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vanteguccir · 3 months

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Tiktok trends | Chris Sturniolo

Chris Sturniolo x reader

Summary: 4 times that Y/N and Chris made a couple's trend on tiktok.

Warning: None.

Requested?: Yes, by anon.

Author's note: That is my work, I DON'T authorize any plagiarism! | English isn't my first language, so I'm sorry if there's any grammar error.

PS.: This happens in the same universe as the Guess who's who | Chris Sturniolo.

PS. 2: I made a part 2!

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Since the pandemic, tiktok has become one of the most used social media in the whole world, thousands of people download it every day and thousands more create content daily or, sometimes, just post a video that explodes in views, many of them starting a career with it, or creating a hobby from it.

And that's what happened in Y/N's life. She was still finishing high school when she posted her first video on the app, not expecting it to get more than 10 likes.

She was at the triplets' house, still in Boston, watching a movie with her boyfriend, when that same video exploded, reaching more than 300 thousand views and 150 thousand likes.

So, while Matt, Nick, and Chris were starting their careers on their new YouTube channel, Y/N was starting hers on TikTok.

Fans loved the fact that Chris's girlfriend had a TikTok account and posted regularly, after all, she lived with him in LA, which meant that the fandom had content of her and him together almost weekly.

Y/N was the typical influencer who participated in all the trends that interested her, from dancing or singing famous songs to recording herself cooking different recipes.

But the ones she loved most were the couple trends, and it was nothing that a few minutes of begging Chris to do them with her couldn't convince him.

Secretly, the boy loved making that mini videos for TikTok with Y/N; he adored showing that he was hers, how much he loved her, and how obsessed he was with her.

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Chris positioned Y/N's phone on top of his computer desk, the device resting on his laptop with the screen facing forward, the TikTok camera already open, and with the audio already selected.

The boy took his Prada wallet from the back pocket of his baggy jeans, leaving it ready in his hand, hiding it behind his back.

His blue eyes glanced briefly at Y/N, who was on his right side and out of the camera's frame, a smile on her face as she admired him, waiting for the recording to begin.

He extended his right arm, clicking the red button in the bottom center of the screen. The melody of the chorus of Cupid's Chokehold / Breakfast in America by Gym Glass Heroes began to play.

"Everywhere I go I keep her picture in my wallet like"

Chris removed his hand that was hidden behind his back, showing the black wallet and opening it, holding it on the left side so that the right side was exposed to the camera, the transparent plastic holding a small picture of Y/N. His face appeared on the right side of the screen, a sideways smile decorating his face.

The girl was lying on Chris's chest in the picture, probably in their bed, the room was dark and the camera's flash completely illuminated her face, a big smile adorned her features along with her closed eyes.

Chris brought his wallet closer to the phone's front camera, holding it there for a few seconds before lifting it slowly and lowering it quickly while moving slightly to the right side.

"Take a look at my girlfriend"

Y/N's figure appeared where the wallet was, wearing a pink set from Fresh Love, a soft smile on her face as her eyes focused on Chris, a passionate glow in them.

"She's the only one I got (ba-ba-da-da)"

Chris returned the smile, placing his wallet on the desk and pulling his girlfriend's body against his, filling her face and neck with kisses. Y/N, throwing her head back with her mouth open in silent laughter, was the last image the camera captured before the tiktok ended.

༻﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡༺

Y/N docked her phone in the phone holder attached to the dashboard of the triplets' car, which she asked Matt to borrow the keys so she could go out to lunch with Chris.

She lowered the device's screen brightness, leaving it at minimum so that Chris wouldn't see the TikTok camera opened. Her eyes quickly went to her boyfriend next to her, seeing him scrolling through his own cell, probably looking for a nice restaurant for them to eat at, as Y/N had asked him to do.

She quickly clicked the red record button at the bottom of the screen, smiling briefly at it, an amused gleam in her eyes.

"There's this Osteria Mozza that looks cool. It's Italian, just how you like it." Chris commented, his eyes still focused on his own phone screen as he read the restaurant's reviews.

"Great, I feel like eating pasta." Y/N nodded quickly. "Let me just touch up my lip gloss real quick." She asked, turning her body sideways and reaching over to the seat where Nick normally sits, grabbing her purse.

She pulled it forward, slamming the side of it against the back of Chris' head, before placing it on her lap.

"Ouch, fuck! What was that for?" Chris's voice was high pitched due to the surprise of the impact, his cap almost falling off his head as his right hand left his phone and went to his hair, fixing the piece there while he looked exasperatedly at his girlfriend, his blue eyes wide.

The girl pressed her lips together as she tried to hold back her laughter, clearing her throat momentarily. She opened her purse and took out her Dior lip gloss.

"I'm sorry, baby. I didn't even notice. Are you okay?" Y/N glanced at him quickly, her brow furrowed in false concern.

"Yes, just be careful next time." Chris asked, removing his hand from his cap before turning his attention back to his phone.

Y/N closed the zipper after reapplying her lip gloss, anticipating her boyfriend's final reaction before turning her body again, raising her arm and taking the purse to the backseat, slamming it into Chris again, this time hitting his nose.

"Babe! What the fuck?" He frowned, turning abruptly to her as he brought his hand up to his nose, rubbing the area. "What the hell are you doing?"

A sound of laughter escaped Y/N's throat, her mouth falling open as a laugh escaped freely, her head falling back. Chris watched her as if she were crazy, the beginning of a smile appearing on his lips, his blue eyes running over her expressions.

"I'm sorry baby, it was for a tiktok. You're so funny." She said amidst laughter, pointing to her phone that was still recording them.

Chris rolled his eyes, a big smile taking over his features as his hand reached for the device. He widened his eyes at the camera playfully before clicking the red button again, stopping the recording.

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Y/N took advantage of the fact that Chris was still brushing his teeth in the bathroom of their bedroom to position her phone on the nightstand on her side of the bed, the front camera capturing an entire side of the room.

She pressed her lips into a thin line, trying to contain her laughter in anticipation as she grabbed her pillow and blanket from the bed, gathering them both under her arm.

"Chris, I'm going to sleep on the couch tonight." Y/N spoke out loud, intending for the boy to hear her.

And he did, lifting his head abruptly and turning his body completely towards her, his toothbrush in hand and toothpaste on his lips.

"What?" His voice was muffled by his full mouth, his eyes wide as he watched her in surprise.

"I'm going to sleep on the couch today." She repeated, looking directly at him this time, making sure her body wasn't in full view of the camera or cutting into Chris's image.

"What? Why?" Chris asked again, a thread of sadness crossing his blue eyes as his brow furrowed, his mind working hard to try to understand what he had done wrong. A pain took over Y/N's heart, wanting to give up on the idea right then and there.

"I'm going to sleep in the living room, on the couch." Y/N spoke one last time, turning around and walking towards the bedroom door, in order to open it, but her action was stopped by the brunette, who spat the paste in his mouth into the sink and dropped the brush, running towards the girl.

"Wait, you sleep on the bed, and I sleep on the floor above a blanket or something, and tomorrow morning, we'll talk about it. Just don't let me sleep alone." He asked in a desperate tone, taking her arm and pulling her close, wanting to hug her and apologize for whatever he had done, even without knowing what it was.

Y/N looked into Chris' eyes, her own wide in surprise. She didn't expect that.

"Oh my baby, no! It's a prank, just a tiktok trend." The girl explained quickly, pointing briefly to the phone still recording before pulling Chris into her arms, feeling her eyes filling with tears and her heart warming with love.

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"Nick, this is not that difficult. They only have two types: pink and purple, I want the pink one! Are you dumb?" Chris was talking loudly, his phone pressed on his ear as he was on a call with his brother, having asked Nick to buy a specific candy he knew Y/N liked on his quick trip to Target.

Y/N walked towards him with her own phone in hand already recording, the rear camera facing Chris, who was sitting on their bed with his back against the headboard, the blanket covering half of his body as the sound of a random series came out of the television.

The girl was only wearing small cycling black shorts and a Chris t-shirt that was huge on her body, covering her bra-free boobs.

She walked closer as she watched her boyfriend fight with his brother, a look of boredom in his eyes that quickly met hers, a small smile appearing on his face as he sent her a wink.

Y/N smiled back before stopping her steps, her free hand going to the hem of her - his - t-shirt and pulling it up a second later, exposing her boobs to Chris.

His blue eyes widened in a matter of seconds, his mouth opening into a perfect O. Nick's voice sounded shouting from the other side, demanding that Chris responded, but to his ears, everything seemed to have gone silent.

"Nick, buy anything, you name it. I need to take care of one thing right now, I mean, two." The brunette spoke weakly into his phone, lowering the device and clicking the red button to hang up the call without even looking at it, completely ignoring Nick's voice on the other end.

The girl let out a laugh, the image of Chris standing up abruptly and pulling Y/N against his body being the last thing captured on camera, before the tiktok ended.

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My asks are always open. Feel free to send requests or anything at all 🩷💋

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starsreverie · 2 years

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So I've started playing through White Album 2 - very intrigued to see where this goes bc the end of the anime adaptation of the introductory chapter is something you'd see in a VN bad end, not the /start/ of one. Also just hankering for a good heavy romance/drama

#gonna tag my commentary as #Rev plays WA2 #white album 2 #jfc tho this vn better be good bc it's so inconvenient for me to have to actually play a vn #i haven't had a computer running windows in ages so i had to borrow my bf's laptop #usually i find a commentary-less playthrough on youtube but no dice for this one with the newest (best) translation available 😔

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vioartemis · 6 months

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Friends?

(Wednesday Addams x fem! reader)

Summary: One day, in the library, you catch Wednesday's attention... Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3 || Part 4 Warnings: none a/n: expect a part 2, not proof read, it was in my drafts for like 3months now so I can't guaranty it's not awful (English isn't my first language, I'm sorry if there are mistakes or if something doesn't make sense TvT)

Wednesday pushed the library’s door and directly walked to the aisle she knew had the books she needed. After 10 minutes spent in said aisle, she let out a frustrated sigh; she couldn’t find the books, which meant someone either borrowed them already -which was unlikely, or the librarian forgot to put them back on the shelves.

Either way, it annoyed her.

Now she had to talk to the librarian to ask if the books were here, and it would probably take longer than necessary.

When she arrived at the desk with a blank expression, the woman was writing something on her computer, not sparing Wednesday a glance.

“I would like to borrow some books.” She said through gritted teeth, causing the librarian to look up

“What books?”

Wednesday put a piece of paper with the references of the books on the desk as an answer.

“Botanical curses & poisons, and The supernatural” the woman read out loud “You’re lucky, they’ve just got returned”

Wednesday raised an eyebrow. Even if she did think it could’ve happened, she was still surprised. She didn’t actually think anyone else would ever borrow these books. It wasn’t common seeing someone read that kind of books -or read at all. And usually Nevermore students only read the books in the school’s library.

She didn’t hear the door while she was in the aisle, which meant the person was still there. Maybe she had found a classmate with the same interests as her? Which didn’t mean she would try to befriend them, but it was always good to know.

“If you’re looking for the girl, she’s in the aisles over there” the librarian said, as she had already put the books on the desk

Wednesday looked at her, a frown on her face, but nodded once and grabbed the books.

She then walked to the aisles the woman talked about. And here you were, looking at the books on the shelves, reading the back of one while holding another in your arms; Royal art of poison. Wednesday had read that book before, she recognize it was a good one.

Her attention then shifted on your face, even if she could only see your profile. She was sure she never saw you at Nevermore. She usually had a good memory for that kind of things, so maybe you didn’t have classes in common.

After looking you up and down, she walked out of the building to go back to Nevermore.

On the way there, she couldn’t help but think if she had seen you in the hallways, she would’ve never thought you would read this type of books.

<><><><> ♡ <><><><>

The following week, Wednesday tried to find you in the school. Unconsciously at first, as she didn’t really care, but then it became more and more important to her as she couldn’t seem to see you. That frustrated her. You had to be somewhere.

And yet she couldn’t find you.

She always got what she wanted, it was unusual for her to ‘fail’. So naturally, she decided to go back to the library.

When she did, she wandered in the aisles, looking for you. Unsuccessfully. It was like you didn’t even exist.

She felt like she was losing her mind, and it wasn’t as fun as she anticipated.

Just as she was about to go back in the aisle she saw you in for the first time, she saw Thing out of the corner of her eye. He was pointing a nearby aisle, signaling you were in there.

You were indeed in the aisle, looking at the books on the shelf in front of you. Venomous was already in your hands. A book about earth’s deadliest creatures… Wednesday thought.

Then your hand rose up to pick up another book; The Black Dahlia.

Now Wednesday was really interested by you. She never met anyone who knew about her favorite unsolved murder case, let alone read about it.

She took some step closer to you and grabbed a book on the shelf.

“You might as well read this one, if you’re interested in the Black Dahlia case.” she said as she handed you the book

You gave her a surprised look, not expecting anyone to recommend you any books in that section, let alone about this case.

“Oh, thanks” you grabbed the book “Do you know much about this case?”

“Of course, for it is my favorite unsolved murder. How come you know about it?”

“I saw a documentary on tv yesterday. Just thought I’d read some more about it. It seems to be a very interesting case” you explained

“Indeed.” A little pause “So what are you? Werewolf? Siren? Psychic?”

You frowned, confused as to why she would ask that.

“Are you from Nevermore?” you asked

“Are you not?”

You shook your head.

“I’m at Jericho High, sadly”

“‘Sadly’?”

You nodded.

“There’s a bunch of idiots there. Like- a whole bunch. I don’t really fit in. They’re all about social medias, hating on outcasts for no reason”

Wednesday looked at you, waiting for you to continue and explain yourself.

“I prefer books, even if I have to admit that scrolling on Pinterest while listening to music can be addicting. As for outcasts… I’ve always been interested in them, especially vampires. But I mean- every ‘class’ of outcasts I read about was interesting”

The raven took a moment to think about what you just said.

“It’s unusual to see a normie who doesn’t hate outcasts. Are you sure you’re a normie?”

“Pretty sure, yeah”

She looked you up and down after that, analyzing you. You seemed to be honest, she didn’t sense any hostility coming from you.

The following days, Wednesday caught herself thinking about your conversation, and by extension, about you. As much as it pained her to admit, something in you attracted her. Or at least made her ant to know more about you, which led her to the library once again.

This time, you were sitting at a table, reading another book about poisonous plants, some other books stacked next to you.

“Are you planning to murder someone?” she asked as she sat on the chair facing you

“Holy shit…! Do you make a habit out of scaring people?” you asked, half joking, a hand on your chest after her voice made you jump

“It’s more of a hobby. Who is going to be your victim?”

“No one!” you chuckled, once your heartbeat calmed down a bit “I’m just trying to find information about Aconitum, like where it grows, etc”

“Why?”

“I want to experiment with it myself, simple curiosity” you shrug

So you did want to poison someone. Interesting. She thought.

“No, no, I can guess what you’re thinking. I’m not trying to kill anyone. But you never know when that kind of information can be useful”

“Indeed.” she nodded, even if she was a bit disappointed

“And if I did want to kill someone, I would probably use something else like Nightshade or the Nerium Oleander -but I’d have to find some first” you added “Anyways, I need to go, I have class… See you later, maybe?”

Wednesday looked at you as you packed your things and left the library, not without putting the books back on their shelves. You definitely had a little something that made her look forward to the next time she would be in your company. That thought surprised her; she usually wasn’t one to seek others’ company.

She stayed sat at the table for a few minutes, lost in thoughts, before standing up almost abruptly. She walked to the door and was about to leave, when the librarian called her.

“Hey, wait a sec!”

