craved. My point in all of this? I need to find another Adrian.

Since your heart attack, you have told me that your interest in sex is nil and you, therefore, have encouraged me to find sex and passion outside of our relationship. That is hard for me because I feel that I am 1) betraying you, and (2) I’m afraid that you will think that because I could find someone with fire and passion, that I would want to leave you for that other man. I wouldn’t want to leave you. You’re my home, my place of refuge...my place of understanding and encouragement. In that way, we have something very special. But, Bruce, I need more and I hope you can understand my need and not feel threatened.

A couple of weeks ago, you know that I met a young man on Instagram. His name is Juan. Our conversations, at first, revolved around him having his first sexual experience with a man in New York. While he enjoyed the body of that man and seeminly knew all the right things to do to his body (even though he told me it was his first time with anyone, man or woman) he told me that he felt guilty afterwards and that he felt a great deal of judgement upon his shoulders.

I asked him where the guilt came from and he said, “God. I want to please Him and I don’t think that gay sex is the way.” I began mentoring him at that moment, sharing what I knew from my education and from my experience as a gay man. I assured him that God created him as a sexual being and that if he’d let me, I could show him a different way of looking at the only six Scriptural passages in the entire Bible that supposedly spoke to the issue of homosexuality. He said the was interested. We agreed to FaceTime the next evening.

The next night we began exploring. He insisted that he wasn’t gay. I gave him this advice: “You have got to be brutally honest with yourself about who you REALLY are deep down inside. Not what you think you want to be (he said that he wanted to be straight) but who you truly are. Then, I told him, once you have looked deeply into your soul and have honestly come up with an answer, he needed to live that life as authentically as he could, be he straight, bisexual, gay, gender noncomforming, etc. The key was to take an honest inventory of what he truly wanted and what really reflected who he was and then have the courage to life his life with integrity and authentically. It made sense to him.

Bruce, over the next week, Juan and I fell in love. He was the fire that I needed. Intelligent, handsome, honest and sensitive about his feelings about his search of his true sexuality and how he felt about me. He had no trouble confessing his love for me and he showed in many ways such as being concerned when I would get up and move from the bed. He would always tell me to be careful. He loved me and the supported my soul. I was thirsty and he gave me water. I found that missing passion in him.

One day, I told him that I thought that he was gay but that he was too afraid to admit it to himself. I told him that anyone who is preparing to come out of the closet is scared, and with good reason. One never knows how friend and relatives (and in Juan’s case) the Catholic Church will react to the news.

The next day, he told me that he had firmly decided that he was not gay and that he knew that he wanted a wife and children. He told me how important those things were to him. I knew at that point we were finished. We both cried but we let go of each other, planning to not communicate for a week. I broke that agreement because I just couldn’t stay away.

Bruce, Juan is gone so now I have to treat you with love and respect while at the same time asking you to understand that I need to find passion. I need another Adrian. I would like your blessing in the pursuit. My goal is not to find that person and then leave you. I have no intention of leaving you, but when I find my “Adrian” I will need you to understand when I spend time with him. Finally, if you like the man I find, maybe you and join us in bed like we shared Adrian.

I’m taking a big risk in telling you all of this. You might reject me, but I truly think that if we continue to communicate, not keeping secrets or fears and resentsments bottled up, we can navigate these waters successfully. I have to try, Bruce, but I hope we can solve this situation together.

I love you Bruce and I always willl!

Your loving husband,

Rick

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invisibleanonymousmonsters · 3 years

Text

Father of Mine – 2/2

Character: Bruce Wayne x Daughter!Reader

Summary: With the tragic passing of her mother, Y/N learns to the truth of who her father is.

Word Count: 4,100+

Warnings: absent father, subtle violence, mention of family death

A/N: The reader is described as tall in this fic. Bruce Wayne is 6′2 and I’m tall, so I’m indulging myself with no apologies. Read it or don’t.

Part 1

Bruce was working in the cave when Alfred interrupted him.

“Master Wayne, a guest has arrived unexpectedly.”

Bruce gave him a strange look. Hardly anyone showed up to the manor unannounced.

“Ms. Y/L/N,” Alfred added.

“Right,” Bruce sighed.

“She’s waiting for you in your office.”