Wednesday turned to face the woman who got out from behind her desk. She handed something.

“What is that?”

“A micro-cassette recorder. It must have fallen from your friend’s bag when she left. I thought you could give it back to her”

“She’s not my friend.” Wednesday said blankly but took the object anyways

The librarian rolled her eyes at the smaller girl and went back to her desk while Wednesday left the library, putting your recorder in her backpack.

“What’s that?”

Wednesday looked up from her typewriter; Enid was holding the recorder.

“A micro-cassette recorder.” she simply said “Put it back where it was, Enid.”

“Oooh what are you doing with it? Recording podcasts? I thought your thing was novels” the blonde continued, not listening

“‘My thing’ is novels.”

“Then what’s on this recorder?”

Before the raven could say anything else, the werewolf pressed the play button.

“Okay… Is it recording? Ah, yes, the numbers are moving. Okay okay… um… Where do I even start? God I must look so dumb talking to that thing… Anyways. Uh… Day 1 of research on outcasts, I guess? Is that how they do in movies?”

The recorder stopped playing, for Wednesday had pressed the button again, taking it from Enid’s hands.

“Whose voice is that? It’s not yours”

“Of course not. It’s…” she paused, looking for the right words “… it belongs to someone I met at the library.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about her?? I want to know everything!”

“There’s nothing to say.”

“Why do you have her recorder then?”

“She forgot it. I just keep it until I can give it back.”

“Hmhm, sure”

Enid said with a big smile, before going back to her activities: laying on her bed and scroll on Instagram, probably. The other girl watched her do so, then went back to her writing, putting the recorder on her desk.

After half an hour of peaceful writing, she heard Enid tell her she was going in Yoko’s dorm for whatever gossip session they had every week. From the corner of her eye, Wednesday saw the recorder move closer to her.

Thing was pushing it in her direction.

“What is it?”

“Don’t you want to hear more?” Thing signed

“I wouldn’t like it if anyone read my novel without asking me first.”

“But you’re curious”

“… Of course.”

“Listen to it then! Maybe you’ll be able to help her. She seems nice, she won’t get upset” Thing signed quickly, almost as curious as Wednesday to hear your research

“Fine. Give it to me.”

Thing pushed the recorder further so she could grab it. She did, and pressed play again, but not after a glance at Thing.

“A word to Enid and I’ll snap all your fingers.”

“Hmhm… so I borrowed this book in Jericho’s library about outcasts -I’m surprised they have books about that considering the way they see them. I think it was a pretty interesting book!”

Wednesday listened to what you had to say on that book, then fast-forwarded to a bit later on the record.

“… lost count of the days at this point. It’s crazy how I can’t find anything more than what I already read! It’s like normies’ knowledge about outcast is only the basics -not to say the clichés. God, I wish I was at Nevermore. I’m sure they have sooo much more books there. Not only about outcasts, but about poisonous plants as well!”

The raven was about to stop listening when you started speaking again.

“Oh, yesterday, I met a girl at the library! She advised me to read a certain book about The Black Dahlia case. She said she was from Nevermore. Well, she didn’t deny it. I wonder what’s her gift… But it’s a weird question to ask, isn’t it? I bet she knows lots of outcasts if she studies there… of course she does, what I am even saying?”

The record stopped by itself after that.

Wednesday had the tiniest smile on her face. You were smart, that she had noticed when you first talked, yet hearing you speak freely like that made you sound so clumsy. You were passionate, that was for sure.

“Thing, do you think you can find her quickly?”

A knock on your bedroom window caught your attention. Your stopped what you were doing and opened it. To your surprise, a hand -without a body- ran (?) in your room.

You looked at it, mouth agape, certainly not expecting that.

“Hi…?” you said hesitantly

The hand stopped on your desk and starting signing.

“I uh… don’t speak sign language… sorry”

The hand paused, as if it was sighing.

“You can… hear me?” you asked, surprised

It gave you a thumbs up as an answer, before showing its palm to you. A message was written on it with a marker: ‘You forgot your recorder at the library. Call me.’ Followed by a phone number.

“Thank you”

You said while typing the number on your phone, before calling it.

On the other side, Wednesday was waiting in front of Enid’s computer. She remembered how to use it from last time Enid told her. When she saw you were calling, she pressed the spacebar to pick up.

She certainly didn’t expect to see you with Thing on your shoulder.

“Hi!” you said with a smile “So you found my recorder? I was afraid someone random found it…” you paused “Your room is… more colorful that I would’ve imagined”

“It’s my roommate’s side.” Wednesday frowned, a bit offended you could think she would decorate her room this way

“Oh. What does your side looks like then?”

She turned Enid’s computer to show you -quite proudly.

“Ohh it’s nice! Wait- you have a typewriter?? That’s so cool! Like the overall decoration”

Thing typed lightly on your shoulder.

“Oh, yes, sorry. He’d like me to drive him back to Nevermore. Which I can understand, it’s a bit far away… So, we were wondering if you could open a window or something? I don’t think your principal would appreciate if someone from outside came without permission”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I know. Let’s say it’s for keeping my recorder safe, that way we’re even” you smiled

Wednesday nodded, and said she would open their window, just before your parents called you from downstairs, asking who you were talking to. While you were answering them, Thing gave the raven a thumbs up.

Of course it was your plan all along, bringing her here… she thought, a slight smile forming on her lips again. Well played.

After going out by your bedroom window, took your bike, put Thing in the little basket attached to the handlebar, and started making your way to Nevermore. On the way there, you talked with Thing; he used your phone to type and made it read the text out loud so you could hear.

When you arrived at Nevermore’s gate, you left your bike against the low wall near the entrance. To your surprise, the gate wasn’t closed -which was a good thing. You got on the school’s territory, walking silently to the school itself.

You had only ever seen it in pictures, and you had to admit, it was way cooler to see it for real.

Thing tapped your shoulder, bringing you back to reality, and pointing at a big round window with a metallic spider web on it. It was probably the dorm you had to reach.

“You could’ve told me it was on the fourth floor…”

You examined the architecture of the school, before cracking your knuckles and starting to climb.

“If I fall… I hope I won’t break too many bones”

After what seemed like an eternity, and three times almost falling, you finally reached the balcony. You took a moment to lay there, catching your breath, Thing patting your arm reassuringly.

He then disappeared inside and came back with the raven right as you were standing back up.

“Thing said you were hurt.” Wednesday said, her eyes shifting from your face to your hands, bruised by the climbing

“Oh, it’s okay. I’ve done rock-climbing with my parents before, I’m used to it”

“… If you say so.” she paused, and handed you your recorder

“I almost forgot about it” you chuckled, taking it from her hands and putting it in a pocket of your vest “Thank you”

Wednesday nodded. You did the same, as a goodbye, and were ready to go back home, when she spoke again.

“If you want more books about outcasts or something else…” she stepped forward and gave you a piece of paper “… let me know.”

You took the paper and opened it. Another phone number. You had guessed the previous one wasn’t hers, and according to what Thing told you, she never used the phone some guy gifted her.

You smiled and put the paper in your pocket.

“Thank you”

You were about to leave, but you remembered something.

“You never told me your name”

“Neither did you.”

“I’m Y/n. Y/n L/n”

“Wednesday. Wednesday Addams.”

“It was nice seeing you, Wednesday” you smiled “It’s probably going to sound weird… But I enjoy your presence, I feel understood. I hope we’ll be good friends. Anyways, good night!”

With that, you climbed down the wall, disappearing from her field of view.

Wednesday looked at the sky; it was dark, lots of clouds, but the moon was still visible behind them. It even illuminated the raven’s face.

Thing tapped in her direction.

“I only tolerate her presence. Don’t imagine things.”

More tapping, and what looked like he was rolling his eyes.

“One more word and you’re locked in the drawer until I decide otherwise.”

Thing saw it as the sign to go back inside, not wanting to risk it.

When she was alone on the balcony, Wednesday’s eyes shifted to your small form while you were getting on your way home.

Her little smile was back, that smile which was so unusual to see on her face, that only the people she really cared about ever saw.

Friends, hm? I suppose that’s what we are.

[Next part]

#wednesday addams #wednesday addams x reader #wednesday addams x fem reader #wednesday #wednesday x fem reader #wednesday x reader #wednesday netflix

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staranghae · 2 months

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better than the movies

summary. a new love blossoms between two people who could not be more different from each other. and no seungkwan, it is not because of your self-proclaimed 'stellar cupid skills', shut up!

pairing. cinephile! c.hs x bookworm! reader wc. 1.1k warnings. profanity, agggtm and its two sequels are movies in this. genre. crack, fluff, non-idol! au, intentional lowercase. a/n. this was requested by one of my very lovely moots and was a blast to write. @nonononranghaee hope you like it 🤍

you were browsing through the shelves of your local library looking for the sequel of the novel you had finished that afternoon.

you were growing increasingly desperate as you browsed shelf after shelf of the literature section but to no avail.

tired and miserable, you dragged yourself over to the librarian and asked her about the book,

"hello, do you have a copy of 'good girl, bad blood' by holly jackson?"

the librarian glances at you before going to her computer and looking through the library's online database. she turns to you with an apologetic smile before informing you the tragic news,

"i'm so sorry darling but someone checked it out just this morning."

your face visibly falls at her statement. the librarian, feeling a bit sorry for you, asks,

"i can put it on hold for you when it gets back if you'd like?"

you give her a somber smile before nodding your head.

you turn to leave but recall an incident that had taken place a few weeks ago at your place.

"seungkwan i swear to every god in the universe, if you don't give my book back i will suffocate you in your sleep, you sneaky little bitch!" you yell, chasing your best friend around your apartment as he maneuvers around your furniture, waving your book in the air.

he finally stops, standing on your futon while holding the book above his head and out of your reach.

"y/n listen. the deal is simple. agree to go on a blind date and i'll give you the book back. easy, right?"

you look at him incredulously before climbing on the futon and kicking him in the shin. not too hard, just enough so his knees would buckle. he immediately drops your book in favour of inspecting his now injured shin.

"this is what happens when you play with fire kwan. now i have a book to finish so get out!"

he mumbles something about 'stealing the sequel' before slamming your door shut on his way out.

you turn on your heel and go back to the librarian's desk. mustering up your courage, you ask her,

"may i know who checked it out? in case it's someone i know?"

she looks at you, a little confused, before turning to her computer. a few seconds later, she reads off of the screen,

"it seems a person by the name of 'boo seungkwan' has borrowed this book."

you chuckle under your breath, thank her, and storm out of the library furiously typing on your phone.

y/nie boo seungkwan!! when i fucking get you, its soo over for u. kwangerine y/n! what's got you like this at....2:13pm? y/nie idk kwan :| maybe it's the fact that you checked out the sequel to my book from the library:/ kwangerine ah so you found out :D welp, if you want it, come to heaven's cloud at 5:30 hehehe y/nie gremlin ass kwangerine :P

you sigh for what seems to be the millionth time today.

as you start walking towards your apartment, you make a mental note of everything you have to do today.

first, you have to pick up the laundry on the way to your apartment.

then, you have to go to heaven's cloud to murder seungkwan get your book back.

once back in your apartment, you decide to change before heading out to heaven's cloud. it wouldn't a very nice impression of you to go to your best friend's cafe clad in a concert tee and sweatpants.

you change into a dress and put on some light makeup before heading out.

the smell of coffee and vanilla envelops you as soon as you step into heaven's cloud cafe. you look around for seungkwan, but don't spot him.

but you DO spot his roommate, sitting in seungkwan's favourite spot holding your book, looking a bit...nervous?

you walk up to him and stand in front of him. when he doesn't notice you, you call him,

"vernon? did seungkwan send you?"

"y/n? you look...nice."

"thanks? you still haven't answered my question?"

he laughs a bit before gesturing for you to sit down. you sit in front of him as he starts to talk,

"so what happened is, i was watching the 'a good girl's guide to murder' movie right? seungkwan came in mumbling something about you being to engrossed in books to even have a social life."

you just roll your eyes at the perfect description of your best friend before telling him to continue.

"and then he looks at me and starts going off about how we're exactly like each other but also exact opposites."

"as in? what does that mean?"

"as in i wouldn't read a book to save my life and according to him, you would only watch a movie over your dead body. and-"

you interrupt him, knowing exactly where he was going with this.

"-and also. i'm a huge bookworm and you're a...movie connoisseur?"

he chuckles before answering you,

"well, the term is cinephile but yeah. a movie connoisseur of sorts."

"yeah whatever. and seungkwan thought it would be good idea to pull whatever he pulled and make this a date. am i right?"

he freezes up a bit before nodding slowly. you, on the other hand, did not know what to feel. had seungkwan done this because of how many times you had gushed to him whenever there was a opposites attract trope in your cheesy little romance novels, or had he finally figured out your yearlong crush on his extremely attractive roommate?

it is only after you finally look at vernon do you realise he had asked you a question. you smile sheepishly while asking him to repeat the question because you hadn't been paying attention.

he merely chuckles before repeating his question,

"were you not aware this was a date? because seungkwan told me you knew."

"nope. didn't have a clue."

"ah. you can leave if you want, i don't really mind."

you feel a pang of disappointment in your chest at his statement. you take a deep breath and work up the courage to ask him the one question you've been meaning to ask him for the past year.

"vernon. do you, perhaps, like me? like, romantically?'

vernon all but spits out his drink at your sudden question (or was it a confession?)

he regains his composure before answering you,

"yeah! i mean, yes uhm, i have liked you, for like, uhh a year at this point i think."

you audibly laugh at his stuttering and ask him the million dollar question.

"do you want this date to go on?"

sure, but only if we can go back to my place so i can tell you why the movie is better than the book."

"that is, quite literally, impossible but sure, also only if i can tell you, factually, that the book is always, and i mean always, better than the movies."

the two of you laugh at your statement and continue with the date. a few tables behind you guys, there was a very pleased human cupid sipping on his iced americano, eavesdropping on your guys' conversation every so often.

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gendercomsumer · 1 year

Text

Twisted Wonderland Confessions Part 5!

A/N: We're almost finished with the series! Idk what I'll write for after but I'll figure it out eventually. Also my computer broke in the middle of writing this- so yayyyyy

Warnings: Not proof read, Ooc Sebek, Lilia being a menace /hj (Also not knowing how to write him-),

GN!Reader

Characters: Sebek Zigavolt (773 words), Lilia Vanrouge (509 words), Leona Kingscholar (761 words)

Sebek Zigavolt

You'd meet him during the spell drive tournament (Book 2 w/ savanaclaw) When there was the plan to take Diasmonia out of the running for the whole thing.

It was only a small moment you two saw each other but from first impressions he was loud, and most definitely not afraid of showing his loudness off.

You ran into each other again during school realizing you had more classes with the fae then you first thought.

While Sebek is very loud at times, he's diligent and takes great and very organized notes (Even if they're only in pencil with no indicating colors.)

As a friend Sebek is a bit strange

You'll usually find him doing his own thing or lecturing a student on the topic of respect.

You two would hangout during lunch usually close by Malleus in case he needs Sebek to guard him.

A personal head canon is that he's also a bit suspicious of everyone, not like heavily so but it came naturally with him being a knight.

So he might not fully trust you at first to be able to be at two arms length of Malleus.

I mean at least he's being a good guard am I right?

He will let you borrow his notes if you need to, saying some comment along the lines of, "Ha! Of course a human would need my notes!"

While he can help you in math and science he does struggle in art and the more creative classes.

Help him with those and he'll see it as a favors for favors situation.

I can't really see him easily identifying let alone accepting his feelings for you

He at first thinks he's sick, or if you know magic you've somehow slipped a curse on him

He goes to Lilia for guidance and this old man while he looked composed was cackling on the inside.

Lilia explains that Sebek is most likely falling in love with the human and Sebek seems almost appalled by the suggestion.

Him? A fae? Falling for you some random pathetic human?!

No no that can't be right!

This was one of the only times he started to question Lilias judgment and views on the matter.

After getting the same opinion of Silver as well, and a lot of thought, he comes to the conclusion that maybe, just maybe, he might have a teeny itty bitty crush on you.

That's as much as he was going to admit though.

Lilia what do you mean when will he tell them? He's not!

He tries to act the same but the words of his family stuck to the back of his head.

How passionate you were about things you loved and how you have done so much despite being only a human

at times you could catch his stone face starting to melt into a soft lovesick smile

Maybe that crush wasn't as small as he said it was

But he'd never admit that

Confession wise, either he puts it off for as long as he can or you decide to go up and confront him on his very badly hidden feelings.

So for this let's say you've picked up on his hiding of feelings and decide that now's the best time as any to let him know how you feel

You kept your fingers crossed that he felt the same as Lila led you through their dorm

"Alright third door on the left should be Sebek's, don't get too crazy now kids!"

Lilia left down the stairs with a childish laugh as you went down the hall hearing Sebeks voice through the walls.

It really showed how loud his voice could be considering the dorm was made of stone

Standing outside the door you could easily hear Sebek monologuing to himself about... He was talking about you?

The mention of your name was sudden followed by the names of Lilia and Silver.

"If both master Lilia and Silver say that I've... Fallen for this human, does that mean it's true!? mater Lilia is rarely wrong... But I can't be! They're just a human! A human who makes me feel like I'm in front of the thorn fairy herself at times... No no! How dare I compare the two!!"

He continued and a dust of color was brought to your cheeks to raise a hand to knock on his door hopefully loud enough he'd hear.

There was a long pause before the door was opened by Sebek and at the sight of you his face flushed.

In an uncharacteristically quiet way he asked "Please tell me you didn't hear any of that... Did you?"

Lilia Vanrouge

One day You walk out of your dorm planning to go get some food from Sam's shop since it had been awhile since you went on a grocery run.

It was a beautiful day out with the just right amount of clouds

You take a step out of your house, and Lilia appears seemingly out of thin air hanging upside down from your shade on the porch of your house

Yep that's how you met, him almost scaring the living shit out of you on a random Tuesday morning

What a fun way to start off!

After him almost killing you with that scare he would randomly pop up at times scaring anyone and everyone around you (after awhile you got used to it)

He's a very fun person over all despite what he's been through with the fae war and all

His jokes and lightheartedness are usually welcome lifting any bad mood you may have.

he'll try his best to help in any classes, he's a fucking god in history having lived though most of what they're teaching

And as the feelings start to appear he's a bit taken aback by their sudden appearance.

He's had many lovers in his years but this time the love feels different almost?

It's hard for him to describe, hell it's hard for him to comprehend, but nonetheless he enjoys the soft feeling you give him when you're around

He'd consider a long while on whether or not he would want a relationship with you

You are a human and he will most definitely out live you no matter what the world has in store

It's just the sad truth of having an extremely long life span like his

Once he is sure of this he will start to make more moves on you and attempt to gauge your reaction to them.

Depending on your reaction will depend when he confesses to you, or how much longer he wants to wait to confess.

I can see his confession being one on the more romantic side, but not like not as romantic as Rook.

Most likely he would confess in the middle of a hangout he'd be subtly flirting with you whether you notice or not is most likely up to how dense or oblivious you are

He'd be laying on the couch of the living room possibly (most defiantly) upside down

You'd be talking about some random topic and you look away for moment and suddenly oop there he is floating upside down in front of you.

You jumped and laughed questioning Lilia what he was doing

He stayed silent for a moment staring at you in a manner some would consider creepy before letting out a small laugh.

You asked what was so funny in a bit of a cautious manner and Lilia smiled at you "I've had plenty of lovers... but none were a stunning nor did they make me feel as strange as you do... so tell me, will you help me explore what makes you the one..?"

Leona Kingscholar

After the events, to say the least, of book two he's very salty about everything for at least a week

Eventually and inevitably the two of you need to work together (Either during or before book 3)

Or Ruggie some how convinced you to help him out with the lazy Lion

And either way hey it worked!

Most of the time Leona is either bored, sleeping, or secret option number 3! bored and wanting to sleep...

He's an interesting character to get along with and once you do it's a different side you see other than the one that's just a lazy ion that Ruggie and the other students need to deal with

You learn very quickly that he's very smart and knows most of what the teachers are teaching.

He just normally doesn't have the energy or the want to participate in classes.

Which in my opinion fair my dude

But because he's really book smart if you ask and he's in a good mood he would "dumb down the lesson" in reality he's reteaching it just in a way that's easier to understand.

He sleeps a lot so he knows how important it is to get enough of said sleep.

So if you're close (good friends and such) if he sees you start to drift off during class or fall asleep, he'll cover for you but will scold you that that's not a proper place to take a nap

He then proceeds to take a nap in potion class with Rook in the room. What was that about proper nap locations Leona?

But either than that he's a bit sassy at times and can joke around, hell he calls you Herbivore all the time, that should be evidence enough.

One time you had fallen asleep under a tree (Silver kinnie energy-) and Leona found you

He ended up staying with you and skipping class to take a nap of his own and that's when his feelings for you start to fully come into light.

When he saw you sleeping there, there was a small part of him who wanted to stay with you and protect you, silly right?

Now Leona's well versed in emotions. He'd seen how his brother acted around his now sister in law and here they were now with the menace of a child Cheeka.

So once these feelings start to become stronger and more prominent it starts to reflect in his behavior

I am an avid believer in the beast men/ mermen are possessive change my mind (warning you can't)

He'd start to stay around you a lot more than normal and once Ruggie joked that you had cat nip in your pocket and Leona was following you because of it.

Leona makes sure you get enough sleep a day. Didn't get 8 hours at least last night, whelp hopefully nothing important is happening in Crewels class cause you're skipping to take a nap!

He also makes sure you're eating right and not burying yourself in your work (I'm looking at you Crowley)

He also gets protective over you and if people look at you the wrong way they will have a lion glaring them down.

As for confessions I can see him being pretty nonchalant about it.

One day you had been studying in your room since you needed help in History.

Leona went to go get something and you decided to ley your head down on your bed to see if you could catch some quick rest

Leona returned sometime later and looked at you confused

you were still awake but you didn't want to bother to open your eyes as you were in a comfortable position and sleep sounded like a very nice idea at the moment

"Oi, Herbivore, are you asleep?" You stayed quiet and still as Leona looked over your face and gave a mischievous smile.

"Well isn't that adorable.. and here I thought I was the lazy one.." He gently brushed some hair out of your face and placed a feather light kiss to your temple

"It was your idea to study and you're the one to fall asleep.." You could feel the color come to your face as Leona sat at the end of the bed watching you

You eventually sat up and Leona laughed seeing the red color across your face "Thought so I wouldn't think you'd fall asleep that quickly, so tell me Herbivore.." Leona leaned closer to you with a smug smile

"you do know it's dangerous to fall asleep around a lion, don't you?"

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runa-falls · 11 months

Text

cat and mouse - 1

Pairing: Miguel O'Hara x Supervillain(?)!Reader

Warnings: none -- oh you get thrown into a vat of radioactive liquid, but it doesn't hurt too bad.

a/n: when you think of another fic idea in the middle of writing your other WIP :D

Summary: Every time you try to convince people it was an accident, you immediately get ratted out to the Spider. But really, it was! You don't know why you're being hunted, you didn't even do anything wrong. Yet.

w/c: 716

part 2 part 3 part 4

masterlist

----

Here’s a riddle:

“What do you get when you push an unemployed woman into a vat of radioactive liquid?”

Apparently, an unemployed enemy of the state.

You were never the kind of girl who grew up ripping the heads off of your Barbies, or a woman who falls in love with a guy at the insane asylum. You just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

As soon as your head ducked under the burning liquid, you thought you were dead. So you let go and stopped struggling. But really, is there anyone in history who hasn’t survived being pushed into a vat of something?

For example, there's Electro with the eels, and Sandman with the, uh, sand, so you really shouldn’t have been surprised when you woke up with more energy than you’ve ever felt before, though your back was killing you.

Opening your eyes, you noticed you were splayed over a sidewalk, clothes barely covering you as most of the fabric disintegrated in the power plant. Then you saw fire. Lots of fucking fire.

With a quick turn of your head, your eyes followed the trail of destruction all the way back to the exploded building where the accident happened. And before you knew it, you were in cuffs, being questioned by the police.

It’s easy to break out of jail, especially when you can burn right through the iron bars. And it’s easy to lose the cops too when you can scale buildings.

Despite your increased strength, agility, and sensitized hearing, there are several setbacks to being a random woman full of radioactive energy. Your hair, for one, is completely orange. Who knew radioactive juices acted like cheap boxed bleach?

You constantly have to re-dye it back to your original shade and use tons of hair oil to keep it from frizzing up but it only really lasts for a day or two. Talk about having awkward one-night stands…

Unfortunately, your hair is the most recognizable feature of yours so civilians started to call you “Blaze” like some sort of Fantastic Four character. You hate it.

You also can’t get a job because you’re the most wanted woman in Nueva York. So you resort to “borrowing” some money from rich people who definitely wouldn’t notice or care. And then you got caught.

“So it’s been you this whole time?” The low voice makes you jump. You weren’t expecting anyone to be home. “So you’re the one stealing hundreds of dollars from innocent civilians?” The Spider-man slowly walks out from the shadowed corner of the office, making the moment as dramatic as possible.

You quickly close whoever’s laptop you were trying to get into before holding your hands up in a dumb attempt to act innocent. He looks unimpressed by your ‘sneaky outfit’, eyes pouring over the black turtleneck and faded black jeans. Look, it’s not like you had a closet full of options.

You frown, “They’re hardly innocent.”

“Hm,” He slides the laptop toward himself, opening it up to see how far in you got. You didn’t. You were about to give up and leave before he interrupted you. “How so?”

You scoff without thinking about it, “You think a person can make billions of dollars without taking advantage of people?” Apparently, your words amuse him, and a small smirk quirks on his lips. The light of the computer reflects against his cherry red irises. He’s… pretty.

“All I know,” He shuts the laptop and finally looks up at you, dropping any hint of his previous smile. “Is that you blew up a power plant, escaped prison, and now live off of the money that you’re taking from others.”

“C’mon Spider-Man, it’s only a couple of bucks. I don’t have a job–”

“No kidding.” He shakes his head and takes a second to think about something before offering you a hand over the desk, almost like a peace offering. “Here’s my proposition: you come with me and we can get some dinner before getting you back to where you belong.” You quirk a brow upwards, suspicious of his change in tone. “Come on, it’s late. I’d rather avoid the fighting part.”

“Back to…where?”

“Prison, honey.”

That was the start of your cat-and-mouse relationship with the one and only, Spider-Man.

#miguel o’hara x reader #miguel o’hara #miguel o’hara x you #spider-man across the spider verse #cat and mouse

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deepdisireslonging · 6 months

Text

No Cum November Part 4: Study Session Number Two

Sam pins you in the library for another round… no matter who is around.

Pairing: Sam Winchester x Reader

Warnings/Promises: public SMUT, risk of being caught, dirty talk, edging

Word Count: 430

Note: I’m getting better and keeping things short and sweet. You know what’s not short? Sam’s fingers. On that note, reblogs are wonderful. They’re a good way to tease your Tumblr friends. Happy reading!

Part 3: Good Clean Fun

The school library was relatively empty at two am. A few late-night studiers occupied the center tables, their books and computers taking up all the space. At least one of them had given up and was snoring across a book.

Which was fine by you and Sam. The student’s snoring covered up the noise the two of you were making.

With the day being a hot one, you dressed the part. A sundress to match the last of the season’s heat, which had started a heat in Sam. But then the library was cold. So, he gave you his “borrowed” college merch. Sam being Sam, you could have been built like the biggest linebacker and you’d still have plenty of fabric in the sleeves to pull over your frozen fingers.

Those same sweater paws were now shoved up against your mouth while Sam had his way with you against the bookshelf.

Sam’s arm held you upright, while his other hand steadied himself against the shelf. Your thighs squeezed tight, trapping Sam’s length between them. His thrusting over your bare sex caught your clit often, while the movement itself kept you plenty pliant. Your bottom lip was going to be swollen from biting it so hard to stay quiet. Still, the occasional hum from you or grunt from Sam had attracted attention.

“The library guard is coming, Y/N. Where’s my cum gonna go? Pick or-“

“Inside me. Please. Inside-“

He covered your mouth with his hand. “Don’t cum.” A second later you were shuddering as he released inside you. You barely had time to catch your breath before he was pulling down your skirt and rushing to lean against the opposite shelf.

The guard walked by. He barely spared either of you a glance.

Sam slightly turned to make sure the guard kept walking. You looked through the shelves the other way, watching a bored librarian scroll through something on her phone. Sam’s breath suddenly next to your ear made you jump. His arm caught you again. But this time, he kept a hand free to toy with your slick.

“That was a close one. If we had gotten caught, would you have cum?”

You shook your head, fighting not to cum as he toyed with your clit.

“Of course not. You’re too obedient for that.” He kissed your temple before sliding his fingers into your mouth to clean off. “I think we’re done here.”

Picking up the books you two had found, hidden between texts on the Greek god Priapus, he guided you with a hand on your lower back to check-out.

***

Part 5: 2 AM Quickie

#winchester x reader #reader insert #Sam Winchester x reader #sam winchester smut #supernatural

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fcthots · 8 months

Note

Saw you were sick, make you think of this: Jason 'steals' recipes from Alfred to make food to make you feel better.

-(person who asked about snowflake or galaxy emoji, on computer so emojis hard lol)

I'm actually picky as FUCK so I had to sit here and think of foods I eat (we're workin with the autism this morning, sensory issues got worse when I tried to ignore it)

Your day had started off fine, normal... if going to the bat cave to pick up cat treats could be considered normal... but Gus was out and crying and the sound was killing you, so you just decided to go borrow some of Damian's (after he approved of course). You had walked in, grabbed the cat treats of Damian, realized Damian was sniffling, thought it could be that bad, and brought the cat treats back home.

Only, 4 hours later, Jason calls, and you're coughing up a storm. Another 2 hours later, he calls again and you can barely talk because your throat and head hurt. 4 more hours later and you're laying in bed, pissed off at the world, cold, and cranky.

Until the beloved love of your life walks in with groceries. You recognize those ingredients.

"You're making Alfred's baked Mac n cheese???" Your voice comes out cracked.

"What the fuck? I haven't even taken the ingredients out the bag yet? How? You know what, I actually don’t want to know."

"I love you so much." Your voice was really sounding pitiful.

"I know, darlin. I know."

#saph’s love letters #jason todd #saph’s thots #jason todd x reader #red hood #red hood x reader #jason todd imagine #jason todd x you #anon #jason todd fluff #jason todd x reader fluff #red hood imagine #red hood x reader fluff #red hood x you #red hood fluff #fluff

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omni-present-god-send · 6 months

Text

Crack-fic 2 Electric Boogaloo

Ok wow, that last fic got some attention. Even the original creator of the AU I was writing about liked it. Wtf. So, um, here's another one! Based on @lets-try-some-writing 's Mr. Pax Au. Yes, I'm bothering you again.

Basically: Prom is coming up and the kids want Optimus to be there. He's flattered. Then cons show up. Destruction.