Bruce found Y/N pacing in the room, refusing to take the seat that he was sure Alfred offered her.

“Y/N,” he greeted, remembering how she disliked the formalities last night.

She whipped around at his greeting. “Am I your charity case now?”

He feigned confusion. “I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about.”

She looked offended by his lie. “Don’t insult my intelligence. You paid all of my outstanding expenses that my mother left me.”

Bruce opened his mouth.

“Don’t try to lie to me,” she warned.

Bruce closed his mouth.

“Look, I don’t need your help,” Y/N sighed in obvious irritation. “Did you or did you not pay them?”

He took in a shallow breath, “I did.”

Y/N clenched her jaw as Bruce finally admitted his deed.

“I was only trying to help.”

“You can’t just throw money at me and expect it to make up for being a no-show.”

Bruce tensed.

Did that mean…Did she know?

“You read the letter?” He asked.

“No,” she clarified. “But I figured it out.”

“I had no idea,” he tried to tell her.

“I don’t care,” she almost snorted.

“You have ever right to be angry with me…”

“I’m not angry. I’m annoyed.”

She took a defiant step toward him and crossed her arms.

The heeled boots she had on caused her already tall height to make her be eye to eye with Bruce.

How many people had faced off with Batman and cowered with fear?

But she didn’t submit or show any signs of intimidation.

“Do you think I cried myself to sleep every night as a child, wondering where my dad was or why he didn’t want me?” Y/N hissed.

Bruce didn’t respond.

“You think I give a fuck about the father-daughter dances? Or whatever the hell people think dads are only capable of doing?” She narrowed her eyes. “The thing is…I didn’t need you. I didn’t need you then and I don’t need you now.”

Bruce felt sick as he listened to her.

“I have the sneaking suspicion that you wouldn’t have been there for those anyway,” she added roughly. “My mom loved me more than enough. I didn’t need anyone else. And she made damn sure of that.”

“So I’m not your charity case to make yourself feel better after my mom made it clear she thought it was better to keep me from you, than to ever tell you that I existed. Says a lot about what kind of person she thought you are, huh?”

When Y/N finally stopped, she was taking deep breaths.

Bruce wondered how long she had that all bottled up. He didn’t think anything she said was a lie. Y/N didn’t need him. That had become clear.

She had grown up to be a successful, intelligent, and independent young woman.

And she got that way without a father figure of any sort.

After a few moments, Bruce finally bowed his head and cleared his throat. “I never intended on making you feel like a charity case.”

Bruce saw as Y/N took in a deep breath and the guilt slowly took over her expression.

“Look,” Y/N sighed, “we finally know the truth. Let’s just…let’s just move on with our lives. OK?”

Bruce couldn’t deny that the suggestion hurt.

After processing the news over the past week or so, he realized he wanted to get to know her. This wasn’t the first time a child of his had been dropped on him far too late. He had failed Damian in so many ways because of it.

But Y/N was a young woman, fully developed and independent now. And Bruce couldn’t help but wonder that him being absent from her childhood had only benefitted her.

“If that’s what you want,” he finally told her.

Y/N didn’t know him well enough to hear the underlying pain in his words.

So she simply nodded and walked past him, having nothing more to say.

——————

Bruce adjusted his tie. He wanted nothing more than to rip it off his neck.

But he was on his best behavior tonight.

This year, the Gotham Gazette was given the honor of hosting the Pulitzer Prizes. And since Bruce and Wayne Enterprises donated quite a large sum of money to the Gotham Gazette, they felt inclined to invite him.

Bruce had every intention of skipping, until he found out that Lois Lane was receiving an award and Clark would also be attending.

He figured the least he could do was congratulate her and say hi to both of them.

That’s why he was trying to find them as soon as possible so he could and get the hell out of there.

Bruce finally spotted Clark talking to a woman whose back was to him. All he saw of her was the black dress and y/h/c hair.

He made his way over.

Clark noticed him when he was a few feet away.

“I see you’ve finally left your cave,” he teased with a lift of his brow. “I honestly didn’t expect you to show.”

But when the woman Clark was speaking to turned to look at him, Bruce swore he felt his heart stop.

Y/N’s eyes widened slightly, clearly just as surprised at seeing Bruce.

None of this went missed by Clark. “Oh, do you two know each other?”