It was odd to have your favorite teacher also be an alien robot. At least Miko made money because of it. Jack and Raf are still mad that she, of all people, called it. There were many advantages though. Easy access to tutoring. Free rides. A shoulder to cry on.

The three of them even helped Optimus with his human disguise! If only to help with the Uncanny Valley he would give them sometimes. His hair was messier now, and he finally got something close to a wardrobe. However, there were some things they couldn't control. Like the way his eyes would get this subtle glow when he got angry or was concentrating. The way his holoform would appear to stop breathing for an extended period of time. Or when we would sing, it was hard to describe, but an almost invisible sound could be heard. Like a bell in the back of your mind. The three of them would soon learn that it was because Optimus, and the other bots in general, could produce sounds just outside of what the human ear could hear clearly.

As the months went by, Mr. Pax would be the best teacher any of them had ever had. Then he would drive them to base and be Optimus. The best dad on this, or any other, planet. It was the best of both worlds!

Sure they had to deal with the Vice-Principal. Trying to get Mr. Pax fired for being a better History teacher in one year than he had been in 15. Vince who, no matter how much Mr. Pax intervened, always went out of his way to make someone miserable. Whether it was Jack or some other poor soul. On top of getting shot at, blown up, stalked, and kidnapped by Decepticons. A break is always welcomed.

Which is how we got here. Miko borrowing Raf's laptop to look at some very sparkly dresses at the base while the boys went to grab some food. Very out of character for the little punk and Optimus noticed immediately. It didn't take more than a few minutes for Optimus to go into the back and for Mr. Pax to emerge out of the dark hallways.

Mr. Pax walked up the stairs and towards the couch where Miko was. She looked very puzzled as she scrolled through the array of dresses on the screen. "You hardly ever even consider that type of fashion Miko. Is everything alright?" Mr. Pax questioned. Miko's head shot up. Clearly not expecting him. "Oh, hey boss. Yeah, everything's fine. Just looking at Prom dresses. My parents are insisting I go." She rolled her eyes and went back to scrolling. "I heard some of the other teachers talking about that. What is 'Prom'?" Mr. Pax inquired.

"Basically is an over-hyped party for seniors to dress up and take pictures with their dates," Miko explained. Mr. Pax hummed. "I hope you have fun regardless." He smiled. Miko gave a laugh and waved him away. Instead of leaving, Mr. Pax took a seat next to her on the couch. "How about we look together? Maybe we can find something you like. Or at the very least something you can edit to fit your style." How could Miko refuse? It wasn't every day she got 1-on-1 time with Best Dad!

Hours passed with them just...looking at dresses. Short ones, long ones, ugly ones, expensive ones. Till, finally, they found it. A knee-length, off-shoulder, black cocktail dress. With a silver detail on the waist. It was a decent price, and Miko could already see every edit that could be done to make it hers. SHe gave Mr. Pax a tight hug before writing down the link to go back to later. Once she got home and back to her own computer that is.

Mr. Pax repeated the process with Jack and, suprisingly, Raf. He thought nothing of it. He was helping his kids students pick out some decent clothes for an importent event. It was the least he could do. Esspecailly with the war dragging them into places and senarios they had no buisness being in.

Before they knew it, Prom was right around the cornor. Mr. Pax was in his classroom grading some papers for the math teacher. When a knock at his door brought him out of his trance. It was Ms. Summer. The science teacher. He opened the door.

"Hello Ms. Summer, can I help you?"

"Yes. You see Mr. Pax, I have a date next weekend." "That's great!" "It is... except I suck at scheduling and our date is at the same time as Prom. I was wondering if you could chaperone in my place?"

Mr. Pax was taken aback. He was not expecting this. "Um... sure. Why not? I don't have a lot going on anyway." He chuckled. Ms. Summer gave him a big smile. "Oh thank you, Mr. Pax! You have no idea how much this helps!" Ms. Summer exclaimed.

Back at base later that day, the children were all talking about their prom plans. "I have some money for bowling if you guys are interested." Jack offered. "Bowling sounds nice," Raf replied. Optimus glances over at the children, trying to hide a smile. He failed. "Hey Boss, you're gonna be there. Right?" Miko suddenly asks. Optimus, now very confused, turns to her. "You...want me at Prom with you all?" The three of them looked at him like he was stupid. In that moment, he was. "Of course, we want you there! You're our favorite!" Raf's words sent warmth through Optimus's spark. He smiled "Then you will be happy to know that Ms. Summer has asked me to chaperone Prom in her wake." Immediately the children started hopping and cheering. "Just because Prom is coming up doesn't mean you all get to skip out on Homework. Miko." She gave him a look of fake offence, before laughing and returning to celebrating with Jack and Raf. Optimus gave a small chuckle and went back to his duties.

Before they knew it, Prom was here. Mr. Pax stood near the door to the building. Glad in a, rather beautiful , black suit. Red flower details covered the suit jacket from top to bottom. Even the tie had red flowers on it! Making it look a lot more expensive then it was. Being a hologram and all.

Prom went, surprisingly, well. The children had fun. Their classmates had enthusiastic reactions to Mr. Pax being there. Except Vince. For obvious reasons. Miko had taken the dress and added spikes, pink and green mesh, and had taken a knife to the skirt. While Jack and Raf were in a blue and yellow suit, respectively.

That was, until Prom got raided by US soldiers. They evacuated everyone from the building. As Mr. Pax was dragged outside by a soldier, he saw what caused the commotion. Even from a distance he could tell they were Deceptions. Three of them. Flying straight toward him. Threatening his students.

He tried to calm down. He really did. He helped get his students to safety. He got as many personal items as he could carry. Nearly punched a soldier. Nearly. He held himself back don’t worry. Blasts of Energon rained down on the building. Chunks fell off. Rubble caught fire. A couple light fixtures exploded.

As the last of his students was taken away by soldiers. Optimus finally let himself take out his anger. Returning to his bi-pedal form, he fired three shots. Each one took out a wing on each con. As the Cons fell from the sky Optimus grabbed them. With the strength of a thousand suns he, as Miko would describe, cracked them like glow sticks. Then threw each one toward the horizon.

When the cons returned they looked like they had been through Kaon. Shaking and rattling like newsparks. As they relaid the story Megatron could feel his spark freeze. Optimus did this? When did he get so violent? Even Soundwave shivered at the story.

Back at the Autobot base, Optimus held Raf, Jack, and Miko close to his spark. Literally. He refused to set them down for longer then necessary. They were still in their, now destroyed, prom clothes. Shaking and crying. Though you didn’t hear that from me. Eventually the day caught up to the and they fell asleep, still in Optimus’s hand. Going into his room, he layed there. His kids sleeping on his chest, close to his spark.

#transformers prime #transformers #my fic #crack fic #jack darby #miko nakadai #rafael esquivel #optimus prime #tfp optimus prime #prom #fanfic

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thebookewyrme · 6 months

Text

So, I finally got the apartment I’ve been waiting for after being on the waiting list for 9 months. Unfortunately, they were kind of dicks and gave me about 2.5 weeks notice. I had just spent all my extra money on kittens, but I’ve been able to scramble and borrow and arrange payments to paychecks in such a way that all my move in costs are covered.

However, this doesn’t leave any room for “nonessentials” like food and vet visits. The kittens need their next set of shots, and it can’t be delayed because they have to be given a certain amount of time apart. Additionally, Bella’s expensive prescription dog food is about to run out (I can’t feed her regular cheap dog food because she has gall bladder disease and it’ll literally kill her like her mother went).

So. I need about $350 by November 10th, for these things! Anything over will go to feed me, but I can probably subsist on the food bank for a couple weeks if I have to. Any boosts are a help, even a dollar is a dollar more than I had before. I really appreciate how everyone has come together for me in the past, sorry to have to ask again.

$0/$350

Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/TheBookewyrme

PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/LiaWolff05

Cashapp: $TheBookewyrme

As payment, I offer pics of the miscreants in question!

Miscreant #1

[Image ID: a grey kitten sits on a messy desk with books and papers piled around him. A computer screen is on the right side. /end ID]

Miscreant #2

[Image ID: a orange and white kitten lays on his back with his back pays in the air clutching at an orange toy on a string and looking at the camera. /end Id]

And not a miscreant, only the goodest old girl!

Image ID: a german shepherd curled up on a rug. /end Id]

#trans crowdfund #crowdfunding #mutual aid #animals #animal care #vet bills #kitten Yuan #kitten Binghe #kittens #german shepherd #please boost

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am-i-the-asshole-official · 17 days

Note

Bob (M 30s),an acquaintance for a few years. Met him at his work a store where he’d come up & chat with us (spouse & I 50s). Had some interests in common so we invited him to game nights, never came. Bob would contact us online occasionally or at his work. Usually he needed help with something like his computer. Sometimes we gave him, old bits of hardware that were gathering dust as upgrades. Bob brought us beer like twice to thank us.

After we helped Bob would disappear for months at a time. Wouldn’t hear from him at all unless we happened to run into him at work or he needed something. The occasional ‘hey how are you’ online, we would talk to him maybe 2-3 times a year at most. Never accepted invitations to come over so we stopped asking. So, we never hung out with this guy socially at all.

Recently he just shows up at our house around midnight & leaves a note saying he can’t contact us online but he needs our help. I left a note saying if he can’t contact us online not sure how we are going to talk but he can leave a note if he wants. We are not fans of people just dropping by. The next night he leaves a note saying his car isn’t running right & can he borrow one of ours for a few hours, (we have 2 but only 1 works). He said ‘he just wants to get out of here’. hours/out of here seems contradictory. The next note asks which car he can borrow.

I leave a note that no, we can not help him only 1 works & we don’t know him well enough to lend him a car even if they both did. He was freaking my spouse out so I told him not to come back. He read the note & said ‘OK’ which we heard on the sec camera.

Next day he parks on the access road in the park that is behind our house & is just separated by a thin treeline. He walks around our backyard, talking to himself, goes into our garage & spends a while poking around then leaves after more wandering around our yard. At this point we realized he has been parking back behind our house all week. We checked the footage, yes he was. He knew to come leave a note because he was watching when we had lights on. Spouse freaked & called the cops. I might not have but they were called. Cops talked to Bob not sure what else.

Next day he comes back. He says on camera ‘he won’t take a car now without permission because the cops scared him’.

Um.

He also leaves another note asking about the nonworking car, if we could give him the pink slip when he takes it. That he is broke & hungry.

He says ‘twice he was told to contact us to help him’.

By whom?

Spouse calls the cops who get to our place long after Bob left. We explain everything, show them the notes & the cop says he’s getting a warrant for stalking. A few days later Bob is arrested, court date set which he doesn’t show up to. No idea where he is now.

I feel like I ATAH because the cops got called on an obviously mentally ill person who was just asking for help, but we live in a rural area and there are no mental health resources to call. So… AITAH here?

What are these acronyms?

#aita #am i the asshole

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dadvans · 2 months

Text

missing language.

if livejournal posts were still real. this would be it.

i started learning japanese when i was 11 years old, around early summer 2000, from my aunt from okinawa. she would practice with me in the gazebo when she and my uncle would come to visit for family reunions in the midwest, and would continue to buy me tapes, movies, CDs to start learning the language.

my school district was one of the lowest in the country growing up. we had a prestigious japanese immersion charter school, and after a disastrous middle school year, i ended up applying and being accepted. grades four to twelve. each year we were in different (sometimes abandoned or condemned) buildings up until halfway through my freshman year. despite occupying abandoned churches and gymnasiums, we had the highest test scores, and most exclusive college acceptance rates in oregon. it was either that good or that bad. we all hated each other the way family hates each other.

i won my division three years running for the oregon japanese speech contest through my ninth grade year.

i moved to japan two days after my sixteenth birthday. the year and a half that followed was not easy. i had a host family for a period of time that constantly kicked me out, starved me, and found other families for me to live with. i had another family where the host dad tried to molest me twice by taking me to remote locations. when i became fluent, really fluent, around the 6 to 8 month mark (long after i passed the JLPT 3 at the time, which is now closer to JLPT 2), after months of isolating myself in the computers at class to speak english to abroad friends for an hour a day, i told my japanese school friends, and they were horrified. they stepped up in ways i never knew. it wasn't usual for someone to be so forthcoming, and yet they all recognized it as an extreme circumstance, invited me into their inner circle. my home room teachers took notice and would take me out for lunch. my host family situation was codename ONI BABA, and even another family that eventually took me in would refer to her as such, when i asked if i could borrow her koto for a public concert (yeah, the one instrument it turns out i'm a prodigy at is okoto. Played my first concert at a local Obon festival within a week of starting. Talk to me about how Hana Kage is a fucking bitch. this version of 回転木馬 was what i was performing after a year. if you can find my old livejournal account, i guarantee there is a really terrible version recorded on my motorola razr still live).

by the time i was seventeen i was allowed to be on payroll to act as a translator for a month-long "jan-term" project with my mom in japan, where we took about 13 students across the main land. back at my american school i was writing all my essays in japanese, in the style i had been taught in japan (it was WILD to relearn how to rewrite english essays when living abroad-- that shit does NOT translate sometimes).

i went to college. i was immediately accepted into the higher ed programs my school provided. they were working toward offering a major, but only had a minor present. i signed on for level 300 with 8 other students.

the professor hated me. that is the nicest word for it. she would have typos on her quizzes. she would make fun of my hokkaido accent. but the worst part was when i was sexually assaulted by one of the other 8 students in the class, went to her during office hours to request that she not pair me with that student out of fear, and then she proceeded to exclusively pair me with that student on projects.

i was also learning i had a learning disability, but the student union health center refused to directly prescribe me medication for my disability, or refer my outwards--what happened instead was i was put on a prescription that had not been recommended outside of extreme epilepsy (carbamezapine), and when i expressed my fear that it was resurfacing suicidal tendencies, the doctor in charge doubled the dosage and encourage me to kill myself.

it was an ordeal. it was an ordeal that i documented. it was an ordeal that by spring 2008, i was accused of cheating on a test i got less than 30% on because i was so fucking out of it by a woman who would only partner me with a man who had sexually abused me. and when i confronted her about it on tape, with a medical transcript of what i had endured for the past year, i have a recording of her saying, "I don't need a piece of paper to tell me that you have problems."

Anyway, she went on sabbatical to adopt a kid the next year. Idiot sex pest remained in my classes, but god, he really sucked. I had to leave through most of my 400-level classes because I was working a lot. Most of my classes were essentially unpaid labor where we were translating books and providing subtitles for movies that were ready for American distribution. Half of my classmates my second year were born in Japan and spoke Japanese better than English but were able to cop out a foreign language credit, and they were honestly my favorite friends in the class, even if that's a steep fucking grading curve. Asshole teacher appeared once my spring semester, but knowing she took the year off, I actually completed my minor degree my sophomore year in early 2009.

And then I never really spoke Japanese again.

And it's hard. Whenever I'm introduced to media, I'm like, god, I forgot that. I remember that. I knew that, once upon a time. I remember conversations in English that weren't in English. And I remember when I was in my senior year of High School, I would be speaking Japanese and forget that I was speaking Japanese, that sometimes no one else except my teacher or friend who were equally fluent understood too. I miss that feeling. I feel shame, sometimes, at letting it go. I know I still have the pronunciation and local dialect, but it's hard to be reminded of how much I forgot.

When I started learning first, very close to when I was still fluent, Indonesian, and more recently, French, my backup language in my head has always been Japanese instead of English. My wife used to tell me I had a Japanese accent when I would try to speak French (fun fact: one of my friends in Japan was learning French and spoke zero English, and only then did I understand the horror of French phonetics), and it took me literally over a month of quietly practicing my R's in my car when I would get home from work for her to be like, oh you sound like a regular Anglo (read: white boy trying so hard and yet).