Bruce didn’t know how to respond. What would Y/N want?

So he hesitated.

“I shot him for a cover once,” Y/N answered quickly.

She was a shockingly smooth liar.

Maybe she got that from Bruce, too.

But she didn’t realize that Clark could hear her heart rate quicken, catching the fib.

“And how exactly do you two know each other?” Bruce asked, recovering quickly.

“Y/N works with Lois a lot,” Clark answered. “She basically refuses to work with any other photographer.”

Y/N managed to force a smile.

“I should actually go find her and say my congrats,” she answered.

“And I need to hunt down a drink,” she mumbled.

Both men caught it.

Clark was rather taken aback by how she fled.

The Y/N he knew was always charming and kind, usually life of the party. He’d never seen her dodge a conversation in such a way before.

As soon as she was out of hearing range, Clark gave a intimidating glare to Bruce.

“Want to tell me what that was about?” He asked Bruce.

But Bruce only clenched his jaw.

“Past fling?” Clark asked with a somewhat disappointed tilt of his head.

“No. Nothing like that,” Bruce quickly corrected.

Not only did the idea make him feel sick. But if rumors started of the two of them being romantically linked, Bruce knew it would only make Y/N hate him more than she clearly already did.

Thankfully, Clark took his denial seriously.

“She’s not my biggest fan,” Bruce added darkly.

“Y/N is a good friend,” Clark told him – almost in warning. “Lois and her have become rather close over the years.”

Then Clark smirked. “She does know how to hold a grudge though. And she’ll make your life hell...if you deserve it.”

Bruce’s brain hurt as he realized how easily Y/N and his path’s could’ve crossed. She had been friends with Clark and Lois this whole time?

“I’m happy for her,” Clark added.

“Happy for her?”

Clark looked at Bruce as if it was obvious. “She’s being awarded tonight, too.”

How could Bruce not have realized? Why didn’t he think of looking at the list of people being awarded tonight? He’d been dreading attending so much that he didn’t even consider it.

“Bruce?” Clark asked with concern.

“Hmm?” He was not one to hum or mumble.

“You alright?”

Bruce didn’t have a lot of friends.

But Clark Kent was one of them. And him and Diana had noticed how Bruce was acting off for weeks now. Bruce was notorious for remaining stoic and giving nothing for people to try and guess what he was thinking or feeling. But they both knew it was something different.

Someone over Bruce’s shoulder suddenly waved Clark over.

“If you’ll excuse me,” Clark told Bruce politely.

Bruce’s first instinct was to leave now that he knew Y/N was also in attendance.

But he knew he couldn’t act so cowardly.

Was he really that scared of his own daughter?

His eyes glanced around the room looking for her.

He spotted Y/N at one of the bars.

Either her conversation with Lois had been quick, or she simply used that as an excuse to get away from Bruce.

Bruce walked up beside Y/N at the bar.

He knew she felt his arrival by the way her body tensed.

“Had I known you would be here I would not have attended,” he told her while looking straight ahead.

Y/N ignored his apology. “How do you know Clark?”

“He’s a friend,” Bruce answered casually.

Then he allowed himself to take a sideways glance at her.

Her jaw was clenched.

He wondered what thoughts she was holding back.

Y/N really did remind him of her mother.

When they were together, Bruce was convinced she was the prettiest girl in the world. He wondered if Y/N had found someone in her life who told her the same.

“Congratulations on being honored tonight,” Bruce offered sincerely.

“Thank you,” she answered shortly.

A beat passed between them.

Bruce was about to give up and leave her be.

“Does Clark think I’m one of your one-night stands now?”

Y/N might not know Bruce well, but everyone was familiar with his romantic history. He wasn’t one to keep the same woman around for long.

“No,” he quickly answered. “I made sure to prevent such a rumor from starting.”

Y/N finally slowly turned to him, her annoyance clear. “And you’re convinced that he really believed you?” She asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes, Clark has always been rather good at detecting a lie.” His tone was so confident that it left little room for argument.

But Bruce knew a losing battle when he saw one.

He dipped his head. “Enjoy the rest of your night. Congratulations again.”

But Bruce lingered, debating if he wanted to say what was on my mind.

“You look very beautiful. Just like your mother.”

There was nothing creepy or contrived about it.

Y/N blinked at the compliment, completely taken aback.

“Goodnight, Y/N.” Bruce dipped his head and finally surrendered, leaving the party.

Y/N felt a presence behind her shoulder as he watched him leave.

“Was Bruce Wayne just hitting on you?” Lois asked with amusement.

“No. Not at all,” her tone was dazed and confused.

“He’s a good guy,” Lois told her lightly.

“Doubt it.”

“I mean it,” Lois insisted. “The media has given him a bad image. But I think he likes it that way,” she shrugged. “It’s not easy for him to open up. He’s not quick to trust.”

Lois thought she was building up a possible suitor for Y/N, having not a clue that she was describing Y/N’s father to her.

But Y/N was too busy thinking about how much Bruce sounded like her.

—————

A few weeks had gone by since Bruce and Y/N had run into each other at the ceremony.

It got Bruce to thinking: would he and Y/N had run into each other at some point in life – even without her mother’s posthumously confession?

Y/N knew Lois and Clark, lived in Gotham, seemed to know the same people through her work that Bruce was forced to interact with to keep up his persona.

Would he have sensed a connection had that been the case?

The possibilities kept Bruce up at night…along with the guilt that had already been eating away at him since he first read the later. And he’d read it 100 times more since.

Of all the boys, Dick was the only one that knew of Y/N’s existence. And if he hadn’t been at the right place at the right time, Bruce never would’ve told him. He had just been in shock after reading the letter that he blurted out the realization while Dick was in the same room.

Since then, Bruce didn’t linger in a room alone with him, knowing Dick would finally let all of his questions loose. And Bruce wasn’t ready to answer them.

While Tim was the one to connect them, he never followed through with what the situation was. He already had too much to deal with on a daily basis. Tim simply thought he was doing a nice favor for a beautiful woman.

But if Bruce had told him, Tim would immediately do every possible background check on Y/N. He would be suspicious of the timing and underlying motives. He would probably assume that Y/N’s end goal was to get money or fame – or both. Bruce knew eventually Tim would come to the conclusion that Y/N wanted neither of those things. But it would still get an unnecessary rise out of the boy.

Bruce didn’t even want to think about how Damian would handle it. He knew his son felt a certain level of pride from being the only blood-son of his. Knowing he had a sibling – and an older sister at that – would most likely enrage him. And that wouldn’t make anything better.

Jason…Well, Jason would get a kick out of Bruce letting down yet another child. And it would just be worse that she was blood related. He’d be curious about Y/N. Hell, he’d probably be tickled by the no-bullshit attitude Y/N had towards Bruce and her harsh efforts to keep him out of her life completely.

Now, Bruce sat at a Justice League meeting.

They were only a few minutes into a council session when his communicator started going off.

The boys knew not to contact him unless it was an emergency. So, he quickly excused himself and stood to leave the room.

“What is it?” Bruce answered, his Batman voice in full form.

“There’s been an attack at city hall,” Dick reported back hurriedly.

Bruce frowned. The boys had handled much worse things on their own before. There had to be more to it than that.

“Scarecrow,” Dick confirmed. “He released a fear toxin. It’s bad Bruce. The mayor has been infected, along with half of their staff. I think it’s a new string. Our antidote doesn’t seem to doing anything. Even if it did, we don’t have nearly enough for the amount of victims.”

“The others?” Bruce asked quickly – meaning Damian, Jason, and Tim.

“They’re fine. Jason’s trying to get everyone out before they inhale too much. Tim and Damian went after Scarecrow. GPD is in a panic.”

Bruce turned to see Clark had raced to his side. Clearly he had been eavesdropping on the conversation. But the expression in his face prevented Bruce from getting into an argument about it.

“What?” Bruce asked him, knowing something was wrong.

“Lois and Y/N were at that council meeting,” Clark breathed out.

“We’ll be there soon,” Bruce told Dick before hanging up.

—

Bruce thought he knew fear from the few times his boys had been in trouble. But it was nothing compared to the fear he had knowing it was Y/N this time. She wasn’t a trained vigilante; she was just an innocent civilian. Bruce had not insured that she was trained and could take care of herself.

As soon as Clark dropped them on the ground, they were in the midst of the chaos.

“Lois!” Clark yelled.