Whenever I get back into the mindset of becoming fluent in French (mandatory!), and restart the journey from where I left off these past years, I ache something fierce and weird for my Japanese. It is, surface level, a sense of failure. I couldn't hold onto you, I wouldn't have known how to try. There were obstacles. There were so many bad memories. And yet, sometimes I will be in bed with my wife, and she will be watching a Japanese show, and I will be like, "Did he really say that?" and she will say, "Oh God, I forgot that you knew Japanese."

Some things are bone deep and will probably never go away. I guess I'm still in mourning for the language that I lost as I continue to learn a new language. I want to be better, I know I can be better this time! And yet, I'm afraid that every step forward, I'll lose what I have of my second language identity. I have already lost so much.

#misc.#personal #all sketches wish to be real

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lovrily · 2 years

Text

speed of sound (part 2)

steve harrington x reader | part 2 of 3 | 9k words

◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

as will byers older sister, you vaguely know steve harrington. upon becoming steve harrington's (randomly and abruptly selected) lab partner, you realize you know him even less than you thought.

「 link to part one 」

warnings: fem!reader, byers!reader, shy!reader, bickering, lab partners, classmates, starts in season 2 ends in season 4, frenemies to lovers, slow burn, pining, "unrequited" love emphasis on the air quotes, steve is popular and reader is not, doting mother joyce, running with the headcanon that jonathan dropped out of high school, hurt/comfort, language, blood/injury warnings level to what's on the show

PART TWO → 1985

The last job you ever would have picked for yourself was one where you scooped ice cream out of freezer burnt bins and sold it to an ever-lengthening line of every teenager, adult and toddler in Hawkins. Concurrent with your usual luck, this is exactly where you ended up.

Summer wasn’t all bad. Right before the school year ended, you struck up an unlikely friendship with your little brother’s friends. Most of April and May you spent in Mike Wheeler’s basement. Those final two months of school, Will had employed you (with no employee benefits) to be his chauffeur; to the arcade, to Mike's for Dungeons and Dragons, and to Dustin's, whose house now held a computer, and this was the most important thing to happen to anyone ever.

It may sound drab, but you actually didn't mind it. One night in April, Lucas wasn't able to make it to DND, and Dustin suggested you take his place for the evening. Mike wasn't happy about it, but Will agreed, and who was Mike to kick Will's sister out when she was standing right there?

"So what exactly do I do?" you had asked. "Who can I be?"

"Whoever you want," Dustin replied. "We'll give you the same stats as Lucas's character, but you can be whatever."

"Is there a list to choose from, or something?"

"No," Mike huffed. "Just pick something."

Your fingertips buzzed, nerves building inside you. It was ridiculous to be so anxious about a little game, but it seemed important to them.

"Can I be, um...like a hunter? Or huntress, I guess?"

"Yes!" Dustin cheered. "Hell yeah. What kind?"

"A human one?"

"Boring," Will mumbled. When you shot him a wry glare, he laughed.

"What about a gnome?" you asked. "Can I be a gnome huntress?"

Mike wrinkled his nose. "Do you hunt for gnomes or are you a gnome who hunts?"

"A gnome who hunts...for gnomes."

Dustin made an evil, satisfied noise. Mike uncurled his lip.

"Alright. Good enough."

Lucas came back the next week to take his place, and still, Dustin called the house phone at about six P.M. that night begging you to stay and join the party for good. Thereafter, you were a true member of the campaign. Some nights it was tiresome. They all had so much energy; like they were still four years old. But they were fun, and they enjoyed having you there- even Mike. Unless he was lying. There was no actual way to be sure.

When Dustin suggested you apply for the summer opening at Scoops Ahoy inside Starcourt Mall, you actually did it. It was a leap for you- trusting yourself to secure something, to win something. Joyce ordered pizza with not one, but two orders of cinnamon sticks the night management called to say the position was yours. Jonathan even came out of his room for dinner.

Once June rolled around and Steve Harrington (thankfully) graduated, things slowed down. Dustin went off to summer camp, and the boys became embroiled in their own relationships; Mike with El, and Lucas with Max. Your friends were busy without you, and more importantly; without Will. You could tell it hurt him, but you weren’t sure what to do about it other than try to make up for the lack of them in his life.

Joyce let you borrow the Volkswagen every once in a while. You rode around with the windows down; warm air caressing your cheeks, Sun high in the bleached sky. Dustin would return eventually, and so would your tentative group of friends. You chose not to worry for once. Hawkins was at its best in the summer, and so were you.

Then you had your first day of work at Scoops Ahoy.

"Hey, Harrington," the blonde girl who brought you in called. “She’s here.”

There was an ice cream scooper dangling in his hand, metal fogged by cold. “Who’s here?”

He turned around at the same time you turned to Robin in horror. Your gaze twitched back to Steve where he stood. His eyes widened the same- a flicker of terror- and the hand he held the scooper in went limp, clunky spoon nearly clattering to the floor. It banged against the counter behind him and he flinched.

You’ve got to be kidding me.

“Y/N,” Steve nearly mouthed. The muscles of his face were drawn stiff, humiliated or otherwise jarred. You cast him a small wave.

“Hi.”

His eyes flicked to your hand where it greeted him, and as it fell back to your side, the ghost of a doting grin rippled over his face. Old and foreign to both of you. It was hardly enough to notice, and the absolute mortification in his eyes was far more recognizable.

“I didn’t know you were working here,” Steve said. Then he shifted, leaning against the counter with his hands propped up on the glass, lounging like he owned the place. Regular Steve, back in a flash. Of course. Thick strands of hair fell over his forehead, even longer than the last time you’d seen him. You had seen the Scoops Ahoy uniform before, but the sight of him in it was quite baffling- stiff blue t-shirt, the trademark sailor lapels and long bow. There was a little red pin over his heart that read ‘Steve’, right next to a white ship anchor.

Inexplicably, he still looked good.

You swallowed what might have been childish expectations for your ‘reunion’ and smiled politely. “Yeah. Dustin had me apply.”

Steve poked his head out. “Henderson?”

“Yep.”

He watched you for a moment, brows drawn and mouth loose in that puzzled expression he always wore. “Huh.”

You didn’t have it in you to ask what that meant, nor did you have it in you to work side by side with Steve Harrington for twenty hours a week. That being said, money was also something you did not have- in you or anywhere else- so this would have to do.

“Well,” Robin chirped, blissfully unaware of the ordeal before her. “I’ll show you the back freezer. We haven’t cleaned it in, like, a month. But it’s fine.”

You nodded, readjusting your small backpack around your shoulders and casting a last glance at Steve. He stood there still, elbows propped up, watching. His gaze twitched away when you looked over.

“Sounds good,” you smiled at Robin. “Thank you.”

Her freckled cheeks swelled up, and she grinned. Then she said- “You’re welcome!” like you had said something revolutionary. “It’s nice here. I mean, nice as a minimum wage gig can be. I don’t know, it’s fine. The uniforms suck. You’ll be cute in it, though. I think yours is coming in tomorrow, and…”

She rambled monotonously as you made for the freezer. There was no way to know if Steve was looking at you as she led you away from the counter, but you prayed he wasn’t, and that he had forgotten you showed up at all.

. . .

In your mind, there were two eras of your adolescence. BSB, and ASB. Similar to BC and AD, or BCE and CE. A forgotten, bygone decade, and a new, glimmering future. Before Snow Ball and After Snow Ball.

Anything BSB was to be discarded or compartmentalized accordingly. This included the demogorgon, demodogs, Mind Flayer, any other Upside Down business, as well as general Steve Harrington related trauma. Anything After Snow Ball promised brilliant, brand new beginnings.

You considered this as you glanced at yourself in the cloudy mirror of the Scoops Ahoy employee bathroom. The dim lights and glass streaks made it hard to discern how you looked in the uniform, but it certainly wasn’t comfortable. The t-shirt was like Steve’s; white with blue stripes, held together by a sewn-in navy vest. The red knot on your chest was a little more bowlike than his, dainty and small. The skirt fell right above your knees and the white socks capped off right beneath them.

You didn’t love it, but it was more than fine. The uniform was the least of your Scoops Ahoy related worries. You swore to yourself after the Snow Ball that you would never let Steve make you feel that stupid ever again, but more importantly that you would never let anyone make you feel that way. Especially not for doing things that were good for you.

This job was good for you. You were determined to feel that way, even if you had to fake it.

You strolled out of the bathroom and into the backroom, tucked behind the wall to shield yourself from the open parlor.

“I’m ready,” you said. Before doing so, you forgot to check for Robin- assuming she would be there- but only Steve was at the counter.

He turned around and went still, like he was hiding from something. Then he swallowed. “Oh.” His hand jutted out in greeting, clunky and unsure. He made a face like it was nothing. “That was fast. You…”

The next few moments really were just moments, a few breaths taken and a few lines ticked on the clock above you. But it felt much longer. His eyes flickered over the outfit, and your gaze dropped off, worried to see where he might look. His head fell sideways slightly like he might rest it in the crook of his neck, but he didn’t. He just sat there and looked at you. When you picked your eyes back up, you thought he might be looking at the socks, or something (which were a little weird) but his eyes were on your face. Flickering around every peak and slope of your cheeks and nose, like he had never seen you before but knew your every line. Actually, he might not even have looked at the skirt or socks at all.

“Robin left,” he blurted.

It was over just like that. ‘It’ was nothing, really, but as an avid observant, each moment that he looked at you felt like a page to be studied.

“Oh,” you replied, straightening. “Is she okay?”

“Yeah, she’s fine. Her shift just ended,” he rambled off. Then he muttered something tense under his breath and glanced at the counter. “Okay. C’mere.”

You came up to the counter without even thinking about it. A twinge of annoyance zapped through you when you did, following his orders without even blinking.

“It’s simple,” he said. “There’s always twelve flavors behind the counter, but sometimes people will ask for things that went out of season already. It might be in the back freezer, but you can always just say no. I usually do.” He paused after he said it, looking around sporadically. “Uh, scoopers are here,” he said, leaning over you to point at the plastic bin. You leaned back like his arm would burn you. “If they’re in there, they’re clean.”

“And just put the dirty ones in the sink?” you asked. It was a redundant question, but your nerves were making every simple instruction sound like astrophysics.

“Yeah. Well, I mean, I can grab them for you. And put them there.”

You looked up. “You’re going to put every dirty scooper away for me?”

“Uh,” he cocked his head, like he knew what he said made no sense. “Yep. Apparently.”

“Every single time?” you prodded, mostly joking.

He braced his fists on the counter and breathed out like he was in pain. “That’s what I said, huh, Byers?”

The words were muttered, rambled off like thoughts spilling out of his brain. You stiffened. He couldn’t call you that, not again. It felt too familiar. It felt friendly, and you were not friends.

You never would have complained about it, but amidst his nervous shuffling at the counter, his dark eyes fell on you and his sheepish expression flattened. Solemn. At the same time, a mother and three kids wandered into the parlor, each one of them yanking at a different part of her blouse.

“Yeah,” he nodded to himself, scolding. “Okay. I’ll, uh… I’ll man this for a while. Do you want to clean the freezer out, maybe? Nobody’s done it for months.”

An excuse to get away from the register. He was offering it to you, like he knew you well enough to know serving your first customer was going to be a stroke inducing event.

He did know you; you realized. Even in those last months of the school year after the Snow Ball, when you ignored each other with every ounce of effort in your bodies, he would present your chemistry projects to the class and let you hold up the samples; let you stay where you felt safe. With every glance, every comment and backhanded compliment, he was feeding into who you were. Quiet. Unsure. Eager. Maybe you needed to change those things about yourself, too.

His voice faded out behind you as you went to the freezer, yanking the door open and sighing.

. . .

The Russians were coming. Apparently.

Robin returned to work three days later once you finally had somewhat of a handle on the parlor mechanics. Take the order, scoop the ice cream, and collect the money. It was pretty simple. Most days, Steve banished you to the backroom anyway- to clean or otherwise meander around away from the customers. Whether he was doing it for you or for himself, you weren’t entirely sure.

Dustin came in that same day Robin returned, and after a shockingly heartwarming reunion with Steve (which you fought back a grin at), he informed the three of you about the transmission he intercepted on his new Cerebro contraption- a glorified walkie-talkie.

Robin translated. It said: “The week is long. A trip to China sounds nice. If you tread lightly. The silver cat feeds when blue and yellow meet in the West.”

At first, your investigation was hopeless. But upon further examination, Steve discovered that the carnival music in the audio's background was the same music that played on one of the creepy, animatronic pony rides inside Starcourt Mall.

“How did you recognize that?” you asked, forgoing your new game- pretending he didn’t exist.

His suntanned cheeks scrunched together in a faux-offended look.

“Our time with Miggins should have proven my genius to you,” he replied lazily. It occurred to you that his response warranted a laugh, or a retort. Instead, you said nothing. He flattened his lips together and looked at you for a moment.

“Alright,” he huffed at Dustin, a defeated note to the sound. “Play it again.”

Further examination of the audio tape proved fruitless. Rather than taking the transmission to a trusted adult, like regular people would, Dustin suggested something else.

“A stakeout,” he whispered, over-enunciating the ‘s’ and final ‘t’.

Robin’s brows flicked up. You locked eyes with her, and she shrugged, pursing her lips.

“What, like, inside the mall?”

“Exactly.”

She sniffed. “I don’t really see the point, but, I mean… Why not?”

“Why not?” Steve huffed. He picked his legs up off the table from where they were lounging and leaned forward onto his elbows. “No. Absolutely not.”

“Why!” Dustin exclaimed.

“Not with…” he trailed off. “It’s obviously a bad idea. I don’t have to prove to you that this is a bad idea. Seriously?”

“I think it makes sense,” you remarked sincerely.

All three of their eyes bounced to you.

Dustin grinned, crossing his arms and nodding. “Exactly. I knew you’d get it.”

“Thanks.”

You shared his grin, crossing your ankles under the table. Your leg looped over someone else's, warm and sturdy. Steve’s. You glanced down and inhaled. His head lolled back just slightly. As you flinched away, he sat up instantly and rubbed a hand down his face that stretched out his eyelids.

“This job is going to kill me,” he muttered.

Your ankles buzzed.

“I’ll have to grab some binoculars from my house,” said Dustin, “but we should be good to go once I do.”

“Are we really doing this?” Steve chattered.

Dustin scowled. “I am, at the very least. Robin? You in?”

“I guess. Y/N?”

Though the idea of a stakeout made sense to you, it was nerve-wracking. You fought back the old urge to glance at Steve and took a deep breath.

“Yeah. Sure. I’d love to help.”

When you said it, Steve stared at you, an exhausted look in his eyes.

“Fine,” he huffed. “Fine.”

The stakeout did not live up to expectations. Dustin and Steve saw nothing, besides a “suspicious” Jazzercise instructor with a duffel bag headed to a class. Robin dragged you off to help decode the transmission some more before you even had the chance to grab a pair of binoculars. Steve had poked his head out from behind a potted plant and hissed- “Where are you guys going?”

Robin stared blankly. “Mind your business.”

When Steve glanced at you, all you could do was shrug. Part of you felt a little guilty for being short with him, but you were hardly being short to begin with. Not overcompensating with kindness was unfamiliar to you, even around Steve; who deserved your kindness least of all. All the same, the sad look you saw in his eyes everyday was weighing on you. He wasn’t as good of an actor anymore. What he felt, you could often see.

“Hey,” Robin said as you settled into a table at the food court. “Not that it matters, but can I ask you something kind of weird?”

You smiled. “Of course.”

“Were you and Steve ever…?”

Nervous energy bolted into your chest, like lightning. Oh. Did it seem like it? Which one of you was perpetuating it? You?

“No,” you said instantly. “No, we, um…we used to be lab partners at school.”

Robin grinned. “Ohhh. That’s right. He took chemistry as a senior.” She unfolded the wrinkled slip of paper that had the transmission written on it and slid it to the center of the table. “That’s embarrassing.”

You couldn’t really argue with that, but you also didn’t care. It didn’t matter to you. A part of your opinion on Steve Harrington simply wouldn’t budge, no matter how hard you tried. You still wanted to believe he was a nice guy. Obviously, he wasn’t the worst person in the world. Not by any means.

But he had hurt you. And he never apologized.

“Are you…do you like him?” you asked softly. Trying to be encouraging. Robin snorted.

“Oh my god, no. I don’t even…” She snickered to herself some more. “No. He’s all yours.”

You wrinkled your nose and laughed. “He’s not mine, either.”

She cast you stupendous but playful glare. “Yeah, okay. Now, can you look at this? I think it actually means something, like, real, but I don’t know what…”

. . .

The house phone rang at three A.M..

After five rings, it was clear you were the only one woken by the sound. Sitting up felt like lifting a bag of bricks. You fumbled around in the dark until you found your bedroom door and shuffled into the den. A dinging noise rang through the room when you smacked your hand blindly against the phone.

“Hello?” you answered. Your voice cracked with sleep.

“He-...are you…can- don’t know if…lo?”

The voice was warbled, like the caller had dunked their phone underwater. You pulled the speaker away from your ear and grimaced. Once the nonsensical ringing ceased, you brought it back up and listened intently, heart speeding to a nervous thrum.

“Hello? Who is th-”

“-thing…side my house. I don’t kn-...hear me?”

“Wait,” you whispered urgently. “I can’t hear you. Do you need help? Who-”

“Please…hear me, come here. Shit.”

The familiar voice hit you like a gong. “Dustin? Is that you?”

“YES. Just…not sure if it’s…please. Please.”

“I can’t hear anything you’re saying. Don’t hang up, please,” you pleaded. “Can you-?”

The line died.

“Dustin,” you barked. “Dustin.”

As the dial tone buzzed in your ear, you pulled the phone away, a frightened knot building in your throat as you tore off. You slipped on a pair of flimsy slippers closest to the front door and ripped the car keys off the hook, sprinting into the yard in your pajamas. The Volkswagen wobbled as you ducked inside, digging the key into the ignition. When you cranked it, the car sputtered.

“No way,” you mumbled as you fought with it. No way. No way. No way.

It was happening whether or not you liked it- the car wasn’t starting. You sat there and panted for a few breaths. Anything could be happening to Dustin. You and Robin had discovered the true meaning of the transmission earlier that day: At nine forty-five P.M., a delivery would arrive at the Panda Chinese restaurant inside Starcourt Mall. When you showed up to investigate- a handful of Russian soldiers were standing outside, holding guns bigger than your heads.

What if the soldiers saw you? What if they were ripping Dustin to pieces, limb by limb?

Horrified, you jumped out of the car and settled for the next best thing- your bike. The ride was only six minutes, but it was mostly uphill, and by the time you made it to Dustin’s your hair was whipped in every direction and your cheeks were beet red.

You stepped off of your bike. As you lowered it silently to the ground, the flash of a hand behind you caught your eye. Your mouth jut open in a scream and that same hand covered it.

“Stop! Stop, stop!”

“MMM!” You screamed in response, fury coursing through you. His hand covered your mouth still, muffling your horrified cry. Idiot! You thought.

“I know,” he hissed. “I know, I’m sorry.”

“MM.”

“Don’t- just- okay. Here, okay.”

Steve dropped his hand and stepped back, throwing both fists up in surrender. Tiny crescent moons gleamed in the dark mirror of his eyes. He wore a soft gray t-shirt that was stretched haphazardly over his neck, pulled down slightly over the left side of his sharp collarbones.

You exhaled hard and glanced between his open palms.

“Why would you do that?” you snapped, cheeks warm.

“Someone could have heard you!” Steve retorted. “What are you doing here? Did Dustin call you?”

“Yes, he called me,” you huffed, dragging your bike off of the road. You laid it in the grass and turned back to Steve, panting. “He called you, too?”

“Yeah,” Steve nodded. “Why did he call you?”

“I would assume for the same reason as you, Steve,” you ground out.

His face flattened. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

Steve stared at you and suddenly you realized he was panting, too- the lean lines of his chest rising and plummeting. His hair was curlier than usual. It fell around his eyes in a relaxed way, like you could tell he woke up and dragged his fingers through it while he was on the phone.

“What?” he blurted.

“What do you mean, what?”

“What are you looking at?”

“What? Nothing.”

He watched you for a few moments more and then dropped his head into his hands, rattling his skull. “Fuck me,” he muttered. Exhausted, and something else tense. Tense, all the time. You weren’t used to there being this much tension anywhere in your life. You probably weren’t supposed to hear that to begin with.

Your heart leapt into your throat. “Did you see Dustin?”

“No. But nobody’s here. I-” Steve put his hands on his hips and breathed out in no particular direction.

“What?” you asked. Softer than before.

“You… Can you stay here, please?” he said. He took a tiny step toward Dustin’s porch, waving a hand in front of you like you were an animal to be tamed.

That old, familiar part of you longed to just do as he pleased. And then you remembered that night in the woods, by the bus- how Steve had gone out by himself. How he could have died.

“That’s not…” you started. “I’ll come with you.”

He immediately rubbed his eyes. “Byers-”

“Don’t-” you started before you could stop. Then- “Can we check on him now, please?”

One hand lingered near his ear, frozen. All he did was nod. A distant zap of heat lightning flashed behind him and thunder cracked, the bare bones of a summer storm. He caved. And in true Dustin fashion, when you knocked- three windows lit up with light, something rolled down the stairs, and the door flew open like a baseball bat swung backwards.

Steve’s arm shot out in front of you.

“Oh, thank God,” Dustin heaved. “You heard me?”

You glanced down at Steve’s arm where it hovered still as he spoke. “Yeah, man, are you alright? What the hell was that?”

“There was a car parked outside my house. Someone watching me. And the phone was barely working.”

“Your phone never works,” Steve huffed. You almost smiled at the thought of them calling each other. “Did you see who was in the car?”

Dustin’s face fell. “No. But it was creepy, I’m telling you.”

All this for nothing, you thought.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” you asked. “Nothing happened?”

“No, nothing happened, but something could have happened.”

“Don’t say that, Henderson,” Steve murmured.

“It’s true!”

“Stop,” Steve snapped. “Alright?”

They argued for a few moments more. You watched from behind, Steve’s jaw golden in the dim porch light. He looked taller; you realized. And he was less cocky than you remembered, but more sharp. Stubborn.

Once Dustin was finally convinced the car outside of his house was just a neighbor, he shut Steve out like a solicitor, and said to you- “You can come inside if you want, Y/N.”

Steve chuckled once, short and bitter.

You bit back a triumphant grin. “That’s alright. My mom is probably worried.”

“You sure?”

“Mhm. I’m glad you’re okay.”

Steve glanced at you. Dustin shut the door. As you made your way down the porch steps, Steve close behind you, your feet sped up to get away from the warmth that radiated off of him. He was so hard to ignore.

“Be safe driving home,” you said to him. Like instinct. As you grabbed your bike, he said-

“No. Absolutely not.”

“What are you talking about?”

He popped the trunk of his car, motioning dramatically to the space inside. “Put your bike in the car, I’ll take you home.”

Your heart thumped in your ears “You don’t have to do that.”

“You can’t bike home. You’re wearing slippers. It’s dark.”

“I made it here in slippers and the dark.”

“Yeah, and that was stupid, too.”

Your mouth fell open. He locked eyes with you suddenly, and the look on your face seemed to sting him. “Byers-”

“Stop it!” you huffed, so quiet you were grateful he probably couldn’t hear it. In the dark, it was hard to tell what way he was looking at you. His stance was imposing, though- leaned onto the side of the car, his long shadow stretching down the road.

Oh.

You looked back at the car. In the dark it appeared almost black, but through the thin reflection of Dustin’s porch light on the hood, you could see what it was. Burgundy. And a BMW- just like the one that had parked next to you at the Snow Ball.

“Still there?” Steve prodded. Gently.

Off balance and a little perplexed, you hauled onto the bike. “I’ll be fine. Thank you for offering.”

“I wasn’t really off-”

Thunder cracked once more. And ridiculously on time, a drop of rain landed on your nose.

As it picked up speed, Steve snorted. Actually snorted.

“Shut up,” you huffed, climbing haphazardly off the bike.

“Need help?”

“No, I do not.”

“Are you sure? I don’t know if that mumu is hard to work around, or anything.”

You glanced down at your wet t-shirt. It was borrowed from Jonathan, longer than your knees. But-

“It’s not a mumu,” you snapped, rolling the bike at him. He stopped it with his knee before you could hit him with it and rang the bell once. A small smile rippled over his face at the sound.

“That's sweet,” he murmured.

Your stomach churned the way it always did when Steve spoke. Without acknowledging the comment he picked up the bike and lifted it into the trunk, those corded veins on his forearms flexing. You watched him for longer than was normal before ducking into the passenger’s seat.

He left the radio off while you drove. The storm picked up further the closer you got to the forest, wind swaying the car. Your hands shook in your lap. Steve’s hand drifted to the gearshift just as a bolt of thunder roared overhead. Flinching, you seized it.

“Ow!” he yowled. “Jesus.”

“Sorry!” you blurted. “Sorry. That was stupid.”

You recoiled instantly, but he intertwined his fingers with yours in mid-air as you pulled it away.

“You don’t like storms?” he asked, eyes clear on the road.

You swallowed hard and stared at your hands, clenched together above the middle console before letting them land there softly.

“No, they’re fine,” you lied. Quiet.

“I don’t mind them too much.” His eyes flicked to you in the rearview mirror, wide and soft. He almost seemed to frown at your expression. “Usually.”

You were both quiet again. His grey shirt was black with rain, sticking to the hard plane of his chest in odd places. The storm smacked against the car, and you felt like you were inside of a fishbowl, trapped but safe. Warm air from the vents grazed over your cheeks. Very, very slowly, Steve started drawing small circles into your palm with his thumb.

“I bet Erica will come in tomorrow,” he said. “To Scoops.”

When he talked this soft, it made you dizzy. The trapped feeling in your chest thawed, melting away into exhaustion. You kept your eyes on his thumb as it moved, drawing bigger circles now.

“Of course she will,” you muttered. He laughed, and you smiled despite yourself. “She comes in every day.”

“But tomorrow, specifically,” Steve said. “Tomorrow-”

Thunder cracked. You flinched, but he gripped your hand before it could move.

“Tomorrow,” he continued unphased, “is Saturday. She always comes at noon on Saturdays.”

Your heart was beating so fast you thought it might claw out of your chest, but your eyelids were drooping.

“I’ve not worked on a Saturday yet,” you mumbled.

“They’re not great,” he grimaced, his voice pointed. “But, uh…you’ll be good. Don’t worry about it.”

You blinked hard and said, “You’re trying to distract me.”

His lips flattened. “You just proved it’s not working, so thank you.”

“I’ve seen your tally chart.”

He frowned. “Say that again?”

“On the whiteboard,” you whispered. “For the girls.”

The inhale he was taking paused, his chest going still. His grip remained tight on your hand.

Inside Scoops Ahoy, beside the counter, there was a chart keeping track of all the girls Steve had tried to pick up inside the parlor that summer. Apparently he wasn’t doing very well, but you still didn’t like to look at it.

His lips quirked into the tiniest smile, like he was going to make a joke about it. Then the ruse fell and his head ticked to the left slightly, brows crossing. He leaned his head back against the seat with that familiar solemn gaze.

“That was, uh…” he intoned softly. Pensive and nervous. Not like before. “Before you came in, Byers.”

For once, you didn’t complain. As you opened your mouth to say, it’s still there, Steve inhaled sharply.

“Y/N,” he corrected himself. “Y/N. Sorry.”

A dull pain sat on your chest. Dejection. You had wanted so many times for him to stop calling you that, but now you missed it.

Steve’s hand went limp in yours, like he would let go if you wanted. You moved your index finger over this thumb and pushed it into the center of your palm again. His gaze flicked back and forth from the road to your hands as he drove.

After a moment, he started rubbing circles into your skin again. You exhaled as he sucked in a breath.

. . .

In a shocking turn of events, Erica came to Scoops Ahoy at noon the next day.

While there, Dustin employed her to search the air vents of Starcourt. He found a keycard belonging to the ‘Russians’ (the only name you had for them), but without going through the ducts, there was no way to open the door you scoped out the night before at Imperial Panda. For the price of free ice cream for life, she agreed.

The door led to a tiny room filled with boxes. The walls were metal, cold and sterile. They seemed to grow smaller the longer you searched, rifling through boxes and tripping over packing peanuts.

A flash of green poked out from behind the cardboard as you ripped open another box. You leaned back instantly. Inside were a few large vials of emerald liquid, bubbling and molten. With a strained neck, you looked over your shoulder.

“Dustin?” Your voice was nervous.

Steve looked up instead. “What?”

Erica wrinkled up her nose from a few inches away as Dustin trampled over and leaned into the box.

“Do you know what it is?” you asked.

“No,” he shook his head. “Weird.”

Robin grimaced. “I don’t like it.”

Unprompted, your left foot flinched up, the right one following. The floor vibrated. Robin flattened herself against the wall in front of you, and Dustin dropped to his knees.

The entire room jolted to the right. Behind you, the box of green vials tipped over, spilling all over the floor. You sucked in a wheezing breath, and Steve lurched forward, reaching to grab your elbow. He tripped instead, and you caught him, holding him up by the flat, hard front of his shoulders. You felt him go stiff.

“Steve,” you hissed, staring at the floor beneath him. “Move your foot.”

Air whooshed over your heads as the room started moving. Down, and fast.

“Open the door!” Dustin screeched. “Open it! Steve!”

“I can’t get to it, Henderson-”

“Steve,” you bit. And then Robin shouted- “Steve!”

“Stop!” Steve shouted. “God! All of you, stop it!”

Ignored, you let go of his shoulders and he clattered to the floor, cursing. But the glass vial beneath his shoe rolled away unscathed- your original goal. He shot you a frazzled glare as the room turned elevator barreled down the shaft until it reached an ungraceful landing.

Where the hell are we?

For a few breaths, all of you stared at each other. Stunned. Then you clambered to your feet and began foraging for packing peanuts, tossing them back into boxes and repacking the green vial that Steve nearly shattered.

“What are you doing?” he breathed.

“We need to make these look like they weren’t opened.”

Everyone worked, Dustin unable to be quiet, Erica yelling at him for yelling. Eventually the boxes looked almost untouched, and the five of you climbed onto the ceiling of the elevator, lingering in the shafts. Hiding.

When the elevator doors slid open a few minutes later, you sucked in a breath. Steve’s hand jolted up, and he lifted a finger to his lips. Shh.

You stared at each other, wide eyed. Panic coursing through you. Thinking about how insane it was that just a year ago, you could hardly meet his gaze. It was still difficult, but now, you forced yourself to do it.

As the soldiers gathered the boxes, Steve crouched to his knees on the elevator ceiling. They left. As the doors shut behind them, he jumped down and grabbed a vial of the green goo and slid it into the opening.