People were too distracted to notice Superman and Batman had arrived.

Bruce looked over to see Lois rushing to Clark. He could tell it took all of Clark’s willpower not to embrace Lois from his relief.

“Are you OK?” Clark asked as he dipped his head and his eyes raced across his wife’s body.

“I-I’m fine. I got lucky. Somehow I was out of range of the gas explosion.”

“Y/N?” Bruce interrupted. “Did you see Y/N?”

“She was helping these kids get out and I was getting shoved out of the building. I tried to get to her but it was impossible with everyone’s panic. I think she’s still in there.”

Before Bruce could turn to Clark to come up with a plan, Clark flew into the building. A few people finally noticed the presence of superheroes and started murmuring.

“Nightwing, Red Hood – I’m at the front entrance of City Hall.”

Clark flew back to them not even 30 seconds later.

Y/N was unconscious in his arms.

“Oh my god,” Lois muttered at Y/N’s condition.

“She’s gone into shock. We need to get her to the medics,” Clark informed them. “She was exposed to the toxin more than the others.”

But Bruce was already shaking his head. “They won’t be able to help her.”

Clark gently handed Y/N to Bruce as he explained, “There are others in there.”

Just then Nightwing and Red Hood dropped in front of them.

Nightwing immediately recognized Y/N and his eyes shot up to Bruce with worry.

“Nightwing, I need you to take her back to the cave,” he tried to sound as controlled as possible.

Bruce was confused why Dick hesitated to take Y/N out of his arms.

“Do you have the batmobile? I brought my motorcycle,” Dick sounded apologetic when he explained.

Jason stepped forward before Bruce could answer. “I got her.”

As if she were the most fragile being ever, Jason carefully took Y/N’s unconscious body from Bruce’s grip. He could see in Bruce’s gaze that she was someone special. How and why, Jason would figure out later.

Jason had seen Y/N trying to help as many people before she was completely poisoned from the toxin. She’d risked her life to help.

Watching Jason cradle her into his body caught Clark off guard, always seeing the brute strength and almost animalistic energy from Red Hood whenever they so happened to fight beside each other.

“Meet us at the cave,” Bruce clarified. “Alfred will know what to do. We have to help out here more.”

Jason nodded before he hurried away with her and rushed to his hidden car.

——————

Y/N’s eyes snapped open and she shot up, sitting in a cot.

“Hey, hey, hey,” a voice she didn’t recognize said beside her. “You gotta relax.”

She turned to see a mammoth of a man sitting beside her, wearing vigilante gear with at least two guns being displayed at his sides. But it was the red helmet completely hiding his face and true voice that made Y/N feel uncomfortable.

“What the fuck,” she groaned at the sight of him.

Just a few seconds later, two men rushed into the room.

Bruce walked in still in his Batman uniform, but without his cowl – to Jason’s shock.

Clark was beside him, making Jason confused as to why he was still here. Surely he would want to be with Lois.

Y/N took in the sight before her.

“You were poisoned with a new strand of Scarecrow’s toxin,” Superman explained.

Y/N had seen plenty of pictures and shaky video of him. But now that the man stood before her, she immediately recognized him.

“Clark?” She gasped.

He didn’t say anything. But his expression didn’t fight her realization, just silently waited for the truth to settle.

“Does Lois know?” Was her next question.

Clark smirked at that. “Of course.”

Y/N gave a slight nod.

But now her attention switched to Bruce.

The Batman symbol was large across his chest, and his cape was still intact.

She looked around her surroundings and then up at the ceiling.

They were in a cave.

“You’re…you’re…” she couldn’t finish her sentence.

“Batman,” Bruce finally offered.

Y/N’s eyes were wide with panic.

How was this possible?

Now that the others had exposed their identity, Jason felt inclined to take off his helmet. Clearly, it was making her uncomfortable.

The hiss of his helmet being removed caused Y/N to finally look away from her father and to Jason, who still wore a domino mask. But it was far less frightening than the helmet.

“We’ll give you two a moment alone,” Clark spoke for both him and Jason.

Jason nodded and stood up from the seat beside Y/N, and walked out.

Clark lingered in the doorway. “I’ll be right outside if you need me,” he told her.

He might’ve revealed his Superman identity to her, but she was still his friend.