It held. The four of you clambered down, ducking into the basement corridor. Just as your foot crossed the threshold over the elevator, the vial broke, glass shattering.

Steve looped his hands under your armpits and yanked you forward. You doubled over his arm at first, folded like a lawn chair. The doors twitched shut. In front of them, green liquid seeped out of the broken vial and burned a hole through the floor like acid. Robin and Dustin murmured to themselves across the hall; the goo looks like promethium, and Erica replied; like the jelly?

No, Dustin snapped. Not petroleum. Promethium.

“You saved my foot earlier,” Steve remarked, lifting you until you stood. Then he dropped his hands down on your shoulders and examined you, unblinking. “Good?”

Your heart beat all over your skin.

“Good,” you managed. “Thank you.”

He made no proper gesture, but let go and said- “You pay attention, I help.”

Your head snapped towards him before you could stop it. He remembered that? And surprisingly enough, as you snuck down the hallway of a state enemy’s secret base, you were grinning. Switching frontmen as you walked, the five of you eventually made it to a small room with a glass door, something molten looming behind it. Hidden behind bulletproof glass.

There was a crack in the wall, tall as a house, red as lava. Sparking and sputtering. A gate to the Upside Down.

“Shit,” Dustin murmured.

You wasted no time. Dustin and Erica climbed back into the vents and fled, leaving the three of you- too tall to crawl inside- behind.

“Hey!” a soldier screamed. The three of you whirled, caught. Trapped. There was nothing you could do other than submit. Steve tried to fight the next soldier that came along- the Commander- and failed miserably. Though he did try.

The soldier threw a punch and broke open the soft skin beneath Steve’s left eye. He cursed, and you lunged forward, quickly warded off by the waving of a gun in your face. Steve lunged for it, and one of the soldiers brought their boot down on his back. He gasped against the floor. Fire snaked up your spine.

It happened so fast you hardly experienced it. When they demanded to know who you were, you refused to tell. Steve glared hard enough you thought it might bore a hole in the man’s forehead, but even that failed. The Commander threatened to rip out Steve’s fingernails next, and you could tell from the look in Robin’s eyes that she would break. You could hardly blame her.

The Commander grabbed the back of your head to snap at you. A sharp sting shot down your spine. Steve’s voice cut through the air like a knife- “No!”

Something sharp dug into the soft skin beneath your jaw, and you winced. Like a needle- it was a needle. A syringe flashed before your eyes. The back of Steve’s hand flinched against yours, like he was reaching for you, but instead, you both collapsed. Robin was close behind. You felt Steve's fingers twitch, curling in on air where he thought there would be your skin. Then, darkness.

. . .

You dreamt about a presentation Steve gave in chemistry.

There was only one project the two of you worked on alone, and it was the first project of the year. You barely knew each other at that point, and you were relieved to be working by yourself rather than with Steve Harrington. At some point, you knew you would have to suck it up and talk to him. But you weren’t ready yet. He was intimidating.

It was supposed to be an easy-A, something Miggins didn’t assign very often. The premise was simple: present factual information on any sub-topic of chemistry which interests you. You chose electrochemistry; the study of how electrons move.

You were sitting beside Steve at your lab table, still a healthy distance away. All of your note cards were in your hands- ten of them- and you flicked the tops of the cards nervously, knee bouncing. The project was easy, but the presentation was your own personal nightmare.

“How many notecards do you have?”

You glanced up and then over, unsure if he was speaking to you. This was the first time he had even looked at you, you thought. Steve waited expectantly, leaned back in the seat, arms crossed over his chest.

You shifted. “Just…a few.”

“That’s an entire stack.”

You laughed soundlessly, surprised. “I need them.”

“Wooow,” he drawled. “You didn’t memorize your presentation?”

Nerves struck you like lightning. “Were we supposed to?” Steve shrugged, and you leaned forward onto the desk. “Did you?”

“Of course,” he scoffed, like you should have known. You made a face at him, and he frowned. “Don’t look at me like that.”

You laughed again. The corners of his lips tilted up just slightly, a crescent but not quite a smile. There and gone.

“Harrington,” Miggins called. “You’re up.”

Steve made a very serious face. “Watch and learn,” he whispered.

Then he strode to the front of the room, cast the class a gummy smile, and delivered the absolute stupidest speech you had ever heard in your entire life.

“Oh, and also, something else interesting is that sound moves faster underwater than in the air. Like, at least four times faster. Doesn’t really make sense to me because I thought it would have moved slower, but I guess not. It’s wild.” Then he glanced at Miggins and said- “Am I at time?”

“You are well over time,” Miggins murmured. And then- “Mr. Harrington…you are aware that the speed of sound is a physics topic, not a chemistry topic. Correct?”

Steve’s smile remained, but he wrinkled up the bottom of his face just enough that you knew it hurt.

“Great. Awesome,” he said sincerely. Quiet laughter rang through the classroom, his friends red-faced in the front row.

Miggins scowled. “Sit down, Steve.”

And he did. You said nothing as he slid in beside you, his chair a few inches closer than before. Your knee continued to bounce until he leaned over and whispered-

“See? Nothing to be nervous about.”

You glanced over as Miggins eyes scanned over the class roster, knowing your name would come next. Steve flattened his lips.

“You can’t do any worse than mine."

You laughed softly but audibly and clapped a hand over your mouth, embarrassed. Lighter. The arrogant crescent grin on Steve’s face grew into a smile; a real one, with teeth. The most beautiful smile you had ever seen, and you were in love with him. Just like that.

Doomed. Always, you were. From the start.

. . .

You woke up in a car.

The seats were familiar to you, fuzzy and worn. You ran your fingers over them slowly until the feeling returned to your palms, tingly and dull, but not numb. Your eyes fluttered open and seared with sunlight. Flashes of green blinked by you, ember rectangles and a few blocks of black and yellow.

Oh. The road. You were driving through the forest.

“Honey!”

Someone beside you gasped. Joyce. You looked over and relief washed over you like a wave, the knot in your throat unfurling as she jerked the car over to the side of the road. She wrapped her arms around your head and squeezed, your nose flat to her shoulder.

“Oh, baby, how do you feel?” she mewled.

“Fine,” your voice cracked. Sharp. “Where…where are we?”

“The interstate, baby. We’re almost home.”

“Where were we?”

Her eyes lit up. “Oh, good. You don’t remember.”

“Remember what?” And then- “No, I remember. The basement. The gate, and the Russians.” You scowled at the name. It sounded so stupid every time you said it. Yes, we are being hunted by Russians.

Not anymore. Joyce caressed your cheek softly, cupping your skin. Your hand shot up and you grabbed hers.

“Where’s everybody else? Where’s Will?”

“Everybody is okay, sweetie. Everybody.”

Her lips flattened, like she had told a lie and couldn’t stand it. Fear strummed at your every nerve like a guitar. The car seemed to spin. A whole day- just lost to you. What happened while you were out?

“What about Steve? Where’s Steve?” you demanded.

“Fine, honey. He’s fine. He called for you.” She made a face. “More than once.”

“Where is he?”

“At home, I think.”

At home?

“How long has it been?” you whispered.

“Just a day,” Joyce replied softly. “Whatever they gave you, you just had a bad reaction to it. We’ve been at the hospital, but you’re fine.” Your eyes widened. “Oh, don’t panic, sweetheart. I promise, you’re fine now.”

“No, it’s just- Steve had a…a black eye. Do you know where Robin is?”

“The girl with the blonde hair? Yeah, she’s…she’s fine, honey. Everybody…they’re fine.”

Joyce’s eyes welled up with tears. Everybody. She was lying.

“Mom,” you whispered. “What is it?”

Her face crumpled, like she couldn’t hold it in anymore. “It’s, um…Hopper, baby. Hopper is gone.”

“Oh, mom…”

Your stomach sunk like a stone, heavy and hurtful. You tilted your head at her and cried, wrapping your arms around her neck and pulling her head towards you. Joyce was Joyce- she only let herself weep for a few moments before leaning back, drying her tears.

“I’m just glad my babies are okay,” she whispered tearfully.

. . .

You were carrying a box outside when his car pulled up.

He stopped early, like he saw you and slammed on the brakes. You couldn’t quite see his eyes through the glint against the windshield, but you both had to be staring. Frozen. A tiny frame came up beside you and threw up a hand to the sun.

“Steve?” El asked.

“Uh…yeah,” you nodded, perplexed yourself. “Yes.”

She glanced up at you, squinted, and said- “Hm.”

“I called him but he didn’t…” you started, then trailed off. El was dealing with far worse things than you and complaining about the endless Steve-saga seemed inconsiderate. She glanced back at his car and sniffed, blaring sunlight beating down on both of your backs.

“Jonathan will not like it,” she said.

You turned to look at her but she was gone already, strolling nonchalantly back into the house. A smile crept onto your face. It would be nice, you realized. To have a sister.

“Hey.”

Again you turned, this time with a lurching panic in your throat. Steve blinked at you in the sun as he walked up the driveway, his eye swollen like an apple that had been dropped one too many times.

“Oh my god, Steve.” It gushed out of you before you could stop it. “That’s bad.”

“Thanks.”

“That’s not what I meant!” you said, taking a step closer. “Does it hurt?”

He shrugged. “Meh.”

His hair was styled in its regular immaculate fashion, so he must have been feeling somewhat alright. Your chest ached. He wore that jacket, the blue one you loved.

You couldn’t help the frown on your face. “I’m so sorry.”

His brows furrowed. “What? Why?”

“That I couldn’t help,” you started, unsure of how to say what you meant. “After…at Starcourt. Didn’t they inject you, too?”

He was quiet for a moment. The wind blew a strand of hair into his eyes, but he let it stay there, blinking at you.

“Uh, yeah,” he perked up suddenly. “Yeah, they did.”

“It didn’t knock you out?”

“No. No, it just…made me dizzy. But you were fine for a few…”

He paused, putting his hands on his hips and then holding one out to you in question.

“You don’t remember? Any of it?”

Your brows flicked together. “No, not at all. I guess that’s good, isn’t it?”

He looked at you like it hurt.

“Yeah,” he nodded. “Yeah, that’s really good. I’m glad.”

“Was it scary?”

He scoffed. “Very.”

A tentative grin crept onto your face. “Well, what did I miss?”

He was answering all of your questions slowly, the wheels in his brain turning visibly behind his eyes. Thoughtful. Careful.

“Not much,” he shrugged. Then, sobered- “You were awake for a while after, actually. We were all pretty out of it. Robin, too.”

Your stomach dropped. “Oh, god.”

“What?” he laughed softly, shoulders lifting.

“Did I say anything?” Then, realizing how obvious you were being- “Just, anything weird. At all.”

He took a long breath. Leaned forward, and drove his heel into the dirt a little.

“Nope,” he breathed out. Eyes on the ground. “You were, uh…the closest to normal.”

“No way,” you joked.

He smiled weakly. “Yep.”

You assumed his hesitance resulted from a general disdain for speaking to you. After all, you had called him the day you got out of the hospital, and left a message, and he hadn’t gotten back to you. Just like Snow Ball, all over again. This time it hurt less, but more in a thousand other ways.

You stared at each other. He was a healthy distance away, and yet, his presence in front of you was like a wall; encompassing you, keeping you safe. He had always made you feel safe. You needed to let go of that.

His eyes dropped to the box in your hands.

“What’s that for?”

Tears pricked at your eyes suddenly. He struck a chord. Stop it.

“We’re, um…we’re moving.” And you would know that if you picked up the phone.

He poked his head out. “What?”

“Yeah,” you nodded, laughing a bit to try and smooth out the air between you. “To Lenora Hills.”

“Lenora- where…where is that?”

“California.”

His hand flew up to his hair, tugging. He laughed once like a cry.

“You’re joking.”

You shook your head, wrinkling your nose up. “Nope.”

“Oh, Byers,” he groaned, long and comedically bitter. “Fuck.”

The nickname sent a shock wave down your spine. He leaned over a bit and put his hands on his knees, grimacing. You took a tiny step closer, setting the box down.

“Steve?”

He shook his head. “Just…um.”

And you stood there. Waiting. When he looked up, you were looking down, with the most genuine concern anyone had probably ever looked at him with.

He shot up like a rocket. Before you even had time to think about what he was doing or be afraid of it, he had his arms around your waist, squeezing hard. You sucked in a breath that sounded more like a wheeze. There was no space left between the two of you, no room for embarrassment or hesitance.

His fingers threaded gently into your hair until he was holding your head. Then he tipped it forward, trying to fit you into the crook of his neck. You dropped your forehead there without even thinking about it. Two puzzle pieces, finally locked in. His chest was hard against you, heart beating against your jaw. He had stopped breathing. He was warm; like coffee in the morning, like the first wave of somniferous heat that comes out of a car vent in the winter.

I knew it; you thought.

He let go and cold air enveloped you, the Sun a dull star.

“Robin will miss you,” he strained.

You gawked at him. Tears welled in your eyes. What was this, what was he doing? What happened while you were drugged? What happened after?

“That’s sweet,” you managed.

“And Dustin.”

A tear rolled down your cheek. You jolted forward, awful déjà vu rushing over you. Last time you cried in front of him, he bolted.

Steve sighed like something had punctured his lung and tilted his head.

“You should, uh, get back to packing,” he said. Like he was setting you free. From what?

“We’re not leaving until tonight,” you said hopefully. He made a small noise; a pained exhale. Like this was even worse than he imagined.

“Drive safe. And, uh…I’ll miss you too.” He looked down. “You know.”

You wanted to scream at him. Open your mouth and beg, call his name a thousand times over. You had learned by now that- no matter how unsure of his feelings you were- he at least came when you called. Always.

You opened your mouth. He looked up, expectant. Desperate.

A ribbon of anger wrapped around your ribs. Humiliation. But not familiar. What happened at the Snow Ball made sense to you. But this, this made no sense at all.

“Okay,” you choked out. “I’ll miss you too, Steve.”

He turned around unnaturally. Instantly, like he had to, and walked back to the BMW. You watched him get in the car and put the key in the ignition, solemn and fast. When he backed out, you stepped forward, taking a few tiny steps down the driveway as he reversed and pulled out onto the road.

When his car disappeared into the forest, you broke down on the porch, sobbing. You couldn’t go inside- it was too busy. All you could do was stare at his footprints in the dirt. Just like the first time Steve Harrington left you behind, you knew two things for sure.

It didn’t matter if he deserved the benefit of the doubt that you once gave him, because you would continue to give it; time and time again, until it bled you dry.

You had missed something terribly important.

◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ thank u for reading!! i forgot how wild s3 was until i sat down to write this lolol. likes/comments/reblogs/literally anything are soso appreciated and thank you for all the love on the last one i'm so glad people enjoy this story cuz i love it and i will post part 3 this coming week :)))

tags: @preciousbabypeter @meganlikesfandoms @ikkehehe @the-winter-spider @khaylin27 @floweronmoon @ilovehotdads69 @naughty-koala07 @kisskissshutmydoor @americaswritings @mayonesavegana @alexaisaflop @selfdeprecatingnerd @alainabooks143 @appocalipse

#steve harrington x reader fluff #steve harrington drabble #stranger things fic #stranger things x reader #stranger things #steve harrington x y/n #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington #steve harrington x you #steve harrington x reader angst

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plzravagemethxxx · 1 month

Text

BLOODLUST pt. 2

BLOODLUST Masterlist

Part One Part Three

"Fine. Fine." Y/N raised her hands in surrender. "But I'm only consenting to reconnaissance. We go in, collect information, and we get out."

KF and Robin exchanged giddy smiles.

Then Robin turned to Y/N, a sly gleam in his eyes. "Ready to be whelmed?"

The fire is still burning bright when the four of them arrive at Cadmus.

The fire brigade was busily attempting to put out what flames still remained, as well as trying to rescue the scientists and workers who were in the building.

"STAY PUT," a firefighter ordered through a megaphone. "WE WILL GET YOU OUT!"

That was the last thing Y/N heard them say before suddenly the ground shook with the weight of a loud explosion from within the laboratory. She saw the impact blow two of the men in lab coats out the window and into the air.

"KF, go!" she shouted, and she didn't need to tell him twice.

In a blink of an eye, Kid Flash raced towards Cadmus and ran up the steep face of the building, catching the poor scientists before they could meet an untimely demise. His momentum led him to speeding up to the roof, where he deposited the scientists before he tripped and fell.

"Shoot!" he managed to yelp, before quickly finding purchase on the windowsill. "Oh, thank god."

"It's what's-his-name!" one of the firefighters exclaimed. "Eh... Flash Boy!"

Robin snorted.

"It's KID FLASH!" KF grumbled. "Why is that so hard?"

"He's soooo smooth, isn't he?" Robin mused as he, Aqualad, and Bloodlust ran up to the building.

"Shut it, Rob," Bloodlust snarked. She grabbed her knife and sliced her palms and the soles of her feet. Then she lunged up at the side of the building. "STICK!" Her hands and feet stuck strongly to the concrete, and she began to climb up like a spider towards KF. "Hold on, buddy."

"Yep!" KF replied. "Kinda all I can do at the moment!"

In a couple seconds, Bloodlust crossed the building and arrived just before KF's grip could falter completely. She grabbed his wrist, and he clung to her arm fast, and she hauled the two of them into Cadmus through the open window.

"Must they always run ahead?" Aqualad muttered as he watched. He sighed. "We need a plan—"

But then he turned, and found Robin, too, had disappeared from his side. Instead, he saw the youngest of them all running up the fire truck ladder before grabbing onto an unused hose and using it like a rope to swing himself into the window as well.

Aqualad sighed. "Of course."

He hurried over to the fire trucks, right beside the firefighters still trying to hose down the fire.

"I need to borrow that!" he quickly warned, before he pulled his two Atlantean weapons from their sheaths and redirected the water from the hose to propel himself into the air, up to the roof, where the two scientists remained. "Step aboard. Now."

The men didn't hesitate. Aqualad landed first, as he set foot on the windowsill his friends had entered through, then lowered the scientists down the ground.

"Finally," Bloodlust called as Aqualad entered the building.

"I appreciate the help," he sarcastically replied.

"Hey, you handled it!" Robin protested, typing away at one of the computers he'd opened. "Besides. We're here to investigate. Poetic justice, remember?"

"Yeah," Y/N noted. "Investigate. KF," she added sternly, leveling the redhead with a look as he made shadow puppets using the light of Robin's screen.

"Sorry, sorry," Kid Flash mused in a very unapologetic tone. He glanced back to see Bloodlust was no longer looking, then resumed his shenanigans with a silent snicker.

"Robin," Bloodlust called, "found anything?"

"No, not much yet," the Boy Wonder replied. "Check some of the physical files and stuff, might be something there."

"Got it." She marched over to another desk and plucked the papers off of it, struggling to read the contents in the minimal light. She found notes on different DNA samples the lab had been given, most likely via ancestry tests and the like. One paper had, in bold red letters at the bottom, PATERNITY TEST NEGATIVE. Y/N set that paper aside and kept looking.

Suddenly, she heard the familiar ding! of an elevator, and frowned. She looked up to see Aqualad had gone off, and KF was following, and so she did the same.

She found the two boys standing at the mouth of a hall leading to an elevator shaft.

"There was something in the..." Aqualad muttered.

KF frowned. "Elevators should be locked down."

"Well, this one isn't," Bloodlust replied, stalking over to it. She heard Robin's footsteps as he followed. "That's suspicious. Rob, is this what I think it is?"

"This is wrong," he agreed, pulling up his holographic screen to search his archives for a confirmation. "Thought so. This is a high-speed express elevator. It doesn't belong in a two-story building!"

"Unless the building isn't just two stories," Bloodlust realized. She touched the doors and frowned. "Aqualad, you said you saw something enter the elevator?"

"Something that also doesn't belong here," he said.

He stepped up to the doors and gestured for Bloodlust to step aside. When she did, he placed his hands on the gap between the doors and pried them open with a shout.

The rest of them clambered beside him and gazed down at the elevator shaft. It stretched downwards for far longer than a supposed small-scale genetics laboratory should require.

"And that's why they need an express elevator," Robin quipped.

He pulled his grappling hook launcher out of his pocket and fired it into the ceiling of the shaft. Then he leapt into the shaft and continued to fall and fall until his line eventually came to an end at just around a floor labeled SB 25.

"I'm at the end of my rope," he muttered, a soft shock in his tone as he swung over to the door of the elevator. He quickly sidestepped until he found a decent spot to sit, then produced his screens again.

Aqualad came down next, followed by Bloodlust and then Kid Flash.

"I knew something was off with this place," Bloodlust hissed, touching the cold metal of the door again. "Not only is this an express elevator; these doors are heavily reinforced. They're probably not indestructible, but most definitely bulletproof. And I can feel it vibrating. Robin, these have tech behind them. Passcodes."

"On it," the Boy Wonder replied. "Bypassing security... there. Go."

Aqualad didn't miss a beat. He tore these doors open too, then the four of them slipped inside quickly. They found themselves, wide-eyed, in another enormous hallway. The lights were a deep red, the walls and ceiling and floor a murky black. Panel upon panel of black metal ran down the hall, giving the room a strange aura about it.

"Welcome to Project Cadmus," Robin announced.

Kid Flash wasted no time in rushing again. Aqualad tried to grab him to stop him, but the boy was far too fast. He sped ahead, only to severely underestimate his speed and fail to smoothly as he neared the end of the hall. He tripped and skidded across the floor, grunting in pain.

And then there was a thud. A heavy, scarily close weight dropping beside him, and KF opened his eyes as a strange, elephant-sized creature lifted its foot and began to lower it right over him.

Luckily, as per his powers, KF was more than fast enough to get out of the way of the herd of... creatures? As he stepped back and rejoined his friends, who were now in the hall with him, he struggled to understand what he was looking at.

The creatures were enormous. They had gravelly gray skin with strange red markings and pale underbellies and curved tusks emerging from the sides of their fanged mouths. Their eyes were a deep red and their faces seemed curved in permanent snarls. Bloodlust swore one of them met her gaze as it passed. They roared and blew steam from their nostrils, the heat so intense it was nearly disorienting.

"What are those?" Bloodlust asked in a hushed whisper, only for her eyes to then catch a glimpse of yet another anomaly. "Huh?!"

Seated in a sort of crouched position on the top of the monster was a tiny creature with beady red eyes and markings to match the bigger creature over its own cool gray skin. There were hard-looking lumps on their knees and curved appendages coming from the sides of its face. As the monsters passed, the tiny creature's horns began to glow a bright red.

Y/N's heart skipped such a long beat it might as well have stopped. There was this strange sensation in her body as she met the goblin-creature's gaze; a tingling which started at the top of her head and trickled pleasantly down to the tips of her bare toes. She was always aware of the blood in her body thanks to her metahuman powers but suddenly her understanding of it all was... heightened? Was that the right word? She was hyperaware of the beat of her heart, of the rush of her bloodflow, of the—

"BLOOD!"

Y/N jumped. "What?!"

Kid Flash was standing right next to her, his hand on her shoulder, a concerned look in his eyes.

"Are you okay?" he asked. "You sorta zoned out for a second."

"I..." Y/N took a shaky breath, then frowned. Why was her breathing so heavy now? "Sorry, I just... I don't know." She put her hand to her chest. "My heart feels like it's going supersonic right now. It... it must be the shock, I guess."

Robin didn't look convinced. "Doubtful. Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah," Bloodlust assured him. "I'm okay. Um. What were those?"

Aqualad shook his head. "We do not know. But this is proof that Batman, Black Canary, and you were right. Cadmus is keeping far too many secrets."

"Well?" Robin prompted. "We're here now. Might as well uncover a couple more."

Y/N frowned. "Robin, I said only reconnaissance."

"C'mon!" KF protested. "Blood, we're already here. We can't exactly leave now! You can't say you're not curious."

This is a bad idea, Y/N noted. She glanced at her friends' faces, their looks of hope for her to agree with them (even in Aqualad's gaze, surprisingly). But I am intrigued by all of this. What were those things? Can we find that out? And not be caught by our mentors?

"Fine," she amended, waving KF away from her face. "Fine, fine. But if things go south, I'm calling Arrow."

"What?!" KF demanded.

"Hey, better him than Bats, right?" Y/N reminded him. "And he can help keep Canary from killing me."

"It's a deal," Robin said, cutting off Kid Flash before he could get annoyed. "If stuff hits the fan, you can call GA."

"Good." Y/N nodded. "Now. Where do we start?"

They were shocked upon opening the first vault, which really didn't bode well.

Robin found a bit of difficulty in hacking open the vault, which he was initially frustrated by.

"That's a first," he grumbled. "Hold on."

There was no need to hold on, however, because he managed to crack the code five seconds later. With a satisfying click and hiss, the vault doors slid opened.

"Okay..." Robin muttered, looking into the vault. "I am officially whelmed."

Inside the vault was column after column of cylinder-shaped semi-transparent containment chambers. Within each chamber was yet another unidentifiable organism with similar characteristics to the giants and gremlins from earlier. At the center of the room was an energy of sorts; a buzzing, bright blue ball of something, flashing rapidly as it drew power the containment chambers.

"They're... they're living batteries," Bloodlust realized.

Kid Flash marched up closer to the chambers. "This is how they hide this massive underground facility from the world! The real Cadmus isn't on the grid! It generates its own power with these... things." He placed his hands on his hips. "It must be what they're bred for."

Aqualad turned to Bloodlust. "You were right, my friend. They truly live up to the legend of their name."

Bloodlust nodded silently.

"So Cadmus creates new life," Robin noted. He marched up to the blue sphere of power, to the little control panel at the base of the structure, and connected his own monitor to the controls. "Let's find out why."

Y/N saddled up beside Robin and read his screen over his shoulder. Her eyes fell on paragraph after paragraph of scientific terminology and lab reports.

"They call them Genomorphs," Robin narrated. "Whoa! Look at the stats on these things!" He tapped on the image of the giant creatures from earlier, opening up a window with a characteristic breakdown of the organism. "Super strength, telepathy, razor claws—these things are living weapons!"

"They're engineering an army," KF muttered. "But for who?"

"Wait." Robin leaned forward and tapped on one of the files. "There's some other stuff. Project Kr and... ugh." He shook his head. "The file's triple encrypted. I can't—"

"DON'T MOVE!"

The four of them whirled around at the sudden shout, eyes wide and hands clenched into fists. Rushing towards them, a group of growling Genomorphs at his heels and shoulder, was... was that Guardian?!

"Wait!" he shouted, stopping dead in his tracks as he scanned the faces of the teenagers. Recognition flashed in his eyes. "Robin? Aqualad? Kid Flash? Bloodlust?"

"Hey, at least he got your name right," Robin teased KF before he continued trying to hack into the files.

"I know you," Aqualad spoke up. "Guardian. A hero."

"I do my best," Guardian humbly said.

"What are you doing down here?" Bloodlust demanded. "And why've you got those Genomorphs with you?"

"I'm Chief of Security," Guardian explained. "You're all trespassing. But we can call the Justice League, figure this out."

"You think the League is going to approve of you breeding weapons?!" KF fired back.

"Weapons?" Guardian questioned. "What're you... what am I..."

But he was cut off as the Genomorph on his shoulder turned to him, its horns glowing red. Y/N, too, staggered back, suddenly overcome with a strange urge; although, to do what, she was unsure.

Guardian pressed a hand to his head, groaning in discomfort. But then he opened his eyes again, a glimmer of determination in his eyes, and he looked back at the protégés. "Take them down hard! No mercy!"

Bloodlust was the first to act. She slipped her knife from its sheath and slashed at her palms, allowing the stray drops of her blood to fall.

"SMOKE!" she ordered, and her blood erupted into billowing red smoke.

Robin was quick to take advantage and produced his grappling hook launcher again. He fired it up onto the support beams overhead, then leapt up, allowing the wire to carry him to brief safety.

The Genomorphs advanced, slashing through the smoke and snarling; but their vision was obscured. Bloodlust took full control of the smoke and concentrated it around the eyes of the Genomorphs, blinding them but allowing her and her friends full visibility.

One came too close for comfort, and she lunged at the monster, letting the blood on her palms touch its skin.

"BURN!"

Instantly, the Genomorph let out a high-pitched, agonized shriek as its flesh began to burn and boil. It fell to the ground, and Y/N moved on to the next enemy combatant until she heard the electric crackling of Aqualad's weapons and followed the sound. She saw him knock down Guardian, and she ran alongside him and KF to escape the vault.

They booked it as fast as they could, staying out of reach of the Genomorphs by just a hair. Alarms began to blare, sending waves of pain through Bloodlust's head, but she kept sprinting until she found Robin, busily hacking away at the elevator. KF ran ahead, seemingly scolding him, until the elevator door opened and they rushed inside. Bloodlust quickly followed.

"You couldn't wait for us?" she panted, turning to Robin with a glare.

"You made it!" Robin grinned. "No need to complain!"

The growling of the Genomorphs grew closer, and Y/N looked up and yelped, pushing herself against the side of the elevator just in time to allow Aqualad to jump into the shaft. The doors shut behind him, trapping them inside.

"Okay, good," Bloodlust sighed. She stood and dusted herself off, then commanded her hands to heal. "Now, we leave."

But the floor level display continued to increase. They were going deeper into the sublevels.

"We're headed down?" Aqualad demanded.

"Dude!" KF turned to Robin. "Out is up!"

"Excuse me?" Robin frowned. "Project Kr? It's down, on sublevel 52."

"This is out of control," Aqualad protested. "Perhaps... perhaps we should contact the League."

"On it," Bloodlust began, but before she could reach her communications device, Robin grabbed her wrist. She leveled him with a wide-eyed glare. "Explain yourself or I will cut off your hand, Robin."

"Look, Blood, I think you're going to want to see this stuff," he implored. "Trust me."

"You promised that I could call Arrow!" Y/N reminded him. "Make good on your word!"

But then the elevator dinged open, and soon Y/N was too shocked by what she saw to even remember to call Oliver.

The hall—if it could even be called that—was strange, red, and flesh-like in appearance. Glowing blue pustule-esque structures jutted out from the wall, emanating ominous light.

"What is this place?" Bloodlust whispered.

Robin ran ahead.

"No!" Bloodlust reached for him, but he was already too far. "No, I don't like this at all, guys."

"Well, we are already here," KF tried to convince her, before quickly shutting up because Bloodlust gave him such a cold look he turned away. He elected to run after Robin.

Aqualad sighed heavily. "I will go with them. If you wish to stay back, that is your decision."

Y/N wanted to fall to her knees and kiss his feet in thanks. She hated this feeling of being here. The air was thicker, the walls looked alive, it was unnatural, unreal in all the worst ways.

But then Robin's words came back to her:

Look, Blood, I think you're going to want to see this stuff. Trust me.

"N-no." Bloodlust swallowed her nerves. "I'll come with you."

Aqualad hesitated. Then he offered her a gentle smile, and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"That is quite brave of you, my friend," he assured her.

Y/N nodded. "Thanks."

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