Y/N managed to nod in thanks, but was clearly still shook by all this news.

Bruce very slowly made his way to the chair that Jason had just been sitting in.

“How are you feeling?”

She shook her head. “Body’s sore. Migraine is killing me. What happened?”

“You were more exposed to the toxin more than the other victims. Jason brought you here. We had to make a new anecdote, and quickly.”

Bruce wanted to add that she could’ve died. But he didn’t see the use in scaring her.

“Oh,” was all she managed to mumble.

An awkward silence settled between them.

“Very few people know the truth about me,” Bruce explained.

Y/N’s gaze flickered up from her lap to look at him.

“I don’t expect you to forgive me. But I figured I couldn’t ask you to allow me into your world if I didn’t allow you into mine.”

She was silent.

“Y/N…” Bruce cleared his throat. The time had come. “The reason I left your mother was because I was starting this life. I pushed her away to protect her. I knew I couldn’t be the man she deserved while also being Batman. Had I known the truth…”

His words died out. It was starting to become harder to control his emotions.

He leaned forward in his chair, just getting slightly closer to her.

“Had I known about you, I would’ve…” He cleared his throat to try and hold back his tears. “I never would’ve abandoned you or your mother.”

He leaned back then. “But I know those are just words. And to you, they probably sound like empty promises for the past.”

“She never knew?” Y/N whispered.

In the few moments she was allowed to process this information, her mind immediately wondered if her mom had known about Bruce’s double life all along. And that’s why she kept him away from her.

Bruce shook his head.

“Thank you…for trusting me enough to tell me your secret,” Y/N finally told him. “I promise I’ll never tell anyone,” she quickly added, feeling like she just needed to clarify that to him.

He gave her a small small, “I know.”

Y/N winced as she thought about how terrible she’d been to him all this time. Now that she knew the truth – the whole truth – she was looking at everything with a new perspective. Even what she knew about Bruce Wayne, the spoiled socialite... it was clearly all wrong.

He used it as a cover. It was all a cover.

“I’m sorry for how I’ve treated you,” she whispered shakily.

But Bruce shook his head before she could even get the apology out.

“Do you think it’s too late for us?” She breathed.

Could they ever find any fragment of a father-daughter relationship?

Y/N was an adult – she had been for years now. And she made it clear she didn’t need nor want a father.

“Believe it or not, this isn’t the first time this has happened to me,” Bruce sighed.

Her brow furrowed. “This meaning…?”

“My son, Damian. His mother kept him a secret from me. She didn’t reveal his existence until he was nine. And she only did it in an attempt to disrupt my life.”

“This seems to be a rather strange pattern in your life,” Y/N couldn’t help but point out.

Bruce glared at her, causing her to chuckle.

“My point is,” he continued, “I don’t think it’s ever too late.” And he cleared his throat quickly. “That is, if you want to try.”

“I think I do,” she answered with a shy smile.

It was the first time she’d done so in his presence.

“I don’t know anything about raising a daughter,” Bruce rubbed his face as he attempted to make the joke. But she could tell there was sincerity there, too.

“Well, I’ve already been raised,” Y/N laughed.

There.

That laugh.

It brought Bruce back to his teenage years. It sounded so much like her mother. Her face lit up just like her’s had.

“You remind me so much of your mother,” he gasped.

Her face dropped at his confession.

“Really?”

He nodded. “She said you were just like me. But there’s more of her in you than I think she ever realized.”

Bruce saw his much his words effected her.

Y/N’s eyes were shiny with tears, but she managed to hold them back.

“So what now?” She quickly asked, obviously trying to distract herself so she wouldn’t have a complete emotional breakdown.

“Well, Alfred should have dinner ready soon. Would you stay?”

She gave him a tear-filled smile. “I’d like that.”

“You can meet the rest of them,” Bruce told her casually as he stood.

“The rest of them?”

He nodded. “Well, you only have to meet Damian now. You already met Jason, Dick, and Tim in passing.”

“And here I thought you had no idea how to be a father…” Y/N muttered with amusement.

Bruce helped her get out of bed, making sure she was alright to stand and walk on her own.

“Well, depending on which of them you ask, they might tell you that you’re right.”

--------------------

Thank you to everyone who read the first part. Let me know what you think <3

BONUS: This Game of Ours

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